Chapter 44: Shopkeeper Hong

"So you just broke through?"

Hong Jiantao set the ice talisman in his hand down, and with a smile he gave Xiao Zhangqing a glance.

Xiao Zhangqing coughed once and, skirting the heavy part, said, "I happened to succeed while practicing at home before, but it felt too unstable, the probability too low, so I wanted to wait until my talisman technique was solid before announcing it."

Hong Jiantao shook his head and laughed, "You kid, you're still honest. Though you deliberately concealed your clumsiness, lowering the quality of this Talisman Script and pretended it was a fresh breakthrough—seems flawless—but trying to fool an old man like me, you're still a bit naive."

"Naturally, I can't hide it from your fire‑eye, Shopkeeper," Xiao Zhangqing stifled a laugh.

Shopkeeper, I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to deceive you on purpose.

I really can't speak plainly; if I told the whole truth, it would be too shocking.

After a year of relentless honing and the boost of his Talisman Path talent, Xiao Zhangqing has fully solidified the realm of a first‑rank middle‑grade Talisman Master, and he can now draw several Talisman Scripts even without the aid of a double‑winged tiger hair brush.

Now he's not far from a first‑rank upper‑grade Talisman Master! "Not bad, not bad. Four years… no, counting the time you hid your clumsiness, less than four years, he went from knowing nothing to being promoted to a first‑rank Talisman Master. That speed is comparable to Lu Qiu's."

Hong Jiantao nodded with satisfaction.

Seeing Xiao Zhangqing fulfill his talent, he felt genuine happiness.

After all, Xiao Zhangqing could walk the Talisman Master path because he was the guide, and he would continue to watch his gradual growth.

Now he feels the sensation of seeing a junior later become successful.

"Breaking through to a first‑rank Talisman Master at this time is also your destiny. I was worried before that if I left and you were still a Basic Talisman Master, the days ahead would be much harder for you."

Hong Jiantao said with a hint of implication.

Xiao Zhangqing caught the subtext and tentatively asked, "Is the new shopkeeper hard to get along with?"

Hong Jiantao sighed, "It's not a matter of being easy or hard to get along with; this new shopkeeper once served as an enforcement elder within the sect!"

Xiao Zhangqing was startled by the words.

An enforcement elder of the Luoxia Sect is a position only a Foundation Establishment cultivator can hold.

So the next Lingfu Pavilion shopkeeper will be a Foundation Establishment cultivator? That's a big deal for the whole Nanshan Fang.

The six‑big Foundation Establishment structure will be broken, becoming seven.

"Don't worry too much. Since you've already become a first‑rank Talisman Master, whoever takes over, you have a say. After all, a first‑rank Talisman Master is a relatively important talent in the sect and deserves preferential treatment."

Hong Jiantao stroked his long beard and, with a hint of warning, said, "But you still need to stay low‑key and be more cautious. It's the same for the other Talisman Masters in the pavilion. Otherwise, if you're caught with incriminating evidence, it won't be easy to get out…"

Xiao Zhangqing felt a jolt in his heart at the words.

Does the shopkeeper's meaning refer to making side money privately?

Previously, the Talisman Masters of Lingfu Pavilion earning a bit of extra cash was an unspoken understanding.

As long as it isn't overly excessive, doesn't overtly violate the ban, and the monthly work is completed on time and in quantity, exploiting loopholes in the rules, Hong Jiantao essentially turns a blind eye.

After all, cultivators are still people; who has no selfishness?

Especially the Talisman Masters of Lingfu Pavilion, who aren't loyal disciples cultivated by Luoxia Sect from childhood; they're almost all 'late‑comers', so expecting them to rely solely on faith, devote themselves wholly to the sect, and treat the sect as family is impossible.

If forced, it may backfire.

But the future situation is different from before…

Xiao Zhangqing wanted to ask more, but Hong Jiantao gave no further reply. "When Lu Qiu left, he gave you a double‑winged tiger hair brush. Now the old man is leaving, I can't be stingy; I won't leave anything for you."

Hong Jiantao changed the subject, pulling out a prepared gift—a pen case.

When the case opened, inside lay the Silver Moon Wolf Hair Brush that Xiao Zhangqing had coveted years ago, whose equipment effect he still longs for! Because this talisman brush has the same effect as a +1 spirit‑root quality on an Enlightenment Mat, it counts as a +1 for Talisman Masters.

Years ago, Xiao Zhangqing only caught a fleeting glance, couldn't store the brush in his inventory, and didn't know what the exact equipment effect was or what the so‑called '+1' meant.

Hearing Shopkeeper Hong Jiantao say he would give the brush to him, Xiao Zhangqing felt surprised and excited, and immediately thought of something.

He widened his eyes at Hong the Shopkeeper and asked, "Shopkeeper, have your talisman techniques… also broken through?"

This Silver Moon Wolf Hair Brush is a talisman brush Hong the Shopkeeper has used for decades, belonging to the finest among first‑rank talisman brushes, not inferior at all to the double‑winged tiger hair brush Lu Qiu gave.

But after Lu Qiu became a second‑rank Talisman Master, the first‑rank brush became a hindrance, so he gave it to Xiao Zhangqing.

Now Hong Jiantao is also gifting his beloved brush used for decades; it's clearly not just because he likes Xiao Zhangqing or thinks he's a moldable talent.

Unless, like Lu Qiu, he also advanced to a second‑rank Talisman Master and no longer needs a first‑rank brush.

Hong Jiantao smiled and said, "More or less. You can think of it that way."

"Congratulations, Shopkeeper!" Xiao Zhangqing exclaimed in surprise. Becoming a second‑rank Talisman Master is, in a sense, even harder than advancing in the Foundation Establishment Realm! Because both the number and importance of second‑rank Talisman Masters far exceed those of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Just like in the Luoxia Sect, a sect that has reached the Golden Core stage, ordinary Foundation Establishment elders, though high‑ranking and prominent, are considered important.

But they are far from being strategic figures of the sect.

A second‑rank Talisman Master, however, can be called that! That's why, after Lu Qiu broke through to second‑rank, the Luoxia Sect hurried to send envoys with various offers.

Now, Shopkeeper Hong has also taken this step.

But thinking it over, it's actually quite reasonable.

Shopkeeper Hong can almost be considered Lu Qiu's mentor, the one who introduced him.

More than a decade ago, he was already a first‑rank upper‑grade Talisman Master.

Later, Lu Qiu rose to fame quickly, and Hong the Shopkeeper has always been regarded as someone whose talisman techniques are not inferior to Lu Qiu's.

It wasn't until Lu Qiu advanced to second‑rank that no one compared the two side by side.

Now, years later, Hong's breakthrough is perfectly reasonable.

"I'm just an old bone, can't compare to you youngsters, not worth mentioning," Hong Jiantao waved his hand and said wistfully.

He voiced his sentiment, but felt it in his heart as well.

He did break through, after all.

But he hid the breakthrough news for nearly twenty years; now it no longer needs hiding, yet the glory has already faded…

Neither Lu Qiu nor this kid before him knows the bitterness old Hong has carried all these years.

After handing over the brush, Hong Jiantao prepared to leave.

However, upon reaching the door, he suddenly turned back and solemnly said to Xiao Zhangqing: 'Right. If, in a little over ten years, you manage to advance to Second-rank Talisman Master, the sect will seek to recruit you back. If you don't want to go, you don't have to. By then, just say you came to Liyang Immortal City to find me; the sect will not make things difficult for you... In short, by then the situation should also be clear, so you don't need to know too much now—just remember my words.'

(End of chapter)