My Five Bigshot Seniors: I am The Most Coddled Junior!-Chapter 422 - 102: [First Update]
After settling Gu Qingqing down, Jun Wu turned around and entered the competition venue, standing quietly at his designated spot, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding chatter.
Wen Xiyue arrived earlier than Leng Yan and Helian Shen. Her position was not far from Jun Wu’s, and as she passed by, they exchanged nods as a form of greeting.
Just as she took her place, Helian Shen and Leng Yan arrived together.
Helian Shen’s position was two rows ahead of Wen Xiyue, while Leng Yan’s was one row behind Wen Xiyue and Jun Wu.
The two greeted Jun Wu and then stood at their spots, waiting for the competition to start.
The four of them were the most dazzling among all the contestants, drawing everyone’s attention.
Thus, their interactions were observed by everyone. Previously, people thought that since Jun Wu surpassed Helian Shen and the others to take first place, Helian Shen and his group would surely harbor some dissatisfaction towards Jun Wu. But, surprisingly, after just one night, the four, who originally did not know each other, could greet each other, and from their demeanor, it didn’t seem like there was any animosity.
This greatly surprised the onlookers.
It seemed that Jun Wu had earned the recognition of Helian Shen’s group. Otherwise, given their temperaments, they certainly wouldn’t have taken the initiative to greet him. Especially Leng Yan; no one in Zhonglan City was unaware of what kind of person Leng Yan was. Among their peers, aside from Xia Xiyue and Helian Shen, no one else could make Leng Yan greet them first.
Well-informed individuals knew that Jun Wu had met with Helian Shen’s group at the tavern the previous night, and Helian Sheng had even invited Jun Wu to dine with them. Judging by the current atmosphere, they must have had a pleasant interaction.
This made many people even more curious about Jun Wu.
Soon, the clan leaders of the three great families and the City Lord appeared on the high platform, and the entire square fell silent.
After the City Lord announced the rules for the second competition round, the contest officially began.
The first round assessed all contestants’ artifact refining skills, while the second round tested their familiarity with refining materials.
This was a fundamental skill test. The organizers would provide thirty types of materials, and within half an hour, contestants had to write down these materials’ uses, origins, and the products that could be refined from them. The more materials listed, the higher the score.
This required contestants to be thoroughly familiar with these materials. It seemed simple, but was not easy.
After the competition started, the attendants standing next to the contestants delivered the prepared materials into their hands and then stepped aside.
Jun Wu merely glanced over them, and all the information about the materials surfaced in his mind.
This was largely thanks to the fact that many materials in the Immortal Realm shared commonalities with those in the Sub-immortal Realm, otherwise, given Jun Wu had only been in the Immortal Realm for just about a year, he could never have remembered so many materials!
He didn’t start writing immediately but carefully examined all the materials. Once confirming there were no differences from the memories in his mind, he began writing.
Around him, some had already started writing, and as the sheets before them were already filled with content, it seemed as though Jun Wu was lagging behind.
"Hey, do you think Mr. Jun might not be familiar with these materials? Everyone around him has started writing, but he’s just beginning now?"
"That shouldn’t be the case. Winning over Miss Yue and the others in the first round indicates he should have a high level of proficiency in artifact refining. How could he not recognize the materials?"
"But he’s only just started writing, look at the person on his left, their paper is already filled with quite a few words."
"Writing fast doesn’t mean writing correctly! Anyway, I think Mr. Jun can’t possibly not recognize those materials! He started late, there must be a reason. Look at Miss Yue and the others, didn’t they just start too?"
"Then let’s keep watching, maybe there will be a twist?"
"..."
The discussions from the audience did not reach the competition area. Of course, even if these people spoke right in Jun Wu’s ear, he wouldn’t be affected.
Once he started writing, Jun Wu focused entirely on the task. Throughout the process, he didn’t glance at the materials again because all the knowledge about them was already in his mind; he just needed to write them down on the paper.
His speed was swift, and in no time, he filled half a sheet, quickly catching up with and overtaking the speed of those around him.
The man standing to his left had a strong impression of Jun Wu. When he saw Jun Wu still examining the materials, he felt relieved, thinking that Jun Wu probably couldn’t win over Helian Shen this time.
He had written about four or five materials and was about to examine the materials in front of him again when he caught sight of Jun Wu out of the corner of his eye. Suddenly noticing Jun Wu had started writing, curiosity led him to unconsciously straighten up and glance over. Upon seeing Jun Wu’s paper already over half-filled, he widened his eyes in astonishment.
Too shocked to believe it, he couldn’t help rubbing his eyes, comparing Jun Wu’s paper and his own. On the same sized sheet, he had barely written one-fifth, while Jun Wu had written more than half, without looking up at the materials once, his writing speed unbroken.
The man thought for a moment, convinced that Jun Wu couldn’t possibly have all those materials memorized and must be scribbling aimlessly. He looked around, noticing most people’s papers had only a fifth or a quarter written down, which reinforced his assumption.
Because he felt that Jun Wu did not live up to his name, when the man looked at Jun Wu, a trace of contempt flashed in his eyes, and with a hint of smugness, he looked at the materials in front of him. After browsing for a while, he continued writing on his own paper.
Jun Wu wrote down all the origins, uses, and items that could be refined from the materials in one go. Once he finished writing, he let out a deep breath, put down the pen, then blew on the ink on the paper, quickly checked it over, and after finding no issues, he straightened up, looked around, and saw that everyone else was still buried in writing. A smile flashed in his eyes, and then he raised his hand.
The attendant standing beside him saw his action and quickly came over.
"Mr. Jun, what’s the matter?" This attendant had been standing by Jun Wu’s side since yesterday and already remembered him. Coming to Jun Wu’s side, he asked in a low voice.
"Hand it in." Jun Wu indicated the paper on the table with his eyes and said indifferently.
Upon hearing this, the attendant was startled, instinctively looked at the timer not far away, and found that there was still half an incense stick’s time left. He turned his head, looked at the paper on the table, and found it densely packed, filled with words.
Jun Wu’s handwriting was trained specifically. Although it was sharp, it was extremely neat, looking less like an answer sheet and more like a piece of art!
"Mr. Jun, are you sure you want to submit?" The attendant couldn’t help but confirm again to prevent a misunderstanding.
"Mm, submit." Jun Wu nodded, indicating there was no problem.
The attendant hesitated for a moment, nodded, then carefully picked up the paper filled with words from the table and quickly walked toward the judges’ table.
Jun Wu stood still, his gaze glanced toward where Gu Qingqing was, just as his eyes met Gu Qingqing’s. Gu Qingqing gave him a radiant smile, which instantly relaxed his mood, and he couldn’t help but lift the corners of his mouth slightly.
Wen Xiyue put down her pen, looked at the paper on the table, and let out a long sigh of relief. She straightened up and casually turned her head, just in time to see Jun Wu and Gu Qingqing exchange a smile. She froze for a moment and instinctively looked toward Jun Wu’s desk, finding that the place where the paper was located was now empty, indicating that Jun Wu had already submitted his answer sheet.
Her pupils contracted slightly. She was a bit shocked, originally thinking that she was fast enough, but unexpectedly, Jun Wu was even faster!
Of course, she wouldn’t think like the man next to Jun Wu, that Jun Wu was scribbling incoherently. Having interacted with Jun Wu, she understood that he wasn’t that kind of person. Since he wrote and submitted it, it meant he was very confident!
She pressed her lips together, looked at the paper on her desk, took a deep breath, and then raised her hand.
At the same time, Helian Shen and Leng Yan also raised their hands. The three of them glanced at each other, then calmly looked away.
The attendants standing beside them carefully took the test papers from their hands and presented them, while the three of them stood in place, waiting for the competition to end.
"Clang!"
A sound of the gong signaled that the half-hour was up, and the second round of the competition ended.
The messengers took the papers from the contestants’ desks and delivered them to the judges’ table for the judges to review.
The first paper sent to the hands of the City Lord and others was naturally Jun Wu’s.
Upon seeing the answer sheet, the four judges were a bit surprised, glanced at the time, and then focused on the paper.
When the City Lord saw the writing on it, he paused for a moment, then quickly read through Jun Wu’s answer sheet ten lines at a glance.
"Phew!"
The City Lord let out a big breath, a trace of delight flashing across his face, then handed the paper to the Cold Family Master beside him.
"You all take a look; this Jun Wu is really capable." He glanced at where Jun Wu was standing, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.
The Cold Family Master was already very curious, so he eagerly took the paper from the City Lord’s hand and quickly read through it, faster than the City Lord. Like the City Lord, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"All thirty types of materials were listed without a single mistake. His foundational skills are solid. Quite impressive!" The Cold Family Master praised while handing the paper to Master Wen.
Upon hearing this, both Master Wen and the Helian Family Master were curious. They took the paper together, read through it quickly, and their eyes shone brightly after reading it.
"It seems the first place in this round has already emerged!" The Helian Family Master said with a smile as he looked at the paper in his hand.
The other three nodded simultaneously, acknowledging Jun Wu’s first-place status.
When all the answer sheets were reviewed, the results of the second round were announced.
"First place in the Artifact Refining Competition’s second round, Jun Wu!"
