The blacksmithing contest pressed on, and Bian Ge did not rely on a hammer to forge the longsword. Instead, he formed seals, sending countless runes drifting into the air. Forging through runes rather than hammer blows was far more efficient, and artifacts refined through such means would emerge far purer in quality.

Diao Jiuzhi, however, walked the opposite path. He gripped a hammer and started forging with an ancient technique. Each time his hammer struck the artifact, he inscribed runes into it at the same time.

Roaring laughter erupted from all around, drowning out the ringing clangs of Diao Jiuzhi's hammer. "Hahaha! How dare he bring out such a crude blacksmithing technique!"

Even the mentors and students who supported Liu Wuxie could not understand what they were seeing, and doubt surfaced across their faces.

Yet Liu Wuxie remained unmoved beneath the surrounding mockery. Ye Linghan turned to look at him, only to see him sitting there with his eyes closed, forcing her to swallow the question already on her lips.

Time passed in silence. In the past, several classes would have competed at the same time, but this month was clearly different.

Last month, more than a dozen classes had refined artifacts together before deciding whose work possessed the highest quality. But Liu Wuxie's arrival had disrupted many of the Azure Flame Dao Hall's usual rules this month.

An hour slipped by, and the afternoon had already arrived. The longsword Bian Ge was forging had taken shape, releasing clear, ringing cries as the sword aura spread through the air.

"Senior Brother Bian, well done!" another student from Bian Ge's class cheered.

Bian Ge had performed beyond his usual standard today, and the weapon he had forged had reached an exceptionally high grade. When he held the longsword and swept it through the air, it released a sharp burst of sword aura that stirred faint ripples in every direction.

Several blacksmithing mentors in the surroundings nodded in approval. "What an excellent sword!"

They could tell that the sword forged by Bian Ge had already brushed against the High Immortal Realm.

Diao Jiuzhi was still refining, and he had only just finished the hammering stage. The sword mold had already taken form, and what remained was polishing. He immediately waved both hands, inscribing runes that hovered in the air, with faint seals mixed among them.

Since Bian Ge had already completed his refinement, everyone turned their attention toward Diao Jiuzhi. "Look, there are fluctuations of seals!"

"How is that possible? How could a mere high immortal possibly inscribe seals?"

Diao Jiuzhi had only recently stepped into the first-level High Immortal Realm, meaning he could inscribe only one or two seals at most. Yet even a single seal was enough to suppress hundreds of runes.

Shen Chao's eyes narrowed sharply. As a grandmaster of blacksmithing, he understood better than anyone how difficult it was to condense seals. All the mentors had reached the Profound Immortal Realm, yet they had not even touched the threshold of seals. But Diao Jiuzhi, someone from a humble background, had actually managed to inscribe one. The difference nearly drove them mad.

Under the repeated tempering of the seals, the sword began producing crisp, resonant cries with every impact, the sound ringing out like a beautiful melody.

As the sword's form became increasingly refined, it grew longer, slimmer, and sharper than the one Bian Ge had forged. While it hovered in the air, the aura released by the longsword directly suppressed Bian Ge's sword.

From that alone, the winner was already clear, and there was no longer any need for the contest to continue.

When the final rune fused into the longsword, Diao Jiuzhi staggered, nearly collapsing to the ground. He hurriedly reached out and caught the longsword before it could fall. As he swung it gently, the blade released a dragon's roar that echoed through the surroundings.

Next came the appraisal of the swords to decide whose quality was superior. Bian Ge and Diao Jiuzhi each held their swords and walked toward one another. Neither of them hesitated. They raised their swords and struck with force, producing an ear-piercing metallic collision that swept outward in the form of shockwaves, forcing many people to cover their ears.

A crisp crack suddenly rang out, sounding like stone splitting apart. A broken sword tip dropped to the ground, severed cleanly. The arena instantly plunged into deathly silence, and everyone stared at the arena in disbelief.

"How could this happen?" Bian Ge asked, staring at the broken sword in his hand, still unable to accept the outcome.

As someone renowned for his blacksmithing, Bian Ge had also used the strength of a ninth-level High Immortal. Yet, Diao Jiuzhi had still managed to break his sword.

On the other hand, Shen Chao's heart sank into the abyss the moment he saw the broken sword. He had spent great effort on the Heavenly Luo Fruit, even asking someone to purchase it from far away on his behalf. Naturally, he could not accept losing it to Liu Wuxie just like that.

All the blacksmithing grandmasters walked into the arena and gathered around Diao Jiuzhi's sword, eager to examine it more closely. "What a sharp sword!"

"Snow-ridge patterns! There are snow-ridge patterns on the blade!" Dense snow-ridge patterns covered the surface of Diao Jiuzhi's sword, and each one looked as though nature itself had shaped it.

Bian Ge suddenly crouched down, picked up the broken half of his blade, and left without saying a word. Diao Jiuzhi had completely shattered his dao heart, and he would not recover from it anytime soon.

Only then did Liu Wuxie lazily open his eyes, making many people roll their eyes.

"I won!" Diao Jiuzhi shouted as he waved the sword in his hand, as though releasing every emotion buried in his chest. He was declaring to everyone who had mocked him that he, Diao Jiuzhi, would one day stand above them.

Everyone's gaze unconsciously turned toward Shen Chao. His face had turned deathly pale, and he trembled faintly.

With great reluctance, he carefully took out the Heavenly Luo Fruit and tossed it to Liu Wuxie.

After Liu Wuxie put the Heavenly Luo Fruit away, a faint smile rose at the corner of his lips. The other classes also fell into silence, and no one issued another challenge. Everyone was still immersed in the contest that had just ended.

Some people began stirring restlessly. "Liu Wuxie only has seventeen students, and most of his students have already competed. He shouldn't have anyone left to send."

Most of the students who had joined Ye Linghan's class had chosen martial cultivation, and those capable of fighting had already gone up. Only Zhang Dashan had yet to participate in the assessment.

Since Zhang Hua and Wang Zhuang had both represented spiritual arrays, they would not go up again. As Ren Fanfan was a woman, everyone eliminated the possibility of her participating in blacksmithing or alchemy.

Shi Wa and Zhuang Fang had already defeated their opponents, which meant they would not continue fighting.

"Our chance has finally come!" After hearing the surrounding discussion, Nangong Shan's face lit up with a smile.

Liu Wuxie had already revealed all his trump cards and had no one left to send out. Meanwhile, many of the other classes had yet to participate in the assessment.

In everyone's eyes, Zhang Dashan naturally focused on martial cultivation. Aside from Zhang Dashan, only Ren Fanfan and Xiao Qian had yet to participate in the assessment. Since they were both women, no one believed they would enter blacksmithing or alchemy.

Liang Han had competed against another class in spiritual arrays and won fifty thousand immortal stones for Liu Wuxie.

"Mentor Tu, we were wrong. We shouldn't have gone up first!" Tu Zhengbao's assistant said dejectedly.

The moment they had taken the lead, they handed the opportunity to those behind them.

Tu Zhengbao could only clench his fists in silence. Words were useless now. Liu Wuxie had only seventeen students, and he couldn't be skilled in everything.

Jiang Hongran's side was equally filled with regret, so much so that their insides twisted with it.

A youth stepped out after receiving Nangong Shan's signal and said, "I want to challenge Mentor Ye's class." After all, the blacksmithing assessment had yet to end.

Many students could no longer bear to watch. "How despicable! Mentor Ye's side barely has any students left who can compete."

Nangong Shan was clearly trying to kick Ye Linghan's class while they were down. Although Nangong Shan's method was hardly honorable, it could still be considered a form of strategy.

"I'll fight!" Zhang Dashan could barely restrain himself. The other students had all earned resources for their mentor, while only he had been sitting there the entire time. He had not gotten an opportunity earlier because Diao Jiuzhi had rushed ahead of him. Now, he had to seize this chance no matter what.

"Zhang Dashan, aren't you a martial cultivator? Since when did you start learning blacksmithing?" the surrounding students asked, bewildered by his decision to step forward.

Facing the questions around him, Zhang Dashan merely smiled and said nothing more.

The student sent out by Nangong Shan was named Wu Ke, and his blacksmithing talent even surpassed Bian Ge's. Wu Ke's cold gaze stabbed toward Liu Wuxie, eager to claim a victory for his mentor.

In the past, Liu Wuxie's students had been the ones provoking the other mentors. Now, the situation had reversed. After all, no one was optimistic about Liu Wuxie in this battle.

"Mentor Nangong, what's your wager?" Liu Wuxie asked, looking at Nangong Shan while ignoring Wu Ke's gaze.

They still had a feud from the Myriad Artifact Pavilion, and today was the perfect chance to settle both old and new grudges.

"I have just refined a decent artifact, and I'll wager it against your alchemy technique," Nangong Shan said, taking out a longsword. The moment the sword appeared, a piercing sword aura shot into the sky.

Gasps echoed from the surroundings. "It's an artifact comparable to the Spirit Immortal Realm!" If someone took this sword to the market, it could easily be worth hundreds of thousands of immortal stones.

A trace of disappointment flashed across Liu Wuxie's face. Although a Spirit Immortal Realm artifact was an excellent item, it could not increase his cultivation. If he sold it, he could only exchange it for a large amount of immortal stones, which he no longer lacked.

"The conditions aren't equal, and I'll wager three hundred thousand immortal stones against you," Liu Wuxie said, rejecting Nangong Shan's condition.

"Very well," Nangong Shan replied.

With that, the battle officially began. Wu Ke and Zhang Dashan each chose a cauldron and began their preparations.

Like Diao Jiuzhi's round, the contestants already had the materials and molds, and everything was identical.

The outcome would depend solely on whose blacksmithing skill was superior.

When the battle began, Zhang Dashan's technique differed slightly from Diao Jiuzhi's, and he began forming seals to purify the materials.

Seeing that Zhang Dashan's method was different from Diao Jiuzhi's, both Nangong Shan and Wu Ke secretly sighed in relief. After all, everyone had witnessed Diao Jiuzhi's technique earlier.

Other blacksmithing mentors came to congratulate Nangong Shan and said, "Brother Nangong, it looks like you have a high chance of winning. Zhang Dashan's alchemy technique looks rather ordinary."

If they could win this match, they would finally be able to dampen Liu Wuxie's momentum.

"Don't be careless!" Nangong Shan said, putting on a worried expression while already rejoicing inwardly. After all, with so many people having lost, showing too much excitement would earn him their resentment.

"Mentor Zhong, do you think Liu Wuxie can win this round?" Zhang Dashan was clearly the one competing, but everyone saw this as a clash between Liu Wuxie and Nangong Shan.

"It's hard to say," Zhongsun Wen replied. He was not a grandmaster in blacksmithing, and Liu Wuxie did not seem to hold any advantage in this fight.

No one had been optimistic about Liu Wuxie from the very beginning. Yet, he had still carved out a bloody path and earned himself a fortune in the process.

"Artifact seals! Artifact seals again!"

The newly formed artifact seals suspended in mid-air immediately became the center of everyone's attention.

Nangong Shan staggered and nearly fell headfirst at the sight. Fear swiftly devoured the excitement in his heart.