Today's competition can be described as a resounding victory. Not only did Lin Xiuran win his match, but Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, and Xie Xie, who participated in the individual competition, also won their first matches.
The upcoming three-person team competition will feature Lin Xiuran, Gu Yue, and Tang Wulin as the main force, with Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan as substitutes.
The first few matches were again decisively won, everything went smoothly, and the individual competitions also went well, with everyone advancing smoothly.
Today is another round of the blacksmith competition, and also the finals. The blacksmith competition is the earliest to start and the fastest to finish, as it only has two rounds.
The final champion of the blacksmith competition is determined by the combined scores of all the judges, therefore, the scores from both rounds must be added together.
Of course, those who did not complete the previous round are naturally eliminated.
In this final round, after everyone has completed their forging, the organizing committee will use rare metals as the final score, and then determine the top three.
Not only him, but Mu Xi and Tang Wulin have also advanced to the finals. Among them, Lin Xiuran and Tang Wulin had the highest scores, but the others were also very close. Undoubtedly, this final round would be extremely competitive.
This final round allowed participants to freely choose rare metals and create their own masterpieces, depending entirely on the blacksmiths' skill.
"This year's Blacksmith Competition is quite interesting," the white-haired elder stroked his beard, his eyes fixed on the young men choosing metals on the stage.
However, his attention remained focused on only one person: Tang Wulin.
While Lin Xiuran's Heavenly Dou forging skill was high, it was undeniably less skillful and refined than Tang Wulin's.
His metalwork focused more on practicality, so his score was slightly lower than Tang Wulin's, but not by much; it was still perfect.
"Is that the little guy from the first round?" the white-haired elder pointed in Tang Wulin's direction.
"Yes, we've investigated. He's from the Donghai City Forging Association. Next to him is the daughter of Mu Chen, the emblem of the Donghai Forging Association, hailed as the most outstanding genius among this year's forgers. Unexpectedly, they've cultivated another even younger one. Speaking of which, the Donghai Forging Association has truly produced a wealth of talent these past few years!" a middle-aged man beside the elder exclaimed.
The white-haired elder nodded. "I'd like to see if this little guy can bring us any more surprises today. Investigate further, preferably to find out about his family background."
"Elder Duan, what do you mean?" the middle-aged man looked at the elder with some surprise.
The white-haired old man smiled slightly, "Although our Tianhai Forging Master Association has produced many talents, our top talents are not as good as those in Donghai. We must find a way to improve this. The younger they are, the less settled they are. This is also an opportunity for us."
"I understand, I'll arrange it right away." The middle-aged man understood and went to the side to make a soul communication call.
Lin Xiuran looked at the rare metal in front of him and hesitated for a moment. At present, his forging skills were definitely not as good as Tang Wulin's.
He could only rely on the purification of the Phoenix True Fire. However, if he wanted to win the championship in this rare metal selection, he would have to choose a high-difficulty one, so that the score would be high after a perfect forging.
But Lin Xiuran had not studied forging for long enough and had not actually come into contact with many rare metals.
If he chose the rare metals he knew, it would be difficult to win the championship. Even if he forged them well, these were relatively simple ones, and ordinary people could also achieve a high level.
"Choose Dark Gold."
A voice sounded in Lin Xiuran's mind, and then he looked at the rare metal.
He recognized this rare metal, but he hadn't initially planned to choose it. Dark Gold was the most difficult to obtain among the metals provided by the organizing committee. Its difficulty doesn't lie in technique, but rather in the level of soul power required; to put it simply, one must have at least level 40 soul power to attempt forging.
Generally, this is a challenge for the youth group, but now it's appearing in the junior group. Most people wouldn't choose it.
Part of the reason is to test the blacksmith's metal identification ability. Many blacksmiths at this age are eager for quick success and don't pay enough attention to learning the basics, so they don't recognize many metals they haven't forged before.
"Someone has chosen Dark Gold!"
a cry rang out from the platform, and everyone's gaze turned to Lin Xiuran on the stage.
Not everyone chooses the best rare metal; the higher the quality of the rare metal, the greater the difficulty of forging. Therefore, everyone chooses what suits them best.
But Lin Xiuran's choice of Dark Gold was truly outrageous, causing everyone else to look on in surprise.
The white-haired elder paused slightly, then said, "This little fellow should be the other one from the first round, right?"
A person beside him nodded, replying, "Yes, also a blacksmith from Donghai City."
"Another one from the Donghai Blacksmith Association?" The white-haired elder was somewhat surprised. When did the Donghai Blacksmith Association have so many talented blacksmiths?
"No." The person beside him shook his head: "He's from Donghai Academy, participating as a student."
"Still Donghai City, truly a place where hidden talents abound." The elder sighed, his eyes darting around, seemingly deep in thought.
Lin Xiuran took the Dark Gold and placed it on the forging table, taking a deep breath.
"The final round of the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition, the Blacksmith Grand Competition, is about to begin. All participants, please prepare yourselves. After the previous round of selection, only you participants remain. I hope you cherish this opportunity and give your best. At the same time, please carefully select your rare metals."
However, as soon as the official start was announced, Tang Wulin and Mu Xi began rhythmically striking the metal.
They chose the Dark Silver, which wasn't particularly difficult, and began immediately. It was clear that Mu Xi was simply following Tang Wulin's rhythm in her hammering.
It was as if Tang Wulin was guiding her through the forging process.
Lin Xiuran ignored them, his gaze focused intently on the Dark Gold waiting before him, then he swung his hammer and began striking it.
His hammering was still haphazard, imbued with a trace of Phoenix True Fire, but its effect was minimal.
It was practically useless; after a hundred hammer blows, the Dark Gold remained almost unmoved, not even changing shape.
Lin Xiuran was slightly out of breath, closed his eyes slightly, leaned on the table, and composed himself.
The chaotic hammering sounds around him were absorbed in the music, as if he were contemplating, or perhaps seeking enlightenment.
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