Chapter Six: A Contest

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  Xu Ziyanyan let out a faint sigh in her heart. When she first arrived at Zhongdu City, she thought that with her own abilities, supporting her parents would not be a problem. She did not expect that after arriving here, she realized that the five taels of silver, which was a large sum of money in her eyes, could not buy anything, and there was no way to refine elixirs or create talismans. Therefore, Xu Ziyanyan is also very helpless now. In her heart, she knows that she needs this job as the guest elder of the Xu family. If she didn't have this job, her future life would be difficult to sustain. This is the sorrow of being poor!

  As she thought of this, Xu Ziyuan shifted her gaze to Lin Pinghai, only to meet his disdainful and mocking eyes. Xu Ziyuan's heart sank, for in her past life, she was the pinnacle of the archaeological world, a very proud person, and this pride had long since seeped into her soul. Even if her future was filled with difficulties, she did not want to put down her pride. If she turned around and left now, wouldn't that be equivalent to admitting that she was the swindler Lin Pinghai claimed? But if she revealed her true abilities in this situation, it would also be beneath her, like she was eagerly trying to recommend herself to the Xu family.

  But now the atmosphere in the house is very strange, Xu Haoran is silent, his eyes are full of expectation, and Xu Haobo has a helpless face. Xu Ziyuan knew that these two people would not speak, thinking to herself, it seems that she had to solve this matter alone. Since you Lin Pinghai are so arrogant, let's see who is more arrogant.

  Xu Ziyuan turned around, her eyes fixed on Lin Pinghai's face, looking at him calmly and quietly. Her gaze was very still, very deep, and very steady, like a superior person looking down at their subordinate. Xu Ziyuan was originally a peak figure in her past life, and she naturally had an aura of superiority about her. Now that she consciously released it, the three people in the room changed color in an instant.

  Xu Haoran's eyes flashed with wisdom, and the thought in his heart flashed by: Who is she? This temperament must have been cultivated for a long time at the peak of a certain field. Where did she come from? Is she a child of a big family or a disciple of a sect? This temperament is absolutely not something that a loose cultivator can cultivate!

  Lin Pinghai was initially met with Xie Ziyuan's gaze, thinking that Xie Ziyuan couldn't withstand his pressure and was about to beg for mercy. His eyes revealed even more mockery, just as he was about to ridicule him a few more times. However, from Xie Ziyuan's eyes, he saw the kind of gaze that a superior would use to examine someone. His heart skipped a beat, and in an instant, a surge of anger rose up to his chest. Seeing that he had been speaking for so long since entering, yet the master of the house hadn't uttered a single word of support, he couldn't help but feel resentful towards the master as well. He turned around and spoke to Xie Haoran instead:

  "Please let the clan leader punish this swindler."

  Having heard Lin Pinghai's words, Xu Haoran was at a loss for what to say, but then he heard the cold and clear voice of Xu Ziyuan:

  "Tribe leader, who is this person?"

  "Oh, this is the ancestral temple's respected elder, a first-class talisman master Lin Pinghai." When Xu Ziyan asked him, Xu Haoran had a bad premonition in his heart, but he still replied warmly.

  "Oh..." Xu Ziyuan drew out a long tone and said faintly: "A first-rate seal master? Is he worthy of it?"

  Just as the clan leader introduced himself as a first-rate seal master, Lin Pinghai proudly puffed out his chest. He indeed had reason to be proud. On this continent, apart from those sects, among various families, a first-rate seal master was a grandmaster. However, before he could finish striking his proud pose, he heard Xu Ziyuan's voice:

  "Does he deserve it?"

  Lin Pinghai immediately felt like vomiting blood, his face suddenly turned bright red. The clan leader, Xu Haoran, who was sitting above him, couldn't help but smile wryly in his heart, thinking that it seemed Xu Ziyuan had already set her sights on Lin Pinghai.

  "Little cheat, what did you say?" Lin Pinghai jumped up and down, pointing at Xu Ziyuan and scolding.

  "Oh, didn't you hear clearly? Do I need to say it again?" Xu Ziyuan said with a serious expression, enunciating each word: "You! Are! Qualified?"

  "You... you... dare say it again?" Lin Pinghai's body began to tremble.

  Xu Ziyuan put on a sympathetic expression, her tone suddenly becoming gentle: "Oh~~, I didn't expect your ears to be bad too. So you're a person with a disability. Alright then, let me say it again to you... Are you worthy?"

  "Boom!!"

  Lin Pinghai's body suddenly burst out with a furious aura, and his cultivation in the fifth layer of the Refining Qi stage instantly reached its peak. With a movement of his body, he pounced towards Xu Ziyuan. At the moment when Lin Pinghai's aura burst out, Xu Ziyuan also raised her own cultivation in the first layer of the Refining Qi stage to its peak. However, she sadly discovered that her cultivation was far inferior to her opponent's. Under the pressure of his aura, her body couldn't move even a single inch.

  "Am I going to die here like this?" Xǔ Zǐyān thought sorrowfully: "This Lín Pínghǎi is too self-righteous, even if I die, I won't show weakness."

  At this thought, Xu Ziyuan's gaze stared straight at Lin Pinghai, her eyes filled with mockery and disdain.

  A figure suddenly appeared in front of Xu Ziyuan, and a "bang" was heard by her ear. Then Xu Ziyuan saw Lin Pinghai's body stumble backward two steps, looking at Xu Haobo who blocked his way with an unbelievable face, and said in a trembling voice:

  "You...... you......"

  "Lin Gong," Hao Bo said in a deep voice, "Even if you want to teach this little girl a lesson, it's because she questioned your seal technique, and you've been accusing her of being a fake. The contradictions between the two of you are both about doubting each other's seal abilities. I think the only way to solve this problem is for both of you to show off your skills and compare them. Won't everything be clear then?"

  Xu Ziyans actions were meant to force Lin Pinghai to compete with her, so that she wouldnt be treated like a disciple while Lin Pinghai was treated like a master. Although in the end, her symbol-making skills would definitely conquer everyone here, but if that happened, her attitude would be very low, and she might be bullied by others in the Xu family in the future. It should be noted that although Xu Ziyans symbol-making skills were higher than anyone else in the Xu family, her cultivation was still at a beginner level. Since she had decided to join the Xu family as a guest elder, she must fight for her own status in order to have an easier time in the Xu family in the future.

  Now that he finally forced Xu Haobo to say what he expected to Lin Pinghai, he was naturally very happy in his heart, but his expression remained disdainful, gazing at Lin Pinghai lightly, stimulating the other's emotions, adding fuel to the fire, hoping that Lin Pinghai would agree.

  As expected, Lin Pinghai did not disappoint Xu Ziyuan. Listening to Xu Haobo's words and seeing the mocking gaze of Xu Ziyuan, Lin Pinghai felt very wronged and angry at this moment. He was wronged because he had been thinking of the family's interests with good intentions, fearing that the family's desire to recruit talent was too hasty, and had fallen for a scammer. He was furious because the patriarch and the master of the hall obviously did not believe his words, but instead protected this little scammer in front of him. A surge of anger burst out of his chest:

  "Alright, I'll draw a paper talisman right now. If that little cheat can also draw a higher-level paper talisman than me... no! Just one that's the same as mine... no! As long as she can draw a paper talisman, I'll kowtow to her and acknowledge her as my master. If she can't draw it out, she'll have to kowtow to apologize to me, then crawl from here all the way to the main street."

  "Good!" Xǔ Zǐyān replied resolutely. She had been looking forward to this moment for a long time and was afraid that Lín Píng Hǎi would change his mind, so she immediately spoke up to finalize the matter.

  The grand hall was silent, so quiet that one could hear the sound of a heartbeat. The atmosphere was oppressive and heavy, with Lin Pinghai and Xu Ziyuan standing on either side of the hall. At Xu Haobo's command, disciples from the family immediately placed a table in front of Xu Ziyuan and Lin Pinghai, and then arranged the talismans, brushes, and cinnabar on the tables.

  Xu Ziyuan and Lin Pinghai exchanged a glance, at this time Lin Pinghai, who had picked up the brush pen, had regained his calmness. He, who had been making paper charms for a lifetime, as soon as he picked up the brush pen, would immediately forget everything and devote himself wholeheartedly to the realm of charm-making.

  Seeing Lin Pinghai, who had completely calmed down across from her, Xu Ziyuan couldn't help but nod in approval, with a hint of admiration in her eyes. The person before her was indeed arrogant, but he also had his own reasons to be proud. Withdrawing her gaze from Lin Pinghai, Xu Ziyuan took a deep breath, and her heart immediately became as still as an ancient well. She lightly picked up the symbol pen on the table, dipped it in cinnabar, and evenly infused her spiritual energy into the pen. Then, she evenly released it from the tip of the pen. In an instant, the pen moved with a life of its own, creating a top-grade paper talisman without any hesitation or pause.

  Gently putting down the brush, Xie Ziyuan admired her work with great satisfaction, finding that her level had improved again, subtly breaking through to the realm of a second-rate symbol master. With a smack of her lips and a nod, she finally looked up at Lin Pinghai across from her.

  At this time, Lin Pinghai also happened to put down the brush in his hand and looked over. Seeing Xu Ziyuan standing there with a calm and collected expression, with a hint of pride between her brows, he couldn't help but pause for a moment:

  "Has she finished painting? Can she really make talismans?"

  Xu Haoran saw that both of them had put down their brushes and asked softly: "Have you both finished?"

  Xu Ziyuan and Lin Pinghai exchanged a glance, then both nodded slightly.

  Xu Haoran stood up from his seat and, out of respect for Lin Pinghai, he first walked to the front of Lin Pinghai's desk. Although he had already known about Lin Pinghai's symbol-making skills, he still looked at it with a serious expression, then nodded lightly before turning around to walk towards Xu Ziyuan, with a hint of expectation flashing in his eyes as he turned his back on Lin Pinghai.