My Five Bigshot Seniors: I am The Most Coddled Junior!-Chapter 416 - 96: [First Update]

Whether it was in cultivation or artifact refining, Jun Wu never considered himself the best. He was confident yet not arrogant. Upon hearing Gu Qingqing’s words, he merely smiled faintly.

Since there were many people around, Gu Qingqing didn’t say much, waiting until they were in the room to speak again. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Although there are always others better out there, I think your artifact refining skills are already quite impressive, Ah Wu. We still have plenty of time anyway, so you can totally participate in that artifact refining competition. You’ve always refined artifacts on your own, without comparing with others; participating could let you know how you really stand and maybe even meet some people."

In Gu Qingqing’s heart, Jun Wu’s talent in the artifact refining technique was only slightly inferior to Si Lin, far surpassing others. If Jun Wu joined the artifact refining competition, he would definitely take first place!

"Does Geng Geng want me to participate?" Jun Wu’s eyes flickered, somewhat moved, but he was still more concerned about Gu Qingqing’s opinion.

"Of course! My Ah Wu is so amazing, naturally, everyone should see it." Without a second thought, Gu Qingqing nodded her head with a proud expression.

"Alright, then I’ll participate." Jun Wu nodded, gently stroking Gu Qingqing’s hair, speaking tenderly.

"Let’s go out and find out what this artifact refining competition is all about." Seeing Jun Wu agree, Gu Qingqing was very happy, showing an eager attitude.

Jun Wu naturally had no objections, so after resting for a while, the two went downstairs. After leaving the inn, they found a teahouse with quite a few people, sat down, ordered a pot of tea and two snacks, eating while listening intently to the surrounding conversations.

Sure enough, people around were talking about the artifact refining competition, and soon, the whole topic in the teahouse turned to the competition.

"Excuse me, brother, what’s this artifact refining competition about? This is my first time in Zhonglan City, and I’m not too familiar. Could you introduce it to me?" A man dressed in a blue brocade robe asked the man beside him with great interest.

"Oh, this artifact refining competition is a major event here in Zhonglan City, held only once every three years. Brother, you’re really lucky to catch this year’s competition. You can watch artifact refiners showcasing their skills live then. Our artifact refiners in Zhonglan City are quite formidable, and the competition is always like a clash of immortals."

"Really? Looks like I’m in luck. I wonder who will participate?"

"Besides the people from the three great families, there are many artifact refiners in Zhonglan City. The abundance of refining materials here makes it ideal for artifact refiners to develop. The three great families in our Zhonglan City are also very powerful. You may not know others, but you must have heard of Master Wu Ji—that’s the family head of our Helian Family. And then there’s Master Yan Huang, the family head of our Leng Family, as well as our Wen Family’s Family Head, Grandmaster Hui Feng, all very impressive!"

"That’s right. I heard that to motivate everyone, this time, the three great families and the City Lord Mansion have offered an Outer Heaven Meteorite as the prize. This year’s artifact refining competition will definitely be even more exciting."

"Wow, they even brought out an Outer Heaven Meteorite! Such grand gestures, truly worthy of the three masters."

"Exactly, so all the local artifact refiners in the city have signed up. Everyone wants to claim first place—not only to shine before the three masters but also to obtain such precious materials, which is beneficial in many ways!"

"..."

Hearing the names of the three masters, Gu Qingqing and Jun Wu exchanged glances, slightly surprised.

During their studies at Langya Immortal Sect, they had learned about the famous figures in the current Immortal Realm, including just those three mentioned. Only now did Gu Qingqing recall that during their lessons, it was indeed mentioned that these three were from Zhonglan City.

"I heard the effectiveness of the Outer Heaven Meteorite is quite unique, suitable for crafting defensive magical artifacts, and the immortal artifacts made are at least of Immortal Rank Eight Grade. I wonder what color this Outer Heaven Meteorite is?" Gu Qingqing took a bite of the almond crisp in front of her, squinting her eyes, muttering.

"If Geng Geng likes it, I’ll win it for you!" At first, Jun Wu only thought of participating to gain experience, without any intention of winning. But seeing Gu Qingqing interested in the Outer Heaven Meteorite, his competitive spirit surged, looking at Gu Qingqing, speaking very earnestly.

"Alright, then I’ll be waiting." Gu Qingqing had no doubt about what Jun Wu said, nodding, smiling brightly.

After sitting in the teahouse for a while, the two got up to leave. Since they were in Zhonglan City, where there was an abundance of refining materials, Jun Wu also thought to take this opportunity to buy some materials to craft some protective gear for Gu Qingqing. They began to shop around the street.

There were many shops selling materials in Zhonglan City, most carrying similar materials, but each had one or two unique items others didn’t, which made their businesses fairly equal.

With Jun Wu’s current level, crafting Immortal Rank Six Grade immortal artifacts posed no issue. Along the way, they bought quite a number of refining materials. Fortunately, they had saved some immortal coins during their time at the Langya Immortal Sect, otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to afford it.

Apart from the shops, there were also some street stalls with refining materials and herbs available, but most were common with nothing particularly special.

Gu Qingqing also dragged Jun Wu to those stalls for a look. Some storybooks often featured people finding treasures at such stalls. Gu Qingqing also found it interesting, though she knew the chances were slim, but she still enjoyed wandering around them with Jun Wu.

While walking to one of the stalls, Jun Wu’s footsteps came to a halt.

The stall owner was an elderly man, his hair was grizzled, wearing a bamboo hat, his body very thin, skin wrinkled, looking just like an elderly man who had been working hard all his life.

He languidly leaned back on a reclining chair, eyes closed all the time, but after sensing Jun Wu and Gu Qingqing stopping at his stall, he half-opened his eyes to look at Jun Wu.

Jun Wu’s gaze circled around the old man, then landed on a blue stone about the size of a palm on the stall.

The stone wasn’t big, but its color was exceptionally beautiful, not the sky blue kind, but a deep blue, like the night sky. Most importantly, as Jun Wu’s gaze swept over it, he unexpectedly saw something scattered on it like stars.

This made Jun Wu think of a very rare material — Blue Star Sand.

The appearance of Blue Star Sand is deep blue, but it’s adorned with golden star-like specks, very beautiful, and it’s quite rare, suitable for crafting jewelry.

Previously, Jun Wu always wanted to give Gu Qingqing a high-defense Immortal Hairpin he crafted himself, but had never found the right materials. But with Blue Star Sand, it would be different. Jewelry crafted from Blue Star Sand would definitely be absolutely stunning!

With that thought, Jun Wu pointed at the stone and asked, "Old man, how much for this stone?"

What Jun Wu didn’t expect was that as he spoke, someone else also spoke at the same time, and the object of interest was the same stone.

After both of them spoke, they immediately looked at each other in surprise.

Only then did Jun Wu notice that, at some point, two women had appeared a step away from him and Gu Qingqing.

The woman standing in front was wearing a black strapless dress, covered with a wide-sleeved long robe of the same color, her hair styled into a Fei Xian Bun, adorned with a jade hairpin and a Phoenix Head Hairpin.

Underneath her slender eyebrows, a pair of peach blossom eyes looked slightly aloof, beneath her straight nose, her thin pink lips pursed slightly, revealing a slight displeasure.

She was a cold beauty, even after seeing Jun Wu’s appearance, she was slightly surprised, but her face remained indifferent, with only her slightly pursed lips betraying her emotions.

Following behind her was her maid, petite and cute, looking full of vitality, completely different in personality, but very loyal to her, currently glaring at Jun Wu.

Jun Wu only glanced at them, then withdrew his gaze, returning his attention to the old man.

"Sir, how much for this stone?" In Jun Wu’s eyes, no matter how beautiful the other person was, Gu Qingqing was more beautiful. In his eyes, there was only Gu Qingqing. Moreover, the other person was someone who wanted to snatch the stone from him, so he couldn’t feel anything for her.

"What’s wrong with you? This stone was clearly chosen by our young miss first, how can you snatch it from her?" Xin’er glared at Jun Wu, very dissatisfied, feeling that although Jun Wu looked very handsome, he wasn’t a good person.

Hearing someone speaking against Jun Wu, it wasn’t Jun Wu who reacted first, but Gu Qingqing who wasn’t having it.

"You say it was chosen by your young miss first, do you have any evidence? Ah Wu and I were standing here for quite a while, how does it become us snatching your stone?" Gu Qingqing looked at Xin’er, asked in a calm tone.

"It was clearly chosen by our young miss first, you not only want to snatch her stone but also argue, it’s too much!" Xin’er did not expect Gu Qingqing to retort, becoming even more dissatisfied with Jun Wu and Gu Qingqing, she shouted directly.

"Ridiculous," Gu Qingqing sneered, "Your young miss spoke up to bid at the same time as our Ah Wu. If it was indeed chosen by your young miss first, why didn’t you buy it, and why wait until Ah Wu came over to ask the price? If you are afraid we’d buy the stone, just say it, no need to slander others!"

As she spoke, Gu Qingqing also gave Xin’er a very disdainful glance, fully expressing her discontent with Xin’er’s behavior.

Xin’er had never been treated this way before, and being looked at by Gu Qingqing like that, she was infuriated.

"You’re twisting the truth, it was clearly us who came first, and the stone was also chosen by our young miss first. You’re the ones who want to snatch it, yet you accuse us of slander. I think you’re the one slandering!" Xin’er pointed at Gu Qingqing, saying excitedly.

"Really? Then bring out the evidence to prove that it was your young miss who chose this thing first."