Chapter 177: Are You Up For It?

Chapter 177: Are You Up For It?

"I presume you all know that Donghai City hasn't achieved notable results in the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition for a long time. However, our Donghai Blacksmith Association is an exception. In the previous youth group competition, we secured third place, and even claimed the top spot in the young adult group. This time, you will be participating in the adult group, so strive to continue this proud tradition and bring more glory to our Donghai Blacksmith Association."

The instructor walked over to one of the students and patted him on the shoulder. He was the only four-star blacksmith in the group.

"Yes, teacher," the young blacksmith replied solemnly, feeling the weight of his teacher's expectations.

"Just showcase your usual prowess, and you're sure to attain excellent results," the instructor encouraged.

The instructor then turned his attention to the youth with unusually long arms.

"Your progress these past two years has been remarkable, and your performance has been consistently impressive. Just do your best, and you'll undoubtedly excel in the young adult group. Of course, I also hope that you can break through and advance to become a four-star blacksmith soon."

"Thank you, teacher," the blacksmith acknowledged with a nod, though his attitude wasn't particularly respectful.

There was a hint of arrogance in his demeanor, and he seemed slightly disdainful, especially compared to the four-star blacksmith, as he had a significant age advantage.

Thus, his future as a four-star blacksmith was all but assured.

The remaining students were fairly ordinary in terms of either strength or age.

Finally, the teacher looked at Wang Si and Mu Xi.

"And that just leaves you two young ones. Out of the adult, young adult, and youth groups, I'm most confident about your performances. I don't think I need to remind you of anything. Just perform as you usually do, and the championship will surely return to Donghai City. I'll be waiting to celebrate your victory."

Upon hearing this, the blacksmiths from the Donghai Blacksmith Association turned their gazes toward Wang Si and Mu Xi.

Mu Xi was somewhat used to this attention, but Wang Si was a complete stranger to them.

Only a handful of people across the entire federation knew Wang Si's true identity, so it was understandable that the blacksmiths present didn't recognize him.

The young man with the long arms smiled at Mu Xi.

"Sister Mu Xi will be taking the assessment for a three-star blacksmith soon, right? With that level of skill, you'll surely dominate the youth group, and the championship will be within easy reach."

If these words had been spoken in the past, Mu Xi would have humbly accepted the compliment, as she indeed possessed an extraordinary blacksmithing talent among her peers.

But now, standing beside a monster like Wang Si, she couldn't bring herself to accept such praise.

He was already at level four, several years younger than her, and capable of performing a thousandfold forging on three metals simultaneously.

"Don't jinx it," Mu Xi replied with a chuckle. "The championship isn't mine yet. If I miss out on it because of your comment..."

The young man thought she was just being modest and teased her further.

"How can you not be confident? A two-star blacksmith in their teens is already extremely rare, let alone one approaching level three. Who among the younger generation can even compare to you?"

His gaze never strayed toward Wang Si, as he didn't consider the boy, who wasn't even twelve years old yet, to be worth his attention.

Aside from a very small minority, everyone else saw Wang Si as mere window dressing.

However, Wang Si didn't mind this one bit. He knew he wasn't on the same playing field as these blacksmiths, so there was no basis for comparison. He was only here to go through the motions of the competition.

As for the championship? He was happy to let Mu Xi have it. After all, there would be rewards and some rare metals up for grabs—a win-win situation for him.

"The competition will be slightly different for the three groups. For the youth group, the focus is on assessing your foundational blacksmithing skills. It will be a screening process, so the first round is called the Screening Exam, where you'll be required to perform a hundred folds."

"As for the rare metal you'll be working with, that information is strictly confidential and known only to the competition committee."

"After the first round, the top sixty-four participants will be selected to advance to the second round."

"The second round will allow you to showcase your creativity. You'll be given the same metal to work with, and your score will depend on the level of refinement you can achieve."

"In the third round, you'll use the metal you refined in the second round to forge a specific shape."

"And that's it! It sounds simple, and it's not too difficult in practice, either," the teacher joked, thinking himself quite humorous.

"Just do your best, and if any of you rank in the top eight, the Blacksmith Association will give you additional rewards. As for the top three, the prizes are especially rare, and I hope you'll strive to claim those spots. The badges awarded to the top three are your tickets to the upper echelons of the blacksmithing world. Understand?"

"Yes, we understand," Wang Si, Mu Xi, and the other youths replied respectfully.

Speaking of Mu Xi, she could be considered a rare beauty among the group of blacksmiths, a solitary red among a sea of green, as she was the only female present.

Of course, this wasn't unusual for Wang Si, as Liu Yue was also a female blacksmith.

After leaving the room, Mu Xi didn't dismiss Wang Si. After walking a certain distance, she led him into her room.

"For the sake of the championship, I must confirm some things with you once again..."

Wang Si nodded.

"Rest assured, as long as you can perform a thousand folds during the competition, I won't attempt to forge anything beyond that level this time."

Despite her words, Mu Xi still seemed unconvinced. She pointed to the forging room next door.

"Go ahead and forge a hundred-fold metal first. My father said that blacksmiths sometimes can't control their muscle memory. So, I don't think you'll be able to produce a hundred-fold piece during the competition."

Wang Si, left speechless, headed into the forging room and picked up a pair of unfamiliar hammers, beginning to strike.

Ding ding dang~

A silver light flashed, and Mu Xi revealed a knowing smile.

A thousand-fold metal, an unfamiliar hammer, and an unknown metal—yet he still managed to produce a thousand-fold work.

"It is a bit tricky to control," Wang Si admitted.

Treating the thousand-fold as learning to ride a bicycle, the hundred-fold was like the wobbly, unsteady first attempts at pedaling.

For those skilled in the art, once they got on the bike, they could effortlessly pedal, and "messing up" would be quite difficult.

"So, what do you suggest?" Mu Xi asked.

"................"

................

The opening ceremony of the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition was held at the Tianhai Stadium.

This was an enormous stadium with a capacity of eighty thousand people, the largest of its kind among all the cities.

The Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition was the biggest event for Donghai City, and it also attracted the attention of some federal legislators, as outstanding talents emerged from the competition every year.

In fact, the original intention of the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition was to select outstanding individuals from the alliance for further cultivation.

...I'm laying my cards on the table here; I'm not really feeling it with this story anymore, and what follows is pretty much just filler to meet the word count.

I've already started brainstorming my next novel, so see you in two months, my dear readers...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end