Chapter 14: Wu Wan

After fumbling with the needle box for a while, Chen Mobai finally waited for the two hours to end.

Without waiting for the soul-soothing chant to sound, he directly opened the door and walked out.

Outside the door, only the last batch of unlucky ones remained.

Chen Mobai did not see any familiar classmates, which saved him the trouble of greeting them. He simply slung his backpack over his shoulder and left the school.

He did not go home immediately but used his student card to take public transportation to a large comprehensive raw materials trading market in the eastern part of the city.

Chen Mobai's mother worked at a talisman paper factory, and he had been taken there to play for a few years when he was young. He was very familiar with the processes of this small factory.

The boss was a second-rank talisman master who operated a talisman shop in the city. To save costs, he ran his own talisman paper accessory factory. The large talisman paper Chen Mobai cut was bought by his mother at an internal discount price.

Although the talisman paper factory was not large, it was well-equipped and could produce pens, ink, paper, and inkstones. However, materials like gold powder, which were rarely used in talisman drawing, were purchased from outside.

If Chen Mobai remembered correctly, the shop that supplied gold powder to the talisman paper accessory factory was here.

Cultivators generally have good memories. After asking three people, Chen Mobai accurately found Wu's Gold Shop in a corner of the trading market.

"Hello, sir, what can I do for you?"

As soon as he walked in, a young cultivator holding a book immediately stood up and greeted him with a smile.

"Do you buy gold?"

Chen Mobai got straight to the point. He had already checked the latest gold prices published on the Immortal Gate website before coming here. Even if he sold it at a slight loss, he was willing to accept it.

However, the young cultivator did not try to haggle. After receiving the gold, he placed it on a professional magical tool to measure its parameters and then offered a purchase price of 843 merit points based on the market price.

"The quality of your gold is good, it seems to have been refined by a cultivator's spiritual energy. Let's round it up to 850."

Chen Mobai felt that the boss was reasonable and immediately nodded.

After the transaction, seeing the additional 850 merit points in his account, Chen Mobai suppressed his excitement and was about to leave when he noticed the book the young cultivator had placed on the counter.

"Second-Rank Appraiser Exam Questions"

"Is the boss also an appraiser?"

Chen Mobai asked curiously. It was well-known that the qualification exams of the Immortal Gate were taken in ascending order, so if he was studying for the second-rank appraiser exam, he must have already passed the first-rank exam.

"The questions from the previous year were relatively easy, I barely passed."

The young cultivator said modestly, then handed over a business card.

【Wu Wan】

【Owner of Wu's Gold Shop】

【First-Rank Appraiser Certified by the Immortal Gate】

After reading it, Chen Mobai was deeply impressed.

The professional certificates of the Immortal Gate were mostly issued by the official authorities after strict selection and evaluation.

A first-rank appraiser meant that one had already mastered the knowledge of identifying most second-rank and below magical artifacts and was certified to practice.

The young boss in front of him, despite his young age, could issue certification for all first-rank magical artifacts, and the certification results were recognized by all trading markets.

"Master Wu, I have a magical artifact that my ancestors obtained during the war. I found it while cleaning the old house during the winter break. Since it has been a long time, no one in the family remembers it. Could you help me appraise it?"

Chen Mobai took out the needle box from his backpack. Wu Wan's originally smiling face instantly turned serious. He first put on a pair of disposable thin gloves from his cabinet and then solemnly took the needle box.

"Sir, do you want a preliminary appraisal or a detailed appraisal?"

Wu Wan's words left Chen Mobai puzzled. Shouldn't an appraisal be done all at once?

Realizing that he was a complete layman, Wu Wan explained to him.

It turned out that the appraisal of a magical artifact was divided into three levels.

The first level was visual inspection, to determine the rank, materials, and manufacturing techniques of the magical artifact.

The second level required the use of professional instruments to measure the remaining usable life of the magical artifact and any hidden defects.

The third and final level was the most challenging for appraisers, requiring them to reverse-engineer the refining techniques of the magical artifact and create or deduce a spell that could fully unleash its power.

The fees for the three levels of appraisal naturally increased progressively.

"However, for most magical artifacts, especially first-rank ones, a preliminary appraisal is usually sufficient."

After Wu Wan explained, Chen Mobai finally understood the nuances.

First-rank magical artifacts had limited value, but the market was vast, and the profit margins were thin. Except for true masterpieces, most were only given a preliminary appraisal. Many shops only needed an appraiser's certification to sell, and they would not spend a lot of money on a detailed appraisal.

Chen Mobai asked about the price, and since Wu Wan was a new appraiser with few clients and insufficient points, his fees were relatively low.

"Your magical artifact is a mid-rank first-rank one, so I will charge you 200 merit points."

After handling it, Wu Wan had a rough idea of the rank of the needle box and gave a price that made Chen Mobai wince.

That was enough to buy six Green Arrow Talismans.

But thinking about his awkward attempts to control the flying needles and the dangers of the Eastern Wasteland where the Water Mansion was located, Chen Mobai gritted his teeth and agreed.

After agreeing on the price, Wu Wan placed the needle box on a workbench in the corner of the shop and began the appraisal using his professional knowledge.

First, he measured the spiritual energy strength to confirm the rank.

"The refining technique is a bit unconventional, but based on the overall spiritual energy fluctuations and materials, it is definitely a mid-rank first-rank magical artifact."

Wu Wan then took out a standard-sized Immortal Gate certification card and filled in the rank and materials based on his judgment.

"The needle box is carved from a single piece of magnetite. If you want to know the specific type and origin of the magnetite, a second-level appraisal would be needed."

Chen Mobai immediately shook his head; there was no need for that.

"The flying needles are likely made from a mixture of several metals that react strongly to magnetism. Even if you wanted a second-level appraisal, I wouldn't be able to do it here because it requires specialized instruments."

"This magical artifact is ingeniously designed and requires little spiritual energy."

"The key to controlling and maneuvering it lies in this needle box. As long as you can skillfully control the magnetic force, you can easily control the flying needles."

Wu Wan, being a professional appraiser, did not even inject spiritual energy but relied on his knowledge to explain the refining techniques and usage tips of the needle box in great detail.

Chen Mobai felt embarrassed when he thought about how he had completely ignored the needle box in the school's cultivation room, using it only as a storage container and constantly pouring spiritual energy into the flying needles.

No wonder he had exhausted his spiritual energy after just three minutes of control, thinking it was due to his insufficient cultivation.

It turned out he had been using the wrong method, no wonder it was so inefficient.