"I accept your challenge!"
Inside the hall, Liu Xing's cold voice rang out, "If you can defeat me in Artifact Refining, I, Liu Xing, will give up the marriage alliance with Snow Charm. If you fail, I'll have my fourth brother throw you off the flying Demonic Beast as well."
As his voice fell, Liu Xing sneered at Mo Yu. Although he was somewhat surprised that the other party dared to challenge him in Artifact Refining, Liu Xing's confidence in himself made him decide that Mo Yu would never see the sun again.
Young Master Liu Xu, who was beside him, also stared intently at Mo Yu, anticipating the moment the other party would be thrown off the flying Demonic Beast by him, to sate the hatred in his heart.
"This isn't fair!" Hearing Liu Xing's demand, Lin Fei quickly said, "When Mo Yu threw Young Master Liu Xu off the flying Demonic Beast, he deliberately went easy on him. But you intend to kill him..."
Before Lin Fei could finish, Mo Yu waved his hand, turned to look at Liu Ye, who was in the main seat, and calmly said, "I accept Young Family Head Liu Xing's request. I hope Family Head Liu will be a witness. Once the results are out, if I win, the Liu family will break off the engagement. If I lose, I will be at Young Master Liu Xu's mercy."
Liu Ye frowned, looking at the calm Mo Yu beside him with some surprise. Although the young man's talent seemed extremely terrifying to him, in terms of Artifact Refining, Liu Xing was a Second-Grade Artifact Refiner. If Mo Yu wanted a sure win, he would have to be a Third-Grade Artifact Refiner.
But how could a Third-Grade Artifact Refiner be so easily achieved? In the entire Liu family, only he and the Grand Elder had reached Third-Grade Artifact Refiner status. How could Mo Yu, being so young, possess the skill of a Third-Grade Artifact Refiner? That would require at least the strength of a Great Dou Master.
Therefore, after pondering for a moment, Liu Ye chose to agree to this challenge.
Of course, even if Mo Yu lost the competition, Liu Ye would not let Young Master Liu Xu harm Mo Yu's life. Before clarifying the young man's background, Liu Ye only wanted to teach him a lesson.
"Mo Yu, I agree to your Artifact Refining challenge with Xing'er." Looking at the eager and impatient Liu Xing, and the calm, inscrutable Mo Yu, Liu Ye stroked the teacup in his hand and said in a deep voice that echoed through the hall.
As his voice fell, the atmosphere in the hall immediately became lively. Everyone looked at Mo Yu and Liu Xing, anticipating who would win this challenge.
However, all the Liu family members believed that Liu Xing would easily defeat Mo Yu. As an Artifact Refining Family, Liu Xing's Artifact Refining talent was evident to all; becoming a Second-Grade Artifact Refiner at such a young age was extremely rare in the Family for nearly a hundred years.
While Mo Yu's Cultivation talent was terrifying, they didn't believe that a young man with such powerful strength would also possess profound Artifact Refining skills.
It was the same for Alchemists; they had never seen any high-grade Alchemist with powerful Dou Qi Cultivation. Even Pill King Gu He, the Jia Ma Empire's foremost Alchemist, was only barely ranked among the Empire's top ten powerhouses, and at the very bottom of that list.
It had become a consensus on the Fighting Qi Continent that Alchemists and Artifact Refiners were not skilled in combat.
Unlike the majority of the Liu family, Snow Charm, Lin Fei, and Qing Lin chose to believe in Mo Yu.
Snow Charm and Lin Fei knew the inside story of Mo Yu helping the Ye Family's Old Ancestor repair weapons. Although they weren't sure what grade of Artifact Refiner the young man was, being able to solve the Ye Family Old Ancestor's problem, Mo Yu's Artifact Refining skill was clearly not low.
As for Qing Lin, although she had never witnessed Mo Yu's Artifact Refining technique, she believed in Mo Yu without hesitation.
"Follow me. Since we're going to compete in Artifact Refining, there's no more suitable place than my Liu family's Artifact Refining Room," Liu Ye said from the main seat.
After speaking, Liu Ye stood up and walked in front. Mo Yu and the other three, along with Liu Xing and the rest of the Liu family, followed closely and headed towards the Liu family's Artifact Refining Room.
After turning a few corridors, a hall with 'Artifact Refining Room' written on it immediately came into view.
The guards protecting the Artifact Refining Room, seeing the Family Head arrive in person with others, quickly opened the main door.
Following Liu Ye through the main door, the spacious hall was lit up as if it were daytime.
In the center of the hall, more than a dozen separated stone platforms were meticulously arranged, and in front of each platform, there was an Artifact Refining Furnace of a uniform model.
"You two each choose a stone platform, then refine the weapon you wish to refine. Whoever's weapon has better quality will win the competition," Liu Ye said, pointing at the nearby stone platforms, to Mo Yu and Liu Xing.
"Alright, Father." Liu Xing glanced at Mo Yu disdainfully, then confidently walked to the central stone platform and placed some Materials on it.
Seeing the Materials Liu Xing took out, the Liu family members immediately gasped. As an Artifact Refining Family, they were naturally very familiar with all kinds of Materials.
Therefore, they could tell at a glance that Liu Xing intended to refine a weapon called 'Lie Huo Qiang (Fierce Fire Spear)'!
The Lie Huo Qiang (Fierce Fire Spear) was one of the top few Second-Grade Artifact Refining recipes in their Liu family. Even the Ice Soul Sword was slightly inferior in comparison.
By refining the Lie Huo Qiang (Fierce Fire Spear), Liu Xing clearly intended to decisively defeat Mo Yu with an overwhelming display of strength.
As a result, the Liu family members all looked at Mo Yu with pity, as if the latter was destined to lose.
Seeing this, Mo Yu sneered and shook his head inwardly. In the Fighting Qi Continent, this desert for Artifact Refiners, it was time to let them see that there were always people stronger than oneself, and realms beyond one's current understanding.
After nodding a greeting to Liu Ye, Mo Yu slowly walked to the leftmost stone platform.
"Mo Yu, don't think that just because your Dou Qi strength is powerful, you can underestimate my Liu family. Today, this young master will show you what true Artifact Refining is!" Seeing Mo Yu sit down to his left, Liu Xing sneered mockingly.
After speaking, Liu Xing quickly placed his palm on the fire opening of the Artifact Refining Furnace. Dou Qi surged within his body, and with muffled popping sounds, flames immediately ignited within the Artifact Refining Furnace.
To the side, oblivious to Liu Xing's mockery, Mo Yu slowly took out the Materials from his storage ring: purple crystal stone, Profound Gold Silk Thread, Golden Sun Wood...
And what Mo Yu was preparing to refine was precisely the 'Fire Restricting Cover' that had long been in his plans!
As early as when he left the Xiao Family, in order to increase the success rate of subduing the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire, Mo Yu had started collecting the Materials for the Fire Restricting Cover early on. Half a month ago, after successfully gathering the last Material in the Mo Family's treasury, he hadn't had time to refine it. Now was the perfect opportunity to complete it.
The Fire Restricting Cover had a special resistance effect against high temperatures and intense flames. Even though its use was extremely niche, it was still a Third-Grade weapon, enough to help Mo Yu secure victory in this competition.
Upon seeing the Artifact Refining Materials Mo Yu took out, Liu Ye, who was observing from a distance, immediately frowned. With his knowledge, he actually didn't know what kind of weapon Mo Yu intended to refine.
Furthermore, the Materials Mo Yu took out were not only extremely precious but also very difficult to process. Some of them even he wasn't confident in perfectly melting and using, yet the young man took them out so openly, clearly with confidence as his backing.
Even before the competition began, a shadow had already fallen over Liu Ye's heart.
After taking out all the Materials for refining the Fire Restricting Cover, Mo Yu looked towards the nearby Artifact Refining Furnace.
Compared to an Alchemist's alchemy cauldron, an Artifact Refining Furnace and an alchemy cauldron didn't differ much in overall appearance; some Artifact Refiners even preferred to use alchemy cauldrons for Artifact Refining. However, because Materials were more difficult to process than medicinal ingredients, and weapons were much larger than Medicinal Pills, Artifact Refining Furnaces generally placed more emphasis on concentrated firepower and were larger in size than alchemy cauldrons.
Previously, Mo Yu didn't have the conditions, but now with an Artifact Refining Furnace, Mo Yu intended to make good use of it.
Approaching the Artifact Refining Furnace, the Dou Qi within his body began to surge, rapidly passing through his Meridians, then flowing along his palm, and with a soft sound, it entered the Artifact Refining Furnace.
"Boom." With a muffled sound, surging crimson lightning flames suddenly erupted from within the Artifact Refining Furnace.
At the same time, not far away, Liu Ye was somewhat uneasily taking a teacup from his subordinate. He had just taken a small sip when his gaze suddenly caught sight of the crimson lightning flames rising from Mo Yu's Artifact Refining Furnace. His pupils instantly widened, and with a "bang," the teacup in his hand directly fell to the ground...
The tea soaked his pant leg, but Liu Ye couldn't care less. He saw his finger trembling as he pointed at Mo Yu not far away, and in a horrified voice, he exclaimed, "Crimson lightning flames? What kind of wondrous object is that?"
At the sound, the entire hall instantly fell silent. Gaze after gaze abruptly turned towards Mo Yu not far away...
"That guy... actually summoned crimson lightning flames? Could it be a different kind of flame? No, what is this thing? How could he possess such a wondrous object?!"
Inside the hall, all the Liu family Artifact Refiners stared in shock at the crimson lightning flames rising within the Artifact Refining Furnace. Due to the isolation of the Artifact Refining Furnace, they couldn't be too certain, but the color of those flames was definitely not the Dou Qi flames condensed from ordinary Dou Qi!
Indeed, the Vermillion Bird Sky-Burning Lightning felt more like lightning than fire to them. The fusion of lightning and fire was truly astonishing.
Snow Charm and Lin Fei also saw such peculiar lightning flames for the first time, and they covered their attractive red lips in surprise. The two girls exchanged glances. As Alchemists, they naturally felt the terrifying power of the lightning fire in Mo Yu's hand. Perhaps even their teacher didn't possess such powerful flames.
"This young man... seems to be quite extraordinary. No wonder he dared to compete with Xing'er at such a young age. So he has this kind of foundation. Looking at the intensity of those crimson lightning flames, this young man's Artifact Refining skill also seems extremely terrifying. Not only does he possess frightening Cultivation talent, but he also wields no small amount of Artifact Refining technique. It seems my Liu family has provoked a formidable individual," Liu Ye thought, slowly calming his emotions, feeling somewhat shocked.
"Family Head, should we stop this competition?" At this moment, a white-haired elder from the Liu family suddenly rushed to Liu Ye's side and said somewhat uneasily.
Casting his gaze back to the competition not far away, Liu Ye frowned deeply, then shook his head and said, "Abruptly stopping the competition will only make my Liu family lose more face.
Moreover, although Mo Yu can control these lightning flames, which are different from other flames, Artifact Refining is not just about relying on fire. Soul perception, control over the heat, and the precise amount of various Materials needed—all these are crucial aspects. I trust Xing'er. For now, let's continue watching..."
With Liu Ye's words, the hall once again fell silent. However, this time, most gazes remained fixed on Mo Yu. Many wanted to know if this young man, who could control what seemed to be a different kind of flame, would still perform outstandingly in other aspects.
Mo Yu, who was in the midst of Artifact Refining, naturally had no leisure to pay attention to the commotion in the hall caused by the Vermillion Bird Sky-Burning Lightning outside. His gaze briefly swept over the stone platform, then unhurriedly picked up several Materials and systematically threw them into the Artifact Refining Furnace.
With the help of the Artifact Refining Furnace, Mo Yu's efficiency in refining and tempering Materials was greatly enhanced. The Fire Restricting Cover, which would originally take five hours to refine, Mo Yu was now confident he could complete in two hours.
Under the control of his Soul perception, the Vermillion Bird Sky-Burning Lightning was as fierce as a tiger. Coupled with the effect of the Artifact Refining Furnace, it quickly enveloped the Materials thrown into it, then extracted the various essential Materials needed for refining the Fire Restricting Cover.
Under Mo Yu's smooth refining, the prototype of the Fire Restricting Cover was slowly forming within the Artifact Refining Furnace.
At this moment, there was no trace of nervousness on the young man's handsome face. His face was faintly tinged with crimson due to the burning of the crimson lightning, but that calm and composed demeanor almost made everyone in the hall believe that the person before them was not a naive young man under twenty, but rather an Advanced Artifact Refiner with rich Artifact Refining experience.
Seeing this calm and composed demeanor, Snow Charm and Lin Fei exchanged another surprised glance. This was a composure they had only seen when their teacher, the Alchemist, was refining. Now, the young man before them allowed them to witness it once more.
Liu Xing, who was nearby, also noticed that something was amiss. When he saw the terrifying lightning flames within Mo Yu's Artifact Refining Furnace and the gradually forming weapon, a hint of resentment appeared in his eyes.
"This damned guy, he hides really well. I actually misjudged him. But it won't be easy to beat me. Lie Huo Qiang (Fierce Fire Spear), form for me!" Glancing at Mo Yu again, Liu Xing's eyes revealed a hint of jealousy and an unwillingness to admit defeat.
Previously, he had considered Mo Yu an ignorant fool when it came to Artifact Refining. Now, Mo Yu had risen to someone with terrifying talent, someone he would have to take very seriously to defeat.
Mo Yu, who was fully focused on the Artifact Refining Furnace, naturally didn't notice Liu Xing's gaze from not far away. Even if he did, he would only dismiss it.
Staring intently into the Artifact Refining Furnace, time flew by as Mo Yu concentrated. After an unknown number of temperings, the fishing net-like weapon within the Artifact Refining Furnace finally became formidable.
Looking at the luster on the surface of the Fire Restricting Cover, Mo Yu smiled slightly. His palm slowly left the Artifact Refining Furnace, and as his palm withdrew, the crimson lightning flames within the Artifact Refining Furnace also slowly dissipated.
The Fire Restricting Cover is complete!