Chapter 456: Floating Goblet on Winding Water

Three thousand spirit stones should be enough to buy the Soulless Golden Man. To borrow so much... you mean you don't have a single spirit stone...

Zhao Feiwu and Jin Conghai were speechless.

No wonder this guy always buys things with gold coins, not afraid of being beaten to death. They thought he was skilled and bold, wanting to prove something... turns out it was this!

Without a single coin in hand, he dared to come buy the Soulless Golden Man...

They all felt dizzy.

"Ahem!" Sai Xiaoyu coughed, nearly choked by this guy. "Brother Zhang Xuan, this... you don't have a single spirit stone?"

"No!" Without any hesitation, Zhang Xuan nodded.

The dozen or so spirit stones he had were all used on the road; now he was penniless.

Though he had tens of millions of gold coins, they were worthless here. Saying he was broke was the truth.

"This..."

Unexpectedly receiving such a blunt answer, Sai Xiaoyu's face flushed red, nearly suffocating from internal injury.

He mentioned borrowing money to ease the atmosphere and befriend the other, but he took it seriously, asking for three thousand at once...

Good grief!

Even as the head of the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, he didn't have that many spirit stones on him, especially after just buying two thousand spirit stones' worth of items and giving you a Spirit-Calming Herb...

Even if you're leeching off the rich, don't do it like this!

"No? Then forget it. Does your Treasure Appraisal Pavilion have any activities to earn money quickly?"

Seeing his expression, knowing he couldn't produce it, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly.

He was just talking; he didn't really expect to borrow money to buy the Soulless Golden Man.

Besides, they were only casual acquaintances, not deeply connected.

"Earn money quickly? You want to earn money now, then... attend the auction in an hour, and still buy the Soulless Golden Man?" Sai Xiaoyu and the others nearly vomited blood.

What a wild imagination!

If spirit stones were so easy to earn, would they still be here looking for treasures to profit from the差价?

If such a good activity existed, they would have rushed over themselves; would they wait for you?

"Yes, I must earn three thousand spirit stones before the auction!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

He had to earn that much within an hour to buy the Soulless Golden Man; otherwise, he would have come for nothing, and the hope of awakening Lu Chong would slip away.

"This really can't be done. Three thousand spirit stones is a huge sum..."

Seeing him confirm such a naive idea, Sai Xiaoyu shook his head helplessly.

They selected treasures and bought items, only earning a thin margin. Accumulating three thousand spirit stones, even for him, would take at least several years, provided there were enough treasures and buyers.

Without these conditions, earning money was impossible; sometimes many treasures even ended up stuck in their hands, unsellable.

Earning three thousand in an hour... even in dreams, it's not like this!

"Teacher..."

Before he finished, Liu Chang's voice sounded.

Turning to look, he saw the student hesitating: "That... maybe there's a way to earn that much in a short time."

"That? You mean... [Floating Goblet on Winding Water]?"

Startled, Sai Xiaoyu then shook his head with a bitter smile: "That's impossible for anyone to complete! Since the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion was established, no one has ever succeeded..."

"But to earn three thousand spirit stones in an hour, this is the only way. Otherwise... I can't think of any." Liu Chang scratched his head.

Though the appraiser profession was profitable, it wasn't robbery; appraising didn't bring in piles of spirit stones.

Appraising for others only earned a percentage of the profit. Usually, items brought for appraisal were worth tens of spirit stones, rarely over a hundred, so the profit was meager. Moreover, few people came each day, since no one wanted to spend extra money.

Thus, using this method to save three thousand spirit stones in an hour was indeed a dream, completely impossible.

"This..."

Sai Xiaoyu hesitated.

He knew his student was right.

Even if the appraiser profession was lucrative, three thousand spirit stones was a huge sum, not something to be obtained overnight.

"What's wrong? Is there a way? What does 'Floating Goblet on Winding Water' mean?" Overhearing their conversation, Zhang Xuan looked over.

"Floating Goblet on Winding Water is a trial in our Treasure Appraisal Pavilion for assessing five-star appraisers. If you pass, you can get the reward accumulated over the years, which is about... five thousand spirit stones by now..."

Seeing he had heard, Sai Xiaoyu had to explain.

"Trial?" Zhang Xuan was puzzled. "Assessing higher-level appraisers comes with a reward?"

He had assessed master teacher, beast tamer, painter, physician... and never heard of getting a reward for assessing a higher-level profession.

Earning money by assessing a profession—first time hearing it. If so, he should really take the appraiser exam.

"There is a reward, but it's... a bounty accumulated over many years." Seeing his thoughts, Sai Xiaoyu sighed helplessly and continued.

"Bounty?" Zhang Xuan blinked, and the others also looked over.

Though Zhao Feiwu had read many books, this was an internal rule of the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, so he didn't know either.

"Yes. Although the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion has many appraisers, human ability is limited. Due to level and insight, there are many treasures that cannot be identified. These treasures, after being appraised by generations of appraisers, still no one can give the most accurate result."

"Some predecessors, to resolve doubts, paid out of their own pockets to offer bounties, inviting those who truly understand treasures to observe, and also encouraging later generations to study hard and solve them early. Unfortunately, no one has ever succeeded. As time passed, the bounties grew, accumulating to five thousand spirit stones."

Sai Xiaoyu said.

The appraiser profession differs from others; identifying treasures requires payment, so bounties were created. As they accumulated, the reward grew larger. But it wasn't easy to identify treasures that many predecessors couldn't recognize!

"Such a thing exists?" Zhang Xuan's eyes widened.

This was similar to the physician's wall of difficult cases. No matter how strong a guild or how many specialists, there would always be unsolvable problems.

"Yes! Over the years, countless talented appraisers have tried, but none succeeded!" Sai Xiaoyu shook his head.

He hadn't thought of this earlier because it was too difficult. Even he, the most powerful appraiser in the Ten Thousand Nations Alliance, was powerless, let alone others.

"No success? Since no one knows what the treasures are, how do you confirm success or failure?" Zhang Xuan asked curiously.

If none of the predecessors could identify these treasures, how could later generations verify if their answers were correct? Even if they couldn't identify them, just writing a name or attribute would be impossible to judge.

"When a treasure reaches the spirit level, it has spirituality. If the description is correct, it will definitely be recognized. Besides, we are all formal appraisers. Even if we can't identify the treasure, we can easily verify whether the stated characteristics are correct!"

Sai Xiaoyu explained helplessly.

Any appraiser would understand this. This guy was still surprised—was he an even better appraiser than himself?

"That's true..." Zhang Xuan finally understood.

As a skilled appraiser, even if you couldn't identify the specific treasure, if someone described its features, you could verify whether they were correct.

Without that ability, how could you be an appraiser?

"Alright, take me to see it. I want to try!" Knowing this method could bring money quickly, Zhang Xuan decided.

"Brother Zhang, hold on. Let me finish before you decide." Seeing his eagerness, Sai Xiaoyu looked at him.

"Okay!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Participating in this challenge comes with a reward, but also a stake. Each attempt requires a deposit of one hundred spirit stones. Of course, I can pay this deposit for you; you don't need to prepare it."

Sai Xiaoyu said.

"One hundred spirit stones?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

There's no free lunch in the world, indeed.

He thought he could participate for free, but it wasn't so.

True, without a restriction, any appraiser would want to try, and the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion would have nothing else to do.

"Not only that, but the time limit for this challenge is extremely strict!"

Sai Xiaoyu continued: "Floating Goblet on Winding Water, as the name suggests, means placing treasures on flowing water down a winding stream. You have only about ten breaths to observe and verify, then you must state the treasure's name and origin!"

"Ten breaths to state the origin? How is that possible?" Zhang Xuan didn't speak, but Zhao Feiwu beside him widened his eyes.

Appraisers need various observations, including using magnifying crystals, studying patterns, and examining the whole.

Each treasure takes a long time to complete; even if familiar, one must confirm several times before answering.

Ten breaths, just the time for the treasure to flow past on the water, to determine the answer—that's too terrifying!

And observing treasures that no one has ever been able to identify?

"Are there any hints or materials before the observation?" Zhao Feiwu asked further.

If there were materials, one could prepare mentally and find focus upon arrival, making it easier.

"No! The reason for not giving materials is to avoid misleading the appraisal!" Sai Xiaoyu said.

If they knew what it was, someone would have passed this trial long ago. Not knowing the specific treasure, even with materials, they would be incomplete and likely mislead judgment, ultimately preventing a correct answer.

"That's true..."

Zhao Feiwu's brow furrowed deeply.

Floating Goblet on Winding Water sounded like a quick way to earn money, but... it was too difficult. Even for a four-star appraiser, let alone a five-star, it wouldn't be easy.

Just as he was about to dissuade the young man from hoping, he saw Zhang Xuan smile faintly: "Alright, I'll participate in the Floating Goblet on Winding Water challenge. Lend me a hundred spirit stones first; after I pass, I'll repay you double!"