“What a worldly fellow.”
Zhou Hongwu looked at the calm and composed young man and asked, “That makes me even more curious, little brother. How exactly are you going to sell these rare spirit materials at five times their usual price?”
“You’ll have to ask my master about that.”
Of course, Dongfang Xiaotian couldn’t just say that he planned to craft third-rank Vajra Body Protection Talismans.
Whether or not he could sell them was one thing, but whether or not he could reveal the plan was another.
Naturally, Dongfang Xiaotian wasn’t afraid of that old saying, ‘The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled.’ After all, he was only pretending to be weak here, not truly weak.
Dongfang Xiaotian wanted to serve as protector for his little junior brother, so he needed a bit of confidence in himself. Which protector in a novice village hasn’t been a BOSS before?
Uh, well, except for that Grandmaster of Douluo Continent.
Even though Dongfang Xiaotian could act with impunity in Lingtian City, that didn’t mean he was looking for trouble. This wasn’t a matter of life or death, so why expose his trump cards?
Besides, Daoist Yuanzhe had already said that the elderly third-rank talisman master before him was also here to fight for the soon-to-be-auctioned Thunderwood Dual-Attribute Spirit Core.
If he sold it cheaply, wouldn’t he just be strengthening his enemy?
Dongfang Xiaotian was still counting on that spirit core to restore his spirit sea. It was no small feat to snag such a core in a novice village like this.
Of course, Dongfang Xiaotian could consider switching to a better ‘instance’—in other words, heading to another prefecture in the Thirty-Six States of Sacred Hua. But making a round trip would take far too long.
He couldn’t be sure that by the time he returned, his second or junior sisters—or even the entire Four Sages Academy—wouldn’t have run into some other unexpected disaster.
The recent Shen Dai Ruins incident had already proved that his little junior brother’s protagonist halo was just about strong enough to sacrifice his own teammates.
In Dongfang Xiaotian’s eyes, his second junior sister was quite shrewd, and her preparations were thorough.
Yet, even with enough treasures to wipe out a city, she nearly bit the dust in those ruins. That showed just how overpowering his junior brother’s protagonist halo really was.
In order to be fully prepared—and to qualify as a proper protector in hopes of riding his junior brother’s coattails—Dongfang Xiaotian simply couldn’t give up that Thunderwood Dual-Attribute Spirit Core.
“Oh? May I ask your master’s name, or where he resides? This old man would like to pay a visit.” Zhou Hongwu was truly curious.
What sort of third-rank talisman master could craft talismans worth five times their cost?
“My master won’t allow me to say.” Dongfang Xiaotian cupped his hands slightly.
“Won’t tell, and won’t sell. Your master certainly puts on airs.”
Zhou Fufu pouted, muttering under her breath, not picking a direct fight with Dongfang Xiaotian, but unable to shake the feeling that the other party’s master must be drunk on his own reputation, bragging about his disciple.
This was quite normal. After all, which master doesn’t want to save face in front of his own disciple? Take her own father, for example.
In order to stop her from catching up, he’d given up even managing the Talisman Masters Guild, spending every day researching how to draw a second third-rank talisman.
Besides, the purchase had already been made. Just because she had bid generously didn’t mean the other party was obliged to sell.
Still, being rejected like this left her more and more frustrated the more she thought about it.
She really couldn’t figure out why that talisman master would raise such a clueless blockhead—didn’t he know how valuable her favor was?
As she brooded, her gaze suddenly fell on the Contestant Pass in Dongfang Xiaotian’s hand, and she had an idea.
Zhou Fufu’s attitude changed entirely. She curved her lips into a smile and said, “Young Master, are you also participating in our Talisman Masters Guild’s competition?”
“Uh… you could say that.” Dongfang Xiaotian added, “I’m just here to lend a hand.”
“With Grandpa Zhou as our witness, how about we make a wager?”
Zhou Fufu said, “If my master beats yours, you’ll do me the favor of selling these spirit materials to me at three times the price. If I lose, I’ll give you the crafting method for a third-rank Thunderfire Talisman as a gift. How about it?”
Zhou Fufu sized up Dongfang Xiaotian, who was about her own age, and naturally realized he wasn’t the real contestant—his master was. And if his master was here, everything would be easy to handle.
Zhou Fufu didn’t believe this blockheaded young master didn’t know who she was. And if he really didn’t, surely his master would.
Even if he didn’t recognize her, he’d have to recognize the power of a third-rank Thunderfire Talisman, wouldn’t he?
That was a talisman on par with the full-force blow of a Core Formation cultivator!
For a talisman master, a crafting method was no less attractive than a Dan Prescription was to an alchemist. And seeing how confident the young man was in his master, he’d surely agree to the wager.
Zhou Fufu wasn’t the least bit worried that he wouldn’t take the bait.
Besides, she was even more curious—if his master learned that his disciple had shown such little regard for her, how would he react?
At the thought, Zhou Fufu felt a secret, proud thrill, like a true phoenix standing above all.
“Alright, I’ll go talk to my master.”
Dongfang Xiaotian glanced at Zhou Fufu, who seemed to be smiling at some joke only she understood, and casually replied, “If my master agrees to the wager, he’ll seek you out before the competition, Miss Zhou. I have to report back, so I won’t disturb you any longer.”
With a cupped fist, he quickly took his leave.
Dongfang Xiaotian stored his newly purchased materials into his spatial ring before heading off to join Daoist Yuanzhe to make some preparations for the competition.
“Brother Dongfang, you’re back?”
Daoist Yuanzhe saw Dongfang Xiaotian, wiped his mouth with a paper napkin, and asked, “Brother Dongfang, you’re back at last? You’ve been gone so long—what were you up to?”
“Just picked up some things, and sold a few talismans on the way.”
At the moment, Dongfang Xiaotian didn’t even have a single Vajra Body Protection Talisman left on him. He’d sold them all at market price.
Of course, he hadn’t lost out, but if he’d consigned them instead of selling in a hurry, he could have earned even more.
No helping it—the lesson of running out of materials this time was just too painful. He’d been planning to sit at home and buy up everything at the auction once it started.
But his own stock had been nearly wiped out, and he’d come to realize he just hadn’t hoarded enough.
So this time, Dongfang Xiaotian had simply emptied out the Talisman Masters Guild’s inventory.
The receptionist at the Talisman Masters Guild hadn’t hesitated at all once he’d come with an order. After all, she got a cut of the profits.
An order of over two thousand spirit stones—that was the kind of transaction usually made between the two great sects of Lingtian City. How could she refuse?
But because of this, Dongfang Xiaotian hadn’t expected that the president of the Talisman Masters Guild would seek him out, wanting to buy the materials back. What a coincidence!
Just like the last time, when he’d tried to save his junior brother, only for someone to get in his way, this time he wanted to get a head start on any crisis that might break out in Lingtian City.
Yet he’d barely bought his materials before someone tried to buy them back at such a high price.
Such deliberate developments really made Dongfang Xiaotian think that the Heavenly Dao would stop at nothing to make things more difficult for his little junior brother.
“Brother Dongfang, anything else to take care of?”
After wiping the fruit juice from his hands, Daoist Yuanzhe picked up another one.
“There’s still an hour before the competition starts. Want a bite? The taste is a bit tart, a bit sweet, like nectar down the throat. Quite good.”
“No other matters. As for food, maybe after you’ve made this stuff more widely available.”
Dongfang Xiaotian eyed the strange fruit, still lacking the courage to take a bite. He asked, “Does this thing have a name? Which expert cultivated it? Was it grown in a proper environment?”
“This fruit is called purplefruit. That’s what the doctor who grew it named it.”
Daoist Yuanzhe saw Dongfang Xiaotian wasn’t eating, so he took another big bite himself.
“As for the environment, it doesn’t require much. As long as it’s not grown on saline-alkali land or a pile of rubble, it can be cultivated widely. I’ve heard it keeps for over a year if dried—makes an excellent staple.”
“If it’s so good, why bother with a campaign to promote it?”
Dongfang Xiaotian was even more puzzled. This thing seemed just like a potato—once someone takes the lead planting it, the farmers will all follow after they see the results. Why push it so hard?
“It’s just for appearances. Not actually all that important, but it still needs to be done.”
Daoist Yuanzhe replied offhandedly, and as he spoke, took out a small booklet and some materials from his spatial ring.
“Here, Dongfang Xiaotian, this is the talisman I’ll be drawing in the competition. You’ve got an hour—cram as much as you can now.”
Dongfang Xiaotian took it and opened it, only to find that Daoist Yuanzhe hadn’t just given him a list of ingredients, but a complete crafting process for the talisman!
This talisman was a third-rank Amplification Talisman called the Giant Strength Body Talisman.
It could boost one’s physical strength to the level of Three Realms Body Cultivation for a quarter of an hour, greatly increasing defense while reducing received damage to just a tenth.
It only lasted for a short time, but there was no question it was an incredibly powerful talisman.
Being able to draw such a talisman, Daoist Yuanzhe was indeed something special.
But compared to Daoist Yuanzhe’s cultivation, Dongfang Xiaotian was more interested in something else. “This is an important thing. You’re just giving it to me?”
Daoist Yuanzhe nodded and smiled. “Don’t be so polite. If you can understand it in an hour, that means you have affinity with this talisman. I’ll take it as a sign of friendship.”
He was joking, of course. Even if someone had the crafting method for a third-rank talisman, so what?
Even a third-rank talisman master would have to practice every stroke from scratch, and the talisman had to be drawn in one go, without a single mistake.
If third-rank talismans were so simple, people wouldn’t get stuck at second-rank for ages without making progress.
Daoist Yuanzhe said generously, “Feel free to use these spirit materials for your practice, Brother Dongfang. No need to be too nervous. I’m really just here for form’s sake.”
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