Chapter 898: Chapter 137: Noble Scion Dongfang Canglang

As the Artifact Refining Competition approaches, Thousand Mechanism City is bustling with activity.

The competition held once every five years is not only the largest Artifact Refining Contest in the Thousand Mechanism Domain but also a grand event for the Flame Dynasty.

Martial Artists from the Flame Dynasty’s other domains are continuously flocking to this place.

For martial artists from the Outer Domain, every competition reveals the future Artifact Refining Masters who they would wish to connect with early, should they need assistance in the realm of artifact refining.

A Master Level Artifact Refiner cannot be hired merely with money; it requires adequate financial resources, personal connections, and sometimes even waiting in line for years, especially in weapon forging.

The rules for the overall competition differ from those at each city; in Hundred Refinements City, multiple events happen simultaneously, but the overall competition proceeds one event after another.

The first event of the overall competition is forging!

"Forging, a man’s speed bump."

Upon learning the schedule for the general contest, Lin Chen, under Li Qin’s guidance, headed to the arena.

The Celestial Craft Pavilion in Thousand Mechanism City can accommodate millions. Lin Chen followed Li Qin inside and couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of thousands of furnaces below.

Those competing below are all a group of muscular men.

"What a pity, if I could forge a Damascus Saber..."

"Damascus Saber? Brother Xiao, are you referring to some special Spirit Soldier?"

Li Qin listened to Lin Chen’s words, curiously looked over with her dazzling eyes, and Lin Chen shook his head, "The Damascus Saber is merely a knife forged by an ordinary blacksmith shop from my hometown. Back in my youth, having a Damascus Saber in the village was quite something."

Yin Yue, standing nearby, pursed her lips; she’s already used to Lin Chen frequently talking about "hometown," but that place doesn’t align with her knowledge of Poyang County.

Li Qin listened and appeared thoughtful, ordinary blacksmith shop, village...

It seems Xiao Yan’s background wasn’t great, but for a martial artist from such a background to cultivate to the Innate Third Realm and possess such high alchemy skills proves how astonishing Xiao Yan’s talent truly is.

Soon, as the referee on stage announced the start of the competition, the thousands of muscular men below began forging, and fire sparks flew everywhere. Lin Chen also noticed several furnaces igniting flames that differed from ordinary ones.

"Innate Fire?"

"Innate Fire is rare, but given a large enough base, there will always be some fortunate ones; every competition has comparable numbers of blacksmiths and alchemists with Innate Fire."

Li Qin explained the situation of the forging competition to Lin Chen, comparing it with previous competitions, ensuring it wasn’t boring for Lin Chen to watch.

The first round of the forging competition has simple rules: forge a weapon usable by Innate Realm martial artists, which must also withstand a full strike from them, with the shortest time advancing to the top hundred.

"For the artifact refiners present, crafting a weapon for Innate Realm martial artists isn’t difficult; the challenge lies in doing it faster than others."

"Indeed."

Lin Chen nodded; those who reached this stage have real skills, for them, crafting weapons isn’t difficult, but doing it faster than others is.

After just one two-hour period, Lin Chen already saw many artifact refiners had finished their forging, and the competition’s judges conducted tests immediately after candidate completion.

This process tests other competitors’ mental states, especially when there are fewer than a hundred slots left; many participants can’t help but feel anxious, resulting in several furnaces exploding due to poor heat control.

Two hours passed, and all one hundred slots were occupied. Lin Chen saw many still unfinished and upon realizing the slots were filled, they directly abandoned forging.

"That Yuan Shengyao was in the top five hundred of the previous Alchemy Competition, right?"

"Yes."

"This ranking is quite misleading."

Lin Chen twitched the corners of his mouth; the competition ranks only the top hundred. Beyond that, rankings are unofficially determined, not designated for the top five hundred, suggesting Yuan Shengyao’s rank might be beyond four hundred fifty.

If anyone ranks within four hundred fifty or above, they would be considered nearing the top four hundred.

If ranked in the three hundreds or two hundreds, it’s expressed as the top four hundred or three hundred...

Completing alchemy beyond four hundred fifty requires excluding many who, like the current artifact refiners, abandoned after failing to make the top hundred, indicating the true ranking might be beyond six hundred.

"What’s Yuan Shengyao’s exact rank?" Lin Chen finally asked out of curiosity.

Li Qin answered softly, "Four hundred ninety-three."

Lin Chen:...

Yin Yue nearby:...

Lin Chen felt speechless; he overestimated Yuan Shengyao, given this ranking, he probably couldn’t even make the top seven hundred in the previous competition.

...

...

With the elimination process below, only one hundred contestants remain.

"Next, the competition reduces from one hundred to ten, but it will be held tomorrow, followed by ten to three, and finally determining the first place, comprising four days in total."

With the top hundred finalized, today’s competition concludes, and Lin Chen didn’t linger further; others might wish to remember these hundred names and identities, but it’s unnecessary for Lin Chen.

"I won’t attend the upcoming days; I’ll be staying in the Alchemy Tower."

The first round of the forging competition reminded Lin Chen not to underestimate people worldwide; relying on Innate Fire, he’s adept at pill refining control but lacks understanding in pill principles.

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