Chapter 514 - 514: A Sound Slap to the Face

Forced into a corner by Ying Ji and Hao Li, Cheng Haoyu had no choice but to concede.

"Hunting the Raccoon Power is no ordinary task. If someone isn't skilled enough, they'll just be a burden—a danger to themselves and everyone else. You want to bring him along? Fine. Let him prove his worth. If he's truly a powerful ally, not only will I agree to bring him, but I'll also immediately offer a formal apology!"

"Fine." Zhao Yuan nodded in agreement and asked, "How do you want me to prove it?"

Cheng Haoyu said, "Simple. Show us what you're best at. As long as it's powerful enough and useful for hunting the Raccoon Power, we'll bring you along."

'Show him what I'm best at?'

Zhao Yuan was taken aback for a moment. When it came to skills he excelled at, there were far too many to count.

'Alchemy and Artifact Creation, Drawing Talismans and Chanting Incantations, even Martial Skills... I'm good at all of them. Which ability would be best to demonstrate?'

Seeing him hesitate without speaking, Cheng Haoyu assumed he had lost his nerve and was too embarrassed to show any skills. He couldn't help but sneer, "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? Don't tell me you don't have a single skill worth showing."

Ying Ji flared up and was about to retort when she heard Zhao Yuan say, "How about this? I'll just draw a few Talismans."

Most Cultivation Schools were familiar with Drawing Talismans and Chanting Incantations, differing only in the depth and direction of their research. Originally, Cheng Haoyu had hoped to discern Zhao Yuan's cultivation path from the skills he demonstrated, but it now seemed that goal was unattainable.

"What kind of Talisman can you draw?"

Zhao Yuan raised his hand and pointed. "How about those Talismans you have hanging up like prized treasures? As it happens, I know how to make all of them."

Cheng Haoyu was stunned at first, then burst out laughing. "You really know how to brag. Every single one of these Talismans I have hanging here is a Spirit Level masterpiece! The people who can draw them are all Cultivators who have been immersed in the art of Talisman Drawing for many years. You can draw them? What a joke!"

Faced with skepticism, Zhao Yuan didn't get angry. He just smiled and said, "You'll find out soon enough whether it's a joke or not."

Cheng Haoyu raised an eyebrow, stopped laughing, and looked Zhao Yuan up and down a few times before saying, "Fine. Follow me." He then turned and walked into the adjacent study.

Zhao Yuan followed him in. Ying Ji and Hao Li hurried after them, leaned close to Zhao Yuan's ear, and whispered, "Can you really draw those Talismans from outside?"

"I really can," Zhao Yuan said. "I saw that those Talismans are quite powerful. To hunt the Raccoon Power, we'll have to rely on them, so I might as well take this opportunity to draw some more for backup."

Just one Xiaoyang had been enough to give Zhao Yuan a chaotic fight. As a powerful Exotic Beast from ancient times, the Raccoon Power's strength was certainly far greater than the Xiaoyang's! To deal with it, the more powerful Talismans they had, the better.

Cheng Haoyu's hearing was sharp. He overheard Zhao Yuan's words and couldn't help but snort again.

He simply didn't believe for a second that Zhao Yuan could draw the Talismans from outside.

Entering the study, Cheng Haoyu pointed to a rosewood desk in the center. "You can draw here!" Then he opened a nearby bookcase and gestured to the brushes, ink, and paper inside. "Here are the tools and materials for Drawing Talismans. Help yourself."

Zhao Yuan didn't hold back. He walked to the bookcase and took a look. 'Holy cow.' All of Cheng Haoyu's brushes, ink, and paper were Upper Grade materials for Talisman Making!

This was stuff that money couldn't necessarily buy.

'Only an idiot would pass up the chance to use such high-quality materials!'

The better the materials, the higher the success rate for Drawing Talismans, and the more powerful the resulting Talismans would be.

Zhao Yuan took a brush, ink, and some Yellow Paper and went to the desk. He pulled up the techniques for drawing the Thunder Light Talisman in his Information Leaf, memorizing them as he ground the ink.

About ten minutes later, the ink was ready, and he had committed the techniques for the Thunder Light Talisman to memory. He held his breath, calmed his spirit, and began to draw the Talisman in front of the other three.

The moment the Wolf Hair Brush touched the Yellow Paper, Zhao Yuan felt a powerful resistance push back against him.

Having drawn Talismans many times before, he was no stranger to this sensation. He forcefully steadied his arm, doing his best to ignore the resistance as the brush tip slowly glided across the Yellow Paper.

Unfortunately, despite doing his best, this was his first time drawing a Thunder Light Talisman. The grade of this Talisman was indeed higher than any he had drawn before, and the resistance was much stronger. He failed quickly.

Watching the Yellow Paper under Zhao Yuan's brush erupt into flames with a WHOOSH and burn to ashes, Cheng Haoyu huffed, "Don't bite off more than you can chew. See? All that big talk just blew up in your face, didn't it?"

'It's my first time drawing a Thunder Light Talisman, after all. Failure is normal. Even an expert can't guarantee success every single time.'

Unfazed, he cleaned the ashes from the desk and began his second attempt at Drawing the Talisman.

Being ignored annoyed Cheng Haoyu. After a cold snort, he turned to Ying Ji and Hao Li. "Who knows how long he'll be trying to draw that Talisman. Let's go to the tea room and discuss the Raccoon Power hunt first."

Ying Ji and Hao Li hesitated. At that moment, Zhao Yuan spoke without looking up. "Go ahead. I'll come find you after I finish the Talisman."

After whispering for a moment, Ying Ji said, "Alright, we'll go discuss things first. Come over as soon as you're done with the Talisman."

"Okay," Zhao Yuan replied.

Ying Ji and Hao Li immediately followed Cheng Haoyu out of the study and into the adjacent tea room to discuss their plan of action.

「An hour passed quickly.」

In the tea room, the three of them had more or less finalized their plan.

Cheng Haoyu glanced at his watch and said, "It's been an hour. I wonder if that kid has managed to draw a single Talisman yet. Sister Ying, Fatty Hao, should we go take a look?"

"I'm sure Zhao Yuan has succeeded!" Ying Ji said. After witnessing his various abilities, she had developed an almost blind faith in his strength.

Hao Li, however, frowned and asked, "Cheng Haoyu, I just don't get it. Why are you picking on Zhao Yuan? This is the first time you've met; it's not like he offended you, right?"

Cheng Haoyu threw up his hands. "I'm not picking on him. It's just that hunting the Raccoon Power is incredibly difficult, and I don't want a burden dragging us down. Besides, you know how it is. An Exotic Beast like the Raccoon Power is extremely rare in this modern world where Spiritual Qi is so scarce. If we don't seize this chance and it gets away, we'll never have another opportunity to hunt it!"

As they spoke, the three returned to the study, just in time to see another one of Zhao Yuan's Talisman Drawing attempts fail.

Cheng Haoyu sneered, "Failed again? Don't tell me you haven't succeeded even once in the past hour."

Zhao Yuan sighed. "I have to admit, I underestimated these Talismans. They're incredibly difficult to draw. So far, I've only managed to create four or five of each type. My success rate is only thirty percent..."

He hadn't even finished his sentence before Cheng Haoyu cut him off with a cry of disbelief.

"What?! You drew four or five of each Talisman in an hour? With a success rate as high as thirty percent? How is that possible! You're bragging again!"