It was early winter, and it was cold.

Mount Wuzhi was covered in cold fog, but the Bluestone Square on the foot of the main mountain was crowded with people that gathered in groups and discussed softly.

The square was roughly 3 meters long. A high platform was located to the east, where an incense burner with the circumference of 3 people holding hands in a circle could be seen on it. Purple smoke was rising from the burner. As for behind the incense burning, a row of seats was arranged as though they formed a dragon. It was worth noting that the seats were made of the best Green Pear Red Wood, hence they would not be damaged by water or fire.

A longsword that was about 33 meters tall could be seen towering in the middle of the square. Half of it was inserted into the ground, and it gave off a majestic momentum. The sword's blade was as thin as a cicada's wing, and it shone in white light. Moreover, a sharp sword Qi soared into the sky and stirred even nothingness. Numerous rusty chains spread from above the giant sword into the ground.

Yu Xiuming, Qu Zhengde, and Ou Yangming walked side by side into the square. Yu Xiuming then said to the 2 other blacksmiths, "Master Ou, Master Qu, this is the competition venue."

"Thank you, Master Yu!" Ou Yangming cupped his hands. He then shifted his gaze to the giant sword and sighed with a strange look in his eyes. Subsequently, he breathed out the cold air inside his chest.

Qu Zhengde's eyes flickered after he looked at the sword.

Yu Xiuming was clever. He took the initiative to introduce the sword to them, "Gentlemen, this giant sword has an unordinary origin!"

Seeing as the cold fog in front of him condensed into a fan-shaped frost flower, Ou Yangming lifted his palm to catch it, which instantly turned into cold dew. He asked, "Master Yu, why don't you tell us about the giant sword's origin?"

Yu Xiuming pointed at the sky with an unusual look on his face. "Rumor has it that a longsword came from outside of this word 10,000 years ago during a stormy and rainy night. The sword Qi was mighty and hasty, where it ripped the dark night into pieces, such that the rain curtains within 50 kilometers from it were cut off. A sword has the power to cut off a river—the ground quaked while gravel flew into the sky. Its magnificent sword intent was extremely pure and concentrated, but nobody on Mount Wuzhi was injured."

Ou Yangming pondered for a long time before his face changed. He questioned as he found it odd, "How extraordinary. Where's the concentrated sword Qi?"

Yu Xiuming lifted his head slightly and glanced at the rusty chains on the giant sword as he answered, "It was sealed. The sword intent was too forceful, so much so that Spiritualists couldn't get close to it. In fact, even Venerable Ones felt their skins hurt after they approached it. That was why it was sealed thousands of years ago by seniors from Mount Wuzhi using the Nine Seals Art. Even so, until now, an unimaginable abnormal phenomenon still occurs in the square during a full moon night."

He leaned over to Ou Yangming and lowered his voice on purpose as he added, "I heard that Master even witnessed the scene."

At the spur of the moment, spiritual Qi was stirred up in the square as 10 green bolts flew toward the square from above.

The 10 light streams carried monstrous momentums, by which they Qi and blood were surging. They carried the momentum of wind and thunder, causing the wind and clouds in the sky to be overturned, as well as muffled thunders to be heard. All of the disciples in the Bluestone Square tensed up and subconsciously looked at the lights.

Almost the second they looked, an awe-inspiring and enormous spiritual consciousness scanned from the peak of the peak that was covered in white snow.

Everyone that was scanned by the spiritual consciousness could not help but shudder.

It was absolute coercion from powerhouses, and it seemed to be able to dry one's flesh and eliminate one's soul. It was as if a thought or a look from the powerhouses could easily destroy one's body and spirit.

This was how Venerable Ones were like, where a single look from them carried the universe's power.

The disciples from Mount Wuzhi wondered at the same time, 'So many Venerable One's are flying at the same time?'

Once the 10 figures landed on the high platform concurrently, Tiandao the Venerable One flapped his sleeves and said softly, "Venerable Ones, please take your seats."

Ai Hongli the Venerable One paced forward and responded, "It'll be impolite to refuse you, so let me be the first!" He proceeded to the first seat on the right.

On the other hand, Chi Ningyun the Venerable One was clothed in white. Her skin was as fair as the more perfect white tallow jade while her green veins were as gentle as a waterfall. She walked gracefully and took the seat beside Zhiming the Venerable One.

As for Qiu Chengwang the Venerable One from Reborn in Paradise, he was dressed elegantly and looked stunned.

He gently fanned his fan, which had a drawing of the flying Apsaras (TN: Flying celestial beings that accompany Buddhas) on it. When he glanced at Ningyun the Venerable One, a loving look could be seen in his eyes.

The powerhouses from Danzhou's Nine Great Sects were seated on the left. In particular, Taihe the Venerable One from the Sword Sect looked stern while he carried a longsword at his waist. His unshakeable momentum spread in all directions, and he seemed like a longsword covered in blood.

Yuqi the Venerable One was sitting next to Tiandao the Venerable One. He chuckled when he looked at the giant sword at the center of the Bluestone Square. "Tiandao the Venerable One, I have a lingering fear whenever I see that sword. It's as if it contains a power that surpasses my understanding."

Tiandao the Venerable One shook his head and replied to him, "Yuqi the Venerable One, rumor has it that the giant sword has a shocking inheritance, but Mount Wuzhi's still clueless even after looking around for years, so I guess that it's just falsehood that has been spreading around."

Ai Hongli tapped his chair gently and expressed with a smile, "Tiandao the Venerable One, it's almost time, so let's start the competition!"

After pondering for some time, Tiandao the Venerable One clapped his hand. A white-haired yet youthful-looking elder entered the square right away. He looked amiable, and he bowed slightly before he greeted everyone with a hearty laugh, "Greetings, Venerable Ones. I'm Li Qinghou from Mount Wuzhi, and I'll be hosting this Big Smithing Competition." The elder was not loud, but his voice carried a spiritual power, thus everyone in the square heard him well.

Yu Xiuming looked rather regretful when he heard the elder.

If it was not for Ou Yangming, he would definitely have been the candidate to compete in the Big Smithing Competition against Zhangzhou this time. Nevertheless, he quickly suppressed the bitterness.

Li Qinghou looked around. Seeing as nobody had any objections, he cupped his hands and uttered, "Master Ou, Master Qu, please!"

Ou Yangming looked at Qu Zhengde with a surging fighting spirit inside his eyes. He chuckled and expressed, "Master Ou, be careful as I won't hold back at all."

Qu Zhengde's eyes flickered. He rejoined in a deep voice, "Me neither!"

A boundless fighting spirit was formed, and it increased bit by bit. It was from this moment onward, the 2 blacksmiths began exchanging blows with their words.

Li Qinghou's pupils shrunk when he noticed their momentum accumulating little by little. He sighed and thought, 'They're the most outstanding blacksmiths from the prefectures indeed as their spirits alone are unordinary. Besides, the clash between the momentums is already frightening enough.'

He cast his thoughts aside and announced, "Smithing art's very scattered and has plenty of branches, but a blacksmith's skills are the most tested in suit smithing. This time, you'll be required to smith a suit each in the Big Smithing Competition. Alright, without further ado, let's begin."

As his voice echoed, the square fell dead silent. Cries from the wind were the only sounds that could be heard as everyone paid attention to Ou Yangming and Qu Zhengde.

Ou Yangming breathed out some cold air. With a flash of thought, his Heavenly Phoenix Fire lit up.

A scorching airwave reverberated, causing the air above the flame to become oddly distorted.

Qu Zhengde's face changed, and he sighed. 'That's a very high temperature. Given that he's smithing pieces of equipment with that flame, I suppose that he's incredibly fast?'

Without hesitating further, a flame's reflection could be seen in Qu Zhengde's eyes as well. A white fire as clear as snow could be seen in his hand. By releasing spiritual Qi through his palm, the white flame burned but strangely enough, it did not have any temperature and was intensely cold.

Tiandao the Venerable One's face changed. "Venerable One Ai, you hid really well—that's the Severe Winter Flame."

Yuqi the Venerable One's pupils shrunk as he exclaimed, "Tiandao the Venerable One, you're not mistaken? Is that really the Severe Winter Flame?"

"Yes, it's the Severe Winter Flame. It took a century for the flame to be retrieved from the bottom of the East Cold Ocean. Unconventionally, it allows one to smith pieces of equipment using cold intent. As such, a subtle balance can be achieved, and there's a 30% chance for a piece of equipment's equivalent rank to be increased by a level," Ai Hongli explained with a smile.

The Venerable Ones from Danzhou gasped, and they looked more solemnly at Qu Zhengde.

Ou Yangming was already very familiar with equipment smithing. When he channeled his spiritual power to his fingertips, his fire burned fiercely. It was evident that he had activated the Heavenly Phoenix Fire to the maximum, by which clusters of fire were dancing on his palm.

All of a sudden, Ou Yangming's eyes tensed up while his momentum sank inside his body. He sat upright and entered the integration of Heaven and man, as well as the thoroughly meticulous state.

Many precious materials melted quickly. The materials were precious collections from Mount Wuzhi, and a number of them could even be considered priceless as they could only be traded with something else. They were only taken out because of the Big Smithing Competition between Danzhou and Zhangzhou, where Yu Xiuming would normally need to put in a lot of effort to obtain them.

Unlike Ou Yangming, Qu Zhengde's momentum did not sink inside his body. Instead, he moved his fingers swiftly, giving off an impressive feeling.

Despite that, he had also entered the states of the integration of Heaven and man and the thoroughly meticulous. Every move he made felt smooth as though anything more or less would disrupt the perfectness.

"He's worthy of being a smithing master indeed for having such a profound mental state cultivation base." A disciple from Mount Wuzhi shook his head and sighed.

"Yes, no wonder he became a smithing master at such a young age."

In particular, the smithing experts from the various sects were deeply envious. They were jealous of the integration of Heaven and man, as well as the thoroughly meticulous state.

This was because achieving those states meant that one would be able to control one's fire freely and in detail.

Qu Zhende's eyes gleamed while he used special smithing skills once after another, all while white flames were seen dancing on his fingertips. Before long, an exceptionally glorious shoulder pad took form. Having said that, the blacksmith kept a straight face. As he turned his wrist, an exquisite brocade box appeared out of thin air. Following his finger wind, a Blood Condensation Ore appeared and radiated in red light.

From far, it looked like Qu Zhengde was enveloped in a red mist.

Those with poor wills had all sorts of thoughts surging inside their heads. Their eyes were bloodshot as they fell into nightmares.

The Venerable Ones on the high platform exclaimed at the same time, "That… Is that a Blood Condensation Ore?"

Tiandao the Venerable One flapped his sleeve with a cold look on his face. He scoffed. "Venerable One Ai, isn't that unreasonable? If he incorporates that treasure ore into the equipment, Master Ou will suffer a huge loss!"

Yuqi the Venerable One complained as well, "Yes, a peculiar stone from outside of the world can significantly enhance a piece of equipment's properties." He also cast a hostile look at Ai Hongli and waited for an explanation.

However, Ai Hongli was also confused. He responded with a bitter smile, "Tiandao the Venerable One, I have no idea what's happening either."