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Chapter 314: Wilderness Chronicle
🕑 Added 2024-10-09 05:24:07 +0000 UTCIn an instant, Yuan Qing stopped himself from thinking further. Regardless of the situation, he instinctively felt that Lin Xiao should not be exposed to Tianxuan Sect. So, he said to Pan Han, "I understand. Please trouble yourself and the others with this matter..."
He paused, as if gathering his resolve, then took a deep breath and looked at Pan Han with deep, serious eyes, a faint smile on his lips. "Senior Brother, back then, we were all in a daze and didn’t see anything, right?"
Pan Han, staring into Yuan Qing's eyes, seemed momentarily dazed. The next second, it was as if nothing had happened, and he nodded. "Yes, we didn’t see anything back then. I'll make sure to tell the others."
Yuan Qing bid him farewell. "I'll leave these matters to you, Senior Brother. This place is not safe to linger in. I should take my leave now."
With that, he turned and walked away. Pan Han also said his goodbyes and left in the opposite direction.
After walking a good distance, Yuan Qing turned to watch Pan Han's departing figure, lowering his gaze in remorse.
"Forgive me, Senior Brother... but this is the only way to ensure Lin Xiao’s absolute safety..."
Since birth, Yuan Qing had a secret. This secret was known only to him and his parents, and no one else. He possessed the ability to alter others' memories by making eye contact with them, but only in a subtle way—he could blur or shift specific memories.
His parents had warned him never to reveal this secret, for it could lead to their deaths or even the destruction of their entire family. Yuan Qing never understood why, but he heeded their warning.
Later, after joining Tianxuan Sect, he stumbled upon a forgotten book in a dusty corner of the sect's library. The book contained a passage that caught his eye:
"Ten thousand years ago, in the Ascension Domain, demonic entities known as charm demons ran rampant. These demons were formless, possessing immense power, and often used their beguiling eyes to alter people's memories. They were eventually eradicated by a coalition of ten celestial sovereigns, restoring peace to the land."
Yuan Qing wasn’t sure if his ability had any connection to these so-called charm demons. His parents might have known, but they never told him, and now, there was no one left to ask.
Thus, Yuan Qing never used this ability on others, partly to protect himself and the Yuan family, and partly to avoid harming anyone.
But now... he felt compelled to use it to minimize the troubles that Lin Xiao might face.
Pan Han returned when the sky was already dark. The Tianxuan Sect disciples on duty had also returned to their sect's residence. Pan Han gathered the fellow disciples who had escaped the Green Leaf Secret Realm with him. He met their gazes seriously and repeated Yuan Qing's words to them.
In unison, the dozen or so thin, haggard Tianxuan Sect disciples inside the modest room blinked, their expressions momentarily dazed. The next moment, as if nothing had happened, they all agreed and began chatting with Pan Han as if everything was normal.
Outside, the night deepened.
No one noticed the small ripple in the vast, night-shrouded land—a minor incident in the grand scheme of things.
The next morning, the Talisman Masters' Conference continued.
Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu had arrived at the venue at dawn, eager to secure a good spot. Today, the names of the 25,000 talisman masters who passed the first round would be announced, followed by the second round of the competition.
Before long, the distinguished figures who had attended the previous day had taken their seats once again, not a single one absent. The area around the venue was already packed with people, both on the ground and in the air.
As the gong sounded, the sky above the venue suddenly lit up with golden light. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the golden light was made up of densely packed names—over 25,000 names filled the sky above the venue.
Lin Xiao looked up at the golden light, silently focusing on finding Liu Chun's name. Suddenly, one name among the countless others began to shimmer, standing out prominently. He focused on it—it was indeed Liu Chun’s name!
In contrast, the surrounding names seemed to dim, losing their luster in that instant. Lin Xiao was surprised. Could it be that Liu Chun’s performance was so outstanding that his name was highlighted like this?
Beside him, Jiang Youfu let out a "Wow!" just as he was about to exclaim.
But then, they overheard someone nearby exclaim first, "Ah! I found my friend’s name! It’s glowing! None of the other names are like this—how incredible!"
Immediately, another person nearby scoffed, "Don’t be so naive. While it’s great that your friend made it into the top 25,000, you’re reading too much into it. The golden name list is a feature of the Talisman Masters' Conference. There’s a special formation that makes the name you're searching for stand out, making it easier to find."
"Oh... I see. Thank you, Senior, for explaining," the person who had been scoffed at replied, bowing respectfully to the one who explained. He then turned back, brimming with enthusiasm, to look at the stage.
Overhearing this conversation, Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu quickly swallowed their words and focused intently on the venue as if they were trying to bore holes into the stage with their eyes.
Today was the second round of the competition.
The task this time was still to create ten talismans, but it wasn’t up to the participants to choose which talismans to make. They had to create ten identical attack talismans, which would then be tested head-to-head at the newly set up talisman testing platforms at the front of the venue.
The talismans would be tested against each other, and the one with the higher damage output would determine the winner and who would advance to the next round.
While this rule might seem unfair to some, considering that the remaining participants had already gone through several rounds of screening, the differences in their skills weren’t likely to be significant. Therefore, any complaints about fairness were moot. If someone couldn’t make it through this round, they probably wouldn’t make it through the next.
Moreover, it wasn’t time to start ranking participants yet; there were still several rounds to go.
This method also helped to speed up the selection process.
Most participants had no objections to this rule—and even if they did, they wouldn’t dare voice them. The Talisman Masters' Conference was organized by the major powers of the Southern and Northern Spiritual Realms—who would be bold enough to challenge the rules set by such powerful entities?
Furthermore, unlike the first round where they simply watched the talisman masters at work, this round would allow the audience to see talismans in action and witness their effects firsthand. This added a new layer of excitement and spectacle to the event.
So, unlike the first round, where talisman masters would leave the stage after completing their work, today, as the second batch began their talisman-making, the newly set up talisman testing platforms at the front of the venue would start the head-to-head talisman comparisons right away.
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