"Clang!"
Under the gaze of countless eyes, an ordinary butcher's knife struck the precious sword, sending sparks flying.
With a crack.
It broke.
Not the butcher's knife, but this top-tier mortal sword forged by Wu Yunfeng...
It broke!
Jin Wudao's sneer instantly froze on his face.
Jin Dazhi, the head of the Jin family, sat bolt upright.
Master Zheng, with his arrogant demeanor, also changed his expression slightly.
Wu Yunfeng's eyes were about to split, and his heart trembled violently.
Hu Hao stared with disbelief.
Those from the Armorsmiths' Association wore expressions as if they had seen a ghost.
The thousands of spectators were dumbfounded!
Their jaws dropped, wide enough to fit a fist.
The butcher had completely frozen. Could it be that his butcher's knife was a hidden divine weapon?
But that butcher's knife was only made at Old Man Liu the blacksmith's next door, using a total of only nine jin, five liang, two qian, and seven fen of raw iron!
The people from the Lan family looked at this scene in astonishment. Lan Tianxiong was stunned, Lan Junjie was also stunned, and Li Huimei was dumbfounded!
A moment later, the Lan family erupted in commotion, their faces filled with ecstatic joy as they cheered.
Lan Xueyi had closed her eyes, unable to bear watching.
The sound of weapons clashing, followed by the cracking sound of breakage, made her tremble all over. She thought the butcher's knife had been easily broken by the precious sword.
Hearing the cheers now, she was shocked and abruptly opened her eyes to look at Ling Fan.
When she saw that Wu Yunfeng's precious sword was the one that broke, she was also stunned.
Utterly stunned.
She had never expected such an astonishing reversal after Ling Fan stepped forward.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! I forged a top-tier mortal weapon, how could it be broken by a butcher's knife?"
Wu Yunfeng shouted madly, his spittle flying.
"Ling, you dare to tamper with it, I'll kill you!"
"Stop!"
Lan Tianxiong stepped forward at this moment, emanating an incredibly powerful aura. He snorted coldly, "If you dare to touch a single hair on him, I don't care if you are a disciple of a master of righteousness or crookedness, I will kill you on the spot!"
Lan Tianxiong's words were like a basin of cold water poured over him. Wu Yunfeng calmed down slightly.
Hu Hao had already walked over in silence, examining the butcher's knife and the two broken pieces of the sword over and over again.
But his expression grew increasingly grim.
Because he found no trace of tampering.
Ling Fan's expression was calm, allowing Hu Hao to inspect him without any worry of being found out.
"I said, what he forged is just garbage. If it wasn't tampered with, it wouldn't be cut by the precious saber forged by the Lan family."
"So I say the Lan family won. Does anyone have any objections?"
Ling Fan scanned the crowd and spoke calmly.
Only he knew the truth. It wasn't that Wu Yunfeng's forged sword had a problem, but that the moment Ling Fan touched the sword, he had secretly used the power of the Samsara Divine Cauldron to drain its essence.
The entire place fell silent, and no one responded.
Although everyone still didn't believe it was true, they had all witnessed it with their own eyes, and there was no way they couldn't believe it.
After all, facts spoke louder than words.
"How could this be? He actually let this good-for-nothing turn the situation around!" Jin Wudao roared inwardly.
He realized he might have underestimated Ling Fan.
He had initially thought Ling Fan was just a dissolute good-for-nothing who only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun, but unexpectedly, he had been outmaneuvered.
"You Jin family people are too despicable, using such shameful means!"
"If our son-in-law hadn't had eyes like a hawk, you would have almost succeeded in your wicked plot."
"Now the evidence is irrefutable. The weapons forged by your Jin family are simply scrap metal, inferior even to a butcher's knife. You lost! Jin family, get out of Jiangnan City!"
"Get out!"
The Lan family members' faces were flushed with pride, and they shouted angrily.
As for some of them, who had just wanted Lan Xueyi to marry Jin Wudao in exchange for a lifeline for the Lan family, they now felt immensely ashamed.
Lan Xueyi stared at Ling Fan with her beautiful, clear eyes, as if seeing him for the first time!
Hu Hao, Jin Wudao, Wu Yunfeng, and others exchanged glances quietly, as if exchanging opinions.
Finally, Hu Hao said with a forced smile, "This matter cannot count!"
"Today was only a weapon forging competition between the Jin and Lan families. When the saber and sword determined the victor, the competition was over. As for why this butcher's knife could cut this sword, that is another matter. I will announce the details after investigating!"
When Hu Hao said this, the Jin family members all agreed.
The Lan family, however, exploded: "Nonsense! Are you trying to favor the Jin family!"
"You were the one who tampered with it, and now you want to deny it."
"Our son-in-law has already exposed your trickery, you can't get away with it."
"What you say doesn't count, we Lan family won!"
The situation became deadlocked.
Hu Hao suddenly roared with a dark expression, "All of you, shut up!"
"I am the one in charge of this weapon forging competition for the Armorsmiths' Association. If I say the Jin family won, then the Jin family won. If you are not satisfied, feel free to go and argue with my master and see how he judges!"
Everyone was startled.
Hu Hao was planning to use the Armorsmiths' Association to suppress the Lan family.
Everyone knew that he was Master Wang's most favored disciple, and at such a young age, he was already a master craftsman with a high status in the Armorsmiths' Association. Even if the Lan family went to Master Wang, the result would likely not change.
Why would Master Wang help outsiders instead of his own disciple!
On the Lan family's side, everyone fell silent.
They felt a deep sense of powerlessness against the superior force.
Just then, Ling Fan suddenly spoke, "Who said what you say counts."
As soon as he spoke, everyone looked at him again.
Jin Wudao sneered, "Brother Hu Hao is Master Wang's most favored disciple, a senior artisan at a young age, and holds a high position in the Armorsmiths' Association. If his words don't count, do the words of you, the Lan family's useless son-in-law, count!"
Ling Fan's expression was indifferent. He glanced at Jin Wudao with disdain, and then, under the gaze of countless people, he slowly took out an item.
When everyone saw what the item was, the entire place fell silent.
Because it was an identification token of the Armorsmiths' Association.
It stated that Ling Fan was a Top-tier Artisan!
"How is this possible!"
This thought flashed through the minds of all the spectators.
A top-tier artisan under twenty years old!
What kind of concept was this? He was younger and far more outstanding than Hu Hao, who was recognized as the number one forging genius!
The identity of the Lan family's son-in-law indeed had little influence, but the authority of a top-tier artisan certified by the Armorsmiths' Association was entirely different!
"No way, how did this good-for-nothing suddenly become a certified top-tier artisan?"
Jin Wudao and the Jin family members' eyes were about to pop out.
Even Master Zheng could no longer sit still and straightened up.
"Is it true or not? Our son-in-law is a certified top-tier artisan by the Armorsmiths' Association!" On the Lan family's side, everyone was dumbfounded, feeling that everything that had happened today was too shocking and unexpected.
Lan Tianxiong was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but clap and laugh, feeling as if he had finally exhaled a breath of pent-up frustration.
His son-in-law was not a good-for-nothing!
In this vast Jiangnan City, who dared to call a certified top-tier artisan of the Armorsmiths' Association a good-for-nothing!
Lan Junjie was even more stunned. No wonder Ling Fan had the confidence to scold him; it turned out to be like this.
Lan Xueyi's beautiful eyes blinked, filled with a dazzling light.
She couldn't help but recall Ling Fan's words: as long as he was there, the Lan family would be fine!
She had initially thought Ling Fan was just boasting, but who knew he had been hiding his true abilities so deeply.
"This must be fake, right? Young Master Hu Hao, say something."
Someone questioned.
However, Hu Hao did not speak, only his expression became extremely grim.
Seeing his expression, even a fool would understand that this identification token certified by the Armorsmiths' Association was genuine.
"Well done, young talent!"
At this moment, Master Zheng finally couldn't sit still.
"I never expected the Lan family's son-in-law to have been biding his time and hiding his true capabilities."
"Let's call this round a draw! Young Master Ling, how about we have a match?"
Master Zheng looked at Ling Fan.
"Why not." Ling Fan replied, still as calm as ever.
Everyone's spirits lifted, as a good show was about to unfold.
Many people had regretted not seeing Master Zheng make a move, but unexpectedly, Ling Fan had emerged, not only turning the tide of defeat for the Lan family with his own strength but also forcing Master Zheng to personally step forward.
One was the renowned Master Zheng, from a famous forging family in Yunmeng City, who had been in the limelight in Jiangnan City recently.
And Ling Fan was even more mysterious and astonishing; no one knew when Ling Fan had become a top-tier artisan!
Such a confrontation was bound to be exceptionally exciting.