Chapter Ten: Two Items

The Hundred Thousand Artificers stared at Qu Yi, the surprise on their faces still evident as they once again let out sounds of astonishment.
Ah…
The cries of amazement were overwhelming. Qu Yi had managed to create an artifact core in just one year, and now he was quickly forming arrays—something that left all the long-time artificers in disbelief.
Especially the Hundred Thousand Artificers were shocked to see that the energy used by Qu Yi to form the arrays wasn’t one of the five elemental energies—metal, wood, water, fire, or earth—but rather an entirely unknown form of energy.
Could there really be other energies in the world besides the five elements?
This was something the Hundred Thousand Artificers couldn’t comprehend, as, in their understanding, the universe was composed solely of these five elemental energies. Where else could there be other forms of energy?
Yet the chaotic energy Qu Yi was using now was not of the kind these artificers were familiar with.
“This Qu Yi is truly full of mystery,” the Hundred Thousand Artificers thought simultaneously.
Naturally, many artificers were now worried about Tan Changhuo. Since Qu Yi had agreed to a competition in artificing, he must possess powerful skills hidden away. From what they had seen, Qu Yi’s ability to create artifact cores already surpassed that of all other artificers. And now, by using a special energy to form arrays for the artifact cores, his skills seemed even more formidable.
“The Sky Cauldron Palace might suffer a defeat this time,” some artificers who competed with the Sky Cauldron Palace felt a sense of schadenfreude.
The thousand artificers from the Sky Cauldron Palace sitting in the audience grew anxious after witnessing Qu Yi’s techniques. Their worried expressions showed they were also deeply concerned for Tan Changhuo.
“Hmph, is it that easy to form an array? Usually, it takes nearly ten thousand years for an artificer to succeed in forming an array. How could Qu Yi succeed in just the remaining nine years?” the artificers of the Sky Cauldron Palace tried to reassure themselves.
Yet reality was cruel.
Qu Yi was focused on forming an array for the artifact core. Based on his past capabilities, he could have done it instantly. But at that moment, he had another consideration: if he showed everyone how to form an array in an instant, his fate would immediately attract the attention of the Divine King of the Fire Separation Divine Realm.
Therefore, Qu Yi decided to pretend first and wait two or three years before actually succeeding in forming the array.

One hundred thousand alchemists watched Qu Yi’s process of forming the array and noticed that he remained just as skilled, as if he already had a thorough understanding of array formation—his intentions directly controlling the array’s movements. Naturally, faced with such an exquisite array-forming process, every one of the one hundred thousand alchemists held their breath, paying close attention to Qu Yi’s every move while also memorizing his techniques in order to use them themselves in the future. However, without Chaos Energy, it was impossible for these alchemists to learn Qu Yi’s array-forming methods.

※※※

Huangfu Ting, the president of the Fire Treasure Town Alchemy Guild, rarely met strangers and was always devoted to studying the art of alchemy. He left most of the guild’s affairs to several vice presidents, only stopping his research to take charge when something extremely important arose. That day, while calculating an array at his residence, his identity card vibrated. A hint of annoyance appeared on Huangfu Ting’s face as he roared, “What now? Why do they have to disturb me while I’m working on the Huayun Jidian Array? It’s infuriating!” Yet, despite his anger, he quickly pulled out his card and scanned the message that had just arrived.

Ah!

Huangfu Ting’s expression changed to one of surprise. He remained calm for a few moments before suddenly breaking into a triumphant smile. “I never expected that in our Fire Treasure Town, there’s someone at the level of an alchemy master. Very good. I’ll go check out the competition arena.” Huangfu Ting, who appeared middle-aged, smiled like a young man at that moment. In an instant, he disappeared from his residence and reappeared at the entrance of the ‘Who Can Win’ competition arena.

“Ah… President!” The team responsible for maintaining order at the entrance trembled upon seeing Huangfu Ting appear and called out anxiously. “Thank you for your hard work,” Huangfu Ting replied with a smile before striding into the arena and heading to the reserved seats for the guild members. There were only ten seats in this area, designated exclusively for guild members, allowing them easy access to the two competition platforms in the center. At that time, only three people were seated there. One of them had a round face, sharp eyebrows, and a distinguished presence; he greeted Huangfu Ting with a warm smile. This man was one of the vice presidents of the alchemy guild, Huang Yunle—the one who had just informed Huangfu Ting about Qu Yi. “President!” Huang Yunle and the other two calmly called out as they saw Huangfu Ting approach.

Although the sound was soft, the alchemists in this competition arena could use their mental senses to cover the entire area, so naturally all of them noticed Huangfu Ting’s presence. “Huangfu Ting has arrived!” The hundred thousand alchemists immediately focused their attention on him, filled with surprise and speculation. Of course, with their wisdom, they quickly understood that Qu Yi’s outstanding performance had caught the attention of the Alchemy Guild, and it seemed Qu Yi would receive Huangfu Ting’s favor. Huangfu Ting simply nodded slightly as a greeting to all the alchemists, then sat down with a smile, quietly observing Qu Yi on the competition stage to study his alchemical techniques up close. “President Huang, can you tell what attribute the energy in Qu Yi’s hands belongs to?” After observing for a while, Huangfu Ting was utterly astonished—even at his Divine General level, he had never seen chaotic energy nor used such a method to form arrays. Huang Yunle immediately shook his head. “This is truly remarkable. Let’s wait until the competition is over before meeting this Qu Yi,” Huangfu Ting said with a smile. Then, the four members of the Alchemy Guild sat quietly. ※※※ Ninety-four years had passed since the alchemy competition began. On the stage where Tan Changhuo was, he suddenly exclaimed loudly. “Haha, you brat Qu Yi, I’ve succeeded in crafting it!” With his shout, Tan Changhuo immediately took out a pool containing Gui Xi Yuan Water, used for tempering. His Flying Fire Sword had finally been created. After tempering, Tan Changhuo held up the sword and looked proudly at the audience, hoping to earn the envious gazes of the hundred thousand alchemists. But as he scanned the crowd, he was shocked to find that none of the alchemists were paying attention to him. “What’s going on?” Tan Changhuo was panicked and immediately turned to look at the stage where Qu Yi was. At that moment, Qu Yi had also successfully formed an array and even skipped the tempering process, immediately wielding his Flying Fire Sword to summon flames from the Land of Flames. “Ah… This can’t be true! How could Qu Yi create a divine artifact at the same time as me?” Panic flashed in Tan Changhuo’s eyes. He knew that Qu Yi had been sleeping the whole time, meaning Qu Yi must have spent less time crafting the artifact than he had, which filled Tan Changhuo with extreme anxiety.

“Well, it’s not that bad. Qu Yi only created one divine artifact, and I also created one. It’s a tie, so our Xiaoding Hall doesn’t need to give its shop to the Fangqi Pavilion.” Tan Changhuo quickly calmed himself down and comforted himself.
However, when his gaze shifted to the area where the thousand blacksmiths of Xiaoding Hall were located, he saw that they all looked as if they had lost a loved one, which immediately puzzled him.
“Why are these guys so disappointed? Both Qu Yi and I only created one divine artifact each. According to the rules of the competition, it’s a tie, and Xiaoding Hall doesn’t have to lose its shop. What’s there to be disappointed about?” Tan Changhuo’s expression darkened as he began to blame those thousand blacksmiths.
At that moment, Tan Changhuo still didn’t know that Qu Yi had only taken four years to create that divine artifact.
After waving his Flying Fire Sword on the competition stage, Qu Yi also turned to look at Tan Changhuo, bowed his hand, and smiled happily.
“Admitting defeat? I haven’t admitted defeat at all. Your blacksmithing speed is faster than mine. I may have lost this time, but next time, Xiaoding Hall will definitely show you what we’re made of.” Tan Changhuo retorted angrily at Qu Yi’s gesture.
To Tan Changhuo’s great surprise, after bowing, Qu Yi immediately started crafting another divine artifact.
In an instant, Tan Changhuo understood the panicked expressions of Xiaoding Hall’s thousand blacksmiths. All the watching blacksmiths had their eyes fixed on Qu Yi. Qu Yi had deliberately bowed to him—turns out it had only taken him four years to create that Flying Fire Sword.
Everything became clear to Tan Changhuo. His face turned pale as he stared in shock at Qu Yi on the competition stage beside him.
At that moment, Tan Changhuo even thought about killing himself with the Flying Fire Sword he had just created.
“It’s so humiliating! I not only lost the blacksmithing competition but also lost a shop for Xiaoding Hall. Now I’m completely disgraced and can never hold my head up again.” Tan Changhuo was filled with remorse and self-blame.
A renowned blacksmith master losing to an unknown person—what a huge loss of face.
Meanwhile, the hundred thousand blacksmiths watching the competition paid no attention to Tan Changhuo’s self-pity. Their eyes remained fixed on Qu Yi, eager to witness once again the miracle of him creating a divine artifact in just four years.
Of course, Qu Yi didn’t disappoint them. Once again, in just four years, he effortlessly created another Flying Fire Sword.
Ninety-eight years had passed since the start of the blacksmithing competition.

After Qu Yi successfully crafted another divine artifact, he immediately put away the Tripartite Cauldron and the object-bearing platform, took hold of the two Flying Fire Swords, and smiled as he watched Tan Changhuo on the other competition platform.
Tan Changhuo’s face had turned as dark as night. These four years had been the most difficult of his life—being laughed at by hundreds of thousands of spectators, filled with self-reproach and frustration.
With two years left in the artifact-making competition, it was naturally just a waste of time.
“President Huangfu, please announce the end of the competition soon. We shouldn’t keep everyone waiting any longer,” countless artifact makers in the audience began to shout.