At the sa ti, in Radiant Moon Empire, Radiant Moon City.
Today was the final round of the Western Region’s Artifact Forging Tournant. This grand event, which had shaken the entire Western Region, had gathered the most talented artifact forgers from across the region. After multiple rounds of selection, only ten contestants remained on the competition stage.
Outside the square, a massive crowd had gathered, cheering excitedly and creating a deafening commotion.
At the front of the square was an enormous elevated platform where over a hundred judges from various nations were seated, along with influential figures from different factions.
Seated at the very front of the platform were the chief artifact forgers of the ten great empires. However, one seat was notably empty—one of the ten chief artifact forgers was absent.
Next to the empty seat, a burly man with a muscular physique smirked and muttered disinterestedly, “Feng Gao didn’t show up? It’s an unwritten tradition for the Long and Feng Clans to place bets whenever they et. I was hoping to win sothing from him this ti, but it looks like that won’t be happening. What a disappointnt.”
“Half a year ago, during the Alchemy Tournant, Long Xiaoyao won ten life-bound Gu insect from the Feng Clan’s chief alchemist. I was so envious!”
Qin Zhan stroked his graying beard and glanced at him, saying, “Long Batian, everyone knows that the Phoenix Heaven Empire is currently being invaded by a mysterious army of puppets. You shouldn’t be making such flippant remarks.”
“As of now, ninety percent of the Phoenix Heaven Empire’s territory has fallen under the assault of these puppet troops. The empire is facing a life-or-death crisis—how could their chief artifact forger possibly make it here?”
As the conversation steered in this direction, the expressions of the judges on the platform grew solemn, and they began discussing the matter seriously.
“Where did these puppet troops even co from? It’s as if they fell from the sky, appearing out of nowhere without any warning.”
“No one knows. Rumors say there are at least five million of them. With such an overwhelming number, the Phoenix Heaven Empire simply couldn’t hold its ground. In just a few months, they lost most of their territory, and now they’re barely hanging on. Their destruction is inevitable.”
“The cost of producing such a terrifyingly large army of puppets would be astronomical. How could it have gone unnoticed? And yet, here they are, seemingly appearing out of thin air. It’s truly eerie.”
“I heard these puppets originated from the ruins of Sky Island, and the one controlling them is none other than the so-called God of Gambling—the sa person who incited the four-nation wager over their clan fate. Who knows if it’s true, but the rumors likely have so basis.”
“Stop gloating. If the Phoenix Heaven Empire falls, who’s to say the puppet army won’t turn against the rest of us next? With such a massive force, no single empire could possibly withstand them. We should be preparing to unite against this threat.”
The judges on the platform engaged in heated discussion, their faces filled with concern. The sudden ergence of this mysterious puppet army sent chills down their spines.
Wang An furrowed his brows tightly, growing increasingly uneasy.
In his view, the Feng Clan had lost half of their clan fate to the Long Clan in a bet, and soon after, Phoenix Heaven City was burned to the ground.
The disappearance of an imperial capital seed like an on. Following that, the Phoenix Heaven Empire suffered one misfortune after another, and in less than a year, they were already on the brink of destruction.
Could losing half of a clan’s fate really have such a severe impact?
He couldn’t help but worry. During the Alchemy Tournant, the Radiant Moon Empire had also lost half of its clan destiny to the Fla Court Empire.
Would his empire share the sa fate as the Phoenix Heaven Empire? Was Radiant Moon destined to follow in their footsteps?
The more he thought about it, the more unsettled he beca. He had no mood left to preside over the artifact forging tournant.
“Enough of this discussion. Let’s start the final round of the tournant. The ti has co, and the audience is eager.”
An elderly judge, highly respected, spoke up. Wang An had no choice but to compose himself, though his mind remained heavy with worry. He stood up, scanned the audience, and announced loudly:
“I believe all of you are already familiar with the rules for the final round. Simply put, each contestant must forge their best artifact—any type is allowed. The contestant who produces the most valuable artifact will be the winner!”
“With that, I now declare the final round of the Western Region’s Artifact Forging Tournant officially open!”
As soon as the announcent was made, the crowd erupted into cheers, their voices forming waves of excitent. Every spectator was brimming with anticipation.
Wang An, after making the announcent, sat down with a troubled expression, clearly preoccupied with other concerns.
In contrast, Long Batian seed to be in a good mood. He chuckled and said, “Why don’t we make a bet on who the champion will be? My guess is the disciple of the Grand Elder from the Artifact Sect.”
“Oh? You an that artifact fanatic?” Qin Zhan turned to look at him and smiled. “I heard he is extrely passionate about artifact forging, but his talent in the craft is quite poor.”
“Back then, he knelt outside the gates of the Artifact Sect for ten days straight, neither eating nor drinking, until he finally moved the Grand Elder enough to accept him as a disciple. Because of his obsession with artifact forging, his master nad him ‘Artifact Fanatic.’”
“He has incredible perseverance and works harder than anyone else. Compared to his fellow disciples, he puts in ten tis the effort. Through sheer determination, he managed to develop his forging skills.”
“In the world of artifact forging, there aren’t many examples of hard work triumphing over innate talent.”
“Right now, his total score is tied with four others. Whether he can truly surpass geniuses who are ten tis more talented than him remains to be seen.”
“Hmph! ‘Hard work beats talent’ is nonsense. Hard work is worthless in the face of true talent!” Wang An scoffed. “His so-called achievents are thanks to his imnse wealth, nothing more.”
“Other contestants have limited resources and can’t afford to waste precious materials on practice.”
“But he? His wealth seems endless. He can use as many rare materials as he pleases, never worrying about running out. He never had to be frugal.”
“While other geniuses only get one chance to practice with a material, he gets a hundred. How can anyone compete with that?”
“With so many resources thrown at him, even a pig could fly! The fact that he made it to the finals isn’t surprising at all—it’s his wealth that got him here, not his effort.”
Perhaps due to his bad mood, Wang An's tone was sowhat harsh.
Previously, the Radiant Moon Empire lost half of its national fortune to the Flaming Court Empire. To reclaim it, the Radiant Moon Empire once again wagered against the Flaming Court Empire in this Artifact Refining Tournant.
Since the Flaming Court Empire lacked any outstanding artifact refining talents, the two empires made a bet: whether the Wang Clan’s artifact refining genius could win the championship of this tournant.
If the Wang Clan’s artifact refiner secured the championship, they would reclaim half of the lost national fortune.
However, if the Wang Clan’s artifact refiner failed to win the championship—even if they only secured second place—the Radiant Moon Empire would lose yet another half of its national fortune to the Flaming Court Empire.
If the Radiant Moon Empire lost another half of its national fortune, then it would be completely gone—the national fortune of the Radiant Moon Empire would be reduced to zero.
No one dared to imagine what terrifying consequences would occur if a nation’s fortune were to reach zero.
Thus, the Radiant Moon Empire had to win this Artifact Refining Tournant, no matter the cost.
For Qi Chi, the strongest competitor of the Wang Clan’s artifact refining genius, Wang An naturally showed no kindness.
At this mont, ten artifact refining geniuses on the plaza had already begun their refining process. Due to the depletion of the world's spiritual energy, it had beco extrely difficult for an artifact refiner to reach the fourth grade before the age of fifty.
However, the artifact refining world was still in a better state compared to the pill refining world. Among the finalists, there were five fourth-grade artifact refiners and five third-grade artifact refiners—far surpassing the alchemy tournant, which had only two fourth-grade alchemists.
In Position One, Qi Chi wore a proud expression. Although his actual age far exceeded fifty, his human form, after transformation, appeared to be younger than fifty. By using special ans, he had exploited a significant loophole, allowing him to qualify for this competition.
Qi Chi looked toward his aged master in the crowd. His master smiled and nodded at him, while his beautiful senior sister playfully waved her fist and cheered, "Junior Brother, go for it!"
Qi Chi grinned, a flash of affection passing through his eyes. This cheer filled him with even greater motivation.
Clenching his fists, his gaze grew determined. Winning the championship in the Artifact Refining Tournant had always been his dream. He had worked tirelessly for this mont, and today was the day he would achieve it.
"This championship belongs to , Qi Chi! I will return to the Artifact Sect with boundless glory and slap those elders in the face! I’ll prove to them that my master's decision to take as a disciple was the right one!"
Qi Chi roared in his heart, no longer hesitating. He retrieved a large chunk of black tal from his storage ring. Under the control of his soul power, the black tal hovered in mid-air, and a sudden burst of multicolored flas ignited beneath it, blazing intensely.
As soon as this fire appeared, the temperature on the plaza skyrocketed. One after another, the flas of the other contestants were extinguished. In just a few short breaths, all the competing flas had vanished.
Throughout the entire Radiant Moon City, the only fire still burning was this multicolored fla.
All the Gu cultivators present were utterly shocked, and the judges on the high platform stood up one by one.
"This is…"
"Multicolored flas! Such a form of fire should only belong to the Peacock Ascending Fire, ranked nineteenth on the Heavenly Fire List!"
"It’s actually a Heavenly Fire! He possesses a legendary Heavenly Fire!"
"I never expected to witness a Heavenly Fire in this tournant! But can a re Gu King truly subdue the nineteenth-ranked Heavenly Fire?"
The judges on the high platform were all visibly shaken, their expressions full of disbelief.
"Can anyone identify what kind of tal he is refining? Even under the power of Heavenly Fire, this black tal hasn't lted for so long."
Long Batian gazed at the black tal with a deeply serious expression.
Qin Zhan shook his head and said with a solemn tone, "I have always prided myself on recognizing all the tal materials in this world, whether they have gone extinct or still exist. But I have never seen this kind of tal before—this is completely unheard of! I have no idea where Qi Chi even found it."
"Mysterious tal… Heavenly Fire…"
Wang An clenched his fists, his face growing even darker.
This combination put imnse pressure on him, and the ominous feeling in his heart only grew stronger.
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