A Kind Heart

"Of course.

Even newcomers had a chance.

I remember last time, there was an Appraiser Apprentice who had only just started. After appraising a strange treasure, his constitution changed drastically, and he soon became a Certified Appraiser.

I heard he was now a Certified Appraiser at Sky Treasure Pavilion, with a completely different status and standing."

As Ayong spoke, a strange light flickered in his eyes.

He had also been waiting for such an opportunity.

Among countless treasures, after enough appraisals, a miracle would eventually descend.

He hoped the next miracle would happen to him.

That night, many Appraiser Apprentices were far from calm.

The news of the Treasure Fair had shaken them deeply.

Some were excited and expectant, but naturally, others were worried and afraid. Some had even considered running away.

The terrifyingly high death rate was enough to chill one to the bone. Not everyone believed fortune would fall upon them.

Yet a single contract of sale had sealed off every path of retreat.

"The Treasure Fair truly is an opportunity.

Not only could I appraise treasures like mad and reap rewards in abundance there.

I could also use this opportunity to push the Divine Gaze Technique into Minor Mastery in one leap, truly becoming a Certified Appraiser and breaking free from my current identity and the shackles of this environment."

Chen Shaojun was deep in thought as well.

He had never believed he would fail to become a Certified Appraiser. In fact, even without the Spirit-Communing Pill rewards these past two days, he could feel his Divine Gaze Technique improving at a rapid pace.

It likely would not be long before he broke through and reached Minor Mastery.

Minor Mastery of the Divine Gaze Technique was the standard for a Certified Appraiser.

Originally, he had been considering how to reasonably reveal his Minor Mastery of Divine Gaze Technique when the time came, so he could quickly shed his slave status and regain his freedom.

But now, the Treasure Fair had shown him hope.

He did not need to be like those few lucky ones who appraised treasures containing spiritual energy and Auspicious Aura. He only needed to use the Treasure Fair to turn himself into one of those lucky people.

Once his mind was made up.

Chen Shaojun did not dwell on anything else. He immediately entered cultivation and visualized the Tai Shang Perception Scripture.

After the pawnshop gained twenty more Appraiser Apprentices, Chen Shaojun had initially thought the number of treasures left for them to appraise would be greatly reduced.

Unexpectedly, not only had the treasures they needed to appraise not decreased, they had increased enormously.

Many were old stock that had been sitting around for years.

No one knew how long they had been gathering dust in the pawnshop's treasure vault. The Killing Intent that should have been thoroughly cleansed away had begun showing signs of gathering once more.

Of course, compared to "fresh materials," the Killing Intent contained within these treasures was naturally much weaker, almost never exceeding three wisps.

Clearly, the pawnshop had specially brought them out to train this batch of newly arrived Appraiser Apprentices.

After all, even when hiring cannon fodder, the pawnshop needed cannon fodder with ability and experience.

Perhaps someone might stand out at the Treasure Fair?

The only thing that made Chen Shaojun uncomfortable was that there were not enough appraisal rooms.

There were only ten appraisal rooms for apprentices in total, and now nearly every one was shared by two or three people.

At the same time, in order to quickly train up a batch of usable Appraiser Apprentices, the shop had also instructed veteran apprentices like him to offer guidance and teaching.

Thus, each person was assigned three or four new apprentices.

He had three under him as well.

One was named Guo Haiwang, one was named Sun Ming, and the other was called Li Dan. All were around fifteen years old, each of them thin and shriveled, clearly the result of long-term malnutrition.

"You're not from Shengjing City, are you?"

Chen Shaojun could tell their accents were off.

"We all came from Chu Commandery."

Guo Haiwang, the taller one, was somewhat bolder and answered.

"Chu Commandery? That's not close. How did you end up here?"

Chen Shaojun was taken aback.

Travel was far from convenient for ordinary people in this world. Even going from one county to another required traveling in groups and hiring skilled protectors, let alone journeying between Chu Commandery and Shengjing City, separated by two commanderies.

Through mountains, marshes, and waterways, they had to guard not only against bandits, venomous insects, and wild beasts, but also against demons and ghosts.

The entire journey must have been fraught with peril at every turn, like treading on thin ice.

"A demon caused trouble at Zhou Lake in Chu Commandery. The lake water flooded backward, and everything within thirty li around was struck by disaster, so we followed our elders here as refugees.

When we reached Shengjing City, we truly could not survive any longer.

Fortunately, the Lin Family showed kindness and handed out porridge on Oil Mill Street. Then a steward said the Lin Family needed hands, so he bought us.

After only a few days there, someone taught us the Divine Gaze Technique. Once everyone had learned it, we were brought here."

Guo Haiwang explained.

Chen Shaojun could only fall silent after hearing this.

They were all children of poor families. Unless driven to the brink, who would be willing to leave their homeland behind?

Even he himself, though he was said to be a local of Shengjing City, actually had his true home thirty li outside the city. If he had not been unable to survive, he would not have been sent to the Lin Family either.

But compared to him, these people had far more winding and bitter fates.

With the Treasure Fair imminent, it would be difficult for them to return alive.

They truly were nothing more than cannon fodder, gambling on that slim, almost nonexistent chance of becoming something.

And the Lin Family had not bought them out of kindness. They simply wanted them to risk their lives for the Lin Family.

Of the twenty Appraiser Apprentices, including Chen Shaojun and the other six, even if they all died at the Treasure Fair, the Lin Family likely would not feel any regret.

But if even one apprentice among them succeeded and became a Certified Appraiser, then to the Lin Family, everything would have been worth it.

"Actually, we know how dangerous the profession of an appraiser is.

My great-grandfather once served as an Appraiser Apprentice in a pawnshop. Later, he saw with his own eyes an apprentice working beside him die right in front of him, and only then did he dare not continue. That was why I knew some of the inside story too.

But there's no helping it.

Since we've come here, we have to do this whether we want to or not. We can only take one step at a time."

Guo Haiwang sighed. Children of poor families grew up early. They had endured hardship, and every one of them was mature beyond his years.

Chen Shaojun nodded and said no more.

They did not need comfort. They had merely been driven into a corner by life.

He then began teaching them how to appraise treasures.

Light candles and burn incense.

Use the Divine Gaze Technique.

He explained every point that required attention in detail.

In truth, there was nothing to hide, because in the final analysis, the foundation of everything was still the Divine Gaze Technique.

The Divine Gaze Technique was what determined whether they could survive during treasure appraisal.

The three of them had each previously received a material. Most contained little Killing Intent, and appraising them one after another did not take much effort.

Chen Shaojun then sent them off to rest.

With the strength of their minds, a single appraisal was enough to leave them mentally exhausted and unable to continue.

Only then did Chen Shaojun begin his own appraisal.

He even skipped lighting candles and burning incense.

He directly used the Divine Gaze Technique.

His spiritual force swept through it, and a treasure was quickly appraised.

.