The elders were stunned. The disciples were bewildered.
Even the elder in charge of supervision was dumbstruck. Finally, someone couldn't help themselves and stepped forward to remind him, "Little Grand-Uncle, these ores cannot be taken away. They can only be used..."
Xu Xian looked at him calmly. "I know!"
The elder looked up at the dark mass of ore behind Xu Xian and swallowed hard. "Then you..."
Xu Xian replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "I'm using them!"
"Can you even use them all?"
Xu Xian gave him a mysterious look and whispered, "To tell you the truth, I plan to forge a massive sword."
The elder didn't know what to say and swallowed again.
Xu Xian asked knowingly, "This isn't against the rules, is it?"
The elder shook his head hurriedly. "It's not against the rules!"
"Then it's fine."
After saying that, he ignored everyone and took two more pools' worth of ore under the watchful gaze of the crowd before finally stopping.
"Hmm, that's about right. It should be enough!"
The well-meaning elder wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered to himself, "As long as he can use them all, as long as he can use them all..."
Swirling with a sky full of spirit ore, Xu Xian arrived at the spirit furnace that the Zhujian Peak disciples had specifically reserved for him.
It was the center spot, the most conspicuous position in the entire square.
With a thought, the sky full of spirit ore fell, piling into a small mountain. It was actually several inches taller than the spirit furnace itself, leaving the surrounding Zhujian Peak disciples slack-jawed.
At most, they would take ten or twenty pieces. Little Grand-Uncle had brought a whole mountain. This...
"As expected of Little Grand-Uncle!"
"He really knows how to put on a show!"
"Can he really use it all?"
"If he's forging a cauldron, it might be just enough..."
At this moment, the discussions outside the field grew even louder, only to be drowned out by the sound of forging within the square.
On the high platform, several elders of similar age to Ruan Hao joked, "Old Ruan, I suspect our Martial Junior Uncle is planning to forge an elixir furnace."
"With a mountain of ore like that, forget a cauldron—it's enough to build a Cloud Boat."
"You're not wrong. If Martial Junior Uncle actually produces a Cloud Boat, that would be truly impressive."
Ruan Hao gave a cold snort and ignored them.
Only he knew exactly what Xu Xian wanted to do...
It was just that this particular occasion was a bit inappropriate, but it certainly suited his disciple's personality.
Only a fool passes up a free lunch!
Xu Xian had his own ideas and plans. His goal was clear: he wanted to try and forge a piece of immortal gold.
After several days of research, he had refined his plan. However, the new plan required a vast amount of spirit ore as support. It just so happened that the Spirit Forger Certification Competition provided free spirit ore of every variety for him to use as he pleased.
Naturally, he wasn't going to let such an opportunity slip by.
Over the past few months, he had nearly exhausted his master's supplies. There was no reason not to take advantage of this windfall.
Furthermore, he was confident that even if he failed, he could use the leftover scraps to forge a spirit weapon. That would be enough to give an account to his master and the Forging Hall.
No sooner said than done.
Xu Xian rolled up his sleeves, tied back his long hair, and fully activated his Pupil of Insight. He began throwing different types of ore into the spirit furnace.
He began to control the spirit furnace for smelting. His movements were smooth and fluid, drawing rounds of applause from the spectators.
If nothing else, they felt Yao Xiaoxiao was right about one thing: if Little Grand-Uncle dared to take so much, he must have some skill. Otherwise, why wouldn't anyone else dare to do the same?
Moreover, since no one stepped in to stop him, it meant the elders approved of Little Grand-Uncle's method.
Before long, under the heat of the spirit furnace, the spirit ore lost its original color and glowed with a vibrant red light. Xu Xian extracted it all, using his powerful spiritual energy to bind it together on the forging table.
He reached out into the air with his right hand, and the Star-Forging Hammer appeared. The two-meter-long hammer with a head as large as a millstone left everyone staring in shock, followed by an eruption of gasps.
"So big!"
"That hammer is clearly no ordinary tool!"
Xu Xian took a deep breath, gripped the hammer with both hands, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes. Amidst the crowd's anticipation, he slammed it down.
Boom!
As the hammer fell, over a hundred pieces of ore twisted and deformed. The violent roar was like a clap of thunder, exceptionally piercing, instantly drowning out the hundreds of other forging sounds. The terrifying force gave people the illusion that the entire square had shuddered.
Those who had originally intended to just watch the spectacle all changed their expressions at this moment.
Setting everything else aside, the force of this single strike would likely crush an ordinary cultivator in the core formation stage to death.
However, this was only the first strike. What followed was a torrential storm of heavy blows. From a distance, only afterimages could be seen.
And then came the thunderous roars!
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
The other Zhujian Peak disciples, encouraged by Han Yi and the atmosphere of the scene, had already been swinging their hammers wildly, making them practically smoke. Yet even so, the moment Xu Xian's hammer fell, they became mere background noise, appearing insignificant in comparison.
The heavy strikes rang out like claps of thunder.
The uproar around the square intensified. Watching the pile of ore in front of Xu Xian shrink at a visible rate, many were left stunned.
This was power. This was pure, unadulterated strength.
In the past, they had heard rumors of how fierce and strong Little Grand-Uncle was, and how his talent was unparalleled throughout history. But those were always just hearsay; no one had truly witnessed it.
Today, they saw it for themselves.
Although he was only hammering ore, it wasn't hard to imagine what would happen if that hammer landed on a person.
For the first time, they directly felt the startling power erupting from Xu Xian's small frame.
"My god, this strength is truly heaven-defying!"
"No wonder Master Ruan took an interest in him."
"Keep it up, Little Grand-Uncle!"
"So fierce!"
The Zhujian Peak disciples participating in the assessment were slightly calmer. After all, being from Zhujian Peak, they often heard the sound of Little Grand-Uncle hammering iron. It wasn't exactly the same, but it was close enough.
After a brief moment of shock, they were instead filled with motivation. They thought that if even Little Grand-Uncle was working so hard, they had no reason not to put in more effort.
Furthermore, amidst such thunderous roaring, their hearts actually grew calmer. It was as if they had returned to Zhujian Peak; the surrounding distractions no longer existed.
Their tension eased, their panic subsided, and they began to strike with their hammers with renewed vigor.
On the high platform, Ruan Hao's lips curled upward, and his brows twitched with pride. His disciple was simply fierce, and he wouldn't hear otherwise.
Han Yi also felt exceptionally proud. Especially when he saw the wide-eyed and gullible looks on the disciples from other peaks, he felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
He wanted everyone in the sect to know that Zhujian Peak was formidable!
At this moment, the effect was perfect.
As for the other spirit forgers of Zhujian Peak and the supervising elders, they looked beyond the surface. They were even more astonished that every single one of Xu Xian's strikes was perfectly placed.
With every hammer fall, hundreds of pieces of ore received the impact simultaneously, being refined to varying degrees. This kind of technique was something they doubted they could achieve so seamlessly even themselves.
They could only mutter to themselves in low voices.
"Too powerful!"
"Too steady!!"
"Too precise!!!"
Rate on N.U.
