Of these seven destinies, Zhao Huai considered the two Human-Grade Destinies to be the most useless.
They had respectively come from a great Confucian's calligraphy copybook and a famed painting passed down through the ages.
Literary Talent and Painting Skill Novice.
The first allowed him to write beautifully, masterful in running script, regular script, and cursive script alike, as though his hand belonged to a calligrapher. The other bestowed talent in painting, allowing him to paint anything true to life.
But he had no need for a fine hand in calligraphy, nor did he need to make a living through painting. In his previous life, he could perhaps have become an artist, but for now, they were of little use.
Zhao Huai never kept useless destinies. Without a second thought, he tossed them to the bottom of the chest to gather dust. He could use them to upgrade other destinies later.
Then came the three Yellow-Grade Destinies: Treasure Appraisal Expert, Social Butterfly, and Classics Scholar.
Treasure Appraisal Expert was easy enough to understand from its name. It was a destiny that improved his ability to appraise treasures, allowing him to discern a treasure's authenticity and flaws at a glance. It sounded quite suitable for someone who ran a pawnshop.
But honestly, this destiny was merely passable to Zhao Huai.
Barely satisfactory.
With the copper coin, Zhao Huai had no need to know whether an item was genuine or fake. He only needed to know whether it was worth taking in.
Social Butterfly was a social-type destiny. It could make him eloquent and smooth in handling affairs, give him a silver tongue, and allow him to be impeccable in every social exchange.
Classics Scholar, meanwhile, had emerged from a heap of canonical texts and Ancient Books. It allowed one to master the vast sea of classical knowledge, easily comprehend all manner of obscure theories of the classics, learn how to compose eight-legged essays, gain a photographic memory, and write articles like a great Confucian of the age. It was the absolute pinnacle of classical scholarship.
The question was, what use was that to him?
Zhao Huai walked the path of immortality, charging forward without hesitation. He had no intention of selling his life to the imperial household. If some scholarly candidate had obtained it, that would have been more fitting.
The examinees from his previous life would probably have been too excited to sleep if they got it.
Fortunately, the final two Mysterious-Grade Destinies offered Zhao Huai some consolation. As his gaze moved downward, their information came into view.
Bone Refining Jade Transformation (Lower Mysterious Grade): Absorb this destiny to transform your bones, making them as hard as Spirit Jade.
Sword Heart Clarity (Middle Mysterious Grade): The heart is like a clear mirror. Unshackle the upper limit of the sword techniques you have learned. Your swordsmanship will no longer be bound by fixed moves; its transformations will follow your heart's desire.
Zhao Huai was quite satisfied with these two destinies.
The former had been obtained from a century-old Spirit Jade dragon-bone carving. It happened to further strengthen his defensive means. Spirit Jade was one of the materials used to forge magical artifacts; after transforming into jade, his bones could withstand immensely powerful impacts, greatly improving his ability to preserve his life.
The Diamond Body could only ensure that his iron hide remained indestructible. Bone Refining Jade Transformation perfectly made up for its shortcomings.
Copper skin and jade bones, complementing each other perfectly.
The latter had come from an Ancient Sword used in ancestral rites. It had originally been a magical artifact, but after a century of passing time, its power had greatly diminished, leaving it as little more than a symbol.
This destiny could not only help him study sword techniques and master swordsmanship, but more importantly, it could break through the upper limit.
Every sword technique had an upper limit—or rather, flaws and weaknesses. These formed the shackles of swordsmanship. Yet Sword Heart Clarity could shatter those limits, making a sword technique more powerful than before and allowing him to walk farther upon the path of the sword.
And through these seven destinies, Zhao Huai had discovered a pattern.
The higher an item's value, the rarer the destiny it could yield. High-value items could produce advanced and useful destinies, but they could also produce low-grade and useless ones. Low-value items, however, could only produce low-grade destinies; they could not leap across grades.
For example, the Earth-Grade Destiny Great Luck Overhead had come from the Mysterious Ring of an unknown cultivator. The treasures within it were wholly worthy of an Earth Grade.
In contrast, Master Huang's fakes and those ordinary, unremarkable items had extremely limited value. They could only yield low-grade Human-Grade destinies.
Facing the cartload of antiques and precious artifacts, Zhao Huai picked and chose, setting things down and picking them up again, item after item. A long while passed—at least half an hour.
Naturally, Master Huang did not stand around idly. He reclined leisurely in his sedan chair and waited slowly. At some point, a smoking pipe had appeared in his hand. He puffed away contentedly, wisps of white smoke rising from time to time.
After examining the destinies, Zhao Huai went to find Master Huang.
"These should be about enough. When shall we settle the payment, sir?"
"As long as the shopkeeper wishes it, we can do so right now."
Master Huang sat up with a beaming smile and glanced at the items Zhao Huai had selected.
The delighted smile on his face instantly stiffened. It soon returned, but it was no longer as broad as before, instead looking somewhat forced.
Because he saw that although Zhao Huai had not taken much, every item he had chosen was among the best of the lot!
And every one of them was genuine!
He had painstakingly forged so many fakes. How had Zhao Huai managed not to choose a single one? Even with sharp eyes, this was far too outrageous. Wouldn't this deal leave him bleeding money? Something was seriously wrong.
Master Huang was clearly exceedingly depressed.
At once, he firmly resolved that after the transaction was complete, he absolutely could not let this shopkeeper take these items away so easily.
Zhao Huai could plainly see the subtle change in Master Huang's expression, but naturally pretended not to notice. His eyes shifted sideways toward the middle-aged man beside him.
The middle-aged guard at the side, on the other hand, looked far more relaxed.
Zhao Huai secretly found it strange. Why did this man care about where this batch of relics ended up? Could he have some special connection to them?
Or perhaps these relics had not been discovered by Master Huang, but by this middle-aged guard? Zhao Huai pondered for a moment, then probed, "Master Huang, how did you obtain these relics from the old dynasty? I mean, the person who had them before they passed through your hands. If they had taken something of yours and reported me, that would be troublesome. Do you understand what I mean?"
After hearing this, an imperceptible trace of vigilance flashed through Master Huang's eyes. He smiled reassuringly. "Rest easy, Shopkeeper. These were all sold to me by impoverished princes and nobles after their titles were stripped away. Those Dayan nobles were all reduced to commoners, which is why I was able to collect them. So there is no need for you to worry. They are absolutely safe."
Zhao Huai nodded after hearing this. What Master Huang said did sound reasonable.
After Dayan fell, the vast imperial clan had fragmented and collapsed, utterly losing the privileges it once possessed.
They drifted among the common people and lacked the ability to support themselves. Many could only secretly sell their jewels in exchange for money to sustain their households.
Yet he did not wholly believe it. How could princes and nobles possibly possess national-treasure-level rarities like these? They should all have been locked away in the emperor's private treasury.
Seeing Zhao Huai's expression, Master Huang asked doubtfully, "It seems the shopkeeper feels considerable sympathy for Dayan. Why is that?"
Zhao Huai gave a faint sigh and said with emotion, "Times have changed. Dayan stood for a hundred years. Zhao was, after all, born under Dayan rule, and my grandfather once served as an official of Dayan. Even though three years have passed, it is hard to let go. Back then, although Dayan was like the setting sun beyond the western hills, there were still those who stepped forward to turn the tide."
"Dayan's loyal ministers, its veteran generals, its soldiers—who among them did not die for the nation, falling upon the battlefield? To say it had no redeeming qualities at all would be far too heartless."
"Perhaps Dayan had many shortcomings, but it was still the old dynasty and old grace. It cannot all be forgotten."
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