"What? You caused the trouble yourself, but don't dare to solve it yourself, so you call in your elders to handle it?" Su Ming said lightly.
He wasn't flustered at all. Looking at Ye Xinglan, a trace of mockery flashed in his eyes.
Pick a fight with a Spirit Ancestor from Shrek?
Unnecessary.
Settle scores with the one you have a grievance with.
He didn't want to fight a Spirit Ancestor for no reason.
Since the conflict was with Ye Xinglan, he would just keep targeting Ye Xinglan.
"It seems you're not convinced," Ye Xinglan said.
"Dare to spar with me a bit?" Su Ming said. "I'm also ten years old."
At this, the leading boy of the Shrek representative team showed an interested expression.
This boy had quite the nerve, daring to challenge a Shrek student of the same age.
Ye Xinglan was a student of Shrek's Inner Court. Her talent was absolutely top-tier, not something just anyone could compare to.
"Fine, you said it." Ye Xinglan sneered and accepted Su Ming's challenge.
Su Ming raised an eyebrow.
Quite confident, young lady.
Time to teach you that there's always someone better.
His gaze swept over the chubby Xu Lizhi. "You're ten too, right? Remember to go on stage with her later. I'm participating in the three-person team battles."
It wasn't worth specifically signing up for an individual match just to fight Ye Xinglan.
After speaking, Su Ming turned and left directly.
Blacksmith Grand Competition.
Su Ming had just arrived at the competition venue when he saw Tang Wulin waving at him.
"That... Senior Brother, sorry for causing you trouble."
"No need to apologize. I said it, just consider it stepping in shit," Su Ming said.
"Uh..."
Tang Wulin didn't know how to respond to that.
Su Ming kept saying "shit," making it hard for him to continue.
"Competitors, please proceed to your respective areas to prepare for the competition."
The process of the Blacksmith Grand Competition was simple: elimination round by round. Since it didn't require head-to-head matches like the Spirit Master competition, where multiple matches in one round only eliminate half, it would be very fast.
As far as Su Ming knew, this competition had three rounds.
First round: Hundred Refinements.
Second round: Choose a metal to forge yourself.
Third round: Complete the forging of a metal specified by the organizers.
Each round would be scored by a professional panel of judges. The panel consisted of five people, all Level Five or higher blacksmiths.
The final ranking would be based on the sum of the scores from the three rounds.
As the competition process explanation ended, the competition officially began.
Su Ming looked at the Heavy Silver on the forging table in front of him. Without hesitation, he heated it until it was red-hot, took out his forging hammer, and pounded on it like a storm for two and a half minutes.
He put away his forging hammer.
Turned around. Left.
This scene drew the attention of many competitors, and even the judges were surprised by Su Ming's actions.
Seeing the metal Su Ming left behind, one judge couldn't sit still anymore and personally came to Su Ming's forging table.
Upon close inspection, he confirmed his feeling: this metal already had spirituality contained within, and it was very full. It only needed one more strike, from any angle, to guide out this spirituality, achieving Thousand Refinements!
Without a doubt, the competition requirement was Hundred Refinements. Su Ming couldn't exceed that, but he used his skill to prove his strength, telling all the judges his level.
This first round, Su Ming received an undisputed perfect score.
Tang Wulin felt immense pressure. He didn't hide his strength and went all out.
Luxury Box at the top of the stadium.
The Shrek representative team gathered in this spacious box.
"You had a conflict with the Tianhai Team?" Shen Yi looked at Ye Xinglan and questioned her.
The reason the Shrek representative team attended the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition and won with a crushing posture across age groups against the Tianhai Team was to establish Shrek's powerful image for easier recruitment later.
Not long after the match ended, she heard discordant voices, some saying the Shrek team was purely seeking revenge.
Strength was strength; if they could crush them, they chose to crush them.
However, the reason public opinion was annoying was that they always seized upon the most nauseating point and exaggerated it greatly.
For example, Shen Yi heard some people say the Shrek representative team showed no mercy. The Tianhai Alliance paid a price to invite them for an exhibition match, a warm-up, not for them to come and slap faces. Taking money and not doing the job, even kicking the bowl.
"It was that person who was disrespectful first," Ye Xinglan said. "He spoke ill of our Shrek first."
Shen Yi raised an eyebrow.
Xu Lizhi also hurriedly spoke up, "Teacher Shen Yi, Sister Xinglan got into a conflict because of me this time. I'm willing to accept punishment."
"I heard you even challenged someone to a match?" Shen Yi asked.
"Yes."
"Then defeat him. Show them that Shrek's dignity cannot be challenged."
Su Ming returned to the Spirit Master competition venue and found the Tianhai Team's preparation area.
"So fast?"
Long Xin was surprised by Su Ming's forging speed.
"It's fine, it was just Hundred Refinements. Very easy," Su Ming said.
A single strike from him could stack three seconds. After perfect utilization, the efficiency would be astonishing, equivalent to replicating the power of one strike infinitely.
"How was the draw result?"
"An ordinary academy, but they changed their competitors."
Su Ming showed a surprised expression.
He took the tablet from Long Xin, saw the opponent's information, and raised an eyebrow.
"Quite efficient."
On the tablet were the avatars of Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi.
They arranged it so quickly and even ended up against Su Ming's Tianhai Team in the first round.
The influence of Shrek Academy was really substantial.
Su Ming returned the tablet to Long Xin.
"So? Feeling the pressure?"
"Captain, don't go on stage later," Su Ming said.
Long Xin was stunned.
He looked at Su Ming with a hint of conflict. "Junior, are you sure? They are, after all, Shrek students. Even if that Ye Xinglan is only Two-Ring, she's not an ordinary Two-Ring."
"I'm not an ordinary Spirit Elder either," Su Ming said.
A Two-Ring might be able to fight above their level against a Spirit Elder, but not against every Spirit Elder.
"But, if you're one against three..." Long Xin was still hesitant, afraid Su Ming would suffer a loss.
"Let's do it this way."
Su Ming cut off Long Xin, closed his eyes, and began to rest.
He said he was resting, but in reality, he was observing his gains in his Sea of Consciousness.
"Just showing a little skill already brought a significant harvest."
This Blacksmith Grand Competition was, after all, the grand competition for the entire Tianhai Alliance, second only to the entire Federation's grand competition. The standard was there. Displaying a miraculous feat in a competition of this standard also earned him a large amount of faith.
This faith wasn't faith in the God of Forging, but it was personal faith in him, and it originated from forging.
This allowed him to absorb this faith very smoothly without being discovered by Tang Hao, because this faith was directed at him personally.
"If condensed, this faith would be enough for the light sphere's rations for a month, and this is just the first round. There's still a continuous stream of faith gathering now, and the scores probably haven't been announced yet. There will be an even bigger income then. Probably by tomorrow, it could accumulate enough for half a year's rations for the light sphere."
...
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(End of Chapter)