Chi Wang noticed what was happening over here but said nothing, looking somewhat inclined to enjoy the show.
Chu Song, who was drawing a talisman, sensed the commotion, but he had not finished this stroke yet. He could not stop now!
Tiny beads of sweat dotted the boy's forehead in his anxiety.
You damned hand! Hurry up and draw!
Hang in there, Brother Tang!
Under everyone's gaze, Tang Yao spread her hands. "I really don't know how to draw them, but that doesn't mean I'm not a talisman cultivator, does it?"
A small number of people had originally supported Tang Yao without fearing the Jiang Household, believing Jiang He was talking nonsense.
But now Senior Sister Tang herself had admitted it?
Those people lowered their heads, their earlier confidence swept away, and fell silent.
How was that possible?
Senior Sister Tang had not even tried, yet she was certain she was a talisman cultivator. This was a fool's dream...
Hearing this, Jiang He looked as though her suspicions had been confirmed.
"Enough excuses! Just wait for the sect master's punishment! Did you really think becoming a talisman cultivator was that easy?"
Jiang He raised an eyebrow. Even in their Jiang Household...
Not everyone could cultivate talismans...
Having just put down his brush, Chu Song spoke before Tang Yao could. He stood up anxiously. "My Brother Tang... Sister! If she says she is, then she is!"
He folded his arms, his gaze sharp. "What's it got to do with you?"
"Busybody..."
Seeing Jiang He's face redden with anger, Chu Song was clearly still not satisfied. He strode briskly up to her. "If you've got all this spare time to meddle in other people's business, the patterns you're drawing don't look all that impressive either!"
"Why does the Jiang Household shove people of every caliber in here?"
"What? Is the Profound Heaven Sect a garbage dump?"
Tang Yao had not expected Chu Song to have such a venomous tongue.
Jiang He clenched her fists hard, her nails already digging into her flesh. She gritted her teeth, her face twisting. She loathed this person too. "You..."
Chu Song gave her no chance to speak, immediately cutting her off. "What about me? Other people might fear your Jiang Household, but I don't!"
"I'm not even afraid of Jiang Yueyan. Why would I be afraid of you?"
Chu Song's impression of Jiang Yueyan had also soured considerably by association. On his current list of most hated people, Chi Wang ranked first, Jiang He second, and Jiang Yueyan third.
Tang Yao was a little surprised by Chu Song's words.
In the novel, Chu Song had been his eldest senior brother's devoted fanboy. She wondered whether their relationship would mend later.
Jiang He was equally surprised. He could mention her main-line brother without the slightest pressure. Could he have a powerful background?
The more Jiang He thought about it, the more likely it seemed. If the Jiang Household's main branch learned she had caused trouble, her little bit of talent in a side branch would count for nothing.
Jiang He's teeth itched with anger, but she could only force herself to endure it. "Fairy, no matter how much you defend her, the facts are right before us..."
Before Jiang He could finish, she was suddenly interrupted.
Tang Yao sat sideways on the desk with a smile. She extended a hand in front of Jiang He's lips, then suddenly spoke as though something had occurred to her.
"Little sister, since you're so certain I'm not one, if I do become a talisman cultivator later, you'll have to compensate Xiaohua and me for emotional distress. A hundred high-grade Spirit Stones each!"
The Jiang Household was so rich it practically dripped oil. She would be a fool not to take this windfall!
Jiang He said, "Who's your little sister..."
She snorted and agreed without a second thought.
"But when you're finally expelled from the sect, remember to pay me two hundred high-grade Spirit Stones for wasting my breath!"
"No, for exposing you!"
"You agreed to this yourself. If you can't pay up when the time comes, we'll go to Jiang Yueyan to settle the bill!" Chu Song stressed it repeatedly, as though afraid the sucker before them would run away.
At the mention of Jiang Yueyan, Jiang He panicked for a moment. After all, someone like Jiang Yueyan, whom the Lineage held aloft like the moon in the heavens, was not close to her.
They had merely been childhood companions...
But then she reconsidered. Tang Xiaocao herself had admitted she could not draw talismans. How could that be false?
So she did not argue with Chu Song again!
After getting off the desk, Tang Yao motioned for Chu Song to return.
"Xiaohua, keep drawing."
Chu Song nodded and returned to his seat, his gaze falling on his talisman paper.
On the desk, a sheet of talisman paper bearing a half-finished pattern gave off a crystalline blue glow.
Ordinarily, if a talisman cultivator ran off halfway through drawing, the final talisman's grade would be affected.
Talisman cultivators emphasized completing everything in one uninterrupted flow, without distractions. If they drew half and resumed the next day, their state of mind would differ from when they first drew it.
But Chu Song seemed completely unaffected. As though nothing had happened, he continued from the previous strokes, joining them seamlessly.
"Senior Sister Xiaohua's mental strength must be quite high..." The crowd whispered.
Seeing this, Tang Yao could not help marveling. Of course a beast cultivator's mental strength would be high, especially since Chu Song had a contracted beast within his Divine Sense.
She had been observing the people around her drawing talismans. She could not understand Chi Wang's for now, but Chu Song's felt like painting with a brush in the modern world.
For someone who had studied painting like her, simply reproducing every stroke exactly did not seem difficult. That was also why she had called Chu Song back to continue drawing: she wanted to keep watching.
Tang Yao then kept her eyes fixed on Chu Song.
She looked ready to stare a hole through his desk. She really wanted to earn her rice as a talisman cultivator!
Noticing Tang Yao's burning gaze beside him, Chu Song's Adam's apple bobbed. He held his brush normally in one hand while loosely curling his other hand in front of his mouth and nose. Looking embarrassed, he whispered, "You..."
He knew he might have just played the hero... rescuing a handsome man, but wasn't this his good brother? Standing up for her was perfectly normal!
Why had Brother Tang's gaze toward him become so ardent?
"I'm not interested in you. Keep drawing!"
Tang Yao closed her eyes and held her forehead.
If they were talking about interest, she was probably more interested in the talisman beneath Chu Song's hand.
Hearing this, Chu Song broke into a broad grin. The moment he heard that tone, he knew Brother Tang would always be his revolutionary comrade-in-arms!
Propping up her head, Tang Yao watched closely. Every stroke Chu Song made carried Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. His brush moved slowly but steadily, while tiny, faintly visible bolts of lightning clung to it.
A short while later, as Chu Song laid down his final stroke, the talisman on the desk flashed briefly red and floated into the air. Though clearly a Flame Talisman, it carried a faint hint of lightning's might.
Four words appeared conspicuously beneath the talisman: high-grade talisman.
The rankings updated in real time as well, and Chu Xiaohua's name leaped into first place.
The disciples stared at the rankings with aching stomachs. "..."
He had gotten up halfway through to tear into Jiang He, returned to continue drawing, and still produced a high-grade talisman. Talisman cultivation really did come down to talent!
While her fellow disciples were all watching Chu Song, Tang Yao picked up her brush too, recalling his movements just now...
Mobilizing the spiritual power within her, she followed the pattern stroke by stroke with extremely slow movements. Yet the brush in Tang Yao's hand seemed beyond her control, producing crooked, winding lines.
A quiet laugh came from behind her. Jiang He, who had finished drawing and was waiting, wore a mocking expression.
She had been watching this Tang Xiaocao the whole time.
Tang Yao closed her eyes to sense the connection between the talisman paper and her spiritual power. Copying Chu Song's posture, she pushed ice spiritual power all the way from her Dantian to the brush tip, moving the wolf-hair brush steadily across the talisman paper.
An incense stick's time later, tiny lights flickered across the talisman paper. Threads of icy chill actually lay within the light, making it vastly different from an ordinary Flame Talisman.
Beneath the talisman appeared:
Ice Flame Talisman, mid-grade talisman!
Everyone's mouths dropped open in surprise, and the elders in the elders' room also cast approving looks her way. Setting aside this mutated Flame Talisman, they had seen the earlier dispute in the examination room.
Seeing Tang Xiaocao sit motionless, Elder Ling had indeed harbored some doubts, but then he reconsidered. Why would someone who was not a talisman cultivator come to the Talisman Sect?
She would not receive any sect resources, and this specialty would not suit her at all. More importantly, the young girl did not look like a fool!
Tang Xiaocao's name on the rankings swiftly leaped from the bottom to second place.
Jiang He looked utterly bewildered. She had never imagined Tang Yao would actually be able to draw a talisman.
Had this Tang Xiaocao been deliberately toying with her?
Wouldn't someone who knew how to draw talismans normally start as soon as the assessment began? Yet she had just sat there without moving...
What if they really went to Jiang Yueyan for the Spirit Stones? She had come this time hoping to build a good relationship with her brother from the main branch.
Seeing that everything had gone smoothly on Tang Yao's side, Chi Wang lazily prepared to add the final sweeping stroke, drawing the talisman with his mind.
Chi Wang had never touched that wolf-hair brush throughout the entire process. He had been observing. This Jiang He's Dao heart seemed unstable too, but she was somewhat weak, as well as blunt and reckless.
Making her a Devil Cultivator...
Would not be much help in a great battle either.
As Chi Wang completed his final stroke, red light flared in all directions. The Flame Talisman seemed to come alive, a restless phantom of blazing fire behind the paper looking ready to burst forth at any moment.
The temperature throughout the room abruptly rose!
Beneath it appeared: supreme-grade Flame Talisman.
The rankings updated once again.
[The final participant has finished drawing. The final top three rankings will now be announced] [First place: Chi Wang] [Second place: Chu Xiaohua] [Third place: Tang Xiaocao]
Now everyone, whether in the classroom or the elders' room, was stunned!
For hundreds of years, no one had ever drawn a supreme-grade talisman during the new disciple trial. Even Jiang Yueyan had only drawn a high-grade talisman back then...
The elders appeared at the assessment venue one after another to examine the supreme-grade talisman up close.
They had truly picked up treasures in this year's intake!
Yet this supreme-grade talisman made them feel a surge of agitation, so Elder Wang, who was responsible for introductory talisman cultivation, spoke earnestly.
"Chi Wang, don't be too impetuous in your future cultivation. We talisman cultivators advance steadily, one firm step at a time. Only then can you build a solid foundation and have an easier time advancing to Golden Core later."
Chi Wang's lips curved into a smile, and he nodded. Narrowing his eyes, he replied with a meaningful expression, "Rest assured, Elder."
Beside him, Elder Ling stroked his beard and looked at Tang Yao and Chu Song.
"Xiaohua, Xiaocao, you both did well too. You successfully applied the attributes of your mutated Spirit Roots to talismans. Go to the scripture library later and find talismans of the corresponding attributes to practice, such as the Heavenly Thunder Talisman and Mystic Ice Talisman. You'll get twice the results with half the effort!"