Chapter 102: Who is the First?

Chapter 102: Who is the First?

Qin Yun was somewhat surprised that Duan Qian had noticed the matter with his spirit soul.

An old blacksmith's eyes were full of longing as he exclaimed, "It's said that cultivating a spirit soul is equivalent to opening a spiritual gate within one's inner essence, allowing the surrounding spiritual energy to flow in naturally."

Duan Qian nodded and said, "Even if Qin Yun only has one spirit vein, cultivating a spirit soul can make up for this deficiency! The spirit soul has the advantage of being highly sensitive to the surrounding spiritual energy, and it can absorb some of the energy drawn by these flag formations nearby."

Qin Yun could absorb the spiritual energy drawn by the flag formations!

This infuriated many people, but the Runes Hall was only so big, and they couldn't avoid it unless they chose not to use the flag formations. If they didn't use the flag formations, their inner essence would not be replenished.

The elders from the Blue Spirit Star Palace felt the heaviest burden. The young talents they had sent were all quite skilled, but compared to the middle-aged and elderly runes masters, the gap gradually became apparent.

What frustrated them most was that their disciples couldn't even match Qin Yun, an underage runes master. If word got out, it would certainly damage the reputation of the Blue Spirit Star Palace's runes masters.

The elders from the Blue Spirit Star Palace watched anxiously from the side. All the registration fees they had invested seemed wasted.

Mainly, they had underestimated the runes masters here, thinking that sending some young talents would secure the first place.

Duan Qian stayed alert to prevent any cheating at this critical moment, closely watching the disciples from the Star Palace.

A tense atmosphere enveloped the hall as time slowly ticked away...

Qin Yun kept his composure, ensuring a steady performance. Persisting until the end meant victory, even if he couldn't secure the first place, he would still gain a lot from this competition.

He noticed that the young talents from the Star Palace had significantly slowed down their forging speed and thought, "The Blue Spirit Star Palace has indeed declined. Their young runes masters aren't too strong. Overconfidence leads to defeat. It seems Grandfather was right; they came here to hide and recruit new members."

The Blue Spirit Star Palace did manage to recruit some excellent talents, such as Yang Shiyue, Xiao Yuelan, and Qin Zhengfeng, young powerful warriors.

In the future, Qin Yun also planned to visit the Mysterious Rune Sect of the Eastern Palace.

"The time is almost up!" Duan Qian shouted.

The experienced runes masters performed exceptionally well, all managing to forge a piece of spirit iron ingot from ten thousand pounds of iron.

Five disciples from the Star Palace failed to reach the final stage; their iron pieces were still too large, and there wasn't enough time to complete them.

Qin Yun surprised everyone by actually forging a standard spirit iron ingot!

A fifteen-year-old junior runes master reaching this level meant his alchemy skills could rival those of intermediate and senior runes masters.

Because Liang Shuojin, hailed as the youngest runes genius of the Blue Spirit Star Palace, failed to complete the task.

Compared to Qin Yun, the difference was clear.

Such humiliation made him resent Qin Yun.

Without comparison, there would be no harm!

If not for Qin Yun, everyone would have been lenient with Liang Shuojin due to his youth, but Qin Yun was much younger, just a teenage boy!

Qin Yun sighed deeply, marveling at his ability to persist until the end!

The runes masters in the hall didn't say anything outwardly, but they secretly admired his strength.

A fifteen-year-old boy, without a good furnace or flag formations, and without taking pills, managed to complete a task only intermediate and senior runes masters could achieve using just a forging hammer.

This was a true genius, far surpassing Liang Shuojin!

"Everyone has worked hard. Now we will weigh the spirit iron ingots. Whoever has the heaviest one wins!" Duan Qian took out a golden balance scale.

The spirit iron ingots were not large, only slightly bigger than a thumb, but due to the extreme refining process, they were very heavy.

The participating runes masters left their positions, placing their forged spirit iron ingots on their forging tables, waiting for Duan Qian to weigh them one by one.

Duan Qian weighed each one and announced the results...

"Tong Ang, 320 pounds!"

"Chu Enli, 351 pounds!"

"Su Zongping, 326 pounds!"

Dozens of participants all weighed over 300 pounds, showing that their skill levels were comparable.

The disciples from the Blue Spirit Star Palace also performed decently, weighing around 290 to 310 pounds!

For a spirit iron ingot the size of a thumb to be so heavy was indeed a remarkable feat!

Qin Yun had read about such extreme alchemy in books but had never tried it himself. This time, he managed to forge one through sheer determination.

Finally, Duan Qian approached Master Wei's table, and everyone immediately focused their attention.

"Wei Yong... 398 pounds!"

Almost 400 pounds, the heaviest so far, surpassing the previous record of 378 pounds!

Everyone gasped in amazement while feeling a sense of disappointment.

Once again, Master Wei won!

Master Wei, who had been nervous earlier, finally showed a proud smile. His close friends congratulated him.

Duan Qian walked to Qin Yun's forging table, and the crowd fell silent. Everyone wanted to see how Qin Yun performed, as reaching this stage already indicated a certain level of skill.

"If he can get 220 pounds, it's not bad!" Liang Shuojin sneered. "He relied on Purple Gold Fire and the Giant Spirit King Hammer; his own skill isn't that great!"

His words carried a strong hint of jealousy, clearly envious of Qin Yun.

Qin Yun gave a slight smile and sneered, "I admit I'm not as skilled as you! You have an excellent furnace and a superior hammer, as well as an array of flags. Although you didn't finish the competition, being able to last that long is already impressive."

An angry Liang Shuojin was about to say something when he heard Duan Qian shout, "Qin Yun, two hundred and one catties and two taels!"

The hall erupted in astonishment, with voices filled with disbelief.

"Did I hear that right?"

"The spirit iron Qin Yun forged actually weighs more than Master Wei's? Impossible!"

"Absolutely impossible! No matter how extraordinary Qin Yun is, there's no way he could do this with his current strength!"

"Head Steward, did you make a mistake in the measurement?"

The old Runes Masters questioned in surprise.

The spirit iron Qin Yun had forged weighed two hundred catties, and many people found it hard to believe!

Even Qin Yun himself suspected he had heard wrong. He knew his spirit iron ingot was heavy, estimating it at around one hundred and eighty catties, but he never dared to think it would reach two hundred.

"If you don't believe me, weigh it yourselves," Duan Qian said with a smile, walking toward Master Wei and the others, who also took out their own scales.

One after another, over ten Runes Masters confirmed the same weight. Even when it was Master Wei's turn, the result was the same!

Liang Shuojin, who had just been mocking Qin Yun, looked extremely grim. He was known as the youngest genius Runes Master.

But now, he had been far surpassed by Qin Yun, making the word "genius" a bitter irony for him.

The one who found this result hardest to accept was Master Wei, as he was supposed to be the winner!

"This... I can't believe it. Qin Yun is only fifteen years old; there's no way he could have this level of skill." Master Wei shook his head, refusing to accept the outcome.

"The truth is right here!" Duan Qian declared.