"I heard from Sister Xu that you started learning the Talisman Dao two years ago?"
The girl in white asked.
Li An nodded, "Yes."
The girl in white pondered for a moment and nodded, "Not bad."
She smiled, "I accept your apology. The matter of you monopolizing the trading market is settled!"
"Alright!"
Li An also smiled.
In reality, Li An did monopolize the market for Spirit Gathering Talismans and Qi Refilling Talismans. However, the reason for being able to monopolize it was mainly because... these two types of talismans were not very profitable, and the market was small, so the people at Talisman Hall weren't interested.
"Li An, she is Tan Qingxue, a disciple of Elder Guo Xiao from Talisman Hall."
Xu Qiuhui introduced.
She was quite satisfied that Li An was able to grow and live up to her expectations.
"Pleasure to meet you!"
Li An said politely.
"Alright, you still have to go for the assessment, right? Hurry up, we won't hold you up."
Tan Qingxue said with a smile, and Li An immediately took his leave.
"Sister Xu, he does have some talent, but is it worth your attention? You even personally brought me to meet him?"
After Li An left, Tan Qingxue watched his back and asked with curiosity.
Li An's rise from being a menial worker to a Talisman Master was indeed rare.
But his talent could only be considered average.
Crafting a Flame Talisman in two years, there were many such disciples in Talisman Hall, and they were not uncommon. Moreover, the quality of Li An's Flame Talisman was not very high, it was evident it was made with difficulty.
"What is precious about him is not the talent in the Talisman Dao."
Xu Qiuhui said softly, "Qingxue, your talent is strong, but when it comes to dealing with people, you're a bit too innocent and naive. If you want to compete with Sun Lin for Elder Guo Xiao's Tier Two inheritance, it's absolutely impossible without having someone reliable by your side."
"This person's talent in Talisman Dao may be average, but his mindset is rare, and... extremely alert!"
She recalled the event a year ago when the Hundred Beasts Sect invaded the Profound Yang Sect...
She had casually reminded him, but she believed that Li An had definitely taken it to heart at that time.
——Later, when she carefully examined the environment of the grove where Li An was hiding, that underground cave was clearly meticulously chosen, unlikely to be accidentally dropped.
That's why she valued Li An!
"Moreover, this person comes from a humble background. As long as you're kind to him, he'll remember it, making it easy to control."
Since Li An became the person in charge of Spirit Plant Mountain, she deliberately did not let Li An see her for a year. Yet, each month, Li An would entrust someone to leave her some Spirit Rice, Talismans, and the like, which, though not precious, showed his resolve.
She had already screened him once, so she dared to leave him for Tan Qingxue, hoping to bolster Tan Qingxue's influence in the Talisman Hall.
"Alright, alright,"
Tan Qingxue said, "Anyone you approve of, Sister Xu, can't be too bad. I won't mistreat him in the future."
Xu Qiuhui couldn't help but say, "You brat, don't get careless, Sun Lin is not someone to be taken lightly!"
"I'm off to participate in the inner sect assessment."
...
"Next, Li An."
Li An paid the assessment fee of two Spirit Stones and, after waiting for a long time, it was finally his turn.
"Ten talisman papers, create any First Grade Low-Level Spirit Talisman. Fail, and you're eliminated."
The person in charge of the assessment was a middle-aged disciple with a black mole at the corner of his mouth. Seeing Li An in the attire of a menial worker, he showed a bit of distaste but said nothing, and handed Li An the talisman papers.
Li An took out his talisman brush and carefully started drawing.
The first eight talisman papers all lacked something, and it wasn't until the ninth one that he barely succeeded in creating a Spirit Gathering Talisman.
Li An's face filled with joy, "Did I pass?"
"Pass? It's not that easy!"
"Another twenty, make at least three First Grade Low-Level Spirit Talismans."
Ten could be considered luck!
Creating four talismans in thirty papers is considered passing.
Li An gritted his teeth and continued, sweating heavily by the end of the twenty papers, but he managed to produce three Spirit Gathering Talismans again.
"Pass."
The disciple wrote boldly in the register, "Passed!"
In Li An's eyes, a hint of joy appeared instantly!
In the afternoon, the assessment finally concluded.
Besides Li An, seven other nominative disciples also passed the assessment, becoming new nominative disciples of the Talisman Hall.
The disciple in charge of the assessment took them to Talisman Hall.
Li An now knew that this disciple's name was Feng Lin, a Tier One Middle Grade Talisman Master, at Qi Cultivation Stage Four.
"The Central Profound Mansion Hall is where Elder Guo lectures. He teaches three times a week."
"Additionally, there are two trading places in the hall, where you can use contribution points to obtain talisman papers, talisman brushes, and some special talisman-making materials, even insights into talisman crafting."
"Cheaper than the sect's exchange places."
Feng Lin introduced as he walked, "Nominative disciples of Talisman Hall receive a monthly stipend of seven Spirit Stones, ten bags of Spirit Rice, and twenty pieces of talisman paper, with one talisman brush provided yearly."
"In the first three months after joining Talisman Hall, you only need to submit five Tier One Low-Grade Talismans each month. These talismans are basic tasks, and additional submissions are calculated as contribution points based on the level and quality of the talismans."
After becoming a nominative disciple, contribution points become extremely important.
Because significant cultivation techniques and legacies require contribution points for exchange; Spirit Stones cannot directly buy them.
Furthermore, whether the contribution points meet the standard is key to determining whether a nominative disciple can advance to a formal disciple.
The Pill Hall, Artifact Hall, and Talisman Hall are popular not just because of high stipends, but also because, after joining these halls, diligently crafting spirit talismans and spiritual artifacts allows one to earn contribution points.
After all, pills, spiritual artifacts, and talismans are strategic resources.
Disciples in many other halls have to take sect-released tasks, like clearing Spirit Beasts, which can be life-threatening if not careful.
Li An felt very pleased with this.
This kind of place is best for lying low.
Even if a sect war occurs, it'll be the last ones to die.
"Hmm, this residential area is where you will stay. See those doorways with talismans? Those are Tier One Middle Grade Spirit Gathering Talismans personally drawn by Senior Brother Sun Lin, which can enhance your cultivation and increase your success rate in crafting talismans."
Feng Lin suddenly stopped and pointed to a row of houses on the right, speaking persuasively.
The buildings varied in height, and the row on the right appeared newer and more luxurious, built with Spirit Wood, new, with talismans affixed over the doorways.
Others seemed old and ordinary.
"Brother Feng, can we live in these residences?" someone asked.
"Of course," Feng Lin smiled, "just three Spirit Stones a month for residency rights."
Three Spirit Stones!
Everyone froze.
This amount… close to half the monthly stipend.
"Senior Brother Sun Lin is a Tier One Upper Grade Talisman Master, and also a disciple of Elder Guo Xiao. He even aids in teaching your classes usually."
Feng Lin sneered.
Everyone suddenly understood, and they all quickly paid.
"What about you?" Feng Lin looked at Li An.
Li An immediately looked embarrassed, "Brother Feng, can I owe first?"
"Owe?" Feng Lin squinted his eyes.
"Yes, I might need to owe for half a year, as I owe a friend a lot of Spirit Stones that aren't yet repaid. Being an initial Talisman Master is so costly..."
"Get lost!"
Feng Lin immediately didn't want to listen, owing for half a year, anyone hearing this would shake their head.
He immediately led the other seven disciples to choose those luxurious residences.
Li An, on the other hand, sighed deeply and had to find a quiet, secluded ordinary house to live in alone.
Though it was an ordinary house, it was so much better compared to Spirit Plant Mountain's. The accommodations at Spirit Plant Mountain had paper-pasted windows and were very cramped, with eating, sleeping, and bathing all in one room. Yet here, it's "four rooms and one hall," with the kitchen, study room, bedroom, and bathroom all separate.
Compared to this, it was countless times more comfortable!
The only difference was the absence of the so-called Tier One Middle Grade Spirit Gathering Talismans.
But Li An didn't mind; these Tier One Middle Grade Spirit Gathering Talismans would at most sell for one Spirit Stone each outside, but with Sun Lin's name on them, three were charged... too overpriced.
Additionally, having just entered Talisman Hall, he wasn't familiar with the internal situation, and he didn't want to rashly get involved with anyone.
Thus, he used the excuse of having no money to hide for a while, also to avoid completely offending Feng Lin and Sun Lin.
Later, once the situation became clearer, he could decide on his next step.
He took a hot bath, putting away his old gray menial worker's clothes, and changed into the robes specially belonging to nominative disciples in the room.
The silky smooth, heavy texture felt like satin—warm in winter and cool in summer, much more comfortable than the work clothes!
Then Li An went out, to look for Wang Dazhu and Zhao Xian's Story.
The three had agreed to meet up by Moon Lake.
...