Chapter 73: Guarantee You

Sun Daoyu looked at Zheng Fa for a long time, then slightly cupped his fists toward Zheng Fa and said:

"May I ask, how should I address you?"

"Zheng Fa." Zheng Fa returned the bow and replied.

"Brother Zheng, are you and Shijie Zhang old acquaintances?" Sun Daoyu asked with a touch of respect on his face.

"I am not an old friend of True Person Zhang; I have known True Person Zhang for only a few days."

With Shijie Zhang present, Zheng Fa could only answer honestly.

"Then, Zheng Fa, how is your talent?"

"Fire and Wood dual spiritual roots."

"Is your family from a great immortal sect?"

"My origins are humble; until a few days ago, I was still a book boy in this manor."

Hearing this, Senior Brother Sun Daoyu no longer looked at Zheng Fa, but turned to bow to Shijie Zhang, saying: "Shijie Zhang, it is not that I bully the weak by relying on power, but my junior brother who has not yet entered the sect possesses extraordinary talent; I truly cannot bear for our sect to miss such a genius."

Shijie Zhang looked at him, her eyes showing no emotion.

"Our Jiushan Sect has always been renowned in the Baixian Alliance for our talisman arts. Such fine jade, since my Sect Master has encountered it, cannot be missed!"

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

"Letting this young junior brother of mine take this immortal-grade item serves two purposes: first, it recruits a fine talent for our Jiushan Sect."

"Second, Shijie Zhang will owe my Sect Master a favor; once my junior brother enters the sect later, he will be eternally grateful to you, Shijie, and follow your lead in all things."

"Whether for public or private reasons, this is no bad thing; I beg Shijie to consider it carefully!"

Hearing this, Shijie Zhang still seemed unconvinced, and instead asked in return:

"Although the immortal-grade item is rare, is Senior Uncle Pang, a True Person of Nascent Soul, truly only able to beg for it from my hands?"

"This... other True Persons of Nascent Soul and Jin Dan have long since promised their immortal-grade items away, have they not?"

"I have also given one to someone."

"... The ones given by those True Persons were all to their own juniors or disciples."

Zheng Fa understood clearly from the side.

This person had asked him three questions, figured out he had no background, and concluded that snatching the immortal-grade item from him would cost the least; he didn't even bother persuading Zheng Fa, but went straight to persuading Shijie Zhang.

After listening, Shijie Zhang merely nodded lightly and said: "What you say has some merit."

Sun Daoyu's face lit up with joy, only to hear Shijie Zhang continue:

"Our Jiushan Sect excels in talisman arts; indeed, we cannot miss a talisman genius."

"Shijie speaks truly!"

Sun Daoyu agreed.

"Is your junior brother very talented in the talisman path?"

"My Sect Master says his talent is extraordinary!"

"How does he compare to me?"

"... Shijie Zhang, you truly know how to joke; everyone knows you are hailed as a talisman genius rarely seen in a thousand years within the Baixian Alliance; how could my junior brother compare to you, Shijie?"

"He is stronger than me."

Shijie Zhang suddenly pointed at Zheng Fa and said.

"Ah?"

"For the public good, I have found a disciple for Jiushan Sect whose talisman talent surpasses mine. For private reasons, I feel his gratitude is more valuable. Any further questions?"

Sun Daoyu let out a bitter laugh and cupped his fists toward Shijie Zhang: "Since Shijie has spoken thus, I have nothing more to say."

Hearing his tone, he clearly did not believe Shijie Zhang's evaluation of Zheng Fa, but Shijie Zhang's words sounded as if she was willing to sacrifice her own reputation in the talisman arts just to give the immortal-grade item to Zheng Fa, leaving him no room for further persuasion.

After speaking, Sun Daoyu ignored everyone else present, turned, and left, which was at least decisive and straightforward.

Watching Sun Daoyu dash out the door like a streak of smoke, the others exchanged glances, until they heard Shijie Zhang ask:

"Is there anything else?"

The others promptly took their leave.

"Zheng Fa, stay."

Zheng Fa watched Seventh Young Master and the others exit the door, then turned to face Shijie Zhang and bowed deeply: "Thank you, True Person Zhang, for your protection."

He understood clearly; after hearing about his background, this Sun Daoyu did not care at all about his opinion.

Had it not been for Shijie Zhang's insistence, this immortal-grade item would likely no longer belong to him by now.

"If it were not you, I would not have given it to him either."

Zheng Fa was stunned.

"Senior Uncle Pang and my Sect Master hold different views on talisman arts and occasionally clash." Shijie Zhang explained briefly: "Otherwise, he would not have waited until I left Jiushan Sect to seek me out."

So that was it; there was actually conflict between the two True Persons of Nascent Soul in Jiushan Sect, which did not sound like good news.

"It is merely a dispute over the Dao; nothing serious. However, even if my Sect Master and Senior Uncle Pang had no conflict, I still would not have given it to him."

"Ah?"

This self-contradictory statement left Zheng Fa truly unable to understand.

Shijie Zhang suddenly changed the topic: "Since you will enter our Jiushan Sect in the future, such matters will not be rare."

"..."

"Fighting over immortal-grade items, fighting over spirit stones, fighting over any resources—someone may always compete with you."

"Yes..."

Hearing these words, Zheng Fa still did not understand what True Person Zhang was trying to say.

"I grew up this way too." Shijie Zhang suddenly fixed her gaze on Zheng Fa's eyes and said: "With your and my talent, there is no need to fear these things; simply walk the righteous path straight ahead, and do not fear trouble. You have me behind you, and I have my Sect Master behind me."

"?" Zheng Fa was slightly bewildered; he vaguely understood what Zhang Shijie meant: "Shijie, are you saying... our talents?"

"What's wrong?"

"I thought... True Person Zhang, you wanted to deceive that True Person Sun."

"I never deceive people."

True Person Zhang stared at Zheng Fa's face and said.

Zheng Fa finally understood what True Person Zhang wanted to say, and understood even more clearly where the problem lay.

This True Person Zhang actually sincerely believed her own talent for talisman arts was superior to his...

No, why?

Seeming to see Zheng Fa's confusion, True Person Zhang frowned and said: "Do you truly think I gave you the immortal-grade token merely for those mathematics problems?"

"..."

"Do you think I couldn't see the secrets hidden in that Sea of Diagrams tactic, those talisman diagrams, and those profound insights into Yang Yuanfu that even I had never heard of?"

"..."

"I know your origins are humble, so you are naturally cautious. Now that you have left the Zhao family, there are things you need no longer fear. Today, this Sun Daoyu has come at just the right time; I intend to use this matter to tell you—even within the Jiushan Sect, relying solely on your talent, I will protect you."

"..."

Zheng Fa opened his mouth, utterly speechless.

He remembered: originally, True Person Zhang had produced the immortal-grade token only after seeing the talisman diagrams he had drawn for the Seventh Young Master.

Yes, those talisman diagrams did indeed follow patterns, but those patterns were truly not something he had comprehended.

Shijie Zhang probably thought that, due to his low status in the Zhao mansion, he had to hide his light and conceal himself...

Shijie Zhang looked at Zheng Fa: "I never speak falsely, and I can tell you plainly: I value your future. Do you understand?"

Modern times, at Bai Lao's home.

"Professor Bai."

"What do you want?" Bai Lao Tou frowned, staring at Zheng Fa with deep suspicion: "When you call me Professor, nothing good ever comes of it."

"I just wanted to ask, can you program, write a game or something?"

"... Why don't you ask if I can give birth?" Bai Lao Tou snorted, asking: "Why do you ask this?"

Zheng Fa stated his own idea:

He wanted to create a small game similar to the one on Shijie Zhang's scroll for selecting talisman runes—a super-enhanced mock exam of the Sea of Diagrams tactic for himself.

Shijie Zhang's misunderstanding that he was a supreme genius had both good and bad aspects.

The good was that, leveraging this regard, he had escaped the Zhao family, gained the opportunity to attend the Immortal-Grade Assembly, and even directly latched onto Shijie Zhang's thigh.

The bad was that, unless he truly was a genius, getting exposed would likely be disastrous.

He would even have to display talent matching True Person Zhang's expectations at this very Immortal-Grade Assembly.

If we can't be a talisman arts genius, we can be a hardworking problem-solving genius!