Chapter 31

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Chapter 31: Winning by Underestimating

The Wood Barrier was not a basic Spiritual Law; its power was not something the Feather Coat could compare with. Even a countering attribute could easily suppress the Feather Coat.

After all, the Wood Barrier maximized the characteristics of the Wood Element, forming a continuously growing protective spirit energy. Any attack had to pass through numerous obstacles to reach the user, making it an incredibly strong defensive Spiritual Law.

Moreover, this feature could even suppress flames, effectively evening out the elemental relationship.

"Rough around the edges!"

Huang Xueying felt concerned about Yun Ye’s close combat skills. To give Yun Ye a taste of the harsh realities of society, he reached out to grab Yun Ye’s fist with astounding precision, targeting Yun Ye’s vein. A slight squeeze would be enough to disable Yun Ye’s right hand.

However, there was a slight discrepancy between his expectations and reality.

He did grasp Yun Ye’s wrist and could have immediately injured Yun Ye’s hand, but before that could happen, his own hand was already injured.

The moment he made contact with the orange flames, the destructive power of the Wood Barrier visibly spread and obliterated his palm, sending a sharp pain shooting through Huang Xueying’s body, causing him to tremble.

As a cultivator trained in a prestigious family, enduring pain and retaliating was a basic quality. Therefore, instead of retreating, Huang Xueying instinctively threw his left fist, hoping to trade blows to gain an advantage.

According to basic principles, when one area of spirit energy is abundant, other areas must be lacking.

Since the destructive capacity of Yun Ye’s flames from his right hand was so formidable, it suggested that other areas were completely unprotected. If he could land a hit, it would be enough to recover his losses.

But it was evident that Huang Xueying was wrong again; his left hand met the same fate as his right, turning black and charred. If it weren’t for the large amount of spirit energy protecting him, it would have melted away without question.

Losing both fists was clearly a significant disadvantage, and at that moment, Huang Xueying began to think about awakening his Spiritual Roots to turn the tide.

But just as the patterns of his Spiritual Roots began to emerge, Yun Ye punched through the Wood Barrier, landing a blow directly on his chest.

"Boom!"

Huang Xueying lost consciousness and flew away like a rag, rolling several times on the ground.

The entire arena fell silent.

Not even a single breath could be heard, as if any sound would cause something to slip away.

"Pat, pat, pat!"

Shen An broke the tension, clearly amused by the scene, continually applauding. "Very good! Utilizing your opponent’s underestimation to secure a swift victory is what a qualified Spiritual Law practitioner should understand!"

On the path of cultivation, there are countless opponents, and the unknown always outweighs the known. Underestimating an opponent equates to inviting death.

When practitioners engage in battle, they must first awaken their Spiritual Roots, even if the opponent seems weak. Otherwise, if they are defeated silently, it will be too late to regret it.

Huang Xueying had spent too long in the Awakening Hall, and his disdain had seeped deep into his bones.

Otherwise, Yun Ye would have truly needed some effort to defeat Huang Xueying.

"…"

Yun Ye clasped his hands together and turned to leave.

Since the winner had been decided, there was no need to stay, and with a win, he could cancel out a loss, letting him rest for another two months.

Just as Yun Ye walked away, the entire Training Ground erupted like a boiling pot, instantly buzzing with excitement.

"Did he really just win like that?"

"This is too absurd! This is a Minor Achievement Spiritual Law, and it’s been burned through like paper?"

"If I were Huang Yupeng, I would definitely spit blood. Not only did he fail to suppress someone, but he also ended up making a huge joke… being defeated by a newbie!"

Wang Yao also found himself shocked, scratching his head. "This is too dramatic, a grassroots comeback?"

In reality, the impact of this incident went far beyond their reactions.

Especially when Huang Yupeng heard the news; he was even more surprised. "With Blood Eagle’s strength, even if he was careless, there’s no way a newbie could easily break through his defenses… It seems Yang Shi’s flames are beyond ordinary expectations."

"So, young master, should we continue?" a servant asked.

Huang Yupeng thought for a moment and shook his head. "There’s no need; the time is almost up. At this point, having another revival of Spiritual Roots can be somewhat useful. Even the Ji family is expanding their training efforts, while we are just struggling to survive. We should be a bit more prudent."

"Yes." The servant disappeared into the darkness.

…

For the next four months, Yun Ye did not encounter any troubles.

During this time, Huang Yupeng and Yun Ye sparred once, but it seemed to be merely a test of strength, and no significant issues arose.

As the year came to a close, the annual wave of dropouts began again.

The Awakening Hall always had students dropping out each year, either turning sixteen or having three consecutive years of failing records.

This year, among the dropouts was a familiar face to Yun Ye—one of his classmates.

The crucial thing was that Yun Ye could read his stats.

Physique: E, Spirit Sense: A, Spiritual Roots: C, Comprehension: D.

Spirit Sense was actually an A grade!

In an environment where most people had C-level talent, it was quite a surprise to suddenly see an A-grade talent pop up.

However, the fact that this person managed to flunk for three consecutive years and was now dropping out indicated that his Spirit Sense talent hadn’t been effective, at least not enough for an Innate Spiritual Law.

Yun Ye began to understand that the evaluation criteria for the Rebirth Book were actually regional, determined by the upper and lower limits of that area.

The evaluation system in Baishi Town was universal across Huangzhou, so naturally, it didn’t match.

An A-grade talent probably meant "good," leaning toward the medium range, far from having an Innate Spiritual Law.

"At least there’s some talent; I should accept him and observe for a while."

Yun Ye’s value had risen and now had a big residence, so training a few trusted individuals was no problem at all.

This boy named Ning Xiao was just considered "trash" by the Awakening Hall and would not attract attention.

…

"Be careful on the way!"

"Clap!"

The time had come to join the Black Armored Army, and Yun Ye and Wang Yao high-fived in farewell.

In the back hall of the Awakening Hall, around ten o’clock, Yun Ye arrived as scheduled.

"The Black Armored Army hasn’t arrived yet; please wait a moment."

Shen An was as usual, sitting at the back of the stage, seemingly recording something.

“……”

After Yun Ye cupped his hands in greeting, he looked over with curiosity, only to realize he was mistaken. Shen An was not recording but rather making talismans.

The talisman pen twirled in Shen An’s hand, leaving ink marks as spirit energy silently flowed into the talisman.

Yun Ye could feel the abundant water spirit energy within it, and the patterns looked familiar to him.

Talisman for Curing the Illness…

The most outstanding quality of water is its flow. Mastering this flowing quality can help remove toxins and other negative substances from the body, serving as a method to cure diseases in the cultivation world—tried and true.

Moreover, unlike the exorbitant prices of Superior Food, talismans must be made by cultivators, resulting in high time costs. While they may not reach thousands of dark copper, a few hundred dark copper is certainly reasonable.

(I didn’t expect this Academy instructor to make talismans to earn money, especially the most basic Talisman for Curing the Illness. Isn’t this just selling to commoners and small merchants?)

Yun Ye clicked his tongue in amazement.

Although he knew little about talismans, the Talisman for Curing the Illness was widely known and not a secret within the Awakening Hall.

This was the most basic talisman, belonging to the ungraded category. As long as a talisman master was water-attribute, the initial practice pieces were generally Talisman for Curing the Illness.

This kind of talisman is famously easy to make; both the materials and the requirements for the producer are minimal.

In other words, Talisman for Curing the Illness has a high production rate, so it rarely fetches a good price.

However, the idea of thin profits and high sales clearly doesn’t apply to the government.

The government wants to earn more money without increasing manpower.

So, to sell talismans at high prices, they limit their supply.

In the event of an outbreak, if the talismans run out, they will opt for a price increase strategy rather than ramping up production.

In this context, it seemed odd for a well-placed Spirit Law instructor to be producing Talisman for Curing the Illness; if it were for profit, it was hard to explain.

Easily crafting several talismans, Shen An looked up and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you interested in talisman-making?”

“(It can make money.)” Yun Ye didn’t hide his interest; after all, commoners wanted more ways to earn.

“Talisman-making can indeed be profitable, but it may not be as lucrative as you think. Unless you become a master, the types and quantities of talismans you can make will all depend on the government’s orders.”

Shen An twirled the talisman pen. “The Talisman for Curing the Illness I’m making now is a task given to me from above. The government sells it for four hundred dark copper each, and I earn forty dark copper for every one I produce. The materials are provided by the government, but the success rate is also limited. If it exceeds that, you’ll have to pay for it yourself.”

“……” Yun Ye fell silent; he hadn’t expected the government to exploit talisman masters so ruthlessly.

In fact, he should have realized the situation when he noticed there was only one talisman shop in Baishi Town.

Absolute monopoly often leads to absolute exploitation.

Revival of Spiritual Roots, whether in battle or logistics, cannot escape the confines of Baishi Town, so they are naturally at the mercy of others.

Those prominent families might seem strong, but they definitely do not dare to confront the government openly; otherwise, why wouldn’t they open a talisman shop and compete with the government for business?

“(At least it can make money. I wonder if I can learn talisman-making methods in the Black Armored Army?)” Yun Ye asked.

The answer was yes.

Shen An replied, “I learned how to make talismans in the Black Armored Army as well. You can certainly learn, but talisman-making is a valuable skill, and whether or not you qualify is uncertain.”

“(What qualifications?)” Yun Ye’s eyes lit up; having the opportunity was great news for him!

“Qualifications depend on whether you have money, contribution, and status. You don’t think the Black Armored Army lacks ranks, do you, commoner?”

A familiar female voice suddenly interrupted.

Looking over, he saw three figures in black robes entering the hall, the one leading them being Zhu Zhaohong.

Zhu Zhaohong approached with two others, exuding a powerful aura.