Void Overlord

Shen Tian paused seeing after a while and turned around to see Fatty Zhou unblinkingly gawking at the young girl.  

What a piggy friend! Shen Tian felt a huge headache developing as he saw Fatty Zhou’s enchanted appearance. He promptly elbowed Fatty Zhou. 

Fatty Zhou was agitated with some awkwardness. He was smart but had a sluggish mind, and scratched his scalp innocently.  
 
By now Shen Tian had discerned a shift in the vacillations of the young girl’s soul force; there was a flicker of volatility. 

The brilliant overlapping Talisman symbols in front of her began to spark and smoke. It suddenly collapsed into a cascade of multicolored lights that blasted out everywhere.  
 
The young girl looked exhausted, and she said with a frustrated whisper, “Grandpa, I failed again.”  
 
The old man who had been sitting peacefully as if he were meditating opened his eyes and said with a smile, “Ling’er, you already did very great. If this proceeds, after another few periods or a year, you will be able to attain the license to become a Talisman master. Before, grandfather here had attained his certificate when he was 22 years old. You will probably be 20, or 21 years old at the latest.  
 
This girl was the Talisman Association’s talented Talisman prodigy Wei Ling, and the old man was her grandfather, the President of the Talisman Association, Wei Xuan.  
 
“Mmm… but compared to Long Mei, she is half a year younger than me and yet is already evenly matched in Talisman techniques with me. Also in these past few months, there has been a significant decline in the speed of my Talisman progress and I don’t know why.”  
 
Geniuses and notables would always end up comparing themselves with each other. Wei Ling acknowledged that there was no way she could pass Long Mei in terms of martial arts cultivation, but the Talisman was her main calling and she did not want to succumb to her in this.  
 
Seeing Wei Ling and Wei Xuan chatting, the reception elder sister politely walked over and said, “Association President.”  
 
“Mm? What’s the matter?”  
 
The reception elder sister paused before he turned to Shen Tian and said, “This young man would like to participate in the Talisman master examination.”  
 
 
“Oh? What’s your name? How old are you?” Wei Xuan asked.  
 
Shen Tian said, “Shen Tian, 18 years old.”  
 
Hearing 18 years of age, Wei Ling’s eyes widened as she looked over Shen Tian up and down several times. Was this young boy also a gifted one? His age was younger than herself and she was not able to feel his cultivation; was this young boy just whiling away his time for some fun?  
 
However the Talisman Association did not provide the materials or the rare treasure, and people who looked to mess around would not come here, as it would take several thousand SS. If they did then they would have to have some serious head damage.  
 
“You will need to present your own materials and unique treasure, do you know this?”  
 
“Mm. I know. I would like to buy them from the Talisman Association.” 

“............” 

“Can I get a piece of paper and a pen?” 

“Ah! Sure” the elder sister who had brought Shen Tian spoke as she handed a paper and a pen to Shen Tian. 

Shen Tian took the piece of paper and wrote a small list of materials and handed it over to the reception girl  
 
“If I could purchase these materials, thank you.” Shen Tian handed the detailed list to the reception elder sister. He had written materials that were generally found in the Mortals’ realm. 
 
The reception elder sister took the list in hand and received a nod of approval from Wei Xuan. 

She said, “Ah, May I ask what sort of rare treasure you will use?”  
 
“I desire to use a sword. Would you buy the sword after I am done with it?” 

“Hahaha, good! Good! If you can pass the examination I would certainly buy your sword” 

“Mm. Good.”  
 
As Shen Tian left, Wei Ling was still looking at his back until he vanished, and she muttered, “Grandfather, this youth is barely 18 years old and wants to test as a Talisman master. If he passes the examination, then I will suffer out not only to Long Mei but to him.”  
 
Wei Xuan replied with a smile, “The examination to be a Talisman master is not some simple. Since this young boy dares to take the examination as a Talisman master, then he must have his own unique talent and is probably not someone from the Extreme Martial Region. He might be a disciple of some reclusive master.” 
 
As Wei Xuan said this, he lit a sound transmitting talisman and passed a message to the two Talisman masters who were usually responsible for the Talisman examination, and bid them come together.  
 
The Talisman Association had rare treasures they specifically kept to use in the examinations. Shen Tian selected a very good long sword and said, “This one.”  
 
This sword was valued at 3600 High-grade Spirit Stones and was one of the more expensive treasures in the storehouse. The reception elder sister was a bit surprised; generally, those that participated in the Talisman master examination would choose a more simple and less expensive treasure. This young boy actually chose something so expensive; it must be that his family was ridiculously wealthy or he was certain in himself.  
 
“Our treasures, once sold, cannot be exchanged.” The reception elder sister said. She did not want Shen Tian to feel as if he would be cheated and wanted to make sure that this sword was the one he wanted.  
 
Shen Tian took out his storage pouch and said with a sly smile, “This I certainly know.”  
 
“Mm. Then come along with me.”  
 
After the cash payment had concluded, the reception elder sister brought Shen Tian to return to the examination room before she left.  
 
After re-entering the Talisman room, Shen Tian saw that two other people were in the room who looked to be about 40-50 years of age. One was a middle-aged man wearing a large green robe, and the other was a smiling man, who looked somewhat like an unceasingly happy, very pleasant and very fat old man.  
 
These two were the examination officials of the Talisman Association that were responsible for the Talisman master examination. Wei Xuan customarily did not join these examinations, but this time had had some interest in staying and observing.  
 
“Are you ready?” Wang Xuan asked.  
 
“Mm.” Shen Tian nodded. He placed the long sword on the Talisman stone stage. The materials for this symbol began to unfold one at a time. The Talisman Associations materials had already been processed quite well and did not require Shen Tian to grind, purify, melt, or do anything else to them.  
 
The middle-aged man who wore a long green gown gave Shen Tian a muddled look and said, “The time limit for this examination is two hours. If you have three consecutive failures then you will fail. If the end product has less than a 20% improvement in power, then that is also a fail.”  
 
“Noted.”  
 
“Good. You may start.” The middle-aged man turned over an hourglass, and the sand within began to silently pass.  
 
Shen Tian placed his hands outwards. A few small drops of blue colored juice jumped to his palm as if they were dancing under Shen Tian’s control.  
 
This was only a simple gesture, but the people present were able to feel the young man wrap the blue colored juice in a strange soul force.  
 
“This soul force… I-I cannot even fathom it!!!!!!!!!!” Wei Xuan said dumbfounded.  
 
“Who is this boy?!?!” 

Wei Ling pouted her lips. 

But again the following movement made everyone doubt its possibility.  
 
When the blue colored drops reached Shen Tian’s fingertips, his fingers moved in a range of changes like a blur. The droplets were lightly pulled apart with the stretches of his fingers like they were glimmering azure stars in the night sky. Vague afterimages followed each step, like the tails of glistening stars as they traced through space.  
 
In the time of a few blinks, a complicated taigram had already been completed.  
 
Wei Xuan gasped a sharp inhalation, and the beaming old man’s simper also suspended.  
 
“The Thousand Hand Bodhisattva!”  
 
An amateur would only watch for entertainment, but a master would see the idea. Shen Tian’s hand action was like the passing clouds and rolling rivers. The Thousand Hand Bodhisattva was a myth of the ancient past. The parable said that the Bodhisattva had a thousand hands. Every year in the Bodhisattva’s garden, the water lotuses would flourish and he would collect them in a single transit, the Bodhisattva was able to pick out hundred thousand water lotuses. Therefore the ancient religious manuscripts described this as ‘Thousand Hand Bodhisattva’, and the Talisman masters co-opted this term to describe peerless grandmasters of Talisman who would draw Talisman symbols so speedily that there would be shadows left behind.  
This sort of silhouette that was formulated, one would only be able to practice it with heaven-defying perception and painstaking effort! But this move has been lost for ages... 
 
This young boy was how old? Even if he started to practice Talisman techniques from within his mother’s womb, he would not be so proficient at such finger activity!