great-warnovel Chapter 31 The Beginning of Talisman Dao
Chapter 31 The Beginning of Talisman Dao
"Chu Nan, Chu Nan, the clan leader requests your presence at a meeting."
Chen Mingchuan's loud voice could be heard from afar outside.
Helpless, Chen Chunan could only put away the talisman brush and reply, "I understand, I'll be right there."
Half a month ago, Liu Qingyang, the head of the Liu family, convened a meeting of the twelve Qi-refining families in the southwest to discuss and agree on new rules.
Liu Ruyan forcefully investigated and shut down all of her family's businesses.
This caused widespread resentment among the twelve families in the southwest.
Although the Liu family had exploited the people in the past, they had ultimately turned a blind eye and had not gone too far.
Everyone tacitly agreed that they would give the steward in charge of collecting tribute some benefits every year, and handing over 60% to 65% would be enough to get by.
Everyone can still get by.
Liu Ruyan's thorough investigation has completely exposed everyone's true colors!
And they will confiscate 90% of it!
Who can stand this?
Even a horse's life matters!
Those Qi-refining families, whose foundations are far inferior to the Chen family, instinctively sought refuge with the Chen family in this situation.
This undoubtedly disrupted Chen's strategy of quietly retreating without firing a shot.
Chen Daoping has been extremely bothered lately, and the calls within the clan to unite and resist have been growing louder.
There was no other way but to hold another internal high-level meeting.
As the future clan leader, Chen Chunan naturally had to participate.
...
By the time Chen Chunan took his seat, the other eight clan elders had already arrived.
Chen Daoping looked extremely tired.
Seeing Chen Chunan enter, he greeted him, "Chunan's here? Sigh, you must have heard about what's been happening lately. I never imagined there were so many idiots in the clan! They're simply overestimating themselves!"
The Liu family has been able to intimidate more than 40 Qi Refining families of all sizes in Zhuilong Ridge for over a hundred years. How could these small fry in the Qi Refining stage possibly shake them?
Back then, the Sun family produced a Foundation Establishment cultivator; what was the outcome?
Some clansmen actually thought they could resist the Liu family's reduction of their tribute share. This is not only not being clear-headed, but being stupid!
Chen Chunan shook his head: "The clan chief simply shut himself off to guests, and the elders didn't express their opinions either. Those who were making a big fuss were put in charge of the coordination, and the matter naturally calmed down. Simply trying to appease and persuade is not advisable. If the people can be made to follow orders, then let them do so; if they cannot be made to follow orders, then let them know."
In Chen Chunan's view, handling this kind of thing couldn't be simpler. Those who were shouting the loudest would immediately cower when he was put in the lead. He would just pick a few out and give them a good talking to.
Then, the whole incident was dealt with in a low-key manner, and the other members of the clan, seeing the attitude of the higher-ups, naturally became clear-headed.
This is a world of cultivation, not a world of mortals. The final decision on whether to fight or not is not up to them.
Chen Chunan's suggestion made the elders' eyes light up, and they exchanged glances, agreeing that it was very feasible.
"This idea is feasible!"
"The clan leader's choice of Chu Nan as the future head of the clan was truly prescient!"
Listening to the elders' awkward boasting, Chen Chunan twitched the corner of his mouth. He didn't think that the elders, who had lived for hundreds of years, wouldn't have thought of this way of handling things. He just felt that this was probably a test of his ability to handle things.
"Elders, you flatter me. You are just worried and trying to avoid making a big fuss, so as not to let the rumors spread and attract the attention of the Liu family."
Chen Chunan remained calm and unmoved by the exaggerated praise.
The clan chief and several elders also looked as if they were indeed confused by their concern.
Then they suddenly realized that a solution had been provided as soon as the problem was raised, so there seemed to be no need to continue the meeting.
But if the meeting ends like this, doesn't that mean that these nine old men are not as good as a 15-year-old?
Clan Chief Chen Daoping coughed a few times and then asked, "Chu Nan, how's your progress with spirit talismans? Is there anything you need?"
When Chen Chunan heard the clan leader ask about the spirit talismans, he immediately took out a dozen spirit talismans from his storage ring, about thirty or so.
This stack of talismans instantly caught the attention of the clan leader and all the elders.
"This is...? We can already make talismans?"
"Impressive! No wonder you are the prodigy of the Chen clan!"
"How long has it been? Less than two months, right? And you've already successfully drawn a first-tier spirit talisman?"
Chen Chunan said, "These are twenty-seven first-tier spirit talismans and ten second-tier spirit talismans."
The moment Chen Chunan uttered the second-tier spirit talisman, the conference room fell silent for a few seconds.
The seventh elder of the clan stammered, "A second-tier rune master in a month? Is becoming a rune master that easy?"
The answer is, of course, not simple.
To draw a talisman, one must first be familiar with runes, which are a strange power created or discovered by talisman masters that can draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
It uses a spirit brush that can gather spiritual power, with spirit ink as its flesh and blood, and its own spirit as its bones.
Finally, it was drawn into a talisman that could draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
In Chen Chunan's understanding, a talisman is a one-time spell storage device.
The quality of a rune's completion is like the beauty or ugliness of the person you create. A beautiful person is always more favored by people (spirits) and can attract more "followers," so the casting speed is naturally faster and the power is greater.
When Chen Chunan first established the foundation of his inner alchemy, his Yin spirit was fortunate enough to be enlightened by a bit of pure Yang, making his spiritual power far surpass that of his peers. Learning 1-2 level runes was simply a simple matter for him.
All you need to do is increase your proficiency level.
Also benefiting from his high spiritual strength, Chen Chunan was able to draw spirit talismans much more easily than other level 1-2 talisman masters.
Making talismans is naturally simple.
The only downside is that the beginner's guide to spirit talismans only teaches you the basics; there's absolutely no way to advance to the next level.
None of the runes of rank three or higher were recorded.
However, when it comes to what he lacks, Chen Chunan really does lack something, the first thing being talismans.
Chen Chunan only received a little over 300 first-grade talismans last time, and he had used nearly 100 of them for beginners.
In order to advance to the second-tier talisman master, nearly a hundred second-tier talisman papers were wasted.
Two pieces of spirit ink have been used up. The spirit ink can last for a while longer, but the talisman paper is really not enough.
"I'm currently short on talisman paper, but my success rate in drawing first-tier talismans is now 100%, and they're mostly top-grade. My success rate for second-tier talismans is about 90%, and those are also mostly top-grade. How much are these first and second-tier talismans worth?"
Chen Chunan's words stunned the elders for a moment.
What does it mean that the success rate of drawing a first-tier spirit talisman is 100%? And that the success rate of drawing a second-tier one is 90%, with most of them being of superior quality?
Why is it that I can understand each word individually, but not when they're put together?
Clan Chief Chen Daoping swallowed hard: "Chu Nan, are you saying you can already draw second-tier spirit talismans? And most of them are high-grade?"
The clan elders reacted even faster, directly reaching out to snatch the dozen spirit talismans that Chen Chunan had taken out.
Then they were completely shocked!
There are a total of 27 Tier 1 spirit talismans, with 17 of the highest quality, 10 of the superior quality, and 0 of the mid-grade and low-grade!
Of course, there were medium and low grades before. Most of the first dozen or so drawings were medium and low grade, but Chen Chunan took them out to test their power and destroyed them.
Once you get the hang of it, you'll generally be starting with high-quality products.
Ten second-tier spirit talismans: five mid-grade, three high-grade, and two top-grade!
The clan elders were all stunned.
Although my family doesn't have any talisman masters, the Liu family does!
The largest shop in the Liu family mainly sells spirit talismans!
But can even a second-tier talisman master from the Liu family guarantee that the first-tier spirit talisman they create will be at least of superior quality?
Talismans are divided into four grades. Taking a first-grade talisman as an example, a first-grade talisman corresponds to the power of a spell cast by a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining.
The lower grade has a weak effect, dealing only 6-7% of the damage.
The power of a mid-grade spell is comparable to that of a spell cast at level eight of Qi Refining!
A superior-grade spell is extraordinary, dealing 30% more damage than a normal spell. It can barely reach the power of a spell unleashed at full strength at the ninth level of Qi Refining.
The best quality talisman can achieve a 6% increase in power! Its power is even stronger than that of a low-grade second-tier spirit talisman.
It is almost equivalent to a spell released at full power by a Qi Refining Master.
After sensing the power of the talisman in their hands, the elders' eyes all shone with golden light.
The elder clan leader interjected, "Chu Nan, first-tier spirit talismans of mid-grade or lower quality are practically worthless. A dozen or so would barely fetch one spirit stone; they're practically unsellable because no one would use a mid-stage Qi Refining level spell as a means of self-defense. But high-grade and top-grade talismans have a market! Especially top-grade ones; according to the Liu family's pricing, one can be worth two low-grade spirit stones! A high-grade one can be worth one spirit stone."
what?
Three top-grade pieces? One medium-grade piece?
Is it really that cheap?