To provoke like this in public, and even throw the words at his own Sect Master, especially with so many elite disciples from various sects watching.

This was intolerable, and Luo Shengsheng's charmingly cold face suddenly showed anger.

Young people are prone to have a little fire, especially someone like him, a distinguished child of a prestigious sect, combined with his inherently aloof personality, he was about to retort immediately, even though he knew he couldn't win the fight.

However, an elder beside him suddenly grabbed his arm, shook his head slightly in signal, and cast a spell to restrain him from acting impulsively.

After provoking, Li Hongjiu turned around and threw a 'flirtatious glance' at Luo Shengsheng, clicked his tongue, and walked away, not even considering his opponent, despite the presence of high-ranking members from the opposing sect.

Luo Shengsheng immediately turned his head to look at Pavilion Master, seeing that Pavilion Master Xiao Youhong didn't react, what could he do?

What could Xiao Youhong do? In ordinary cases of such provocation, he could handle it as he pleased, but one's status and background truly warrant some respect; after all, the other party is the personal closed-door disciple of the Sect Master of the third-ranked sect in the Artifact Refining World. It's not appropriate to bully the young.

If Luo Shengsheng could defeat him, that would be another matter, as disputes among the younger generation are easily resolved.

The elder who was holding his arm let go, advising, "Let's go, don't let him affect you, focus on preparing for the competition."

Thus, they led Luo Shengsheng away.

Then the elite disciples from various sects under the steps also gradually left the scene.

Xiao Youhong also walked down the steps leisurely.

The high-ranking members of various sects on the steps exchanged glances, all with a hint of regret in their eyes.

Su Qiao, Sect Master of Extreme Fire Sect, snorted, "Qu Wuming's disciple is somewhat interesting."

"What a pity." Gu Yanduo couldn't help but sigh.

They acknowledged Li Hongjiu's combat skills, after all, many disciples witnessed it firsthand, and it couldn't be faked.

However, if someone claimed that in the artifact refining competition, he could surpass Luo Shengsheng, who absorbed ten pieces of Divine Fire, that would be nonsense they couldn't believe.

Clearly, Luo Shengsheng was the hidden trump card for Daming Pavilion in this competition, with extraordinary talent in artifact refining. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to absorb so much Divine Fire. Benefits tend to embellish the already successful, and under Daming Pavilion's strict protection, Luo Shengsheng winning the championship was a foregone conclusion.

So in their view, Li Hongjiu was clearly trying to provoke Luo Shengsheng earlier to strike him down heavily, preventing Luo Shengsheng from participating in the upcoming competition. Fortunately, Luo Shengsheng had his sect members watching and didn't fall for it.

Everyone felt it was a pity...

The competition venue has been set, right in the open space at the center of Qi Yun Valley. Various sects temporarily staying in the valley were summoned by the bell to gather around the open space.

This scene was all presented in the mirror image of the Heavenly Mirror in the sky, and the gathered sect members occasionally looked up at the image.

Soon, a hubbub arose as the gathered sect personnel gradually began whispering among themselves.

The news spread that Luo Shengsheng had absorbed ten pieces of Divine Fire.

Since the secret was already exposed, the concerned sects naturally wouldn't help Daming Pavilion hide the news, including the news that Gu Lianni, the daughter of Shudao Mountain's Sect Leader, had absorbed seven pieces of Divine Fire, which spread like a whirlwind among the sects, causing a huge sensation and continuous exclamations.

Lan Qiaoyan, on the terrace, frowned slightly, showing a look of observation and thought, as she sensed something unusual at the scene without knowing what happened.

Gong Yuanzhi, who came over to entertain guests again, also showed signs of pondering.

Miao Yilan and Gong Shaoci, who were also watching the mirror image, apparently hadn't noticed anything unusual from the mirror image.

The two young, handsome men and women, one gentle and polite, the other shy and reserved, occasionally exchanged questions, feeling an extra sense of joy in their hearts from the exchange.

To Miao Yilan, this sense of joy couldn't be obtained from Shi Chun, despite Shi Chun always trying to find the best gifts within his capacity for her and saying sweet words that Gong Shaoci might never utter in his life.

But no feeling is still no feeling. In the Land of Exile, those faded, worn-out clothes that could tear at any moment symbolized a deeply ingrained poverty, and no amount of awkward pretense could match the genuine elegance before her, only making it seem ridiculous and laughable.

And his sun-darkened skin showed the hardship, incomparable to the fair, fresh, and pleasing appearance before her; his conversation was even less comparable, no amount of sweet talk could match Gong Shaoci's gentle and smiling "Lan Lan."

Although Shi Chun now seemed much fairer and had made some achievements, in Miao Yilan's view, Shi Chun's achievements were really insignificant.

She had seen Shi Chun's embarrassed efforts to survive in the Land of Exile, which made it hard to change her impression of him even now.

Of course, this didn't prevent her from being friends with Shi Chun, who clearly had come to terms with reality, keeping an appropriate distance and being less outspoken than before.

The two elders occasionally glanced at the young pair of a handsome man and beautiful woman with approving smiles at the corners of their mouths...

Around the competition venue, in the position designated for the Hundred Refinement Sect, Sect Master Yan Qufeng, elders Pan Gongying and Jie Lunguang, and Tong Mingshan's master Luo Wan all gathered, surrounded by fellow disciples.

After listening attentively to the noisy discussions, Pan Gongying shook his head and sighed, "I originally thought that Tong Mingshan absorbing four pieces of Divine Fire was the limit, but it turns out that not only was he not the only one to absorb four pieces, but there were also those who absorbed seven and ten pieces, which is truly incredible."

Jie Lunguang also exclaimed, "Indeed, even Situ Gu absorbed only six pieces back then. This time, it truly is extraordinary; not only are there many who absorbed, but individually, the amount absorbed is unprecedented. It's just a pity..." As he spoke, he couldn't help but look at the group of disciples attending the event, shaking his head and sighing.

The group of disciples naturally understood what the elder's words and attitude implied and were all ashamed and embarrassed.

Sect Master Yan Qufeng, on the other hand, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Earlier, when he heard that Tong Mingshan had absorbed four pieces of Divine Fire, he was shocked, planning to seize the opportunity through Tong Mingshan. Yet, he never dreamed there would be such a great fortune on Tong Mingshan.

If the one who absorbed the most Divine Fire at this Divine Fire Covenant had been an abandoned disciple expelled from the Hundred Refinement Sect, how long would they have been laughed at by the Artifact Refining World?

However, four pieces was already a lot.

Sect Master Yan turned his head toward an empty position next to the Hundred Refinement Sect; that empty position belonged to Mingshan Sect, and he wondered why they hadn't shown up yet.

In order to have the Hundred Refinement Sect and Mingshan Sect as neighbors in the position allocation, he had put a lot of effort into the Li Huo Sect. The reason being, he didn't want to give up on Tong Mingshan before the event, and now he didn't want to give up even more.

However, his visits were to no avail as he couldn't even enter the temporary residence of Mingshan Sect. Tong Mingshan simply didn't want to see anyone from the Hundred Refinement Sect or discuss this matter with them.

But he didn't want to give up easily, so he created this opportunity for proximity to facilitate conversation.

Just as members of all sects were almost entirely in place, Mingshan Sect's party finally made a leisurely appearance.

Shi Chun's team, arriving at the scene, was somewhat surprised. They initially thought they would become the focus of various sects, which was why they arrived a little later. To their surprise, they found that everyone's attention was on something else.

As they walked through the crowd, they overheard some discussions and finally understood the reason; apparently, someone had absorbed more Divine Fire than Gu Lianni, a total of ten pieces.

Shi Chun occasionally checked the position card in his hand, finding the location based on the illustration on the card.

When he finally reached their designated spot, Tong Mingshan suddenly stopped, staring blankly at the Hundred Refinement Sect group, his eyes directly meeting those of his master Luo Wan, who was full of expectation for him.

Noticing that someone beside him was lagging, Shi Chun turned around and saw Tong Mingshan standing still, so he couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

He also glanced in the direction of Tong Mingshan's gaze, noticing that their attire seemed familiar, similar to what Tong Mingshan used to wear.

Tong Mingshan pursed his lips and walked over, softly replying, "Hundred Refinement Sect."

After saying that, he walked directly to Luo Wan, cupped his hands, and greeted, "Master."

He then cupped his hands slightly at Yan Qufeng and others, not waiting for them to say anything more, and turned back to his position at Mingshan Sect, leaving his master Luo Wan wanting to speak but stopping.

Shi Chun looked bewildered, glancing at their own position, then at the Hundred Refinement Sect's, touching his nose. He couldn't believe it was a coincidence, acknowledging Sect Master Yan's nod towards him, even though they didn't know each other. However, judging from the position, he could estimate, so he nodded back and stood in the position belonging to Mingshan Sect with Tong Mingshan.

Wu Jin and others who entered the position also quietly sized up the Hundred Refinement Sect's side.

The nearby other sects also just realized that the empty position earlier belonged to Mingshan Sect, seeing Tong Mingshan standing together with the sect that expelled him, they were both surprised and intrigued by the unfolding drama.

Tong Mingshan deliberately avoided eye contact, not wanting to say much, while Yan Qufeng lowered his guard, signaling to Luo Wan, and then approached with Luo Wan, followed by elders Pan and Jie.

Apart from Tong Mingshan remaining expressionless, the other members of Mingshan Sect stared openly as the few approached.

Interestingly, Sect Master Yan Qufeng of the Hundred Refinement Sect did not speak to Tong Mingshan upon arriving on their side, acting as if he didn't see Tong Mingshan, but instead stood in front of Shi Chun, voluntarily bowing his hands in respect, "I've long heard of Brother Shi Chun's great name. I am Yan Qufeng, Sect Master of the Hundred Refinement Sect."

Shi Chun really didn't want to engage, but out of respect for Tong Mingshan, he courteously bowed his hands, "So you're Sect Master Yan, the pleasure is mine."

Just then, Wu Jin nudged him from behind, hinting for him to look in that direction.

Shi Chun looked back and saw the high-ranking members of the Refining Heaven Sect also beginning to make their entrance. Situ Gu was among them, accompanied by a beautiful young woman, none other than Zhener, who was curiously looking around.

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