Chapter 505: I'm Not Done

Among the experts who had gathered in the Talisman Hall, Mu Jianyin’s expression seemed to be a little more awkward than the rest.

She previously estimated that Shang Xia would only be able to craft 5 or so unique talismans and that he had focused on crafting them in order to raise his success rate.

Now that the name of the sixth talisman had left Gong Hang’s lips, Shang Xia had destroyed her initial estimations and she felt her face heating up slightly.

Even though Huo Wuji, Shan Tong, and the others weren’t around, they weren’t the only ones who heard her ‘explanation’ back in the Tongyou Mysterious World.

That wasn’t all. Mu Jianyin’s cultivation was close to the Martial Extermination Realm and she was a little stronger than most of the experts present. She could tell that Gong Hang was far from done!

…

“Rank… Rank four Thousand Mechanism Extermination Guidance Talisman!” Gong Hang hadn’t stopped, and his voice seemed to crack a little. As he pulled his tone longer and longer, he sounded like he was singing rather than introducing those talismans.

Shang Xia had pulled out 6 different rank four talismans at that point!

Many experts of the institution couldn’t contain the ripples spreading through their hearts and they started discussing among themselves. The whispers started to spread through the air and it echoed endlessly through the hall.

Even the Martial Extermination Realm experts turned deadly serious as they stared at Shang Xia in the middle of the hall as they awaited his next action.

Outside the hall, cheers broke out the moment Shang Xia brought out his sixth talisman and Gong Hang made the announcement.

…

In the inner hall, Shang Xia once again gestured towards one of the attendants who was holding a jade platter in his hand. A huge smile could be seen on Shang Xia’s face as he placed another talisman on it.

“Rank four Needle Extermination Light Talisman!” Gong Hang announced.

His voice was raised by a few pitches, catching many people by surprise.

After getting over their initial shock, many of them sighed in admiration and maintained a smile on their face. They could hear that the old Talisman Master’s voice was starting to break when he made the announcement.

The well-known talisman master who had been doing his best for the past twenty or so years had established the Talisman Hall and poured everything he had into it. At that moment, he was more excited than anyone present.

…

“That’s the seventh rank four talisman!” No one knew who gasped loudly, but a single sentence was enough to suppress every other sound in the hall.

That wasn’t seven rank four talismans they were talking about. That was the seventh unique rank four talisman Shang Xia brought out!

“Yeah… It’s already the seventh rank four talisman… How many Talisman Grandmasters in our Azure Origin World grasped so many different types of rank four talismans?!” Someone muttered softly.

“Talisman Grandmaster Shang has only become a rank four Talisman Grandmaster for slightly more than a year!”

“Could there be… Could there be an eighth?”

…

With their jaws dropping to the ground, Shang Xia gestured for the attendant once again. He placed an eighth rank four talisman onto the jade platter.

“Rank… Rank four… Rank Four Divine Restraint Talisman!” Gong Hang gasped. His voice cracked this time.

Not a single person dared to joke about this time. Those standing around even seemed to forget to discuss among them sleeves. Looks of shock were plastered on their faces.

As the attendant walked across the hall with the completed talisman in his hand, it was so silent they could hear a pin drop.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

“This… This is truly… This is too…” Deputy Patriarch Liu Zhiyuan was the person who finally broke the silence. He didn’t know how to express himself at that very moment and he stuttered softly, “This is truly a blessing to our institution!”

“That’s right!” The experts in the hall finally snapped back to reality and cheers started to fill the hall.

“Incredible!”

“This is amazing!”

“Eight unique rank four talismans…. How many Talisman Grandmasters will be able to do something like that?”

“No! From what I know, Grandmaster Shang didn’t only learn 8 inheritances from the institution. He probably knows even more!”

“Everyone, Grandmaster Shang definitely still has rank four talismans on him. Don’t you wish to find out how many he actually crafted?”

…

“He did it… He actually did it…” Mu Jianyin muttered softly to herself and a look of melancholy appeared in her eyes. It was as though she had recalled something that happened a long time ago.

Chief Mu Jianyin of the Outreach Division seemed to reach some sort of conclusion that very instant. All the excitement in her heart disappeared and despite the very heated discussions around her, she turned to leave.

There were many experts who stood beside her earlier who continued to discuss among each other, “Grandmaster Shang managed to craft all 8 talismans recorded in the Talisman Hall… I wonder how many talismans he actually crafted! He can’t possibly craft 8 rank four talismans with 35 pieces of rank four talisman papers, right?”

“What do you know?!”

“It’s amazing for Grandmaster Shang to grasp one type of rank four talisman after becoming a rank four Talisman Grandmaster. It’s amazing for him to learn how to craft 8 different talismans already!”

“Brother, you’re right. Other rank four Talisman Grandmasters might not be his match at all. The difficulty of crafting a different talisman is on a whole different scale when it comes to rank four talismans. A rank three Talisman Master might craft one talisman 100 times in order to know the process well enough to achieve a respectable success rate. However, a rank four Talisman Grandmaster might not be able to achieve a one-third success rate even if he attempts to craft a rank four talisman 100 times!”

“That’s a little low…”

“I heard that everyone would come knocking once a rank four Talisman Grandmaster’s success rate reaches one-third. Otherwise, they would have to look for resources to train themselves until they actually manage to reach such a high success rate. Of course, they could also choose to work for a certain superpower to receive enough resources to train themselves. Those who try to gather resources for themselves would take an extremely long time to raise their success rate. On the other hand, working for a power means that they basically sold themselves away. They might be able to receive a huge amount of resources to craft resources and hone themselves, but they would basically become talisman crafting slaves for the next 20 years or so…”

“Then, Grandmaster Shang…”

“Obviously, he doesn’t fall into either category! Even if he was willing to craft talismans without end, no one would dare to treat him like a tool!”

“No… I mean… I’m trying to ask how high Grandmaster Shang’s success rate is!”

“...”

…

“Since everyone wishes to know and it’s not easy for so many of us to gather here…” Zhang Haogu’s gaze landed on Shang Xia and he chuckled, “Grandmaster Shang, I don’t wish to sound rude, but would you like to widen everyone’s horizons? Can you tell us how many rank four talismans you actually crafted during your time in the Tongyou Mysterious World?”

Shang Xia released a soundless laughter. By that time, he had no idea how many people in the institution had been betting on him or against him. However, from their reactions, he could tell one thing. The number of talismans he could craft had long since exceeded the reasonable betting scope those people were playing with. His achievements even brought the attention of the institution to himself.

It seemed as though the greater his success rate, the larger the intentions the institution would have for him!

Shang Xia knew as much as he wasn’t exactly bothered by it. His gaze turned to land on the attendants who were looking at him expectantly.

With a smile resurfacing on his face, he gestured to them.

The moment they received the signal, one of them brought another jade platter over to Shang Xia. They didn’t expect to see another different type of rank four talisman hitting the plate.

“Rank four Golden Sun Inferno Talisman!” Gong Hang’s voice rang through the hall. He was familiar with the talisman because of what he heard from Bu Jingshuang in the past.

“This is his ninth talisman!” A voice rang through the hall.

“That’s his ninth unique talisman!” Someone else corrected the person who spoke earlier.

Shang Xia waved his hand and placed yet another different rank four talisman onto the plate in the next attendant’s hand.

“This is the Thousand Yang Sword Talisman. It is also a rank four talisman.” Shang Xia mentioned after placing the talisman down. He was afraid that Gong Hang wouldn’t be able to recognize it as it was the first time it was appearing in the Talisman Hall.

“Rank… Rank four… Rank four Thousand Yang Sword Talisman!” The attendant repeated immediately.

Even though the voice was nowhere as commanding as Gong Hang’s deep and resounding articulation, no one in the hall was under the Martial Extremity Realm.

Another round of gasps filled the air while a third attendant approached Shang Xia.

“Rank four Extermination Lightning Attracting Talisman!”

“Eleventh… That’s the eleventh unique rank four talisman he brought out!”

A terrifying thought flashed through the minds of those present when they stared at Shang Xia expectantly.

Will there be more?

Under their strange gazes, Shang Xia waved his hand to call for another attendant.

As everyone was getting numb to the number of surprises they had received, the attendant announced, “This is another rank four Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman!”

The talismans were finally starting to repeat!

Those standing in the hall were surprised that Shang Xia was no longer bringing out new talismans, but a terrifying thought filled their minds.

Talisman Grandmaster Shang actually grasped the method to craft 11 different rank four talismans!

11 talismans!

A huge portion of rank four Talisman Grandmasters wouldn’t even see 10 types of rank four talismans in their lives, much less learn how to craft 11 of them! Now, even those ordinary folks in the hall managed to see 11 different types of rank four talismans!

…

No one knew when, but the cultivators outside the hall had been cheering non-stop since Shang Xia brought out his unique talismans.

When the word ‘another’ finally emerged from the hall, someone outside was keeping track of the number of rank four talismans that appeared. “It’s the 12th talisman!”

Soon after, Shang Xia placed another rank four Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman onto a jade platter.

“A third Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman!” The attendant yelled.

From outside the hall, an excited cry followed, “the 13th talisman!”

Shang Xia placed the last talisman he crafted onto the final platter and the attendant yelled after confirming with Shang Xia, “This is the final piece of rank four talisman, a rank four Spiritual Protection Substitution Talisman!”

A heavenly roar came from outside the hall at that instant, “The 14th talisman! Wow!”