Appraisal Grandmaster

Biodata

Power Progression

Requirements and Practice

Divine Gaze Technique

The Divine Gaze Technique is the foundation of an appraiser’s advancement. Minor Mastery qualifies an apprentice for certification, while Greater Mastery elevates an appraiser to Grandmaster rank 6 52 66.

• Greater Mastery allows spiritual will to extend more than one zhang beyond the user’s body 66.
• Spiritual power can be used to confront Killing Intent, residual true qi, weapon auras, ghosts, and spiritual imprints embedded in treasures 217 329.
• Strong vitality and blood are necessary to nourish spiritual power; insufficient physical cultivation is a principal obstacle to reaching Appraisal Grandmaster rank 120 158.
• Mental clarity and restraint are also essential. Greed and unstable desires can obstruct the spiritual will required for advancement 66.

Treasure Appraisal

Appraisal Grandmasters handle treasures that lesser appraisers cannot safely approach.

• They assess a treasure’s grade, history, Killing Intent, hidden dangers, and lingering owner imprints.
• They may cleanse weapons and armor of Blood Baleful Qi, true qi, Sword Qi, Blade Astral Force, and hostile spiritual will 216 217 279.
• Dangerous weapons are ordinarily reserved for specialized military appraisers because backlash can injure or kill an unprepared appraiser 216.
• Ordinary Appraisal Grandmasters require extensive preparation; a batch Chen Shaojun completed in one session was estimated to require at least ten days at normal Grandmaster speed 222.
• Even veteran Grandmasters may be unable to appraise artifacts with layered energy systems or overwhelming Killing Intent, such as the humanoid armor from the Star Realm 250.

Professional Standing

• Appraisal Grandmasters are regarded as the pinnacle of the conventional appraisal profession 66.
• Shengjing City had only twenty-seven qualified appraisal masters when Chen Shaojun reached Greater Mastery 66.
• Their services are especially valuable to pawnshops, trading houses, martial artists, and treasure holders who need dangerous artifacts cleansed before use 121 221.
• A Grandmaster’s failure can be fatal. Baleful Intent, spiritual backlash, weapon aura, and retained resentment have killed numerous Certified Appraisers and Grandmasters 119 216 283.
• Grandmasters can also compete through public appraisal challenges. Rival pawnshops may present treasures that even their own appraisers cannot resolve, with failure risking death by Killing Intent backlash 283 317.

Known Appraisal Grandmasters

• Chen Shaojun — Advanced publicly after claiming Greater Mastery of the Divine Gaze Technique; later recognized as an Appraisal Grandmaster-Patriarch and the “God of Appraisers” 235 329 335.
• Qin Wenshan — Chief Appraiser of the Lin Clan Pawnshop. He reached Appraisal Grandmaster rank after studying Chen Shaojun’s Appraiser’s Handbook 223 282.
• Lu Fengchun — Veteran Appraisal Grandmaster whose career was built through ruthless exploitation of apprentices and fellow appraisers 124.
• Wu Qing — Chief appraiser of Minggu Workshop. He was unable to appraise the humanoid armor and later acknowledged Chen Shaojun’s superiority 249 252.
• Zhao Wen — Appraisal Grandmaster of Ancient-Surpassing Pawnshop who led the challenge against Number One Appraisal Hall 316 317.
• Bai Bingwen — Shengjing City’s sole surviving Appraisal Grandmaster-Patriarch prior to Chen Shaojun’s public rise 316 329.

Number One Appraisal Hall

Shopkeeper Liu proposed the Number One Appraisal Hall as a specialized division of the Lin Clan Pawnshop for rare, strange, and dangerous treasures beyond the ability of ordinary appraisers. Qin Wenshan and Chen Shaojun were designated to oversee its most difficult cases 283.

The hall’s name provoked the major pawnshops of Shengjing City, whose Grandmasters organized a public series of appraisal trials to force its removal 316 317.

• Chen Shaojun cleansed the bloodstained giant scissors from Heavenly Elegance Pawnshop, compelling Xu Yumin to recognize the hall’s claim 324.
• He appraised the Dragon-Tortoise Statue, destroyed its apparition, and obtained the Godslaying Art 326.
• His spiritual power surpassed one hundred meters while cleansing the wolf-tooth club, leading observers to identify him as an Appraisal Grandmaster-Patriarch 328 329.
• After Chen completed all seventeen challenges, the shopkeepers of Shengjing’s seventeen major pawnshops personally hung the hall’s signboard 335.