The atmosphere at the talisman testing grounds had just settled down.
Everyone was still reeling from the shock of a first-grade talisman unleashing second-grade power.
Zhang Jian rubbed his hands together, wearing a reverent expression as he waited eagerly for Su Yun to produce the goods.
He had assumed there would be dozens at most, perhaps a hundred.
Bringing out a hundred improved talismans in one go was already an astounding feat.
It would be enough to make the Hundred Treasures Pavilion a fortune.
The next second.
Su Yun flipped one hand.
Whoosh—
A torrent of light flashed through the air.
A huge pile of neatly stacked talismans crashed onto the stone platform.
One stack, two stacks, three stacks...
They piled up layer upon layer, quickly forming a small mountain of talisman paper half a person tall.
Multicolored spiritual light flowed over them without pause.
Scarlet red, azure wind, silvery gold, deep blue...
The talisman markings gleamed with vivid, full-bodied color. There were two thousand talismans in all.
In an instant.
The entire place fell silent.
So quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The anticipation and reverence on Zhang Jian's face froze in place.
His eyes flew wide open, and his mind crashed on the spot.
He stood there dumbstruck, mouth agape, unable to close it for a long moment.
All he could see was that towering mountain of talisman paper.
He was stunned.
Completely stunned.
He had expected a large quantity.
But he had never imagined there would be so many—so ridiculously many!
Every Hundred Treasures Pavilion attendant, manager, and talisman appraiser nearby froze stiff.
One by one, they stared fixedly at the stone platform, eyes wide.
Their faces were blank with disbelief.
"I... my heavens..."
Someone swallowed instinctively, their voice trembling.
"So many?!"
"That's way too outrageous!"
"I've never seen this many top-grade talismans all at once in my entire life!"
"And they're all improved versions!"
Everyone's minds were blown.
An ordinary veteran talisman master, pouring their heart and soul into their work, could make twenty or thirty top-grade talismans in a month. That was already the mark of a peerless genius.
Yet the old man before them had just pulled out two thousand!
Was that even something a person could do?
Who was this man?
A reclusive powerhouse?
A living immortal of the talisman path?
The only thing left in everyone's minds was boundless shock.
Su Yun's expression didn't change as he spoke.
"Take a look."
"Inspect them one by one and confirm their quality."
His words brought everyone back to their senses.
Zhang Jian jolted awake, his heart pounding wildly, his hands and feet going numb.
He hurriedly pulled himself together and shouted in a panic.
"Quick! Everyone, get over here and inspect the goods!"
"Check every one carefully! Don't miss a single talisman!"
Several veteran talisman appraisers wasted no time. They immediately crowded around the pile.
They divided up the work, quickly sampling the talismans, examining them closely, and sensing their spiritual energy.
One by one, the talismans were lifted, studied, and tested.
At first, everyone was still visibly shocked.
The more they inspected, the more astonished they became.
Every single one.
Without exception.
They were all first-grade top-quality talismans.
Their markings were neat and flawless, without the slightest imperfection.
Their spiritual energy was incredibly refined, contained within and not leaking out.
Any one of them would crush every first-grade talisman on the market.
Most outrageous of all was the depth of their spiritual energy.
Every talisman concealed an extraordinarily terrifying burst of power within it.
The weakest met the standard of a second-grade low-quality talisman.
More than half had power approaching that of a second-grade mid-quality talisman!
Half an hour later.
Everyone had gone from being shocked to completely numb.
Numb.
They were truly numb.
Ridiculous!
Utterly ridiculous!
It completely overturned everything they knew about the talisman path!
Several of them gathered together, repeatedly studying the talisman structures.
The lines, the nodes, the loops, the flow of spiritual energy.
They were absolutely standard first-grade talisman patterns.
There were no added lines and no concealed higher-grade structures.
The paper was the cheapest ordinary first-grade talisman paper.
The ink was the most common spiritual ink found at the market.
The materials were unremarkable, and the structure hadn't been altered at all.
And yet their power crushed everything of the same grade and battered second-grade talismans!
"This is bizarre... far too bizarre..."
An old talisman appraiser murmured, his face filled with disbelief.
"The patterns are exactly the same. The materials are exactly the same."
"Why is the power so many times greater?"
"I can't make heads or tails of it!"
Everyone examined the talismans again and again, comparing them back and forth.
They couldn't find any special modifications or the slightest trace of anything unusual.
The more they studied them, the more their scalps tingled.
Off to one side.
Su Yun stood quietly, watching them bustle about as he chuckled inwardly.
These people could rack their brains all they wanted; it was useless.
They relied on knowledge, deduction, and their mastery of the talisman path.
He relied on the system's Thousandfold Amplification.
He was simply cheating.
It was a boost from beyond the rules.
Even if they studied for ten years, a hundred years, they still wouldn't glimpse the truth.
If they could see through the system cheat, now that would really be impressive.
As Zhang Jian watched the talismans, his mind raced with calculations.
Two thousand improved divine talismans.
This kind of output couldn't possibly have come from a single person.
The only explanation was that the old man had a terrifyingly powerful organization backing him.
Only a complete system, countless years of accumulated knowledge, and a top-tier inheritance could produce talismans that defied common sense on such a scale.
But that raised another question.
Why had such a powerful force never shown itself before?
Why had they chosen his little Hundred Treasures Pavilion in Azure Cloud Market to sell their goods?
Zhang Jian couldn't figure it out.
The more he thought about it, the more baffled he became.
But he quickly pushed all his doubts aside.
It didn't matter if he couldn't figure it out.
The most important thing was whether he could secure this batch of goods!
This was the greatest opportunity of his life!
If the pavilion could take in this batch of talismans, it would make a name for itself in a single stroke!
Forget just Azure Cloud Market—even across several surrounding cities, it could easily stand above every other merchant house!
There would be no shortage of buyers for these improved talismans.
They could even go straight to a high-end auction.
Their value for money was heaven-defying, and they were incredibly rare.
With a little hype, doubling the price would be a breeze.
Guaranteed profit! A massive profit! Money for nothing!
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.
All the talismans had been inspected.
The lead appraiser hurried over to Zhang Jian and reported solemnly.
"Boss! The inspection is complete!"
"All two thousand talismans are usable. Not a single reject, not a single second-rate one!"
"They're all improved first-grade top-quality talismans!"
"More than thirteen hundred have power reliably on par with second-grade low-quality talismans!"
"The remaining nearly seven hundred have even greater depth. Their burst power and refinement are all at the level of second-grade mid-quality talismans!"
At those words.
Zhang Jian's pupils contracted once again.
Nearly seven hundred improved talismans with the power of second-grade mid-quality ones!
What a windfall!
A truly enormous windfall!
He didn't hesitate any longer and immediately began calculating the total price.
He spoke rapidly, his hands trembling with excitement.
"For the talismans with second-grade low-quality power, thirteen hundred at two hundred low-grade spirit stones each!"
"That comes to two hundred and sixty thousand low-grade spirit stones!"
"For the talismans with second-grade mid-quality power, seven hundred! They're higher quality and have greater burst power!"
"I'll offer the master a generous price! Three hundred low-grade spirit stones each!"
"That comes to two hundred and ten thousand low-grade spirit stones!"
Zhang Jian took a deep breath and announced the final total.
"Total: four hundred and seventy thousand low-grade spirit stones!"
That was equivalent to four thousand seven hundred mid-grade spirit stones!
One deal had earned more wealth than most people could make in a lifetime!
At his words, every nearby attendant trembled, their eyes blazing with excitement.
That was the terrifying earning power of a top-tier talisman master!
Zhang Jian looked up at Su Yun with utmost reverence, his tone earnest.
"Master! Are you satisfied with this price?"