The Exchange Competition Begins
Several days passed quickly, and the exchange and competition officially began.
First, the leader of the Evergreen Sect took the stage and made a symbolic speech. Here, "said a few words" means he really only said a few words, not like those school assemblies where someone gives a simple speech but ends up talking for more than an hour.
Afterwards, an elder from the Evergreen Sect stepped onto the stage and said, "This exchange will be divided into weapon crafting, alchemy, talisman making, formation techniques, and individual and team duels."
All top three finishers will receive a reward, except for team competitions.
"Now, let's begin the weapon crafting and pill refining competition. Participating disciples, please come to the stage."
"Hey, Shen Ge, what's going on? He didn't say what the reward was, did he?"
"That's normal. Telling people in advance could lead to personal favors and make those who aren't interested in the rewards lose interest in the competition." Although Shen Ge was also a little confused, he still analyzed the situation logically.
"Let's go, it's time for us to go on stage. Who cares about the reward? Just play your best."
At this moment, Jin Ling walked up to the two of them and said, "You two better step up your game. Forget about being in the top three, you have to be in the top five, or else I'll deal with you two when we get back."
"This..."
Shen Ge had barely begun speaking when Jin Ling stepped onto the stage. Mu Wan glanced at Shen Ge, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Let's go, the top five shouldn't be a problem."
On the other side, Qingfeng led several disciples from the Spirit Moon Sect of the Pill Refining Hall onto the high platform. His movements were unhurried, as if he were strolling leisurely. Coupled with his somewhat frail face, he did not look like a cultivator, but rather like a well-read but weak scholar.
On the high building, Ziyang scanned the Spirit Moon Sect disciples who were taking the stage below, and finally his gaze fell on Shen Ge. Although he did not react, a sense of regret rose in his heart.
Clearly, he had given up on his plan to go to the Gods and Devils Abyss of Spirit Severing Pill for Shen Ge. The Evergreen Sect was right; such a talented disciple could only be saved if possible, and he should never risk his own life for him.
Noticing someone watching her, Shen Ge looked up and followed the gaze, seeing it was Ziyang, and immediately smiled in response.
"Participants, please collect your materials," the elder overseeing the aerial exercise said calmly. Although his voice was not loud, it clearly reached everyone's ears.
"Fellow Daoists of the Spirit Moon Sect, please." A man with a jade-like face and a magnificent crown stepped forward and gestured for them to enter. If I remember correctly, this man should be the senior disciple of the Artifact Refining Hall of the Evergreen Sect, I think his name is Liu Tao, and he has a very high level of weapon-refining skills.
If nothing unexpected happens, he will most likely be number one this time.
Of course, there's nothing we can do about it; their skills are simply inferior. The first thing people look at is skill, not something you can just ask for.
Don't even mention that Shen Ge has Supreme-Grade Metal Spirit Root. No matter how talented you are, it's impossible for you to catch up with the efforts of those who have immersed themselves in research for seventy or eighty years in just over ten years.
Moreover, the fact that the other party could become the senior disciple proves that his talent is not weak either; even if he is not as good as Shen Ge, he is not far behind.
Mu Wan nodded and, without standing on ceremony, took a set of materials from the Elder of the Evergreen Sect who was in charge of distributing them.
Then everyone stepped forward to collect the materials, and then each found a furnace for refining weapons.
These materials are the same for everyone; they are top-grade materials for crafting magical Law Artifact. However, taking out twenty portions at once is still quite a waste of Spirit Stone.
Once everyone was in place, the elder in the air waved his hand and said, "The refining process begins and will end in seven hours."
Upon hearing the start signal, Shen Ge immediately brought up the ground cable to preheat the furnace.
Because he lacks Fire Element Spirit Root, he is actually at a disadvantage in this regard, but it's not a major problem.
About an incense stick later, Liu Tao and Jin Ling simultaneously placed a material into the furnace. Soon after, the others also began refining, while Shen Ge was still preheating the furnace.
Another quarter of an hour passed. After the others finished refining one material, Shen Ge slowly began to put in the first material and start refining. He was unhurried throughout the process and did not feel anxious at all because he was lagging behind.
Meanwhile, on another arena, the people refining pills also began their work. At first, they were all quite standard, and it was impossible to tell who was stronger or weaker than whom.
On the high-rise building, Daoist Qingguang scrutinized Shen Ge for a long time before sighing, "He has a calm and steady temperament; he's a promising talent, but it's a pity."
He then took out a jade bottle and slowly presented it to Ziyang: "This is a bottle of Spirit-Warming Pill made from Frost Snow Lotus. Although it cannot cure his injuries, it can nourish his still-recovering soul. Consider it a small token of my appreciation."
Ziyang accepted the jade bottle, nodded, and said, "Fellow Daoist, you're too kind."
Time passed quietly, and soon, the first problem occurred on the alchemy platform. A disciple of the Spirit Moon Sect failed to control the heat when refining a medicinal herb, ruining it. Without this one ingredient, all the previously refined medicinal liquids were also wasted, so he had to be eliminated.
About half an hour later, three more people were eliminated on the alchemy platform. They were all from the Spirit Moon Sect. For them, obtaining top-grade pills from second-grade pills was quite difficult.
Not long after the three of them left, two disciples from the Evergreen Sect camp also failed to refine the medicinal liquid and were eliminated.
But Qingfeng remained calm and unhurried, seemingly still leisurely putting in the medicinal herbs, completely unaffected by external events.
On the other side, Shen Ge had finished processing the second material, and the next step was shaping it. This was a piece of cake for Shen Ge, since refining weapons was not like refining pills, and it was rare to ruin them.
Jin Ling had already finished shaping the object; based on the properties of the material, she had created a sword, and Huang Tao, who was not far away, had made the same choice.
Mu Wan is a step behind them and is currently shaping herself, but judging from her current shape, she probably didn't choose the sword shape.
While this material is well-suited for swords, it can also be used for other weapons, but that depends on the crafting skill; otherwise, the quality of the resulting Law Artifact will definitely not be as high as that of a sword.
This was truly an unconventional approach. Sure enough, Mu Wan didn't hesitate to use materials she hadn't bought herself.
Shen Ge thought for a moment. Most of them are now basically crafted flying swords. Although he didn't know the exact strength of the Evergreen Sect, they were definitely not much different. If they all followed the sword shape, they might end up being about the same size.
Therefore, after some consideration, Shen Ge decided not to forge flying swords anymore. The characteristics of this material are sharpness and flexibility. Although it is the best for forging swords, it is by no means the only option.
He planned to forge a rather unconventional Law Artifact while preserving the best properties of the materials. Of course, its appearance and functions might be somewhat limited. This was essentially sacrificing some functions to maximize quality, which was practically a losing proposition for a weapon refiner.
However, he thought the same as Mu Wan: since it wasn't his own material, Shen Ge wouldn't feel bad about it.