Over The World, Beyond Heaven

Booooooom!!!

Hah!?

Ooh!!!

Suddenly, a loud explosion sounded in the Lin Clan's furnace area. It was as if the furnace had exploded because it could not withstand the rising heat. However, the furnace that should have exploded was still intact and in the same condition.

"What happened just now?!"

"The sound of the explosion just now wasn't because Lin Clan's furnace exploded!?"

"That's right! I think so. But Lin Clan's furnace is still there. So, what happened!?"

Everyone was very curious about what had happened. They wanted someone to explain the cause of the explosion just now. But no one received any answer. Because even the nearby judges did not know what was going on.

Booooooom!!!

Booooooom!!!

But while everyone was silent and trying to find an answer, the explosion sounded two more times. At that moment, everyone who was staring at Lin Clan's furnace saw with their own two eyes the cause of the explosion. The moment the forger raised the flames, the ore particles rose and swirled in the furnace for a moment before exploding a mesmerizing reddish-golden sparkling glow.

Oh, how beautiful!

"It's a sparkling gold mixed with red that's so nice to look at!"

"That ore looks bright and has a lot of aura. It looks really good as if it's a very rare ore!"

"If that ore was forged into a sword…, it must look so good!"

The scolding began to change to admiration in the blink of an eye. Everyone who saw the ore obtained by smelting in a different method began to have various ideas. Some people thought that if they could forge that ore into their own style of weapon, it would be very beautiful and elegant. Even the four City Governors thought so.

At Xie Clan's seating area...

So crazy!

"Why can it be like that? Their furnace should explode and cause Lin Clan to lose face, shouldn't it? So why are they being praised like this?! And what kind of ore smelting method is that?" Xie Clan Leader immediately became enraged. He was relieved to see Lin Clan had been cursed and was about to end its future. But suddenly everything changed completely.

"Although the new smelting method makes the ore texture look better, I think it's just its appearance. Maybe its quality is lower than the original. This contest is not based on good looks but on the quality of the weapons!" One of the clan elders spoke up to console the clan leader. He did not believe that this unusual smelting method would improve the ore's quality. It might even make its quality deteriorate.

Umm!

"It's true what you said. They just make it look more interesting. But in the end, they'll lose anyway if the quality of their work is bad!" Xie Clan Leader's mood improved slightly. He returned to his usual wide smile and confidence.

The Du Clan people's expressions were not much different from those of the Xie Clan. But Du Clan Leader had deeper thoughts. He was able to adjust his mood on his own and also thought that the results from that unusual ore smelting would not be good.

As for the Hong Clan, they were not too surprised. Many of them already know about Lin Clan's new ore smelting method. They also knew that such ore smelting was more effective than the old smelting that they had been using for a long time. But because they had little time to practice and understand, they did not dare to use that method in the contest. They were not like those of the Lin Clan, who practiced it until they had become quite proficient.

Booooooom!!!

Winkkkkk!!!

Finished!

Lin Clan's forger finally finished ore smelting. His ore had turned into a beautiful reddish-gold lava. From the outside, the lava appeared soft and likely to break easily. But when he poured it, it looked very thick and flexible.

Wow!!!

Cleng! Cleng! Cleng!

But before he could take a break, Lin Clan's forger immediately began to slam his hammer down on the ore to mold it. Usually, they had to pour it into the mold first. Then slowly molded it into shape. But Lin Clan's forger molded it himself without a mold at all.

"What is he doing?! Wouldn't doing that cause the weapon to deform?"

"Exactly! I have heard that not using a mold when hammering will cause the weapon to crack. Lin Clan's forger did that, wouldn't his work come out distorted?"

"Hey! Aren't you guys tired of judging others so quickly? You all thought like this just now, so what happened in the end? The unusual ore smelting made the smelted ore look better than expected. So, I think doing this will be a new method that Lin Clan came up with as well!"

Umm!

Hearing that man's words, many people's negative thoughts disappeared. They began to realize that they could no longer jump to conclusions like they used to. They should wait to see the exact results before knowing whether they should scold or praise.

Cleng! Cleng! Cleng!

Every stroke of Lin Clan's forger's hammer gave forceful and very good feelings to the soul. It was as if it were music playing from a musical instrument. And the more they listened, the better they would feel. Some people could even increase their energy level.

"What happened!? Why do I feel this good?!"

"You just feel good. But I feel so good. Because I just broke through a level that had been bottlenecked for a long time just by listening to the sound of the hammer pounding and adjusting my breathing in and out!"

"Me too! So incredible! Just the sound of a hammer striking can increase our energy level. Ahh... This shows that Lin Clan's people..."

One man's last sentence caused some thoughts to pop up in people's minds at the same time. Even though those ideas were not exactly the same, they were similar. They all believed that everyone in the Lin Clan must have been influenced by this forging practice as well.

"If I could become a member of the Lin Clan, it would be great. As long as I listen to this kind of hammer pounding every day, my energy level will definitely increase!"

That's right!

It's true!

At that time, the Lin Clan's reputation had been greatly rehabilitated. No matter what the results of the contest were, even if the forged weapons were not good or Lin Clan lost, everyone had returned to respecting Lin Clan as before because it was better to receive advice or help to increase their energy level than to acquire a weapon that might be inferior in the face of a better weapon.

Two hours passed...

Cleng!

Bang!!!

Winkkkkk!!!

Finally, the first round of competition was completed. The first person to complete weapon forging was a forger from the Lin Clan. Although self-forging normally took more time, because their ore was highly flexible and durable, the forger could strike the hammer harder, allowing him to forge the weapon faster.

Xie Clan's forging is complete!

Du Clan is finished!

Hong Clan is finished!

And soon after, the other three clans also finished. But the expressions on the forgers of the Xie Clan and the Du Clan looked very gloomy. The works of both of them were less efficient than they should have been. Because they were distracted by observing Lin Clan forger's strange methods and were not focused on their own work.

Hong Clan's forger, on the other hand, already knew that strange method, so he did not waste much time looking and paying attention to his work as usual. As a result, his forged weapon was one level higher than those of the Xie Clan and the Du Clan.

Soon after the judges examined the four clans' works, the results were announced.

"The winner of the first round is Lin Clan. Because their forged weapon is classified as a Preliminary Heavenly Weapon. The second place belongs to the Hong Clan. Their weapon is classified as an Intermediate Immortal Weapon. And the third place belongs to the Xie Clan together with the Hong Clan. Because the weapons that both clans forged are of the same level. They are classified as Low-Level Immortal Weapons, which is an ordinary level. And there is no fourth place in this round of the contest."

Hah!!!

Does Lin Clan win?!

"Lin Clan win!? How is that possible?!"

"Somebody, please slap me in the face. Am I dreaming?! Oh, my bet!"

"Oh, my! I bet a lot on the Xie Clan. Why did he forge such terrible work?!"

"I bet on Du Clan a lot. And that's all my savings! You crazy bastard!"

"Yay! I bet on Lin Clan! I won!"

As soon as the results of the first round were announced, the voices of the surrounding people continued to grow louder. But they did not mention the contest at all. Each of them was only interested in the money they bet on their chosen clan. As usual, results had not yet been released for the first and second rounds. Because in the past, every clan had performed equally in both rounds. Therefore, the actual outcome of bets often depended on the final round.

But this time, Lin Clan did something that no one expected and won in the first round. The people who had bet heavily on the other clans from the beginning suffered heavy losses. At the same time, many people earned money from betting on the Lin Clan. And the happiest one was Zheng-Fu. Because he bet ten million Eternal Coins while the odds were one-to-three. Thus, he would receive the winning bet plus his stake, totaling forty million Eternal Coins.

At the betting table...

"I have come to claim my winnings!"

When the results came out, Zheng-Fu immediately walked over to receive his money. But when he arrived, the dealer and his subordinates at the betting table were about to take their things and flee.

"You… you… you can't get the money right now. Because the contest isn't over yet. Traditionally, one must wait for three rounds to complete. Now, it's just..."

"Huh!? Are you planning to cheat me?!" Zheng-Fu frowned tightly in dissatisfaction. He stared at the dealer with a ferocious glint in his eyes.

I... I...

The dealer was speechless under Zheng-Fu's terrifying gaze. He was ordered to quickly clear up the betting tables because the amount of money they had to pay out to the people who bet on Lin Clan was over a hundred million Eternal Coins, which was considered an extremely high amount.

Whoosh!

Booooooom!!!

But suddenly, a long spear charged at Zheng-Fu at high speed, without letting him realize it. But Zheng-Fu could dodge. The spear instead struck the ground next to him before someone's voice sounded, sneering and insulting.

"Did you not hear what he said, Kid? He said that you must wait for the contest to end first. Or do you want to cause trouble here!?"

Tha… that's… Tiger Sword City Governor!!?