Chapter 0574 Flame Maniac

Chapter 0574: Blazing Fury

Had Qin Yun finished, the people of Celestial Armory City all breathed a sigh of relief.

Especially Granny Ma, who had been extremely tense earlier.

Had Qin Yun failed, there would have been no hope of victory at all.

Now, victory hinged on whose puppet beast was stronger.

The long-awaited climax was finally here.

Qin Yun’s puppet beast was black, while Peng Wang’s was gray, both of the same size.

"Let the battle begin—control your constructs!"

Ying Chengyu buzzed with excitement, confident that his disciple would surely defeat Qin Yun’s puppet beast and claim victory.

"Begin!" Ying Chengyu shouted.

The battle between the two puppet beasts started immediately.

From the very first moment, the fight was fierce.

They clashed in a frenzy of lunges and bites.

Both puppet beasts were forged from Xuanyuan Steel, and their impacts sent shockwaves erupting from their collisions.

Soon, both constructs were riddled with damage, their frames battered with dents and gashes.

"These constructs are monstrous! They could easily defeat a Ninth Layer Martial Path warrior. Even Spirit Martial masters would sweat against these!"

"Qin Yun is only at the Ninth Layer Martial Path himself—how’d he forge something this strong?"

"The guy’s a freaking prodigy! His own combat prowess is formidable, but his skill in the Way of Odd Patterns? Downright scary!"

"The totem patterns he carved weren’t the Golden Ape Totem, but a beastly totem, like a tiger’s!"

"Who the hell is Qin Yun? With such skill in odd patterns, no way he’s self-taught. Where did he obtain his two totems?"

As the crowd erupted, Qin Yun’s black puppet beast suddenly sank its fangs into the other’s throat.

A sickening crack rang out as a large chunk of Peng Wang’s gray puppet beast’s neck was torn away.

"This… this is impossible! Both puppet beasts should’ve been equally tough, so there’s no way one could chew through the other like this!"

The most shocked was Ying Chengyu, who stammered, shaking his head.

He was the one who had forged the puppet beasts.

In his view, the two constructs were evenly matched—it’d boil down to endurance.

With both puppet beasts at full power, there was no way one could dominate.

Yet now, Qin Yun’s puppet beast had chewed through Peng Wang’s construct.

Suddenly, Ying Chengyu blurted, "Qin Yun… is your totem a Profound Totem?"

The crowd burst into shocked exclamations—"Holy crap!"—they couldn't believe it was true!

Earth-grade totems are incredibly rare!

Especially when used to craft puppets, the vast majority are Spirit-grade totems.

It's almost unheard of for someone with an Earth-grade totem to also be a Runes Master.

When people first get a totem, it is always in its initial Spirit-grade form. Only later can it evolve into an Earth-grade totem.

Qin Yun's puppet beast got more aggressive as the fight went on, lunging forward to sink its teeth into its opponent's neck once more.

With a sharp *crack*, the other puppet's head rolled onto the ground.

Granny Ma's normally stern face suddenly broke into a wide smile!

Celestial Armory City won!

The crowd broke into cheers.

Qin Yun, just a Ninth Layer Martial Path kid, had actually defeated a Runes Master at the Spirit Martial Realm!

And he'd won at the most advanced level—totem engraving!

That kind of talent was as impressive as Liu Jingmeng!

Several elders from the Dharma Protector Hall couldn't help smiling.

Their Celestial Artifact wouldn't have to go to Ying Chengyu after all.

The representatives from the clan factions, though relieved, still felt sour about it.

Because Qin Yun was their enemy, and he hated them with a passion.

"Senior Sister, I won!" Qin Yun turned to Liu Jingmeng behind him, grinning cheekily.

He regretted not asking Granny Ma for more rewards—otherwise, he'd be cashing in big time now.

Ying Chengyu, having fumed over his loss, let out a small sigh.

He had prepared for years, yet still couldn't pull off a win.

"Ying Chengyu, you said earlier this would be the last contest with our Celestial Armory City, and there would be no more in the future, correct?" Granny Ma asked.

"Well... I'm not entirely convinced! Because my disciple Peng Wang is actually best at alchemy!"

Ying Chengyu sighed faintly and patted Peng Wang's shoulder. "He works on alchemy most of his time and can now refine King-tier Spirit Pills!"

"Oh? That's quite impressive!" Granny Ma looked at Peng Wang in surprise. "Good for you!"

"Granny Ma, let's have one more match! A contest of alchemy. Send out a disciple skilled in pill refinement—surely Celestial Armory City has trained young alchemists too?" Ying Chengyu suggested, his face full of reluctance.

After this, he would no longer have the chance to challenge Celestial Armory City or obtain that Celestial Artifact.

"Ying Chengyu, we have no young alchemists to compete with you," Granny Ma replied, chuckling. "Drop it."

"Then how about this—if you win, I'll give you the Rune Soul 'Flamefury'!"

Ying Chengyu gritted his teeth and made a tough call. "It's a Rune Soul I acquired not long ago. With the Flamefury Rune Soul, a Runes Master can get twice the bang for half the buck when engraving fire-attribute runes."

A Rune Soul is a real treasure, especially the incredibly rare Flamefury!

The Flamefury Rune Soul is incredibly useful.

Fire-based runes and totems are very common and widely used in many fields.

The Runes Masters present instantly gasped with desire.

"Ying Chengyu, what if my Medicine Immortal Valley sends a disciple to compete with you?" an elder from the Medicine Immortal Valley blurted out.

"If I win, what can you offer me? Your Medicine Immortal Valley's Celestial Artifact? I wouldn’t give that junk a second look!" Ying Chengyu scoffed.

An elder from the Canghuo Immortal Mountain hastily interjected, "Ying Chengyu, our Canghuo Immortal Mountain also wants to compete with you! Just name your terms! We can afford it and will definitely give it to you!"

"Only if you secure me the Celestial Artifact of the Immortal Armory will I compete with you!" Ying Chengyu chuckled. "Other than the Immortal Armory’s Celestial Artifact, I want nothing else!"

The Canghuo Immortal Mountain specializes in fire cultivation, as does the Medicine Immortal Valley, both frequently relying on flames.

If they possessed the Flamefury Rune Soul, they could engrave more powerful fire-attribute runes, which would greatly benefit them.

Rune Souls are exceedingly rare.

The previous appearance of the Star Monarch Rune Soul sent sect leaders into a bidding war to obtain it.

The elders of those sects could only shake their heads at Ying Chengyu’s stubbornness.

"Granny Ma, you saw with your own eyes how precious the Flamefury Rune Soul is!"

To persuade Granny Ma, Ying Chengyu produced a massive orb.

Inside the orb in his palm contained a dancing flame.

Within the dancing flames were numerous strange patterns, and the surging fiery aura resembled various fire runes.

Qin Yun felt his pulse quicken with want.

"Ying Chengyu, go back!" Granny Ma was well aware of the Flamefury Rune Soul’s value, but she wasn't about to take that chance.

They had just scraped through their last crisis and absolutely could not afford another gamble now.

Ying Chengyu let out a defeated sigh and was about to turn away when Qin Yun stepped forward and said, "Senior, what do you think of this? Is it any good?"

Qin Yun took out the Heavenly Lion Subduing Dragon Cauldron, which he had compressed to palm-size.

Only those standing close could clearly see the runes on the cauldron’s surface.

Ying Chengyu frowned at first, but upon spotting nine sets of Sky Lion totem patterns, he visibly shuddered.

"A treasure!" Ying Chengyu breathed in wonder.

"I’ll compete with your disciple in alchemy. If I win, this item is yours! If you win, the Flamefury Rune Soul is mine!" Qin Yun quickly tucked the Heavenly Lion Subduing Dragon Cauldron back.

The crowd was instantly buzzing with curiosity, eager to know what Qin Yun had just revealed that got Ying Chengyu so worked up.

Qin Yun possessed several Ancient Dao Artifacts and even mastered Earth-grade totems. The item he produced, which got Ying Chengyu so worked up, only made his background more mysterious.

Most astonishing of all was that Qin Yun even knew alchemy.

"Deal! You know alchemy?" Ying Chengyu nodded in agreement, though he was skeptical that Qin Yun could refine pills.

"Refining an Imperial-Grade Spirit Pill? No problem, I have some experience with pill refining as well!" Qin Yun smiled.

It's not strange for a Runes Master to know pill refining, as the Way of Odd Patterns is far more complex than refining pills.

Moreover, the tools required for pill refining all need to be crafted by Runes Masters.

Granny Ma and the others truly didn't expect Qin Yun to be keeping such skills hidden.

Mu Fengxiao had just seen Qin Yun's small cauldron and knew it was the Heavenly Lion Subduing Dragon Cauldron, an extremely precious item.

"Alright, if Peng Wang loses to you again, I'll accept it wholeheartedly!"

Ying Chengyu chuckled, fully aware of the Heavenly Lion Subduing Dragon Cauldron's value, even considering it superior to the Celestial Artifact of Immortal Armory City.

Ling Yuner had also told Qin Yun that the Heavenly Lion Subduing Dragon Cauldron was a Dao Artifact capable of evolving.

Because the totem patterns on it were incredibly powerful, it could eventually evolve into a Celestial Artifact.

"This guy has good taste! Xiao Yun, don't lose the Heavenly Lion Subduing Dragon Cauldron—it's an excellent item!" Ling Yuner said.

"Relax, I don’t refine often, but my skill isn't low!" Qin Yun felt that the Nine Sun spiritual energy he absorbed through the Nine Sun Divine Pendant could enhance the quality during pill refining.

Additionally, his pill refining tools were quite good.

They were all crafted based on the blueprints from the Pill Dao Manual, using stellar and lunar patterns.

In pill refining competitions, participants generally use their own tools.

"We’ll refine a relatively common Imperial-Grade Spirit Pill—the Panacea Antidote Pill. You have one hour to complete it, and whoever's pill has higher quality wins!" Ying Chengyu said.

"Deal!" Qin Yun had never heard of this pill before and didn't know how to refine it. He added, "I lack the ingredients."

"Don't worry, I'll provide the ingredients!" Ying Chengyu laughed, then took out some materials.

There was ginseng as white as jade, small black fruits like snake bile, purple leaves, and a green, mud-like root.

"After you've selected your ingredients, we can begin!" Ying Chengyu said. "I’ll need to inspect your tools to prevent cheating!"