NOVEL NEXT Chapter 109: Useless Things._3
And at this time, the auction had not yet begun.
Onstage, the beautiful woman hosting the auction was still preparing, while many cultivators who had just entered the hall were finding seats.
Just then——
A white-bearded elder dressed in a rather luxurious robe walked onto the stage with an icy expression, generously releasing his peak Foundation Establishment cultivation, "Everyone present probably recognizes me, I am Ning Taiping."
"I just heard from my grandson that a Magic Practitioner from outside said that all the Artifact Cultivators in Fei City are nothing but a disorderly crowd?"
"I would like to see which Magic Practitioner is so bold and reckless in my Fei City!"
Although phrased as a question, his eyes, sharp as an eagle's, filled with gloom, he stared directly through the crowd at Chen Qiu leaning on his chair and spoke word by word, "I heard from my son that this person calls himself Chen Qiu, the lucky one who has just obtained the inheritance of a Magic Practitioner in the Heavenly Dao Decree."
"Do you know where that person is?"
"I want to see where this person gets such courage from!"
"..."
The hall, which had been somewhat noisy, instantly fell silent; many looked oddly towards the direction of Ning Taiping, who was gazing at a young man lounging calmly in his chair with his legs crossed.
This person was Chen Qiu?
He looked indeed young and had the air of a Heavenly Pride.
Although Ning Taiping did not straightforwardly state that this man was Chen Qiu, his words nearly pointed directly at him — did these two have a feud?
Seeing Chen Qiu not speaking,
Ning Taiping, standing on the stage, flashed a hint of satisfaction in his eyes and scanned the audience, "A minor dispute, let's not disturb everyone's refined tastes. The auction is about to start, please take your seats."
...
Inside the Room No. 3 of the second floor's Heavenly Character section,
a charming lady wearing a low-cut, slit cheongsam, gently swirling the Spiritual Wine in her glass, looked towards Ning Taiping stepping down from the stage with a faint smile, "That Chen Qiu is still young, somewhat unable to play against the cunning old fox, Ning Taiping."
"Ning Taiping also knows that this Chen Qiu is seeking something from him tonight, so he certainly wouldn't dare to refute him directly to his face, thus using suppression against the newly arising momentum of Chen Qiu to build his own."
"Word will spread out."
"That the one who obtained the Magic Practitioner inheritance, Chen Qiu, has to behave obediently like a grandson in front of him, Ning Taiping, who has always wanted to become the next leader of the Artifact Repair Alliance."
"With this momentum-building, coupled with his breakthrough into the Golden Core Artifact Refiner tonight, on the day of the leader's reelection in seven days, Ning Taiping might indeed secure that position."
Next to the woman, an old man in hemp clothing looked disdainfully at Chen Qiu standing below the stage, "This kid is young, just having obtained the Magic Practitioner inheritance, being in his moment of pride."
"Being suppressed by Ning Taiping like this might leave some mental scars; it's feared that his spirit might disperse a great deal."
"Just needing to consolidate for a while and stepping into the Golden Core later, he could have made a significant name for himself."
"Now, being humiliated in public, those unusual looks stabbing directly into his heart, it's hard to gather up spirit again; one could basically say it's ruined, such is the brittleness of a Loose Cultivator suddenly bestowed with a fortune."
"Typical."
The woman, her slender white legs perched on a stool beside her, looked rather amused at Chen Qiu as she smiled, "Building momentum is exactly about swallowing up others' momentum to form one's own."
"That Chen Qiu, having no backing and needing others' help, rushed to let others use him as a stepping stone, no one can stop that."
"Still too impatient after all."
"If he'd find a place to endure hardship and fully digest the Magic Practitioner inheritance first, next year's Heavenly Pride Leaderboard could not be without his place; instead, he wanted to come here before the battle for Heavenly Pride with a handy Spiritual Treasure to seek favors, thus losing both face and substance."
"But even so, being someone with a Magic Practitioner inheritance, taking him into the family to work for the family wouldn't be out of question."
...
"Grandfather, looking at that Chen Qiu below, he still acts composed till now, probably gritting his teeth on the inside."
Inside Room No. 7 of the Heavenly Character section,
Ning Wuping looked at Chen Qiu sitting in the great hall and laughed with great satisfaction, "Grandfather, you are truly imposing."
"Hmph."
Ning Taiping was also quite pleased inside, he stroked his white beard, picked up a cup of steaming tea, took a sip, and then pretended to be calm and disdainful, "Just a little kid, after a few scoldings, would he dare to talk back?"
"If he dares to answer back with even a single word, once I take the seat of the leader of the Artifact Repair Alliance, I'll call on all Artifact Cultivators and Alchemy Cultivators not to do business with him, a Loose Cultivator without backing from a family needs no managing, in a few years he will fade into the crowd."
"I've already prepared a Golden Core with a hefty sum, tonight with a second-grade Golden Core, I will step into the Golden Core Realm!"
"This Fei City should also be renamed as Ning City in the future."
...
Chen Qiu was currently leaning back on his chair, patiently waiting for the auction to begin, while various discussions entered his ears, all consisting of some praising Ning Taiping and others pitying him; he initially didn't take it to heart.
Until——
"It's said that Elder Ning has already prepared a Golden Core, and tonight at the top of Furnace Peak outside the city, he will step into the Golden Core Stage with a second-grade Golden Core. The Ning Family will soon be a Golden Core Family, prospering under Elder Ning's protection for a few hundred more years." Read exclusive content at empire
"Quite good."
Hearing this news, Chen Qiu suddenly lightened up with a laugh; his tenth-grade Golden Core needed nine second-grade Golden Cores as fusion materials. He had been troubled about where to collect these since second-grade Golden Cores weren't something common people could form.
The first one had just been delivered to his door.
Just an Artifact Cultivator who had stepped into the first layer of the Golden Core was not so difficult to kill; the biggest crushing tactic against a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was the Divine Sense Attack, and just having stepped into the Golden Core, he probably hadn't yet learned how to perform a Divine Sense Attack, lacking this biggest crushing tactic.