# Chapter 1637: White-Hot
The Flame Family Patriarch's gaze stiffened for a moment, unable to continue his earlier words. He lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "With your Array Dao, do you really think you can create a miracle? Even if you secure a top ten spot, as long as Yan Feng takes one of the top three positions, let's see who the Flame Golden Tower values more."
In the Flame Family Patriarch's view, as long as Yan Feng secured a top three position, even if Mu Linxue and Lin Feng's cooperation earned them a top ten spot, they could still apply pressure.
Many in the audience finally noticed Lin Feng. The young man who had been carving arrays in an ordinary, steady manner now seemed to have changed. He was no longer carving with stability and caution. If his earlier array carving had been step-by-step, now it could be described as devastatingly swift, as if he wanted to complete it all in one go. As each palm strike landed, small array patterns quickly interwove into shape. Lin Feng's palm still trembled violently as he pressed the carved array into the spear embryo.
The crowd's eyes fell upon the spear embryo. The array Lin Feng had carved seemed to be branded onto it, shining brightly, an indestructible force that seemed to prevent it from extinguishing.
Moreover, Lin Feng's movements still hadn't stopped. He continued carving arrays in the void. This sight made many hearts pound, including Mu Qingying. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on Lin Feng's array carving. Because the spear embryo was narrow, carving a powerful array on it would easily cause the patterns to become disordered—the space was too tight. But carving small arrays one by one in the void gave him enough control space. However, having Lin Feng imprint these small arrays onto the embryo one by one, and then having them perfectly merge without error—this level of difficulty was terrifying. She couldn't even imagine how proficient one would have to be with arrays to dare such a thing.
"Mu Xiao, that formation back then—it was carved by Lin Feng, wasn't it?" Mu Qingying seemed to be talking to herself. Beside her, Mu Xiao's body trembled slightly. Mu Qingying had wanted to ask this question for a long time. She had actually guessed it, but only now asked. Her artifact refining competition was over, and she had no more burdens.
"Miss Qingying, this subordinate only..." Mu Xiao bowed slightly, wanting to explain, but Mu Qingying didn't look at him. She just waved her hand and said, "No need to explain."
Mu Qingying now understood clearly. Back then, Lin Feng had kept a low profile in the Mu Estate, but he hadn't intended to hide anything from her. It was Mu Xiao who had deliberately concealed it, and Lin Feng hadn't bothered to explain. Perhaps in his heart, he had never cared at all. Thinking of this, Mu Qingying felt a trace of self-mockery. She remembered how confidently she had believed that Lin Feng had entered the Mu Estate for her sake—how ridiculous.
"Lin Xue, why are you better than me in every aspect? Is it just that my judgment is poor?" Mu Qingying murmured to herself. If she hadn't actively projected her own thoughts back then, immediately concluding that Lin Feng was just an ordinary man coveting her beauty and trying to sneak into the Mu Estate, she might have paid more attention to him. Naturally, she wouldn't have been deceived by Mu Xiao. Because she had always believed Lin Feng was worthless, she was easily fooled by Mu Xiao.
Mu Xiao, of course, had no idea what Mu Qingying was thinking. At this moment, he was extremely anxious, uncertain of his fate.
"Heh, I said this kid was hiding his true abilities. It seems this old man's judgment isn't bad. These two might be able to compete for the top positions," the purple-robed master who had favored Lin Feng and Mu Linxue said with a faint smile. But a cold snort came from beside him: "Are you that confident in them?"
"At least I'm optimistic," the man replied.
"The Flame Family and the Mu Estate have a bet riding on Yan Feng and Mu Linxue. How about we make a wager too?" Yan Feng's quasi-master said with a cold laugh. Yan Feng was using the Flame Family's Nine Transformations Refining Art, and achieving a third-grade Imperial Artifact was absolutely no problem. With his partner's full effort in carving the array, it might even produce a high-quality third-grade Imperial Artifact. How could Lin Feng and Mu Linxue's combination compare?
"How do you want to bet?" the purple-robed master favoring Lin Feng's combination asked.
"If Yan Feng wins, you lend me your refining art for reference. If you win, I'll lend you my refining art for reference. How about it?" Yan Feng's quasi-master's gaze was sharp. He had long coveted the old man's ancient refining scripture.
The purple-robed master favoring Mu Linxue and Lin Feng's combination narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them. This bastard had quite the ambition, even daring to bet on refining arts. But he knew this old scoundrel didn't do things without certainty. If he dared to bet like this, he must be extremely confident in Yan Feng.
"May I have a moment to consider?" A faint smile appeared on his face as the purple-robed master spoke.
"Of course." The other man smiled. He naturally understood what the other was thinking. He wanted to see just how far Lin Feng's array carving technique could reach. Otherwise, that old man wouldn't dare bet easily—after all, the stakes were quite high.
When his gaze focused on Lin Feng, he paid even closer attention. Lin Feng was still methodically carving arrays in the void. His carving speed was still very fast. In no time, he would complete several interwoven small arrays, and when imprinted onto the embryo, the sacred pattern light on the embryo grew increasingly dazzling.
"He's carving a powerful grand array, composed of countless small arrays interwoven together. But can those countless small arrays really perfectly interweave on that narrow embryo?" Everyone's hearts pounded. There were many experts in artifact refining, but purely in terms of array carving, Lin Feng could already be considered the foremost. His proficiency with arrays was probably something even Hen Changtian couldn't match. Hen Changtian, refining alone, was also very skilled in arrays, but still not as proficient as Lin Feng was showing now—condensing array patterns into the embryo and having them perfectly interweave in a streamlined fashion, as if wrapping around the slender spear.
"Chi, chi..." From the spear, a destructive force was already emanating, extremely sharp, detectable even from a great distance.
"Have you considered it?" Yan Feng's quasi-master asked again.
The purple-robed refining master who favored Lin Feng and Mu Linxue's combination narrowed his eyes into slits, staring at the streamlined array pattern light interweaving on the embryo below Lin Feng. His heart stirred slightly, and then he uttered a sound: "Fine, I'll bet."
"Old man, it's settled." Yan Feng's quasi-master's expression solidified, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.
"Have I ever gone back on my word?"
"Good, everyone here will witness for us," the man said to the other purple-robed masters beside him. The other five were happy to watch the excitement, nodding with smiles. Their words were heard by many. It was normal for these refining masters to value talent—there was nothing shameful about it. This kind of entertaining wager only added to the atmosphere of the refining competition. They were open and aboveboard, causing those who heard to sigh inwardly. These two purple-robed refining masters had actually placed a bet on the Yan Feng and Mu Linxue teams. The refining competition was getting more and more interesting.
"Haha, I think the championship of this refining competition might go to Changtian," another purple-robed master said. Hen Changtian had also finished his embryo and was already carving arrays. The embryo he had refined was actually a massive golden tower three meters tall, extremely imposing. Carving arrays on it was relatively easy, but the quantity was large, and the materials he used were also quite terrifying.
If this Imperial Artifact golden tower had special functions, and if it turned out to be a third-grade Imperial Artifact, it would indeed be more competitive than ordinary third-grade Imperial Artifacts. Therefore, that purple-robed master favored Hen Changtian to win the championship, and many agreed.
Ge Qingfeng had refined an Imperial Artifact that was a feathered fan, filled with terrifying cold energy. Sima Nan had refined a massive feathered wing—an Imperial Artifact wing.
Among the four most acclaimed genius refiners, Yan Feng's Imperial Artifact was the most ordinary. The Imperial Artifact he refined was a crimson fire sword—still a sword.
"Chi, chi..." An hour had already passed. Lin Feng's array was almost complete. A terrifying destructive force was surging wildly. Even though it was still just an embryo, it already had the pressure to destroy everything. In front of the spear, a destructive vortex had formed, interweaving into a terrifying miniature storm.
"The power of this array is terrifying." Everyone's hearts trembled. Now, no one dared to underestimate Lin Feng. His combination with Mu Linxue had officially become a strong contender for the top three positions. While Lin Feng carved arrays, Mu Linxue was still fully controlling the fire to refine, not daring to slack off in the slightest.
"It seems they don't plan to refine a second time. Refining like this once is already enough to drain their energy. A second attempt, due to severe energy depletion, might even fail. They all intend to decide the outcome of this refining competition in one go."
Everyone's hearts stirred. It wasn't just one person—all hundred pairs had the same thought: to finish in one go. No one had prepared for failure. If they didn't succeed on the first try, they would only face elimination.
"Boom!"
A scorching lava-like flame burst forth. On the sword embryo Yan Feng was refining, terrifying flame light was already surging. At this moment, his gaze swept toward Lin Feng and Mu Linxue, and he said coldly, "I didn't expect you to have some resistance. Since that's the case, I'll make you despair. Fourth Transformation, Forge."
As the words were spoken, the sword embryo emitted a sword cry. The crimson sword's color deepened, and the flame power grew even more intense and terrifying.
"Rise!" Sima Nan also shouted coldly. The Imperial Artifact wing embryo floated up into the void. The embryo was floating. They were all preparing to reveal their final trump cards.