Chapter 63: The Man and the Talisman

The Su family disciple's face froze, and he dared not speak further.

The examiners from the talisman hall were all from Yongning County's talisman hall. To prevent local talisman halls from colluding with local gentry, they generally did not give any face to anyone.

Although he was from the Su family, he was only an ordinary disciple and did not dare to challenge them.

Before he could decide what to do next, the invisible talisman, unable to find its intended target, landed on him.

He then felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, letting out a muffled groan while clutching his stomach with one hand and pressing his backside with the other.

"Elder, I need to go to the restroom."

The supervising elder's eyebrows twitched, and a trace of anger rose in his heart.

First, he wanted to withdraw from the assessment, and now he has an urgent need—was he deliberately making things difficult for him?

He waved his hand and coldly said:

"Endure it!"

On the second floor, Lu An and Elder Zhang arrived at the examination room.

The sign on the door was covered in dust, indicating it had not been used for a long time.

Lu An frowned slightly and asked:

"Elder Zhang, how many second-level talisman masters are there in Ancient County?"

Elder Zhang glanced at him, thought for a moment, and answered:

"Not more than ten. If we exclude the elders from our talisman hall and the Divine Talisman Pavilion, there might be only one or two scattered individuals."

Lu An understood that second-level talisman masters were not easily achieved.

It was no wonder he had made such progress. His achievements were largely due to the Four Treasures of the Study in his sea of consciousness, which allowed him to draw talismans without consumption.

Moreover, drawing talismans across levels provided insights into the talisman path, greatly accelerating his progress.

In contrast, ordinary people needed a long time even to master first-level talismans, with most of the time spent recovering their spiritual consciousness.

Take Bai Sheng and Zhao Wenliang, for instance. Under Lu An's meticulous guidance, Bai Sheng had just managed to draw first-grade high-quality talismans.

He had started practicing from a young age and had good talent, which led to his current achievements.

Zhao Wenliang, after studying at the Divine Talisman Pavilion and training with Lu An for half a year, could now only draw first-grade low-quality talismans.

This demonstrates how challenging it is for scattered cultivators to make achievements in the talisman path.

"Lu Xianyou, please wait here for a moment while I go get the supervising elder from Yongning City."

Lu An nodded and went to the examination table to inspect the materials.

This time, he planned to draw the Restriction Breaking Talisman, a common second-level talisman. It might not be very difficult, but its effect was significant.

It could weaken some ordinary restrictions, which was especially useful when exploring treasure in secret realms.

He checked the materials on the table and showed a satisfied expression.

Before coming here, he had just decided to draw the Restriction Breaking Talisman, and the talisman hall had already prepared all the materials within such a short time, reflecting their efficiency.

Moreover, according to the rules, participants were supposed to pay for the talisman materials themselves, but the talisman hall had not mentioned this to him at all.

Before long, Elder Zhang arrived with an old man in a gray robe.

The gray-robed elder appeared quite surprised and said as he walked:

"Elder Zhang, you're not trying to deceive me, are you? Is someone from Ancient County really participating in the second-level talisman assessment?"

Elder Zhang shook his head and smiled wryly:

"How could I joke about something like this?"

He held great respect for the gray-robed elder, not because he came from Yongning County, but because the elder had already touched the threshold of the third-level talisman master. If he advanced to the third level one day, his status and position would receive a significant boost. Even those in the Core Formation stage would come to curry favor with him.

The gray-robed elder, though skeptical, muttered to himself:

"This is indeed rare. I've been in Ancient County for over a decade, and it's the first time I've encountered such a situation."

He had never participated in an examination in Ancient County. The reason was simple—no one in Ancient County had ever attempted the second-level talisman assessment, not even as a trial.

He was content with the quiet life, focusing on his research in talismans to strive for an early breakthrough into the third-level realm. However, this was an extremely difficult feat. He had been stuck just short of the breakthrough for seven or eight years with no progress.

The two soon arrived at the examination hall and immediately spotted Lu An sitting at his seat.

"Are you the one participating in the second-level talisman assessment?"

Though Lu An was young, his expression was calm, and his exposed skin showed several scars, seemingly from battles with demonic beasts. He didn't appear to be a novice, so the elder didn't underestimate him.

Lu An didn't boast either. He stood up, gave a bow, and respectfully said:

"Yes, that's right."

The gray-robed elder was quite satisfied with his attitude.

"Good, let's get started then."

Lu An wasted no time and began drawing immediately.

For the second-level talisman assessment, only ten talisman papers were needed, with three successful talismans counted as passing.

This was clearly not difficult for Lu An. He moved his brush swiftly, and in an instant, produced one talisman.

"Second-grade low-quality, not bad."

The gray-robed elder was somewhat surprised. Lu An's techniques were proficient, and there was no hesitation in his strokes, indicating a high level of skill in talismans.

He glanced at Elder Zhang but said nothing more. He assumed that Elder Zhang had revealed the exam content in advance, and Lu An had practiced extensively, which was why he was performing so well.

However, he wasn't too concerned as long as there was no cheating involved.

He wasn't particularly surprised that Lu An could draw second-level talismans at the Qi Refining late stage. Many talented individuals in Yongning County could achieve this, and he knew quite a few of them.

What left the elder stunned was what happened next. After completing the first talisman, Lu An didn't pause and directly began drawing the next one.

Two talismans, three talismans…

In no time, all ten talisman papers were completed, all second-grade low-quality, with no failures.

The gray-robed elder jumped up, staring fixedly at Lu An, speechless for a long time.

At this moment, his mind was overwhelmed with shock. Although Lu An had drawn only second-grade low-quality talismans, achieving a 100% success rate was something even he, on the brink of the third level, couldn't accomplish.

This indicated that Lu An had an extremely high level of skill in talismans, and second-grade low-quality was definitely not his limit.

"Young friend, could you possibly improve the grade a bit?"

Lu An frowned slightly, a look of puzzlement crossing his face.

"Isn't passing the exam with three successful talismans enough? I haven't heard of any grading requirements."

The gray-robed elder quickly waved his hand and explained:

"You've already passed the assessment. My question was just out of curiosity."

Lu An understood and nodded.

The gray-robed elder, still shocked, continued to ask:

"Young friend, how did you achieve a 100% success rate? Could you share your method?"

Lu An looked him over, more puzzled.

"Integrating one's spiritual consciousness completely into the talisman. You are in the talisman and the talisman is in you. Under such conditions, no matter how many times you draw, you won't fail. As a second-level talisman master, don't you know this?"

He felt that the supervising elder from the talisman hall didn't seem very knowledgeable about talismans if he didn't understand such a simple principle.

To his surprise, the gray-robed elder was struck by the revelation like a thunderbolt, his face turning pale with shock.

He tremblingly raised his arm, pointing at Lu An, and exclaimed:

"You, you, you have reached the Talisman-Human Unity level!"