"I never expected this bead to have been transformed from Goshawk's Eye.
And its grade had even reached Mortal Grade, Mid-Tier."
Chen Shaojun came back to his senses, astonishment stirring in his heart.
But on second thought, it was only natural.
The goshawk soared through the nine heavens. When it hunted, it was fierce and savage; with a single claw, it could crush boulders to powder. It was no ordinary wild beast.
Its eyeball was naturally extraordinary as well, worthy of being called a precious medicinal ingredient.
Then, Chen Shaojun received the reward from the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror.
A spell.
Spirit Eye Technique.
All things born beneath heaven possessed spiritual energy, only stronger in some and weaker in others.
The Spirit Eye Technique could judge an item's value and degree of danger through the strength of its spiritual energy, allowing one to seek fortune and avoid calamity.
Having obtained the Spirit Eye Technique, Chen Shaojun could not wait to use it.
He possessed neither martial True Qi nor Daoist true essence.
Fortunately, like the Divine Gaze Technique, the Spirit Eye Technique could be activated through spiritual power. Only the method of casting it differed slightly.
Another point worth mentioning was that the Spirit Eye Technique was an auxiliary enhancement spell. What it enhanced was one's sight. Though the Divine Gaze Technique was likewise cast through the eyes, it was fundamentally an offensive secret art.
Its purpose was to wear away the fierce baleful intent and ghostly qi within an item being appraised, restoring the treasure to its original appearance.
The two were fundamentally different.
As the Spirit Eye Technique was cast, every kind of aura within the room became plainly visible.
The clearest of all was the Goshawk's Eye on the table that he had appraised.
A lustrous white glow gathered around it without dispersing, faintly taking the form of wisps. Counting carefully, there were four in total.
"Four strands of spiritual energy?
Could they represent the medicinal power contained within this Goshawk's Eye?"
Chen Shaojun was somewhat puzzled.
But he merely committed it to memory.
No matter how potent the medicinal power contained within this Goshawk's Eye was, it had nothing to do with him.
Every treasure in the pawnshop passed through the hands of a Certified Appraiser before reaching him, after which it was recorded in the registers.
If he dared embezzle anything, he would be tracked down before a single night had passed.
When that time came, his fate would be no better than entering the imperial prison. He would truly be unable to live or die.
Chen Shaojun then turned his gaze elsewhere and discovered that although most objects contained more or less spiritual energy, none of it took shape. Let alone gathering without dispersing and condensing into strands of spiritual silk, they could not even emit white light.
They were merely faint and indistinct, drifting unpredictably.
Clearly, not every object could produce strands of spiritual energy.
Perhaps that was the difference between treasures and ordinary objects?
"The Spirit Eye Technique truly deserves to be called a spell.
It can help me peer into the depths of all things and assess a treasure's value.
If I cast it before appraising a treasure, it could even help me seek fortune and avoid calamity, letting me learn the degree of danger in advance."
Chen Shaojun sighed inwardly. He had already thought of how to use the Spirit Eye Technique to its fullest effect.
The only thing that left him somewhat helpless was that using the Spirit Eye Technique consumed quite a bit as well.
With the strength of his spirit, he could maintain it for at most ten seconds.
If he accounted for the power he needed to reserve for the Divine Gaze Technique, then he only had five seconds.
"Five seconds.
That will be enough."
Leaving Appraisal Room Seven, Chen Shaojun arrived at the storeroom.
At that moment, an Appraiser Apprentice had already finished appraising treasures before him and was recording them in the register.
Chen Shaojun noticed that the other person was the tall youth who had mentioned yesterday that he had also suffered Killing Intent entering his body. His name was Du Hao.
After exchanging greetings, Chen Shaojun quietly waited.
Before long, he noticed Xu Hongtao, one of the unpackers, boasting to a group of laborers about his adventures in the martial world during his younger days.
The pawnshop handled pawned goods, appraised treasures, and exchanged them for silver. When there was nothing to do, it was actually extremely leisurely.
No one interfered when they occasionally chatted and boasted.
Chen Shaojun had been here for half a year and had already heard seven or eight parts of Xu Hongtao's boasts. The moment Xu Hongtao opened his mouth, he knew he was once again talking about accompanying his gang leader to attend a meeting alone at the Celestial Master Hall on Lesser Camel Mountain.
Xu Hongtao made it sound perilous.
But Chen Shaojun later concluded that it had merely been a routine exchange between two gang leaders who feared one another while testing one another.
Their brief clash, stopping at the first taste, proved exactly that.
They had been able to retreat unscathed only because neither side was certain it could keep the other behind.
Later, however, both Lesser Camel Mountain and the Thunderclap Gang that Xu Hongtao belonged to had been reduced to ashes beneath the iron fist of the authorities.
Clearly, the authorities were the truly powerful force in this world.
Still, Chen Shaojun was indeed deeply curious about martial arts.
Thus, he could not help asking, "Uncle Xu, what realm was your gang leader in?"
"Our gang leader was quite the renowned figure back then.
A blade like thunder over the deep sea, a spear that split mountains and shattered stones.
Of those, that blade referred to our gang leader, Shen Jinglei.
He was a genuine Upper-Grade Great Martial Master at the Ninth Layer of the Qi Sea Realm."
Xu Hongtao spoke with a face full of pride.
Though he could now only remain in the Lin Family Pawnshop as an unpacker, his days in the gang during his youth had been what stirred him most.
The person he admired most in his life was also their gang leader, Shen Jinglei.
"The Ninth Layer of the Qi Sea Realm? An Upper-Grade Great Martial Master?"
Chen Shaojun's heart trembled, and excitement rose within him as well.
These martial realms and titles for martial artists made him vaguely recall the impassioned days when he had read famous wuxia novels.
"Uncle Xu, you understand martial arts.
Could you tell us how martial arts are generally divided?"
In truth, Chen Shaojun was not the only curious one. The others also yearned greatly for martial arts.
At that moment, Du Hao could not help speaking up to ask as well.
"Since you are all so interested, I'll tell you about it."
Xu Hongtao laughed heartily. "Martial arts are divided into five realms: Body Tempering, Qi Sea, Innate, Spirit Astral, and Divine Profound.
Though there are only five realms, Body Tempering alone has nine transformations.
The first is Flesh Tempering, the second Sinew Tempering, the third Bone Tempering, the fourth Skin Tempering, the fifth Marrow Tempering, the sixth Blood Exchange, the seventh Five Organs Tempering, the eighth Six Bowels Tempering, and the ninth Inner Sight. It is truly one step at a time, and none of it is easy.
An ordinary martial warrior needs at least ten years of hard training to cultivate from the first level of Flesh Tempering to the ninth level of Inner Sight.
Another point worth mentioning is that those in the Body Tempering Realm are collectively called Martial Warriors, those in the Qi Sea Realm are Martial Masters, those in the Innate Realm are Grandmasters, those in the Spirit Astral Realm are Great Grandmasters, and those in the Divine Profound Realm are Martial Saints.
The current Martial Hero Marquis, for instance, is a Martial Saint of the Divine Profound Realm."
Xu Hongtao did not conceal anything, speaking eloquently as he opened the door to a new world for them all.
"The five realms of Body Tempering, Qi Sea, Innate, Spirit Astral, and Divine Profound correspond to the five titles of Martial Warrior, Martial Master, Grandmaster, Great Grandmaster, and Martial Saint.
Is this the world of those who practice martial arts?"
Chen Shaojun drew a deep breath, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
Deep in his heart, a powerful yearning arose.
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