Chapter 495: 2 Surpassing All!
Long Yunxin and Zhou Xiaoyu walked out of their workshops at almost the same time.
Three pieces of glamorously shining magical equipment were floating behind each of them.
When their ruthless eyes crashed into each other, the six blades flew to their middle with their edges pointing at their opponents, as if they were two merciless armies at a war.
The same structural designs and the same materials had been refined into completely different styles because of the unique techniques employed by each refiner.
On the three pieces of magical equipment refined by Long Yunxin, flames that looked like scattered dragon scales were rolling and raging.
Zhou Xiaoyu's magical equipment, on the other hand, was entangled with streaks of purple brightness, as if countless purple vipers were crouching on the edges of the blades, hissing at his opponent. It was quite scary.
The six pieces of magical equipment gradually drew close to each other. The auras were surging, and the brightness was colliding. The air between them was ripped apart. Electric arcs as thin as hair were rushing and shining.
"Yunxin, it seems that you've put in a lot of work over the last year. Even the dragon scale sword aura, the ultimate technique of your family, has been grasped by you!" said Zhou Xiaoyu with a smile, but he was apparently not bothered at all.
Long Yunxin scorned, "Young Master Zhou, let's see in a moment whether my dragon swallows your viper or your viper poisons my dragon!"
While the two of them were talking, Li Yao walked out of his workshop exhaustedly.
His three pieces of magical equipment were not floating in the air; they were held in his arms, lackluster as if they were wasted iron that had just been dug out from the ground.
When he passed by them, Li Yao slowed down and glanced at their works.
His eyes stopped there for just one moment before they were moved away immediately.
The magical equipment in his arms was as quiet as before. All the blades were lying inside his arms lazily.
Long Yunxin's and Zhou Xiaoyu's magical equipment didn't have any reactions. They didn't perceive any danger and felt no threat from Li Yao's magical equipment after all.
Li Yao walked forward without looking at them anymore. His eyes were fixed on the giant light beam not far away.
The ranks of the 320 refiners would soon be listed on the light beam.
Other than the top 32, who were qualified to go to the next round, the ranks of the other contestants would be calculated by the accumulated damage their blades dealt.
For all the refiners who made it to the top 100, they were very likely to receive invitations from the important sects and crystal suit centers.
In the Flying Star Sector, in order to avoid nepotism, it was a custom for the young people of the noble refining families to work in other sects and organizations, instead of staying in their own. This ensured that their skills and experience could be exchanged, and newer, stronger refining techniques could be inspired.
Therefore, the rank meant a lot for the young people of the noble families. Their futures were dependent on it, too.
Li Yao was gazing at the top three on the list.
To this moment, they were still blank.
Since the very beginning, Li Yao's targets had never been Long Yunxin and Zhou Xiaoyu.
His cleavers were not prepared for those two seeds.
The soul-stirring damage examination test soon began!
It was also the most enjoyable procedure in the refining match.
Magical equipment refined by the super experts, when activated at its maximum capacity, could often unleash unimaginable damage in unparalleled dazzling brilliance.
Here, the basic unit to gauge the damage of the magical equipment was 'crystal'.
One crystal of damage equaled to the damage that the energy contained inside one gram of standard crystal could deal.
Inside thirty-two test rooms, artificial arms made of steel and rune arrays were lifting pieces of magical equipment swiftly, sending one standard portion of spiritual energy, and slashing them at the target in the front brutally.
The targets were metal skeletons enveloped in crystal gels. Very sensitive reaction rune arrays had been carved into them. There was also a bright gold spiritual shield on the outside.
With the spiritual energy, the magical equipment all emanated dazzling brightness and shattered the spiritual shield, before it slashed into the crystal gels heavily.
The light beam nearby immediately gave a value for the damage dealt.
"88 crystals!"
"86 crystals!"
"92 crystals!"
The host's excited voice was echoing throughout the field.
"Attention, everyone, the examination procedure has begun! The three structural designs that this Skyhill Sword Seminar adopted are all basic, classic magical equipment, which have been passed on in the Flying Star Sector for hundreds of years.
"In the factories, such magical equipment manufactured via assembly lines usually possesses damage between 30 crystals to 40 crystals! But with the same structure and the same materials, the works delicately made through the hands of refiners mostly possess damage above 80 crystals, more than double the damage of the standard magical equipment!
"In a battlefield, not double, even a gap of 1 crystal might determine the life and death of a Cultivator!
"This is the formidability of refiners!
"My friends, stay tuned. In the No. 1 group and the No. 9 group, the products of Mo Tianshui and Huangpu Xiaoya, two monster-level geniuses that everybody has been looking forward to for a long time, are about to be tested. Let's switch the main camera to them and observe how magnificent their magical equipment is!"
In order to increase the attractiveness of the Skyhill Sword Seminar, the organizer had indeed put a lot of thought into it. The simultaneous tests of Mo Tianshui's and Huangpu Xiaoya's work were apparently arranged on purpose so that more people would be interested in the match.
As it turned out, all the spectators craned their necks and gazed enthusiastically.
Mo Tianshui's magical equipment was just like himself. Antique and austere. A vague hint of wind surrounded both the chainsword and the vibration saber. The two blades had an air of divinity, even though they were the most ordinary magical equipment.
Huangpu Xiaoya's works were alike to her, too, and seemed to have been condensed by bundles of lightning. Electric sparks were spluttering every second.
Shua!
Operated by the artificial arms, their chainswords slashed out almost at the same time.
Mo Tianshui's chainsword seemed to be still, and yet it seemed to be revolving at the maximum speed, too. Before the blade reached its target, a blurred shadow had darted out. No, not a blurred shadow, but the aura of the sword.
Deep inside the chainsword, the vitality and power of soul that the refiner concealed were condensed into an unstoppable sword aura which almost minced space into nothingness. A fuzzy swirl appeared in between the blade and the target!
The distance between the chainsword and the target seemed to have been swallowed by the swirl. The chainsword appeared directly inside of the spiritual shield and cut in the crystal gels softly.
BOOM!
Under the earsplitting noise, a lot of flakes spread out on the light beam, as if it could not bear the overwhelming damage. It was not until a long while later that the final outcome was revealed.
"153 crystals!"
There was nothing but silence.
The number was double that of other contestants and quadruple that of assembly-line magical equipment!
Also, the magical equipment had been made of the most common metal materials. If it were made of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, with a more advanced structural design, what would the ultimate chainsword be like?
The talented heir of a noble family that had lasted for hundreds of years was indeed impressive!
Within the moment, Huangpu Xiaoya's chainsword dashed out, too.
Hardly had the blade was released when the electric currents wreathing the chainsword expanded exponentially. It was originally 1.25 meters long, but the electric currents had enlarged it to almost six meters. The entire test room was enshrouded in raging purple brightness!
The electric arcs tore the spiritual shield into pieces effortlessly like tusks and pierced into the crystal gel ruthlessly!
The attack continued. The reading on the light beam rose. 33 crystals, 45 crystals, 84 crystals, and eventually, 149 crystals!
The unbelievable figure raised another round of exclamations.
"Everyone, Mo Tianshui and Huangpu Xiaoya have completed the test for their chainswords. They truly deserve to be the talented successors of two noble families that have lasted hundreds of years. Such results eclipse the performance of all the other contestants in the Skyhill Sword Seminars over the last thirty years and are only slightly weaker than Huangpu Shiyi's, the crazy sword forger who disappeared as abruptly as he appeared. How incredible!"
The host was crying in such a high voice that one might suspect his lungs were going to burst.
Inside the field and out, cheers and applause burst out like a flood.
On the list, the two of them ranked first and second in regard to the damage of chainswords. But the third place only had a score of 110 crystals. It was far from them, indicating that the contestant was not of the same level as them at all.
Soon, their vibration sabers and heat axes were tested, too.
"My friends! My friends! I cannot believe my eyes! The total damage of Mo Tianshui's three blades is 503 crystals! But Huangpu Xiaoya caught up to him very shortly. Her vibration saber blew out a terrifying damage of 178 crystals! Her total damage is 506 crystals!
"In the second round, Huangpu Xiaoya is currently in the lead, and Mo Tianshui is closely behind her. The two of them make the first echelon. The contestant in the third place has a gap of 108 crystals from them. They are indeed surpassing all!
"Marvelous! Truly marvelous! I cannot wait to see their confrontation in the final elimination round!"
The atmosphere inside the field and out had reached the climax. All of the audience was simmering in excitement. Many experienced refiners rose up from their seats uncontrollably. In the heated atmosphere, everybody's roars rumbled into two deafening names.
"Mo Tianshui! Mo Tianshui! Mo Tianshui!"
"Huangpu Xiaoya! Huangpu Xiaoya! Huangpu Xiaoya!"
Overshadowed by the two monster-level geniuses, the other refiners found it hard to breathe.
Long Yunxin and Zhou Xiaoyu looked at each other and noticed the amazement in the other's eyes.
However, they had not planned to fight for the title of 'Sword Master' in the first place. After they entered the top 32, they would be engaged in one-on-one elimination matches. If they were lucky enough, they wouldn't meet either of the two monsters until semi-finals or even the final match.
Therefore, they just needed to take down the opponent in front of their eyes and enter the elimination match first!
Five refiners in their group had finished the test. Their total damage was all around 300 crystals. None had a score above 350.
"How boring. Just test mine already!"
The two of them were both anxious.
But it was disappointing that Li Yao's magical equipment was the next to be sent into the test room.