Zhou Fenghe frowned slightly. “Zhou Old Master, please don’t joke like that. My daughter does questions like this all the time—a whole hour is already considered a long time.”
“That’s because your Talisman Cultivators’ Guild has a rather complete inheritance. How could those wandering talisman cultivators have such educational resources?”
Zhou Hongwu couldn’t help stroking his beard as he looked at Zhou Fufu’s grandfather.
“Old fellow, you’re hosting this competition—if only your granddaughter manages to solve it, won’t it be a huge joke?”
After all, it was the Talisman Cultivators’ Guild who came up with this question. If no one else could answer, their supposed innocence would instantly turn into suspicion.
Beside them, the gaunt old man just gave a cold snort. “My Fufu is already the most outstanding genius in Tianjian City. If she can do things others can’t, isn’t that only natural?”
Even so, the gaunt old man looked worried. After all, this would affect his granddaughter’s reputation in the future—it was not a good thing.
Sure enough, when the allotted time ended, everyone could only sigh and put down the Residual Talisman Method in their hands.
One of the talisman cultivators walked out, sighing. “President Zhou, the question you set is just too difficult. I’m truly at my wit’s end.”
Several other talisman cultivators echoed him. “That’s right, I don’t believe anyone could solve it!”
“Making a talisman in one hour is already hard enough, let alone deciphering a Residual Talisman Method!”
“This kind of question has never appeared in any previous Talisman Cultivators’ Guild competition—honestly, it’s against the rules!”
All at once, a group of Second Rank Talisman Masters who thought the question was too hard stood up.
“How could it be so difficult?”
Just then, Zhou Fufu stepped forward, picked up a talisman and said, “Look, didn’t I just make it? Life-Protecting Talisman—”
Zhou Fenghe saw his daughter acting so dismissively and immediately thought this was bad.
Sure enough, the other cultivators were immediately disgruntled upon seeing Zhou Fufu step up.
“This whole competition was set up by your Talisman Cultivators’ Guild. Who knows if there’s an inside story?”
“Exactly! Maybe the question was designed just to stump us!”
Seeing this, Zhou Fufu was unhappy. She said, “You couldn’t solve it and now you blame the question for being too hard? Where’s the logic in that?”
The talisman cultivator at the front lost his temper.
“Miss Zhou, then why don’t you explain why, with so many Second Rank Talisman Masters present, not a single one can answer your question? Are you saying that, besides the Zhou family, all the talisman cultivators under heaven are worthless?”
Zhou Fufu frowned, finally realizing that something wasn’t right.
She wanted to say something, but found that no matter what she said, it would only make things worse. She was at a loss.
Seeing Zhou Fufu’s expression, the leading talisman cultivator got even more excited.
“I don’t believe that, in Tianjian City, there’s anyone besides your family who could solve this problem! If there is, I’ll immediately cripple my own arms…”
“Master Li, you must not make such a poisonous oath!!”
Everyone, seeing Master Li about to swear such a poisonous vow, quickly tried to stop him.
For a talisman cultivator to cripple both arms was no different from a spell cultivator or sword cultivator crippling their spiritual meridians.
Such a poisonous oath made even Zhou Fufu’s heart skip a beat in fright!
But Master Li was fired up—how could he give up so easily?
“I insist on swearing this oath!”
Zhou Fufu secretly groaned. This guy was probably sent by another Talisman Cultivators’ Guild to cause trouble!
If this wasn’t handled well, gossip about the Zhou family would spread throughout the entire city today.
Just as Zhou Fufu anxiously looked toward her family, a clear cough sounded from the crowd.
Everyone immediately turned to the source of the sound—it was Daoist Yuanzhe.
Daoist Yuanzhe raised the talisman in his hand and said, “Everyone, the Life-Protecting Talisman isn’t exclusive to the Talisman Cultivators’ Guild. Our Black Dragon Merchant Association has also managed to make one.”
When Daoist Yuanzhe waved the talisman in his hand, everyone was shocked.
Especially Zhou Fufu, who’d just become the target of everyone’s criticism. Even she began to wonder if her father had designed an impossible question just to make her famous.
Judging by the other talisman cultivators’ reactions, this question really was too difficult—she even started to feel a bit guilty.
But now, at this critical moment, someone had actually stood up for her.
She couldn’t help glancing a few more times at Daoist Yuanzhe and the young man beside him, Dongfang Xiaotian.
In her heart, she guessed that it must have been Young Master Dongfang who persuaded Daoist Yuanzhe to help out, right?
After all, she didn’t know Daoist Yuanzhe, but she was more familiar with Dongfang Xiaotian, whom she had just made a wager with.
She couldn’t help feeling a little pleased—he might be a bit simple, but at least he was kind-hearted.
“How is this possible?!”
Master Li, who had been about to swear that poisonous oath, was dumbfounded.
He never imagined that someone could really fill in the missing parts of a Residual Talisman Method and create a talisman in such a short time!
Master Li couldn’t help but shout, “It’s a fix! It must be a fix! You’re all in cahoots!”
“Master Li, you are a Master of Second Rank Talisman in Tianjian City. You shouldn’t speak so recklessly.”
At this point, Zhou Fenghe stood up and said, “Would the Talisman Cultivators’ Guild and the Black Dragon Merchant Association join forces just to toy with the masters present?”
“Gentlemen, do you really think the Guild would scheme against you, or are you doubting the reputation of the Black Dragon Merchant Association?”
Although the Talisman Cultivators’ Guild in Tianjian City was only a branch, even a skinny camel was bigger than a horse.
Even in resource-scarce Tianjian City, the Guild could still apply to headquarters for treasures like Heavenly Steel Gold as prizes for the competition.
Of course, while guidance from a Third Rank Talisman Master sounded tempting, everyone knew it was really meant for Zhou Fufu, who was already close to breaking through.
Teaching your own people—they’d never win that.
Frankly, most of the top Second Rank Talisman Masters present were here for the Heavenly Steel Gold.
And if anyone did take first place, it wasn’t just about the teaching; the connections from a Third Rank Talisman Master in the Guild were just as valuable, if not more so, than the prize itself.
As for collusion? The Guild didn’t even have a second participant—there was no way to keep the rewards “in-house.”
As for teaming up with the Black Dragon Merchant Association, that was even more ridiculous.
The Black Dragon Merchant Association held the de facto right to mint currency. Even if the law didn’t officially recognize it, their spiritual currency was a symbol of trust.
Without their reputation, who would dare accept their cards?
Therefore, the Association valued two things most: foresight and reputation.
Would two such giants conspire to trick or scheme against them?
Honestly, there was no need, and they wouldn’t bother, nor would anyone here be worthy of such trouble.
Moreover, everyone knew that offending these two massive organizations—whom talisman cultivators had to interact with regularly—would be a disastrous move.
As the atmosphere chilled, Zhou Hongwu suddenly laughed heartily. “But since all you masters are saying this, it does mean my question was a bit unreasonable.”
“How about this: each of you can pick one main ingredient and two supplementary ingredients to complete the talisman—whoever gets the closest gets more points. How about it?”
On hearing this, the tension eased, though Master Li’s face remained ugly.
After Zhou Fenghe finished speaking, he glanced at Master Li and added, “Of course, if you’re confident in your chosen materials and think your method is correct, you can make it here on the spot.”
“If anyone can actually make a Life-Protecting Talisman, they’ll be awarded first place for this round.”
Master Li’s expression grew even uglier. “Hmph! Who knows if that’s really a Life-Protecting Talisman in his hand? Maybe he’s trying to fool us with a fake.”
Everyone couldn’t help looking at Daoist Yuanzhe. If the Black Dragon Merchant Association faked it just to cozy up to the Guild, it would be a real joke.
Zhou Fufu glanced uneasily at Dongfang Xiaotian. Did he really risk the Black Dragon Merchant Association’s reputation to help her out?
“That’s easy to solve.”
Daoist Yuanzhe simply smiled and handed the talisman to a nearby maid. “President Zhou, please test it.”
“Mm, that was the plan.”
Zhou Fenghe fetched two chickens to test the strength of the talismans made by Daoist Yuanzhe and Zhou Fufu.
As for the method—quite simply, the chickens would be killed on the spot, and the Life-Protecting Talisman would be tested by seeing whose chicken could jump around the longest.
Afterwards, the chickens would be served as a bonus meal to the Guild staff.
Zhou Fufu felt nervous. She trusted the Black Dragon Merchant Association’s reputation, but since the other Second Rank Talisman Masters had all said the question was too hard, she couldn’t help but wonder:
Did Young Master Dongfang really persuade Daoist Yuanzhe to risk his reputation by passing off a fake talisman to help her?
In contrast, Zhou Fenghe and Zhou Fufu’s grandfather appeared totally at ease.
Zhou Hongwu couldn’t help but glance at Dongfang Xiaotian and Daoist Yuanzhe. “You really ought to thank them properly this time.”
Zhou Fufu’s grandfather nodded. “Of course.”
Actually, once the Black Dragon Merchant Association stepped in, this hurdle was as good as passed.
Whether the talisman was real or fake didn’t really matter.
After all, this was a contest to create a talisman no one had ever drawn before. Who could guarantee it would definitely work? Especially since it was made with a Residual Talisman Method.
If it didn’t work, or if it produced some odd effect—even blowing the chicken to bits right there—no one would be surprised.
However, to everyone’s astonishment, the two chickens whose throats were slit and bled kept moving in their cages for hundreds of breaths.
Zhou Fufu, Zhou Fenghe, Zhou Hongwu, and Zhou Fufu’s grandfather all stared wide-eyed.
When the talisman was first activated and the chicken didn’t explode on the spot, they thought Daoist Yuanzhe was clever and had simply used some sort of buff talisman.
But after a hundred breaths and the chicken was still hopping about, they frowned—what sort of talisman was this? Was the buff really strong enough to keep it alive after a mortal wound?
After three hundred breaths, Zhou Fufu and the others couldn’t help being moved.
Was Daoist Yuanzhe from the Black Dragon Merchant Association using a higher-grade life-saving talisman to steal first place?
It was certainly possible—after all, they were a powerful organization. More importantly, the Zhou family was in the wrong this time.
They couldn’t just use the Association’s “reputation” to save their own and then turn on them.
The Black Dragon Merchant Association’s reputation was solid, but how to maintain it was another matter.
People with businesses—everyone knows how it goes.
Only after reviewing all the submitted answers and checking Daoist Yuanzhe’s did they confirm—it really was a Life-Protecting Talisman!
What’s more, the chicken protected by Zhou Fufu’s talisman finally died after a bit more than three hundred breaths, but Daoist Yuanzhe’s lasted over four hundred before it stopped moving.
Only then did the Zhou family finally confirm that Daoist Yuanzhe genuinely had the skill—they couldn’t help stealing more glances at him.
Daoist Yuanzhe saw everyone’s shocked expressions and nudged Dongfang Xiaotian with his elbow. “Brother Dongfang, this round’s credit really goes to you!”
“Heh, you’re joking.”
Dongfang Xiaotian looked at the chicken and couldn’t help but sigh. “I think the real credit goes to your century-old Soul-Calming Herb.”
Dongfang Xiaotian inwardly complained—was it really Daoist Yuanzhe’s skill?
He had swapped the original main ingredient—supposed to be five or six years old—for a hundred-year-old version. How could the effect not be good?
Dongfang Xiaotian recalled his own days of scraping by with mixed-quality materials, saving every bit, and sighed—it was pointless to compare. Truly, there was no comparison.
As for Zhou Fufu’s gaze, Dongfang Xiaotian just pretended she was looking at Daoist Yuanzhe.
The last round of the competition was the most valuable—the comprehensive contest.
“The final round is simple: no matter what methods you use, whoever makes the highest-scoring talisman wins.”
Daoist Yuanzhe watched Dongfang Xiaotian meticulously grinding various rare materials, standing beside him.
Unlike the other Second Rank Talisman Masters, who were all meditating and adjusting to their best state for the final talisman, entrusting assistants with less important work to maximize their chances of success and produce the best result possible, Daoist Yuanzhe just stood next to Dongfang Xiaotian, chatting as he observed and learned.
“As far as I know, this competition hasn’t drawn much attention from Third Rank Talisman Masters and above. After all, the first prize… heh.”
Dongfang Xiaotian nodded. Anyone could see that this contest was set up to make Zhou Fufu famous.
The reason the first prize was guidance from a Third Rank Talisman Master was simply to keep other Third Rank Talisman Masters from disrupting things.
After all, if a Third Rank Talisman Master came and didn’t win, it would look bad. But if they did win, the reward itself was… not exactly enticing.
Within the Thirty-six Cities of South China, there were fewer than ten Third Rank Talisman Masters—all acquainted with each other.
Why should one submit to the other’s guidance? Wouldn’t that seem inferior?
So, if a Third Rank Talisman Master showed up, it’d be wrong not to win first place, but winning first place for such a reward was awkward—so they simply didn’t show.
Therefore, all the contestants were Second Rank Talisman Masters vying for the Heavenly Steel Gold.
Dongfang Xiaotian grew curious. “What if a Third Rank Talisman Master deliberately holds back just to win the Heavenly Steel Gold?”
“Brother Dongfang, you really do like to joke.”
Daoist Yuanzhe laughed.
“Which Third Rank Talisman Master wouldn’t have ways to get rare materials from other states and prefectures? Even the Heavenly Steel Gold, which is more common up north—they could just send a subordinate to fetch some.”
“Heh.”
Dongfang Xiaotian gave an awkward laugh. For a Third Rank Talisman Master with no connections and no underlings, life really was tough.
Honestly, Dongfang Xiaotian had planned to come to the Talisman Cultivators’ Guild, sell some third-rank talismans, make a splash, and earn some resources for his junior brother and junior sister.
Then Xiao Yuanqing had come up with this scheme, and just as his snowball started rolling, it was knocked away.
Still, Dongfang Xiaotian wasn’t sure if it was his own luck or his junior brother’s protagonist aura, but he’d at least managed to stumble into this contest and meet Daoist Yuanzhe.
With Daoist Yuanzhe’s ability, he was sure to win first—or at least second—which meant Dongfang Xiaotian wouldn’t have to swap prizes himself, saving a lot of trouble.
“So, taking second should be no problem for us.”
Daoist Yuanzhe was feeling pleased when suddenly his stomach gave a fierce twist. He felt as if a thousand troops were charging his rear gates.
Daoist Yuanzhe immediately clutched his rumbling stomach. “I can’t hold it, Brother Dongfang—I had too many Ziguo…”
Hearing “Ziguo,” Dongfang Xiaotian suddenly remembered they were known for their laxative effect.
But that wasn’t the main point.
“Wait, don’t have a problem now!”
Dongfang Xiaotian frantically sped up his material grinding, his hands practically smoking. “Hold on! I’m almost done!”
“No, I can’t hold it!”
Daoist Yuanzhe tried, but the more he held it in, the worse it got.
“Wait, if you go, who’s going to draw the talisman?!” Dongfang Xiaotian couldn’t believe this was happening now.
“Just draw anything—you win or lose, it doesn’t matter!”
Daoist Yuanzhe couldn’t care less about Dongfang Xiaotian’s protests, clutching his stomach as he dashed off to find the latrine.
Clearly, even cultivators in this world weren’t above the call of nature. Rather than humiliate himself in front of everyone, Daoist Yuanzhe chose dignity over duty.