Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In the center of Baihui City, outside the Equipment Refining Tower, there was a sea of people. All the Equipment Forging Grandmasters who had signed up to attend the Equipment Refining Convention had received the news—today, the Equipment Refining Convention would begin.
At the same time, the Equipment Refining Sect had disseminated the news that even disbanded cultivators were eligible to participate. As long as the registration was completed, they could enter the Equipment Refining Tower according to the order of registration. As long as they were ranked in the top 500, they could enter the Waste Realm. The top ten would be screened and invited to join the Equipment Refining Sect, according to their comprehensive appraisals on their strength based on age, Cultivation Stage, and so on.
This was a huge opportunity for the disbanded cultivators. The number of applicants had soared in an instant. Even some less experienced Equipment Refining Masters had taken the opportunity to participate and have a chance to refine equipment with higher grade materials. When Xu Que arrived at the registration point, there was a long queue. Hundreds of registration points were all flooded with people. He could feel his hair stand on end when he took a glance at the registration points.
“F*ck, if I knew this would happen, I would have registered before creating trouble. How long do I have to queue?” Xu Que complained. At this rate, it would take at least three days and two nights before it was his turn.
It seems that I have to find some special treatment! Xu Que pondered for a moment as he scanned the surroundings. He soon locked his eyes on Ling Feng, whose red hair was very conspicuous.
Heh,heh! Xu Que immediately laughed to himself and went up to him. Ling Feng was looking cold on the outside, but his anger was burning inside. After all, he was responsible for Xu Que’s misdeeds. If he hadn’t brought in the troublemaker, the situation wouldn’t be that bad. Fortunately, in the end, the Equipment Refining Sect didn’t find fault with the City Governor’s Mansion, but he himself was badly reprimanded by Ling Huang and was sent to the Equipment Refining Convention to work. He was in charge of maintaining order.
Now, however, Xu Que’s misdeeds were like a needle that was deeply stuck in his heart, whether it was the secret of the Steal Sect or the battle on the Life and Death Ring, as well as the matter of the Equipment Refining Tower, it all made him very pissed off.
“Brother, a thorn in the flesh?” At that moment, a sneaky voice was heard.
“How do you know?” Ling Feng answered him subconsciously, followed by a sudden realization. Then he suddenly stepped back and turned his head to Xu Que. Next moment, Ling Feng frowned slightly and asked in a cold voice, “Who are you?”
“I’m Hea…uh, I’m new here!” Xu Que almost made a slip of the tongue.
“New? I’m asking who are you and why are you looking for me?” Ling Feng asked impatiently. He scanned Xu Que with his Mind Sense and found that Xu Que was full of an unfamiliar presence. He had never seen this man.
“Well, I’m Wu Di, an Equipment Forging Grandmaster. I wanted to ask the Young City Governor if I could sign up for the Equipment Refining Convention as soon as possible!” Xu Que asked politely, not forgetting a salute to show his courtesy.
But Ling Feng wasn’t impressed, he immediately pointed in another direction and, with a cold expression, said, “Sign up there. I’m not responsible for registration!”
“Ah?” Xu Que immediately looked anxious, as if he was torn, “What should I do now? I wanted to attend the Equipment Refining Convention as soon as possible and meet up with my friends to pursue the Exploding Heavens Faction’s Bai Zhantang. I heard that he’s about to expose some horrible scandals that will affect many well-known people!”
“What?” Ling Feng suddenly changed his expression and asked in a serious tone, “Where did you hear that news? And do you know where Bai Zhantang is?”
“Uh, I can’t tell you. After all, I’ve promised my friends to join them after the Equipment Refining Convention. But now it seems that I’m afraid I can’t join them in time! Uh, forget it, let me stop here, I’ll queue now!” Xu Que was about to leave.
“Wait a minute.” Ling Feng immediately stopped Xu Que and whispered, “Fellow cultivator, I can allow you to jump the queue for the Equipment Refining Convention, but, after you’re done, you must take me with you to look for Bai Zhantang.”
“No, no. Actually, I just realized that it’s wrong to jump the queue. I should obey the rules, be a civilized person, and a role model.” Xu Que stopped Ling Feng.
“Stop there!” Ling Feng’s face sank as he said in a cold voice, “I’ll give you two choices, either jump the queue, register, and take me to Bai Zhantang after the event, or I’ll arrest you and report you to the Equipment Refining Sect. Then you won’t be free to find Bai Zhantang, let alone attend the Equipment Refining Convention.”
Ling Feng threatened him, but his threats were only partly true. He could help Xu Que register for the Equipment Refining Convention, but he didn’t want to hand Xu Que over to the Equipment Refining Sect at all. Otherwise, if the Equipment Refining Sect found Xu Que before he did, his order of “Unwashed Undergarment” with the Steal Sect could be exposed. He wanted to find Xu Que before anyone else.
“All right…all right, I’ll jump the queue then. Young City Governor, don’t get anxious. I’ll jump the queue!” Xu Que immediately made a helpless expression, as if he was being forced to jump the queue for registration. Ling Feng heaved a sigh of relief and went directly to a registration point with Xu Que.
Very soon, Ling Feng found the old housekeeper of the City Governor’s Mansion. Most of the people at the Equipment Refining Convention were from the City Governor’s Mansion. They were responsible for assisting, including managing the registration. After Ling Feng’s request, the old housekeeper immediately arranged for Xu Que’s registration, and he entered the Equipment Refining Tower together with many influential Equipment Forging Grandmasters.
“Remember, come out immediately after you’re done. Don’t think of running away. I’ll keep close eyes on you!” Before leaving, Ling Feng gave a stern warning to Xu Que.
“Don’t worry, Young City Governor. I’ll take you with me!” Xu Que immediately assured him and at the same time he received a Jade Tile with the words Wu Di.
Led by a guard, Xu Que came to the entrance of the Equipment Refining Tower and stood with dozens of Equipment Forging Grandmasters. They were entering the Equipment Refining Tower in batches. Among those people, Xu Que met Feng Lanwu and Xiao Ru again. It reminded him that Feng Lanwu had mentioned their participation in the Equipment Refining Convention, and that they had invited a Fourth Grade Equipment Forging Grandmaster.
Just then, Feng Lanwu and Xiao Ru were following behind a middle-aged man. The middle-aged man’s sleeve was embroidered with the words He Feng. Obviously, he was the president of the Wind Chamber of Commerce, Feng Xingzhou. Feng Xingzhou was respectfully speaking with an old man. Xu Que vaguely heard some polite terms and immediately he realized that the old man was undoubtedly the Fourth Grade Equipment Forging Grandmaster mentioned by Feng Lanwu!
Pssh, they found an old man, is he reliable? Xu Que suddenly rejoiced in his heart, and he shook his head slightly. It wasn’t that the old man was weak in his Equipment Refining, but he was speechless with Feng Lanwu’s judgment. Whether on Earth or in the World of Cultivators, people’s habit of judging by faces was the same—they focus only on appearances whether finding a one-night stand or a formal partner. It would be best if they were young, beautiful, or handsome. But to find doctors or more professional and authoritative people, they judged by the appearance too. Generally, they liked to find the older ones! That form of judgment wasn’t a problem, but it was too conservative if it was used in the World of Cultivators. It often led to missing some young geniuses.
Tut, tu, tut, you’ve missed a young genius like me and also a young handsome genius! It’s really your loss. Xu Que couldn’t help but shake his head and admire himself.
“Wow!”
Just then, the crowd outside the Equipment Refining Tower made a big hoo-ha.
“Look at the Ranking Chart for Equipment Refining. The first successful refiner has appeared!”
“It’s Grandmaster Liu Zhen! Oh my god, he has refined a Fourth Grade Magic Weapon. His score is six-star!”
“I heard that the formula blueprint given by the Equipment Refining Convention is only a Third Grade Magic Weapon. But he refined it into a Fourth Grade Magic Weapon and was evaluated as six-star. I could say he has reserved a place within the top ten in advance!”
“If he could attain six-star for a Fourth Grade, top ten isn’t a problem!”
“Grandmaster Liu Zhen is indeed Grandmaster Liu Zhen. He’s so fast. It’s said that he just broke through to a Third Grade Equipment Forging Grandmaster about 20 years ago. It’s unexpected that today, just 20 years later, he has produced a Fourth Grade Magic Weapon and become a Fourth Grade Equipment Forging Grandmaster!”
“The key is that he has refined the six-star standard, which is considered to be the best of the Fourth Grade Magic Weapons!”
Many people were talking about it.
Xu Que turned his head to look at the Equipment Refining Tower, only to find that there was a light screen outside the tower, which was all blank except for the first line, which read, “No. 1: Liu Zhen, Fourth Grade Magic Weapon, six-star standard”!
Bang!
Almost at the same time, there was a sudden muffled sound in the sky over Baihui City, and a magnificent Heavenly Tripod List appeared.
“Look, Grandmaster Liu Zhen’s ranking on the Heavenly Tripod List has risen again!” someone exclaimed.
“That’s fast, from the 70th to the 67th, he is just behind Ling Feng, the Young City Governor!”
“There’s no choice, Grandmaster Liu Zhen is only in the Initial Stage of the Human Celestial Stage. And I heard his combat power isn’t strong enough to rank on the Heavenly Tripod List. He appeared on the Heavenly Tripod List only because he’s an Equipment Forging Grandmaster!”
“The ranking on the Heavenly Tripod List ranking is a comprehensive measurement of strength. Equipment Refining is also a type of strength; it has to be taken into consideration!”
“Uh, Grandmaster Liu Zhen is really the representative of the younger generation in the Equipment Refining circle. At the age of 300, he has become a Fourth Grade Equipment Forging Grandmaster. At this rate, he’ll be an Equipment Refining Great Grandmaster before the age of 1,000. The new generation indeed excels the older one!”
Just then, the old man beside Feng Lanwu shook his head and sighed. The Chairman of the Wind Chamber of Commerce, Feng Xingzhou, respectfully said, “Grandmaster Mo is humble, you’ll surely become an Equipment Refining Great Grandmaster one day!”
“I… uh, Chairman Feng is too courteous. If I can advance a step further in my life and be a Fifth Grade Equipment Forging Grandmaster, I’ll be satisfied.” The old man smiled bitterly, sighed, and said no more.
At last, a batch of people waiting at the entrance of the Equipment Refining Tower were released into the tower after their identities were checked. During that period, some people succeeded in making magic weapons. Their names appeared on the Ranking Chart for Equipment Refining, and the rankings were constantly changing. Only Liu Zhen, who was ranked first, had never been surpassed.
“The next one! Wu Di!”
Not long after, there was a call from the door of the Equipment Refining Tower. It was Xu Que’s turn to enter the Equipment Refining Tower.
“Here!” Xu Que responded with a slight squint as he smiled and headed over.
