A Sword Qi sliced through the air, splitting the saber-toothed tiger's head in two, releasing a terrible stench of blood that spread in all directions.
How could this happen?
Shang Moyun, who was observing everything, was utterly astonished.
The people around, seeing the demon beast beheaded, cheered with the joy of surviving a calamity.
Only the person involved stared at the five-inch-long red talisman on the hilt of the longsword.
An unusual surprise flickered in Shang Yanting's typically calm eyes — he hadn't expected that the talisman from the system could elevate a fine steel weapon by an entire level!
He quietly removed the talisman, and the moment it left the hilt, the solidification talisman self-ignited, causing the longsword to finally break into several pieces.
Clearly, without the solidification talisman, the longsword would have shattered long ago.
Observing from the side, Shang Moyun hadn't seen the talisman but noticed a sudden ball of fire in his hand. His slightly gloomy eyes narrowed, suspecting that Shang Yanting was hiding an unknown secret.
##
The task of beheading the saber-toothed tiger was completed, and the Holy Capital Academy's exam continued.
After completing the task, Shang Yanting returned home and summoned several craftsmen, skilled and even somewhat knowledgeable about talisman making.
A group of people gathered around the small talisman on the table, exchanging puzzled glances.
"The Young Master said, anyone who can replicate this talisman paper exactly will be rewarded with ten gold coins."
1 gold = 100 silver
This could feed an ordinary family for many years.
Upon hearing this, the painters quickly laid out vermillion paper, dipped into the prepared ink, and began to mimic the talismans drawn by Jia Xitong.
Realizing the great use of the solidification talisman, wanting to copy it was natural.
Unfortunately, drawing a solidification talisman requires matching technique, incantations, and strokes, with each line brimming with meaning. Jia Xitong had drawn over ten thousand, succeeding only a hundred times, something ordinary people couldn't easily achieve.
The painters were locked in the room for several days, emerging with stubbly chins and dark eyes, none having succeeded.
Upon hearing this result, Shang Yanting wasn't particularly affected; he had anticipated this might happen. However, the facts proved the system in his Sea of Consciousness was irreplaceable.
As for Jia Xitong, she initially felt an intense crisis due to Shang Yanting's actions. Yet upon seeing the results, she inexplicably felt comforted.
It turned out a one percent success rate wasn't that poor after all.
The grindmaster's spirit reignited, and Jia Xitong returned to her business. She resolved not to be too generous with the male protagonist in the future, giving single talismans instead of doubles.
To date, the ten thousand talisman papers given by Shang Yanting were almost used up.
Just as she completed the 100th healing talisman, the Talismanic Record emitted its familiar light again.
The third type of talisman in the book had been unlocked!
[Beginner Level—Chapter Three: Exploding Talisman]
[Throwing Technique: Chant the talisman command 'Self-burning Talisman,' causing an explosion within five meters of the talisman paper.]
Requires vermillion paper, ink made from powdered explosive turtle shells mixed with Fiery Flame Wolf Blood
This time, the requirements were greater than before.
Jia Xitong looked at the protagonist outside, "Dear Host, I hereby release the task for you: Collect 10,000 sheets of vermillion paper, and 10 pounds of ink made from powdered explosive turtle shells mixed with Fiery Flame Wolf Blood.
Task completion reward: Healing Talisman *1"
"Only one this time?"
The male protagonist, after all, is human, with all the world's shortcomings—easy to go from frugality to extravagance, difficult to go back from extravagance to frugality.
"Because the Healing Talisman is more difficult to synthesize than the Solidification Talisman, you know."
Jia Xitong modulated her voice, painting a picture for him with a sweet tone, "Once the system upgrades, you'll be able to create more and better talismans for you, dear Host.
Current Host trust level: 65/100.
The system will continue to work hard!"
Dear Host, you need to strive on your own too.
Unfortunately, this hint didn't have the remarkable effect it did last time.
The stingy male protagonist didn't increase trust by even a point, like an Otherworld Continent version of Harpagon—stingy!
Luckily, the grindmaster didn't value external possessions, now fully engrossed in talisman making, unable to extricate herself.
Currently, many people hunt Flame Wolves, so wolf blood is easy to find, but explosive turtle shells are unavailable.
"Huh?"
This was the first time the male protagonist didn't have ready materials.
"Explosive turtle meat is scarce and sour, hard to eat, with no parts useful for medicine or artifact refining, and it grows in swampy marshlands; no one would keep its shell."
"Can you get it for me?" Jia Xitong asked.
"Isn't it just completing a task?" Shang Yanting countered, "How did it become helping you?"
"Uh, this..."
Jia Xitong paused, "Completing tasks can upgrade the system."
Shang Yanting: "Then what's the trust level for?"
"Completing tasks can unlock more types of talismans, increasing trust level can increase rewards."
The protagonist always manages to find the flaws in her words at some weird points.
Jia Xitong inexplicably added back the details, and it seemed... quite logical?
##
The Holy Capital Academy's admission test was still ongoing.
Using this time to search for explosive turtles in the nearby swamp was still possible.
Curious about what "systems" could bring him, Shang Yanting tried to meet Jia Xitong's requests as best as possible.
The Black Water Swamp is the largest marsh in Shangmou City.
This place was seldom visited, and not even a complete path existed.
In the swamp, meter-long turtles with cracked shells crawled slowly nearby.
Besides being inedible and useless, explosive turtles have thick skins and strong defenses; although only middle stage Martial Apprentice level, their shells could rival fine steel weapons. Rumor had it that each slain explosive turtle shell lost an innocent fine steel treasure sword.
The key issue is that explosive turtle shells can't be processed after the turtle dies; they turn to calcium upon processing.
If unprocessed and kept for long, they turn into calcium oxide.
Honestly, the servants who came with Shang Yanting couldn't understand why the Young Master was so intent, protecting their only wrought iron tools carefully, hoping to catch the turtles bare-handed.
Soon, the swamp's outskirts were piled with many turtle shells, enough for the grindmaster to use for a long time.
Just when they were about to pack up and go home, suddenly "puff," one of the servants was swallowed by the swamp, mud burying him over his head.
The people around him were instantly in a frenzy, luckily they had prepared a rope when they came.
Tossing the rope beside him, the servant clutched it tightly as he was pulled up, lying drenched in mud on the grass, gasping for air.
The others used water to wash the majority of mud off him. Under the water's force, a fist-sized, muddy lump rolled off.
After a bit of washing, it turned out to be a human-shaped wood carving.
God knows how long it had been buried in the mud, the carving was indistinct, carrying the swamp's unique putrid scent. The servant who picked it up found it wasn't any treasure and tossed it carelessly to the ground.
All of this was seen by Jia Xitong, who had a 360-degree wide-angle view!
"Dear Host, could you please pick up that wood carving and let me take a look?"