Chapter 78 - 77: Golden Armor Protection
Chapter 78: Chapter 77: Golden Armor Protection
A new layer of failed talismans covered the desk.
Li Yuan picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and lowered it to the paper.
The first few strokes went smoothly. But as he reached the middle section where several golden patterns overlapped, a corner of the talisman paper curled up slightly. The Spiritual Power within the Spiritual Ink abruptly dispersed, and a wisp of white smoke immediately rose from the paper’s surface.
Another one ruined.
Feeling the drain on his Spiritual Power, Li Yuan shook out his wrist, calmed his breathing, and rose to cultivate for two hours.
After his Spiritual Power recovered, Li Yuan stopped his cultivation, returned to the desk, and picked up the brush again.
This time, he started with a Golden Armor Talisman.
The first few strokes were steady. As he reached the overlapping golden patterns in the middle section, Li Yuan guided the Spiritual Power from his fingertip even more slowly. The surface of the talisman paper glowed faintly but didn’t smoke as it had before. When the final stroke landed, the Talisman Core trembled. A layer of faint golden Spiritual Light flashed across the paper before sinking in.
A success.
Li Yuan didn’t move immediately. His fingers remained on the talisman brush until he confirmed the talisman’s surface wasn’t dissipating. Only then did he slowly exhale.
A pile of failures lay on the corner of his desk, but he had finally produced his first success.
Li Yuan picked up the Golden Armor Talisman and examined it for a moment.
Compared to the other two types of Tier One Low Grade Talismans, the Spirit Patterns on the Golden Armor Talisman were much denser. The overlapping golden patterns in the middle section demanded extremely precise control over one’s Spiritual Power. The slightest deviation meant all his effort would be for nothing.
The panel for his Talisman Making Skill also rose by a good amount.
[Tier One Talisman Making Skill: Initiate (153/200)]
His Talisman Making Skill proficiency increased as a whole. Even though he hadn’t practiced the several basic Talismans much lately, his success rate for them was still rising, and their proficiency was increasing even faster.
The panel appeared.
[Equippable Item Detected: Golden Armor Talisman (Complete)]
[Affix Preview: Golden Armor Bodyguard (White) — Additionally boosts the defensive effects of Body Refining Techniques by 20%.]
[Permanence Condition: Cultivate a cultivator’s Body Refining Technique to the Initiate level. Simultaneously, physically withstand a basic Magic attack equivalent to the Mid-stage Qi Refining realm without taking any damage.]
[Current Equipment Slots Full (3/3). Replace a currently equipped item?]
Li Yuan’s gaze lingered on the lines of text for a moment before he dismissed the panel.
’The affix is decent, but unfortunately, I can’t use it for now.’
As for the cultivator’s Body Refining Technique mentioned in the permanence condition, he didn’t have one yet. Although the Iron Bull Skill was a Body Refining technique, it was ultimately a mortal Cultivation Technique and didn’t meet the criteria. If he really wanted to go down this path, he would have to find a Body Refining Skill from a cultivation system.
Moreover, the other permanence condition was also quite harsh. He was just physically strong; he definitely couldn’t withstand a Magic attack with his bare body.
Currently, the Iron Bull Skill was the only thing he had that could be considered a defensive enhancement.
Li Yuan set the Golden Armor Talisman aside and tried to make a Replenishing Talisman.
He failed three times in a row.
Li Yuan didn’t continue. He put down his brush, stood up, and left the room.
There were some new changes in the marketplace.
At the entrance to East Street, two new Cultivators in the Wang family’s blue-gray robes stood by the notice board, talking to a clerk from the administration office. The newly expanded area to the south had been pushed out further; the wooden frames were set more densely, and the earthen walls were much higher.
In addition, two more people were guarding the entrance to the administration office.
Li Yuan walked west, and on the way, he saw two more Wang family Cultivators turn a corner, followed by a clerk holding a register. They were walking very quickly.
Even the street vendors were speaking more quietly.
As he neared the patrol team’s station, an Inspector General happened to be coming out of the courtyard. Seeing Li Yuan, he immediately said, "Deputy Li, Steward Wang is looking for you."
Li Yuan nodded and pushed the door open to enter.
In the main room, the same Steward Wang who was temporarily overseeing the patrol team sat behind the desk.
Hearing footsteps, Steward Wang looked up. The moment his gaze fell on Li Yuan, the brush in his hand paused.
After sensing his aura carefully, he asked in an uncertain tone.
"You’ve had a breakthrough?"
Li Yuan walked to the desk and cupped his hands in a salute.
"I just reached the Qi Refining Sixth Level."
Steward Wang gave him a look, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"Your progress is quite fast, breaking through from the fifth to the sixth level just like that."
After saying that, Steward Wang pushed a scroll on his desk over to him, not dwelling on the matter.
"The family just set a new rule. Starting this month, the monthly stipend and contribution points for external members will be raised by one tier."
Li Yuan’s gaze fell upon the scroll.
The writing on it was very clear.
Patrol, guard, mining area, and several miscellaneous positions all had their monthly stipends increased.
In addition, a new batch of training quotas has been released. Pills, Magic, and some materials will be subsidized, with priority given to external members at or above Mid-stage Qi Refining.
’This is good news for me.’ Li Yuan took a look and saw that his current monthly stipend had increased by three Spirit Stones and five contribution points.
But the question was, why was the Wang family being so generous?
Steward Wang didn’t explain the reason, simply changing the subject.
"Also, you’ve been assigned to a new team."
He pulled out a map from the side and spread it on the desk.
The map wasn’t large. It depicted the area between Qinghe Marketplace and the Loose Cultivator marketplace, with several mountain paths and waterways clearly marked.
"We’ll be forming several temporary teams soon, to be deployed under the family’s unified command."
"These teams won’t be divided into guards and patrols."
Steward Wang’s finger tapped on the southeastern area of the map.
"There have been more Demon Beasts near the Loose Cultivator marketplace lately, and the situation is getting chaotic. The family has spoken with the elder from the Primordial Yang Sect. We’re to send people over to clear the Demon Beasts from one area and open up that region."
"Just one area?" Li Yuan asked.
"Just one area. As long as it makes some of the Loose Cultivators feel safe enough to come out, it’s enough," Steward Wang said.
After speaking, Steward Wang’s finger traced a path back on the map.
"The main objective is to escort Loose Cultivators to Qinghe Marketplace."
Li Yuan nodded.
"When do we set out?"
"The exact time will be set in the next two days. It won’t be more than three days from now." Steward Wang took a thin sheet of paper from the desk and handed it to him. "Take this for now. Go back and prepare."
Li Yuan took it and glanced over it.
It was a list of the temporary reorganization and simple team assignments. His name was in the middle of the list—not at the front, but not at the back either.
Steward Wang leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk a couple of times.
"One more thing."
"Besides the Demon Beasts on the road, you also need to be wary of the Li family."
Li Yuan looked up.
Steward Wang’s tone was calm.
"Captain Wang also left temporarily because of this matter. The family has already found conclusive evidence. The Li family was not the source of the Demon Beast rampage."
"However, the Li family did lure the Demon Beasts."
"If Qinghe Marketplace really takes away a batch of people from the Loose Cultivator marketplace, the ones most affected won’t just be the Loose Cultivator marketplace itself, but also the Li family’s marketplace."
"The Li family has been recruiting people and suppressing prices these days. They might not be happy about us going over to pick people up now."
Li Yuan didn’t ask any more questions, only nodded.
"Understood."
Steward Wang grunted in acknowledgment and waved his hand, dismissing him.
Li Yuan exited the main room, closing the door behind him.
The wind in the courtyard was light. Two Inspector Generals were standing there, looking down to check wooden tablets, their expressions tense.
Li Yuan didn’t stop. He went straight back to his residence and began to cultivate the Microelement Meridian Introduction Skill. He separated a wisp of Spiritual Power as fine as a strand of hair and used it to grind away at the tiny meridians he normally couldn’t even touch.
[Microelement Meridian Introduction Skill: Initiate (1/200)]