The surrounding Cultivators burst into laughter.
This time, the target of their laughter was no longer the Refining Spirit Sect.
Chu Tianqi and the others seized the opportunity to call out, "Our shop has excellent spirit tea, everyone is welcome to come in and taste it for free."
Qian Duoduo had won this round, and their voices had a bit more confidence; at least they weren't afraid of Qi Apprentices coming to cause trouble anymore.
Some Cultivators began to enter the shop, examining the Magic Treasures and equipment inside.
Qian Duoduo lowered the price of all items in the shop by ten percent, unafraid that those who knew their goods wouldn't be tempted.
"Yo, this place is quite lively!" Suddenly, a strange voice came from the crowd, and then a large, fat body appeared in front of Qian Duoduo.
Lang Caihua, the Ba Ling Sect's shop manager.
The moment he appeared, the voices of Chu Tianqi and the other shop assistants noticeably dropped a tone.
"Little brother, you have good skills; you don't make a sound until you make a splash." Lang Caihua circled Qian Duoduo, then leaned down and lowered his voice, "What a coincidence, this young master also enjoys the Dao of Artifact Refining, and I am currently a Qi Apprentice.
I wonder if I can have a match with little brother?"
"This guy is a Qi Apprentice?" Qian Duoduo was overjoyed.
"But, I'm barely considered a Qi Apprentice right now," Qian Duoduo pretended to be a little scared.
"It's fine. Every Qi Apprentice starts as a Qi Apprentice," Lang Caihua's large buttocks caused a wave of impact on the ground.
Qian Duoduo leaned back, his eyes slightly wide, "You, a Qi Apprentice, want to bully a Qi Apprentice, and still want to win a hundred thousand gold coins?"
Among the onlookers, someone shouted: "They are both shop managers, it should be fair.
There shouldn't be winning without losing; if you win, you take a hundred thousand, and if you lose, you put out a hundred thousand."
Lang Caihua's fat face twitched—these spectators weren't afraid of things getting out of hand.
In the crowd, many people agreed.
"That's right, that's right.
Since it's a competition, if you win, you get money, but if you lose, nothing happens?
What kind of competition is that?"
"Does the Ba Ling Sect have no strength? Did they come here to take advantage for free?"
Hearing this, Qian Duoduo quickly looked up and retorted, "Don't talk nonsense, the Ba Ling Sect is a major sect of the Lower Road, and their reputation is excellent."
Lang Caihua's cheeks puffed out, "Alright.
If I lose, I'll put out a hundred thousand gold coins."
Qian Duoduo quickly gave a thumbs up, "Ba Ling Sect, truly magnificent—let's not delay, shall we start immediately?"
Lang Caihua nodded.
Zhu Junliang's sharp voice rang through the market, "Come quickly, the Refining Spirit Sect and the Ba Ling Sect are clashing, it's getting intense…"
A series of dense footsteps rushed towards the sect shop.
After carefully inspecting the cauldron and the Ming Iron Ore, Lang Caihua ensured there were no tricks, then pressed his left hand on the furnace lid and lit the furnace fire.
This fat man appeared crude, but he was actually quite meticulous; it was just unknown how good his Artifact Refining skills were.
Qian Duoduo lit his fire alongside him, a harmless smile still on his face.
Lang Caihua's hand seals continuously changed, and the cauldron's opening was tightly closed, not letting out a single ray of light.
No one knew how his Artifact Refining was progressing inside the cauldron.
Since he wasn't revealing anything, Qian Duoduo couldn't either.
Qian Duoduo fully operated the Everlasting Wealth and Nobility Art, and his Spiritual Qi turned a light blue, even approaching pea green.
The furnace fire divided the Ming Iron Ore into eight small pieces, with the heat penetrating completely, and the Ore gradually turned into Ming Iron liquid.
The Ming Iron liquid was wrapped in Spiritual Qi and refined three more times over the furnace fire.
This was already close to his limit.
Qian Duoduo looked up at Lang Caihua.
He happened to be looking at Qian Duoduo as well.
The two smiled at each other and simultaneously said, "Open the furnace?" Underneath their smiling faces, neither of them was hiding anything good.
The cauldron lids opened, and two Ming Iron cakes appeared before everyone.
One was engraved with the character 'Refine', and the other with the character 'Ba'.
When the two Ming Iron cakes were placed together, it was impossible to tell which was larger or smaller with the naked eye.
A busybody took them to compare, but after a long time, couldn't find a result.
"How do we compare now?" Lang Caihua asked Qian Duoduo.
Qian Duoduo was also a bit confused.
He certainly couldn't ask Liu Boli at this moment.
Just then, "Let me do it." From the crowd, a scruffy middle-aged man stood out.
The color of his robe was unknown, and it had several holes; a furnace shape was embroidered on the collar.
His hair was casually tied behind his head, revealing a broad and bulging forehead like a cauldron.
"Master Wang!" The onlookers exclaimed in surprise and made way.
Chu Tianqi saw Qian Duoduo's bewildered expression and leaned over to whisper in his ear: "This is Master Wang, the Master of the Refining Association in the city.
He is said to be a Third Grade High-Level Artifact Refiner."
Third Grade High-Level!
Qian Duoduo's heart trembled.
This was more powerful than Elder Tian Shu of their sect.
Under Master Wang's guidance, two wooden basins filled with water were brought up and placed in front of Qian Duoduo and Lang Caihua.
The Ming Iron cakes were placed into the wooden basins, and the water in the basins slowly overflowed, flowing into the crystal cups below.
One cup was marked with the character 'Refine', and the other with the character 'Ba'.
When the water stopped overflowing, Master Wang lifted the two crystal cups and placed them on a high platform.
"The one with the 'Refine' character has less water!" After observing for a long time, the crowd discussed and reached a consensus.
Master Wang looked at Qian Duoduo and Lang Caihua and asked, "Are you two convinced?"
Qian Duoduo had won, so of course he had no objection.
Lang Caihua's eyes widened, he thought and thought, then carefully examined the cups for a long time before nodding helplessly, "The Master's judgment is naturally correct."
"Oh!" Chu Tianqi and the other nine cheered.
This cheer must have been held back for a hundred months.
The fat on Lang Caihua's face and the shop's ceiling trembled together.
To capsize in Qian Duoduo's small ditch, he was probably dizzy.
He was a fat fish, and a big fish, caught by Qian Duoduo.
Lang Caihua supported his elephant-like leg and stood up with difficulty, pushing through the crowd in front of him and walking towards his own shop.
"Shop Manager Lang, don't forget to bring over the hundred thousand gold coins," Qian Duoduo added a jab at his plump backside.
As the jab landed, his flesh trembled, and Lang Caihua waved his left hand, indicating that as a big Caizhu, he wouldn't be short on such a small amount of money.
Indeed, shortly after, he sent someone to deliver the money.
Qian Duoduo had Chu Tianqi and the others put the money together with the original hundred thousand gold coins.
"Come, let's continue the competition.
If you beat me, you can take two hundred thousand!"
The surrounding Cultivators let out exclamations of surprise, their eyes turning towards Master Wang, who had not yet left.
Qian Duoduo immediately felt a pang of guilt.
This Master wouldn't be tempted by these two hundred thousand to come down and teach him a lesson, or declare that he didn't want the money, but just had an itch to teach him a thing or two…
Wang Shuhuo glanced at Qian Duoduo, "Kongfang City hasn't been this lively in a long time.
The Refining Spirit Sect's Artifact Refining purification competition is quite interesting.
Purification is a basic skill of Artifact Refining; mastering basic skills can greatly improve the quality of Artifact Refining.
However, as the Master of this branch of the Refining Association, I'll lay down a rule here: Qi Apprentices and Qi Apprentices can play around, but Artifact Refiners are not allowed to participate.
Anyone who disagrees can find me at the Refining Association."
Oh, Qian Duoduo immediately liked this easygoing Master.
"Master," Qian Duoduo almost jumped up, "Please come into the shop for a cup of tea."
Wang Shuhuo shook his head.
With a flick of his finger, a magic seal stood on the pile of gold coins, "I'll add a bonus.
Whoever can defeat the Refining Spirit Sect's shop manager in Artifact Refining, besides the gold coins, will also receive this Mid-Grade Dan artifact."
Mid-Grade Dan artifact!
It's worth at least fifty thousand gold coins.
This was too grand a gesture.
Treasures move hearts; how many people would this attract?!