Below Moonlight Mavis were the people from the Wen family, led by Wen Yao, Wen Sansi, and Wen Qian'er. Below them were Balsam and Yan, and below Mister Right was the Sword Sect's Li Zimo. Elder Lian Xin was still unconscious due to being poisoned, so Li Zimo could only take her place. Below the Sword Sect were Ling Gong, Ling Que, Little Mountain God, and the others. Although they were from the Eight Great Flowzones, they were still juniors.
Below them was Lyman Phoenix, a member of the Daynight Flowzone's Phoenix family, and Selati Phoenix had also come.
She had once been one of the Ten Arbiters, and Lu Yin had looked up to her, but now, she was nothing in Lu Yin's eyes.
Aside from these people, there were even more cultivators from the Innerverse and Cosmic Sea. Not many people from the Neoverse had come, and the Aurora Corporation had originally sent someone, but they had not appeared.
Not long after Lu Yin sat down, Qing Shaohuang arrived, and with his arrival, the banquet officially began.
Gu King City's banquet only had one purpose: a competition of gu. Strictly speaking, it could not be considered a banquet; it was more like a competition.
Strange gu from all over the Divine Gu Dynasty were displayed one by one at this banquet. As guests, Lu Yin and the others could choose any gu to take away.
Below the stage, a young man walked out with an arrogant expression. He took off his shirt, revealing a strange three-clawed insect branded on his back. "This is a gu that Lu City spent 130 years cultivating. It's called Ku, and its internal structure is unique. It can contain attacks that are several times stronger than its own. Simply put, as long as a Limiteer has this gu, they can easily escape from an Explorer without being injured."
Many people around him gasped in surprise, and even Lu Yin was surprised. When he had been a Limiteer, he had been able to resist an Explorer at the border of the Erudite Flowzone. It was precisely because he had been able to do so that he knew how ridiculous this realm was.
"Ku, how long does it take to cultivate it?"
Someone suddenly asked from below the banquet table. This was a custom for gu competitions, and some of the more prestigious people in the dynasty would ask questions to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the gu.
The young man replied, "It can be cultivated in 26 years."
"26 years? What kind of powerhouse's attacks can it contain?"
The young man did not hesitate. "Limiteer."
"If you were given 26 years, would you be able to reach the Limiteer realm?"
"Of course." The young man was proud. He was a genius of Lu City, so why would he need 26 years?
"If that's the case, is there still a need to nurture this Gu?"
The youth's expression turned ugly. "But if you nurture it for another thirty years, it will be able to withstand an Explorer's attack."
"If I give you fifty-six years, will you be able to become an Explorer?"
This time, the youth hesitated. Becoming an Explorer was a huge hurdle, and even though he considered himself to be a genius, he was not completely confident that he could break through. However, in front of so many people, he could only reply, "Of course."
"In that case, is there still a need to nurture this Gu?"
The corner of the young man's mouth twitched, and he left the stage dejectedly.
Lu Yin smiled. This Gu was not bad, but it required time to cultivate, so there was no point in it. Those who could afford such a Gu were not ordinary people. Those people had the resources and talent, so it would be more suitable to find another Gu. This Gu was a little useless.
The next one to appear was a woman. She introduced a type of Gu that could produce a hundred flowers, but it had no practical meaning.
Following this, strange Gu continued to appear. There were hundreds of cities in Divine Gu Continent, and each city was researching Gu. There were too many strange Gu, and even though some did not seem to have much use, it depended on where they were used.
For example, that Gu that can bloom hundreds of flowers, give me some.
People who studied poison were useful. Some poisonous flowers took too much time to bloom.
In short, the Divine Gu Dynasty's Gu were like innate gifts. There were no Gu that was absolutely useless, only people that were absolutely useless.
Half a day's time broadened Lu Yin's horizons. The Divine Gu Dynasty's civilization truly had its own unique aspects. Gu seemed similar to the Beast Tamers Flowzone's tamed beasts, but in reality, one was used for research while the other was used for control.
The Beast Tamers Flowzone would never be able to research why an astral beast could unleash such an attack or how it could unleash a different type of attack. They were only there to control the astral beast and help it grow. However, Gu were different. They needed to be researched, and there were countless ways to use them.
A youth stepped onto the stage. He was a little timid, and his clothes were very dirty. There was a large 'Xiao' character embroidered on his chest.
When she saw this youth step onto the stage, Qing Shaohuang frowned.
Many people from the Divine Gu Dynasty frowned as well.
The youth grew even more nervous. "I-I-I'm from a small city. My name is Little Fa."
"Show your Gu!" a stern voice shouted, startling Little Fa. He subconsciously raised his hand, but everyone stared at his arm and did not move.
Everyone was confused. Where was the Gu?
Little Fa looked at his arm and blinked. Eh?
Where was the Gu?
At that moment, someone whispered, "Under your feet! Under your feet!"
Little Fa turned around. "What?"
He moved a little, but his right foot stepped on something soft. He jumped in fright and ran a few meters away.
Everyone was speechless. Was this some sort of performance?
Qing Shaohuang's frown deepened.
Little Fa hurriedly ran back and looked at the soft object that he had stepped on. He carefully picked it up and sighed in relief. "Thank goodness I didn't die. Just a little bit more, just a little bit more." As he spoke, he seemed to sense that everyone was still staring at him. He gulped, and his face flushed red. He raised his hand. "Um, the Gu is here. It's a Gu that our small city spent a long, long time developing. It's called the wireless Gu."
Everyone looked at the object in Little Fa's hand. Wasn't that a tadpole?
Furthermore, it was a tadpole that had been stepped on and had almost died.
The atmosphere fell silent.
"Introduce it, introduce it!" someone in the audience shouted.
Little Fa coughed again. "Um, the wireless Gu's use is to ignore distance and allow instant communication. No matter where you are, even in the Astral Wilderness, you can instantly communicate without any hindrance. It's much better than a gadget."
Little Fa then fell silent and looked expectantly at Qing Shaohuang, as if waiting for praise.
Someone in the audience facepalmed, looking helpless.
"It's just communication?" someone asked.
Little Fa answered, "Ignore distance, instant communication."
"Can we see a video?"
"Um, I haven't studied it yet."
"Can we talk?"
Little Fa pursed his lips. "It's not good to talk directly, but we can use the wireless Gu's frequency to know what the other party is thinking."
"Since you have a gadget, why do you need the wireless Gu?"
Little Fa was anxious. "Ignore distance, ignore distance!"
"You were born in the Gu Flowzone, and you haven't even reached the Limiteer realm. How can you be so sure that you can ignore distance? Do you know what the concept of distance is in the universe?
Do you know about the Astral Source Universe?
Do you know that there's a Sixth Mainland in the distant Astral Wilderness? "
"I know, but I can ignore distance."
Little Fa stubbornly retorted.
"Hmph, back down."
Little Fa wanted to say something, but the voice shouted again, "Back down!" This time, Little Fa was almost sent flying.
The people from the Divine Gu Dynasty were either mocking or looking down on Little Fa and the city's Gu.
Lu Yin was curious. "Is this city very special?"
The Jackal Prince explained, "It's the smallest city on the Divine Gu Continent, but it can't really be considered a city. It was originally a place where a few extreme cultivators stayed to research Gu that would benefit ordinary people. Gradually, more and more people gathered, especially ordinary people and merchants, and it eventually became a small city.
"The Gu developed in this city is useless in battle, but it's very useful in the hands of ordinary people. Ordinary people can't buy a gadget, but they can buy wireless Gu."
"Can it really ignore distance?" Lu Yin asked.
The Jackal Prince shook his head and laughed. "That's what they said. How can it ignore distance? These people aren't even Explorers, so they don't understand distance at all. They can't even cross through the void. That wireless Gu has already been reported, so it'll take time to learn how to read its frequency. It's far inferior to a gadget, so it's not very useful.
Lu Yin looked at the flustered Little Fa below the stage, and his eyes flickered. Ignore distance?
If that was true, then it would be very useful.
Gadgets were connected through signals, and if a huge battle broke out, especially with the Eternals, the Eternals' understanding of humans meant that there was no such thing as a signal, and it would definitely be destroyed. As for the Cosmic Tree's Cloudpass Stone, there must be a way to destroy it as well.
Whether it was against the Eternals or the Cosmic Tree, Lu Yin had to hold back. Instant communication was necessary, as it would have a huge impact on the battle. He had ordered Ban Jiu to research it a long time ago, but there had been no results.
As he thought about it, Lu Yin looked at Little Fa with shining eyes.
The competition lasted for two full days, during which a few powerful Gu were revealed. Even Lu Yin was interested in them, but he didn't care too much about them.
Even if there were Gu like the Life Extending Butterfly, the Divine Gu Dynasty wouldn't take it out. The ones that appeared were not the most precious, especially in front of outsiders.
The competition ended with Gu King City's victory. This was expected, as they had always been victorious for many years.
The Gu King City's Gu was called the Evasive Bead, and it looked like a small bead that could be fused into the user's body. Once used, it would increase the user's speed by several times, and it was very effective in both battle and escape. Most importantly, it could be upgraded, and once it reached the peak, the user's speed would be even more exaggerated and far surpass their peers.
The downside was that the production rate was too low, and it took too much time to cultivate. It was not suitable for mass production.
The victorious Evasive Bead delighted Young Empress Qing. "My Divine Gu Dynasty produces dozens of types of Gu every year, but only one that can be used is produced every few decades. Most of them are useless, but this Evasive Bead is a rare all-around Gu."
"Congratulations, Your Majesty," Grand Tutor Yuan was the first to speak, and everyone from the Divine Gu Dynasty bowed. "Congratulations, Your Majesty."
Young Empress Qing laughed.
Mister You spoke up and smiled. "The Divine Gu Dynasty's unique cultivation environment is truly eye-opening. If Your Majesty is willing, I would like to request an Evasive Bead and bring it back to the Hall of Honor for everyone to see."
Little Mountain God smiled as well. "If Your Majesty has an extra one, this junior would like to request one as well."
Wen Qian'er hurriedly raised her hand. "This junior would like to request one as well."
Ling Que raised his hand. "Th- you want that as well?"