Tang Wulin and Ye Xinglan faced off on the competition stage, and without any surprise, Ye Xinglan steadily suppressed Tang Wulin.
Compared to the original work, because Ye Xinglan had been practicing her sword with Qian Mo for a long time, she inevitably picked up some of Qian Mo's sword style. Her swordsmanship was less peaceful and more ruthless, focusing on leaving no room for mercy under the sword.
Every sword strike was clean and sharp, and each beam of Star God power-covered sword light precisely aimed at Tang Wulin's vital points.
Tang Wulin, who had only unsealed one Golden Dragon King Bloodline seal, couldn't withstand the countless Star God Sword rays that fell like starlight. Several blood flowers splattered from various parts of his body, staining his clothes red.
Tang Wulin was in utter misery at this moment. His one-ring Blue Silver Grass could only bind one attack, and he couldn't even get close to Ye Xinglan. His physical strength, which he was so proud of, was also about to give out under the frequent strikes of the Star God Sword.
So, Tang Wulin made a very bold choice.
He decided to go all out! He would endure the Star God Sword's attacks and still make his Golden Dragon Claw reach Ye Xinglan.
Facing Tang Wulin's fearless attack, Ye Xinglan showed no panic. Having experienced the suffocating despair of being enveloped by Qian Mo's Seven Kill sword intent, her emotions were difficult to fluctuate during battle.
At this moment, Tang Wulin's desperate attacks were full of flaws in Ye Xinglan's eyes.
Just as the Golden Dragon Claw was about to grab the dense golden light shield in front of Ye Xinglan, Ye Xinglan sidestepped and flicked her Star God Sword upwards, piercing towards Tang Wulin's throat like lightning.
The Golden Dragon Claw had already been unleashed, the old force was spent, and the new force had not yet emerged. The Golden Dragon Claw couldn't turn back to defend. Tang Wulin gritted his teeth, unwilling to retreat, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes as he used all his strength to grab at Ye Xinglan.
Seeing Tang Wulin not retreating, the ruthlessness honed by Qian Mo also surged within Ye Xinglan. The tip of her sword aimed straight for Tang Wulin's throat.
At the critical moment, two white figures flashed up from the stage like lightning. One caught Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon Claw, and the other blocked Ye Xinglan's Star God Sword.
Two immense forces struck, and Ye Xinglan and Tang Wulin both flew backward simultaneously.
Qian Mo's posture was like the wind. He stabilized Ye Xinglan's body with one hand, holding her in his arms.
On the other side, Wu Changkong caught Tang Wulin. A layer of faint frost mist enveloped him, sealing all of Tang Wulin's wounds.
"Are you alright, Xinglan?" Qian Mo glanced slightly at the hand that had just caught the Golden Dragon Claw; it was slightly scraped.
The Golden Dragon King Bloodline was indeed very destructive, capable of breaking through spirit power and causing injury. But in that instant, Qian Mo had already imprinted the Golden Dragon King Bloodline and Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline and stored them.
A faint pink color bloomed on Ye Xinglan's snow-like skin. Her voice was as thin as a mosquito's buzz as she whispered, "N-no, I'm fine!"
"Quite ruthless!" Wu Changkong left this sentence lightly, not even looking at Qian Mo and Ye Xinglan, and then gracefully left the competition stage with Tang Wulin.
"Uh... This," The referee on the competition stage stared blankly at this scene, unsure how to make a ruling.
Qian Mo glanced over and said in a deep voice, "If the two of us hadn't stopped them, Tang Wulin would be dead, and Ye Xinglan would be injured!"
The referee immediately understood Qian Mo's meaning and quickly announced.
"Individual competition, Tang Wulin loses! Eliminated in the second round."
Qian Mo and Ye Xinglan walked off the stage together. Wu Changkong had already disappeared with Tang Wulin, leaving only Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan.
Qian Mo briefly sized them up. The cool-looking boy was Xie Xie, and the cute girl with light blue hair was Xu Xiaoyan, who was a couple with his Cousin Le Zhengyu in the original work.
Qian Mo's mind raced. He still needed to watch Xu Xiaoyan's competition. Her Spirit needed to be imprinted, after all, the Absolute Establishment characteristic was simply too buggy.
"Xinglan, are you still competing?" Qian Mo asked.
Ye Xinglan nodded, "Teacher Shen hopes I can participate in the team competition. I agreed. Are you participating?"
Qian Mo shook his head, "I won't be participating. I have to leave the team tomorrow after I meet someone."
"Where are you going?" Gu Yuena frowned and asked from the side.
Qian Mo said lightly, "Heaven Dou City. I need to go see Teacher."
"Okay," Ye Xinglan sighed in disappointment, "I'll find someone else then!"
...
The next day, Qian Mo entered the stadium. As he passed by the competition stage, he glanced at the small group of three, Tang Wulin, on the stage and took the opportunity to imprint Xu Xiaoyan's Star Wheel Ice Staff Spirit.
His steps didn't stop. He followed the stairs all the way to the top floor boxes, reaching the door of Box Number Three and gently knocking.
"Enter," A deep voice came from inside the door. Qian Mo pushed the door open and entered.
There were only two people in the box: one was Duan Xuan, the President of the Heaven Sea Forge Master Association, and the other was Mu Chen, the President of the East Sea Forge Master Association and an Eighth-level Saint Craftsman, who was his target for this trip.
"Junior Qian Mo greets Martial Uncle and President Duan," Qian Mo bowed respectfully.
Duan Xuan nodded slightly, looking Qian Mo up and down with curiosity.
Mu Chen's scrutinizing gaze fell on Qian Mo. After a while, he said, "I heard long ago that Senior Brother took in a disciple. Seeing him today, he is indeed extraordinary."
"Thank you for the compliment, Martial Uncle," Qian Mo said.
"What level Forge Master are you?" Mu Chen stroked the short beard on his chin, asking casually.
"Fourth level," Qian Mo replied.
Mu Chen's hand paused slightly, a hint of complacency flashing in his eyes. Was his disciple not inferior to a Divine Craftsman's disciple? He said lightly, "Not bad. How long has it been since you broke through?"
"More than a year," Qian Mo answered honestly.
"Hiss!"
Upon hearing this, Mu Chen's hand trembled, and he directly pulled out a white hair from his chin, wincing in pain.
Duan Xuan beside him also widened his eyes in surprise, "One year! You haven't thought about breaking through to the fifth level in a year!"
A nine-year-old fourth-level Forge Master, they knew he could definitely break through to the fifth level. Qian Mo hadn't broken through, which could only mean he hadn't intended to break through.
"If you want to build a tall building on flat ground, you can't go too fast. The foundation still needs to be laid properly," Qian Mo said with a smile.
Mu Chen heard this and his eyes were filled with undisguised admiration, "Very good. Young people nowadays are too impatient; they all want to advance a thousand miles in a day. In such a large environment, you can still be so steady and unhurried. No wonder Senior Brother cherishes you so much."
"Martial Uncle is too kind," Qian Mo said humbly.
Mu Chen raised his hand and threw a piece of purplish-red metal to Qian Mo, "This piece of Yang Soul Gold is considered a Meeting Gift from Martial Uncle."
Yang Soul Gold is a top-grade mental attribute metal. It has the effect of amplifying and stabilizing mental force. Because the conditions for its formation are extremely harsh, the amount existing in the world is extremely small. Even Zhen Hua only has two pieces.
Qian Mo looked at the Yang Soul Gold in his hand, overjoyed. Yang Soul Gold was a very suitable metal for him to make Dou Armor.
But Yang Soul Gold was scarce, and he was still worrying about how to get enough of it. He didn't expect Mu Chen to give him a piece.
"Thank you, Martial Uncle," Qian Mo said gratefully.