Eternal Immortal Clan: It All Started When I Married My Junior Sister!

26: The competition beginsAs soon as Shen Wuyi entered the great hall, his gaze swept across the entire venue, with a hint of disdain in his eyes.

In his opinion, these so-called Geniuses from various prefectures were nothing more than a bunch of weaklings, utterly unworthy of being his opponents.

Chen Xu, on the other hand, appeared very low-key.

He found an inconspicuous corner to stand in, quietly observing the crowd.

Soon, an Elder dressed in Taiyi Merchant Alliance attire walked onto the high platform, and his deep voice resonated throughout the great hall.

”Greetings, everyone, and welcome to the fifty-year Heavenly Talisman Assembly, hosted by my Taiyi Merchant Alliance!”

The Elder wasted no time with pleasantries and immediately announced the rewards for the Assembly, causing a stir among the participants.

”All participants, regardless of ranking, will receive a reward of one hundred Spirit Stones and a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills.”

”Those who enter the top one hundred will be rewarded with one thousand Spirit Stones, plus an Intermediate Talisman.”

”Those who enter the top thirty will be rewarded with five thousand Spirit Stones and a High Grade Magical Artifact.”

”And for the top ten, the rewards are even more generous! Not only will they receive ten thousand Spirit Stones and a bottle of foundation establishment pills, but they will also gain the qualification to enter the Rune Pavilion at the Taiyi Merchant Alliance headquarters for three days of study!”

”As for the top three, in addition to double the aforementioned rewards, the champion will receive three top-grade Magical Artifacts and a month of personal guidance from a headquarters Elder!”

Boom!

As soon as the rewards were announced, the atmosphere in the entire great hall was instantly ignited.

Especially the foundation establishment pill and the qualification to enter the Rune Pavilion, which made countless people’s eyes turn red.

The foundation establishment pill was a sacred medicine that Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators dreamed of.

And the Rune Pavilion was even more a crucial place where the Taiyi Merchant Alliance collected Talisman Dao classics.

It was said that it contained many ancient Talisman Legacies that had long been lost.

”Now, all participants, please come forward in order to receive your number plates and the items needed for the competition.”

Everyone immediately formed a long queue.

Chen Xu unhurriedly followed behind the queue. When it was his turn, he received a wooden plate engraved with ”Xuan Seventy-Three” and a Storage Pouch.

Shen Wuyi was ahead of him in the queue and received number ”Xuan Seventy-Two.”

He glanced at Chen Xu’s number plate.

A cold sneer appeared on his face.

It seemed he even wanted to suppress Chen Xu with the number.

Chen Xu’s Divine Sense swept across the Storage Pouch, which contained all the items needed for Talisman crafting.

A stack of blank Elementary Talisman paper, a bottle of Talisman ink made from Yao Beast blood and several Spiritual Plants, and an ordinary wolf-hair Talisman brush.

Everyone’s Materials were identical.

This prevented anyone from cheating by using their own Advanced Materials.

Once everyone had collected their items, the Elder on the high platform spoke again.

”To ensure fairness, during the Assembly, the entire Heavenly Talisman Hall will be enveloped by a Formation, prohibiting anyone from using sound transmission. Spirit Shadow Walls are set up throughout the hall, and your every move will be under our surveillance.”

”Now, I declare the first stage of the Heavenly Talisman Assembly officially open!”

As his voice fell, a line of shimmering spiritual light appeared on the stone tables in front of everyone.

【Topic: Within one hour, craft an Elementary Low Grade ’Falling Frost Talisman’. Scores will be comprehensively judged based on quality and speed, eliminating half of the participants.】

Falling Frost Talisman?

Seeing this topic, over ninety percent of the people in the great hall breathed a sigh of relief.

This was one of the most basic functional Talismans.

Its purpose was to gather water vapor in a small area to form frost, often used by Mortals to alleviate drought.

Its Talisman structure was simple, and the demands on spiritual power were not high. It was one of the several Talismans that every Talisman master had to master when entering the Dao.

For the Talisman masters present, this was almost a freebie.

But there were also a few whose expressions turned somewhat unsightly.

They might specialize in certain offensive Talismans and were less familiar with this kind of niche auxiliary Talisman.

Shen Wuyi saw the topic and a disdainful smile appeared on his face.

He didn’t even bother to think, directly picked up his Talisman brush, dipped it full of Talisman ink, and began to draw on the Talisman paper with flowing grace.

His movements were filled with the smoothness that came from confidence.

He clearly intended to take the lead in the first stage and give everyone a show of force.

Chen Xu, on the other hand, unhurriedly spread out his Talisman paper and pressed it down with a paperweight.

The Falling Frost Talisman, for him,

was as simple as an adult writing his own name.

With his current experience and Realm as an Advanced Talisman master, he could draw a perfect quality Falling Frost Talisman with his eyes closed.

But he didn’t plan to do so.

A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.

Before understanding the full capabilities of all his opponents, prematurely exposing his full strength was not a wise move.

He decided to hide his abilities.

He picked up the Talisman brush, his wrist seemingly steady, but in fact, at the moment of application, he deliberately caused a subtle, almost imperceptible fluctuation in his spiritual power output.

The lines of the Talisman were still fluid, but at the turns, they appeared just a touch stiff.

Not perfectly rounded.

He drew slowly, like a Talisman master with solid fundamentals but limited experience.

Striving to recall every step.

Time passed bit by bit, and in the great hall, people had gradually begun to complete their crafting.

”Buzz—”

A faint spiritual light flashed, and on the Talisman paper in front of a Talisman master, the Talisman pattern of the Falling Frost Talisman successfully condensed.

He let out a long breath, a look of joy on his face.

Immediately after, successful spiritual lights flashed one after another.

Shen Wuyi was the tenth to finish. The Falling Frost Talisman in front of him glowed with abundant spiritual light.

Its quality had impressively reached Elementary Medium Grade, far exceeding the topic’s requirements!

This attracted many envious glances from those around him.

He smugly glanced at Chen Xu, who was still diligently working, and the disdain in his eyes grew even stronger.

Chen Xu was oblivious to everything around him, maintaining his own rhythm.

It wasn’t until the hour was almost over.

That he seemed to laboriously complete the final stroke.

Buzz.

A spiritual light, not particularly bright but not dim either, flashed across the Talisman paper in front of him.

A Falling Frost Talisman of ordinary quality, barely meeting the Elementary Low Grade standard,

lay quietly on the table.

His completion time ranked in the lower-middle among all successful participants, and the quality of his Talisman was also unremarkable... Just as the competition in the Heavenly Talisman Hall was in full swing.

In an elegant room in a tall building outside the hall.

Xu Zhengyue was sitting in front of a large water mirror, which clearly reflected the every move of hundreds of participants in the great hall.

Her gaze was mainly focused on two people: Chen Xu and Shen Wuyi.

When she saw Shen Wuyi casually complete a Medium Grade Falling Frost Talisman, she nodded with satisfaction.

But when her gaze fell on Chen Xu.

Seeing his clumsy movements and the unremarkable finished product, her beautiful brows couldn’t help but furrow slightly.

”President Xu, is this the Genius you found from a remote place like Shangya Prefecture? Heh heh, in my opinion, he’s nothing special.”

A voice with a hint of mockery came from the doorway.

A slightly plump middle-aged man in a brocade robe, fanning himself with a jade-bone fan, strolled in leisurely.

A warm smile hung on his face.

But in the depths of his eyes, there was undisguised malice.

This person was Qian Li, the President of the Taiyi Merchant Alliance’s Yunzhou branch.

Yunzhou was a wealthy major prefecture, and the strength and performance of its branch consistently surpassed Shangya Prefecture.

Qian Li had always looked down on Xu Zhengyue, who had climbed up from a poor, remote area.

”President Qian is quite idle. Why aren’t you overseeing your own territory, but instead running to mine?”

Xu Zhengyue didn’t turn her head, her voice cool.

”Oh, you can’t say that.”

Qian Li walked to her side, his gaze falling on the water mirror, clicking his tongue, ”Shen Wuyi is not bad, he can be considered a talent. As for the other one... his name is Chen Xu, right?”

”It’s almost an hour, and he barely managed to draw a Low Grade Falling Frost Talisman. This level wouldn’t even qualify him for selection in our Yunzhou.”

”President Xu, your judgment this time seems to be lacking.”

He pointed to another young man in the water mirror and said with a triumphant smile, ”See that? That one named Zhou Yuan used to be a gold-medal Talisman master in your Shangya Prefecture branch, and now I’ve poached him. Look at him, he drew a High Grade Falling Frost Talisman in half an hour. Now that’s a true talent.”

Xu Zhengyue’s knuckles, holding the teacup, turned slightly white.

The animosity between her and Qian Li had a long history.

Several years ago, the two branches jointly competed for the mining rights of a large Spirit Stone mine. It was a plan she had prepared for several years, and victory was within her grasp.

Unexpectedly, at the last moment, Qian Li used despicable means to steal her proposal and secretly bribed one of her confidantes, ultimately snatching away the contract that could have tripled the performance of the Shangya Prefecture branch.

This incident severely damaged her Origin Qi and caused her to lose much face in front of the headquarters, and she had yet to recover from it.

And that Talisman master named Zhou Yuan was also poached by Qian Li with heavy sums of money at that time.

”The competition has just begun, President Qian, you might be celebrating too early.”

Xu Zhengyue suppressed the anger in her Heart-Nature and said calmly.

”Haha, then let’s wait and see.”

Qian Li laughed heartily, as if he had already foreseen Xu Zhengyue’s defeat again: ”I want to see what kind of surprise this Fellow Daoist Chen, whom you place such high hopes on, can bring you.”

With that, he fanned himself and left, feeling quite satisfied.

Xu Zhengyue watched his retreating back, her eyes icy cold.

She picked up the now cold tea and drank it in one gulp.

Her chest rose and fell slightly!

In the Heavenly Talisman Hall, the hour was almost up.

The Elder on the high platform glanced at the giant hourglass, his voice booming: ”Time’s up! All uncompleted participants are eliminated!”

As his voice fell, more than thirty Talisman masters in the hall looked ashen, dejectedly putting down their Talisman brushes.

The Talisman paper in front of them was either a blotch of black ink or scorch marks from uncontrolled spiritual power.

The first stage, seemingly simple, still eliminated nearly twenty percent of the people.

Shen Wuyi had long since leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, his gaze contemptuously sweeping over the failures, finally landing on Chen Xu, a mocking expression on his face.

In his opinion, a fellow like Chen Xu, who barely finished just in time,

was no different from those who failed.

”The first stage is over. Those who Advanced, rest in place for a quarter of an hour.”

The Elder announced.

After a short rest, the topic for the second stage appeared on the stone tables in front of everyone.

【Topic: Within one hour, craft an Elementary Medium Grade ’Heavenly Flame Talisman’. Scores will be comprehensively judged based on quality and speed, eliminating thirty percent.】

Heavenly Flame Talisman!

As soon as this topic was announced, the atmosphere in the main hall immediately became much more tense.

The Blazing Talisman is an offensive Talisman. Compared to the functional Frost Talisman, its rune structure is more complex, and it requires much higher stability and intensity in Qi output.

The requirement of High Grade for an Elementary Talisman further raised the difficulty by another level.

”A Blazing Talisman, huh...”

Chen Xu’s heart was completely calm.

Even if he drew this kind of Talisman with his eyes closed, its quality could reach Intermediate.

However, he still didn’t plan to expose his true strength.

He observed that Shen Wuyi’s face showed an even more confident smile after seeing the topic.

Clearly, this offensive Talisman suited his flamboyant Heart-Nature.

As soon as the bell signaling the start of the competition rang, Shen Wuyi immediately began to write.

This time, his speed was even faster than the previous round. His brushstrokes were like a Dragon, and the runes were completed in one go, full of sharp Aura.

In less than half an hour, a Blazing Talisman, glowing with spiritual light, had taken shape.

Its quality had astonishingly reached Elementary High Grade!

This immediately ignited the entire venue.

”Oh my god! It’s Elementary High Grade! Fellow Daoist Shen’s Talisman Dao attainment is actually so high!”

”It’s only the second round, and someone can already refine a High Grade Talisman. That’s terrifying!”

Shen Wuyi listened to the exclamations around him, his face full of pride. He provocatively glanced at Chen Xu, only to find that the latter was still unhurried, looking as if he was struggling.

Chen Xu was still hiding his true abilities.

He deliberately slowed down his speed, intentionally creating small flaws in the Qi output at several critical rune nodes, making the Aura of the entire Talisman slightly unstable.

Finally, with one-third of the hourglass remaining, he painstakingly completed it.

A Blazing Talisman, whose quality barely met the threshold of Elementary Medium Grade, appeared on the table.

Neither good nor bad, neither ahead nor behind, it blended into the large group of qualifiers, completely unremarkable.

In this round, more than twenty more people were eliminated.

The remaining Talisman Cultivators were less than sixty...

Outside the Heavenly Talisman Hall, in a luxurious room in a tall building.

Qian Li had returned at some unknown time. He stood behind Xu Zhengyue, looking at Shen Wuyi’s stunning performance in the water mirror, and feigned surprise with an ”Oh?”

”President Xu, this young man named Shen Wuyi you have, he indeed has some skill. His Blazing Talisman drawing has seventy to eighty percent of the proficiency of our Yun Prefecture’s Geniuses.”

While he praised, he subtly elevated his own branch.

Xu Zhengyue ignored him. Her gaze remained fixed on Chen Xu.

When she saw Chen Xu’s unremarkable finished product,

the hand holding her teacup tightened a bit more.

Qian Li naturally wouldn’t miss this opportunity. He pointed at Chen Xu in the water mirror and sighed, shaking his head, ”Tsk tsk, as for the other one... President Xu, forgive my bluntness, but you really misjudged this time. This level of skill, getting through the second round, was entirely due to luck. In the next round, he will definitely be eliminated.”

His gaze then turned to another spirited young man.

It was Zhou Yuan, whom he had poached from Shangya Prefecture.

”Look at Zhou Yuan again. Also Elementary High Grade, and he used slightly less time than Shen Wuyi. This is a true Genius, one who understands the principle of a good bird choosing its tree to nest.”

Qian Li said with a chuckle.

Every word was like a needle, pricking Xu Zhengyue’s heart.

Xu Zhengyue’s face was cold, and she finally spoke, ”If President Qian has nothing to do, you can go check on your other contestants from Yun Prefecture. You don’t need to waste your time here with me.”

”Ah, I’m just concerned about you.”

Qian Li chuckled, ”After all, we’re old friends. Seeing that you brought two duds again this time, I can’t bear it.”

Just then, footsteps came from outside the elegant room, and several Cultivators, also dressed as branch presidents, walked in.

”President Qian, President Xu, you’re here too.”

”This year’s crop seems not so good. It’s only the second round, and almost half have been eliminated.”

A square-faced Cultivator said.

”You can’t say that.”

Another female Cultivator president pointed to the water mirror and said, ”The top few are still very good. Look at Xu Guangyu, the ’Hundred Flowers Jade Hand’. His rune drawing is pleasing to the eye; he already has the demeanor of a master.”

”And Yue Guanshan from Dense Forest Prefecture. I heard this person has extremely high Talisman Dao talent, it’s just that his Heart-Nature has some issues. Otherwise, he would have long been taken as a Disciple by a big shot from the Qingyun Sect.”

Qian Li listened to everyone’s discussion, proudly fanning himself, and interjected, ”If you ask me, the most eye-catching are still Zhou Yuan from our Yun Prefecture, and this Shen Wuyi brought by President Xu. I think those two have the strength to contend for the top three.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, praising Shen Wuyi and Zhou Yuan greatly in their words.

These compliments, falling into Xu Zhengyue’s ears, only made her more annoyed.

Shen Wuyi’s performance was indeed outstanding.

But she always felt that this person was too ostentatious, his Heart-Nature volatile, making him unlikely to achieve great things.

And Chen Xu, on whom she had truly placed high hopes, had performed in a way that greatly disappointed her.

Mediocre, far too mediocre.

This completely contradicted the Genius image she had envisioned, someone who could casually produce improved Talismans, with vision and insight far beyond ordinary people.

Could it be... I really misjudged him?

Was everything he did before just a coincidence?

...Inside the main hall, the third round of assessment had already begun.

【Topic: Within one hour, refine an Elementary High Grade ”Dragon Armor Talisman”. Those whose quality does not meet the standard will be directly eliminated.】

The difficulty soared once again!

The Dragon Armor Talisman is one of the best defensive Talismans, and its rune structure is so complex that it ranks among the top three of all Elementary Talismans.

Even more demanding, this time it directly required Elementary High Grade quality.

This almost pushed over ninety percent of the contestants to their limits.

The main hall erupted in an uproar, and many people’s faces instantly turned pale.

”Dragon Armor Talisman? Although I’ve practiced it, my success rate is less than thirty percent, let alone High Grade...”

”This is too difficult! This is simply not something an Elementary Talisman Cultivator can complete!”

Shen Wuyi’s face also shed its disdain, replaced by a hint of solemnity.

But the Battle Intent in his eyes grew even stronger.

Only this level of difficulty could truly demonstrate the gap between him and those mediocre talents.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and concentrated for a moment, then began to write again.

Chen Xu looked at the topic and thought to himself, this third round finally has some meaning.

He hadn’t really drawn the Dragon Armor Talisman much, because with his previous Realm, he simply had no use for such a low-level defensive Talisman.

But this did not hinder his refinement.

All Daos originate from the same source, Talisman Dao returns to one.

With his Advanced Talisman Cultivator Realm, looking at the rune structure of this Dragon Armor Talisman,

it was like a university professor looking at an Elementary school student’s arithmetic problem.

Although he hadn’t done the problem itself before,

theIdeas and methods of solving it were already clear in his mind.

He still didn’t rush to show off, but instead pretended to be deep in thought, scribbling on scrap paper, looking completely clueless.

Time passed minute by minute.

Inside the main hall, failed spiritual lights flickered one after another.

People constantly left dejectedly as their Talismans were ruined due to depleted Qi or control errors.

Two-thirds of an hour quickly passed.

Sweat beads also seeped from Shen Wuyi’s forehead.

Finally, at a certain moment, he suddenly stopped his brush and let out a low shout.

Buzz!

On the Talisman paper in front of him, a thick, solid earthy-yellow light lit up, forming a miniature phantom of a shield.

An High Grade Dragon Armor Talisman, it was done!

He let out a long, turbid breath, his face showing a tired yet proud expression.

Looking around the entire venue, he was the first to finish.

At this time, Chen Xu had just picked up his Talisman brush and began to write on the official Talisman paper.

His movements were still so slow and awkward.

In the elegant room, Qian Li, seeing this scene, was already laughing so hard his mouth wouldn’t close.

”President Xu, did you see that? What did I tell you? Your Genius is only starting to draw now. How will he complete it? I bet one hundred Spirit Stones, he will definitely lose!”

Xu Zhengyue’s heart had sunk to the bottom.

She had almost concluded that she had truly trusted the wrong person this time.

However, just at the last moment, as the hourglass was about to run out.

In the water mirror, that figure who had always been underestimated, suddenly made a final stroke with an extremely steady wrist.

A seemingly ordinary Dragon Armor Talisman, with its spiritual light contained, lay quietly on Chen Xu’s table.

Its quality had just reached the threshold of Elementary High Grade.

He had once again completed the task just in time, narrowly.

Qian Li’s laughter abruptly stopped, his expression as if he had swallowed a fly.

Xu Zhengyue, on the other hand, suddenly stood up from her seat, staring at Chen Xu’s figure in the water mirror.

Her eyes were filled with disbelief and confusion.

Once was a coincidence, twice was luck, but what about this third time?

Each time, at the most extreme moment, with the most ordinary performance, he completed the most difficult tasks... Could a normal Talisman Cultivator really do this?

The first day’s assessment ended here.

That night, as Chen Xu had just returned to his guest courtyard and was about to meditate and rest, there was a knock on the door.

It was Deacon Sun.

”Fellow Daoist Chen, Fellow Daoist Shen, President Xu has invited you.”

Chen Xu followed Deacon Sun to a reception hall, where Shen Wuyi was already waiting.

Upon seeing Chen Xu, he merely snorted coldly and turned his head away.

In his opinion, Chen Xu’s advancement was purely due to dumb luck.

Soon, Xu Zhengyue walked out from the inner hall.

She had changed out of her training attire and was wearing a moon-white long dress, her expression cool and unreadable.

Her gaze swept over the two of them, first nodding to Shen Wuyi: ”You performed very well today. You did not disappoint me.”

Upon receiving praise, a hint of arrogance appeared on Shen Wuyi’s face.

Then, Xu Zhengyue’s gaze turned to Chen Xu, lingering for a long time before she slowly spoke: ”Tonight, the Merchant Alliance headquarters has set up a banquet to entertain all the qualifying Talisman Cultivators and the presidents of each branch. The two of you will accompany me.”

Her tone was very flat, but Chen Xu could feel that the way she looked at him was completely different from before.