CHAPTER 79: CHAPTER 8: PROMOTION

"May I try it?" Master Shi was intrigued upon hearing this.

He loved appraising these peculiar and novel items.

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

Upon seeing this, the female cultivator in the cheongsam took her leave.

"You said this mechanical creation packs quite a punch. Did you make it?"

Holding the Mechanical Bamboo Spear, Master Shi asked curiously.

After all, even if a squirrel were to wield it, it would be nearly invincible at the Qi Cultivation Stage, which was truly an outrageous statement.

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

And what appraisers like them needed to do was to verify or debunk those claims!

"Yes." Lin Jing nodded.

"Then I must see for myself..." he said, tossing the Mechanical Bamboo Spear to Lin Jing and forming a protective True Essence around himself: "You use this to attack me, and I’ll experience its power firsthand!"

"There aren’t many appraisers as dedicated as I am nowadays," Master Shi couldn’t help but reflect.

"Alright." Holding the bamboo spear, Lin Jing pressed the trigger. The opposing Foundation Establishment cultivator, having prepared in advance, certainly wouldn’t be harmed by the spear.

"Water Arrow Technique? There’s no water array inscribed inside. How did the water arrow come to be... Ah, so this is the effect of the blue spirit bamboo."

"What does it mean for those beans to be swept out by the water stream?"

"You activated it without infusing True Qi? It seems to be pure mechanical ingenuity."

Master Shi rambled on until the first spiritual bean exploded.

Boom!

Master Shi was engulfed by the shockwave; his protective True Essence trembled, and he raised his head slightly, saying, "Such powerful force; these beans can explode!"

In the next second,

"Wait, why did all the beans shoot out at once!"

Boom boom boom boom boom!

The spiritual beans all exploded together, causing intense spiritual power fluctuations. The noise echoed across the horizon, blowing Master Shi’s hair into a frenzy.

Seconds three, four...

Lin Jing reloaded single-handedly, maintaining an endless attack. The relentless fire made Master Shi feel the harsh depletion of his True Essence; he hurriedly shouted, "Stop! Stop a moment; don’t you realize these beans cost money to use like this?!"

"Are you here to seriously auction the item, or kill me?! Please stop!" Seeing the stance, unless Lin Jing blew himself up, he wouldn’t stop.

Lin Jing ceased fire and said, "Wasn’t the intention to show you its attack frequency?"

Looking at the rubble around, Master Shi’s mouth twitched, "I already know! Your device isn’t suitable for dueling; it’s more for siege warfare."

"Are you from Divine Strategy Manor? Young master, how do you plan to price it? Besides the Mechanical Bamboo Spear, will the beans come as well?" Master Shi pursed his lips, looking at Lin Jing. Divine Strategy Manor was the top-ranked power in ancient country’s mechanical techniques.

This Mechanical Bamboo Spear had extraordinary firepower, capable of instantly firing numerous powerful explosive projectiles without needing True Qi activation. Such a mechanical device was indeed a colossal weapon to those at the Qi Cultivation Stage.

Most importantly, Lin Jing seemed indifferent to using up those explosive beans, each matching the power of a second-tier ’Explosive Talisman,’ which made him think this might be a new inexpensive material developed by Divine Strategy Manor!

"A Mechanical Bamboo Spear, with 500 beans included,"

Lin Jing smiled slightly and said, "Starting bid doesn’t matter; I can also give Lotus Pavilion a higher commission. I have only one request."

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

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

"Oh? What is its origin?" Master Shi became interested once more. Items with known origins could fetch multiple times the price of those without!

"Does Master Shi know the genius disciple Lin Jing from the Beast Taming Sect?" Lin Jing said softly.

Master Shi blinked, recalling, "I have an impression. I heard he outmatched an academy’s Foundation Establishment cultivator in the southern city yesterday?"

"Do you know that when Lin Jing was at Qi Cultivation Level 3, he was chosen by Bodhi Grotto Heaven?"

"I didn’t know! No wonder he’s so strong," Master Shi marveled. "How does this mechanical creation relate to a Beast Taming Sect disciple?"

"Does Master Shi know, apart from Lin Jing of the Beast Taming Sect, who else was absorbed into that Grotto Heaven? Xu Zhizhi, the prized student of Master Xu from Wen Domain Celestial Fate City; Zi Ling’Er, the yuan jing from Fire Domain Pill Furnace Sect; and young hero Yuan Jing from Celestial Sword Sect!"

"Now, Xu Zhizhi, Zi Ling’Er, and Yuan Jing have all entered Hidden Dragon Academy as special recruits, with extraordinary talents and potential."

Master Shi said, "I’ve heard of these individuals; they did enter the Grotto Heaven. I never expected Lin Jing from the Beast Taming Sect to go with them! I’ve heard that Yuan Jing has already reached Foundation Establishment and mastered the innate sword physique; that’s impressive strength. He defeated a late-stage Foundation Establishment loose cultivator with a single sword strike upon entering Foundation Establishment! That Zi Ling’Er is also remarkable; it’s said she’s refined a perfect Foundation Establishment Pill on her own and may establish her Foundation any day now!"

Lin Jing nodded slightly: "Then does Master Shi know that, among the three Bodhi Trees in Bodhi Grotto Heaven, the best golden and silver Bodhi were not obtained by those geniuses, but by Lin Jing and his pet?"

"What?" Master Shi was stunned, was that true?

"Truth be told to Master Shi, the Beast Taming Sect’s genius disciple, Lin Jing, managed it by using the Mechanical Bamboo Spear I crafted. He and his pet squirrel each wielded a spear to suppress those three prodigies. You could say Lin Jing from the Beast Taming Sect was the biggest winner of that Grotto Heaven! Without my Mechanical Bamboo Spear, he certainly couldn’t achieve such feats."

"Whether it’s literary genius, alchemy genius, or sword cultivation genius, they were all defeated under this Mechanical Bamboo Spear."

Master Shi remained in a daze; could it be true?

No wonder this young master said earlier that even a squirrel wielding the Mechanical Bamboo Spear could be invincible at Qi Cultivation.

"I hope that before auctioning the Mechanical Bamboo Spear, Lotus Pavilion can highlight its achievements! After all, it was used by a Qi Cultivation Level 3 cultivator to unscathedly suppress three Qi Cultivation Level 9 geniuses brimming with destiny."

Master Shi swallowed, amazed that the Mechanical Bamboo Spear was linked to several renowned new-gen talents in Hidden Dragon City. He said, "But young master’s words alone aren’t enough proof. How do I know if what you’re saying is true?"

"At Lotus Pavilion, we don’t rely on unverified information for auction item promotion."

Lin Jing smiled, "Hehe, to not hide from Master Shi, I am Lin Jing, now also a student at the academy. If you don’t believe me, I can pull Xu Zhizhi over to attest!"

Master Shi: ???

Damn it, was this kid not honestly here to auction items? He just went around in circles to get Lotus Pavilion to help advertise and cultivate his Hidden Dragon Secret Technique!

...

Relying on word-of-mouth, the message spread slowly. Whether in past lives or current lives, news and public opinion were controlled by major forces. Lotus Pavilion, being a top power, even its city branches wielded significant influence. Lin Jing sought to leverage Lotus Pavilion’s status to promote himself and the Mechanical Bamboo Spear.

In no time, Lotus Pavilion announced information about their latest auction, along with the items to be auctioned, and sent invitations to their valued guests. The item descriptions in the auction were quite detailed.

Among them, quite a few cultivators paused when seeing the Mechanical Bamboo Spear on the list, especially as Lin Jing’s popularity hadn’t waned yet.

"Mechanical Bamboo Spear? Beast Taming Sect Lin Jing’s early companion weapon?"

"What? Lin Jing was chosen by a Grotto Heaven!? No wonder he’s so strong; he must have gained opportunities within the Grotto Heaven, with boundless prospects!"

"Academy talents Xu Zhizhi, Zi Ling’Er, Yuan Jing entered the same Grotto Heaven with Lin Jing? And yet were all outmatched by Lin Jing, who was at Qi Cultivation Level 3, using the Mechanical Bamboo Spear to grab the best opportunities? Is this true?"

"It is true, as Xu Zhizhi from the academy responded, claiming that anyone holding this bamboo spear could be nearly invincible under Foundation Establishment. Back then, he was also defeated. It’s all real!"

"I’ve heard Xu Zhizhi was ensuring national destiny, ensuring the ancient country’s cultivators’ opportunities weren’t seized by foreign cultivators. He first killed a terrifying Snowfield Body Cultivator but was too exhausted to seize any opportunity. A pity—but one wonders if a fully-powered Xu Zhizhi could have matched against this mechanical creation."

"Lin Jing was spotted dining at the Immortal’s Haven, leaving with just a ’Xu Zhizhi, not bad!’ and then leaving!"

"Curious, what kind of mechanical creation allows a low-level sect disciple with low cultivation to seize opportunities from a group of top sect geniuses! Lin Jing, a Beast Taming Cultivator, how does he even know mechanical techniques?"

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

Lotus Pavilion didn’t purposely advertise, but the publication of their auction item list naturally drew the attention of many cultivators. Some were thrilled, others worried, as they saw Lin Jing expose their Grotto Heaven experiences for the sake of fame, causing the female alchemist at Pill Furnace Sect to sulk in her cave, having sisters query if she really was beaten up by a squirrel.

The biggest winner was Lin Jing. Although the Mechanical Bamboo Spear hadn’t yet been auctioned, a few days later, the Hidden Dragon mark on the back of his hand turned from white to light blue, as his past and present fame fermented, making him known to more people.

Of course, the biggest loser was undoubtedly the Squirrel. When seeing Lin Jing take so much ammunition from the warehouse... it let out a wailing cry!