Chapter 7: Qualifications (Part 2)

Chaos ensued in the venue. No one paid attention to those lower-tier talisman beasts—after all, few here understood their significance. Just the name of the mutated Earth Dragon was enough to frighten people. Among dragon-type talisman beasts, blood is one of the most precious materials, and the value of this bottle of blood was immense.

Guo Shier continued, “The last bottle of blood also comes from a secret realm—it’s the blood of a mutated talisman worm. It was extracted immediately after killing a giant mutated green scorpion beetle by a master.”

“There are three bottles of blood in total. Please appraise them first.”

Guo Shier stepped back. Wu Yanyan stepped forward with a smile, saying, “Young man, you still have quite a few fine items, don’t you? Let me take a look.” As a great beast talisman master and an expert in crafting, she naturally understood the rarity of these three bottles of blood.

The appraisal results shocked Wu Yanyan greatly, and she couldn’t help but become interested.

Wu Yanyan said, “All of these are treasures from secret realms. The most precious is the blood of the mutated Earth Dragon—it’s been refined with great skill, with no loss at all… As for the blood of the mutated talisman worm, well, it’s also a treasure, but it would be best if a master from the Nanfu Sect appraised it.”

Someone in the crowd said, “I’ll do it!”

A middle-aged woman stood up and said, “Nanfu Sect, great beast talisman master, Lan Tianbao.” She walked over with a tinkling sound, as dozens of small bells were tied around her waist, emitting a clear ringing sound with each step.

Lan Tianbao smiled and said, “Young man, may I take a look at this bottle of mutated talisman worm blood?” Her voice was gentle, carrying a hypnotic quality that made people feel comfortable listening to her.

Guo Shier nodded and said, “Please.”

Lan Tianbao raised the crystal bottle in front of her eyes and shook it gently. Her expression gradually became serious. After a while, she said, “I didn’t expect there to be a talisman worm secret realm here too.” She put down the crystal bottle and said, “Excellent! Even in our Nanfu Sect, it’s rare to see such pure mutated talisman worm blood.”

Wu Yanyan said, “Those who want to exchange can come up and take a look.”

A few talisman masters and experts in spells came up and examined them carefully one by one.

Lan Tianbao remained standing still. She asked, “Young man, I have a worm talisman. How about exchanging it for your mutated talisman worm blood?”

Guo Shier said, “I want to exchange for talismans above the level of spirit talismans. Ordinary talismans won’t do.”

Lan Tianbao replied softly, “This worm talisman of mine… is actually an ancient worm talisman, even better than a spirit talisman. But… just a few drops of mutated talisman worm blood won’t be enough to exchange for it.”

Guo Shier thought for a moment and smiled, “Sister Lan, how about we discuss this after the trade fair is over?”

Lan Tianbao couldn’t help but praise, “What a smart child. Alright, I’ll come find you in a bit.” She went down smiling, looking very satisfied. She knew well that since the other party had brought blood from mutated sigil worms in such small quantities, their purpose was clear—they wanted to find someone capable and knowledgeable about sigil worms to exchange items with.

Guo Shier’s goal had been achieved, so he seemed a bit careless. A senior beast sigil master tried to exchange a mediocre-quality spirit sigil for three vials of blood, but Guo Shier rejected him outright.

Wu Yanyan said, “Since no one wants to exchange, then… little brother, should we put them up for auction?”

Guo Shier blinked and laughed, “Sis, if I put these three vials of blood up for auction, hehe, at least half of the masters here will rush over… Stop joking.” He put away the three vials and walked back to his seat with ease.

Luo Jie stepped onto the stage next. Unlike Guo Shier, he brought out many items—various precious sigils and sigil tools—all intended for exchanging for materials.

The venue immediately reached its first climax. Sigil tools were what masters of the sigil warrior profession needed most, while precious sigils were essential for casters. Even high-level casters mostly used precious sigils, with spirit sigils being extremely rare. Only rare innate sigil balls like Guo Shier’s refused to accept precious sigils.

Luo Jie brought out top-quality items, all of which were the most sought-after at this trade fair. As for rare materials, he wouldn’t bring any out for trade—he didn’t even have time to collect them.

Guo Shier sat calmly. With his master handling things, he didn’t need to worry. Eagle Demon whispered, “The sigil tools the old man brought out even made me interested. It’s a shame… I’m a pauper…”

Luo Zhan glanced at him. Guo Shier also stared at him with a half-smile and said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, just speak straight. Otherwise… I’ll pretend I don’t understand.”

Luo Zhan burst out laughing. Eagle Demon immediately looked distressed and said, “Ah, Shier, you… you little rascal!”

Guo Shier closed his eyes and pretended to be dead. Eagle Demon was stunned. He gently pushed Guo Shier and said, “Shier, Shier… don’t do this. Ah, okay, okay…”

Guo Shier said, “Just speak up. The old man won’t refuse.”

Eagle Demon said, “It’s not that I can’t speak up. The problem is that even if I do, I won’t get anything good. Hehe, Shier, please help me…”

Guo Shier opened his eyes and said, “I told you earlier—why did you stutter and beat around the bush? Don’t worry. The master originally planned to make a batch of talismans. We’ve harvested a lot in this secret realm, and once we return to the Northern Talisman Gate, he’ll create some high-quality talismans. Not only will you get them, but Huo Bao and the others will too. After all, once they advance to Talisman Warriors, their old talismans will no longer be suitable.”

By the time Luo Jie finished the auction, it was almost dark. Wu Yanyan announced, “Today’s transactions are over. We’ll continue tomorrow.” Many people gathered around Luo Jie, all trying to trade with him. Guo Shier stood by with a smile.

Lan Tianbao came over with two Insect Warriors. She asked, “Little brother, why are you still here?” Guo Shier replied with a smile, “I was waiting for you to come.” Lan Tianbao laughed, “Are you that confident?” Guo Shier said, “Aren’t I?” They both laughed. Guo Shier invited her, “Sister Lan, come to our place tonight. I’ll treat you to special dishes.” Lan Tianbao agreed, “Okay, I’ll visit in the evening.” Guo Shier bowed slightly. It was strange for a child to make such a gesture, making people feel both cute and reluctant to look down on him. Lan Tianbao nodded and left with the two Insect Warriors.

Luo Jie finished talking to those people and returned to Guo Shier, saying with a smile, “Let’s go back.” Guo Shier said, “Master, come to my place tonight. I plan to cook something delicious… Well, Lan Tianbao, the top Insect Talisman Master from the Southern Talisman Gate, will also be coming. She probably wants something from the mutated insect talismans. Let’s see what she has to offer in exchange.” Luo Jie laughed, “Great. I trust Shier’s skills. Let’s go.”

…

That evening, Lan Tianbao brought a little girl and two Insect Warriors to Guo Shier’s courtyard. As soon as they reached the door, the little girl sniffed eagerly and said, “Mom, it smells so good!” Lan Tianbao also detected a strange fragrance and laughed, “This Shier is really interesting.” The little girl asked, “Mom, is there really a ten-year-old master?” Lan Tianbao replied, “Yes, isn’t it amazing?” The little girl said, “Ten years old—two years older than Yingying. But Yingying is just an apprentice in insect spells. How can he be so skilled?” Lan Tianbao shook her head. “Yingying… Mom doesn’t know either.” She signaled the Insect Warriors to knock on the door.

Since it was a formal visit, and she was a master from the Southern Talisman Gate, Luo Jie went to greet her along with his disciples and several top Talisman Warriors.

The relationship among the four major sects is quite strange. The West Symbol Sect and the North Symbol Sect compete with each other, often taking covert actions against one another. The same is true for the South Symbol Sect and the East Symbol Sect. However, the sects in the northwest and southeast are relatively friendly.

Guo Shier introduced, “This is my master.”

Luo Jie said, “North Symbol Sect, great symbol sorcerer Luo Jie. It’s an honor to meet you.”

Lan Tianbao smiled and said, “I’m sorry for coming unannounced. I’m from the South Symbol Sect, great insect symbol sorcerer Lan Tianbao. This is my daughter Lan Yuying, eight years old, an apprentice in insect spells. Yuying, come and greet Grandpa Luo and Uncle Shier.”

“Uncle Shier?”

Guo Shier’s face turned dark as he thought, “Am I that old?”

Lan Yuying had the delicate beauty typical of people from the south. Though young, she already showed signs of being beautiful. She said sweetly, “Hello, Grandpa Luo. Hehe, hello, Uncle Shier!” Then she turned to her mother and whispered, “Mom, Shier is only two years older than me. Why do we call him uncle?”

Guo Shier said, “Just call me big brother.”

The little girl seemed a bit simple-minded. Hearing this, she happily said, “Big Brother Shier.”

Luo Jie said, “Please! Shier has prepared some symbolic dishes for you…” As he spoke, he led them to the meeting room.

Lan Yuying stepped forward and took Guo Shier’s hand. People from the south are usually straightforward and don’t hide their feelings, especially children at her age, who are simply curious and fond of peers. So she naturally took Guo Shier’s hand.

Guo Shier also liked this simple-minded little girl. He took her hand and led her to the meeting room.

Everyone sat cross-legged, with a small table in front of each person. Servants began serving dishes.

Guo Shier had prepared several dishes, including boiled earth dragon meat, steamed mutated green mantis meat, stir-fried bear stomach, braised pork ribs, and a wild chicken and bamboo shoot soup cooked in an earthen pot.

Among them, the boiled earth dragon meat and stir-fried bear stomach were spicy dishes, while the others were relatively mild. He learned from Qi Nanshan that people from the south loved spicy food, so Guo Shier specifically prepared two spicy dishes.

Lan Yuying, being curious, sat next to Guo Shier, pulled the small table over, and asked eagerly, “Big Brother Shier, did you cook all these dishes?”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “Yuying, try it. This is boiled earth dragon meat. It’s very delicious.”

Lan Yuying took a bite and exclaimed in surprise, “Wow, it’s really delicious! It’s even better than what my mom cooks!”

Lan Tianbao shook her head smiling. After tasting it, she couldn’t help but praise it as well. It was indeed delicious and very similar in flavor to the dishes from her hometown, though such dishes didn’t exist there.

At that moment, a waiter came in and said, “There are guests visiting.”
Luo Jie replied in a deep voice, “Who is it?”