The elders on the viewing platform chatted and joked amongst themselves, with some teasing the situation.
"Haha! It seems our Little Martial Uncle's luck with the ladies is quite strong..."
The rest of the group chimed in, each offering their own opinion.
"An elegant gentleman whose spirit reaches the clouds. Our Little Martial Uncle is in the prime of his youth; it's hardly surprising for him to be a bit of a romantic."
"A jade tree on a celestial stair—men like him are rare in this world. Even the Sword Ancestor in his youth was likely no more than this..."
"This is exactly how a swordsman of our Wendao Sword Sect should be, haha!!"
Elder Ruan squinted his eyes.
Elder Yao's lips parted slightly.
Ye Xianyu's eyebrows arched high...
Li Qingshan, however, was unimpressed. He gave a soft click of his tongue. "All flash and no substance, an empty reputation. At such a young age, he's too ostentatious and lacks stability..."
Elder Ruan's white brows furrowed, radiating majesty without even trying.
Elder Yao's clear eyes flickered with a cold, sharp light.
Ye Xianyu said playfully, "What’s the matter? Are you feeling out of sorts because your Little Martial Uncle is stealing too much of the spotlight?"
At the thought of the things Xu Xian had done, Li Qingshan's anger flared. He snorted. "I'm just telling the truth. Whoever heard of a Little Grand-Uncle being so showy?"
Ruan Hao clenched his iron fists.
Elder Yao gripped his folding fan tightly.
.......
As the disciples entered the arena, the cheers continued like mountain-splitting waves. Xu Xian waved to all sides, making the tough guys feel flustered.
Han Yi made a grand gesture, and the elders of Zhujian Peak took to the air, hovering around the square to keep the entire venue under their gaze.
Next, they would serve as judges to oversee the entire certification process, preventing anyone from cheating or using underhanded tricks to pass.
Han Yi signaled again for the enthusiastic disciples to remain quiet, then announced in a loud voice:
"I hereby declare!"
"The Spirit Forger Certification Competition... has officially begun!"
Clang~!
A gong was struck, its sound echoing through the fields. Another deafening roar of cheers erupted from the square.
The striking of the gong signaled the start of the timed exam. Under the reminders and urging of the elders, the participating disciples began selecting the regular spirit ore they needed from the materials already prepared by the Forging Hall.
The Spirit Forger certification was primarily divided into two stages.
First: ore purification.
Second: spirit infusion of the sword.
All participating disciples could only use the regular spirit ore provided by the Forging Hall. To forge a spirit sword, they had to purify these regular ores to a refined grade.
Despite it being a competition, the disciples of Zhujian Peak were selecting their ores in an orderly fashion, without the expected scramble.
After all, the entire sect was watching, and there were so many female disciples present. They could lose the competition, but they couldn't lose their grace.
As the Little Grand-Uncle, Xu Xian was in no hurry at all. He simply stood where he was, showing no intention of moving, fully embodying a spirit of modesty and yielding.
This seemingly inconspicuous act naturally earned the praise and admiration of many disciples.
They praised his stability.
They praised his kindness.
They praised how, despite his youth, he already possessed the air of a sage.
After picking his ore, Zhang Yang hurried back, incredibly nervous. "Brother Xian, I'm so nervous. What do I do? What do I do? I feel like I've forgotten everything..."
Xu Xian was speechless but comforted him softly.
"Just perform as usual. Don't overthink it. I believe in you. Good luck!"
Zhang Yang pumped himself up.
"Right! Good luck..."
"I can do this..."
one by one, the participants finished their selection and chose their spirit furnaces and forging tables.
Some had already begun the skilled process of lighting the fires to heat the ore, while others were still mentally preparing themselves, lost in thought...
Soon, rhythmic hammering sounds began to ring out continuously across the vast square.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The hammering grew denser and heavier, like sudden claps of spring thunder competing with one another. For a moment, it drowned out the surrounding noise of the square, creating a chaotic din.
Among the spectating disciples, many had already used spiritual techniques to temporarily block their hearing.
Seeing that everyone else had finished their selection, Xu Xian finally began walking leisurely toward the ore piles.
At that moment, the eyes of the majority of the crowd converged on him once again, especially those of the veteran spirit forgers of Zhujian Peak.
Xu Xian was Ruan Hao's direct disciple and had been in the trade for less than a year. A few days ago, during his first forging attempt, he had produced a low-grade spirit sword in just two hours.
Therefore, they were eager to see Xu Xian's true strength. They wanted to see for themselves whether his talent in forging could surpass his talent in cultivation.
As the saying goes, experts look for the technique while laymen look for the spectacle. Compared to the massive crowd of spectators who were just there for the show, the experts were more curious about which type of spirit ore Xu Xian would choose for his forging...
However, the scene that followed left both experts and laymen bewildered.
Xu Xian approached an ore pool and, without a word, swept his sleeve. He used that Telekinesis Immortal Art to sweep up all the spirit ore that the other disciples had left behind.
"Eh?"
"Huh!"
"Whoa..."
After clearing one pool, Xu Xian didn't stop. He moved on to the next one...
One.
Two.
Three.
Ten...
In the blink of an eye, under the gaze of thousands, a dark mass of spirit ore swirled in the air behind Xu Xian, blotting out the sky.
Everyone present was stunned.
"This..."
"What is the Little Grand-Uncle doing?"
"Is it even right to take that much?"
"He's not here to forge a sword; he's here to restock his inventory!"
The surroundings grew noisy as confusion turned into wild speculation.
On the high platform, the elders were equally puzzled. Ye Xianyu stroked her chin and said, "I didn't expect Little Eleven's mastery of Lifting the Heavy as Light to have reached such a level. It seems he's not far from the realm of Spirit Control."
Clearly, her point of focus was different from everyone else's.
Han Yi looked at Ruan Hao in bewilderment and whispered, "Elder Ruan, what exactly is the Martial Uncle planning?"
Ruan Hao shot him a look but said nothing.
Li Qingshan took the opportunity to grumble, "I told you, whenever he's around, nothing good happens. If he isn't stirring up some kind of shenanigans, he isn't comfortable."
Elder Yao was displeased. He let out a low hum and spoke with deliberate emphasis, "There's no rule saying one can't take this much. What, is the Forging Hall so poor that this makes your hearts ache?"
Elder Yao's sudden sarcasm left everyone stunned, especially the members of the Forging Hall, who were completely lost.
They thought to themselves, 'We never said he couldn't take it.'
As for Li Qingshan, he stole a glance at Elder Yao. He felt that Elder Yao was acting very strange today. His granddaughter had just been whisked away by this kid, so why was he speaking up for Xu Xian?
Wasn't this just asking for trouble?
Outside the arena, Yao Xiaoxiao stood with her hands on her hips, defending Xu Xian against the crowd's doubts.
"What's wrong with taking a lot? Taking a lot proves he has the ability! Only by taking a lot can the forged sword be big enough. Only when it's big enough is it strong enough, and only when it's strong enough is it powerful... You all don't understand. With great power comes the ability to carry more weight."
Lin Qianqian chimed in, "Xiaoxiao is right. Taking a lot is impressive. If it were you, could you even lift that much?"
As she spoke, she didn't forget to tug at Wen Qingxue beside her. "Right, Senior Sister Wen?"
Wen Qingxue nodded, albeit against her better judgment.
"Yes!"
The crowd around them remained skeptical.
There was logic to it, but not much...
Yao Xiaoxiao glared at them. "You don't believe it?"
The crowd nodded repeatedly. "We believe it!"
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