I'm not just human!

Xia Fa was the same. The moment he placed it on the screen, the Illusionary Iron Crystal was teleported away, and the circular light shield around him also dissipated.

The soul of [Rhine Calamity] seemed to have immediately received the secret treasures crafted by the two, and its expression immediately revealed great interest.

This time, He once again vanished as smoke, seemingly preparing to go into the subspace to use some professional methods to thoroughly examine the treasure the two had created.

Nidhogg was extremely exhausted from creating this treasure. He simply flipped his hand and took out an extraordinary fruit, which he then ate like an apple.

Xia chose to sit in a chair and continue to slowly recover her physical and mental strength.

Time began to tick by, but every second felt like torture for Shafa and Nidhogg.

In particular, the majestic Rhine sword lying on the golden pillar added to the torment of unfulfilled desire for the two men.

But not long after, the soul of [Rhine Calamity] suddenly reappeared.

"Everyone—!"

He deliberately dragged out his words, and for a moment he even took on the air of a physical "commentator," continuing:

"The results are in."

In an instant, not only the two finalists, Shafa and Nidhogg, but also the other contenders became genuinely nervous.

The soul of [Rhine Calamity] did not deliberately keep the mystery in suspense for long. It immediately spoke in a high-spirited, excited, and solemn tone, and with its twelve arms raised, in a grand and solemn manner.

"I hereby declare..."

"The champion is..."

"Summer!!! France!!!"

In that instant, Nidhogg was stunned, and so was Shafa.

Not only the two of them, but also Norton Dragon, Airo Tong, Thor Loki and almost everyone else present were stunned.

Shafa... actually defeated Nidhogg?

In other words, he created a treasure even more powerful than the incomplete Mysterious Treasure?

That's...that's unlikely, isn't it?

In an instant, apart from the three members of the Chestnut and Gilgamesh families who were genuinely happy for Xia Fa, everyone else had the same question in their minds.

After a brief moment of astonishment, Nidhogg stepped forward, suppressing his disbelief, and tried his best to express his doubts in a sufficiently respectful tone.

"[Rhine Calamity], first of all, I have no intention of questioning your decision, but I really want to know, how exactly did Shafa... defeat me?"

Chapter 311 The Rhine Blade is finally in hand! The secret of the Old Ones? (Part 2)

Nidhogg truly lives up to his reputation as the leader of the Church of the Wrong and the head of the Star Dragon family, daring to question even the soul of an Old One.

At this moment, even Amphion and Thorloki, the two archenemies of the Star Dragon family, felt a genuine admiration for Nidhogg's courage and bravery.

Of course, on the other hand, Nidhogg's "questioning" tone was also polite enough, which shows that he was still cunning and very shrewd. At least on the surface, no one could hear the slightest disrespect for the soul of the [Rhine Calamity].

Seeing this, Xia Fa was not particularly moved, because he understood that since he had already become the champion, he probably wouldn't change his mind.

Therefore, he wanted to hear how the soul of [Rhine Calamity] had rated itself as the champion.

Or, to be more precise, how exactly did He manage to advance from the first round to the second round, from the second round to the finals, and then win the championship in the finals? What judging criteria did He use?

The old blacksmith shop suddenly fell silent, and the soul of [Rhine Calamity] didn't speak at first.

Thus, this silence became a silence that filled everyone present with extreme trepidation and fear.

Even Nidhogg himself felt some regret and lingering fear. He was really worried that the soul of the [Rhine Calamity] might be enraged and wipe out everyone except Shafa on the spot. Needless to say, as an Old One with the same status as the true gods, even if only the soul remained, it could easily do this.

But at that moment, the soul of [Rhine Calamity] spoke.

His translucent face showed no anger whatsoever, as if he were not a former Great Old One, but the fairest and most impartial referee in the Old Forge, about to answer the contestant's questions.

"It's very simple."

The spirit of [Rhine Calamity] spread its twelve hands and then said:

"Actually, in terms of craftsmanship and style, I prefer your Wheel of Fortune Bottle. However, in terms of overall quality, Nidhogg, yours has indeed lost to Shaphat."

Upon hearing this, Nidhogg was even more surprised, and the word "why" was about to slip out.

However, perhaps because the soul of the [Rhine Calamity] mentioned that it preferred the style of the treasures He had created, Nidhogg held back from speaking, as if he had instantly believed in the impartiality of this "referee" and understood that He would give an explanation that would convince everyone.

The soul of [Rhine Calamity] indeed began to explain in detail, speaking quite quickly. Fortunately, the weakest among those present were all angel-level overlords, so they could hear clearly.

"If we were to divide the treasures in the simplest and most convenient way, it would be according to the rank and status of you extraordinary beings. I believe everyone would agree on that."

"In this context, a treasure of demigod quality is a watershed moment, representing whether the treasure itself has even begun to touch upon the realm of 'gods'."

"Further up, the treasures of the Dominator quality are another watershed. But the reason for this watershed is not only that there is a huge gap between treasures of the Angel quality and treasures of the Dominator quality, but that even treasures of the Dominator quality have a great difference in themselves."

Even without the detailed explanation of the soul of the [Rhine Calamity], everyone understands what He is saying.

It's very simple. Just like how, even though they are both rulers, the difference between a ruler who has signed nine secret contracts and a transcendent monarch who has signed twenty-five secret contracts is like heaven and earth.

There is definitely a huge difference between a treasure that has just reached the level of a Dominator and a treasure that is equivalent to a veteran Extraordinary Monarch.

The spirit of [Rhine Calamity] continued:

"As for the watershed beyond that, you all know without me saying it. From the mysterious treasures and the secret treasures below the divine quality, as well as the outer mysterious treasures, and then to the most supreme righteous mysterious treasures and ancient secret treasures, these are all very obvious watersheds."

"And this time, since neither you, Nidhogg, nor Shafa, can create a divine artifact, what you are competing with is actually the bit of divine divinity contained in the artifacts you create."

"Of course, this is primarily because the treasures you two created are similar in other aspects, so the only way to compare them is by the divine nature they contain."

Upon hearing this, Xia Fa was first stunned, and then his mind was filled with question marks.

Originally, he thought that after the soul of [Rhine Calamity] gave a long speech, it would come up with some incredible and extremely tricky angles such as "the ingenuity of crafting secret treasures" and "the beauty of secret texts and magical circuits" to prove that awarding him the championship was truly well-deserved.

But he never expected that the soul of [Rhine Calamity] was actually talking about the "divinity of the gods" contained in the secret treasures they had each created?

The treasure he created clearly has absolutely no divine essence in it!

To put it dramatically, he only realized that the treasure could be crafted into such a thing after he personally witnessed a trace of divine divinity emerging from Nidhogg's treasure!

To be honest, Xia Fa is now nervous because he has realized that something is wrong.

Could there really be something fishy going on?

Fortunately, this shady dealing helped me win the championship...

With a mix of trepidation and a quick glance at the others' focused expressions as they listened intently to the soul of the [Rhine Calamity] speaking, Xia Fa continued listening.

"Now that I've said that, you probably understand, Nidhogg. I really liked your idea of ​​combining the application of fate with the Klein bottle in your creation."

"However, it is a pity that the divine nature of the treasure crafted by Xia Fa is slightly more than that of yours."

"To be precise, your Bottle of Destiny contains about 30% divine nature, which is extremely high. Even in my time, it was rare to see a genius craftsman like you."

"But by chance, nearly 50% of the treasures created by Xia Fa are divine."

"I can only say that you are indeed a genius, but Xia Fa is an ultimate genius who appears only once in ten thousand years. In this creation, you lost to Him."

Upon hearing this, Nidhogg finally let out a soft sigh, as if accepting his defeat.

The others looked surprised, but not particularly puzzled.

The surprise stemmed from the fact that Xia Fa was able to create a secret treasure containing 50% divine essence, especially since Xia Fa himself didn't even seem to be a demigod.

Of course, many people also believe that he is a sealed artifact or secret treasure with a hidden aura. Perhaps in private, Xia Fa is already a secret emperor who has signed twenty secret contracts.

As for why no one felt puzzled, it was naturally because the soul of [Rhine Calamity] explained things very clearly, and everyone seemed to find it quite reasonable that a Mystic Emperor could achieve such a level of skill.

After all, that's the Secret Emperor who can sign two overlord-level secret contracts at the same time!

There are only a handful of Mysterious Emperors in the entire universe to date!

All one needs to do is sign thirty secret contracts and possess a kind of "eternal certificate" to become a mysterious emperor from the gods!

Even those who are not extraordinary beings of the Mysterious Emperor have their "Path to God" blocked; this alone demonstrates the vast difference in their abilities.

Naturally, it's not surprising that the Emperors of the Mysteries also possess some talent in other aspects of the extraordinary world, such as crafting secret treasures and setting up ritual arrays.

Of everyone present, only Xia Fa remained completely bewildered.

[Rhine Disaster], don't you want to read what you're saying?!

What do you mean by saying that the secret treasure I created has 50% divine nature?

Can I really be that awesome? I didn't even know it myself!

However, despite all the complaints, Xia Fa would definitely not reveal a single word on the surface.

He simply maintained a faint smile on his face throughout, as if he was not surprised by the result at all.

It was precisely because Xia Fa had such an expression that everyone was even more convinced that he knew from the beginning that he could win the championship, and that he had just kept a low profile before.

"Possessing such extraordinary talent, yet always refraining from flaunting it, even deliberately activating a light shield to obscure the view when forging the secret treasure, Xia Fa..."

Nidhogg sighed, his expression suddenly turning deeply melancholy and filled with profound regret:

"...I wish I had a son like you."

Xiafa: ...

Why do I feel like I've been scolded?

"Alright, since everyone agrees on who should be the champion, then—"

The spirit of the [Rhine Calamity] spread its twelve arms and announced in a grand and solemn tone:

"Let's invite our champion, Xia Fa, to come up on stage to receive his award!"

boom! boom! boom!

Dozens of octopuses suddenly appeared in the plaza of the old blacksmith's shop, holding spray canisters for spraying confetti and firing them into the air.

Beneath the dome, high in the sky, bursts of colorful fireworks erupted.

The atmosphere immediately became lively, as if it had really become an awards ceremony for the champion. Rusconsin and Sol Loki even clapped their hands in perfect unison.

Xia Fa chuckled inwardly, but still stepped out, walking step by step toward the golden pillar.

Nidhogg stood gracefully to the side, quietly watching Shafa's retreating figure as he went to receive the award.

It seems that, for Him, it was an acceptable outcome for Xiafa to win the championship.

He may have had doubts before, but he was more interested in knowing how he lost, not in accepting Xia Fa's championship.