The 199th one, successful!

Jia Xitong breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the solidification talisman in front of her with a sense of accomplishment.

Although it took two hundred drawings to succeed in getting one, once you start, you can try again!

In the following days, she devoted all her time to this. At first, it took her about two hundred attempts to successfully create one solidification talisman, but now she can create a solidification talisman with about one hundred attempts.

Jia Xitong drew 11 talismans from more than a thousand sheets of paper.

A success rate of one percent is indeed quite low, so a few days later, Shang Yanting heard the "system" voice again.

"Dear host, the second task is now issued to you: Collect * sheets of cinnabar red paper and 10 taels of rock graphite."

Task completion reward: Solidification Charm *2

Although he asked for more things, the male lead was very generous with what he gave.

However, as soon as Jia Xitong got her hands on it, she suddenly heard the male lead's voice in her ear, "Have you used up all the previous ones?"

Jia Xitong instantly perked up; he was trying to get information out of her!

If she doesn't realize what's happening and answers "hmm," the male protagonist will guess that she has a stash of talismans. He might even think that a thousand sheets of paper can make two thousand talismans, and that she will live a life of exploitation and misery in the future.

Even if he is ambiguous about himself, the male protagonist will still guess something and erode his trust in him.

In a second, Jia Xitong's mind raced three times before she answered, "Yes. It takes 2,000 sheets of cinnabar paper, 5 ounces of rock graphite, and five days to synthesize two solidification talismans."

The male protagonist pressed on, "Do you need 10,000 this time?"

"The more raw materials you have, the more rewards you'll have a chance to earn."

The reasoning is flawless.

Just as Shang Yanting was about to ask something, a melodious and sweet voice interrupted the conversation.

"Brother Yanting!"

A woman pushed open the door and stood a meter away from Shang Yanting, staring intently at him with admiration and affection on her face. "Brother Yanting, it's been so long! Yu'er missed you so much."

Yu'er arrived just in time!

Jia Xitong instantly recalled this character from the original work—

Her full name is Song Yu'er, and she almost became the male lead's fiancée in the early part of the novel.

It is said that Song Yu'er was arrogant, opportunistic, and fickle. She genuinely liked the male lead at first, but after he fell from power, she turned to help his cousin, switching allegiances swiftly and decisively. She didn't hesitate to send men to kill the male lead without hesitation.

Jia Xitong carefully examined his fiancée.

She was pretty and charming, with a shy and alluring expression. Her big eyes would occasionally glance at the male lead, like a fluttering deer.

Putting aside her bad character, which man could resist such a lovely woman?

Oh, the male lead can handle it!

"What's up?"

Shang Yanting's tone was distant.

Upon hearing this, Song Yu'er lowered her head shyly, "My father came to visit the sect leader, so I also came to see Brother Yan Ting. I heard that Brother Yan Ting was attacked and injured a few days ago, so I brought the best medicine from my family."

"Thank you, my injury has healed. There is a difference between men and women, and it is not appropriate for Miss Song to come to my room alone."

He summoned the servants who had been guarding the door and had them send Song Yu'er back.

Feeling snubbed, Song Yu'er pouted, but dared not refute Shang Yanting's words. She glanced at him several times before reluctantly leaving.

After Song Yu'er left, Jia Xitong, out of curiosity, went to gossip a bit.

"Dear host, do you like her?"

Song Yu'er almost became the male lead's fiancée, but unfortunately the author didn't write about their romantic entanglement.

If it's something you like...

Tsk tsk tsk, a heart-wrenching scene is inevitable.

"You're quite nosy."

"I'm just concerned about my host."

Shang Yanting wasn't buying it. "Instead of wasting your time, you should synthesize the talisman as soon as possible."

See? See?

She was right.

When the male protagonist learned that she could make talismans, he immediately wanted to exploit her.

They don't give you trust points, they just want things for free.

snort!

Jia Xitong scorned the male protagonist, and then, with the dream of becoming a powerful and arrogant protagonist, she threw herself back into making and drawing talismans.

The chattering "system" beside him fell silent, but Shang Yanting's peace and quiet didn't last long. The voice of a servant came from the doorway.

"Young Master, the Patriarch requests your presence in the main hall."

##

In the main hall of the Shangmou family, the patriarch, with his white hair and obvious signs of aging, looked at the male protagonist who had just entered and asked, "Is Yanting's injury healed?"

Shang Yanting lowered his eyes and replied, "Thank you for your concern, Grandfather. I'm almost fully recovered."

Patriarch Shang Mou: "Has your cultivation improved recently?"

Shang Yanting: "It's acceptable."

To say it's acceptable is an understatement.

Shang Yanting is now a late-stage Martial Realm cultivator, just one step away from becoming a Martial Master.

In the Aotian Continent, the Martial Realm is the threshold for martial artists to progress from cultivating physical strength to cultivating internal energy. The Martial Master is the watershed for martial artists to progress from cultivating internal energy to cultivating true qi.

Some people dedicate their entire lives to their studies but never break through to the Martial Realm. Yet he achieved this at the tender age of twenty, making him a true genius.

Upon learning of Shang Yanting's current cultivation level, the head of the Shang family revealed a satisfied expression.

Not only was the head of the Shang family very satisfied, but the head of the Song family was also very satisfied.

The head of the Shang family glanced at the person sitting next to him and a kind smile appeared on his face. "Yan Ting, your Uncle Song and Yu'er have come from afar. You should do your best to be a good host."

"Haha, I won't go." The Song family head said with a smile, "But Yu'er is very curious about the city. Why don't you accompany Yu'er on a tour, so that we can deepen our relationship?"

As members of an alliance among the eight great families, the Shang and Song families had long harbored the idea of ​​a marriage alliance to solidify their partnership.

The Song family patriarch came to Shangmou City for two reasons: first, to participate in the recruitment of disciples by the Holy Capital Academy in two days; and second, to facilitate the marriage between Song Yu'er and Shang Yanting.

Unfortunately, one of the parties involved was not interested. Shang Yanting directly rejected the two family heads' good intentions, saying, "The day after tomorrow is the enrollment day for Shengdu Academy. Family Head Song and Miss Song have had a long journey, so please rest and prepare for the enrollment."

##

Every five years, the Holy Capital Academy makes a special trip to the eight great families to recruit students with potential.

This was not an ordinary recruitment; it was a recruitment of personal disciples for the academy's deans who possessed the highest martial arts skills.

Taking the scions of the eight great families as personal disciples is the key link between the Holy Capital Academy and the eight great families. Those who can participate are all young disciples carefully selected by the eight great families.

On the huge arena, the qualified disciples gradually arrived.

"Brother Yanting! You've arrived."

As soon as Shang Yanting arrived, Song Yu'er approached him and said, "The assessment is about to begin. Let's team up for the group battle."

This was Yu'er's first time attending such a conference, and she was a little nervous.