Chapter 461: Compensation

Time went back to a minute ago.

After four treasures in a row leaped out of the leaves and came before him, Zhang Xuan, no matter how dull, understood that he had been recognized—these things wanted to leave with him.

Indeed, treasures, like people, once forged, must display their value.

Trapped in the sunless Flowing Wine and Winding Water, unrecognized by anyone, a sword covered in dust, a pearl without luster—any sentient being would surely be deeply unwilling.

Thus, once recognized, they all submitted.

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony!”

With a curl of his lips, he grabbed with a large hand and collected the treasures that had leaped out into his storage ring.

These items, the Library of Heaven’s Path had given clear names; even if he knew little about treasures, he could tell they were priceless, far beyond what a few hundred spirit stones could buy.

With such precious things acknowledging a master, only a fool would refuse.

Just as he finished collecting them and wanted to wait for the next treasure to appear, he saw the Flowing Wine and Winding Water before him shake and stop, the water seeming to cease flowing.

“Could it be that this thing is broken too?”

He frowned.

The Flowing Wine and Winding Water was driven by a formation; logically, it should flow continuously until all ten treasures appeared. Why had it stopped after only four?

“Let’s see if it can be repaired!”

Full of doubt, he reached out and touched the stone platform before him.

This thing should be like the assessment artifacts in the Master Teacher Academy’s trials—a spirit artifact controlling the water flow and protecting the treasures.

It suddenly stopping must mean something went wrong. But no matter, with the Library in hand, as long as there were flaws or loopholes, he could easily see them.

Whoosh!

A book appeared; he casually opened it, picked up a brush, and wrote.

“Flowing Wine and Winding Water Operating Platform, low-grade spirit artifact, distributed by the Appraisal Guild…”

Writing quickly, he had only written a few flaws when he heard a rumble; the operating platform shook continuously, showing a special intimacy toward him.

“Can this thing be collected too?”

Feeling its attitude identical to the previous treasures, Zhang Xuan was surprised.

If true, wouldn’t that mean the treasures inside could also be taken all at once?

“Let’s try!”

With a light smile, he moved his mind, and indeed felt the huge Flowing Wine and Winding Water before him offer no resistance; with a “whoosh!” it was collected into his storage ring.

“Wow! It actually works…”

With a curl of his lips, Zhang Xuan was about to see what else in the room could be identified and looted when the door “creaked” open, and Guild Leader Sai, Elder Lu, and Elder Chen rushed in.

“You, you…”

“You collected the Flowing Wine and Winding Water too…”

Looking at the now empty hall, the three four-star appraisal masters’ lips trembled as they stared at the young man before them as if at a monster.

We asked you to challenge the Flowing Wine and Winding Water, not to ransack it…

Before, entering the room was like entering a wilderness, with rocks and flowing water… Now, it’s a bare, empty room without a single feather.

You’re not challenging the trial; you’re trying to bankrupt the Appraisal Guild!

“Master Zhang, the Flowing Wine and Winding Water is… a treasure of the Appraisal Guild, representing our authority. Could you please leave it…”

Suppressing the urge to spit blood, Guild Leader Sai’s face flushed red as he spoke.

Earlier, he had called Zhang Xuan “Brother Zhang,” but now he dared not.

With a single move, the man had not only recognized so many treasures but also collected the operating platform. His appraisal skill was definitely above Guild Leader Sai’s; calling him “brother” was no longer appropriate.

“Leave it? It’s willing to acknowledge me as its master!” Zhang Xuan glared.

Are you kidding? With so many treasures, how could he just let them go?

“This… I know!” Guild Leader Sai’s face reddened further.

Heavenly treasures and earthly treasures belong to those of virtue.

These treasures had acknowledged a master; as an appraiser, he should back off. Forcing the issue would be no different from outright robbery.

But… the Flowing Wine and Winding Water was one of the Appraisal Guild’s most precious iconic items, and they absolutely could not lose it. Otherwise, even without the headquarters’ reprimand, he, as guild leader, would have to resign.

It was like someone breaking into the Master Teacher Academy and taking away the assessment artifact.

If word got out, they would be laughed to death.

“How about this: if Master Zhang agrees to leave the Flowing Wine and Winding Water, our Appraisal Guild is willing to… offer compensation!”

After a moment’s hesitation, Guild Leader Sai spoke again.

“Compensation? You want to compensate me with spirit stones? Fine!”

Zhang Xuan counted on his fingers: “This Flowing Wine and Winding Water contains ten treasures. I won’t ask for an arm and a leg; let’s say five thousand spirit stones each, totaling fifty thousand! Plus this operating platform… add another ten thousand! So if you give me sixty thousand spirit stones, I’ll give this thing back to you!”

“Sixty thousand…”

The three appraisal masters swayed simultaneously, their eyes turning red.

They were the Appraisal Guild, not a bank… And even if they were a bank, they couldn’t produce that many spirit stones.

“This… we really can’t come up with that many spirit stones…” Guild Leader Sai was so ashamed he wished he could crawl into a hole.

What a situation.

When no one challenged the Flowing Wine and Winding Water, they hoped someone would succeed. Now that someone had, they were almost in tears, wishing it hadn’t happened…

“Can’t come up with them? Fine, as long as you can provide these things, I don’t need spirit stone compensation!”

Seeing the three four-star appraisal masters crying and frantic, Zhang Xuan knew they really couldn’t produce that many spirit stones. After a pause, he continued: “First, help me find Mortal Realm cultivation techniques and martial arts, as many as possible. Second, I want the Soul-less Golden Man and all books about Soul Appraisers, again, no limit on quantity!”

In truth, whether he kept the Flowing Wine and Winding Water and its treasures was not crucial.

If he truly wanted spirit stones, he could find countless ways.

What mattered most to him now were only two things: first, learning how to awaken a sleeping soul to save Lu Chong; second, improving his cultivation and advancing as a master teacher, striving to reach nine-star before the age of thirty.

Treasures and spirit stones were merely auxiliary means; no matter how good, they couldn’t compare to these two goals.

“These…”

Expecting the other party to make excessive demands, Guild Leader Sai was stunned to hear only these things.

As for Mortal Realm cultivation techniques and martial arts, although they were the Appraisal Guild, they could still find some; they weren’t particularly valuable.

As for books about Soul Appraisers, although the existence of this profession was debated, the Appraisal Guild did have some related books… but they were vague, and the accuracy of the information was uncertain.

To be honest, these things… weren’t worth much, far inferior to either the treasures or the Flowing Wine and Winding Water.

Earlier, seeing the man as greedy as if his life depended on spirit stones, they had expected him to make a demand that would bankrupt the Appraisal Guild. Instead, he only asked for these things.

Could there be a catch?

“What, can’t do it?”

Seeing his puzzled expression, Zhang Xuan looked over.

“We can find some of the others, but the Soul-less Golden Man… it doesn’t belong to our Appraisal Guild. Someone has consigned it for auction. I can’t guarantee the exact auction price or whether we can buy it before the auction starts!”

Guild Leader Sai quickly said.

The Soul-less Golden Man was consigned by someone else; the exact price it would fetch was only an estimate. Even if the Appraisal Guild stepped in, whether they could buy it was uncertain. Therefore, he couldn’t guarantee full payment.

Of course, this was a conservative statement. The Appraisal Guild’s financial strength was considerable compared to other forces, and since the auction was on their turf, if they couldn’t buy it, others would have even less chance.

“That’s fine. Didn’t you say there’s a five-thousand-spirit-stone reward for passing the Flowing Wine and Winding Water? I can buy it myself! Just gather the things I mentioned, no fewer than a thousand copies each!”

After a pause, Zhang Xuan said.

“A thousand copies?”

Guild Leader Sai’s eyebrows jumped, his face turning green.

He had thought the man would ask for a few dozen at most, but he started with a thousand. What did he need so many books for?

He had thought that by not asking for sixty thousand spirit stones and instead asking for these things, he was letting the Appraisal Guild off easy. Now it seemed this condition was no simple matter.

“Books on Soul Appraisers—not only do we not have that many, even in Wanguo City you’d be hard-pressed to find many. At most, we can find… a few dozen. As for Mortal Realm cultivation technique manuals, for Mortal Realm First Layer Life Extension Stage, we can find over a thousand copies, since this level is very common and techniques are abundant.”

“For Second Layer Origin Energy Stage, they’re relatively rare, not that many—at most five hundred copies. For Third Layer Yin-Yang Mirror Stage, Wanguo City can find quite a few, but here… finding a hundred copies would be good!”

After careful calculation, Guild Leader Sai detailed what they could find.

Although Honghai City was a large city in the Ten Nations Union, it was not as powerful as Wanguo City. Even if there were manuals, they couldn’t produce a thousand copies at once.

Especially for Mortal Realm Third Layer, each manual was treasured by the various families and never passed around. Even with the Appraisal Guild’s involvement, finding a hundred copies would be impressive.

And that was after scouring all the established families.

“Fine, hurry up and find them!”

Knowing that given the geographical limitations, finding this many was already good, Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement. With a flick of his wrist, the Flowing Wine and Winding Water reappeared.

He could return this thing to them, but the four treasures that had acknowledged him earlier were out of the question.

“Thank you, Master Zhang, for your generosity!”

Guild Leader Sai breathed a sigh of relief and quickly clasped his fists.

“No problem. Now give me the five thousand spirit stones for passing the trial!”

Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

“Alright, I’ll fetch them for you!” Guild Leader Sai walked out and returned shortly. With a flick of his wrist, a pile of spirit stones appeared before them, their spiritual energy surging like a hurricane.

With a sweep of his mind, Zhang Xuan knew there were exactly five thousand. With a light smile, he collected them into his storage ring.

“Young master, this Elder Chen just lost a bet and owes us six thousand spirit stones!”

Just as he was about to say something, Sun Qiang walked in.

“A bet? Six thousand spirit stones?”

Zhang Xuan was startled and looked at the old man nearby, surprised: “Six thousand at one go? Elder Chen, you’re much more generous than Guild Leader Sai!”

“Generous?” Elder Chen was on the verge of tears.

This wasn’t generosity; it was a death sentence…