“Eh?”
Liu Qingyang furrowed his brows in confusion, looking down at the black disk in his hand that was flashing frantically.
His first reaction was that the yin-malevolent stone fragment in his hand was affecting the magic tool's judgment. He hurried to shove the stone back into his storage bag, yet the disk continued to flash incessantly, the red patterns on its surface pointing directly toward the spectator stands.
“What’s going on...” he muttered to himself, instinctively looking up to follow the direction of the arrow.
The crowd in that direction was already beginning to stir, with many people trying to scatter in panic.
At that moment—
“Silence!”
With a soft shout, Liu Changhe flicked his sleeve, and an invisible barrier of spiritual energy instantly enveloped the area.
As the sect leader of the Water Moon Sect, he knew his son—who loved tinkering with strange magic tools—all too well. If there wasn't a genuine abnormality, that disk would never issue a warning without cause.
“Qingyang, what happened?” Liu Changhe asked in a deep voice.
Holding the disk, Liu Qingyang’s blood rushed to his head, and he actually jumped off the arena while holding the device. “This isn't right! I’ve already put away the yin-malevolent stone, but the warning disk is still alarming!”
Seeing Liu Qingyang rush down, the surrounding cultivators immediately dispersed until...
They revealed Cang Dongqing, who was standing still in her original spot.
Seeing this, Le Changxi and Li Nanyi immediately stepped in front of Cang Dongqing, their expressions as dark as water.
“Liu Qingyang!” Le Changxi barked. “What is the meaning of this?”
Cang Dongqing’s face was pale, her eyes filled with shock and confusion. “Senior Brother Liu... what is the meaning of this?”
Liu Qingyang was also stunned; he hadn't expected the disk to point at Cang Dongqing.
“I...” Caught off guard, the usually silver-tongued Liu Qingyang found himself at a loss for words. He looked down at the still-flashing disk in his hand, then up at Cang Dongqing. “My magic tool shows...”
“Is your piece of junk broken? It was just reacting to the yin-malevolent stone, and now you say it's pointing at my junior sister?” Li Nanyi sneered. “Stop making a fool of yourself with a half-finished product!”
Liu Qingyang had originally been wondering if something was wrong with the magic tool, but as soon as Li Nanyi spoke, his face instantly darkened.
“I researched this evil-energy warning disk for three whole years! It will never make a mistake!”
“Heh, this competition has interference materials.” Le Changxi narrowed his eyes. “How can you guarantee it hasn't been affected?”
“The materials I used would never be—”
“Enough!” Liu Changhe shouted, cutting off their dispute as his stern gaze swept over Liu Qingyang.
“Qingyang, do you have evidence?”
Liu Qingyang opened his mouth, but in the end, he simply said firmly, “I only believe in my magic tool.”
Looking at his son’s determined expression, Liu Changhe slowly spoke. “Junior Niece Cang, would you mind letting this old man check?”
Cang Dongqing’s face was pale, her eyes full of shock and grievance. “Sect Leader Liu, please be the judge. This disciple truly does not know...”
Just then, Elder Chang Yan, who was standing nearby, suddenly interjected, “Sect Leader, perhaps there is more to this than meets the eye. Junior Niece Cang is the beloved disciple of Immortal Venerable Ling Xiao. If we act rashly...”
“Elder Chang!” Liu Qingyang grew anxious. “My warning disk has never been wrong! Even if she is fine, she must have been tainted by some evil object!”
The sidelines immediately erupted into an uproar.
“Could she be a demon race spy?” Duan Xianxing lowered his voice. “I heard the demon race is best at bewitching people’s hearts...”
Snap!
Zhu Yinxi’s jade flute lightly rapped him on the head.
“Ouch! Second Senior Brother, what was that for!”
“Stupid,” Zhu Yinxi said coldly. “Would Immortal Venerable Ling Xiao take a member of the demon race as a disciple?”
“Furthermore, it's detecting evil energy, not demon qi. If anything, one would guess she's an evil cultivator,” Feng Qingping rubbed her brow helplessly.
Li Nanzhu watched the confrontation from a distance in silence.
She knew that Cang Dongqing’s identity was definitely clean—how could the original novel’s heroine be from the demon race? But she also knew Liu Qingyang’s level of refining; that disk would never warn without reason.
“Even though Seventh Senior Brother’s guess is a bit far-fetched,” she said softly, “the fact that evil energy was detected means...”
Her words were suddenly interrupted by a violent surge of spiritual energy.
A burst of blinding spiritual light suddenly exploded from the direction of the arena, drawing everyone's attention.
In Jiang Yifan’s alchemy furnace, a uniquely shaped folding fan was taking form, and one could even see the patterns on the fan’s surface!
“Buzz—”
A clear metallic hum echoed from Jiang Yifan’s furnace.
A silver-white folding fan slowly rose. The ribs of the fan gleamed with a cold metallic luster, and the surface was as thin as a cicada’s wing, appearing almost transparent under the sunlight.
“Jiang Yifan of the Five Elements Dao Sect, fan-type magic tool, tier 4 low-grade!”
As soon as the deacon elder’s announcement fell, a wave of astonishment rippled through the sidelines.
This folding fan seemed ordinary, but those who knew the craft could see the ingenuity within—it had no attribute enhancements. Reaching the tier 4 standard purely through material and craftsmanship was the most difficult feat.
“It’s actually a non-attribute magic tool?!”
“And he used explosive flame sand!”
Li Nanzhu was also carefully observing the fan.
The ribs were forged from refined profound iron, while the surface was a special alloy integrated with explosive flame sand.
What was most amazing was that Jiang Yifan had completely neutralized the fire attribute of the explosive flame sand, converting it into pure material strength.
Zhu Yinxi whispered, “Non-attribute magic tools are the hardest to make, especially fan types. The actual value of this magic tool is indeed not inferior to Chu Chenzhou’s Ice Soul Sword.”
Indeed, compared to Chu Chenzhou’s Ice Soul Sword which possessed an ice attribute, the difficulty of refining Jiang Yifan’s fan was much higher.
Not only did he have to completely neutralize the attributes of the explosive flame sand, but he also had to ensure the purity of the material.
On the sidelines, several Water Moon Sect elders were also discussing in low voices.
“Completely neutralizing attributes... such a technique...” Elder Chang Yan’s hand, which was stroking his beard, paused. “The refining arts of the Northern Territory Jiang family truly live up to their reputation.”
A white-haired elder stared at the folding fan, his eyes filled with disbelief. “Using explosive flame sand to create a non-attribute magic tool—this is simply unheard of.”
Standing not far away, Chu Chenzhou’s gaze fell on the fan, and a flicker of emotion passed through his habitually calm eyes.
Non-attribute magic tools were the most difficult to refine. One had to preserve the characteristics of the materials while erasing their innate attribute traces, which required extremely high refining attainments.
Even as the chief disciple of the Water Moon Sect, he couldn't help but inwardly admire the refiner’s skill.
Liu Qingyang had already forgotten the previous argument, and his whole body was almost leaning over the edge of the arena. “This! how was this done! Where did the fire attribute of the explosive flame sand go? Where did it go?”
He gestured excitedly. “If I could learn this technique, my warning disk could be improved even further...”
“Qingyang!” Liu Changhe shouted softly, interrupting his rambling. “Watch your manners.”
Only then did Liu Qingyang close his mouth sheepishly, but his eyes were still glued to the magic tool.
The commotion in the field gradually subsided, and everyone's attention returned to the earlier accident.
However, with the stunning debut of Jiang Yifan’s magic tool, the atmosphere had eased considerably.
“Well then, Junior Niece Cang,” Liu Changhe said, “can we perform the check now?”
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