I Pick up a Lost Godhood-Chapter 91 - 89: Roadside Touting

This year’s Hundred Treasures Hall Meeting was truly unprecedented in scale. Flying Phoenix Hall was, without a doubt, the most popular. Beast Hall, Fire Cloud Hall, and Immortal Origin Hall were all close behind. Everyone was perpetually hungry for Spirit Beasts, Magical Artifacts, and Pills. You could never have too many; there was no "best," only "better."

While Dao Guang Hall wasn’t especially popular, its standards were unquestionably the highest. Disciples who wanted to broaden their horizons and improve their own skills made a point of visiting.

As for Thunderlight Hall... no one paid it any mind.

Of course, Thunderlight Hall wasn’t completely useless. Anyone lacking self-esteem could swing by to get a confidence boost. After one look around, they’d immediately feel like a real somebody by comparison.

And so, disciples would occasionally wander past, enter with their heads hanging low, and leave in high spirits.

At first, the disciples of Thunderlight Hall could withstand the blow to their pride, but as time dragged on, they started to buckle. They had wanted to showcase their abilities, but with no one watching, what was the point? ’What is there to even show?’

Hu Jing and the others were growing anxious. They hadn’t come to the Hundred Treasures Hall Meeting just to entertain themselves.

"Senior Sister Hu, there’s no need to worry," Ma Tian’Er said. "Things will naturally get livelier when the Ancestral Masters arrive."

Ma Tian’Er was still confident. ’No matter what, I know one person who will definitely show up. And even if he doesn’t, I have my ways of making him,’ she thought.

"But the Ancestral Masters might not come," someone pointed out.

"Don’t worry, I have a trump card. When the time is right, I can definitely draw at least one or two over!"

Ma Tian’Er said with a smile.

"Ladies and gentlemen, step right up! The Thunderlight Hall exhibition is on! Everything is 20% off! Don’t just walk on by! Looking is free!"

Zhang Xiaojiang was outside, trying his best to drum up business. Every person he could pull in was a victory.

A few disciples walking past couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Zhang Xiaojiang.

"Hey, Little Fatty, does your Thunderlight Hall even have anything worth looking at?"

"The only value Thunderlight Hall has is giving insecure people a confidence boost."

"Haha, but none of us need that."

"I heard Hundred Herbs Hall is offering a ten percent discount on the last day of the meeting!"

"I’ve been saving for two years! I’m planning to spend it all in one go!"

"Tch, that’s nothing. I’ve been saving for five years just to get a Spirit Beast, even a low-quality one would be fine. It’s just too embarrassing to be seen adventuring with a mere Little Demon these days."

"Get real. Who knows how many people are fighting over Beast Hall’s Spirit Beasts? I’d say you’ll need to save for ten years."

"Well, I’m going to try my luck anyway."

Wave after wave of people walked past, chatting and laughing, completely ignoring Zhang Xiaojiang.

The entire morning passed. While the other Sub-Halls grew increasingly boisterous, Thunderlight Hall only became quieter.

Even the Body Cultivator brothers, who had been beating drums earlier, were now just sitting off to the side, sunbathing. Suo Ming’s row of weapons glittered brightly in the sunlight, but sadly, they drew no interest at all. As for Pills... even if Thunderlight Hall gave them away for free, who would dare to actually eat one?

"How’s it going? Still haven’t managed to pull anyone in?" Hu Jing asked. Seeing Zhang Xiaojiang’s dejected look, she already knew the answer.

Zhang Xiaojiang had been trying all morning without pulling in a single soul, and his frustration began to boil over. ’I refuse to believe it! Are the other Sub-Halls really that great? Why don’t we go check them out?’

Hu Jing, Ma Tian’Er, and the others looked at one another. Zhou Qian sighed. "Let’s go take a look. It’s good to know what we’re up against."

In truth, this wasn’t Zhou Qian’s first time at the Hundred Treasures Hall Meeting. He hadn’t been optimistic from the very beginning and had just been going along with the others’ enthusiasm. ’Now it’s time for them to face reality,’ he thought. It was something they had to confront, no matter how discouraging the outcome might be.

"Where’s Wang Meng?"

"No idea. Someone came looking for him a little while ago, and then he disappeared."

"Then let’s go on ahead without him."

The person looking for Wang Meng was An Dao, one of the Lingyin Four Tigers. When he found Wang Meng polishing a pile of battered-looking weapons, he was left rather speechless. Still, he didn’t dare show the slightest disrespect. This was a man whom both their Senior and Junior Brother Tianyi took seriously—he was no ordinary person.

"Senior Brother Wang, this way, please."

"Oh? Aren’t we going to your Lingyin Exhibition Hall?"

"Heh, Senior and Junior Brother Li figured you wouldn’t be interested in that stuff. They want you to see something special."

An Dao gave him a mysterious smile.

"Oh? And what’s this ’special something’? You’re not planning on selling me, are you?"

An Dao couldn’t help but chuckle. "Senior Brother Wang, you have a good sense of humor. You’ll see when we get there."

Li Tianyi and Mingren were already waiting, along with the other three members of the Lingyin Four Tigers.

"Tianyi, the Lingyin Five Extremes Sword Formation is one of our signature techniques. Performing it for an outsider to see... it seems a bit..." Mingren trailed off, still feeling it was inappropriate. It wouldn’t look good if word of this got out.

"Senior Brother, when did you get so fussy? The Five Extremes Sword Formation is impressive, yes, but wasn’t it broken by Dao Guang Hall? I can see the problem with it, but I can’t solve it. Letting him take a look might lead to an unexpected breakthrough."

Li Tianyi said, glancing into the distance. ’What’s taking them so long?’

"Junior Brother Li, is this Wang Meng really that powerful? He just looks like a regular guy to me."

Li Tianyi smiled faintly. "We’ll find out when we test him. Besides, if he’s as average as you say, then he won’t get anything out of watching, so what’s the harm?"

Li Tianyi, for his part, was brimming with confidence. ’The Hundred Treasures Hall Meeting... such a pointless event,’ he mused. ’Why do so many people bother showing up for this nonsense?’

His four senior brothers didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. They all liked Li Tianyi’s frank and direct personality, but the kid could be incredibly headstrong at times. Since they all doted on him, if he wanted to stir up some trouble, they were happy to play along.

As Wang Meng made his way over, Hu Jing and the others had already started their tour. They skipped Dao Guang Hall and went straight to Hundred Herbs Hall. The place was bustling with people, its stalls filled with every variety of Spirit Grass imaginable. A Spirit Grass from Hundred Herbs Hall, regardless of the species, was at least twenty percent more potent than one from anywhere else. For Pill Cultivators, this meant a direct boost to a pill’s efficacy, and certain ingredients could even improve the refinement success rate. Even their most common Spirit Valley grains were more saturated with Elemental Qi than those from other halls, making them premium feed for Spirit Beasts. Some Advanced Spirit Beasts were notoriously picky eaters and wouldn’t touch inferior grains.

Hundred Herbs Hall rarely sold priceless treasures, but everything they had was expensive. You could get by without buying a Magical Treasure if you lacked the Spirit Stones, but there was hardly a disciple in the sect who hadn’t used a product from Hundred Herbs Hall.

As a Pill Cultivator, Hu Jing’s eyes gleamed as she browsed the stalls. If it weren’t for the Immortal Grass Wang Meng had given her, her pill cultivation might have stagnated completely. Even so, the path of a Pill Cultivator was incredibly difficult. She had only managed to cultivate a Second-Level Pill Flame, and her success rate for refining Second-Grade Pills was only about forty percent.

Hundred Herbs Hall wasn’t so bad; it wasn’t too demoralizing. They’d sell to you if you had the money, and you could still browse if you didn’t. At least it wasn’t a huge blow to one’s ego.

A visit to the Beast Hall, however, made you want to go find a hole and bury your own Little Demon. The comparison was just too painful. Rows upon rows of every imaginable Spirit Beast were on display, a truly spectacular sight. Some of these beasts were born with Innate talent, while others were carefully nurtured. The Beast Hall had its own unique Cultivation Techniques for raising and enhancing Spirit Beasts. Because of this, they didn’t need to compete in other areas; they were already unrivaled in their own domain.