1535 Fraud

A full year had passed since Tian Qiyuan began his God of Creation Ceremony, and he had crafted 10 Celestial-grade treasures within 10 attempts, meaning he hadn't failed once since he started.

More and more people became skeptical and doubted his legitimacy. Yet, no one could figure out his methods, and continued to watch in amazement as Tian Qiyuan showcased his unfathomable prowess.

'Fuck! How the hell is he doing this?! I refuse to believe that he's doing this without any tricks!' Fiery Heaven Blacksmith began biting his nails in frustration as he continued to analyze every movement Tian Qiyuan made to expose his tricks but to no avail.

He couldn't fathom how Tian Qiyuan was refining the materials so quickly and how he would successfully craft a Celestial-grade treasure every time.'

As Tian Qiyuan continued to defy all logic and common sense, the God of Creation Ceremony entered its third year. Tian Qiyuan kept his ridiculous pace by producing a Celestial- grade treasure nearly every month, reaching 22 Celestial- grade treasures by the end of the second year.

Of course, his 100 percent success rate remained, and he had 78 attempts left to defeat the current God of Creation's record of 40.

Tian Qiyuan's flawless performance left the God of Creation deeply perplexed. On one hand, he wanted to believe in Tian Qiyuan's talent; on the other hand, it was almost too extraordinary to accept, even though he couldn't find any fault in Tian Qiyuan's work.

However, it made absolutely zero sense for Tian Qiyuan to cheat before so many people and in such an obvious manner, no less. If one wanted to cheat, it shouldn't be so exaggerated and obvious.

Tian Qiyuan himself had an unshakable reputation throughout the years. While everybody was suspicious of his skills at first, he quickly proved himself to be the real deal, not to mention the competition he participated in for the Void Meteoroid Core.

'If his talents are truly real and not fabricated… this world might not be ready for someone like him…' God of Creation sighed inwardly.

After another two years, Tian Qiyuan approached the God of Creation's record of 40. Although his crafting speed had slowed down slightly, it was still outrageously fast.

Ding! Ding! Clang!

Tian Qiyuan successfully crafted his 40th treasure on his 40th attempt. Unless he failed to create a single treasure within the next 60 attempts, it was essentially certain that Tian Qiyuan would become the next God of Creation.

A month later, nobody was surprised when Tian Qiyuan created his 41st treasure.

"Good heavens… what in heaven's name is happening? Is this even real?"

"Even if he fails to create a single treasure with the rest of his attempts, he's already smashed the previous record with an unprecedented 41 treasures in a row."

"Do you think the God of Creation will accept this result? He might argue it's an unofficial ceremony."

"With so many witnesses, even heaven itself would not dare to deny Exalted Blacksmith's achievement because of some arbitrary rule made up by the Ancient Anvil Association."

"I kind of pity the God of Creation. He's only held on to that title for ten thousand years, which is probably the shortest time someone has sat in that position."

"Exalted Blacksmith still has to defeat the God of Creation in a one-on-one match to acquire his title officially, right? Nothing is guaranteed." Someone said.

"Are you blind? Even the God of Creation cannot craft more than 3 Celestial-grade treasures in a row, much less 41! I'd be surprised if he doesn't hand over his title without the match since the outcome is already obvious!"

"The God of Creation would lose more face if he were to participate in such an obvious match than just to hand over his title since that would show his denial."

"And I would not be surprised if it turns out the Exalted Blacksmith has been cheating this entire time. His talents are too good to be true."

"He's just way ahead of his time, that's all. Also, how can he cheat with so many expert blacksmiths around? There's no way he hasn't been exposed already if that were the case."

The audience continued to argue with each other regarding the legitimacy of Tian Qiyuan's ceremony.

Once Tian Qiyuan crafted his 50th treasure, his speed slowed down to a treasure every two months instead of one.

60… 70… 80…

Tian Qiyuan crafted his 80th Celestial-grade treasure in a row six years later. By now, the audience had grown numb and was no longer shocked. They only had one thing in their mind— whether Tian Qiyuan would become the first person in history to craft 100 Celestial-grade treasures in a row or not.

Tian Qiyuan's speed slowed down again after his 80th treasure. Instead of taking two to three months to craft a treasure, he needed five to seven months.

Ten years later, Tian Qiyuan used his final attempt to craft the 100th treasure.

The audience held their breaths as they prepared to witness history being made right in front of their very eyes.

As Tian Qiyuan formed the shape of the final treasure, nearly everybody in the upper heavens had their eyes on him.

"It's a sword! His final treasure is a sword!"

Ding! Clang! Ding!

Ding! Ding! Ding!

After spending an entire year on his final treasure, Tian Qiyuan successfully crafted his 100th treasure, becoming the first ever individual to perform a flawless God of Creation Ceremony.

The audience erupted with cheers, but there were also many who still doubted the legitimacy of his performance.

"Exalted Blacksmith, you fucking fraud! Do you really expect us to believe that you had crafted 100 Celestial-grade treasures in a row?!" Fiery Heaven Blacksmith was the loudest with the curses.

"If you're going to bullshit, at least make it believable! I cannot believe I wasted so much time watching this nonsense!"

"Fraud! Fraud! Fraud!"

Of course, the Ancient Anvil Association had planted some of its own people within the crowd to oppose Tian Qiyuan and discredit him.

"Where is the proof that he's a fraud?! Everyone saw his performance, but nobody could prove that he was cheating!"

"Right!? I didn't see anything suspicious, and I watched the entire ceremony without blinking!"

"Surely, you have something to say about this, God of Creation!" Fiery Heaven Blacksmith suddenly turned to look at him.

The audience temporarily became silent as they waited for the God of Creation's response.

God of Creation quietly sat in his seat with a pondering expression on his face. He'd watched the entire ceremony from beginning to end without missing a thing, yet he couldn't find anything that would expose Tian Qiyuan as a cheater. However, his own pride and experience couldn't accept the fact that Tian Qiyuan had such unfathomable capabilities.

After a long moment of silence, the God of Creation solemnly spoke as he stared at Tian Qiyuan's figure, "Although I did not see anything suspicious during the ceremony, nor can I prove that he'd cheated, common sense tells me that what he'd done is simply impossible. Exalted Blacksmith, you disappoint me. I thought you were someone of integrity and respected you, but to do something like this during the sacred God of Creation Ceremony, you've committed blasphemy."

"Y-you can't be serious!" Zi Xuan was the first to respond to God of Creation's verdict.

However, once the God of Creation gave his verdict, nobody dared to refute him, even if they believed in Tian Qiyuan.

Despite being called a fraud, Tian Qiyuan did not show any signs of anger and remained tranquil.

He responded a moment later, "Are you really that reluctant to hand over your title? I don't blame you, though, since you only got to enjoy it for a short ten thousand years. Don't worry. I don't care enough about the title to fight you for it, anyway. The only reason I performed this ceremony was for my own satisfaction."

"It would've been nice if I was recognized as the God of Creation, but whether I have such a title or not won't have any effect on my capabilities as a blacksmith. As a matter of fact, I do not need anyone's approval. I don't craft treasures to prove myself. I do it because I enjoy it, and it benefits me."

"To those of you who still believe in me and recognize me as the next God of Creation, thank you. Unfortunately, it appears that I am not destined to be the next God of Creation."

Tian Qiyuan waved his sleeves, collecting all 100 Celestial- grade treasures.

"Anyway, call me a fraud if you want. You may be able to deceive yourself and even the world, but as long you can't prove that I cheated, you won't be able to get rid of that doubt hidden deep within your soul, and you'll eventually be consumed by it."

After saying such words, Tian Qiyuan vanished into thin air before everyone's eyes like a ghost, leaving the entire world speechless.

Shortly after Tian Qiyuan's disappearance, the Ancient Anvil Association showed up at the Grand Elder Summit to further smear Tian Qiyuan's image.

"As you have all witnessed, Exalted Blacksmith is a fraud that cannot be trusted. Not only did he slander our association with false claims, but he even dared to commit blasphemy during the God of Creation Ceremony." Yao Tao said.

"Our Ancient Anvil Association has known about this for a long time now, hence why we refused to recognize him as an official blacksmith! We haven't said anything until now because we need solid proof to expose him! I shall repeat this once again—Exalted Blacksmith is a fraud!"

"Yeah! He's a fraud!"

"I cannot believe I had spent so much money purchasing his weapons before!"

"Fuck! I also commissioned him for a weapon! I'll destroy that thing once I get home!"

After the ceremony, the Ancient Anvil Association, supported by the God of Creation, spread the news of Tian Qiyuan being a fraud throughout the Nine Heavens, sending shockwaves through the realms and leaving all of his fans in disbelief.