In the intense competition where the top hundred were vying for a spot in the top fifty, Zhang Chunfeng found himself in a closely contested battle on the stage with a tall and thin youth.
In the audience, Wang Hong held a handful of Three Yang Melon Seeds, casually standing among the crowd and munching on them.
Beside him stood two cultivators, one chubby and the other thin, passionately discussing the ongoing battle on the stage, displaying more enthusiasm than the participants themselves.
"Excellent! This move is executed beautifully! Senior Brother Gao's renowned technique, the Fireball Technique in a triple sequence, very few can escape from that," the chubby cultivator exclaimed with excitement.
"The Fireball Technique's triple sequence is useless in practical combat. Only someone like you, lacking real battle experience, would think it's impressive. Just throw three fireball talismans directly; it's much more efficient," the thin cultivator scoffed.
"You understand nothing. Do you think your so-called practical experience is impressive? Facing a lower-tier demonic boar with a dozen people and letting it escape with two Magical Weapons strapped to its rear end. Do you think throwing three fireball talismans doesn't cost Spirit Stones? Try throwing three rounds for me," the chubby cultivator taunted.
As the chubby cultivator finished speaking, Zhang Chunfeng on the stage swiftly dodged the Fireball Technique triple sequence. In reality, the range covered by the three fireballs was not that extensive, making it relatively easy to evade.
Then, Zhang Chunfeng raised his hand and threw a cascade of ten fireball talismans. These ten fireball talismans enveloped an area of about ten feet in radius, pressing towards the tall and thin youth.
At this moment, the judge on the stage, a Foundation Building cultivator, intervened to protect the tall and thin youth and declared Zhang Chunfeng the winner.
"See, I told you this skill is mediocre. Practicing this is no better than having a good Talisman," the thin cultivator commented disdainfully.
"Hmph! Winning with the help of a Talisman doesn't showcase any real skill," even though the cultivator he supported, Senior Brother Gao, had lost, he remained defiant.
"Hehe, you haven't seen Senior Brother Zhang's previous battles. Even if Senior Brother Gao's Fireball Technique had hit Zhang Shixiong, he would have suffered at most minor injuries. Moreover, as long as Zhang Shixiong gets close, not many can defeat him," the thin cultivator confidently explained.
The thin cultivator was a staunch supporter of Zhang Chunfeng, never absent from any of his competitions.
Throughout the journey, every disciple entering the top one hundred had gained a group of enthusiastic supporters, creating a fervor around them. Businesses in the market even collected information about these disciples, printed it in booklets, and sold them to these supporters.
Therefore, the Grand Competition held every decade was a grand celebration for lower-tier disciples.
"Why is that?" the chubby cultivator questioned. They had been friends for many years, and they had only ended up heatedly arguing because of their respective supported individuals.
"Let me tell you, in the last fight, I saw with my own eyes a flying knife with a middle-grade Magical Weapon consecutively slashing him more than ten times, and not a single strand of hair fell off. How much damage do you think that Fireball Technique could have done to Zhang Shixiong?" the thin cultivator said proudly, full of pride.
"Oh! Does Senior Brother Zhang also cultivate in the Body Refining technique?" the chubby cultivator asked in surprise. He knew that being a body cultivator was not easy, and cultivating both the physical body and magical techniques simultaneously was even more challenging.
"Other than a body cultivator, who else could have such strength? Didn't you see that Senior Brother Gao kept a considerable distance from Zhang Shixiong throughout the battle? He should be aware of it," the thin cultivator said triumphantly.
"After this battle, Senior Brother Zhang has already entered the top fifty. Remember to call me to watch his next competition," the chubby cultivator quickly changed his stance.
Being among the top fifty out of tens of thousands of participants in the Grand Competition was already an excellent achievement.
"Look! Senior Brother Zhang is coming towards us, and he's smiling at me!" the thin cultivator exclaimed with excitement, his face flushed with joy.
"Hmm! He's really coming towards us. Does Senior Brother Zhang know you? Are you acquainted? Why not introduce me as well?" The chubby cultivator was also a bit excited.
Zhang Chunfeng approached Wang Hong with a smile.
"Senior Brother! Did I have any shortcomings in my spellcasting just now?"
Wang Hong stuffed a handful of Three Yang Melon Seeds into Zhang Chunfeng's hand, and he naturally accepted them.
"It was fine, but in the future, you should find a way to enhance your speed. The Scripture Tower should have Cultivation Techniques of this kind. If your contribution points are insufficient, you can come to me. Come on, let's go to my courtyard for a drink!"
The chubby and thin cultivators watched the two of them leave, feeling like they wanted to find a hole in the ground to hide in. It was too embarrassing; it seemed like everyone's eyes were on them.
At Wang Hong's courtyard, there were several small dishes and three cups of wine arranged on a stone table. Two people and a large bird sat around the table.
Since tasting alcohol once, Little Peng often drank with Wang Hong. However, his alcohol tolerance was poor, and he would get drunk after just one cup.
This fellow's alcohol tolerance wasn't great either. Last time, after drinking a cup, he insisted on fighting the Spirit Bees in front of the Spirit Jujube Tree. It turned into a group attack, and it wasn't even a match. He got stung by the Spirit Bees, making a fuss, and that woke him up.
Wang Hong and Zhang Chunfeng hadn't started drinking yet, but Little Peng had already finished his cup and stumbled away.
After drinking a cup, Wang Hong pushed a bowl of porridge in front of Zhang Chunfeng.
"Eat this. I specially made it for you. There's a big pot; take it all with you later."
Wang Hong used the mutated Spirit Rice produced in his Space, soaked in Space spring water for a day, then stewed for two days until the Spirit Rice melded with the water.
Most importantly, he crushed a Lotus Seed from an Ink Jade Spirit Lotus and added it. He had obtained eighteen Ink Jade Spirit Lotus seeds in total. After reaching Foundation Building, he tried various methods and consumed three seeds. This stabilized his realm within a month and even improved it.
He found that eating a bit of this porridge every day during the Qi Cultivation period was effective for enhancing cultivation levels.
He estimated that after drinking this whole pot of porridge, Zhang Chunfeng should be able to advance to the tenth level of Qi Cultivation.
"Thank you, Senior Brother!"
"No need for formalities. Hurry up and reach Foundation Building. After you reach Foundation Building, I have many tasks for you. We lack experts at the Foundation Building level."
"Alright, I won't be polite then!"
Zhang Chunfeng said and took a sip of the porridge. Wang Hong's cooking was, as always, delicious, making him come to Wang Hong's place for a meal every now and then. If he went for a while without eating, he would miss that taste.
After Zhang Chunfeng left, Wang Hong started refining another batch of Elixir. He currently had no materials for Nourishing Essence Pills, and he was still refining first-tier Elixirs. Second-tier Elixir materials were unavailable, but he had plenty for the first tier.
Entering the Foundation Building stage had strengthened his Divine Sense significantly, reaching a range of a hundred and thirty zhang. The usual range for a first-tier Foundation Building cultivator should be around a hundred zhang. He surpassed it by thirty percent. His Divine Sense had been stronger than others since he started cultivating.
Due to the enhanced Divine Sense, he could now refine thirty sets of first-tier Elixir materials in one furnace, with an eighty percent success rate.
He needed to refine some Elixirs now. When Zhang Chunfeng reached Foundation Building, he could send them to Azure Void City in the future.
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