Master, don't tease me, you can't handle three of them.

Chapter 165: She's a stubborn but soft-hearted little girl...

As the judging elder announced the start, a dark black whip suddenly appeared in Gu Meng's hand.

Accompanied by bursts of ear-piercing thunder, Gu Meng's whip lashed out at Ji Chen.

So this is what Meng'er ultimately chose...

Jing Shu looked at the magical artifact in Gu Meng's hand and nodded to himself, thinking that it was also a suitable attack method for someone with a lightning spiritual root.

Ji Chen looked at the ink whip that was so close to him, but he didn't panic at all. He raised his hand and summoned a folding fan, and went straight to meet it.

The moment the whip touched the folding fan, it was guided by a gentle spiritual force, grazing Ji Chen's clothes before striking the ground.

"boom--"

The ink whip slammed into the ground, and the lightning spiritual power attached to it smashed a crater in the ground.

Ji Chen thought to himself, "As expected of a lightning spirit root, its destructive power is truly amazing!"

Despite failing to complete the first strike, Gu Meng was not discouraged; on the contrary, she was very excited!

With a flick of her wrist, Gu Meng's ink whip instantly conjured countless afterimages, all of which attacked Ji Chen simultaneously.

A hint of seriousness appeared in Ji Chen's eyes as he unfolded his folding fan, blocking all the whip shadows.

To outsiders, Gu Meng appeared to have the upper hand, but those at the Golden Core level and above could see that Ji Chen, from beginning to end, had never truly made a move.

The victory or defeat has been decided.

Gu Meng had no intention of winning through this. Jing Shu, watching Gu Meng's behavior of disregarding the consumption of spiritual energy, guessed her thoughts and couldn't help but laugh.

This little girl... never intended to win from the start.

Seeing that things had gone far enough, Gu Meng stopped her attack, sighed slightly, and said with feigned helplessness, "I know you're holding back, but if you keep doing this, you'll suffer."

Ji Chen reopened his folding fan and said confidently, "I never suffer a loss."

Gu Meng retracted her ink whip and smiled mysteriously, "Really? You must really like the magical artifact in your hand, right?"

Ji Chen was stunned when he saw Gu Meng suddenly smile. That smile looked exactly like Jing Shu's.

Ji Chen felt a sense of foreboding and instinctively tried to put the folding fan away.

But it was too late.

A crack suddenly appeared in the middle of the folding fan, and then more and more cracks appeared.

Ji Chen watched helplessly as the folding fan in his hand shattered.

Broken to the ground.

Ji Chen: "!!!"

Before Ji Chen could ask what was going on, Gu Meng took the initiative to explain.

"Besides learning how to use the whip, I also learned a secret technique for refining magical artifacts based on the lightning spirit root..."

Looking at the ink whip in her hand, which was beginning to break off piece by piece, Gu Meng continued helplessly.

"It's a pity I haven't fully mastered it yet. Once this secret technique is used, even my own magical artifacts won't be spared."

At this point, Gu Meng cheered up again, "But this is my first time refining a magic weapon for the Golden Core stage! Even though you went easy on me, it's still pretty good!"

"Elder Uncle! I admit defeat!"

After saying that, Gu Meng skipped and hopped towards her senior brother, leaving Ji Chen alone on the stage, bewildered in the wind.

We won, but we weren't happy about it.

Tempering, isn't it just reshaping?! Breaking a magical artifact and remolding it! Isn't that something only weapon refiners learn?

How could anyone think of adding something like this to battle?! My precious folding fan!!!

The elder judge, suppressing a laugh, approached Ji Chen and said, "Young friend Ji... you should go down first... don't delay the others' matches."

Ji Chen: "......"

Qingguang Ding also comforted him at just the right time, "It's okay, you were just too confident and then got tricked by Jing Shu's junior sister into giving you a folding fan."

It's no big deal. Next time you use me, I definitely won't be tempered like a folding fan!

Ji Chen: "...Thank you!"

Qingguang Ding chuckled, "You're welcome!"

Ji Chen walked down from the stage and saw Gu Meng, who was clinging to Jing Shu's arm and shaking him. He sighed deeply.

Another little pervert...

When she gets older and her cultivation level is higher, she'll be able to shatter other people's magical artifacts in a fight...

Alas, he felt sorrow for those who would fight against the future and the ancient dream.

Thinking this, Gu Meng suddenly walked up to him and took out a new ink whip from her storage bracelet.

"Here! This is the apology for breaking the folding fan; it's no worse than yours!"

After throwing the ink whip into Ji Chen's arms, Gu Meng left with Jing Shu without looking back.

Ji Chen looked at the ink whip in his hand. It was made of ink-colored stone and was of a much higher grade than his folding fan.

Ji Chen looked up at the pink figure that had already walked away, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up slightly. Then he put away the ink whip.

She's a girl who's all bark and no bite...

Wait!

Ji Chen suddenly remembered that they had come to ask Jing Shu for a free meal!

Aaaaaah! Lu Yunqi! Where the hell are you?! I'm too scared to go with them alone!!!

The two who had walked away didn't care what Ji Chen was thinking. Before Gu Meng finished the match, Jing Shu received a telepathic message from Han Luo.

My senior uncles and the others have already come out of the spiritual spring. After the competition, my master asked him to bring Gu Meng out.

"Senior brother, what kind of person is Uncle-Master? Is he easy to get along with?" Gu Meng asked as they walked.

Their master had hardly ever mentioned their senior brother to them. Gu Meng was both very much looking forward to Fu Huaizhi and a little nervous.

“I’ve only met my senior master once, but he’s quite easy to get along with. Meng’er will know when she meets him.” As Jing Shu spoke, he saw Han Luo standing not far away.

Han Luo used his spiritual power, making it impossible for passersby to see his face clearly, but Jing Shu recognized him at a glance.

"Master!" Jing Shu's voice clearly brightened with joy as he strode to Han Luo's side.

"I thought Master would go back first with Uncle and the others."

In front of Gu Meng, Jing Shu did not take Han Luo's hand, but Han Luo seemed to have no qualms about not avoiding Gu Meng. She raised her hand and tugged at Jing Shu's face, a gentle light appearing in her clear, cold eyes.

"My senior brother has his apprentices, so I came to pick up my apprentices first."

The reasons are valid, but only if you ignore the hand that was pinching Jing Shu's face all over.

Gu Meng looked puzzled by the interaction between the two. How old is Senior Brother? Why is Master still pinching Senior Brother's face? Does Master still treat Senior Brother like a child?

Hmm...it seems...her senior brother is only five years older than her. So, in a way, he's still a child at heart...

Noticing Gu Meng's gaze shift from confusion to contemplation, Han Luo removed her hand from Jing Shu's face and turned to look at Gu Meng. "What's wrong?"

Gu Meng shook her head. "It's nothing. So, should we go find our senior brother and the others now?"

"No need." Han Luo looked in the direction behind Gu Meng. "They're back already."

"Brother! I've reached the Golden Core stage! Let's celebrate with grilled fish tonight!"

An excited voice came from afar. Now, without turning around, Gu Meng already knew they were back.