<h4>Chapter 1700: Chapter 1691: Uneasy</h4>


    Turning to Shangguan Hongkong, his previous pride was gone, reced by a face full of embarrassment and anxiety.


    Sheng Ru is ranked among the top three, and his artifact refining skills are definitely much stronger than his own.


    Under different artifact refining modes, he was confident he could surpass Sheng Ru. But in a fair duel, he was simply no match for Sheng Ru.


    "Huff, huff, huff——"


    Opposite, Sheng Ru had already started heating the artifact mold, while Shangguan Hongkong was still standing there in a daze.


    After a long time, Shangguan Hongkong seemed to have made a difficult decision, suddenly gritting his teeth and raising his hand.


    "Judge, there’s no need to continue this duel, I concede!"


    Just when the audience was surprised by Shangguan Hongkong’s actions, he said this sentence.


    However, the judge didn’t seem surprised by this deration.


    He smiled slightly, nced at Shangguan Hongkong, and said, "In that case, I will report this to the Judgement Department!"


    Not long after, the Judgement Department announced the duel result. Since Shangguan Hongkong conceded directly, this challenge match would not proceed, and the winner was Sheng Ru.


    Although some spectators despised Shangguan Hongkong’s actions, most people felt that Shangguan Hongkong showed quite a bit of self-awareness in this matter.


    It was purely by luck that he made it into the top three. Even if he conceded this time, his position would remain in the middle three. Compared to the previous bottom three, he still gained!


    Next up for the challenge was the Heavenly Soldier Pavilion’s artifact refiner, Si Xuan.


    Even before Si Xuan issued a challenge, many people were already specting on whom he would choose as his opponent.


    Without a doubt,ing from the Heavenly Soldier Pavilion, Si Xuan’s artifact refining skills were definitely not weak.


    Plus, with the Heavenly Soldier Pavilion’s transcendent influence, even the Judgement Department would likely not dare to tamper with this duel.


    Therefore, this duel was very likely to be a spectacr artifact refining showdown.


    After some heated discussions, the audience finally fixed their eyes on Di Qinglin.


    As an artifact refiner from Zhan Tianfu, Di Qinglin’s artifact refining skills were not very different from Si Xuan’s.


    Moreover, Zhan Tianfu and the Heavenly Soldier Pavilion had always been at odds. Now that there’s a rare opportunity to embarrass each other, neither side would give up easily.


    Si Xuan’s gaze burned as he scanned the three people opposite him three times. Finally, he raised his hand and pointed to Di Qinglin standing in the middle.


    "Wow——"


    Instantly, the spectators, who had been waiting quietly for an answer, burst into cheers when they saw whom Si Xuan pointed to.


    Standing quietly to the side, Ao Cangsheng watched the two preparing to duel, a faint smile ying at the corners of his mouth.


    ording to Chi Ming, in all the previous duels, Di Qinglin did not use the artifact refining skills taught by Ao Cangsheng.


    Relying solely on his own artifact refining experiences, Di Qinglin had managed to make it into the top three, proving his extraordinary artifact refining skills.


    Ao Cangsheng knew that the reason Di Qinglin hadn’t used the artifact refining skills he taught was for this moment, topete against Si Xuan.


    Ao Cangsheng was also certain that with Di Qinglin’s artifact refining experiencebined with his own artifact refining skills, victory over Si Xuan was assured.


    So, this seemingly spectacr duel, even before it began, Ao Cangsheng already saw the oue.


    After a while, with three drumbeats, Di Qinglin and Si Xuan began their duel.


    No surprise, both drew green bamboo sticks in the draw. ording to the rules, they would have a fair duel.


    "Whoosh——"


    Under countless watchful eyes, Di Qinglin and Si Xuan simultaneously ced a piece of Fire Crystal into the Artifact Furnace.


    Instantly, from each of the Artifact Furnaces, a crimson Fire Dragon surged out, stirring the surrounding air.


    Next came the selection of artifact molds, both moved swiftly, almost choosing three artifact molds each with just a nce.


    "ng——"


    The sound of metal striking erupted as six artifact molds simultaneouslynded on top of the Artifact Furnace, being roasted by zing mes.


    When the artifact molds slightly changed color, both went on to remove all but one artifact mold to continue heating.


    Up to this point, both their artifact refining processes were surprisingly synchronized, with neither ahead nor behind.


    "ng ng——"


    Then, both grabbed the Artifact Refining Hammer at the same time and began swiftly forging the glowing red artifact molds.


    But by this point, their actions gradually began to diverge.


    Si Xuan simply hammered away at his artifact mold, doing nothing else.


    In contrast, Di Qinglin was both hammering the artifact mold and adding auxiliary materials into it.


    Even though Di Qinglin added another step, his speed didn’t slow down one bit.


    Seeing this, many artifact masters frowned.


    This method of artifact refining by Di Qinglin was something they’d never witnessed before.


    As every artifact refiner knows, you only start adding auxiliary materialster in the artifact refining process.


    This allows the artifact mold to fully absorb the auxiliary materials, enhancing its quality.


    Yet Di Qinglin added auxiliary materials from the very beginning. Doing so risks internal cracks within the artifact mold, which hasn’t fully expanded.


    Such cracks could be fatal ws,promising the quality of the War Soldier.


    "This is pure folly!"


    Seeing Di Qinglin incessantly adding auxiliary materials, an artifact refiner said grumpily.


    "If he continues like this, this War Soldier will be ruined!"


    Another artifact refiner directly criticized Di Qinglin’s method this way.


    "Artifact refining skill lies in being adept, not blindly innovative. Di Qinglin thinks he’s found a new path, but he doesn’t realize he’s strayed! He’s bound to lose this duel!"


    Yet another artifact refiner, with an air of haughty seniority, criticized Di Qinglin’s artifact refining skills from afar.


    To these voices, Di Qinglin only gave a scornful smile. There are always arrogant people in this world, and he couldn’t argue with every one of them.


    Eventually, the War Soldier in his hand would prove whose artifact refining skills were truly the way.


    Amid the many discussions, Di Qinglin continued following his artifact refining methods, rapidly hammering the artifact mold.


    "Ding ding dang dang——"


    Amidst the ttering of metal, Di Qinglin’s swings of the Artifact Refining Hammer grew faster and faster.


    The crimson artifact mold appeared to be incessantly struck by afterimages, gradually taking the shape of a War Soldier.


    During this time, Di Qinglin continued to add auxiliary materials.


    Beside him, Si Xuan, seeing Di Qinglin’s actions, couldn’t help but smirk with disdain: "You think you can defeat me with this refining method? How naive!"


    Half an incense stick’s time passed, and Di Qinglin forged the artifact mold seven times, as did Si Xuan.


    Based solely on the number of forging, Di Qinglin and Si Xuan were still neck and neck.


    However, many overlooked one fact: Di Qinglin was adding auxiliary materials while forging.


    This additional step made his artifact refining unconsciously faster than Si Xuan.


    In thetter half of the incense stick, their artifact refining processes began to diverge significantly.


    Yet one thing remained unchanged: their refining speeds were still the same.


    "Time’s up!"


    As the judge called time, both slowly ced their War Soldiers onto the Artifact Refining Furnace.


    At this point, a smug smile appeared on Si Xuan’s face. He believed Di Qinglin would lose because his refining method was wed.


    Shortly after, two Imperial Guards took the two War Soldiers to the Judgement Department.


    The first evaluating artifact refiner already held Di Qinglin’s artifact refining skill in contempt.


    Thus, he first picked up the War Soldier refined by Si Xuan.


    Seeing the War Soldier refined by Si Xuan, the first artifact refiner nodded in satisfaction, evidently appreciating Si Xuan’s artifact refining skill.


    After putting down Si Xuan’s crafted War Soldier, he picked up Di Qinglin’s War Soldier.


    At this point, the judging artifact refiner’s smile was gone, looking rather sour.


    His demeanor suggested he wasn’t invested in examining Di Qinglin’s crafted War Soldier.


    With such behavior, spectators who kept an eye on the Judgement Department also understood something:


    Di Qinglin’s crafted War Soldier likely wasn’t good, leading to such reactions from the artifact refiner.