Chapter 17: Prying Eyes

In the middle of the night, in a small courtyard stood a humble wooden house. Inside one of the rooms, a light was illuminated by an oil lamp.

A young man could be seen sitting beside a wooden table, his right hand moving continuously while holding a brush. After a cup of tea's time, he stopped moving and gazed at the burning talisman.

"Haa... It's just too difficult to learn a new talisman with effort alone," he sighed.

After coming back from the market, he started learning the Fireball Talisman. In high spirits, he excitedly began drawing it.

Unfortunately, reality once again crushed his spirit. From noon till midnight, he failed to draw even a single Fireball Talisman.

He wondered how the owner of this body could stand to fail almost a hundred times before finally succeeding. He then glanced at the floating panel in front of him.

[Name]: Lan Rui

[Lifespan]: 21 / 85

[Spirit Roots]: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth

[Realm]: Fourth Layer Qi Refining Realm (6/100)

[Cultivation Technique]: Five Elements Cultivation (Beginner Level 139/200)

[Techniques]: Cleaning Technique (Beginner Level 79/200), Earth Pillowing Technique (Minor Achievement 12/300), Cloud Rain Technique (Minor Achievement 45/300), Entanglement Technique (Beginner Level 1/200), Geng Metal Finger (Beginner Level 32/200)

[Skills]: First Order Talisman Master: Cleaning Talisman (Minor Achievement 10/200), Light Shield Talisman (Beginner Level 27/200), Evil-Repelling Talisman (Beginner Level 8/100), Fireball Talisman (Entry Level 32/100)

[Comprehension Points (CP)]: 0

Yes, he had failed thirty-two times. At first, after failing twenty times straight, he felt despair and stopped drawing to cultivate instead.

After a full cycle of cultivation, he got up to continue drawing talismans with newfound spirit, only to be crushed again for the second time by reality.

"I need to study all the failed talismans and compare their framework with the manual."

He then collected all the failed talismans, but because the Fireball Talisman was infused with fire qi, the failed products tended to burn rather than remain intact.

After collecting the remaining failed talismans, he began studying and comparing them with the manual.

After a full hour of study, he started to realize some of his mistakes in drawing the talisman, but at the same time, he continuously kept an eye on the panel to check for any anomalies.

To his surprise, his proficiency points increased by two. He had realized several potential mistakes, but why only two points?

"Is it because two of them were my actual mistakes while the others were actually correct?"

"Well, let's first eliminate the least likely ones to be mistakes."

After several screenings, he was left with four.

He immediately tried drawing the talisman again, this time removing the mistakes he had identified.

On the third talisman he finished drawing, it finally glowed dimly before subsiding. His face was clad in a smile as he glanced at the panel.

Fireball Talisman (Beginner Level 1/100)

"So, as long as I succeed, the proficiency level will instantly upgrade to Beginner Level. But why isn't there any sudden knowledge flooding into my head?"

"Is it because I realized it on my own, so there's no need for an additional influx of knowledge at the Beginner Level?"

As he pondered deeply, he shook his head.

"Better not overthink it. This mysterious panel is beyond my comprehension. I should focus on drawing more talismans."

As he continued, another day passed. He woke up and immediately went to the kitchen to do his usual routine.

After that, his gaze fell upon the storage bag on his waist. Inside, there were dozens of his newly drawn talismans.

The highest quantity was the Evil-Repelling Talisman, which consisted of thirteen pieces, followed by ten pieces of the Light Shield Talisman and eight Fireball Talismans.

As for the Cleaning Talisman, he decided to stop drawing it for the time being since he no longer needed a promotion like before.

An hour later, he arrived at the same entrance of the market and quickly entered. Once inside, he didn't immediately go to the stall section but instead took a stroll.

Standing in front of a shop, he walked inside and examined the prices, either by looking at the displayed price or asking the salesman.

He repeated this process several times across multiple shops. His conclusion: prices had risen considerably over the past few days and would likely continue increasing.

As he walked toward his usual spot in the stall section, he contemplated whether to increase his prices or stick to the original rates.

After arriving, he decided to play along with the market price. It would be a loss not to take advantage of the situation to make more profit.

Immediately, he spread out his usual gray cloth and arranged his three types of talismans. He now had a full set of three types. Attack, defense, and utility. He felt like a true talisman master.

With each passing second, the market became more bustling. More people came and went, while some stopped at his stall to buy talismans.

Despite each talisman's price increasing by one spirit stone, no one complained. Instead, they snatched them up as quickly as they could, afraid they would disappear the moment they hesitated.

To this, Lan Rui was slightly astonished but pleased as he sold his talismans. After an hour, he had completely sold out.

He then packed up his belongings and quickly strolled through the market.

He was a rich man now.

With the price surge, he had gained sixty two spirit stones. If he included the spirit stones he already had, he now possessed nearly seventy.

After spending a few cups of tea's worth of time browsing, he didn't find anything that caught his interest. He then left the market and headed straight home.

As he left, he was unaware that a pair of eyes had been observing him from afar, silently following him.

.....