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Xu Shi, who was initially full of confidence, looked at the referee waiting for the announcement of his victory. However, when he heard the referee declare Huang Tie the winner, Xu Shi couldn't believe it and shouted, "Stop! This is impossible."
After saying that, Xu Shi frantically ran towards the Chinese Chamber of Commerce's side, reaching out to grab the dual blades from the guard's hands. The guard, seeing Xu Shi attempting to seize the weapons, quickly jumped back, creating distance between himself and Xu Shi.
Huang Tie stepped in front of his guard and took the dual blades from him. He walked two steps to stand before Xu Shi and said, "Director Xu, take a look." After speaking, Huang Tie handed the dual blades to Xu Shi. Xu Shi quickly received them and examined them closely; there were no signs of dullness on the blades. He then stared blankly at the dual blades in his hands.
At that moment, Liu Guanfeng, sitting nearby, spoke up: "Director Xu, the outcome of the match was normal. During the forging process of Refined Iron, each piece Huang Tie forged underwent three more rounds of refinement than yours. Additionally, your skills in integrating Refined Iron are slightly inferior to Huang Tie's. If he were to forge a pair of dual blades now, he would definitely ruin yours within ten strikes."
Upon hearing Liu Guanfeng's words, Xu Shi seemed to finally understand the reason for his defeat: Huang Tie's forging skills had surpassed his own. However, not everyone was willing to accept Liu Guanfeng's explanation. Guo Yunhua stood up from his seat.
"Liu President, your people have already won the competition. Isn't it a bit petty to belittle our side like this?"
Liu Guanfeng smiled at Guo Yunhua. "I am not belittling anyone; I am merely stating the facts."
Guo Yunhua wanted to say more, but at that moment, Xu Shi turned around and bowed deeply to Liu Guanfeng. "Thank you for clarifying things, Liu President. I admit my defeat."
Liu Guanfeng nodded at Xu Shi as he returned the weapons and turned back to his side. At this point, Guo Yunhua's expression was extremely grim. He stood up and left the competition area with his entourage without even glancing at Xu Shi or Liu Guanfeng.
Due to Xu Shi being the Director of the Blacksmith Guild, Guo Yunhua dared not express his anger openly; after all, his family's business relied on the Blacksmith Guild, and offending high-ranking officials would be unwise.
Guo Yunhua left with his group in disgrace. That night, Guo Hai quietly approached Guo Yunhua after having avoided him since being scolded previously. However, what frightened Guo Hai was that during his second investigation into the Chinese Chamber of Commerce's blacksmiths, he discovered that these blacksmiths were merely apprentices who had only studied for a few years. He could not understand why these apprentice blacksmiths possessed such high forging skills.
During this second investigation, Guo Hai also found out that a group of people had recently arrived at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce from outside. He had no idea who they were or where they came from.
When he reached Guo Yunhua's side, Guo Hai recounted everything he had discovered during his investigation to both Guo Yunhua and Stone Lei. Guo Yunhua frowned and asked, "Are you saying that all those blacksmiths we competed against a couple of days ago are just apprentices?"
Guo Hai nodded firmly. "Yes, President. That's indeed the case. Moreover, during my investigation, I found a suspicious detail."
"A suspicious detail? Tell me about it."
"Recently, a group of people suddenly arrived at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Among them was an elderly man with a bald head who appeared to be over seventy years old; he was the one leading when the blacksmiths first came out. Ever since this man arrived, their skills have improved significantly in a short time. I wonder if it has something to do with that old man?"
Guo Yunhua nodded thoughtfully. "Guo Hai, send someone to see if you can make contact with this old man. No matter what conditions we need to meet, we must bring him over."
Guo Hai looked at Guo Yunhua with difficulty and said, "President, I have already tried to make contact, but there hasn't been any opportunity."
Guo Yunhua slammed the table and replied, "If you can't make contact, why don't you just find someone to take care of him? He's just a blacksmith without much strength; do I really need to teach you this?"
Guo Hai immediately lowered his head and said, "Rest assured, President, I know what to do now."
That night, several men in black arrived at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. However, before these men could figure out what was happening, they unknowingly fainted. Meanwhile, Guo Hai was still waiting for good news from a few people at the designated location.
The next morning, just like the previous days, both parties gathered in front of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce under the watchful eyes of the crowd. Today, the representatives from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce were from Dragon Ring, while New Home Chamber of Commerce sent a ceremonial-level blacksmith.
As before, both blacksmiths chose to forge a weapon tailored for the referee; this time it was a Great Axe. Dragon Ring felt very relaxed at this moment. Over the past five days of competition, they had been observing their opponent's strength and found that the blacksmiths on Luo Heng Island were quite average. Winning was not a problem for them. However, to avoid any unexpected mishaps, Dragon Ring decided to showcase their true skills.
After a day passed, two Great Axes appeared before everyone. When both axes were completed, everyone had already determined the outcome. The blacksmith from New Home Chamber of Commerce was focused on forging his Great Axe without even lifting his head, while Dragon Ring seemed to be playing around, humming a tune as they worked. Moreover, Dragon Ring timed everything according to their opponent's pace.
When the blacksmith was forging Refined Iron, Dragon Ring also forged Refined Iron. When the opponent began shaping their axe, Dragon Ring did the same. However, it was evident that Dragon Ring was forging with ease and consistently produced higher quality work than their opponent.
Once both Great Axes were completed and placed side by side, the Great Axe forged by Dragon Ring emitted a chilling glow. From this glow alone, it was clear that Dragon Ring's Great Axe was undoubtedly the sharpest weapon among all six days of competition.
Reality matched everyone's expectations; after six hard clashes between the two axes, Dragon Ring's Great Axe cleanly split its opponent's axe in half. At that moment, there were no signs of dullness on Dragon Ring's axe blade.
When Dragon Ring presented this axe as a reward to the referee, the referee held it in awe and said, "It seems I won't be able to sleep tonight. I will pass this axe down as a family heirloom." After saying this, he bowed deeply to Dragon Ring and stepped back.
With six days of competition concluded, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce had an impressive record of three wins, one loss, and two draws. In the upcoming three matches, if they won just one more match, they would claim victory in the final challenge. If that happened, nine out of ten blacksmiths accompanying New Home Chamber of Commerce would become part of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. This included Vice President Stone Lei and Director Xu Shi from Blacksmith Guild.
This situation caused Stone Lei and Guo Yunhua to pace back and forth in their room. They did not expect this emerging Merchant Guild to have so many powerful blacksmiths.
Ultimately, Stone Lei decided that he would personally participate in tomorrow's match because they could not afford another loss. Guo Yunhua also realized that he had underestimated their opponent's strength; having Stone Lei compete was their only option left.
The next day, under a newly selected panel of referees, Stone Lei arrived first at the center of the arena. Once there, his gaze remained fixed on Qifeng Ge sitting next to Liu Guanfeng. From the information brought back by Guo Hai, Stone Lei understood that the true leader among the blacksmiths in Chinese Chamber of Commerce was this elder. He sensed that his own forging skills still fell short compared to this person. However, aside from him, Stone Lei did not regard anyone else as a threat; although Dragon Ring performed excellently yesterday, Stone Lei believed his own skills were on par with theirs—if it came down to it, it would be a fifty-fifty chance.
However, what Stone Lei did not know was that during yesterday's competition, Dragon Ring had not revealed their full strength. Just as Stone Lei felt anxious about his chances, Liu Guanfeng walked down from his seat. Upon seeing Liu Guanfeng approach him, Stone Lei paused for a moment before sneering and saying, "President Liu, what brings you out here? Are you looking to challenge me in forging skills?"
Liu Guanfeng nodded and replied, "That is indeed my intention; I hope Vice President Shi will show some mercy."
Stone Lei scoffed lightly and said: "President Liu, do you think forging is child's play? How can someone like you—a delicate merchant—handle tools meant for rough men like us? I suggest you go back and let that elder beside you come forward; I can sense confidence in him as a powerful blacksmith."
Liu Guanfeng smiled lightly, "Vice President Shi, that's not quite right. I didn't come up here on a whim. How about this, Vice President? If you think I came up here just for fun, let's make a bet."
"A bet? What kind of bet?"
"Let's have a competition right here today in blacksmithing. If I happen to win, then we won't need to say anything further; we'll proceed according to the agreement. However, if you, Vice President, are indeed more skilled, then we can declare the next two matches as draws and agree that from now on, our Chinese Chamber of Commerce and your New Home Chamber of Commerce will not interfere with each other. What do you think?"
The condition proposed by Liu Guanfeng was highly tempting because it meant that the New Home Chamber of Commerce had already lost the competition. Even if Stone Lei won today's match, they would have no one left to send for the following matches. Meanwhile, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce still had an unknown blacksmith and a middle-aged blacksmith who seemed quite capable.
After considering the stakes, Stone Lei said to Liu Guanfeng, "Since President Liu has this intention, I can't refuse you. Let's go with your suggestion."
Liu Guanfeng smiled at Stone Lei, while Stone Lei awkwardly avoided Liu Guanfeng's gaze. He felt that all of Liu Guanfeng's conditions were favorable to the New Home Chamber of Commerce, and he thought it was rather hypocritical for him as a blacksmith to take such an advantage.
In the end, Liu Guanfeng and Stone Lei decided on the content of their competition: both would forge a Steel Blade. They were both extremely familiar with such basic weapons.
Liu Guanfeng slowly approached the Furnace. As a scoop of Kerosene was poured into the Furnace, the ore inside immediately turned red and began to soften. Liu Guanfeng focused intently; once he saw that the ore was ready for forging, he did not use tongs to pick it up. Instead, he lightly tapped it with his small hammer, causing the ore to jump onto the iron mat as if controlled.
Liu Guanfeng's right hand wielded the large hammer accurately against the ore, which bounced continuously on the iron mat with each strike. He quickly used his small hammer to stabilize the ore on the mat. Those watching were astonished by Liu Guanfeng's skill, while both blacksmiths were captivated by the scene.
Such extraordinary craftsmanship was rarely seen in a lifetime. On the other side, as Stone Lei was forging, he suddenly noticed that there was complete silence from the audience on both sides; only the sound of hammering from across could be heard. This sound clearly indicated a combination of large and small hammers: could that guy over there have found someone to help him? Such a situation shouldn't occur in this kind of competition.
Stone Lei slowly raised his head and was immediately stunned when he saw Liu Guanfeng's movements. The Hammer in his hand fell to the ground with a dull thud, and a piece of blue brick beneath him shattered into pieces.
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