ALL NOVEL Chapter 15 – Outer Sect Grand Competition
He looked into the room, and sure enough, it was that woman!
Neither of the two people who knew each other well expected to meet here, making the atmosphere extremely awkward.
The man with the goatee was surprised, "You two know each other?"
Both of them replied in unison, "No, we don't."
The goateed man's eyes spun around, clearly not believing their words.
"Young man, these are the second-tier talisman brushes from my little shop, all of excellent quality. Take a look and see which one you like."
Lin Hao shifted his attention from the woman's curves to the talisman brushes. As the goateed man said, the quality of these brushes was quite good, though they were likely expensive.
He picked up an ivory-white talisman brush and casually asked, "Shopkeeper, how much for this one?"
"This White Cloud Ink brush is worth five hundred and eighty-eight spirit stones. If you're sincere about buying it, I'll waive the odd number for you."
"Five hundred spirit stones? Thank you, shopkeeper."
The goateed man almost twisted his back at Lin Hao's cheeky negotiation. Is that how you waive the odd number?
"No... it's not five hundred, it's five hundred and eighty."
Lin Hao raised an eyebrow, inwardly complaining. He thought he had met a generous person, but it turned out only eight spirit stones were waived.
After some bargaining, Lin Hao finally settled on a price of five hundred and fifty spirit stones.
"Shopkeeper, I don't have enough spirit stones. Can I use this talisman to offset fifty spirit stones?"
Lin Hao took out spirit stones and a talisman.
The goateed man took the talisman, glanced at it, and exclaimed, "A top-grade talisman!"
"Enough... it's enough!"
His eyes instantly lit up with excitement. He didn't expect this young man to be able to draw a top-grade talisman. Talismans are divided into low-grade, middle-grade, high-grade, top-grade, and the legendary celestial grade.
Most talisman masters can only draw the first three. To create a top-grade talisman, one must have an extremely high talent for drawing talismans and a profound understanding of talisman arts.
A talisman master capable of drawing top-grade talismans is rare, perhaps one in a hundred. The goateed man immediately changed his attitude.
"Young man, this top-grade talisman can sell for sixty spirit stones in the market. I can't let you suffer a loss, so I'll give you some cinnabar for drawing talismans."
With that, the goateed man took out a box about one foot square, filled with cinnabar.
Goodness, the value of this cinnabar is definitely more than ten spirit stones, at least twenty. This shopkeeper is quite generous.
Lin Hao didn't stand on ceremony and put the talisman brush and cinnabar into his storage bag.
Beside him, Cui Qing'er was already stunned. This little thief was actually a talisman master and could even draw top-grade talismans. It couldn't be true!
She knew very well how rare talisman masters capable of drawing top-grade talismans were. In the vast Xuan Yin Sect, among tens of thousands of outer sect disciples, only one could draw them. No, now there were two.
"Uncle Liu, can you sell me that Golden Light Shield?"
Cui Qing'er had previously acquired two top-grade talismans, which she used up in a battle with Lin Hao. With the outer sect competition approaching, she needed to prepare in advance, but she had no connection with that genius talisman master and couldn't ask for help at this critical moment.
"You want the Golden Light Shield?" Lin Hao sent a voice transmission.
Cui Qing'er's beautiful eyes flashed with surprise. She didn't expect him to send her a voice transmission, and she replied.
"That's right, do you have it?"
"I do." Lin Hao paused for a moment and continued, "Come to my cave dwelling in three days, and I'll sell you three."
As Lin Hao left the magical artifact shop and headed back to his cave dwelling, he paid attention to the topics discussed by the disciples.
The Demon Beast Hunting Competition still had some lingering heat, with many people discussing the events that took place. However, more were talking about the upcoming outer sect competition.
Every three years, the Xuan Yin Sect holds an outer sect competition.
The top-ranked disciples will receive generous rewards, and those who perform exceptionally well will be given special attention by the sect and may even be taken as direct disciples by high-ranking elders.
This is an opportunity, and Lin Hao clenched his fist, determined to seize it no matter what!
Returning to his Senior Sister's cave dwelling, he found her already back, her dress looking brand new and even more delicate than before.
He couldn't help but walk over and embrace his Senior Sister, "Senior Sister, you're so beautiful!"
Li Qiushui's eyes, like clear water, held a layer of shyness.
"You rascal, what are you up to again?"
"Nothing, just admiring how beautiful you are, Senior Sister."
"Senior Sister, the outer sect competition is about to start. What are your plans?"
Sigh... Li Qiushui sighed softly, "The outer sect competition offers generous rewards for the top three, and there's a chance to be noticed by an elder and become a direct disciple. If my cultivation level hadn't fallen, I would definitely compete.
But now I'm only at the eighth level of Qi Refining."
Hearing her disappointment, Lin Hao comforted her, "Senior Sister, there's still some time before the competition. If we train day and night, you might be able to return to the ninth level."
Li Qiushui's cheeks turned as red as cherries, and she playfully scolded, "Junior Brother, can you be serious? We can't overdo that kind of 'training.'
I have no hope of competing for the top three, but you have a chance!"
She slipped out of Lin Hao's embrace like a nimble rabbit, her red dress trailing on the ground, her bare feet stepping on the fur of a demon fox.
Her eyebrows slightly raised, she said softly, "Junior Brother, you might have a chance to compete for third place, but aiming for the top spot or second place is difficult."
Lin Hao frowned slightly, "Senior Sister, why do you say that? Do you think the top spot will go to Wang Jingzhan or Jiang Mingfei, who are at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining?"
Li Qiushui shook her head, "No, you and Jiang Mingfei are both at the Great Perfection, and your strengths are not much different.
The two I'm talking about are truly at the Great Perfection. They could have broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage long ago, but they've been holding back, waiting for the competition to start before breaking through.
Because once they break through to Foundation Establishment, they become inner disciples and can't participate in the outer sect competition. But there's a loophole in the competition: if you break through during the competition, you can continue."
A hint of surprise flashed in Lin Hao's eyes. He didn't expect there to be such people who deliberately held back from breaking through just to seize the top spot in the competition. If they became Foundation Establishment cultivators during the competition, they would be unstoppable. How cunning!
Seeing Lin Hao a bit dazed, Li Qiushui comforted him, "Junior Brother, you don't have to force yourself to aim for the top spot. As long as you make it to the top three and perform well enough, a powerful elder will take you as a disciple, which is better than becoming an inner disciple and randomly finding a master."
Ah, Senior Sister is truly enchanting, alluring without being seductive, every smile and gesture is utterly tempting.
Lin Hao sighed and swiftly pulled his Senior Sister back into his arms.
"Senior Sister, I understand, but my goal is not just the top three; it's the top spot. So please help me 'train.'"
With nearly ten days until the competition, he felt his cultivation could advance further!