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Chapter 59 - 59 The Talisman is Broken
Chapter 59 - 59 The Talisman is Broken
Chapter 59 The Talisman is Broken
Translator: 549690339
In the early morning, Jiang Cheng jogged around Happiness Garden.
Since his transmigration, he had never missed a morning run.
He had always believed in a saying: the strong control themselves, the weak control others.
Survival of the fittest was the life philosophy that Jiang Cheng adhered to.
He never complained about the circumstances, but rather strove to adapt to the environment, trying to improve his life with what was available.
Of course, Jiang Cheng was not an adherent of social Darwinism; all his expectations were directed at himself rather than imposed on others.
At least in dealing with others, especially the weaker ones, Jiang Cheng was always fair, gentle, patient, and sympathetic.
In Jiang Cheng’s view, bullying the weaker ones was a behavior only the incompetent exhibited.
“Huff! Huff! Huff!”
The rhythmic, powerful breathing, in harmony with the steady, forceful heartbeat, drove away Jiang Cheng’s early morning fatigue.
He currently had twenty-three thousand low-grade Spirit Stones. About a month and a half later, he would sell the recently purchased apartment and gain ten times the purchase price—about four hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.
At least for now, Jiang Cheng was by no means short of money.
It was time to consider the university entrance exam.
Researching the competition in Capital in advance was not a bad idea.
The Liang Kingdom was vast, encompassing countless miles of territory.
There were nine key Immortal Sect universities within the Liang Kingdom. Of these, the Capital, alone, was home to four!
Jiang Cheng’s goal was to be admitted to one of these four.
Getting into a key Immortal Sect university was very important to Jiang Cheng.
It was related to his three-step plan.
The first step: enter a key Immortal Sect university and successfully graduate to join the Immortal Sect!
The second step: land a sinecure as an Elder in the Sect—well-paid, with little work and no responsibilities!
The third step: leverage Sect resources to advance his Cultivation Level and lifespan as much as possible, spending a laid-back and pleasant life!
As Jiang Cheng jogged, pondering how to pursue higher education,
His Talisman for communication chimed.
Jiang Cheng paused his run and took out the Talisman. The call information displayed “Zhou Yunshan, Elder.”
It was the early morning, when ordinary people wouldn’t normally wake, leaving Jiang Cheng puzzled as to why Zhou Yunshan would call so early.
Could it be that he hadn’t slept all night and went fishing instead?
“Hello?”
“Master Jiang!”
“Elder Zhou, please stop teasing me.”
“Master Jiang, I have a question regarding Talismans I’d like to consult you on!”
“Alright, go ahead.” Providing after-sales service was Jiang Cheng’s duty.
After all, a deal worth twenty thousand shouldn’t result in a negligent provider, right?
Jiang Cheng always earned his money conscientiously.
“I was fishing last night, and only caught one fish. After that, no more fish took the bait. Master Jiang, is there something wrong with this what’s-its-name Talisman of yours?”
“No more fish took the bait?”
“Yeah, all night long, I only hooked one fish.”
As he listened to Zhou Yunshan’s tone, Jiang Cheng thought to himself: you’re so happy about just one fish?
With years of experience communicating with Liu Qing, Jiang Cheng subconsciously sensed that there might be more to Zhou Yunshan’s simple words than met the eye.
“Elder Zhou, how big is this one fish?”
“Not too big, just under thirty pounds, heh heh!”
“Just under thirty pounds? How many exactly?”
“Twenty-one pounds and two taels three!”
Wow, twenty-one pounds and two taels three equates to almost thirty pounds?
Is this how fishermen do their math?
“Ahem,” Jiang Cheng cleared his throat and said gravely, “Zhou, for now, our talisman can only catch this much. You’ll probably have to wait another ten hours before you can catch more fish.”
“Wait another ten hours! Isn’t that asking for my life? Master Jiang, can’t you make this talisman work a little harder and get me another fish? I’m feeling terrible without being able to catch fish right now! Get me another one, please! I’ll pay more! Doesn’t more money do the trick? Get me another fish! I feel like there are ants crawling all over me!”
Jiang Cheng was always a man of principle. He firmly rejected Zhou Yunshan’s request.
In fact, Jiang Cheng could indeed increase the power of the Animal Encouragement Talisman, allowing Zhou Yunshan to fish more quickly and even to catch only big fish if he wished.
But doing so would undoubtedly disrupt the balance of the fishing world.
In the long run, it was a disadvantageous proposition.
Jiang Cheng never killed the goose that laid the golden eggs.
He would let the chicken lay eggs, and the eggs hatch new chickens.
“Zhou, I cannot agree to your request as it falls outside the responsibilities agreed upon in our contract. I must inform you that if the talisman gets damaged, you can come to me for repair, and it will be completely free. But your current request is not a function that my talisman is meant to fulfill. I’m sorry, and I wish you happiness with its future use.”
On the other end of the communication talisman, Zhou Yunshan was incredibly anxious.
But he really couldn’t demand anything from Jiang Cheng because Jiang had given a well-reasoned and faultless refusal.
Now, Zhou Yunshan only regretted not spending more money in the beginning.
If he had given Jiang Cheng a hundred thousand Spirit Stones from the start, wouldn’t he be catching big fish every day right now?
What a pity!
Compared to catching big fish, what’s a hundred thousand Spirit Stones really worth?
Regretfully staring at the “Reusable Fluorescent Version of Animal Encouragement Talisman” in his hand, Zhou Yunshan suddenly had a brainwave!
Could it be possible that there were many Talisman Masters in Wuyue City?
Could it be possible that other Talisman Masters could make a few adjustments to this new talisman as well?
It wasn’t about having them redraw it from scratch, but just to enhance it a bit based on Master Jiang’s work. That should be possible, right?
With that thought, the warnings that Jiang Cheng insisted he read from the instruction manual appeared in Zhou Yunshan’s mind.
[Warning: Unauthorized disassembly or modification of this product is strictly forbidden! Any alteration will be considered a forfeiture of the right to free repair, and the modifying party will bear all consequences and legal responsibilities that arise from their actions.]
No warranty, so what?
I’ll just pay someone else to fix it if anything happens.
Zhou Yunshan certainly didn’t lack money and never worried about things that could be solved with money.
Right now, he was contemplating which Talisman Master he knew and could trust to help him study the “Animal Encouragement Talisman.”
After much thought, Zhou Yunshan remembered a colleague Bai Wendao had mentioned before—Lu Benwei!
Lu Benwei was a talisman professor at Tianheng Sword Cultivation Academy, always at the forefront of talisman teaching and research, and had published numerous professional papers. Moreover, he was a seasoned second-tier Talisman Master.
His skills shouldn’t be too far off from Master Jiang’s, who had a “second-place award.”
A seasoned second-tier Talisman Master surely wouldn’t be stumped by a first-order talisman, right?
After all, Master Jiang was just an eighteen-year-old who had never even passed the first-tier Talisman Master Certificate exam.
Actually, with Zhou Yunshan’s connections in Wuyue, he could even contact the president of the Wuyue Talisman Master Association, Lu Wang.
But to bring a first-order talisman to Lu Wang was like deliberately insulting him.
Lu Wang wouldn’t possibly accept it.
Previously, when dealing with the repair of the Fluorescence Talisman, Zhou Yunshan had also contacted Lu Wang, only to be “politely refused.”
At first, Zhou Yunshan thought he had made a low bid.
Only after hearing Bai Wendao’s message did he understand that it’s simply inappropriate to seek a third-tier Talisman Master for a first-order talisman.
After mulling it over, Zhou Yunshan concluded that only Lu Benwei was suitable.
That’s it! I’ll go with him!