Chapter 6: Retreat (Part 1)

The man said, “Yes, it’s you! What’s your name? Register first and give me your identity badge!” Guo Shier knew he had been caught red-handed. But he remained calm and said, “Wait a moment!”
“I’m sorry, but please explain the situation first so I can determine whether I can help you. Also, my name is Guo Shier… I’m only nine years old this year, and I’ve been learning spells for less than a year. Are you sure you need my help?”
The man was taken aback, not expecting the apprentice to be so young. But he had no choice—he had been searching here for two days and only found a few spell apprentice, far from enough. With a wry smile, he said, “Nine years old! You little kid… Sigh, fine! I have no other option.”
Guo Shier’s words sent chills down his spine. He said, “Tell me what it is first. If I can do it, I won’t refuse. But if it’s beyond my ability, forcing myself won’t help—it will only waste my time and yours.”
The man was stunned by Guo Shier’s words and thought, “How eloquent this child is.” He said, “It’s like this—we’ve used up a lot of spell pills recently, so several pill makers need help crafting them, but they lack assistants…”
Before the man could finish, Guo Shier said, “I’ll go! I’ll go!”
Ever since witnessing the wonders of spell pills, Guo Shier had long wanted to learn how to make them. However, pill makers were a specialized profession with their own system, and it was difficult for outsiders to access them. So, without waiting for the man to finish explaining, Guo Shier eagerly agreed to go.
The man was an apprentice martial spellcaster, already quite old, at least over thirty. He was likely a local from Ye Guan City hired temporarily. From the two spell marks on his forehead, it was clear he had potential as a martial spellcaster but didn’t have the money to hire someone to train his body.
He led Guo Shier to a small building. A martial spellcaster stood at the door. Guo Shier immediately realized the person he was about to meet held a high status. At that time, most martial spellcasters had gone to defend the city, so those who remained to guard were definitely not ordinary people. The man stepped forward and said, “Brother Cheng, the person Master Xu is looking for… is here. Hehe, please inform Brother Cheng.”
The martial spellcaster smiled and said, “Go in, go in!”
It was obvious the two were familiar. The man led Guo Shier into the house with a smile.
“Elder Xu, the apprentice you wanted is here!”
An aged voice said, “Come in.”
“Elder Xu?”

Guo Shier thought for a moment before following the man inside. He saw an old man busy at work. It was a large laboratory; according to the locals, it was called a talisman-making room or hall, but Guo Shier habitually referred to it as a laboratory—a memory from his past life. The talisman-making room was similar to those laboratories back then.

“Hm? Why is it a child?”

Elder Xu raised his head. He probably hadn’t fully processed it yet and simply felt something was off.

“Elder, we really couldn’t find anyone else. Everyone has their own tasks. He’s a talisman apprentice and also an inner sect disciple—surely he meets your requirements.”

“Hm? An inner sect talisman apprentice? Whose disciple is he?”

The old man knew well how rare talisman apprentices were. Moreover, one who could be an inner sect disciple in Ye Guan City must have been sent there by a master. If he were just an ordinary inner sect disciple, a student of Guo Shier’s age wouldn’t be able to come here.

Guo Shier bowed and said, “My master is—Great Talisman Master Luo Jie.”

The man who brought him in was stunned, his mouth hanging open. In their eyes, a Great Talisman Master was an unparalleled figure.

“Ah? He’s a disciple of Elder Luo!”

The old man showed surprise on his face. He asked repeatedly, “How come I didn’t know Elder Luo has taken on another disciple? Come! Sit down. What’s your name, kid? How old are you? When did you become his disciple?”

Guo Shier breathed a sigh of relief. He could tell right away that this old man must be very familiar with his master. He said, “My name is Guo Shier. I’m nine years old. I became his disciple last winter. Grandpa Xu, just call me Shier.” He started acting young and cute again. There was nothing he could do—after all, his appearance was that of a child, not even really a teenager.

Elder Xu’s name was Xu Zai Kun. He was a famous talisman pill master of the Northern Talisman Sect and a skilled practitioner on the verge of becoming a Great Talisman Pill Master. This time, he was passing through Ye Guan City when he encountered an attack by wildlings, forcing him to stay behind. With many talisman warriors injured, he naturally stepped in to help. Unfortunately, he didn’t have many low-level talisman pills, and they were all used up in just a few days.

So, the old man had to make talisman pills himself. Creating low-level talisman pills involved a lot of tedious work, which he found unbearable, so he decided to look for a talisman apprentice. Unexpectedly, he got a talisman apprentice instead. When he learned that this apprentice was Luo Jie’s disciple, he immediately decided to have Guo Shier act as his assistant.

Xu Zai Kun knew very well that, with Luo Jie’s discernment, Guo Shier must be an exceptionally talented and promising apprentice. Using someone like this well could save a lot of trouble.

“Have you learned material purification?”
“I have. I can achieve the purification level of mid-grade.”
Xu Zai Kun was shocked and said, “Ah? Mid-grade! How is that possible?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Grandpa Xu, I’m not lying to you. You’ll know if you try it.” Relying on his powerful soul, he had a natural advantage in purifying materials. He could immediately purify them to lower-grade, and after some time of training and practice, he quickly reached mid-grade purity. Occasionally, he even managed to produce higher-grade results.
Xu Zai Kun thought of his own apprentices and suddenly felt Luo Jie’s image grow much larger in his mind. He felt resentful—why couldn’t he have apprentices with such great potential? He asked, “If you make ten talismans… how many can you succeed in making?”
Guo Shier replied, “Between seven and nine, but they’re not stable enough.”
Xu Zai Kun covered his forehead and after a long while said, “Seven to nine talismans… Sigh…” Even he only had a success rate of nine talismans so far. Sometimes, if he was careless, it was normal to produce eight. This kid had only studied for less than a year, yet already had a success rate of seven to nine—this was terrifying. He was practically a genius in talisman-making.
“Are you interested in talisman pills?”
Guo Shier immediately became enthusiastic and said, “Yes, I’m very interested in talisman pills.”
Xu Zai Kun was almost moved to tears. It was rare—Guo Shier was actually interested in the profession of talisman pill makers. Although this profession had an excellent reputation and was very important, before advancing to a senior talisman pill maker, practitioners were among the weakest, with almost no offensive power and only capable of providing healing services. In this world, almost everyone aspired to a profession with high offensive power. Among apprentices with potential as talisman makers, few were willing to choose the path of talisman pills.
Guo Shier liked talisman pills because of his resentment toward the medical profession in his past life. So, in this life, he would never miss the chance to learn about them. Whether to save others or save himself, mastering talisman pill making meant having a doctor with him at all times.
“Good, good! Haha, as long as you’re willing to learn, I’ll definitely teach you how to make low-grade talisman pills.”
Guo Shier said seriously, “Thank you, Grandpa Xu. I won’t let you down.” He was already very satisfied at the thought of learning to make low-grade talisman pills. Mastering a practical talisman-making skill could only benefit his future development. The only problem was that Guo Shier’s schedule became even tighter.
Xu Zai Kun took out a set of talisman books and said, “Here are these books for you. They contain all the knowledge needed for basic talisman pills. Take some time to study them. For now, work as my assistant.”

This gift is extremely precious, as this set of talisman scripts was written by him himself for his apprentices to study. They don’t exist anywhere else outside—truly rare items that cannot be bought even if one wishes to.
Guo Shier was deeply grateful. Since arriving in this world, he had found that people here were far more kind-hearted than those in his previous life, especially the elders who genuinely cared for the younger generation with unhidden affection, often filling him with emotion.
Northern birch leaves are the main material for crafting low-grade talisman pills. The northern birch leaves refined by Guo Shier were artificially grown. There are vast forests like these in the Arctic wastelands, but the truly top-quality leaves come from ancient trees that have grown for thousands of years—materials used for high-grade talisman pills.
First, a special crushing talisman was used to turn hundreds of pounds of northern birch leaves into dark green paste, which was then baked to produce several large bottles of leaf powder. Only after that did the actual refining begin.
Guo Shier used the Four-Talisman Refining Method. Four specially crafted refining talismans were placed in specific positions, and the leaf powder was poured over them. As the powder passed through the talismans, Guo Shier activated their magical power to extract the refined powder. According to the method, three rounds of refinement would yield a relatively pure product.
After refining five large bottles of powder, only half a small bottle of light green fine powder remained. Those five bottles of powder had come from hundreds of pounds of birch leaves, yet less than two pounds of usable fine powder was obtained. Holding the crystal bottle, Guo Shier went over to Xu Zai Kun and said, “Grandpa Xu, this is the newly refined northern birch leaf. What do you think?”
Xu Zai Kun picked up the bottle and examined it carefully for a while before showing a satisfied expression and nodding. “It’s sufficient. Did you use the Four-Talisman Refining Method?”
Guo Shier nodded. “Yes. I only know two refining methods—one is the Four-Talisman Refining Method, the other is the Ice Condensation Method. There’s another one I can learn in some time—the Smelting Method.”
Xu Zai Kun shook his head with a wry smile. “You’re the opposite of other apprentices. Almost all apprentices start with the Smelting Method. The Four-Talisman Refining Method… that’s a skill only talisman masters know. You’re truly a little monster—starting with such a difficult method right away. No wonder the materials you refine can reach middle-grade quality.”
“Alright, continue refining. Another half a bottle should do it.”
Guo Shier immediately turned to continue refining without saying a word. Admiration shone in Xu Zai Kun’s eyes. After a long while, he sighed deeply, wondering why he had never encountered such an excellent disciple.
Two hours later, Guo Shier came in with another bottle, having completed the second round of refinement.