Nie Shiyun took the opportunity to carefully examine the remaining list of cultivators; there were roughly fewer than thirty weapon refiners left. For a competition with no limit on the number of applicants, this was indeed a small number. Of course, considering those unwilling to display their skills in public, those from merchant workshops like the Chang family who were held back due to internal family reasons, and those driven away by Ao Fan’s behavior... the actual number of refiners in the Middle Layer was far greater than this.
Once in the preliminaries, it was no longer a matter of half the group advancing, but one-on-one matches. Being a newcomer, Nie Shiyun naturally knew no one, and looking at his opponent's name gave him no inkling of their skill level. Fortunately, the people around him were very enthusiastic today and immediately flocked to enlighten him, explaining that his opponent was a Grade 3 weapon refiner from the Lan family.
The opponent was playing on home turf here in Pinghe City, and anyone sent out by a major family was bound to possess genuine talent. No matter how Nie Shiyun looked at it, he felt he didn't stand a ghost of a chance. Luckily, he had already mentally prepared himself; he treated today as a mere formality, a chance to learn.
The crowd of spectators in the square was noticeably thinner today. Nie Shiyun wandered around the various platforms; the setup was similar to yesterday's qualifiers. The furnaces and workbenches were standardized, but starting today, the refiners could choose to use their own fire seeds and cauldrons.
Nie Shiyun quietly observed the equipment of the other refiners who were already on stage preparing. As expected, most chose to bring out the cauldrons they were accustomed to using. He naturally could not bring out the Phoenix Cauldron, and the new cauldron he had acquired later to deceive others was, by comparison, somewhat lackluster.
Arriving at his position, Nie Shiyun handed his token to the Lan family attendant. After verifying it, the attendant led him to the workbench. There was still plenty of time, so Nie Shiyun leisurely brought out his unremarkable cauldron. Unsurprisingly, many pairs of eyes below the stage, which had been fixed intently on him, showed a hint of disappointment.
"They say a self-made cauldron best reveals a refiner's habits and skill level. Looking at this Nie Shiyun... though he’s a good prospect, the materials and shape of that cauldron are far too mediocre, aren't they?"
A few cultivators from the major families, who had been lazy and hadn't approached Nie Shiyun yesterday, now felt a secret sense of relief. Perhaps others had exaggerated; not rushing to invite him might not have been a bad thing after all.
Mediocre was exactly what he wanted. If Nie Shiyun knew he had avoided the "harassment" of several major families because of this, he would certainly have been satisfied. He had made this cauldron specifically for outsiders to see, aiming for a cheap cost—ideally, something people would forget the moment they looked away.
Since he was destined to lose, there was no need to reveal his Exotic Fire here. Nie Shiyun simply used the fire seed provided by the Lan family. To others, this move seemed quite impoverished, as such fire seeds could be bought at any weapon-refining shop in a large town.
Watching from a distance, Ao Fan snorted and laughed. "I said he was a bumpkin, but this is even more pathetic than I thought!"
"Young Master Ao Fan, compared to you and the Lan family, he truly cannot hold a candle to anyone. So, perhaps you should reconsider your choice...?"
Facing the sweating Lan family member, Ao Fan waved his arm dismissively. "It’s only interesting this way! What, are you questioning me?"
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare...! I have already given the orders..." the Lan family member replied in a panic. He saw Ao Fan’s expression turn gloomy, but the young master said nothing more, his attention soon drifting elsewhere. Only then did the man breathe a sigh of relief.
Nie Shiyun stayed on the stage for half an hour. He knew he had arrived early, thinking he could look around and prepare sooner, but the waiting time was much longer than expected. Feeling the gazes from below the stage constantly gathered on him, he somewhat regretted stepping up so early.
"Fellow Daoist, may I ask if the time has not yet arrived? I see matches have already begun on other platforms," Nie Shiyun said, circling to the back of the platform and hopping down to quietly greet a Lan family cultivator.
"This... let me see, it seems it should be time..."
For some reason, the Lan family cultivator appeared somewhat awkward. Nie Shiyun asked in confusion, "I recall my opponent today is a senior refiner from your Lan family. Though I don't know if you recognize him, you should at least know the situation better than an outsider like me. Has the senior been delayed on the road?"
"That must be it. My apologies," the Lan family cultivator immediately followed Nie Shiyun’s lead.
"Ah, please don't mind it. I can wait a bit longer. If you can contact him, please tell the senior not to rush." Seeing the other man's face full of apology, Nie Shiyun smiled, indicating he didn't care.
He returned to the stage and continued to wait patiently.
Gradually, on the surrounding platforms where matches were being held simultaneously, the refiners all began their work. Only Nie Shiyun’s station remained silent, which was quite awkward.
"What's going on?"
"The time has already passed. Why hasn't the Lan family refiner appeared?"
"Was there an accident?"
"Regardless of the reason, according to the rules, failing to appear on time counts as a forfeit..."
The whispers from outside the field reached Nie Shiyun’s ears. He was also quite puzzled. Logically, all the refiners present had participated in the qualifiers at the same venue yesterday, and everyone lived nearby; there was no reason anyone should be unable to make it. Not to mention this was a Lan family refiner; even if the opponent was an unreliable fellow who had overslept, the Lan family should have dragged him here.
After another fifteen minutes or so, someone finally arrived. Nie Shiyun thought his opponent had finally arrived late, but to his surprise, the person was not the competing refiner himself, but a messenger from the Lan family. The newcomer announced that their family's refiner had encountered a beast attack while leaving the city last night and was now incapacitated while recovering from his injuries.
Nie Shiyun filled his mind with ten thousand question marks. A Grade 3 refiner, leaving the city the night before a competition? And heavily injured to the point of being unable to move? This made no sense!
"I announce that the opponent has forfeited. This match is a victory for Nie Shiyun." The Lan family cultivator quickly took the stage to announce the result, leaving the crowd below looking at each other in bewilderment.
In the crowd, someone whispered, "This is truly a stroke of luck from the heavens!"
Another person said with a subtle expression, "Why do I feel this is very fishy... Don't you think this routine of a Lan family refiner forfeiting feels a bit familiar?"
At this point, Nie Shiyun silently retracted his cauldron and tools and stepped down. It turned out he had come early just to stand like a statue on the stage. More importantly, this matter faintly revealed a hint of something being amiss. Was it truly just simple good luck?
At the same time, people from several major families also came to their own conclusions behind the scenes. "This is definitely the Lan family's own doing." They were all convinced that this advancement was a benefit promised to Nie Shiyun by the Lan family; they just couldn't fathom why they would go to such lengths.
In the afternoon, Nie Shiyun actually encountered a legitimate opponent. The other party was a Grade 2 refiner from a small sect who had narrowly defeated an opponent of similar skill in the previous round. The two exchanged a few words before the match, and the atmosphere was quite friendly.
"So, Fellow Daoist Nie is already able to refine Profound Grade artifacts! Doesn't that mean you can already be a Grade 3 refiner? Then I must admit defeat in advance."
"You overpraise me. It was just a few lucky instances; I don't have total confidence yet. I won't rashly attempt to refine a Profound Grade artifact later," Nie Shiyun said modestly.
"Hearing Fellow Daoist Nie say that puts me much more at ease."
"It seems it's time. Please." Nie Shiyun looked up to see the Lan family refiner signaling them to take the stage and begin. He stood up along with the refiner he had been chatting with.
Nie Shiyun suppressed the strange emotions from the morning and focused his attention on the match before him. The topic for the second match was a fan. Nie Shiyun rarely refined this type of artifact, so he immediately calmed his mind to proceed slowly. His opponent, however, showed a hint of joy; it seemed he had drawn his specialty.
The match proceeded smoothly halfway through, and the fan frames of both men had taken shape. Up to this point, it was a calm but brilliant match, and the crowd below momentarily forgot the farce from the morning.
Suddenly, a loud bang echoed as an accident occurred on stage. Nie Shiyun, who was currently inscribing runes onto the fan frame, was also startled by the sound. He was naturally familiar with this—it was the sound of a furnace explosion.
Nie Shiyun took a quick glance but didn't pay much attention to the other party, instead continuing his own work at a steady pace.
"Oh, what a pity..."
"Was he nervous?"
Listening to the discussions below, Nie Shiyun’s opponent was panicking. At the same time, he found it utterly unbelievable; his hands clearly hadn't shaken, and the spiritual energy he injected was no different from usual. There hadn't been a single sign of a furnace explosion! He quickly calmed down and started making the fan frame from scratch.
Nie Shiyun remained focused and soon entered the finishing stages.
"It looks like another Peak Mortal Grade! This Nie Shiyun’s performance is very stable!"
Just as the spectators were discussing, there was another sudden "boom," shocking everyone. Nie Shiyun’s opponent had actually suffered another furnace explosion just as he was rushing to reach the same progress as before.
Nie Shiyun was almost finished; it was too late for the other man to start over now. The crowd showed expressions of regret and quickly looked away. Only the man himself looked on in disbelief. Soon, his expression turned into the gnashing teeth of resentment. He slammed his fist onto the workbench, gave up the struggle, and walked off the stage.
A moment later, Nie Shiyun’s Peak Mortal Grade artifact was completed. Since his opponent had already left the stage, there was no need for judging; this match was naturally his victory.
With these few matches, Nie Shiyun’s reputation soared. Although Peak Mortal Grade was still Mortal Grade at the end of the day, it didn't stop the curious crowd from swarming forward to admire the young refiner's finished product.
Nie Shiyun, who had expected to be eliminated in the first round, had unexpectedly won two matches in a row, which he himself found incredible. He bypassed the crowd and slipped out from the back of the platform, just in time to see his opponent about to leave.
"Fellow Daoist! It truly is a pity. If there's a chance, let's spar again in the future," Nie Shiyun called out from behind.
The man turned around and looked at Nie Shiyun with resentment. "The match is over, and you won! There's no need for such hypocrisy."
Nie Shiyun was stunned. They had clearly had a friendly exchange before the match; how had he turned hostile so quickly?
"What are you talking about? Although it was just a glimpse, I saw that your technique for handling ivory jade to make the fan frame was very skillful. On the contrary, I am not good at fan-type artifacts; I only won by luck this time."
A complex look appeared on the other man's face. "Won by luck? I have self-awareness; my refining level is below yours. But I also have my dignity as a refiner! You could have won against me fair and square; why did you have to conspire with the Lan family to set me up like this?"
"Eh?" Nie Shiyun was dumbfounded.
"Are you still playing dumb? My workbench was tampered with! Only the Lan family can handle those things. I heard earlier that you had been recruited by the Lan family, and I was half-doubting it. As it turns out, it's true..." the refiner said, lowering his voice indignantly.
"I swear to the heavens, I truly knew nothing of this! The Lan family has never recruited me," Nie Shiyun said in astonishment.
The two were arguing near the back of the platform. Nie Shiyun glanced around and saw that people in the distance were already casting strange looks. He immediately pulled the other man away from the scene to find a quiet, deserted place to talk.
Nie Shiyun explained himself with a sincere tone. Although the refiner remained somewhat skeptical, he gradually let go of his hostility.
"But if the Lan family has no connection to you, why did they deliberately let you advance this morning and now ensure you enter tomorrow's match?"
Nie Shiyun didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Truly, spare me. I really don't know. I only arrived here a few days ago and don't even know a single member of the Lan family..." Nie Shiyun stopped mid-sentence. If Ao Fan barely counted as a Lan family member, then he did have some interaction with them—though it was the negative kind.
"If you really offended him, there's indeed no reason for the Lan family to show you favor." The cultivator opposite him was also confused by Nie Shiyun’s explanation, and he frowned in deep thought for a long time.
Nie Shiyun smiled bitterly. "Once I figure out the situation, I will certainly give you justice. If what you say is true, then I advise you to be careful. People aren't blind; if a similar situation happens twice more, your reputation will be ruined as well."
Nie Shiyun nodded. "I indeed need to see what the Lan family is up to. Thank you. If there's a chance in the future, we shall compete again."
Watching the man's departing back, all sorts of suspicions arose in Nie Shiyun’s heart.
Just what kind of game was the Lan family playing?
