"Qián Jìng?" The derision in Bridas's eyes lessened considerably, replaced by a complex curiosity in his pupils. This was the legendary Qián Jìng? The Qián Jìng who, at such a young age, had seized control of the entire Blacksmith Guild of the True Policy Dynasty? The young Guild Master who hadn't dared to show his face since entering the True Policy Dynasty? The Qián Jìng who had been forcefully elevated by so many factions within the Dynasty?

Those near Dolata automatically echoed his words upon hearing the name Qián Jìng. Those beside them heard the name too and instinctively repeated it.

In a short time, everyone in the entire venue knew that the person who had just shouted was none other than the Grand Master of the Blacksmith Guild, Lord Qián Jìng, who had been missing these past few days!

Whispers converged, gradually forming a low, continuous roar. People repeated Qián Jìng’s name over and over. This low murmur gradually amassed and converged, building into a massive wave of sound.

Bridas looked at the cheering crowd with displeasure. They hadn't even seen anything substantial yet, and they were already this frenzied. If he won later, would they still be this excited?

Qián Jìng took a step forward. The crowd parted like a tide, receding to the sides as if welcoming an emperor, clearing a super-wide path for him to walk through.

"Master Qián Jìng, you just said my 'Shattering Tool Whip' is not worthy of being shown, is that correct?" Bridas's voice dripped with provocation. He had come to the True Policy Dynasty specifically to find this Qián Jìng. According to Dolata, Qián Jìng possessed formidable combat techniques. If that were true—if he could defeat him just once—he could obtain that technique, which might greatly aid the development of the Dwarven tribes.

"I did," Qián Jìng replied. He walked among the various forges, casually picking up the hammers from many smiths and placing them into his Dòu Jiè (Battle Realm). He collected sets after sets of smithing hammers before finally stopping before one furnace. "The Shattering Tool Whip was originally created for the express purpose of destroying an opponent's weapons and equipment."

A hint of appreciation flickered in Bridas's eyes. Among a thousand smiths of this age, perhaps not one would recognize a weapon like the Shattering Tool Whip. Even if Shui Yuetian had mentioned its name earlier, they were too far apart for the name to have truly reached his ears.

"Oh? So, Master Qián Jìng must have some excellent work of his own?" Bridas smiled at Qián Jìng. "Please don't pull out the work of an ancient master and claim it as your own. You and I both have reputations; being exposed for such a thing would be terribly embarrassing..."

"Master Bridas just said we could forge on the spot, correct?" Qián Jìng smiled as he poured lamp oil into the furnace. The resulting blaze shot up in a column of crimson flame nearly ten feet high, looking like some fiery demon about to leap out of the furnace.

Bridas laughed. This young man was truly clever. Choosing a contest of on-the-spot forging meant it would be difficult for him to craft another Shattering Tool Whip, inadvertently erasing a significant portion of his advantage.

"Fine, young man! You are smart, understanding how to leverage your strengths in a competition." Bridas walked toward a furnace, rolling up his sleeves to reveal a powerful arm covered in coarse red hair. "Since that is the case, let us both forge now. Even if I forgo the advantage of the Shattering Tool Whip..."

"You misunderstood, Bridas." Qián Jìng hooked his finger around a barrel holding two hundred jīn of lamp oil and dumped it all into the furnace at once. A ten-meter-wide pillar of fire erupted, truly looking like an elemental demon trying to break free from the crucible. "I just plan to forge a common kitchen knife on the spot, and then use it to sever your meticulously crafted Shattering Tool Whip, proving that your equipment truly is beneath notice."

"A kitchen knife? To sever my Shattering Tool Whip? Forged right now?"

Bridas stared blankly at Qián Jìng, suspecting he had misheard several key points.

"That's right! A kitchen knife, to cut your Shattering Tool Whip, and one made right here, right now."

Qián Jìng’s expression was utterly serious. He paid no mind to the fact that the flames were already too intense and could damage the metal's core, continuing to pour in the oil.

"Hahahaha..."

Bridas threw his head back and let out a loud, wild laugh. He had encountered many arrogant youths over the years, but never a blacksmith this audacious.

A kitchen knife? Every smith knew that such an item had inherent structural flaws in its shape, making it forever a substandard product.

The Shattering Tool Whip? That was a specialized weapon designed specifically to break equipment, incredibly difficult to create.

As for forging it on the spot? This Shattering Tool Whip was a Soul Artifact! A Soul Artifact! To shatter a Soul Artifact, the weakest weapon required would need to be a Soul Artifact, or perhaps even a Sacred Artifact!

To forge a Soul Artifact on the spot? What a joke!

Forget Soul Artifacts; even equipment of the Super-Battle Soldier level required ten days, sometimes even dozens of days, to complete.

And a Soul Artifact? Considering it a success if one could be forged in a year would be pure luck.

And it had to be a kitchen knife? A kitchen knife slicing through a Shattering Tool Whip? This wasn't a challenge; it was a blatant, naked insult! If he could truly achieve that effect... achieve that effect...

Bridas gasped heavily. If Qián Jìng succeeded, he might as well retire from the world of blacksmithing altogether.

"I know you won't believe me," Qián Jìng said, already reaching into his Dòu Jiè to retrieve materials. "The time constraint can be compensated for by the materials. I know you came to the True Policy Dynasty looking for me. Since that is the case, shall we make a wager?"

"A wager on what? If I lose, I become your apprentice?" Bridas joked with a smile.

"I don't want you as my apprentice; the honor of you Dwarves isn't great," Qián Jìng replied, continuing to pull out high-grade materials one after another. "I wager all the materials you currently possess. If you don't have good materials, then I won't gamble with you, and you can leave now. Of course, before you leave, please admit that you don't dare to gamble with me. That's right! I am provoking you..."

The smile on Bridas’s face began to stiffen, not from Qián Jìng’s words, but from the sheer volume of materials Qián Jìng was producing that left him utterly stunned.

Ten Thousand Layer Meteoric Iron! Starfire Flame Steel... Metalwood Stone...

Every single material was incredibly expensive! Yet, Qián Jìng was pulling them out as if they were common goods... Where did this kid get all this stuff? Damn it! Demon Cores! And not just one or two! He was grabbing them by the handful!

These Demon Cores... when did Demon Cores become so worthless?

"Bridas, you can choose to back out now," Qián Jìng said, his hand maintaining perfect stability as he continued producing even more materials. "If you admit defeat right now..."

"I admit defeat?" Bridas's stiff expression gradually vanished, replaced by a confident sneer. "Even if you have many good materials, your time is too short..."

"Since you insist on gambling, then put up everything you have," Qián Jìng added more oil to the flames. "I know what you want. If I lose, I can give you even more of what you desire. But if you lose, you must leave all your materials with me."

All his materials? The ordinary onlookers didn't grasp the true value of 'all materials,' but the veteran smiths understood exactly what that represented.

Bridas was the strongest smith among the Dwarven race. To put it bluntly, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that half of the most top-tier materials possessed by the entire Dwarven clan were stored within the old Dwarf's Dòu Jiè.

That was simply how the Dwarven race operated: the smith with the superior crafting ability gained control over more forging materials.

As the most capable smith in the Dwarven tribe, the highest-grade materials Bridas possessed could make the royal treasuries of the True Policy Dynasty and the Demon Race look pale in comparison.

A look of intense struggle crossed Bridas's face. "Why should I trust you?"

Qián Jìng said nothing. He casually drove a fist towards the sky. Instantly, the flames of all surrounding furnaces converged around his arm, forming a colossal dragon of fire that soared into the heavens, dyeing the entire sky scarlet!

Bridas's expression changed drastically. He stared, dumbfounded, at the roaring fire dragon in the sky. "This... this... this..."

Fire Gathering into a Dragon! Bridas couldn't grasp the implications of what this punch represented among warriors, but he knew that if this technique could be applied to forging, his own skill level would reach a new height!

This technique... this technique... Bridas's eyes widened to twice their normal size, his breathing growing ragged. If he could master this technique, his success rate in forging Soul Weapons would dramatically increase.

"Is that...? Someone from the Three-Headed Golden Dragon lineage?" Qián Wushuang looked up at the roaring dragon of flame in the sky. "That punch certainly has a certain spirit and artistic conception..."

"Young Master Wushuang, that is not someone from the Three-Headed Golden Dragon family; that punch was thrown by Qián Jìng..."

"What?" A faint surprise crossed Qián Wushuang's pupils. He didn't doubt his attendant’s observation; as a warrior from a hereditary family steeped in archery lineage, their eyesight in this regard could only be superior to his own.

"Truly a punch full of spirit! Though the raw power is slightly lacking, the artistic conception..."

"The Newcomer King Competition is about to begin. Which young master is so impatient to throw such a punch? This attack is practically a challenge to all young warriors, isn't it?"

The Imperial Palace, Observation Deck

His Majesty, the current Emperor of the True Policy Dynasty, clad in his imperial robes, watched the boiling dragon of fire in the sky and nodded lightly. "A punch with such artistic conception shouldn't be thrown by a very young warrior. I wonder if he is one of the participants in the Newcomer King Competition? If he is truly competing, then this punch is extremely provocative."

"Indeed, Your Majesty! This single strike is guaranteed to ignite the emotions of all contestants. It is a pity, however, that representatives from the three great Bloodline Families are participating this time; they are destined to be the main focus. The owner of this strike was born in an inopportune era."

"You speak truly. To witness the simultaneous awakening of three ultimate bloodline powers—it is fortune that I, this Emperor, am alive to see it."

At the same time, the major family strongholds throughout the Capital City also witnessed the skyward rush and convergence of the fire dragon, and they all dispatched personnel to investigate this provocation. Why would someone be so unable to restrain themselves before the Newcomer King Competition had even officially begun?

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