None of their earlier doubts could compare with the evidence before their eyes. As the final contest seemed to settle into a neck-and-neck race, as victory truly seemed within reach, Shi Chun and his companions grew even more nervous than Tong Mingshan himself.
Halfway up the mountain, Young Master Nan's mustache-stroking hand had frozen. Without realizing it, he had strayed to the wrong place, sticking his fingers into his slack-jawed mouth. Stroking his mustache had become picking his teeth, while his eyes remained fixed on the contest.
He had only wagered a sum on the Bright Mountain Sect winning to show those important people his confidence in Shi Chun's group entering the Divine Fire Domain. Now he felt a little uneasy. Surely his wild guess hadn't actually hit the mark?
At the summit, Mulan Jin also looked thoroughly surprised. He watched intently, waiting for the final moment.
In the stands at the Tournament Grounds in the Victory Spirit Continent Royal Capital, Wei Mo and the Fine-Clothed Man sitting beside him finally stopped chatting and fixed their attention on the Mirror Projection.
Someone from Shi Chun's Bright Mountain Sect might actually win the Artifact Refining World's grand gathering? Bian Weiying and her companions likewise watched without blinking.
Inside the Tournament Grounds, people pointed and discussed what they saw. At that very moment, before Mirror Projections across the land, countless people came to recognize Tong Mingshan's face...
"The fifth aperture is done! Li Hongjiu is tackling the sixth!"
Another wave of cries rose from the spectator seats in Artifact Cloud Valley. More precisely, those cries of surprise had gradually taken on a note of admiration.
Everyone could see that his progress clearly exceeded his earlier pace.
Li Hongjiu had no attention to spare for any of that. He only glanced at Tong