Chapter 22: Stepping Stone Test

What does stacking mean?

Take the Double-wing Tiger Hair Brush as an example.

Because the Double-wing Tiger Hair Brush has two attribute effects and is a relatively strong item, it has a prerequisite for equipping: one must have mastered a Great Achievement-level Talisman Script.

That's why for nearly half a year, Xiao Zhangqing has been diligently practicing the Cleanse Talisman, and even if outsiders gossip or mock, he ignores them.

As soon as the Cleanse Talisman reaches Great Achievement, he can equip the Double-wing Tiger Hair Brush, instantly promoting him to First-rank Talisman Master, with an additional Symbol Master Talent bonus!

But now?

Now that the stacking function is available.

The gameplay changes instantly!

One can equip two items simultaneously, so if Xiao Zhangqing wants to equip the Double-wing Tiger Hair Brush, he doesn't need to painstakingly grind the Cleanse Talisman's proficiency; there's a simpler way.

That is to find an item that has no equip restrictions yet possesses a certain Great Achievement-level Talisman Script proficiency! "Stay calm, stay calm."

Xiao Zhangqing took several deep breaths to calm himself.

Although one can equip two items at once, letting their effects stack for a 1+1>2 result.

But this means the earlier feeling that three extra slots in the equipment bar were more than enough now changes.

If one wants a shortcut by directly equipping the Double-wing Tiger Hair Brush, it would occupy two equipment slots.

Because the current item bar rule allows removal, and the attribute experience remains after removal, though the effect is inactive.

However, the equipment slot remains locked, preventing new gear from being added.

In short, it's like a carrot in a hole; after pulling the carrot out, the hole remains, and carrots of varying sizes can't fit back in.

Secondly.

There is another problem.

Finding an item that has a certain Great Achievement-level Talisman Script effect is not easy.

Equipment is something you encounter by chance, not by seeking.

"So, the current strategy is to keep training the Cleanse Talisman. At the same time, we can devote more effort to searching for items with Talisman effects! The equipment bar should be conserved, and must be conserved."

"Unless one day the item bar updates its function. After unequipping, the slot becomes free, allowing new items to be equipped, which would be convenient..."

Thus.

After equipping the Turtle Shell and attaining a First-rank Great Achievement Divination Art, Xiao Zhangqing did not equip a second item.

Because the second item is a damaged Flying Sword, its effect is a Minor Achievement in the Flying Sword technique.

He actually wants this effect.

It allows Sword Flight and also has lethal power—a win‑win.

But he currently has no Flying Sword, so mastering the Flying Sword technique is of no use.

…

…

On the third day of Xiao Zhangqing's breakthrough to the fourth layer of Qi Refining Realm, the Mu family's 60th foundation anniversary also arrived.

Sixty years old, in this world for ordinary people, is an absolute old age; most people don't reach it. Even martial arts masters at that age see their strength decline, far below their peak.

But for cultivators, even at the Qi Refining Realm, they have a lifespan of 120 years, so sixty is not especially old. However, if one hasn't yet entered Foundation Establishment at sixty, hope is lost.

For a Foundation Establishment cultivator with a 180-year lifespan, sixty is truly prime adulthood!

This is why the Mu family is currently quite stable, with little pressure on its members. With a prime‑age Foundation Establishment cultivator in the clan, the family faces no crisis for the next hundred years.

Unlike Nanshan Fang's other Foundation Establishment family, the Zhang family, whose founding ancestor is rumored to have less than ten years left, and the Zhang family has no new Foundation Establishment births.

So when the Zhang family's founding ancestor passes on, the Zhang family will face great calamity! If the situation is somewhat favorable, they can sell most of their assets, break them up, voluntarily reduce their share and give benefits to other Foundation Establishment families, allowing the Zhang clan to survive. If the situation is dire, the Zhang family could be exterminated! Over the past few hundred years in Nanshan Fang, the rise and fall of Foundation Establishment families are not just one or two.

For this Mu family Foundation Establishment grand birthday banquet, any non‑hostile family will send representatives to congratulate.

Ordinary Scattered Cultivators and lower‑tier local cultivators all take pride in receiving the Mu family's invitation.

For example, Hu Youquan was overjoyed and thrilled when he received the Mu family's invitation.

He has no cultivation talent, no influential background, only two shopfronts; this modest asset is already impressive among early‑stage Qi Refining Realm Scattered Cultivators, and even the more capable Scattered Cultivators don't look at him differently. Not to mention the massive Foundation Establishment families of Nanshan Fang!

They hope he will proactively bring gifts; the Foundation Establishment families won't reject him!

"Youquan, you actually have a personal connection with the Foundation Establishment Mu family! Why haven't I heard you mention it before?" Zhou Yun'e looked at the invitation with bright enthusiasm.

Originally, over the past half year, after choosing Hu Youquan, she actually felt some regret.

It's not that she regrets leaving Xiao Zhangqing; on the contrary, she has never regretted it and increasingly feels she made the right choice.

What she regrets is that Hu Youquan is quite different from her initial expectations.

This local cultivator is far less wealthy and prestigious than she imagined; in Nanshan Fang he barely ranks as lower‑middle tier.

She regrets that she should have carefully considered and chosen a more powerful, more influential Dao Partner.

However, receiving the Mu family Foundation Establishment cultivator's birthday invitation made her view Hu Youquan in a new light.

It seems local cultivators are ultimately local; their foundation cannot be compared to outsider Scattered Cultivators. They usually keep a low profile, and Hu Youquan never specifically mentioned it, yet he has personal ties with a Foundation Establishment family! "There are many things you don't know!" Hu Youquan said with an arrogant, proud expression.

He thought to himself secretly, today I must ingratiate myself with the Mu family! If I can later cling to the Mu family's strong support, my future will be much brighter!

…

Mu family.

On the birthday banquet day, lanterns and decorations lit up. Guests came and went; the atmosphere was exceptionally lively.

Mu Chunfeng, as the Mu family's eldest daughter and child of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, naturally wouldn't handle the mundane reception duties; tonight's guests were only a handful worth her personal attention.

"Chunfeng, you have such confidence in Xiao Zhangqing? Not only continuing to invest in him, but also preparing to champion him. I must tell you, in recent months many people inside our Lingfu Pavilion have been skeptical of him." Jiang Jiyue said while cracking a spirit fruit seed, looking forward to the upcoming 'little theater'.

Mu Chunfeng replied helplessly: "You ask the obvious! It's the idle gossip from your Lingfu Pavilion that made several of my family's elders doubt my judgment, thinking I've chosen the wrong person and considering changing my investment target!"

"However, I truly haven't lost confidence in Xiao Zhangqing. It's only been half a year; what can you see?"

"Today, taking advantage of my father's birthday banquet, I can act without much cost, help him a bit. He previously, after being stimulated, entered the Talisman technique entry, right? This time, another stimulus might trigger enlightenment, greatly increasing his Talisman skills. If this stimulus fails, and after another half year he's still the same, then my first investment will truly end in failure..."

Since the Mu Family has decided to invest in future potential stocks, they definitely won't invest only in Xiao Zhangqing alone.

Cast a wide net to catch more fish.

If someone along the way performs poorly and seriously fails to meet expectations, the investment will definitely be cancelled.

After all, although the Mu Family is wealthy, Spirit Stones don't just fall from the sky.

So this time Hu Youquan doesn't know that he is a stepping stone arranged by Mu Chunfeng for Xiao Zhangqing.

And Xiao Zhangqing also doesn't know that this birthday banquet is the Mu Family's last chance for him to prove himself.

If after the birthday banquet, after some time he still can't prove himself, he might have his cave dwelling residency rights revoked on some pretext…

(End of chapter)