Tang Zifeng saw Qin Ruqing, and his calm eyes instantly showed a ripple of emotion.

He subconsciously moved towards her.

“Big Brother Tang, are you coming over?” Qirong’s excited voice called out.

Qin Ruqing, noticing Tang Zifeng turning in her direction, felt her back tense up.

She silently pleaded in her heart:

“No—! Please, Tang Zifeng, don’t!”

It’s just that, for some reason, whether or not he brings a gift, even just talking to me right now feels extremely embarrassing!

Even though Qin Ruqing didn’t understand why she felt this way, her usual lack of shame seemed to have suddenly appeared.

She hoped Tang Zifeng wouldn’t come over.

Of course, it’s not that she didn’t want a gift.

If he has to give one… he should do it quietly and privately.

Tang Zifeng suddenly stopped in his tracks. Qin Ruqing felt like her heart had stopped as well.

Did Tang Zifeng hear my thoughts?

But upon closer inspection, it turned out that Master Minghua had excitedly come down from the judges’ seats and grabbed Tang Zifeng.

“Ah, he got stopped by Master Minghua. Master Minghua is so excited!” Qirong said, though for some reason, his voice carried a hint of regret.

Tang Zifeng felt the pull on his arm and stopped.

He glanced at Qin Ruqing again, holding the glowing lotus-shaped artifact with a delicate touch.

Tang Zifeng wasn’t bothered by the attention or by the idea of speaking to Qin Ruqing in front of everyone.

In the world of artifact forging, everything was orderly and regulated.

At that moment, he had just exited the forging state and immediately saw Qin Ruqing waiting.

She stood there, bright and elegant.

His first reaction was joy; he instinctively wanted to go speak to her.

But being held back by Master Minghua, he let it go.

“Zifeng, you have indeed lived up to our expectations! With the artifact seed you’ve created, and once you enter the Void Realm, you’re very likely to forge a true divine artifact and become the top divine artifact master of our time!”

Tang Zifeng replied with a simple “Hmm,” but then said, “I still have a long way to go.”

He held up the lotus-shaped artifact and added, “It’s still not a true divine artifact.”

Nowadays, Tang Zifeng is just barely able to match Qingqing, not overshadowing Qingqing’s elegance.

Master Minghua didn’t understand his meaning and thought he was being modest.

With a loving expression, he said:

“Child, for someone your age to craft an artifact capable of withstanding lightning tribulations is truly remarkable! We old folks couldn’t do such things when we were young! Your talent in crafting is undoubtedly the best among the younger generation in the Four Domains!”

Minghua actually wanted to remove the “younger generation” qualifier, but considering they were outside and that great fame attracts trouble, he decided to be a bit more reserved.

Tang Zifeng was already making waves by crafting such an artifact.

Several other crafting masters gathered around, showering Tang Zifeng with praises that could make anyone blush with embarrassment.

Minghua, as Tang Zifeng’s master, was particularly mindful of his words and actions.

But the others, seeing such a promising young talent, couldn’t hold back their praises.

After the compliments, the masters turned to the expectant crowd and announced in unison:

“First in artifact crafting, Tang Zifeng of the Tang clan from Xiling!”

There were no doubts or objections, only cheers and raised arms from the artifact crafters below, celebrating with excitement!

From his early emergence at the Xiling Artifact Crafting Competition to now being the best at the Hundred Clans Tournament, Tang Zifeng had truly become the leader of the younger generation in artifact crafting.

Deservedly so!

Qirong looked at the calm young man in the black robe on the stage with surprise and said, “Brother Tang is amazing… I mean, I always knew he was amazing, but it’s like I’m seeing just how amazing he is for the first time.”

“He handles everything so effortlessly, and winning this first place feels like it’s exactly what everyone expected!”

“What gave you the impression he wasn’t amazing, Qirong?” Qin Ruqing’s eyes were on the young man on stage as she spoke lightly.

“He helped build a ship for Xiling that could cross the Broken Vein Mountains and was accepted as Master Minghua’s last disciple. Master Minghua is the president of the Artifact Association!”

“The Artifact Association is composed of various prominent families, including many high-ranking members of golden and even celestial families. It’s an independent and transcendent existence on this continent.”

“With his performance at the Xiling Artifact Crafting Competition, Tang Zifeng gradually entered the core circle of artifact crafting in the Four Domains, becoming a spiritual leader for the younger generation. The significance and power behind this are beyond your imagination.”

Compared to Qin Ruqing, who had to fight hard and use every strategy against celestial and golden families, Tang Zifeng was almost directly recommended because of his outstanding skills.

The old folks at the Crafting Association were eager to find a young talent who could revive artifact crafting, so they spared no effort to teach him, hoping to quickly turn him into a god-level crafter capable of creating divine artifacts.

Thinking of this, even Qin Ruqing felt a bit envious.

Dealing with those families was exhausting; she also wanted to just relax and succeed!

But looking at the young man on the stage, her slight envy quickly disappeared.

Qin Ruqing raised her chin, a smile playing on her lips, her eyes filled with joy and pride.

No matter what, Tang Zifeng truly deserved it.

He was amazing!

This was Tang Zifeng’s honor, and Qin Ruqing was happy to be a bystander.

However, it wasn’t long before Qin Ruqing’s smile changed.

Oh right, while Tang Zifeng was finishing up, Third Sister was still busy refining pills!

Although she knew that the examiners in the cloud had set up a barrier for Third Sister and there was no danger, seeing things wrap up here and Tang Zifeng’s glory being secured made Qin Ruqing eager to go back and stay by Third Sister’s side.

She felt like a pond owner who couldn’t relax until all the fish were safe.

Tang Zifeng on the high platform waved his hand.

Surrounded by artifact masters, he looked over towards Qin Ruqing at just the right moment.

Qin Ruqing smiled and made a gesture with her lips:

“Beother Tang, I’m heading to check on Third Sister now. When you’re done, come find us!”

With that, she pulled Qirong along and left, leaving Qirong to wave goodbye to Tang Zifeng.

Tang Zifeng, left behind, pursed his lips.

They left just like that…

Soon, his expression returned to normal, and he took the initiative to speak to Master Minghua:

“Master, I want to leave now.”

“Huh? Aren’t you going to say something?” Minghua was puzzled.

This was a stage watched by everyone, and many artifact masters had spent years waiting for this moment.

Why was Tang Zifeng in such a hurry to leave?

Tang Zifeng asked seriously, “The artifact is finished, and the rankings have been announced. Isn’t it okay for me to leave now?”

“…Well, that’s true.” Minghua replied.

Tang Zifeng nodded, “Alright, Master, I’ll be going now. If you need anything, just let me know.”

He politely nodded to the other masters and turned to leave without hesitation.

“Hey…” Minghua raised his hand, but he didn’t even manage to grab the edge of Tang Zifeng’s clothes.

I haven’t agreed yet, kid.

What’s pulling you away so strongly?

Tang Zifeng, using some sort of magical artifact, quickly caught up with Qin Ruqing and Qirong.

He walked alongside Qin Ruqing, standing close enough that they were just a shoulder apart.

Qin Ruqing looked up with bright eyes and said, “Oh, Tang Zifeng, you’re here!”

Tang Zifeng replied, “Yes, I came to find you. And Qirong.”

Qirong, who was called over, peeked curiously and exchanged a glance with Tang Zifeng, feeling something was off.

“Great!” Qin Ruqing, completely unaware of the oddness, pumped her fist and said, “Let’s go see Third Sister. She should be finishing up soon!”

---

On the alchemy square, a few masters in the clouds were muttering, “Isn’t that the artifact crafting area? What’s happening?”

“It looks like someone has crafted an impressive spiritual artifact. But since only one lightning strike was involved, it shouldn’t be a divine artifact,” said the dark-faced president.

Hearing this, the cloud above fell silent for a moment.

An elder with a long beard frowned and said, “You’re talking as if that area is only for artifact crafting families. How could they produce a divine artifact with just a single lightning strike? An artifact that can attract lightning tribulations is already quite extraordinary, and likely the best in this competition.”

An old woman nodded and remembered something: “It should be a young one from the Tang family of Xiling. I’ve heard of him, accepted as Master Minghua’s last disciple, and heavily nurtured. The Crafting Association must be very focused on him.”

The dark-faced president sighed, “The Crafting Association must be thrilled. Why didn’t the Alchemy Association find such a promising talent?”

“Where’s the promising talent?” The old woman smiled and pointed to the purple-robed female immortal still calmly refining pills below.

The dark-faced president looked down, pondered for a moment, and then said, “Let’s wait and see.”

His attitude had changed considerably from his previous disdain for Qin Ruqing and the Qin family.

Qin Ruqing and the others arrived back at the square to find Lu Wei surrounded by a golden light barrier.

Her demeanor remained calm and serene, almost imperceptible in her ethereal state.

Tang Zifeng showed concern and asked, “What’s going on?”

Qirong, observing the scene, whispered, “This is a mystical state she uses in alchemy.”

Tang Zifeng nodded in understanding.

There are many situations in artifact crafting that require mystical states, and artifacts that need such states are extremely rare.

Therefore, the spiritual pill Lu Wei was refining must be very challenging.