Hao Ren had finished creating the second rune and then he used the leftover ink to create the third rune. His speed this time was faster and just enough to finish in time. The rest of the people also finished dealing with their own tasks. Just then the invigilator said in a sonorous tone, "Time's up. Please stop!"

The people froze and before they could even react, the weapons all flew off the tables and headed towards the invigilator. Then without any nonsense, the man continued to evaluate the weapons, and his mouth uttered two terms, 'Pass' or 'Fail'

As he spoke the jade plates of the participants who passed the second round began to glow, and those who failed, their jade plates shattered. Hao Ren watched as around hundred more plates shattered. This caused him to raise his brow. Grandmaster Amira spoke up at this moment.

"You all must be wondering how you are eliminated even when you have created three Dao Runes as per the requirement. However, let me clarify something. We are not children or apprentices who have just newly embarked on the path of refining artifacts. We all have worked hard to create a reputation by following the ethics.

As a grandmaster, you all made a crucial mistake. You ignored the quality of the weapon and the quality of the ink provided to you. Had you all made the Dao Runes that supported this Weapon, and do you all think that just making the runes is enough? What good are they if they cannot execute their function properly?"

Her questions caused the people to fall silent. Those who have been declared as fail sighed and understood that even if this was not a spoken requirement as Grandmasters, the top refiners they should have understood this.

Tian Teicong smiled and said, "The motive of this contest is not only to test your skills, but also to remind the people that refining artifacts is not an easy path to walk upon. Those who have participated in this contest are qualified to walk out with their heads held high. You all represent the best in the entire continent, have some confidence and keep striving."

The people cheered and Hao Ren thought, 'Well, this guy sure knows how to speak well. Eloquence is a deadly skill.'

*What are you worried about? You use soothsaying in a way much more drastic manner than this guy.*

Hao Ren smiled faintly and said, 'I have learned it from you, that one should not go easy on others. Also, it has been ages since I have used the coin of aztec.'

*Don't even try to bring that thing out. You will cause some real karmic troubles for yourself.*

Hao Ren sighed and held back the urge to curse Tian Teicong with the coin of aztec. After the second round was concluded, the third round began. Now there were only forty people remained. The invigilator said, "Now, you all will be given a space ring. Inside the space ring, there would be a damaged artifact. You will need to repair that damage and restore it back to ninety percent of it's original integrity. If you have any questions, you may ask."

Someone raised his hand and asked, "Can I use any technique to repair the artifact?"

The people were aware that this round tested their technique identification skills and even more, the skill to support people in dire need. The repairing jobs piled up during beast tides, or after some expert passes a tribulation.

The invigilator said, "You will have two hours to do the repair work. Don't worry, we have only selected the weapons that the Council Elders themselves can repair within this time."

The people all rolled their eyes and some even wanted to say, 'If we were as skilled as the council elders why would we come here?'

Hao Ren noticed that the face of some elders in the void changed, but they restrained themselves. There was some internal conflict going on, but the unaffected facial expression of Tian Teicong spelled out everything for him.

He cursed the man for being so cunning but had to go ahead with the contest anyways. As he took out the weapon for inspection, Tian Teicong signaled an invigilator and soon a shining sword was presented to the elders. Amira asked, "Is this sword the one refined by that participant 877?"

Tian Teicong nodded and replied, "Yes, Sister Amira, you sure have sharp eyes. This is indeed the sword, and look, the grade has been improved by one level. Not only that, even the runes he carved are so uniquely done."

Amira looked at the weapon and smiled faintly before she said, "To use the self repair rune as the second and the sharp as rune as the third, it is ingenious, but why use the endurance rune as the first?"

Tian Teicong smiled and replied, "This is a higher level endurance rune, it is casted directly upon the core of the sword. This is a good idea. As the weapon gets damaged, the third and second runes are the first to lose their abilities, but with this endurance rune on the core, the weapon would last longer and provide a greater foundation for the two runes to work. Excellent!"

The rest of the people were surprised to hear such a high praise from Tian Teicong. This man had never made things easy for anyone. How come he was praising someone today? This was a mystery for them. However, just when they were involved in a discussion, they heard gasps and exclamations from the ground.

Turning back they found, Hao Ren using his spiritual energy to levitate the weapon in the void and a faint cloud of flames appeared around the weapon as it spun on its spot.

Tian Teicong squinted and remarked, "Centrifugal smelting."

Amira said, "This technique is used by Grandmaster Karvi, the heating is slow, but at the same time, it retains the structural integrity of the damaged weapon, and the fragments are thrown to the outward direction where they heat up quickly. Not only does this technique require excellent spiritual power manipulation, but also high perception to keep the fragments inside the axis. Looks like, this young man does have the potential to come out on the top. What do you say, Brother Tian?"

Tian Teicong smiled and replied, "Indeed, you have found a good talent this time. To think that such a gen was hidden in the city, and we all had no clue."

Amira and Tian Teicong exchanged a smile, but don't judge them to be hunky-dory by this exchange. In reality, they were always out for each other's blood. However now, with so many experts of the same field present to look at the contest proceeding, how can they be fighting. This was against their image and the stronger people preferred their images more than anything else.

…

Hao Ren stopped refining the weapon and then he made a few seals and controlled the fragments to embed themselves back in the position from where they fell after the spear was broken. Yes, this was a new spear that had been deliberately broken and damaged for the sake of the contest.

After that, Hao Ren concentrated the heat on the newly put together joint of the spear shaft and began to spin it while the weapon remained fixed vertically in the void. The heat from Nirvana Phoenix Flames could brun even the void itself, so the controlled heat was good enough to turn the fragments into liquid, and just when this liquid was about to move out, the solid parts of the shaft also turned soft and then Hao Ren created a void seal around the joint to hold everything in place, and retracted his flames.

Then under the constant spinning the joint cooled down and the joint was fixed. Followed by that, Hao Ren began to sharpen the spear head, and fixed the various Dao Runes with ink. Everything was running smoothly and suddenly, one of the onlookers said, "Now that is how you should train your mind to be focused. There are so many people repairing the weapons using various techniques, but look at that young man. He is still so focused as if the world has nothing to do with him."

The surrounding people nodded, and just then Hao Ren used the spear to move around and then he inspected it one more time before nodding and said, "I have finished repairing this weapon."

The people were not surprised, after all, the time was almost about to finish. The invigilator approached Hao Ren collected the weapon and said, "I will have the elders inspect it."

Hao Ren nodded and watched the man take the spear to the elders in the void, and after a thorough examination, they all turned to look at him with curious gazes and the Tian Teicong said, "For the first time in the history of this contest, someone has completed the repair with ninety nine percent of original integrity. Congratulations."

The crowd cheered, and Hao Ren bowed with a faint smile, and sat down on the side to wait for the fourth round to begin.