# Chapter 1632: First Round
The refining furnace used by Yan Feng was a serpent cauldron, with demon snakes coiled around it, their ferocious heads opening toward the sky as if to swallow the flames of heaven and earth. When he took out his flame, Lin Feng's pupils contracted slightly. It was a terrifying flame—law fire, filled with a wild and venomous aura, matching his refining furnace, vaguely taking the shape of a serpent.
"The flame he uses is the Azure Scale Serpent Fire. The Yan family slaughtered several Azure Scale Serpent Emperors for him, took their beast flames, and smelted them into this exotic flame. It can devour Martial Emperor level experts and is far stronger than his own law power. This is his true reliance." Mu Linxue transmitted her voice to Lin Feng, causing him to smile bitterly. The genius disciples of large family forces had it good. Their families were willing to invest heavily to nurture them, slaying demon emperors and taking their beast flames to refine into exotic fires for them to refine. This not only gave Yan Feng control over a flame—when he refined that flame, his strength must have taken a leap forward as well.
However, since Yan Feng could refine such a flame, aside from the help of his family's experts, the flame-controlling divine ability he cultivated must also be extraordinary. It should be a powerful technique and divine ability of the Yan family.
It wasn't just Yan Feng. Lin Feng noticed that many of the refiners possessed exotic flames, only varying in strength. Especially the other three among the four genius figures—Hen Changtian possessed a brilliant golden flame that was also terrifying. This left Lin Feng somewhat speechless. This refining competition was not absolutely fair. Although Mu Linxue's flame and furnace were decent, compared to some of the others, they were still a grade lower.
No wonder Yan Feng dared to be so arrogant. With his innate talent, mastery of flame law power, a high-quality refining furnace, and control over a terrifying flame, he had far too many advantages over Mu Linxue.
While refining his flame, Yan Feng's eyes occasionally swept toward Lin Feng's side, his gaze carrying a cold intent. This first round held no difficulty for him; he could easily complete it. Even while dividing his attention, his control over the flame remained terrifying, continuously completing every step of the refining process. It showed that his soul control was also extremely powerful.
Before long, Yan Feng called out to the person beside him: "Engrave the formation!"
The person assisting Yan Feng was a woman in black. She wasn't very beautiful, but she had an icy temperament. When engraving formations, she was very focused and quick.
Lin Feng watched the woman engrave formations, a slight ripple passing through his eyes. This woman in black had a very solid grasp of formation basics, even stronger than Mu Yi. Having her assist Yan Feng in refining would indeed elevate the quality of the imperial artifact he crafted.
Soon, from Yan Feng's refining furnace, the sound of a sword's howl emerged. An imperial-grade sword would soon be born.
"Feng'er's sword refining is so practiced he could do it in his sleep. This first round holds no pressure at all." On the Yan family viewing platform, the Yan family head stroked his beard and smiled.
"It seems that Yan Feng, my worthy nephew, will be one of the fastest to complete his refining. Effortlessly. That girl from the Mu family won't be Yan Feng's opponent at all." A strong expert from Sword Mountain said with a smile. The Yan family was skilled in sword refining, naturally due to their cooperative relationship with Sword Mountain.
"Hmph, that Mu Linxue doesn't know her place. I'm already considering letting her become Yan Feng's concubine." The Yan family head said coldly. Mu Linxue had been intimate with Lin Feng in front of everyone, making her unworthy to be Yan Feng's wife. Letting her be a concubine would allow Yan Feng to vent his anger on her properly. Let's see if she could still be so arrogant then.
A sharp sword pierced the air. Yan Feng's imperial artifact was already completed. Soon after, Hen Changtian and the others also finished refining their imperial artifacts, causing the crowd to sigh inwardly. It seemed these few had secured the top seats in this refining competition. Refining a first-grade imperial artifact was effortless for them, presenting no challenge at all.
The seven purple-robed experts of the Flame Golden Tower watched everyone refining. One elder smiled and said, "What do you think their rankings will be?"
"Hard to say. If we're talking about refining skill, naturally Hen Changtian of our Flame Golden Tower is the strongest. But he refines alone, relying entirely on himself, while Yan Feng and the others have assistants. It's hard to distinguish who's superior." Another person responded with a smile. They chatted casually, not minding if others heard.
"I favor Yan Feng. This child is flawless in terms of refining proficiency, refining furnace, flame, and assistant. He will surely refine the best imperial artifact. I think he might have a chance to contend for the first seat." A purple-robed elder said with a smile. This was the same refining master who had said before the competition began that he intended to accept Yan Feng as his disciple after it ended.
"Ge Qingfeng is not weak at all." Another refining master laughed. They all revealed meaningful smiles. In truth, since the refining competition began, they, the refining masters of the Flame Golden Tower, had already been playing their own game—selecting promising disciples. Of course, this selection happened before the competition results came out, depending on their own judgment. Otherwise, after the results were announced, it might not be your turn anymore.
"Let's see. What we can observe in this round is just the tip of the iceberg of their refining strength. The real test comes later. For the championship of this competition, it seems fourth-grade imperial artifacts will need to appear." One person's eyes flashed with sharpness. Without a fourth-grade imperial artifact, it would be hard to claim the top position. For a youth under thirty to refine a fourth-grade imperial artifact—that would be terrifying talent. Joining the Flame Golden Tower afterward would mean limitless prospects.
"Indeed. Look at that young lady. She should be the girl from the Mu residence. Her refining foundation is also solid. But her flame, refining furnace, and control of the refining heat are all a grade below Yan Feng and the others. However, if the young man engraving formations beside her is a bit more capable, she still has a chance to break into the top ten. After all, this girl herself already qualifies as a second-grade refiner."
Another purple-robed master's gaze fell on Mu Linxue, showing appreciation for talent. If Mu Linxue were properly taught, she could become even more perfect.
"Heh, this girl from the Mu residence is supposed to become Yan Feng's wife." Yan Feng's prospective master said with a faint smile, causing the other to look at him and laugh: "It seems you've already set your sights on Yan Feng. But if she really secures a top ten seat, even if she doesn't marry into the Yan family, what can the Yan family do to her?"
The purple-robed master's words made Yan Feng's prospective master's expression freeze. Indeed, for those who secured a top ten seat in the refining competition, the Flame Golden Tower would protect them. If she refused, the Yan family couldn't do anything.
"That's an agreement between the Yan family and the Mu residence. Even if she doesn't agree, it won't work. Besides, it's still too early to discuss this issue. She needs to secure a top ten seat first." Yan Feng's prospective master spoke again. Although Yan Feng hadn't formally taken him as master yet, he had already begun to defend him.
"We'll wait and see." The other purple-robed master just smiled and said nothing more.
At this moment, Mu Linxue's refining had also reached the formation engraving stage. Lin Feng's body rose into the air, hanging upside down over the refining furnace, and began to carve lines and patterns. It was standard and unremarkable, showing nothing particularly special. But as the lines were gradually outlined, the artifact embryo began to exude a sharp aura—the sharpness of destruction.
"This young man's refining is hard to gauge. His formation engraving foundation is as solid and steady as Mu Linxue's refining foundation. This pair is quite decent." The purple-robed master who favored Mu Linxue was observing this group's refining, thinking to himself.
Not just him—many people were now watching the combination of Mu Linxue and Lin Feng. Yan Feng's gaze was sharp as he asked the woman in black beside him: "How do you compare to him?"
Yan Feng was also skilled in formations; otherwise, he couldn't have become a second-grade refiner. But from Lin Feng's current performance, it was very standard, nothing stunning, yet also without flaws. It was somewhat hard to gauge, which prompted his question.
"Decent. No stunning points, but no mistakes either. But if this is all he has, he has no chance of winning." The woman in black said calmly. Yan Feng nodded, his cold light flickering uncertainly. He had been overthinking. Even if Lin Feng's formation ability was strong, his combination with Mu Linxue couldn't possibly surpass the two of them.
Lin Feng didn't engrave too complex a formation. For this round, as long as they refined an imperial artifact, that was enough. He sought stability. After engraving the formation, he used the Earth Hammer Technique to hammer the artifact embryo. The final product was also a sword—the same imperial artifact they had refined before, making it more familiar.
No accidents occurred. The sword successfully pierced the air, meaning they had passed the first round of the refining competition.
The Mu family members saw the sword break through the air and fell into contemplation. The young man Lin Feng, who was assisting Mu Linxue in refining, engraved formations methodically and steadily, never making mistakes. Their combination could easily refine first-grade imperial artifacts. No wonder Mu Linxue hadn't found anyone else to assist her. But where did this Lin Feng come from? He had been drifting around the Mu residence, unknown to most, yet he had gained Mu Linxue's trust and become intimate with her.
But if this was all he had, it was far from enough. Even a top ten seat in the refining competition was very uncertain. Although this was only the first round, many skilled refiners had already emerged. Imperial artifacts pierced the air one after another, dazzling and magnificent. Of course, some also failed in their refining, showing dejected expressions as they were eliminated.
Mu Qingying had no time to pay attention to others. Her forehead was covered in sweat as she used all her strength to refine her imperial artifact. She and Mu Xiao were not guaranteed to succeed; they had no time to be distracted.
In the end, however, Mu Qingying also succeeded. The moment her imperial artifact pierced the air, a hint of joy appeared in her beautiful eyes.