Fake Physiognomy Technique

Physiognomists belong to one of the Hundred Schools of Thought, which is further divided into several factions.

As one of the Hundred Schools of Thought, physiognomists targeted cultivators and the ruling class.

The tradition of fortune tellers was interrupted after the Qin Dynasty, and the number of fortune tellers decreased significantly.

The most renowned figure of this century was a female cultivator named Xu Fu, who was bestowed the title of Marquis of Citing by the Emperor Gaozu.

However, apart from a few successful cases, most of the remaining fortune tellers are just opportunists, and the fortune tellers have never regained their former glory.

These people, finding it difficult to climb the social ladder and enter the cultivator community, had no choice but to lower their expectations and begin targeting ordinary wealthy people.

But the wealthy don't have so many life-and-death grudges, which leads some fortune tellers to stage their own schemes for money. Some of these schemes are exposed, and some are imprisoned or even lose their lives as a result.

The reputation of fortune tellers has been poor since the Qin Dynasty. Even knowledgeable people like Zhang Baojia know that fortune tellers often like to deceive people.

"Isn't this real skill?"

Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to show off his skills.

Zhang Xuezhou possesses genuine skills in the Person-Fixing Technique and Acupoint-Fixing Technique. The Person-Fixing Technique allows him to analyze fragments of a person's memories to uncover secrets from the past, while the Acupoint-Fixing Technique is the ability to break formations.

The reason these two skills are considered genuine is that the abilities he displayed had absolutely nothing to do with any Physiognomy School skills.

Using abilities in actual combat and using them for performance are two different things. Many techniques used in actual combat are not pleasing to the eye, and ordinary people cannot understand them. They cannot even see the energy fluctuations of the Technique Method.

Zhang Xuezhou's tactics involve pseudo-psychology.

These contents are not particularly surprising, after all, as society continues to develop towards civilization, psychological content will inevitably be involved.

However, while these contents are neither rare nor unusual, pseudo-psychology does not bring practical skills, and few monks study these contents, resulting in a lack of sufficient system.

Ordinary people are too busy making a living to even learn to read, let alone study these subjects.

"Think carefully, and see if the person with this face I drew is like that!"

If we don't make guesses, Zhang Xuezhou can only rely on his physiognomy, which is based on a combination of various data, to let everyone judge for themselves.

Physiognomy is not metaphysics, but rather belongs to the field of statistics, judging the temperament of individuals by examining a variety of people with similar appearances.

This is no different from astrology or Chinese zodiac; it involves choosing a framework beforehand and then adding identifying markers.

Facial features are the framework, while the corresponding temperament is the hallmark.

Once you know someone's temperament, you can judge their style of doing things and predict the actions they will take based on that personality.

"Zhang Laosan, the butcher in the West Market, seems to have that kind of appearance. He appears generous, but when selling meat, he often shortchanges customers, making him a truly cunning person..."

"Human limbs and internal organs are almost indistinguishable; only facial features differ, making appearance the most important distinguishing feature. Anyone who understands physiognomy can accurately predict wealth, honor, and disgrace!"

Zhang Xuezhou picked up a twig and sketched on the ground.

His drawing skills were quite good; with just a few strokes, he could capture the lifelike appearance of people. He then asked everyone to find people with similar facial features to match, and Zhang Baojia even suddenly realized who they knew.

"My cousin's drawing of pigs is much better than mine. He could even make money drawing portraits for people!"

Rong Tianding, who had come over to join the fun, stared wide-eyed, feeling that Zhang Xuezhou's skills this time were somewhat different.

This is not a cultivator's Technique Method, but something Rong Tianding couldn't explain.

He felt that Zhang Xuezhou's skills were a kind of ability, but since they did not involve Law Power or the power of Qi and Blood and qi, they did not belong to true techniques.

"It's Fake Technique!"

If a technique possesses the ability but does not involve skills that only cultivators can use, then it can be categorized as a Fake Technique.

However, Zhang Xuezhou's Fake Technique does not require dexterity of the fingers; it only requires following a template.

Simply by fitting a person's appearance into these templates, one can obtain the analysis results, which is far, far easier than using Fake Technique.

"I'll draw a few more facial features for you. After I explain the criteria, think about whether you recognize anyone similar to them!"

In the Zhang Household courtyard, Zhang Xuezhou used a tree branch to draw several portraits on the ground.

"Cousin, if a person's appearance can determine their entire life, doesn't that mean their fate is predetermined from birth?" Rong Tianding asked, puzzled.

"Cousin, you're mistaken," Zhang Xuezhou laughed. "A person's appearance changes constantly throughout their life due to opportunities and factors like diet. It's not something you're born with." He continued, "It's just that most people's personalities and living conditions stabilize as they grow older, and their appearance also stabilizes, making it possible to judge their entire life."

"I see! No wonder your appearance always seems to change a little. You look almost the same as before, but I always felt there were some differences!"

With his doubts cleared up, Rong Tianding couldn't help but look at Zhang Xuezhou more closely.

He felt that Zhang Xuezhou's appearance had been changing over the years since his debut. Although Zhang Xuezhou's appearance seemed the same, he had unknowingly changed a lot.

Zhang Xuezhou has gone through various stages, including youthful innocence, weathered appearance, aged look, young age, and gentle demeanor. At this moment, Rong Tianding felt that Zhang Xuezhou had a face as beautiful as jade, and while his appearance remained largely unchanged, he also possessed a peaceful and approachable quality.

Logically speaking, people who haven't been together for months or even years should feel estranged, and there should be a sense of unfamiliarity due to the long separation, but Zhang Xuezhou doesn't have this problem.

Upon seeing Zhang Xuezhou's face, Rong Tianding vaguely felt as if he had met Zhang Xuezhou just a few days ago, without any sense of unfamiliarity.

"Cousin, which of your facial features do you have right now?" Rong Tianding asked.

"Cousin, your question touches on an interesting point," Zhang Xuezhou laughed. "Fortune tellers never fortune tell themselves, nor do they easily consult with others in the same profession. I can't accurately judge myself, and my colleagues don't like to fortune tell me, so I still don't understand the meaning behind my facial features!"

"Judge others, not yourself!"

"That's right!"

Rong Tianding summarized in one sentence, and Zhang Xuezhou nodded in agreement.

This brought Rong Tianding back to his senses. He realized that Zhang Xuezhou's Fake Technique seemed to have the style of a certain school of thought, and was even bound by rules and regulations, rather than being a random fabrication by Zhang Xuezhou on a whim.

"Zhouzi, how many different kinds of your face are there?" Zhang Baojia asked excitedly.

"I can currently identify 192 different facial features," Zhang Xuezhou said with a smile.

"Your facial features aren't hard to remember. Could you draw more pictures?" Zhang Baojia said excitedly, "I feel that your Physiognomy Technique are quite profound, and you're not picky about who you are. As long as you have a good memory, you can learn it!"

"Well!"

"I'm too old to go hunting on long journeys," Zhang Baojia said awkwardly. "If I could learn this Physiognomy Technique from you, I wouldn't have to keep freeloading off you!"

"So I guess I should learn too," Zhang Houtu, who was lame, said. "I've been eating for free all these years. Even though Zhouzi and Changgong have been supporting me, I'm too ashamed to eat their food!"

"That makes sense," Zhang Zhong said thoughtfully. "It seems that Erbaozi's abilities don't discriminate based on whether someone is Realm Entry!"

"This is the kind of learning that we scholars aspire to!"

Then Jia Zhiyuan exclaimed that reading and painting were ultimately useful, and that if he could learn from Zhang Xuezhou, he would be able to put his knowledge to practical use.

He shouted with joy, only stopping when Rong Li pulled his ear.

Zhang Baojia and the others had previously worried that Zhang Xuezhou was bluffing and deceiving people, but when they discovered that Zhang Xuezhou's abilities were simple, easy to learn, and had no barriers to entry, and that they could actually verify them, they couldn't help but want to try it themselves.