Artifact Chapter 66: First Round of Competition

 

Chapter 66: First Round of Competition

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai 

 

On this side, Lu Ming’s gaze accidentally met Sang Wusheng, who was staring straight at him not far away. The intense and almost burning emotion emanating from Sang Wusheng made Lu Ming both embarrassed and infuriated. His anger surged several times over, and the pressure, heightened by emotional fluctuations, unknowingly intensified.

Everyone present could only grit their teeth and endure, silently cursing Wang Yu for inadvertently provoking this young master again, resulting in them collectively suffering now.

Hearing the continuous groans around him, Lu Ming gradually regained control from his outburst, silently berating himself for allowing this person to affect his emotions again. He took a few deep breaths, desperately telling himself not to look at this person again, gradually retracting the released pressure.

As the immense force dissipated, people felt the pressure on them slowly fading away. They felt as if they had come back to life, relieved deep down, sitting in their seats panting heavily, glaring at the various clan leaders with resentment, urging them with intense gazes to quickly agree to the conditions proposed by Lu Ming.

Wang Yu and the others were also somewhat pale from this pressure, but as clan leaders, they could withstand this pressure. They hesitated to resist, fearing that if they acted, this troublesome kid would embarrass them even more. It would be even more difficult once Kunlai Mountain got involved. Thus, gritting their teeth, they agreed to Lu Ming’s conditions, with each major clan contributing one hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones, while the remaining smaller clans barely managed to scrape together fifty thousand high-grade spirit stones, concluding the deal at a price of four hundred and fifty thousand high-grade spirit stones.

Lu Ming earned so much money just by talking, and his entire expression became even more triumphant. His eyebrows and corners of his mouth seemed to be lifted. Sang Wusheng sighed silently. He didn’t even notice his brother’s obsession with wealth. In fact, apart from other things, he had a lot of treasures. If he handed over all his gold to his brother, would he forgive him? Sang Wusheng frowned and began to calculate the success rate of this matter.

With the price settled, Lu Ming agreed to host this artifact refining competition on behalf of the He family. He Qingqiu was quite efficient. In less than half a day, he had arranged accommodation and meals for hundreds of people. After reporting the situation to Lu Ming, he hesitated for a moment before asking, “Big brother, with so many people, if a conflict arises, what should we do? Although the He family has recruited many talents, they are all newcomers. Will it be dangerous?”

Lu Ming nodded and sighed lightly, “You make a valid point. These people are here for their own interests and will naturally be driven by those interests. If there is danger, they probably won’t care about the He family’s life or death. But now, with the major clans coming aggressively, there is no more time to cultivate loyal servants. We can only temporarily intimidate them.”

He Qingqiu worriedly asked, “What if they suddenly find a reason to cause trouble?”

Lu Ming pondered and said, “Not for the moment. Currently, with the sects without leaders, they need to elect a leader first and then find a reason that we cannot refute to open the He family’s treasure trove.”

He Qingqiu sighed, “I wonder what reason they will find to deal with us.”

Lu Ming said lightly, “Whether it’s a conspiracy or not, we’ll deal with it when the time comes. But remember, no matter what happens, saving our lives is the most important thing. As long as the green hills remain, we’re not afraid of running out of firewood.”

He Qingqiu’s eyes flickered slightly, feeling a pang of bitterness in his heart, and quickly nodded in agreement.

This artifact refining competition is crucial. Almost all the elite talents from major clans have come out, determined to win the first place. This is not only about the honor of the clans but also about the greater power and status the selected representatives will bring to their clans after this battle. In the past, the clan leaders did not participate in the artifact refining competition, leaving the opportunity to the newcomers of each clan. However, this time, due to the need to select a leader, those who participated in previous competitions, those of older age, or even those with higher status, all shamelessly signed up. Lu Ming even saw Wang Yu among the participants.

Hundreds of people gathered around the examination venue, a situation rarely seen in a century. The referee was Zi Yang, who had been hosting the artifact refining competition for several sessions. He had a rigid and stubborn personality, incorruptible, and naturally suited for being a referee. Therefore, everyone was confident in him and the referee team he trained.

After the referee’s command, the first round of the competition officially began. Lu Ming and He Qingqiu were very close in position. Seeing He Qingqiu’s tense expression, Lu Ming smiled reassuringly at him. He Qingqiu was startled, feeling a wave of joy in his heart, his admiration for his big brother deepening. As they say, an elder brother is like a father. If his big brother could reconcile with him without grudges and care for him so much, He Qingqiu felt that nothing was more important than his big brother.

While He Qingqiu was lost in thought, he suddenly felt a chill straight towards him, making him shiver. He was startled and turned to see a tall young man of similar age staring at him as if he were looking at a mortal enemy.

He Qingqiu couldn’t help but swallow nervously. Could it be that he had offended this person inadvertently during his reckless youth?

As Lu Ming entered the examination room, he subconsciously glanced around and spotted Sang Wusheng, who was disguised under the guise of Jing Mo, mingling in the crowd. His gaze occasionally swept over him, noticing Sang Wusheng’s unusual look towards He Qingqiu. Lu Ming quickly turned around and gave Sang Wusheng a stern glare, warning him not to cause trouble.

Receiving his brother’s warning gaze, Sang Wusheng reluctantly withdrew his angry stare at He Qingqiu, snorted coldly, and then cast a pitiful look at Lu Ming, displeased, and pouted.

Lu Ming’s mouth twitched, coldly withdrawing his gaze and not looking at him anymore. But being stared at by such fiery eyes constantly was uncomfortable for anyone. So Lu Ming finished crafting three talismans and three magic artifacts at the fastest speed, pressed the bell on the table, indicating for the referee to come over and inspect.

Everyone was shocked to see Lu Ming submit the talismans and magic artifacts and then leave the examination room with a grim expression in less than an hour!

“How did he finish so quickly?!” The spectators were dumbfounded, watching Lu Ming’s retreating figure in disbelief.

The referee also collected what Lu Ming had made with cold sweat dripping, sealed them in a box, and then put them into a spatial bag.

Seeing Lu Ming leave the examination room, Sang Wusheng sneered indifferently, quickly crafted his talismans and magic artifacts, and pressed the bell.

Seeing Sang Wusheng also leaving shortly after, the people began to whisper, “Who is this person? I’ve never seen him before.”

Another person lowered his voice and said, “That person is Sang Wusheng, the only son of the eldest daughter of the Sang family.”

“Why does he have the surname Sang? Is he married into the family?”

“Lower your voice!” The person looked around nervously and continued in a hushed tone, “It’s an old story from decades ago. Mr. Sang doted on his eldest daughter and didn’t want her to marry far away. So he brought in a son-in-law and treated him like his own son. Everything was fine, but then there were several homicides in the Sang family in a row, with extremely brutal scenes. My uncle worked at the Sang Mansion when he was young and personally witnessed several mutilated bodies. Everyone there had seen all kinds of scenes, but they were almost all frightened to death at the time. Mr. Sang, in great anger, sent people to investigate, only to find that all the evidence pointed to his son-in-law. He had colluded with the demons for his own selfish reasons, covering up for them and acting as their accomplice! Mr. Sang was furious and eventually, with the help of the entire family, killed his son-in-law.”

Hearing about this secret of the Sang family, the other person was also stunned. He swallowed nervously, his face pale, and said, “So you mean, Sang Wusheng is also a descendant of the demons?”

The other person hesitated for a moment before whispering, “Although he was an accomplice of the demons, he is not a demon himself. Sang Wusheng has been tested and does not possess the physique of the demons, nor is he a descendant of the demons. Otherwise, how could he participate in this artifact refining competition? But we still can’t let our guard down. Who knows if he might suddenly go crazy and kill us all? We should be cautious.”

“We must be careful indeed!” The other person nodded hastily in agreement.

Although their conversation was not loud, everyone nearby heard it. In just one day, Sang Wusheng’s name had become well-known. Everyone felt both fearful and disgusted towards this descendant of the Sang family. It was unbelievable that such a person dared to participate in the artifact refining competition. None of the influential figures from the Sang family intervened, which was a disgrace to the Sang family’s reputation.

Meanwhile, the instigator behind all this smirked in a place where no one could see. It was a task specifically assigned by his master to tarnish Sang Wusheng’s reputation, and he hadn’t expected to achieve the goal so quickly. As they say, words are powerful. Even if Sang Wusheng had extraordinary abilities, he might not have a chance to turn the tables due to this ambiguous identity. This method of retreat was truly ingenious.

Three days later, all the participants had pressed the bell. The referees sealed the talismans and magic artifacts in separate boxes and placed them into spatial bags. Both the box and the bag had several seals, and Zi Yang’s Daoist cultivation was profound and unfathomable. He was also cautious in his actions, and there had never been any loss or cheating incidents in the previous sessions. After leaving the examination room, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and went back to their accommodations to rest.

Three more days passed, and Zi Yang summoned all the participants to the main hall, announcing the final results of the first round of competition. There were over four hundred and eighty participants, but only a hundred made it to the next round.

Although everyone felt relieved to enter the next round, they were still very curious about the results of the first round. This competition was much more intense than previous ones, with more than twice as many participants and numerous renowned experts flocking to it. Even figures like Wang Yu, the head of the Wang family, Sang Huai, the legitimate son of the Sang family, and Zhao Yin, the second son of the Zhao family, participated. The competition was fierce.

But when the rankings were presented, everyone was shocked. Their expressions ranged from astonishment to jealousy, regret, or indignation. It was truly a spectacle.

 

 

 

This Title is available for faster chapter releases through paid Patreon membership. Any proceeds go to keeping the website running. Check it out HERE.