Chapter 6

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Xia Ziyi sighed softly in her heart. When she first came to the capital city, she thought that with her abilities, supporting her parents should not be a problem. She did not expect that after coming here, she would find out that the five taels of silver, which seemed like a large sum of money to her, could not buy anything at all, and she did not have the capital to refine elixirs or create talismans. So Xia Ziyi was now very helpless. She knew in her heart that she needed this position as a guest elder in the Xu family. Without this job, her future life would be difficult to sustain. This was the sorrow of the poor!

Thinking of this, Xia Ziyi turned her gaze to Lin Pinghai, who met her with a look of disdain and mockery. Xia Ziyi's heart sank. In her previous life, she was a peak figure in the archaeological world, a very proud person. This pride had seeped into her soul over the years. Even if her future was full of difficulties, she was unwilling to let go of her pride. If she turned around and left now, wouldn't it be like admitting that she was the fraud Lin Pinghai accused her of being? But if she showed her talisman-making skills in this situation, it would also be a sign of weakness, as if she was eager to recommend herself to the Xu family.

However, the atmosphere in the room was very strange. Xu Haoran was silent, his eyes filled with anticipation, while Xu Haobo looked helpless. Xia Ziyi knew that these two would not speak, and thought to herself that she would have to solve this problem herself. Since Lin Pinghai was so arrogant, she would see who was more arrogant.

After thinking everything through, Xia Ziyi turned around, her gaze focused on Lin Pinghai's face, looking at him calmly without a word. Her gaze was very calm, deep, and steady, like that of a superior looking down on a subordinate. Xia Ziyi was originally a peak figure in her previous life, and naturally carried the aura of a superior. Now, she consciously released this aura, and in an instant, the three people in the room changed their expressions.

A wise light flashed in Xu Haoran's eyes, and a thought crossed his mind: Who is she? This kind of aura can only be cultivated by someone who has long occupied a peak position in a certain field. Where does she come from? Is she a descendant of a major family? Or a disciple of a sect? This kind of aura is definitely not something a wandering cultivator can cultivate!

When Lin Pinghai first saw Xia Ziyi's gaze, he thought she could not withstand his pressure and was about to beg for mercy. His eyes revealed more mockery, and he was about to mock her again when he saw the superior's scrutinizing gaze in her eyes. He was stunned, and immediately a surge of anger rose in his chest. Seeing that the family head had not said a word in support of him after he had been here for so long and said so much, he could not help but resent the family head. He turned to Xu Haoran and said:

"Please, Family Head, punish this fraud."

Hearing Lin Pinghai's words, Xu Haoran was at a loss, but then he heard Xia Ziyi's cold voice:

"Family Head, may I ask who this person is?"

"Oh, this is our family's talisman hall's honored elder, First-Rank Talisman Master Lin Pinghai." Xu Haoran felt a bad premonition when Xia Ziyi asked him, but he still answered gently.

"Oh~~" Xia Ziyi drew out the sound, then said calmly: "First-Rank Talisman Master? Does he deserve it?"

At first, when the family head introduced him as a First-Rank Talisman Master, Lin Pinghai proudly straightened his chest. He indeed had the capital to be proud. On this continent, except for the sects, in various families, a First-Rank Talisman Master was a master. But before he could finish his proud posture, he heard Xia Ziyi's words:

"Does he deserve it?"

Lin Pinghai immediately felt like he was about to spit blood. His face turned red, and the family head, Xu Haoran, sitting above, could not help but smile bitterly, thinking, it seems that Xia Ziyi is preparing to confront Lin Pinghai.

"Little fraud, what did you say?" Lin Pinghai jumped up and pointed at Xia Ziyi, shouting.

"Oh, you didn't hear clearly? Do you want me to repeat it?" Xia Ziyi had a serious expression, saying each word clearly: "I said: Do you! Deserve! It?"

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

Xia Ziyi put on a sympathetic expression, and her tone suddenly became gentle: "Sigh~~, I didn't expect your ears to be so bad, you must be disabled. Alright, I'll say it again, do you! Deserve! It?"

"Boom~~"

Lin Pinghai's body suddenly burst with angry energy, his cultivation at the Fifth Layer of the Qi Condensation stage instantly reaching its peak, and he lunged at Xia Ziyi. At the moment Lin Pinghai's aura erupted, Xia Ziyi also raised her cultivation at the First Layer of the Qi Condensation stage to its peak, but she sadly discovered that her cultivation was far inferior to his. Under his pressure, her body could not move at all.

"Am I going to die here?" Xia Ziyi thought sadly: "This Lin Pinghai is too arrogant, I would rather die than lose my dignity."

Thinking of this, Xia Ziyi's gaze met Lin Pinghai's, filled with mockery and disdain.

A figure suddenly appeared in front of Xia Ziyi, and she heard a "thud." Then she saw Lin Pinghai stagger back two steps, looking at Xu Haobo, who was standing in front of her, with disbelief, and said in a trembling voice:

"You... you..."

"Lin Elder," Xu Haobo said solemnly, "Even if you want to teach this young lady a lesson, it is because she questioned your talisman-making skills, and you have also been accusing her of being a fraud. The conflict between the two of you is due to the questioning of each other's talisman-making abilities. I think the only way to resolve this issue is for both of you to demonstrate your skills and compare them. Then everything will be clear."

Xia Ziyi's actions were aimed at forcing Lin Pinghai to compete with her. This way, she would not be like a disciple making talismans while Lin Pinghai, like a master, scrutinized her. Although her talisman-making skills would eventually conquer everyone here, if she did it that way, her posture would be too low, and she might be bullied in the Xu family in the future. Although Xia Ziyi's talisman-making skills were higher than anyone in the Xu family, her cultivation was still that of a novice. Since she had decided to join the Xu family as a guest elder, she needed to earn her own status to make her life easier in the future.

Seeing that she had finally forced Xu Haobo to say what she hoped, she was very happy inside, but her expression remained disdainful, looking at Lin Pinghai calmly, provoking his emotions, hoping he would agree.

Sure enough, Lin Pinghai did not disappoint Xia Ziyi. Hearing Xu Haobo's words and seeing Xia Ziyi's mocking gaze, Lin Pinghai felt very wronged and angry. He was wronged because he was genuinely concerned for the family, afraid that their eagerness to recruit talent would lead them to be deceived. He was angry because the family head and the hall master clearly did not believe him and were somewhat protecting the little fraud in front of him. His chest filled with a surge of anger, and he shouted:

"Fine, I will draw a paper talisman right now. If that little fraud can draw a higher-level paper talisman, no! Just the same level, no! Just a paper talisman, I will kneel and bow to her as my master. If she can't, she will kneel and apologize to me, and then crawl from here to the street."

"Fine!" Xia Ziyi answered decisively. She had been looking forward to this moment, afraid that Lin Pinghai would back out, and immediately confirmed the matter.

The hall was silent, so quiet that one could hear the heartbeat. The atmosphere was heavy and tense, with Lin Pinghai and Xia Ziyi standing on either side of the hall. At Xu Haobo's command, disciples of the family quickly placed a table in front of Xia Ziyi and Lin Pinghai, and then placed talisman paper, talisman pens, and cinnabar on the tables.

Xia Ziyi and Lin Pinghai exchanged a glance. Lin Pinghai, who had picked up the talisman pen, had already calmed down. Having made paper talismans all his life, he would forget everything as soon as he picked up the pen, fully immersing himself in the realm of talisman-making.

Seeing Lin Pinghai, who had completely calmed down, Xia Ziyi nodded in approval. Although he was arrogant, he indeed had his reasons to be proud. She retracted her gaze from Lin Pinghai, took a deep breath, and her heart became as calm as an ancient well. She gently picked up the talisman pen, dipped it in cinnabar, and infused her spiritual energy evenly into the pen, then evenly released it from the tip. In an instant, the pen moved like a dragon, completing the task in one breath without any pause, and a top-tier First-Rank paper talisman was formed.

She gently put down the talisman pen and examined her work, very satisfied. She found that her skills had improved, and she was on the verge of breaking through to the Second-Rank Talisman Master level. She smacked her lips, nodded in satisfaction, and then looked up at Lin Pinghai.

At this moment, Lin Pinghai also put down his talisman pen and looked over. Seeing Xia Ziyi standing there calmly, with a hint of satisfaction on her face, he was stunned:

"Did she finish? Does she really know how to make talismans?"

Seeing that both had put down their pens, Xu Haoran asked softly, "Have both of you finished?"

Xia Ziyi and Lin Pinghai exchanged a glance and both nodded.

Xu Haoran stood up from his seat. Out of respect for Lin Pinghai, he first went to Lin Pinghai's table. Although he already knew Lin Pinghai's level of talisman-making, he still looked at it seriously and nodded, then turned to walk towards Xia Ziyi, a glint of anticipation in his eyes as he turned his back to Lin Pinghai.