Nuwa, the goddess of immortality, said that cultivating immortality does not require spiritual energ

After walking a distance from the stall, Qin Le finally couldn't help but ask Chen Yun, "How many times have you been here? How come you're so skilled at bargaining?"

After strolling around with Chen Yun for a while, Qin Le realized how little he knew about the world of cultivation. No matter how high his comprehension was, he was still a complete novice when it came to the ways of the world and the complexities of human relationships.

No matter how many guides you read online, you can't develop the kind of seasoned bargaining skills that Chen Yun possesses—that requires real, hands-on experience.

"Hehe..." Chen Yun smiled smugly, "My dad used to bring me here to shop all the time. After seeing so many things, I naturally learned how to do it."

"I see..." Qin Le suddenly realized.

Chen Yun's father was one of the Alliance's top weapon refiners, as was his mother. It was perfectly normal for weapon refiners to go to places like Immortal Destiny Street to hunt for materials. Chen Yun had been exposed to this from a young age, so he naturally became an expert as well.

If Qin Le hadn't had that damned 1% affinity issue, he might have followed the path of an alchemist under his parents' influence.

"Let's not talk about that anymore, let's go check out the refining materials area." Chen Yun said, leading the way with practiced ease.

Qin Le silently followed.

However, their luck ran out. After browsing through the crafting materials area, they found that, let alone finding any bargains, the quality of most of the materials displayed at the stalls was appalling—either they had too many impurities or they were poorly processed and simply not worth looking at.

But that's normal.

Xianyuan Street is bustling with people every day, and they're not the only ones with divine protection. Finding even one good item is considered extremely lucky.

Leaving Immortal Street, the two removed their shape-shifting masks. Chen Yun finally couldn't help but ask, "Brother Nezha, what exactly was that black stone...?"

Chen Yun and Nezha were not in a formal master-disciple relationship.

Nezha chose him simply because he found Chen Yun's research on mecha artifacts interesting and wanted to see what kind of tricks this kid could come up with.

A palm-sized phantom of Nezha appeared on Chen Yun's shoulder.

"Smash the stone," Nezha said casually. "The real thing is inside."

Chen Yun took out the black stone, the size of a human head, from his storage ring, channeled his spiritual power, and slammed it down with his palm—

The stone shattered instantly.

A piece of black metal, about the length of an index finger, was revealed, its surface gleaming with a dull luster.

What's even more unsettling is that it exudes a faint, menacing aura, cold and violent, making people instinctively want to stay away.

Chen Yun's hand trembled, and he almost threw the thing away.

"B-Boss... what is this?" His voice trembled slightly.

"We call this thing a 'fierce object'," Nezha explained. "There is a 'fierce weapon' in Heaven that emits an extremely terrifying aura of malevolence. This 'fierce object' is a material formed after being imbued with that malevolent aura for many years."

"A deadly weapon?" Qin Le interjected curiously, "What's that?"

Nezha glanced at him, his expression somewhat subtle, but still said, "That weapon was personally crafted by the great god Chi You. As for the great god Chi You... I don't need to introduce him further, do I?"

Qin Le and Chen Yun nodded at the same time.

Chi You, the ancient lord of war and the ancestor of weapon forging—these are common knowledge that they certainly knew.

Chen Yun carefully put the dangerous object back into his storage ring, and the three of them hailed a spirit-powered vehicle and headed to the cultivation commercial street operated by the alliance.

This place presents a completely different atmosphere from Xianyuan Street—the shops are neat, the signs are bright, and all kinds of materials are categorized and arranged in an orderly manner.

There were alchemists, weapon refiners, talisman makers, array setters... you name it, they had it. The crowds were also much denser than on Immortal's Fate Street, exuding a well-organized prosperity.

Qin Le and Chen Yun entered a weapon-refining materials shop, and as soon as they entered, they bumped into an acquaintance.

Wang Zhiheng.

He was once their classmate, but later transferred to another college—and the reason for the transfer was somewhat related to Qin Le.

At this moment, Wang Zhiheng also saw Qin Le, and his eyes instantly turned cold, as if they were covered with ice.

Qin Le felt a little annoyed by his gaze and spoke up, "Wang Zhiheng, I've never understood—we don't seem to have much interaction, right? Why do you...hate me so much?"

Even when Wang Zhiheng was still at the Heavenly Court Academy, he frequently caused trouble for Qin Le. Fortunately, the academy rules prevented this, and Chen Yun often intervened, so nothing serious happened. However, the academy was worried that trouble would eventually arise, so they arranged for Wang Zhiheng to transfer to another school.

The reason for letting him transfer instead of Qin Le is quite simple—for the Heavenly Court Academy, the value of Qin Le, a monster of comprehension, far exceeds that of Wang Zhiheng, a genius with 98% affinity.

Qin Le's existence can raise the level of the entire academy; while Wang Zhiheng is ultimately just a genius.

At this moment, Chen Yun, who was standing next to Qin Le, looked at him in surprise: "You really don't know?"

Qin Le was taken aback: "Should I know?"

Chen Yun sighed, "Luo Qiuyue has a crush on you. Wang Zhiheng... likes Luo Qiuyue."

"..."

Qin Le was speechless for a moment.

This reason... was so reasonable that he was speechless.

As for Luo Qiuyue's secret crush on him?

Qin Le didn't really feel anything.

There were so many girls in the college who liked him; he had lost count of how many love letters and confessions he had received.

Wang Zhiheng held a grudge against him because of this, which is understandable, but it was indeed... a bit unfair.

Wang Zhiheng walked past the two of them expressionlessly without saying a word.

How could he possibly tell Qin Le the real reason? That would be utterly humiliating.

He acknowledged that Luo Qiuyue liked Qin Le. But what truly made him hate Qin Le was the sentence Luo Qiuyue said when she rejected him:

"I'd rather be Qin Le's dog than let you touch me."

Anyone would be furious if the girl they like said something like that. Especially a proud and arrogant genius like Wang Zhiheng.

Seeing Wang Zhiheng walk away, Chen Yun chuckled, "It seems the academy's decision to transfer him to the Confucian Academy was quite effective. If it were a year ago, he might have already made his move."

"Alright," Qin Le waved his hand, "Let's not talk about him. Let's hurry up and choose the materials."

He was just curious about the reason, but now that he knows, he's let it go. He really has no interest in getting involved in things like jealousy and rivalry.

"That's true, business is more important." Chen Yun nodded.

The two began selecting materials needed to forge the mecha at the shop. It took them nearly 200,000 spirit stones to complete the list.

There's no way to find a bargain here—every material has been appraised by celestial beings before being put on the shelves, and its grade and price are clearly stated, ensuring honesty and fair dealing.

After buying the materials, Chen Yun breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "From now on... I'll have to stay home for a while."

"I'll just stay home." Qin Le smiled. "Anyway, the academy has agreed."

For these students who are about to take the actual college entrance examination, whether or not they return to the college in the last month is no longer important.

Especially those students chosen by the gods—the guidance from the gods is far more thorough than what the academy teachers explain.