Chapter 33: Making Extra Money

"This is..."

Xiao Zhangqing looked at the three talisman scripts and recognized them at a glance.

They were two attack-type and one defense-type talismans.

Using a slight magical sense, he found that the power contained within almost surpassed the Qi Refining completion; compared with a Second-rank Treasure Talisman it was still a bit weaker, but not far off.

These are three First-rank premium talismans! Xiao Zhangqing is now also a First-rank Talisman Master; he controls the common First-rank talismans, surpassing most of the exclusive Symbol Masters at Lingfu Pavilion.

These three talismans are among the twenty‑seven First-rank talismans he has mastered, but with his current skill the result is only of First-rank medium quality.

Perhaps if he draws a hundred, luck might yield one that barely reaches First-rank high quality, but the chance is very small.

As for drawing a First-rank supreme-quality talisman like Shopkeeper Hong, Xiao Zhangqing would need to raise his proficiency to the Great Accomplishment level.

This is the difference between Advanced Symbol Talismans and Basic Symbol Talismans.

Basic Symbol Talismans have little power for most Qi Refining Realm cultivators and are mainly for support.

Therefore among Basic Talisman Masters there is no hierarchy.

It's like a premium Cleanse Talisman versus an ordinary Cleanse Talisman; the effect isn't vastly different.

But First-rank Talisman Masters are completely different.

First-rank talismans are one of the key combat tools for Qi Refining Realm cultivators, even making the word "one" redundant.

For the same talisman, its power heavily depends on its quality grade.

A normal-quality First-rank talisman can only match the full‑force strike of an early‑stage Qi Refining cultivator; a premium-quality First-rank talisman can match the strike of a late‑stage Qi Refining cultivator! The power gap is huge, and the price differs by several to dozens of times.

Thus First-rank Talisman Masters are further divided into low, medium, and high quality.

Among the exclusive Symbol Masters at Lingfu Pavilion, over half are First-rank medium‑low quality; only Shopkeeper Hong Jiantao and another Sun Symbol Master are First-rank high‑quality Symbol Masters.

However.

At present, it seems that Shopkeeper Hong can draw such high‑quality First-rank supreme talismans, so his talisman art is likely close to advancing to Second-rank Talisman Master, perhaps just needing one opportunity.

As for Xiao Zhangqing, under the aid of the Double‑winged Tiger Brush, he is a top performer among First-rank medium‑quality Talisman Masters, nearing the threshold of high‑quality.

"With these three talismans, if you stay cautious, they will keep you safe within Nanshan Fang. Even if the situation is turbulent, Nanshan Fang will not see any Foundation Establishment calamity cultivators or Evil Cultivators; at most there will be some ninth‑layer Qi Refining cultivators," Hong Jiantao told him.

As long as they are not Foundation Establishment cultivators, if anyone dares to attack Xiao Zhangqing, he can use the three talismans properly and even counter‑kill!

If the First-rank premium talisman had been on him when Symbol Master Huang was attacked earlier, it wouldn't have been so disastrous.

Conversely, premium talismans are absolutely scarce strategic items in Nanshan Fang; only Lingfu Pavilion sells them.

Each starts at a price of dozens of low‑grade Spirit Stones!

Some specially functional talismans may even exceed a hundred low‑grade Spirit Stones.

The three premium talismans Hong Jiantao gave today are relatively common, yet they amount to roughly Xiao Zhangqing's salary for the past year.

"These are too precious, I..." Xiao Zhangqing felt grateful yet a bit embarrassed to accept.

"Stop being all fussy; take them. I'm still waiting to see you become a Second-rank Talisman Master someday and make me proud! If you encounter any accident now, how could that be?"

Hong Jiantao waved his hand, leaving no room for objection.

"..."

Xiao Zhangqing did not refuse further.

He has always disliked owing favors, but he already owes Shopkeeper Hong plenty, so there's no need to be so cautious now and keep things so clear.

"I won't speak of thanks for your great kindness. I will always remember the shopkeeper's favor."

Xiao Zhangqing said earnestly.

Yet Xiao Zhangqing still wondered why Shopkeeper Hong took special care of him. Although Hong is known in Lingfu Pavilion as a kind-hearted man who treats subordinates kindly, he wouldn't just give away talismans worth hundreds of Spirit Stones.

Yet Xiao Zhangqing didn't know how to ask.

He could only keep it silently in his heart, hoping to repay the favor when the chance arises.

The turmoil in Nanshan Fang continues and is worsening.

The Mu family, as a Foundation Establishment clan, should have been as steady as Mount Tai amid such turmoil.

Yet for unknown reasons they have become the biggest victims in the chaos!

Earlier rumors claimed that the head of the Mu family, Mu Renjie, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, was secretly gravely injured by a mysterious expert, beyond recovery, with little time left.

Perhaps within a few years, the Mu family and the elderly Foundation Establishment Zhang family will both vanish.

Hence the Mu family has become a primary target for covert forces.

But now, not only covert forces have set their sights on these two waning Foundation Establishment families, other Foundation Establishment families within Nanshan Fang are also stirring, eyeing these two juicy pieces, hoping to strike first.

Some of the remaining high‑quality assets of the two great families are either being absorbed or are in precarious danger.

Of course, none of this concerns Xiao Zhangqing now.

He no longer has ties with the Mu family; he was expelled from the Mu family's cave long ago, and only still owes a favor to the Mu family's miss, Mu Chunfeng.

The rise and fall of the Mu family is unrelated to him, and he lacks the ability to intervene.

Now before Xiao Zhangqing lies the most important choice: whether to take on some side work and earn extra money? Lingfu Pavilion has a written rule that whether a formal Basic Talisman Master or an exclusive Advanced Symbol Master, they may only draw talismans for Lingfu Pavilion!

Strictly speaking, the talismans you draw can only be sold at Lingfu Pavilion! However, if you draw talismans privately—say after a hard day's work you return home and stay up late to keep drawing—Lingfu Pavilion cannot control you.

After all, Lingfu Pavilion cannot tyrannically monitor every Symbol Master around the clock, and the Symbol Masters would not consent.

Yet Lingfu Pavilion has a rule: drawing talismans at home privately is allowed, gifting them is allowed, but selling them to other talisman shops is prohibited! Just as the three First-rank premium talismans Shopkeeper Hong Jiantao gave Xiao Zhangqing were drawn privately.

But the reality is clearly different.

Rules are dead, people are alive.

Almost all Symbol Masters of Lingfu Pavilion draw talismans privately to sell for extra cash.

Basic Talisman Masters are fine, since Basic Symbol Talismans are cheap. After a grueling full‑day shift, they have to practice cultivation at night and are unwilling to stay up extra to earn that hard‑won money.

Exclusive Advanced Symbol Masters are different.

No need to mention first-rank middle-grade and high-grade Symbol Masters; even a first-rank low-grade Symbol Master can sell each talisman for at least three to five pieces of low-grade spirit stone.

If one draws an extra two or three talismans a day, after subtracting costs, it's also a considerable income! Therefore, among the entry-rank Symbol Masters at Lingfu Pavilion, earning extra income after work is almost an unspoken secret.

Now Xiao Zhangqing can also join this group.

Moreover, he has an even greater advantage over other dedicated Symbol Masters: openly, no one knows he is already a first-rank Talisman Master. When he works at Lingfu Pavilion, he only needs to draw basic symbol talismans, which is very easy, and after work he won't be too tired.

Back home, on average he draws two first-grade talismans per day, easily, and it completely doesn't affect his cultivation progress!

However, how to sell the talismans he draws is a problem.

Most Symbol Masters' practice is to gift the talismans to family and friends, then take them to sell; this way, even if Lingfu Pavilion discovers it, they have nothing to say.

After all, the Symbol Master himself didn't sell them; he merely gave them away, which is reasonable.

But Xiao Zhangqing is now alone, with no family.

Apart from Mu Chunfeng, his friends are just colleagues from Lingfu Pavilion; he basically can't find a suitable white glove.

Unbeknownst to him, after equipping the double-winged tiger hair brush for a month, Xiao Zhangqing's after-work first-grade talismans have accumulated to over fifty sheets!

Even if each talisman averages eight pieces of low-grade spirit stone, the total value exceeds four hundred! That's a huge sum!

The material costs Xiao Zhangqing has advanced for this amount to nearly one hundred pieces of low-grade spirit stone, leaving him completely drained!

Liquidation has become imminent.

But Xiao Zhangqing still hasn't found a suitable sales channel.

Does he really have to set up a stall at the market?

Xiao Zhangqing is very helpless.

(End of chapter)