Shopkeeper Gu took Xu Qingtong with him and flew straight toward the northwest of the Market.
A short while later, they arrived at an open area with ten arenas set up inside it. Behind the arenas stood a great hall, and two people were fighting in each arena.
Shopkeeper Gu did not stop, heading straight for the great hall at the back.
Upon entering the hall, they saw three people seated inside, discussing something.
Shopkeeper Gu approached the three, cupped his fists in greeting, and said, "I am Gu Mingli, shopkeeper of the Jade Spring Commerce Association. My respects to you, Elders."
The three stopped talking and looked up at Shopkeeper Gu. The one in the middle said, "Ah, Shopkeeper Gu. What brings you here today?"
Shopkeeper Gu hurriedly pulled Xu Qingtong forward and introduced him. "Elders, this is Xu Qingtong, an employee of our Jade Spring Commerce Association. He is at the Third Layer of Qi Refining and is skilled at crafting talismans. He wishes to take part in the selections for this Young Talents Assembly. I hope you three elders can accommodate him." With that, he handed over a Storage Bag.
The elder in the middle took the Storage Bag, swept it with his divine sense, and accepted it. After whispering a few words to the other two, he said, "There are only two days left in the first stage of the Young Talents Assembly. This lad's cultivation is too low. If he can win five matches in the remaining two days, we can allow him to enter the next round of selections." With that, he tossed a Jade Token to Shopkeeper Gu.
Shopkeeper Gu caught it and let out a long breath. He bowed in thanks, then left with Xu Qingtong.
They left the great hall and returned to the shop. Shopkeeper Gu said to Xu Qingtong, "Qingtong, your cultivation is too low, and you still have no magical artifacts to protect yourself. Normally, you can only use magical artifacts after reaching the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining. I can see that your divine sense is strong, though your magic power is somewhat lacking, so you should just barely be able to use them. Go find Wu Zheng in a little while and choose an offensive magical artifact and a piece of Protective Armor. Then come see me on the third floor. I'll help you refine them."
Xu Qingtong was deeply moved. He knew the shopkeeper did not regard him as an outsider. Even setting aside the Storage Bag given to the three elders, those two protective magical artifacts alone would probably cost quite a few spirit stones.
He silently took out a stack of roughly two hundred Mid-Grade Talismans and offered them to Shopkeeper Gu. "Shopkeeper, words of thanks cannot repay such kindness. I will always remember how you have looked after me!"
Shopkeeper Gu did not take the talismans. He merely waved a hand and said, "Go on!"
Xu Qingtong took his leave of Shopkeeper Gu, found Wu Zheng, and explained the shopkeeper's instructions. Wu Zheng had not expected Xu Qingtong to enter the Young Talents Assembly either. With a complicated expression, he led him off to choose magical artifacts.
"Brother Qingtong, this is a low-grade flying sword called the Red Sun Sword. It is fire-attributed, powerful in attack, and easy to control. This seal is called the Goumang Seal (properly written with a different first character). It was crafted from wood-attributed materials in imitation of the ancient Primal Chaos Seal. Unfortunately, it is damaged. Otherwise, it would certainly be a remarkable treasure."
After hearing Wu Zheng's introduction, Xu Qingtong made up his mind. His cultivation was low, and all he really relied on were the Mid-Grade Talismans he crafted himself. Magical artifacts were optional. To avoid putting Shopkeeper Gu in too difficult a position, he chose the damaged Goumang Seal, then picked out a piece of Protective Armor.
Taking the two magical artifacts with him, Xu Qingtong went to Shopkeeper Gu's room on the third floor and handed them over.
Looking at the two magical artifacts Xu Qingtong had chosen, Shopkeeper Gu said unhurriedly, "This Protective Armor is made from purple wisteria wood. Its defensive strength is average, and it is vulnerable to fire-attributed attacks. It can withstand no more than two hits from something like the Mid-Grade Fireball Talismans you craft. It does offer considerable resistance to Water Arrow Talismans, though. Taking six or seven hits should be no problem."
Xu Qingtong listened and carefully committed this to memory. He would have to pay close attention to it in future fights.
Shopkeeper Gu then picked up the seal. "This is called the Goumang Seal. Although it is damaged and has lost all its power, it has quite a history. According to the records of Jade Spring Mountain, Jade Spring True Person crafted it using an ancient method, in imitation of the Primal Chaos Seal. He intended to make a magic treasure, but for some unknown reason, it turned out to be only a spirit artifact. Later, this spirit artifact was damaged during internal strife in the sect and lost all its power. The sect's master artifact refiners tried several times to repair it, but none succeeded. In the end, it could only be sent here and sold as a magical artifact."
Xu Qingtong did not mind. He had never intended to take a good magical artifact in the first place. Whatever he could save the shop would be worth saving!
Shopkeeper Gu then earnestly drilled him on some lessons from his experience fighting other cultivators. Xu Qingtong memorized each one, thanked the shopkeeper, and took his leave.
Back in his room, Xu Qingtong took out the two magical artifacts and practiced with them carefully. Only after he could wield them proficiently did he put them away.
Thinking of how he would compete against others tomorrow, Xu Qingtong felt both excited and nervous. He had never fought anyone before, so he needed to give serious thought to how he should fight.
First, I have to ensure my own safety. As long as I avoid being blasted off the arena, I can watch for an opening and counterattack. That makes Mid-Grade Shield Talismans essential. The Goumang Seal can serve for both offense and defense, but it consumes too much magic power. Hmm, right, I also need to prepare some elixirs that can quickly restore magic power.
At that thought, Xu Qingtong hurried to his feet, ran to Wu Zheng's room, and woke him. "Big Brother Wu, does the shop have any elixirs that can quickly restore magic power?"
Still bleary-eyed, Wu Zheng replied, "We do, but they're all too expensive. Qingtong, if you're planning to rely on those to win your matches, I'm afraid the gains won't make up for the losses!"
Xu Qingtong ignored that and simply pulled him toward the shop. In the end, on Wu Zheng's recommendation, he bought ten Qi-Replenishing Pills at five spirit stones apiece. Spending fifty spirit stones left him feeling quite a pinch.
Once he returned to his room, Xu Qingtong had one primordial spirit meditate and regulate his breathing while the other practiced the Divine Sense Shapeshifting Technique within his niwang palace. He shaped his divine sense into sabers, swords, and other forms, then sent it out of his body to attack a teacup on the table.
Once, twice-after who knew how many attempts, he finally knocked the teacup over.
Xu Qingtong was somewhat pleased with his divine sense shapeshifting. He considered it for a moment. What would happen if I condensed my divine sense into a needle?
At that thought, Xu Qingtong hurriedly gathered his divine sense again, formed it into a needle, and shot it toward the teacup. With a pfft, a tiny hole was pierced through the cup, and the tea inside trickled out.
This divine sense shapeshifting attack thrilled Xu Qingtong. If he suddenly unleashed it during a fight, very few people would likely be able to guard against it. It could serve as his trump card.
Xu Qingtong checked his talismans again. Shopkeeper Gu had not accepted the two hundred Mid-Grade Talismans he had prepared for him, so they should be enough for tomorrow's matches. He had wanted to increase the talismans' power further, but several attempts at crafting them had all failed. With his current materials, he probably could not make them any more powerful.
After tomorrow's matches ended, he would ask Shopkeeper Gu whether there were better materials he could use to craft talismans.
Only after everything was ready did Xu Qingtong lie down with an easy mind. He would get a good night's rest and face tomorrow's matches in peak condition.
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