Chapter 51 : Talismanship
After all of the three of them left...
"Huh, peace at last...come Feng Yue sit on my lap,” Shen Tian asked smilingly.
After yesterday’s last night, the relationship between them seems to have become more intimate.
“Yes, young master” Feng Yue sat on Shen Tian’s lap as she rubbed her head on his face,
both lied down on the bed as they cuddled together cozily...
*****
“Brother Shen, Brother Shen, quickly open the door!”
Suddenly Shen Tian heard a knock on his door sound out like thunderbolt. If not for the fact that the Extreme Martial Sect’s wooden door’s quality was very good, Shen Tian suspected that it might even be smashed asunder!
“Fuck! at least let me rest for a bit!”
Shen Tian smiled wrily when he heard this voice. It was that fatty Zhou, the one who had bought the Golden Dan from him during the Sect Entrance Examination. Whenever this fatty gets the time he always comes to visit Shen Tian.
“Holy Shit! Brother Shen is my life’s biggest icon! Beside the Xiao Heng, Chan Jianyi the Core disciples revered by all, Even The Sect Master personally came to visit you! You’re way to marvelous!”
“Mm. I was able to display some good results in yesterday’s Medicine Hunt and, my progress was good, so they came to personally congratulate me.”
“Let’s walk, we brothers will drink.”
“Ahh, good idea! let's go.”
"Feng Yue, would you like to come with me or stay back?" Shen Tian inquired in his mind to Feng Yue
"Ah! young master I would like to stay and take nap" she sounded drowsy
"Alright"
"Brother Zhou let's go!"
…
As Shen Tian and fatty Zhou were walking towards the place to drink, a huge building with a large nameplate suddenly caught his attention.
Talisman Association. This was the large and grand words engraved in the nameplate that was hanging in the middle of this huge building. Indeed, this was a tower that was aiming to reach the heights of the sky! One glance and one could tell that this building held a significant figure in the Region. Of course, it was! Because Talisman was one of the powerful jobs! With its building that was made of charcoal-black blocks that seemed like it had passed the cruelty of time, for someone first time to see this, they would probably be in awe!
Master Talisman Masters were revered and admired by the masses wherever they go. They were figures that not even behemoth sects could afford to offend! After all, not all cultivators could be Master in Talismans.
Shen Tian smiled and decided to take a look inside this grand building. When he and fatty Zhou was already inside, he was met with the tons of people walking here and forth around as if this was market having a fifty percent sale! But what Shen Tian noticed more was that the place inside itself was actually more beautiful than the outside! The ambiance was giving off the aura of tranquility and smelled like a library full of precious old books.
There was one place in Extreme Martial Region that sold the most Talisman materials. It wasn’t the Dragon Treasure Hall nor was it any auction house. It was the Extreme Martial Region’s Talisman Association.
In there were many rare and precious materials that couldn’t be bought anywhere else, and the price was also a bit cheaper than the market price
…
“Not only do I need a Talisman master license, but I also need contribution points to acquire any items?”
After Shen Tian and Fatty Zhou arrived at the Talisman Association, Shen Tian had inquired to an elder sister there about how precious and expensive materials are bought and had got this sort of response.
“I knew it! There was no way such a good deal could exist! , Only a Taliman expert could buy these things!”Fatty Zhou crossed his arms in irritation.
“Hmfp, brother Shen let’s go from here!”
“Wait, What are contribution points?”Shen Tian asked.
“Mm…it seems your master is not a Talisman master of Extreme Martial Region,” said the elder sister who managed the reception desk, as she thought that Shen Tian was here to acquire supplies for his master.
“Contribution points are from contributions made by Talisman masters that are recorded down at our office. For instance, if they completed some assignments, or services, or missions that the Talisman Association issued, then you could obtain some contribution points. Or, you could hold a post or position such as association president and receive some points too. Certainly, you could also give and trade contribution points with other Talisman masters.
There are also various separate ways to obtain contribution points. If you would have a look at the edicts of the Talisman Association you can observe them. If your master plans to join the Talisman Association, he is welcome to.
The Talisman Association was a relaxed organization. Many Talisman masters were old men who were only interested in training and knowledge. They were usually ascetics who did not have much contact with the outside and lived sheltered lives. If they had not set up a contribution points system, then the Talisman Association’s existence would be very bleak, and probably not have many Talisman masters that would have joined. Even if they did register, very few would come to the trade market.
Shen Tian flipped through the Talisman Association’s edicts. As long as he joined the Talisman Association, he would be able to immediately obtain 100 contribution points. There were also many other ways listed to earn contribution points, such as selling rare and precious materials to the Talisman Association.
“Pfft. If there are rare materials then you would use them, why would you sell them to the Talisman Association.” Fatty Zhou grunted contemptuously.
Shen Tian said, “Sometimes there are too many of some materials and they cannot be all used and are just lying around uselessly. In that case, it’s better to trade for something useful.”
Shen Tian turned to the reception elder sister and asked, “This elder sister, can you tell me more about this mission thing?”
“To find missions to complete, you have to go to the mission hall. Missions are various jobs assigned by the Talisman Association. But, you can only access the mission hall if you have a Talisman master qualification license. If your master has any interest in this, he could personally come to have a look. There are many perks to joining the Talisman Association.” The reception elder sister said with a very cordial smile.
“Mmm. That’s good. How is the examination, could you take me to participate?”
“Mm?” The reception elder sister stared at him with wide eyes.
Shen Tian shrugged and said, “I’m quite proficient in this .”
“….” The reception elder sister took a step back and sized Shen Tian up from head to toe. She slowly opened her mouth and asked,
”Could I… ask… what your age is?”
“18.”
“18 years old…?” The reception elder sister heard this and was left, mum. She guessed that the boy in front of her was under the tutelage of some great Talisman master and had a certain level of talent, and probably also many achievements. But an 18-year-old Talisman master was just a bit too exaggerated. In these last 100 years of the Jianlong Continent’s records, the youngest had only been 22 years old.
The only ones who had any hope of breaking this record were Long Mei of the Imperial family and Wei Ling of the Talisman Association.
“This little brother, if you want to participate in the examination to be a Talisman master, you need to prepare the treasure and materials.” The reception elder sister had only good intentions as she kindly reminded him.
Only after creating the Talisman symbol could one see its quality and effects. Generally speaking, a new Talisman master’s Talisman symbols would have a very poor effect, and placing it on a rare treasure would be an utter waste of resources. The Talisman Association was wealthy, but they could not afford such a wanton waste of resources and materials. Therefore, the examination required that all examinees bring their own treasures and materials, as they did not want some random half-baked Talisman apprentice to come and test his luck. After all, materials for Talisman symbols were very pricey.
“Mm. That’s Okay. If possible I’d like to purchase some good rare treasure for this examination. I can disburse the costs of purchase.” As Shen Tian said this, he reached into his clothes and withdrew several shiny Spirit Stones, all of which were worth much.
Seeing Shen Tian casually bring out so many high-grade spirit stones, the reception elder sister was astonished. This was an amount that not even the juniors of aristocratic families would have.
She looked to Shen Tian and saw that he wasn’t treating this as some joke
. The reception elder sister said, “Since you insist, please come along with me.”
Shen Tian followed the elder sister and entered the interior of the Talisman Association. Fatty Zhou also followed along. As they passed through the halls, they saw all kinds of gleaming and complex symbols and runes along the walls; Fatty Zhou was very moved by everything he saw.
The decoration of the Talisman Association was not expensive, but it had a very capacious atmosphere. There were no murals or ornaments on the walls. Instead, there were complex and unique runes dotted around everywhere. Each rune was a metal sculpture that was full of texture and seemed as if it had come to life; it gave off a very ancient and mystical feeling.
“We’re here.” The reception elder sister opened a door and waved them in.
Here was the Talisman Association’s Talisman room, which also served as the examination space.
“Mmm, thank you elder sister.”
As Shen Tian walked in, he saw that the Talisman room was about 100 feet long and wide. There were several stone platforms suspended in the room. In the center was a stone platform that was covered with many different materials.
Above this one was a young lady of about 18 or 19 years of age who was drawing symbol after symbol in the air.
The young girl’s ten slender and jade-like fingers crossed and weaved in the air. The girl’s watery eyes were fully focused on each symbol as she traced them, and her full attention was devoted to her work. She simply did not notice Shen Tian and Fatty Zhou’s arrival. The manner in which she drew the Talisman symbol was extremely skilled. She was like a superbly skilled composer, and each representative was a beat in the air that she was nimbly handling.
Near the young girl was also an old man. He sat behind her on a large round-backed wooden chair looking as if he were meditating with his eyes closed. But Shen Tian could see the reality of the situation; the older man’s soul force had been placed on the girl’s body to assist her, and each rune the girl drew was within the grasp of the old man.
Shen Tian had learned Talismanship so he wanted to try it out here...