Chapter 459: Spirit Resonance, Painting and Calligraphy Recognition

"Spirit resonance?"

Elder Chen and Elder Lu exchanged a glance, both stiffening: "This... how is this possible?"

"The bell sound was deep and dull, with a somber tone, but this one is sharp and piercing, ringing through the heart... Only the legendary spirit resonance can make one feel joy from the depths of the heart..." said Pavilion Master Sai.

"This..."

The two swayed.

The sound just now had echoed in their hearts, giving a stirring sensation. Upon careful reflection, it indeed was not something a bell could produce.

Could it really be... spirit resonance?

How is this possible?

Their faces twitched uncontrollably, Elder Chen's lips turning pale.

Just moments ago, he had righteous indignation, claiming the man couldn't even recognize treasures, yet now the man not only recognized them but also triggered 'spirit resonance'...

How could he be so heaven-defying?

"Treasure recognition, spirit resonance! This is... the excited cry of a powerful spirit weapon?"

"This, this..."

Hearing Pavilion Master Sai's words, the crowd that had sympathized with Sun Qiang were all dumbfounded, as if a turtle had been stuffed into their mouths, unable to close them.

They had just thought the guy would lose everything, including his underwear, but then he made a huge comeback...

Good thing they hadn't foolishly bet with him; otherwise, they'd be the ones without underwear!

Cold sweat trickled down their spines, and they looked at Elder Chen, whose face was ashen, with black lines on his forehead, as if he might faint at any moment.

Three thousand spirit stones—even if he were a four-star appraisal master, he'd probably be questioning his life after such a loss.

"What's spirit resonance?"

Seeing everyone's expressions, Sun Qiang, carefree and clueless, looked over with a puzzled face.

"Pfft!"

Elder Chen couldn't hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Every appraisal master, even apprentices, knew about spirit resonance of treasures.

This guy didn't know a thing...

Losing to a five-star appraisal master, even a super expert, he could accept, but losing to a servant who wasn't even as good as an apprentice...

Why had he been so foolish as to agree to the bet?

Seeing the fat man looking bewildered, as if he wanted to ask the already frantic Elder Chen, Liu Chang couldn't bear it anymore and quickly walked over: "Treasures are divided into five levels: Divine, Saint, Spirit, Ghost, and Mortal. You should know that, right?"

"Mm," Sun Qiang nodded.

This classification wasn't a secret even in the Tianxuan Kingdom; everyone knew it. Though he was a merchant, he was also a cultivator, so it was no surprise he knew.

"When a weapon reaches the Spirit level, it gains spirituality. Similar to the spirit transformation in paintings and calligraphy, though it can't possess intelligence like a human, it can recognize and approve of cultivators. This is somewhat like the taming of spirit beasts."

Liu Chang continued: "When a weapon recognizes a cultivator, it emits this stirring sound, which is called spirit resonance. Once it occurs, the cultivator can directly drip blood to bind it, refining it as their own..."

"Refining?"

Sun Qiang's eyes widened.

"Yes... The weapons and treasures on the Winding Stream have been undentified by countless appraisal masters for thousands of years. Yet he went in and triggered spirit resonance in no time... Could it be that he not only recognized it but also detailed its strengths and weaknesses?"

Liu Chang was full of disbelief.

"Strengths and weaknesses?"

"Weapons and treasures are forged with the aim of perfection, but limited by materials and the skill of the artifact smith... Even the most powerful treasures have flaws of one kind or another. Once these flaws are remedied, their grade can rise."

"The spirit of a weapon knows its own problems, but unfortunately, it cannot communicate with humans, so repairs are impossible. Some powerful experts can easily spot these issues, and once they pinpoint them, they can easily gain the spirit's recognition. But this is a skill of high-level artifact smiths... How is it being applied to appraisal masters?"

After explaining a few sentences, Liu Chang was utterly bewildered.

An appraisal master only needs to identify treasures, knowing what they are and their origins; they cannot see the strengths and weaknesses.

Only those powerful artifact smiths, who have a deep understanding of weapons and treasures, can do that.

Could it be... this guy isn't an appraisal master, but a... very skilled artifact smith? That's why he could correctly identify the treasure and analyze its strengths and weaknesses?

"If he's an artifact smith, it's normal that he could recognize the first item, a weapon. But an appraisal master must be proficient in not only weapons but also paintings, calligraphy, antiques, natural treasures, even techniques and martial skills... The ten treasures on the Winding Stream cover many professions. If he's just an artifact smith, he might only recognize one..."

Elder Lu also came to this realization and looked at his old friend, saying.

An artifact smith, intimately familiar with weapons, could quickly recognize them and find their strengths and weaknesses, gaining recognition. That was not surprising.

Unfortunately, the Winding Stream tested appraisal masters, not artifact smiths.

The ten treasures included not only weapons but other items. Even if an artifact smith knew many weapons, recognizing one would be the limit; he would surely fail on the rest.

Elder Lu wanted to comfort his old friend, but before he finished, he heard the fat man muttering to himself: "By the way, didn't Pavilion Master Sai say that recognizing just one treasure counts as passing?"

Elder Chen had just relaxed a bit, but his face turned green again, his heart bleeding.

On the Winding Stream, no one had succeeded in all these years, so recognizing just one of the ten items counted as passing... That meant, regardless of whether this Zhang Xuan could recognize the rest, his three thousand spirit stones were... as good as lost!

...

Outside, everyone was shocked. Inside, Zhang Xuan looked at the strangely shaped iron hammer in front of him, speechless.

"What are you screaming for? You scared me!"

He had just written a passage from the library's records about this thing when it let out a roar, nearly making him drop his brush.

What the heck?

A broken hammer, not a bell or gong, and it screams like that?

Does it have no manners? Scaring people like that could kill them.

"Forget it, just writing the name should be enough. I can skip the rest..."

Interrupted, he stopped.

The Heaven's Path Library had seventy-two flaws described for this bronze hammer. Copying them all would be exhausting. Since he had already determined the name, origin, and a couple of flaws, that should be enough to pass, right?

Putting down the brush, Zhang Xuan was about to wait for the next treasure when the heavy iron lump flew out of the pool and landed in front of him.

"What's going on?"

Zhang Xuan blinked.

You're a big hammer, why don't you stay obediently on the leaf and jump in front of me?

I'm not a female hammer!

"Forget it..."

Puzzled for a while, he couldn't figure it out. Seeing the leaf drift away and the second treasure slowly approaching, Zhang Xuan shook his head and ignored it.

On the second leaf lay a scroll, floating on the water, emitting a faint glow.

The surrounding spiritual energy was involuntarily drawn to the painting, with birds flying endlessly, as if alive.

"At least a fifth-level painting!"

As a three-star painting and calligraphy master, he knew something about paintings. This work, though far away, already showed its extraordinary quality, definitely not below the fifth level.

He activated his Eye of Insight.

Unfortunately, like the bronze hammer, he couldn't see through it, meaning the painting's value was beyond his easy detection.

Soon, the leaf came closer, and he could see it clearly.

The painting was clear, but it had no signature or title, making it impossible to identify the artist.

The birds looked unfamiliar too; none of the beast data he learned in taming matched them.

In other words, the painting had no name, and even the birds depicted couldn't be identified.

No wonder so many appraisal masters couldn't figure it out.

"Flaws!"

Touching the painting with his hand, Zhang Xuan began writing furiously again.

...

"Master, after the treasure's spirit resonance, it will likely recognize its owner automatically. I'm afraid the Appraisal Pavilion won't just have to pay 5,000 spirit stones, but also lose this treasure..."

Suddenly realizing something, Liu Chang ignored explaining to Sun Qiang and came to Pavilion Master Sai.

A spiritual treasure could choose its master freely. That meant this Zhang Xuan not only passed the Winding Stream, earned 5,000 spirit stones, and won the bet against Elder Chen, but he might also... take this weapon away.

What kind of situation was this?

Others spent a hundred spirit stones to attempt the challenge and basically lost money, but this guy not only made money but also won bets and took treasures...

The Appraisal Pavilion was going to suffer a huge loss this time.

"Treasures have spirits and can choose their masters. Although this item has been in our Appraisal Pavilion for years, it was never recognized. Now that someone has revealed its origin, it's naturally excited and wants to recognize him. There's no way to stop it; we can only let nature take its course," said Pavilion Master Sai, shaking his head.

He had also thought of this and couldn't help but shake his head.

Every treasure in the Appraisal Pavilion was extremely precious. He didn't want to lose it, but since the man had gained the spirit's recognition, there was no denying it.

"Then... what if the same happens with the later treasures?" Seeing his master helpless, Liu Chang looked at him with concern.

"Heh, don't worry. The first item was a weapon. An appraisal master or someone with a natural affinity for weapons can easily gain recognition. But the rest are different. The later treasures are varied—antiques, paintings, natural treasures... Only a powerful appraisal master can recognize them. Moreover, even if recognized, gaining the spirit's recognition is extremely difficult, almost impossible!"

Pavilion Master Sai smiled slightly: "Don't borrow trouble; don't seek unnecessary worry."

"That... is true."

Liu Chang paused, then nodded. He was about to say more when suddenly the spiritual energy around them fluctuated violently, converging toward the door.

Then, before their eyes, the spiritual energy coalesced into countless unknown birds, fluttering and chirping in unison.

"Spirit transformation cry, painting and calligraphy recognition? This is a painting or calligraphy treasure recognizing its master?"

Pavilion Master Sai's vision went dark.