My construction materials are weird

On the third day, the competition entered its second half.

Today, the top three in three minor events would be decided, and the top ten in Weapon Refinement, Spirit Planting, and Beast Taming would also be determined.

The Alchemy and Talismanry events, with the largest number of participants and the most attention, would determine their top fifty.

On the fourth day, after the top three in Weapon Refinement, Spirit Planting, and Beast Taming were decided, the Alchemy and Talismanry events would determine their top ten.

Today, Yuan Tianchun, as a spectator rather than a contestant, watched the competitions of eight events.

Currently, a metallic material that is already first-order Transcendent is a rare sight in Qingyun Mountain.

Rumors circulated online that someone had discovered Transcendent metal, but it was just rumors, and no one had ever seen it, so its authenticity couldn't be confirmed.

Many people speculated that Transcendent metals or mineral veins definitely existed, but they were precious resources that no one would easily display.

It was said that with the fusion of myriad realms, there should be many Transcendent materials.

The reason for their scarcity was not difficult to guess.

First, Spirit Masters were dominant, and Transcendent materials were useless to them. Moreover, if Transcendent materials were accidentally contaminated with resentment or karma, they could easily trigger eerie events.

This led to the neglect of Transcendent metals by the upper echelons of Blue Star, who even intentionally suppressed them, causing them to be buried.

Second, the locations of Transcendent metals were inevitably eerie places, secret realms, or spaces. Humans had difficulty surviving in cities, so who would have the leisure to look for Transcendent metals?

Survival took precedence over everything else.

Third, no one knew how to use them, which was a significant factor.

No one could utilize them. Previously, cultivators couldn't even achieve Transcendence, and they would lose control even when approaching it. Even if they had Transcendent materials, they couldn't use them.

Spirit Masters simply didn't need Transcendent materials; the source of all their power was the eerie.

These three reasons led to Transcendent metals being dangerous, unimportant, and unusable.

Therefore, no one cared about them.

Qingyun Mountain had a short history of development, so the first discovery of Transcendent metal was normal. If it weren't for the participation of Vein Probing cultivators in this competition, it might not have been discovered.

When this person was selected as the first place, the other cultivators were surprised.

However, one group was ecstatic: the Weapon Refinement cultivators.

Their competition was still ongoing, but their minds were no longer on it.

The predicament of the Weapon Refinement cultivators had been mentioned before: entry-level materials were useless, and they didn't know how to refine Transcendent materials. How could they break this situation?

Now, a breakthrough had arrived. If you wanted to refine weapons, especially non-eerie weapons, you needed at least Transcendent metallic materials.

There hadn't been any before, but now a glimmer of hope had finally appeared.

This led to a direct change in the ongoing Weapon Refinement competition, turning it into a grand discussion.

The topic of discussion was: "How to refine Transcendent magical artifacts with entry-level strength."

There were three results from the grand discussion.

The first was the mind power empowerment method. Entry-level cultivators didn't have the ability to refine Transcendent magical artifacts, but they could refine an embryo and then empower it with mind power.

The second was sacrificial refinement. The premise was still that entry-level cultivators couldn't refine Transcendent magical artifacts; they could only refine a rough embryo and then use sacrificial refinement to nurture it to achieve Transcendence.

The third was borrowing the power of heaven and earth. Entry-level cultivators didn't have the ability to refine Transcendent magical artifacts, but they could borrow the power of heaven and earth, such as using some Transcendent flames to refine it.

These three people became the universally recognized top three, and there was no need to compete tomorrow. They recognized these three Daoists as the top three.

A very dramatic scene appeared.

Originally, this competition was intended to be a guiding force, and Prince Zihao followed the trend.

After contacting Sun Tong, who was supervising, and communicating with him, Sun Tong had no objections. Since the Weapon Refinement cultivators had selected them themselves and were all sincerely convinced, then he wouldn't be the bad guy. It would be these three.

What happened next was even more dramatic. The three immediately discussed: "Our Weapon Refinement cultivators are in a difficult situation. This competition shows that we almost became a joke. We must change this situation."

"The only way to do this is to unite everyone, gather together, and establish a Weapon Refinement Alliance. Only in this way can we break the current difficult situation."

Among these Weapon Refinement cultivators, the three major forces occupied many spots, and they had some concerns.

Fortunately, among the top three, one originally belonged to the Daoist sect, and one belonged to the Confucian sect.

The two explained: "The alliance is a loose alliance. It doesn't affect everyone still being members of other forces. We gather together mainly for communication and to unite our strength."

Even the three major forces need to communicate, right? They also need to learn, right?

The three major forces had obviously received the support of their headquarters' higher-ups. It wasn't about breaking away from their original forces but establishing a loose alliance.

Moreover, the higher-ups of this alliance were their own people.

It was equivalent to one of their tentacles. Although they needed to compete with the other two families, the other two families were everywhere anyway, so competing in an alliance was no big deal.

Thus, at a time of crisis for the future of Weapon Refinement, the Weapon Refinement Alliance was established.

After the competition ended, the Weapon Refinement Alliance quickly found the Vein Probing cultivator, Xu Chaoju, who was the first place in this Vein Probing event.

Xu Chaoju was a rogue cultivator in his thirties.

Obtaining first place was fortunate. Strictly speaking, his Vein Probing ability could only reach the top ten, barely clinging to the edge of the top ten.

However, because of the appearance of Black Gold, he became the first place.

In Vein Probing, luck is also a form of strength.

He was very happy to suddenly become the first person, but after the happiness came endless worries.

As soon as he finished the competition and hadn't been in the limelight for long, countless people came to him, all wanting to cooperate with him to develop the Black Gold mine.

Black Gold would inevitably not appear alone; there must be a Black Gold mine.

Indeed, this Black Gold was discovered by Xu Chaoju in a crack in a secret realm that he accidentally entered.

It was filled with a violent and bloody aura, different from the surface, very cold, and exuded a dangerous aura.

Xu Chaoju only carefully explored the edge and quickly returned after discovering the Black Gold.

He even participated in this competition as soon as he returned, without reporting the news of the discovery of the secret realm.

Rogue cultivators have two choices when discovering a secret realm in the wild: one is to report it to the major forces, and the major forces will give points rewards.

The other is not to report it and slowly explore and develop it themselves, and all the gains are their own.

Xu Chaoju hadn't figured out what to do, whether to report it or develop it himself, or to jointly develop it with a group of people.

Not long after returning, he encountered the competition.

He participated, and the top three would meet the Mystic Master. He gritted his teeth and took out the Black Gold, wanting to obtain the top three and then meet the Mystic Master.

This was his current situation.

Having just emerged from the dream realm, and because I was in Nanshi and not a Qingyun Mountain cultivator, I was approached by various Nanshi forces or experts.

Some used a negotiable tone, while others even issued threats.

Nanshi was also a Jianghu, a cultivator world composed of numerous small forces and families.

Under the suppression of Qingyun Mountain's Xuanhuang Town, the cultivator world was generally positive and improving.

However, it's impossible for there to be no darkness.

Nanshi also had its own darkness, and cultivator deaths occurred frequently.

These incidents didn't involve ordinary people and followed a separate set of rules, so they didn't attract attention.

Cultivators needed to fight and compete.

Xuanhuang didn't prohibit this; in fact, it encouraged it.

As long as innocents weren't harmed.

For example, recently Nanshi established a [Martial Arts Arena], jointly created by the four major forces.

It was a place for cultivators to resolve grudges.

It was also a place to earn points, even featuring life-or-death matches.

After signing an agreement, life and death were decided; the survivor not only received points from the Martial Arts Arena but also eighty percent of the opponent's resources.

It was an arena where life and death occurred daily.

Besides the life-or-death arena, there were also regular arenas where victory was enough, without requiring death.

Of course, the rewards were lower, and you didn't get the opponent's wealth.

The emergence of the [Martial Arts Arena] was welcomed by cultivators; it was a place to resolve conflicts and a stage to stimulate their potential.

Without a single mistake, a single first, a single inside, a single appearance, a single existence, a single look!

Don't use ordinary people's thinking to measure cultivators.

Many cultivators had the realization: better to die than have no future.

Perhaps after a life-or-death battle, they could not only gain resources and points but also break through their own bottlenecks.

Therefore, cultivators welcomed it.

Especially recently, there were also human-beast battles, great battles between cultivators and fierce beasts.

These were the dark sides of Nanshi, and only a part of them.

As long as people breathe, there will be a dark side, there will be choices of human nature and the human heart.

When the various forces of Nanshi, large and small, came to his door, Xu Chaoju panicked a bit.

He wasn't just the first place winner; he won first place because of black gold.

If it was just a simple first place, then he would only receive congratulations, even offers and goodwill.

Only those opponents on the same stage would be dissatisfied with him.

But the way he obtained first place involved black gold with huge interests, which created a completely different situation.

Fortunately, at his moment of crisis.

"Oh, it's lively here. Is this the residence of Daoist friend Xu Zhaojun?"

A thunderous voice came, releasing an undisguised aura, causing the faces of the people from the various small forces in Xu Chaoju's house to change drastically.

This was definitely an existence they couldn't afford to offend, much stronger than their own patriarch (gang leader, sect leader, alliance leader).

It was a kind of power they had never encountered before, like the late-stage entry-level great cultivators rumored in Nanshi.

"Whoosh!"

The door opened, and the two cultivators guarding the door from the small forces were directly blown away.

"Who is it?"

The members of several forces were a little angry. You may be strong, but you're too impolite and don't take us seriously.

"Which force's Daoist friend is this? I am Li Jinlong, protector of the Azure Dragon Gang, the sixth force in Nanshi."

Li Jinlong of the Azure Dragon Gang in Nanshi directly displayed his strength. The Azure Dragon Gang was also a large gang in Nanshi.

Gang leader Wan Qinglong was a fifth-level entry-level expert who had perfectly comprehended the Heaven and Earth Furnace visualization diagram and was said to have engraved two inscriptions.

With such cultivation, even going to Qingyun Mountain wouldn't necessarily mean being at the bottom.

But people have different ambitions; rather than struggling in Qingyun Mountain, it's better to come to Nanshi and be an expert.

Building a force, the luck and faith gathered can't compare to Qingyun Mountain, but the resources are much stronger than the average fifth-level expert in Qingyun Mountain.

Some are determined to stay in Qingyun Mountain, while others are not so persistent and will take a step back to Nanshi.

Some of the forces in Nanshi were established by such people.

"The sixth force in Nanshi? Never heard of it?" The owner of the voice seemed to deliberately not come in, with a hint of showing off.

Until he slowly walked in.

"The sixth force in Nanshi? I remember the top six in Nanshi are the Town Evil Department, Nanshi Taoist Hall, Nanshi Martial Arts Hall, and the Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist families? How did it become some Azure Dragon Gang?"

"You…"

Li Jinlong was about to fly into a rage, but after seeing the face of the person who came, he was immediately dumbfounded.

"You, you, Manager Sun, Grand Manager Sun?"

The person who came was none other than Sun Hui, the Grand Manager of the Martial Arts Alliance.

He currently felt very good, a very good experience.

"Thank you, familiar face. I'm in Nanshi, just came down from Qingyun Mountain," Sun Hui said with a smile.

"This, this?"

The cultivators blocking Xu Chaoju's house were instantly panicked. It was actually the Grand Manager of the Martial Arts Alliance.

The old superior before Master Xuan started his career?

"Misunderstanding, Grand Manager Sun, misunderstanding, misunderstanding!" Li Jinlong was numb.

How could it be this lord?

The sixth force he mentioned was excluding the Nanshi Taoist Hall, Nanshi Martial Arts Hall, Nanshi Confucian First Academy, Nanshi Taoist First Sect, Nanshi Buddhist First Temple, and the Nanshi Town Evil Department, the ten self-proclaimed forces after that.

No, it seems like we still have to exclude the four major universities in Nanshi.

These four universities are rising very fast now, and they are not comparable to small fries like him.

Not only him, but everyone present panicked and regretted it very much. How great it would have been if they hadn't come here.

And that damned Li Jinlong, what name did he report?

If you report a name, not only will you fail to show off, but if Grand Manager Sun is curious and investigates the so-called top ten new forces after returning.

Wouldn't he be lying down?

If Grand Manager Sun is unhappy and plans to crack down on the so-called new top ten forces, wouldn't his own force be disbanded?

Of course, they were just overthinking.

How could Sun Hui not know about the new forces in Nanshi? Nanshi was also his old nest, not to mention the Nanshi Martial Arts Hall, the First Martial Arts Hall of the Martial Arts Alliance.

As soon as these forces were born, they became files on his desk. He didn't care at all, just took a look.

"Are you Daoist friend Xu Chaoju?"

Sun Hui ignored the embarrassment and unease of the cultivators present and walked forward kindly, shaking hands with Xu Chaoyang intimately.

"Yes, I, I am Xu Chaoju."

Xu Chaoyang was also very panicked.

It was actually Grand Manager Sun who came to his door in person?

Just now, he was in a dangerous situation, being 'intimidated and oppressed' by the new forces of Nanshi.

Unexpectedly, Grand Manager Sun suddenly descended from the sky and came to him with a show of force.

……