Chapter 73: Guarantee You

Sun Daoyu stared at Zheng Fa for a long moment, then slightly bowed his hands to him.

“May I ask, what is your name?”

“Zheng Fa.” Zheng Fa returned the bow.

“Zheng Brother, are you an old acquaintance of Zhang Shijie?” Sun Daoyu asked, his tone carrying a hint of respect.

“I am not an old friend of Master Zhang. I met her only a few days ago.”

In front of Zhang Shijie, Zheng Fa could only answer honestly.

“Then how would you rate your natural talent?”

“Fire and wood dual elemental roots.”

“Are you from a major immortal sect or noble family?”

“I come from humble origins. Just a few days ago, I was still a servant in this household.”

Upon hearing this, Brother Sun Daoyu stopped looking at Zheng Fa entirely and turned to bow deeply to Zhang Shijie: “Master Zhang, I’m not bullying you out of power—I simply cannot let our sect miss such a rare talent. My junior brother has extraordinary potential.”

Zhang Shijie looked at him, her expression unmoved.

“Our Jiushan Sect has always been renowned for its talisman arts. Such a gem, once encountered by my master, cannot be allowed to slip away!”

Sun Daoyu spoke earnestly, as if considering Zhang Shijie’s interests:

“If you yield the Immortal Rank Token to my junior brother, first, Jiushan Sect gains a gifted disciple.”

“Second, you gain my master’s favor. When he enters the sect, he will be eternally grateful to you, and follow your lead without question.”

“In both public and private terms, this is no loss. Please consider carefully.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shijie still showed no sign of being persuaded, and instead asked:

“The Immortal Rank Token is rare, but Master Pang is a Nascent Soul True Person—surely he cannot only obtain it from you?”

“This… the other Nascent Soul and Golden Core True Persons have already promised theirs away.”

“I’ve given mine to someone too.”

“Those True Persons gave theirs to their own descendants or disciples.”

Zheng Fa understood clearly from the side.

This man asked him three questions, confirmed he had no background, decided the cost of taking the Immortal Rank Token from him was minimal—and didn’t even bother to persuade him, going straight to Zhang Shijie instead.

Zhang Shijie listened, then nodded slightly: “What you say has merit.”

Sun Daoyu’s face lit up—until Zhang Shijie continued:

“Our Jiushan Sect excels in talisman arts. We truly cannot afford to miss a talisman prodigy.”

“Master is right!”

Sun Daoyu agreed.

“Is your junior brother exceptionally gifted in talisman arts?”

“My master says he has extraordinary talent!”

“Better than me?”

“...Master Zhang, you’re joking. Everyone knows you’re the once-in-a-millennium talisman prodigy of the Hundred Immortal Alliance—how could my junior brother compare to you?”

“He’s better than me.”

Zhang Shijie suddenly pointed at Zheng Fa.

“Huh?”

“Publicly, I’ve found Jiushan Sect a talisman disciple even more gifted than I am. Privately, I believe his gratitude is worth more. Any other questions?”

Sun Daoyu let out a bitter laugh and bowed to Zhang Shijie: “If Master says so, I have nothing more to say.”

His tone suggested he didn’t believe Zhang Shijie’s assessment of Zheng Fa—but her words sounded as if she’d rather sacrifice her own reputation than hand the Immortal Rank Token to anyone else. He had no ground left to argue.

Sun Daoyu said nothing more to anyone present and turned to leave—clean and decisive.

Watching Sun Daoyu vanish out the door, the others exchanged glances—until Zhang Shijie asked:

“Any other business?”

Everyone quickly took their leave.

“Zheng Fa, stay.”

Zheng Fa watched the Seventh Young Master and others depart, then turned and bowed deeply to Zhang Shijie: “Thank you, Master Zhang, for defending me.”

He saw clearly: after learning his background, Sun Daoyu didn’t care what he thought.

Had it not been for Zhang Shijie’s insistence, the Immortal Rank Token would already be gone from his hands.

“If it weren’t you, I wouldn’t have given it to him.”

Zheng Fa froze.

“Master Pang and my master hold different views on talisman arts—they’ve clashed before,” Zhang Shijie added briefly. “Otherwise, he wouldn’t have waited until I left Jiushan Sect to approach me.”

So that was it—two Nascent Soul True Persons within Jiushan Sect were at odds. Not a good sign.

“It’s merely a dispute over the Dao—nothing major. But even if my master and Master Pang had no conflict, I still wouldn’t have given it to him.”

“Huh?”

This contradictory statement left Zheng Fa utterly confused.

Zhang Shijie suddenly changed the subject: “Since you’ll join Jiushan Sect, you’ll see this sort of thing often.”

“...”

“Others will compete with you for Immortal Rank Tokens, spirit stones, any resource.”

“Yes...”

Zheng Fa still didn’t grasp what Master Zhang was getting at.

“I grew up this way,” Zhang Shijie suddenly locked eyes with Zheng Fa. “With your talent and mine, you needn’t fear these things. Walk the righteous path boldly. Don’t fear confrontation. You have me behind you—I have my master behind me.”

“?” Zheng Fa was baffled. He faintly understood: “Master, you mean... our talents?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I thought... Master Zhang was just tricking that Brother Sun.”

“I never lie.”

Master Zhang stared straight into Zheng Fa’s face.

Zheng Fa finally understood what Master Zhang meant—and what had been off all along.

This Master Zhang genuinely believed his talisman talent surpassed hers...

But why?

As if sensing his confusion, Master Zhang frowned: “You truly think I gave you the Immortal Rank Token just because of those math problems?”

“...”

“You think I didn’t notice the patterns in those talisman diagrams, the hidden secrets of the Tu Hai tactics, the profound insights into Yuan Fu that even I’d never encountered?”

“...”

“I know you come from humble origins, so you’re cautious. Now that you’ve left the Zhao household, you needn’t fear anymore. Brother Sun Daoyu came at the perfect moment—I’m using this to tell you: even within Jiushan Sect, with your talent alone, I guarantee your safety.”

“...”

Zheng Fa opened his mouth, but had no words.

He remembered: it was after Master Zhang saw the talisman diagrams he drew for the Seventh Young Master that she suddenly produced the Immortal Rank Token.

Yes, those diagrams had patterns—but he hadn’t discovered those patterns himself.

Master Zhang probably assumed that, due to his low status in the Zhao household, he’d been hiding his true abilities...

Master Zhang looked at Zheng Fa: “I never speak falsely. I’ll be blunt: I value your future. Do you understand?”

“...”

Modern era, White Old Man’s home.

“Professor White.”

“What?” White Old Man frowned at Zheng Fa, suspicious: “Whenever you call me professor, something’s up.”

“I just wanted to ask—do you know programming? Can you make a game?”

“...Why don’t you ask me if I can give birth?” White Old Man grunted. “Why do you want to know?”

Zheng Fa explained his idea:

He wanted to create a game similar to the scroll’s talisman selection system—a supercharged Tu Hai Tactics simulation exam for himself.

Master Zhang’s misunderstanding of him as a supreme genius had both advantages and drawbacks.

The good: he’d escaped the Zhao household, gained entry to the Immortal Rank Gathering, and even secured Master Zhang’s protection.

The bad: unless he truly was a genius, he’d be exposed—and it would be disastrous.

He’d have to demonstrate talent at the Immortal Rank Gathering matching Master Zhang’s expectations.

If I can’t be a talisman prodigy, I’ll be a prodigy at grinding problems!