Chapter 1373

In Perozizia's eyes, though hidden deeply, sorrow leaked through.

"Mm, I want to seek a miracle—the miracle that can resurrect the dead!"

Lin Cheng nodded, then shook his head, opened his mouth to speak but held back, finally reorganized his words.

"That's truly regrettable… If you ever change your mind, you can come find me anytime. Does a miracle that can resurrect the dead truly exist in this world?"

He couldn't help looking up at the sky; perhaps only a true god could perform such a miracle.

"Thank you, Master." Perozizia bowed deeply in gratitude.

Lin Cheng nodded.

Everyone has their own pursuit; it cannot be forced.

With Perozizia's current score, securing first place should be no problem.

Then, for the first time, Lin Cheng raised his five-point token.

His standards were so high; he never acted unless he acted with astonishing impact.

And the five elders held the same thought: Perozizia had scored a perfect mark; from a distant tavern, Zhai Yuanba, who had been carried away unconscious, now leisurely sipped tea there, his eyes shimmering with magical light, using the spell known as Far Sight to fixate on Lin Cheng's position at the competition center.

Even if weakened, his physique was too robust to collapse from just a few girls' words.

He simply wanted to see how Lin Cheng would continue the competition even without him.

The reality matched his expectation: Lin Cheng would never show favoritism, not even toward acquaintances or his own disciple.

Before he could finish his inner thought, on the other side, Lin Cheng, facing his beloved disciple Zhai Yuanba and his work, didn't even glance at it before directly raising his five-point token.

Evening came, the sun set.

The second half of the preliminary round ended smoothly; more than half of the 180 participants were eliminated, their creativity varying greatly. But Lin Cheng and the judges did not judge by the scale of creativity, but by its practicality, completion, appearance, and the maker's original intent—only then did the judges arrive at their scores.

Okay… all that was a lie; they simply gave points based on mood.

Lin Cheng didn't know whether the other five judges did the same, but he certainly did.

At first he pretended to be reserved, but later gave points only to works and ideas he liked, withheld them if he didn't.

From the very beginning, he had controlled the entire competition, for the only one who could rival him—Huoerde Society's president—had been carried away; with his five-point token, he easily crushed the five elders beneath him—even if they all gave zero, Lin Cheng's five points alone were enough to secure half the victory for any contestant.

Moreover, when a work caught Lin Cheng's eye, it often signaled its extraordinariness; under such circumstances, the five elders would inevitably give some score.

"Can we go home now, Lin Cheng?"

The competition ended; Miss Qianhui leaned against Lin Cheng's shoulder and asked the question she'd long wanted to ask: Could they leave?

Today's competition was an utterly terrible experience; as an outsider to forging, she saw no discernible difference—objects seemed all alike, differing only in function.

Even Valkyrie Ailin and Xiao Hong understood it, while she was furious.

"Of course we can… You seem drained?" Lin Cheng, seeing Miss Qianhui's haggard face, tenderly asked, "Are you unwell?"

"I just want to go home…"

"Then let's go back."

Lin Cheng's group prepared to leave the competition grounds, each holding one woman's hand, when suddenly Valkyrie Ailin seemed to sense something?

She froze mid-step, her body stiffening in place.

"What's wrong?"

Lin Cheng's grip halted; he turned, puzzled, toward Valkyrie Ailin—had something happened to her too?

"Lin Cheng, I sense the presence of a kindred spirit. I want to go see."

"Mm, alright, be careful. Let Xiao Hong go with you." Lin Cheng immediately agreed; Xiao Hong, perched on his shoulder, obediently leapt onto Valkyrie Ailin's.

"We'll return soon."

Valkyrie Ailin seemed anxious, taking Xiao Hong with her toward a secluded alley on the other side, where the unusual sensation she hadn't felt in ages pulsed.

In a shadowed corner, a group of tall, mysterious figures watched Valkyrie Ailin and Xiao Hong depart; a faint whisper of wind stirred. "Target lured successfully. Initiate Redemption Plan!"

"Understood!"

The mysterious figures nodded one by one, their forms dissolving into the shadows.

It was twilight; pedestrians on the street gradually thinned. Lin Cheng's forge wasn't remote—he could easily take the main road—but he and Miss Qianhui deliberately chose a shortcut.

A nearly deserted alley.

He sensed someone was tailing them—their aura was extremely concealed; even his spiritual sense spread out detected almost nothing.

But Lin Cheng had the Demon Armor, which sensed life with unique precision; no matter how skilled their concealment, to the Demon Armor they were as naked as the day they were born.

"They're really patient."

Lin Cheng murmured softly, in a voice only he and Miss Qianhui could hear.