The vice president's eyes finally shone, and he chuckled to himself, pleased. Holding Lin Feng's Vanguard Greatsword in his hand, he turned to the crowd and asked,
"Anything else you have to say?"
His question was met with total silence.
However, the silence did not last long. The young man who had repeatedly protested earlier bit his lips and spoke again.
"That's impossible!
"Fine, someone with real skill might be able to make a Grade-1 or -2 weapon out of normal iron…
"But the sharpness of his weapon and the faint glint of metal both show that it is undeniably a Grade-3 greatsword!
"How is it possible to make a Grade-3 weapon out of normal iron?
"He has to be cheating!"
No sooner than the young man said that, however, he saw that the two masters of the smithing world who had emerged with their Grade-2 weapons were looking at him in utter contempt.
Valentine Junior did not even try to hide the jest in his eyes.
"Tsk… How ignorant…"
He harrumphed softly and said.
His words made the young man's breath catch in his throat.
Lin Feng did not try to explain anything about the weapon he made. He just nodded at the vice president of the Smiths' Association and asked,
"Vice president, may I know when the next round starts after this?"
According to Lin Feng's understanding, the tournament should have three rounds, just like in the past. However, the vice president merely responded with a chuckle.
"Thanks to these ignorant fools here, it seems we won't be having three rounds in our Smithing Tournament this year."
Lin Feng was confused, so he turned around to look at the crowd piled up in the Smiths' Association.
At the same time, Grimm's famous old blacksmith, Goldwin, suddenly approached him.
Goldwin looked like an old man of about sixty. He had braided his greyish-white beard on either side of his chin with rope, and his face was somewhat red after all those years spent in front of a hot forge.
"You must be Master Lin Feng, right? The vice president has mentioned you quite often lately."
There was a rule among smiths, stating that those with skill must be called 'master', regardless of age.
Not long after Goldwin spoke, Valentine Junior, who had defended Lin Feng earlier, also slowly approached them.
"The greatsword you made with Milli-forging is a true mark of your skill. Judging by that greatsword alone, I might say that your skills are no match for my grandfather yet, but that gap is definitely not a large one."
Valentine was a legend among smiths. He was over eighty years old, but his smithing skills were practically god-like, making him the idol of smiths everywhere.
When the others heard the proud younger Valentine's appraisal, all of them fell silent. Some even looked at Lin Feng with gazes full of respect.
The young man who had spoken earlier was now turning red and white in turns.
He never expected the two most revered participants of the tournament to heap Lin Feng with such praise.
Their remarks were like stinging slaps to his face.
Just then, the vice president knocked on the counter softly to attract everyone's attention.
"Master Lin Feng used normal iron, and a deficiency of materials at that, to make a Grade-3 weapon. On that alone, I hereby announce that he is the winner of this Smithing Tournament. Any objections?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"The weapons that Masters Valentine and Goldwin made are perfect specimens of Grade-2 weaponry in both sturdiness and quality. They emerged from their rooms at exactly the same time, so they are tied in second!
"As for third place, we shall choose among the first Grade-1… I mean, the first smith to leave their room upon completing the task. That is Master Brook, whose weapon achieved peak Grade-1. You are third!"
The Smiths' Association clearly did not place much importance on decorum. The vice president gave the four of them their rewards on the spot, without any ceremony.
Once everything was done, he turned to look at the young man who had repeatedly spoken up solemnly.
"If I recall correctly, I remember someone said that they would surrender their badges and never call themselves a smith again should anyone manage to forge a graded weapon, yes?"
Everyone's expressions changed at that.
Some of the older smiths felt their wrinkled faces turn red. If there was a hole in the Association floor, they would have crawled into it right away.
"Vice president…"
Just then, Lin Feng spoke up with a frown.
"The beasts have been attacking the border cities quite often lately… and smiths are a crucial source of weapons and equipment for the city defense corp and other soldiers. I don't think… that's a good idea."
The vice president gave Lin Feng a long look, and many of the other smiths looked at him gratefully as well.
After a pause, the vice president of the Association finally sighed softly.
"Fine. Since Master Lin Feng spoke on your behalf, I'll let this slide this time…
"But remember, we smiths are supposed to make the impossible possible! There isn't anything in the world we can't do! Only those with such a mentality can call themselves smiths!"
Lin Feng exchanged a few words with the others before leaving the Association on his own accord. He was not good with social events like these at all.
Valentine Junior and Master Goldwin both invited him to discuss smithing techniques with them when he had the time. Naturally, he agreed with pleasure.
However, when Lin Feng returned to his inn, he saw a familiar face.
"Master Andera? I was wondering why you didn't participate in the Smithing Tournament. Oh, right… Where have you been these past few days?"
Lin Feng stopped there because Andera did not look like he was a bearer of good news.
As expected, Andera's mouth twitched the moment he saw Lin Feng, and then he ran up to the latter, saying hurriedly,
"Master Lin Feng! Bad news!"
Lin Feng blinked and patted Andera's shoulder.
"What happened?"
Andera sighed and paced for a moment before he suddenly looked up and said,
"The past few days, I've been doing equipment maintenance for Grimm's city defense corp.
"Yesterday, though, I heard the officers talking to each other about three waves of beast tides loitering around the border!
"The biggest city on the imperial border is none other than Whitestar!"
Lin Feng turned pale too. He took a deep breath and pressed his lips together.
"Let's go back!
"To Whitestar!
"We can't let those beasts intrude on our land any further!"