1527 Half the Materials

As Eternal Blacksmith and Heaven and Earth Blacksmith neared the completion of their Mystic-grade treasure several weeks later, Tian Qiyuan opened his eyes and emerged from his meditation once again.

He quickly gathered the materials and started creating his Mystic-grade treasure. Once he refined the materials and began forming its shape, it was clear that he intended to create a sword.

'He's doing the sword now? I figured that he would save that for his Empyrean-grade treasure since that's what he's most familiar with…' Zi Xuan was surprised by Tian Qiyuan's choice.

If one looked at all of the treasures Tian Qiyuan had created up to this point, none of them were the same type of weapon. Meanwhile, Eternal Blacksmith and Heaven and Earth Blacksmith only crafted what they were famous for. Even without Tian Qiyuan winning, many blacksmiths would agree that Tian Qiyuan was the better blacksmith of the three in terms of skills due to his ability to craft excellent quality weapons of all types equally.

"How long do you think it'll take him this time?"

"Probably two hours."

"No way."

"I'll sell my left nut if he does it within 2 hours."

"Why the left nut, specifically?"

"Maybe because he already sold his right nut?"

The audience cracked jokes with each other. However, most, if not all, of the blacksmiths there remained focused on the competition, not daring to miss any moment of it. To witness a Divine Blacksmith at work was a rare moment, much less three of the best in the Nine Heavens simultaneously.

Additionally, merely by watching these Divine Blacksmiths at work, their own understanding of smithing deepened.

A few hours passed, but Tian Qiyuan had not yet finished his treasure, allowing the other blacksmiths to sigh in relief. Had he completed a Mystic-grade treasure in such a short time, it would have undoubtedly ended many blacksmiths' careers that day.

Heaven and Earth and Eternal Blacksmith finished their Mystic-grade treasures two days later.

With just one treasure remaining to craft, they didn't immediately start working on their final treasure and returned to meditating first.

Even with their experience and skills, they had about a 60 to 70 percent chance of success when it comes to Empyrean-

grade, and any mishap would instantly destroy their chances of success.

Tian Qiyuan finished his Mystic-grade treasure three days later and placed the sword on display.

Zi Xuan had an urge to take the sword for herself when she saw it, but she managed to hold herself back.

"He's probably going to spend the next week meditating again." The audience speculated when Tian Qiyuan was done.

However, to their shock, Tian Qiyuan did not meditate and even grabbed more materials.

"He's going to attempt crafting the Empyrean-grade without any preparations?! Even the other two decided to meditate first!"

"Why is he rushing to create the treasure when he took his sweet time before this? What's going on inside his head?"

"He only became a Divine Blacksmith not long ago, right? His success rate must be pretty low right now, so one would expect him to take his time, but this is…reckless?"

"Even Eternal Blacksmith, renowned for his high success rate, only had around thirty percent success rate when he first became a Divine Blacksmith."

"Maybe he's trying to show off?"

"Hasn't he already shown off enough? He doesn't need to prove himself anymore."

As the audience spoke about Tian Qiyuan's decision, the person himself finished picking out his materials, which left everyone puzzled.

"Huh? He's leaving behind so many materials even though this is the last treasure he needs to craft."

Everyone there expected Tian Qiyuan to use all of the remaining material for the final treasure, but he only took half of it. This puzzled everyone, including the expert blacksmiths.

However, Tian Qiyuan didn't bother explaining his actions and immediately went to work.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

His hammer danced back and forth in a rhythmic manner, causing sparks to fly in every direction with every strike.

A few days later, Eternal Blacksmith emerged from his meditation, and he was surprised to see Tian Qiyuan had already started crafting his final treasure.

'What the hell? He's managed to get ahead of us? Did he go straight into it without preparations?' Eternal Blacksmith quickly came to this conclusion after seeing Tian Qiyuan's progress.

He looked at the small pile of materials and became even more confused.

'Is he even trying to win? There's no way he can craft a high-

quality Empyrean-grade treasure with the amount of materials he used.'

Eternal Blacksmith stopped looking at Tian Qiyuan and focused on his own creation. Naturally, he used all of the materials he had left.

Heaven and Earth Blacksmith came out of his meditation a day and a half after Eternal Blacksmith. However, he panicked a little when he saw that he was last to begin working.

'I would understand it if it's Eternal Blacksmith, but Exalted Blacksmith, too?! He was several days behind us! How did he catch up so quickly?!'

Even though he noticed Tian Qiyuan's leftover materials, Heaven and Earth Blacksmith was in too much of a hurry to think twice about it. He quickly got to work shortly after.

"Finally, the conclusion of this competition is near its end. It should only take them around a month to complete their work."

"Who do you think will win?"

"Judging purely on the current results, I'd say Exalted Blacksmith has a really good chance of winning. Not only are his treasures of higher quality than the other two, but his collection is also very diverse. Meanwhile, the other two not only lost in quality but also in variety."

"While it's true that Exalted Blacksmith has the upper hand right now, things might change at the very end. I don't know why, but Exalted Blacksmith opted to use less material for his final creation, which is also the one that will grant him the most points."

"He might not even complete the final task because he rushed it."

"Who are you to claim that he rushed it? Exalted Blacksmith's comprehension is beyond any of our understanding!"

Time passed quickly, and the audience speculated on the results nonstop.

Two weeks had passed since Tian Qiyuan started working, and it looked like he was on the verge of completing his treasure.

"That shape… he's creating a dagger?" Zi Xuan muttered to herself as Tian Qiyuan molded the shape.

A few hours later, Tian Qiyuan completed his treasure. It turned out to be a medium-grade Empyrean-grade treasure.

He placed the dagger on the display, filling all six slots. However, instead of leaving the arena like everyone had expected, Tian Qiyuan returned to the anvil with the remaining materials.

"What the hell? He's not done?"

"What could he craft with so little materials?"

"The materials are quite high in quality, so it'd be really wasteful to create low-grade treasures with them. However, there's not enough to create another high-grade treasure, either. In the end, his treasures came out as medium-grade because he didn't use them. If he did, it would've come out high-quality, perhaps even peak-quality." One of the blacksmiths there explained.

"I guess we can only wait and see what he cooks up with it."

In the blink of an eye, another week passed.

Both Eternal Blacksmith and Heaven and Earth Blacksmith were on the verge of completing their weapon.

"Hey… the fact it's taking Exalted Blacksmith this long to craft the treasure… don't tell me it's another Empyrean-grade treasure?" Someone suddenly speculated.

"Huh? From that small pile of treasures? No way! There's not enough materials!"

"I swear on my soul I will sell my left nut if he crafts another Empyrean-grade treasure!" One of the blacksmiths there declared.

The audience waited in anticipation as Tian Qiyuan neared the process of forming the treasure's shape.

"It's another dagger! He's making another dagger!"

After another three days, Tian Qiyuan finished his eighth treasure.

The aura it emitted was not inferior to his previous creation, and when the audience realized he had crafted two Empyrean-grade treasures, it sent them into a frenzy.

"Heavens! Exalted Blacksmith actually crafted two Empyrean-

grade treasures!"

"Fuck me, he actually did it! And it's medium-quality! I heard someone swear on their soul that they'll sell their left nut if it was achieved! Is he actually going to do it?!"

The person who made said declaration looked devastated after seeing the results. His face was as pale as sheets, and he looked like he was standing before his own grave.

He could feel many gazes on him, which only worsened his anxiety. He'd made such a bold declaration because he was certain that it wasn't possible. Unfortunately, Tian Qiyuan had made the impossible possible.

The man wanted to go back on his words, and even if it were a half-assed oath, he'd swore on his soul that he would do it. If he fails to fulfill his oath, his soul may be shattered by heavenly tribulation.

While the man lamented his situation, Tian Qiyuan placed the second Empyrean-grade dagger on the same display as the first. As the two daggers touched, they emitted a harmonic aura, as if they were destined to be a pair.

"..."

Eternal Blacksmith and Heaven and Earth Blacksmith suddenly halted their hammers for the first time since they started working.

Although the chaotic audience didn't disturb them, the aura radiating from the daggers was so profound that it momentarily blanked their minds upon sensing it. Once their hammers stopped and their momentum killed, their chances of finishing the treasure dropped significantly, to the point where it was almost guaranteed to fail.

However, neither of them were angry. They knew that even if they completed their treasure, it would not be enough to defeat Tian Qiyuan, who crafted two Empyrean-grade treasures.