"Next, let us welcome three forging masters to the stage!"
Su Ming sat calmly in the preparation area and did not take the stage.
The ones performing the forging demonstration this time were three newly promoted forging masters from the Association.
Back when he first developed Spirit Infusion and demonstrated it within the Body Sect, a forging fervor had swept through the sect. Several disciples with suitable Spirit Power levels had all adopted the form of Spirit Souls when absorbing their Spirit Rings.
Among these disciples, there were ten Spirit Ancestors and two Spirit Kings.
In the Spirit Soul contract formation, the mandatory contract could only be for a thousand-year soul. If they could use means to make a Spirit Beast submit, it could naturally be a ten-thousand-year Spirit Soul, but it was generally very difficult to achieve.
The Body Sect did not fall under 'general circumstances'.
These disciples had strong physical constitutions and were all interested in forging. They tried day and night, and finally, two months ago, they successively managed to complete Thousand Refinements with Spirit.
The three forging masters taking the stage now were all disciples of the Body Sect.
They didn't say much. After taking the stage, they took out their forging tables from their storage Spirit Tools, and after debugging, began their performance.
There was no embellishment throughout, no commentary.
The clanging sounds spread across the square, inexplicably making people feel comfortable.
This was forging that awakened spirituality; each strike could resonate within people's hearts.
Thud.
Failure.
Thud.
Another failure.
Fortunately, the third person succeeded.
The fragile rare metal now bloomed with a brilliant light of spirituality.
The spiritual energy gathered into a pillar of light that shot skyward, reaching a full foot in height.
Thousand Refined, One Peak!
Forging under the gaze of two hundred thousand spectators was immensely stressful, but it was also an opportunity.
Of the three forging masters, one made a leap in progress, successfully achieving Thousand Refined, One Peak.
At this moment, even this forging master was staring dumbfounded at the spiritual light pillar in front of him, feeling somewhat incredulous.
Below the stage.
Su Ming wiped a slight sweat from his brow.
"Have to admit, the faith of forging is really useful in this aspect."
The forging system was too subjective; sometimes, a sudden stroke of inspiration might allow one to capture the spiritual nature within the metal, leading to success in one go.
Su Ming could manipulate the faith of forging, further increasing this probability.
Thus, this Level Three Blacksmith, who had only mastered Thousand Refinement with Spirit two months ago, successfully advanced to Level Four today.
The radiance of spirituality attracted the gaze of the two hundred thousand spectators.
They swore they had never seen such a beautiful light in their lives.
It was the light of life blooming.
"Spirit Metal contains spirituality and can resonate with a Spirit Master's Martial Spirit. If the compatibility is good, it can even constantly influence the Martial Spirit, eventually guiding it towards a benign mutation."
Remembering something, the newly promoted Level Four Blacksmith recited the lines Su Ming had taught him as if reading from a script.
Whoosh—
It didn't matter if there was no emotion, as long as the content was captivating.
Without a doubt, the phrase 'guiding the Martial Spirit towards a benign mutation' stirred the hearts of the audience.
Even as this blacksmith put away his forging table and left the stage, the spectators' eyes followed him, watching him depart.
"I can already feel it, that spiritual light, as if guiding my Martial Spirit forward."
Someone in the audience shouted.
Once one person started shouting, a crowd immediately began to follow suit.
Preparation Area.
The expressions of the vast majority of team members were grave.
They were close to the stage. Some Grand Spirit Masters felt it extremely clearly; the fluctuations emitted by that Thousand Refined, One Peak Spirit Heavy Silver were indeed plucking at their Martial Spirits.
Spirit Metal!
At this moment, this new term was deeply imprinted in the hearts of these Spirit Masters. After the tournament concluded, the concept of Spirit Metal would spread wildly with them, reaching every corner of the Spirit Master world.
There was no intense emotional mobilization or embellishment, just a plain and simple popular science explanation.
However, the audience was already captivated, completely forgetting that there was still an exhibition match to follow.
Even the members of the Shrek Academy team were lost in thought.
"Next, Shrek Academy and Tianling Academy will kick off today's tournament for us!"
Under Xu Jiawei's reminder, the Shrek and Tianling teams finally snapped out of their daze and ascended the stage.
At this moment, the stage seemed to retain a remnant spirituality, tugging at the hearts of the fourteen Spirit Masters.
Shrek Academy fielded seven people: six regular team members and Huo Yuhao.
Both sides released their Spirit Rings.
Huo Yuhao's one white and one purple Spirit Rings left people unsure how to judge.
On stage, Huo Yuhao glanced guiltily in Su Ming's direction.
No matter what others said, he knew his first Spirit Ring wasn't a ten-year ring, but a million-year one.
Su Ming also knew that his first Spirit Ring couldn't be a ten-year ring.
So he secretly observed Su Ming's expression.
Unexpectedly, he met Su Ming's gaze directly, and Huo Yuhao guiltily averted his eyes.
"So they're not planning to use the original method of intimidation."
Su Ming pondered for a moment, understanding the Shrek team's train of thought.
He scanned the seven members of Shrek.
"Huo Yuhao is probably the core, acting as the commander, while also being able to amplify Ling Luochen."
If he remembered correctly, Huo Yuhao's Ultimate Ice could amplify Ling Luochen, no less than elevating her from Spirit King to Spirit Emperor.
In other words, as long as Huo Yuhao was on stage, the Shrek team would have a full-map, dead-angle-free field of view, perfect coordination, and at least three combatants with Spirit Emperor-level strength.
Plus the other three Spirit Kings.
Even if Huo Yuhao couldn't provide substantial combat power, it was enough to make the Shrek team invincible.
And that's exactly how it was.
Accompanied by the cry of a phoenix, this edition of the Soul Master Competition officially commenced.
Soaring flames, a cascading waterfall of fire, concluded this exhibition match.
Ma Xiaotao turned confidently and left the stage with the other six members of Shrek.
On the other side, the members of the Tianling Academy team stared fearfully at Ma Xiaotao's retreating back.
The three-day elimination round was intense; winning meant continuing in the subsequent matches, losing meant being completely eliminated from the tournament.
These three days held little excitement for Su Ming.
The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy team easily won their matches, with Elder Ma constantly observing the various teams and analyzing the current situation.
According to Elder Ma, the Blacksmith Association was located within the three original Douluo nations. Even though they had opened a branch in the Sun Moon Imperial Capital due to the Body Sect's influence, it didn't signify much in this tournament.
After all, the Blacksmith Association in the Sun Moon Imperial Capital had just been established, while the one in the Star Luo Empire had existed since ancient times.
Who knew how many pieces of Spirit Metal had appeared here, which team had obtained them, and had them made into Spirit Tools.
While the elimination rounds were ongoing, the Star Luo royal family also completely resigned themselves to the situation.
On the night the opening ceremony ended, Xu Jiawei faced the facts.
"Shrek truly has no intention of opposing the flow of Spirit Metal to the Sun Moon Empire."
Whether Shrek wasn't interested, or they were tempted by the ten custom slots, or they had reached some agreement with the Blacksmith Association or even the Body Sect behind it...
In short, the Star Luo Empire could not stop this.
If they couldn't stop it, they could only accept it.
Xu Jiawei's face was grim, a deep sense of powerlessness washing over him.
"Not only can we not stop it, we must also take the initiative to target the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy team."
***
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(Chapter end)