1525 Uncle Chen's Weapon Store

Heaven and Earth Blacksmith stepped forward and began introducing himself once Eternal Blacksmith ended his introduction.

Not wanting to fall behind Eternal Blacksmith, Heaven and Earth Blacksmith also talked about his personal achievements that were never made public. He also spoke of his childhood, where he trained to become the blacksmith he is today and many more. In the end, his introduction lasted three full hours.

Tian Qiyuan nearly fell asleep by the end. Once it was his turn, he stepped forward and cleared his throat before speaking, "My name is Tian Qiyuan, and I was born within the Sixth Heaven. The first thing I did when I became a proper cultivator was find a weapon. I purchased my first weapon from Uncle Chen's Weapon Store, which was just down the block. Uncle Chen's Weapon store was quite popular in my city, and they boasted of having near-indestructible weapons."

"With Uncle Chen's weapon in my grasp, I felt safe, as if no harm could come to me as long as I had it. Unfortunately, Uncle Chen's weapon broke on my very first experience with it, and I nearly died in the process. I was devastated—to the point where I vowed to become a blacksmith who can create truly indestructible weapons."

"I don't know who this Uncle Chen is, but I'm glad he made trash. If it weren't for him, the Exalted Blacksmith might not exist today…" Zi Xuan muttered to herself after learning this information.

Tian Qiyuan continued, "I started my journey as a blacksmith a few years later, but with no guidance or knowledge of smithing, I decided to join a sect. I approached the Fiery Hill of Fire Mountain in hopes of becoming their disciple, but alas, they deemed me unworthy and didn't even let me participate in their entrance exam."

"Fiery Hill of Fire Mountain?"

Upon hearing this familiar name, many people there suddenly turned to look at a certain individual in the audience.

This individual wore an expression on his face that made it seem like he'd swallowed a live fly. He was the current Sect Master of the Fiery Hill of Fire Mountain, a very reputable sect that produced many genius blacksmiths throughout the years.

Sensing countless unfriendly and disappointed gazes directed at him, the Sect Master of the Fiery Hill of Fire Mountain hastily stood up and said, "I-I had no idea about this! I will find the blind bastard who turned you away and skin him alive, even if it's the last I do!"

Tian Qiyuan turned to look at the Sect Master and smiled, "Don't worry about it. It happened thousands of years ago. I was just a nobody back then, after all."

"Huh?"

Many in the audience suddenly raised an eyebrow, as if they had collectively realized something.

This included Eternal Blacksmith and Heaven and Earth Blacksmith.

"H-hey… Exalted Blacksmith… how old are you, exactly?" The Heaven and Earth Blacksmith was the first to voice the question that had been on everyone's mind for a while now.

"Hm? I stopped counting long ago, but I should be around 11 thousand years old," Tian Qiyuan casually responded.

"ONLY ELEVEN THOUSAND YEARS OLD?!?!"

Both Eternal Blacksmith and Heaven and Earth Blacksmith exclaimed out loud, their voice in sync with each other.

"Heavens…" Zi Xuan covered her mouth in a shocked manner.

"You're lying! There's no way you're only 11,000 years old!" Eternal Blacksmith pointed at him and shouted, rejecting his claims.

"You're telling us to believe that you'd managed to reach the peak of God Ascension Realm and become a Divine Blacksmith in 11,000 years?! Are you mocking us right now?"

Tian Qiyuan shrugged in response, "Whether you believe me or not is none of my business."

"Anyway, we're getting off track. After being rejected by the Fiery Hill of Fire Mountain, I tried several more sects only to be refused by them."

Tian Qiyuan quickly brushed off the matter of his age and continued his story while ignoring the audience's stare.

"In the end, I decided to study alone. I purchased a book that taught the basics and started my journey to become a blacksmith from there."

"N-now you're claiming to have self-taught yourself…? That kind of fucking bullshit is this…?" Eternal Blacksmith almost lost all of his respect for Tian Qiyuan after his seemingly bogus claims.

Heaven and Earth Blacksmith was in a similar position. He was so enraged that his face became red, and his entire body was trembling. If there weren't so many people around them, he would've already started throwing fists at Tian Qiyuan.

Noticing the heavy atmosphere around him, Tian Qiyuan ended his introduction and said, "Well, that's about it. Let's get the competition started, shall we?"

"..."

Although Tian Qiyuan's introduction lasted only several minutes, its impact on the audience was greater than that of Eternal Blacksmith and Heaven and Earth Blacksmith combined.

'He must've done that on purpose so he could mess with our heads, which will affect our performance during the competition! What a crafty son of a bitch!' Eternal Blacksmith suddenly had a revelation, which helped him calm down almost immediately.

Heaven and Earth Blacksmith took a little longer to realize this, but he started laughing once he did.

"Hahaha! Fuck! You almost got me there, Exalted Blacksmith! You're much more cunning than I'd thought!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Tian Qiyuan questioned with a genuinely puzzled face.

"Still trying to deny it? Alright, let's have it your way."

When the audience witnessed their conversation, they quickly came to the same conclusion as Eternal Blacksmith and Heaven and Earth Blacksmith.

"Oh, so the Exalted Blacksmith was only trying to mess with their minds to have an upper hand during the competition? I thought he was being serious at first. Now that I think about it, it was silly of me to believe him even for a second."

Tian Qiyuan eventually understood their misunderstanding, but he had no reason to correct them, so he remained silent.

Sometime later, the three Divine Blacksmiths approached their anvil, starting the competition shortly after.