Chapter 78

"May I try it?" Master Shi became interested upon hearing this.

He loved appraising these strange and novel gadgets the most.

"No problem." After Lin Jing nodded, Master Shi opened another door behind him, leading to an open-air area.

Seeing this, the qipao-clad female cultivator took her leave.

"You say this mechanical creation has impressive power. Did you make this?"

Holding the mechanical bamboo gun, Master Shi asked curiously.

After all, saying that even a squirrel holding it could be nearly invincible in the Qi Refining stage was truly too arrogant.

Many sellers liked to exaggerate the effects of their auction items.

And what they, as appraisers, needed to do was to verify or debunk them!

"Yes," Lin Jing nodded.

"Then I must see..." After speaking, he tossed the mechanical bamboo gun to Lin Jing, condensed his protective true essence, and said: "Use this to attack me. I will experience its power personally!"

"There aren't many appraisers as dedicated as I am these days," Master Shi didn't forget to sigh to himself.

"Alright." Lin Jing held the bamboo gun and pulled the trigger. The opponent was a Foundation Establishment cultivator and had prepared in advance, so he certainly wouldn't be hurt by the mechanical bamboo gun.

"Water Arrow Technique? There are no water-element array patterns inscribed inside. How did this water arrow come out... So that's the effect of this blue spirit bamboo."

"That bean was swept out by the water flow, what does that mean?"

"You didn't use true qi to activate it? It seems to be a very pure mechanical creation."

Master Shi chattered on until the first spirit bean exploded.

Boom!

Master Shi was swallowed by the explosion's shockwave, his protective true essence trembling. He looked up slightly and said: "Such strong power! So this bean can explode!"

The second second.

"Wait, why did it shoot out all the beans in an instant!"

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

The spirit beans exploded all at once, causing intense spiritual power fluctuations. The sound resounded through the sky, blowing Master Shi's hair about.

The third second, the fourth second...

Lin Jing changed the magazine with one hand, the attack continuous, the firepower never stopping, making Master Shi feel the intense consumption of his true essence. He hurriedly shouted: "No! Stop for a second, stop for a second! Are these beans free, using them like this?!"

"Are you here to sincerely auction things, or are you here to kill me?! Stop now!" Observing the situation, he knew Lin Jing wouldn't stop until he blew himself up.

Lin Jing stopped firing and said: "Wasn't this to let you see its attack frequency?"

Master Shi looked at the surrounding rubble, his mouth twitching, and said: "I already know! This mechanism of yours isn't suitable for dueling; it's suitable for sieging cities."

"Are you from the Divine Mechanism Villa? How does the Young Master plan to price it? Besides the mechanical bamboo gun, will these beans be provided as well?" Master Shi pursed his lips and looked at Lin Jing. The Divine Mechanism Villa was the number one force in the ancient kingdom for mechanical arts.

This mechanical bamboo gun had extraordinary firepower, capable of shooting out over a dozen terrifyingly powerful bombs in an instant without needing true qi to activate. Such a mechanical device was indeed a huge lethal weapon for the Qi Refining stage.

Most importantly, Lin Jing seemed not to care at all about those fierce beans, each comparable to a second-tier 'Explosion Talisman' in power. This was terrifying to think about, making him feel that this might be a cheap mechanical material newly developed by the Divine Mechanism Villa!

"One mechanical bamboo gun, plus 500 beans."

Lin Jing smiled slightly and said: "The starting price doesn't matter. I can even give the Lotus Pavilion a higher commission. I only have one requirement."

"Hmm?" Master Shi was puzzled: "What is it?"

"This item has an extraordinary origin. I hope the Lotus Pavilion can promote it extensively before the auction."

"Oh? What is its origin?" Master Shi became interested again. Items with a background and items without one could differ in price by several times!

"Does Master Shi know the genius disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, Lin Jing?" Lin Jing said in a low voice.

Master Shi was stunned and recalled: "I have an impression. It seems he defeated a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the academy across levels in the south of the city yesterday? I heard others mention it."

"Do you know that this Lin Jing was chosen by the Bodhi Cave Heaven when he was at the third layer of Qi Refining!"

"I didn't know that! No wonder he is so strong," Master Shi said in surprise. "How does this mechanical creation have a connection with a Beast Taming Sect disciple?"

"Does Master Shi know that at that time, besides the Beast Taming Sect's Lin Jing, those also sucked into that Cave Heaven included Xu Zhizhi, the prized student of Master Xu from the Heavenly Fortune City of the Literary Domain! The alchemy genius Zi Ling'er from the Alchemy Cauldron Sect of the Fire Domain, and the young hero Yuan Jing, who was the number one outer disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect at the time!"

"Now, Xu Zhizhi, Zi Ling'er, and Yuan Jing have all entered the Hidden Dragon Academy as special admissions, gifted and with extraordinary potential."

Master Shi: "I have also heard of these people. They did indeed enter the Cave Heaven. I didn't expect the Beast Taming Sect's Lin Jing to have entered with them! I heard that the young hero Yuan Jing has already reached Foundation Establishment, cultivated the Acquired Sword Body, and has astonishing strength. Just after entering Foundation Establishment, he defeated a late-stage Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator with one sword! That Zi Ling'er is also remarkable; it is said that she has already relied on herself to refine a top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill and may reach Foundation Establishment in a few days!"

Lin Jing nodded: "Then does Master Shi know that among the three Bodhi trees in the Bodhi Cave Heaven, the best Golden Bodhi and Silver Bodhi were not obtained by these geniuses, but were monopolized by that Lin Jing and his one pet?"

"What?" Master Shi was stunned. Is that so?

"To be honest with Master Shi, that genius disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, Lin Jing, used the mechanical bamboo gun I made. He and his pet, the Pine-Leaf Rat, each held a gun, which is how they were able to suppress these three geniuses. It can be said that the Beast Taming Sect's Lin Jing was the biggest winner of this Cave Heaven trip! But without this mechanical bamboo gun of mine, he absolutely could not have achieved such a feat."

"Whether it's the literary genius, the alchemy genius, or the sword cultivation genius, all were defeated by this mechanical bamboo gun."

Master Shi remained stunned. Could it really be so?

No wonder this Young Master said just now that even a squirrel holding the mechanical bamboo gun could be invincible in Qi Refining.

"I hope the Lotus Pavilion can emphasize its battle record before auctioning the mechanical bamboo gun! After all, this is a destiny-suppressing item that allowed a third-layer Qi Refining cultivator to suppress three geniuses at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, who were blessed with great fortune, without a scratch."

Master Shi swallowed his saliva. He didn't expect this mechanical bamboo gun to be related to several new-generation geniuses who were quite famous in the current Hidden Dragon City. He said: "But Young Master, words alone are not proof. How do I know if what you say is true or false?"

"My Lotus Pavilion will not use such unverified information for the promotion of auction items."

Lin Jing said: "Hehe, I won't hide it from Master Shi, I am Lin Jing. I have now also become a student of the academy. If you don't believe me, Master, I can bring Xu Zhizhi over to testify!"

Master Shi: ???

Damn it, you brat, you really aren't here to sincerely auction items. You went in a circle just to have the Lotus Pavilion help you advertise and cultivate the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique!

Relying on word of mouth, the speed of information spread would inevitably be slow. Whether in the past life or the present, news and public opinion were controlled by major forces. As a top-tier force, even a branch in one city had quite significant influence. Lin Jing directly borrowed the power of the Lotus Pavilion to promote himself and the mechanical bamboo gun.

Before long, the Lotus Pavilion announced the information for the latest auction, also announced the items to be auctioned, and even sent invitations to its VIPs. The introductions regarding the auction items were very detailed.

Among them, many cultivators were slightly startled after seeing the mechanical bamboo gun on the list. At this time, the heat surrounding Lin Jing had not yet dissipated.

"Mechanical bamboo gun? The personal weapon of the Beast Taming Sect's Lin Jing in his early years?"

"What, this Lin Jing was actually chosen by the Cave Heaven! No wonder he is so strong. It turns out he obtained opportunities in the Cave Heaven. His future is immeasurable!"

"Academy geniuses Xu Zhizhi, Zi Ling'er, and Yuan Jing once entered the same Cave Heaven as Lin Jing? But all had the best Cave Heaven opportunities snatched away by the third-layer Qi Refining Lin Jing using a mechanical bamboo gun? Is it true or false?"

"It's true. Academy genius Xu Zhizhi responded. He stated that whoever holds this bamboo gun is nearly invincible below Foundation Establishment. At the time, he was also no match. It's all true!"

"I heard that Xu Zhizhi was acting for the sake of the nation's fortune, so that the opportunities of the ancient kingdom's cultivators would not be snatched away by foreign cultivators. He first killed a terrifyingly strong snowfield body cultivator, consuming a great deal of energy, which is why he couldn't snatch the opportunity. It's a pity. I wonder if a full-strength Xu Zhizhi could compete with this mechanical creation."

"Lin Jing appeared at the Immortal Guest House to dine, and left after saying, 'Xu Zhizhi, not bad!'"

"Curious, what kind of mechanical creation could allow a low-cultivation disciple from a third-rate sect to snatch opportunities from a group of geniuses from major sects! This Lin Jing, how does a beast-taming cultivator know mechanical arts?"

"Good stuff, I want to buy it for my illegitimate child for self-defense!"

The Lotus Pavilion didn't deliberately promote it, but the list of auction items they announced each time would naturally be watched by a large number of cultivators. Some were happy, some were worried. Seeing Lin Jing expose their Cave Heaven experience for the sake of fame, the female alchemist from the Alchemy Cauldron Sect was sulking in her cave dwelling, because sisters had already asked her if she had really been beaten up by a squirrel.

The biggest winner was none other than Lin Jing. Before the mechanical bamboo gun was even auctioned, several days later, the Hidden Dragon mark on the back of his hand had actually turned from white to light blue. The fame of yesterday and the fame of today fermented together, making him known to more people.

Of course, the biggest loser was definitely the Pine-Leaf Rat. Seeing Lin Jing take so many munitions from the warehouse... it immediately let out ghost-like howls!