Chương 141: Chapter 140: Skill Judgement Part 1

"Junior Brother." Yang looked up from his manual. One of the disciples who had been arranging the desks was standing at the edge of the audience section.

"My apologies, Senior Brother. I was lost in my book." The disciple gave a patient smile.

"The waiting area has been opened and a couple of other participants are already there. You will need to wait there until all contestants are called out for the event." Yang closed his manual, tucked it away, and followed as the disciple led him to the very back of the hall where a side door stood half-open. Inside, two inner sect disciples were already seated, talking between themselves. Both looked up as Yang entered. One of them asked, "Junior Brother, are you also a participant?"

while the other was already pointing to an empty chair beside her.

"Come sit here." Yang made his way over and settled into the offered seat.

"Thank you, Senior Brother, Senior Sister. I am Chen Yang, outer sect disciple."

"Xia Qingyue," the senior sister said, and gestured to the young man beside her.

"This is Yun Che, we're both disciples of the True Talisman Peak." Yang nodded at both of them, and within a few minutes the three of them were deep in conversation about talismans. Both Senior Sister Xia Qingyue and Senior Brother Yun Che had a broader knowledge of the field than Yang, but Yang held his own where the foundational mechanics were concerned.

He had spent more time on the underlying details of inscriptions than most people his age had any reason to, and that made conversation with people who actually cared about the craft a pleasure. It was the first time he had been among people who were genuinely passionate about talismans. More participants filtered in as the time passed. Yang was introduced to a dozen more disciples who joined the growing conversation.

The waiting area split into several groups, some talking animatedly and some sitting in focused silence, reviewing notes or going over inscriptions in their heads. More than half the participants were from True Talisman Peak itself, which made sense. It was the primary talisman peak of the sect. Even Elder Bai Jing Ting was from True Talisman Peak, if Yang was remembering correctly.

But there were disciples from peaks across the inner sect, and Yang was surprised to find several from the formation peak and the tool refining peak as well. At his expression, they explained that talisman inscription, formation work, and to some extent tool refining, all shared aspects of the same foundation at their earliest stages, the inscription methods overlapping enough that practitioners of each craft studied from similar sources at the beginning.

Senior Brother Yun Che added that tool refiners and formation crafters actually held inscription to a higher standard in some respects, because the materials they worked with were far more expensive and the results were meant to last indefinitely rather than be used once. What surprised the others more was Yang's presence in the Skill Judging event at all. They were not unkind about it.

But as they explained, of all the talisman events, the Skill Judging was the one most directly tied to pure skill with no luck or external variable involved. Yang understood what they meant. He himself would never have dared enter if not for the seventeen years of Card creation behind him. Without that foundation, his current realm would have made participation pointless. Beside Yang, there was one other outer sect disciple among the participants.

He was at the peak of Qi Condensation realm and was reserved and kept to himself for most of the wait, so Yang did not get much of a chance to speak with him.. The waiting area door opened and an elder stepped in as everyone went quiet. He was middle-aged in appearance, with a round and open face, with laugh lines settled deeply at the corners of his mouth and eyes, and was wearing a jovial expression. He brought along a list.

"Good, all of you are here," he said, glancing down it.

"Now before anyone leaves this room I will go through the rules. You have likely read them already, but be patient with me." Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"The talismans you will be asked to inscribe are chosen by the judges at the moment of the event. No one knows in advance what will be selected." He explained calmly.

"You will have five minutes per talisman with five sheets of talisman paper, meaning five attempts. Each talisman is worth ten points. Five of those points are tied to your attempts. Each failed attempt reduces your points by one. The remaining five points reflect the quality of your inscription." He gave a relaxed smile.

"Simple, yes? The event is a test of pure skill. Use the five minutes to present the best talisman you are capable of. Speed earns you nothing, a talisman made in a minute or in five will only be judged on its quality with no regard for how much time you spent on it" He tucked the list away.

"Oh, and naturally the rule about using only what is provided applies. Now, go out to the main hall." He waved them off cheerfully. Everyone began moving toward the door. Yang was among the last. He was not nervous exactly, but there was not entirely calm either. Anticipation, maybe. He had been waiting for this for months. He stepped out into the hall. The back rows had been claimed first by the participants ahead of him. Yang found a place near the middle of a row and settled in.

Ten bundles of talisman paper were arranged in a grid pattern in the centre of the desk, and to his right were arranged a pot of cinnabar ink and three brushes. Ten bundles. So its likely the participants will be given ten talismans to be inscribed. He looked at the three brushes and picked each one up in turn, testing the weight and feel. He settled on the second one. It sat most naturally in his hand. He placed it down and looked toward the audience section. His senior brothers and sisters were there.

All of them. They gave him nods of acknowledgement, composed and proper, all except Senior Sister Xing Fei who gave a cheerful wave and then pointed in a direction Yang had not yet looked. Yang turned his head and saw Ye Xuan waving full of enthusiasm, leaving no room for subtlety. Yang felt a warmth in his chest at the sight of him. Ye Xuan had made his way to what was by all accounts not a very exciting competition, just to be here for him.

He waved back, and the familiar infectious energy of his almost reminded him of Li San. He settled back in his seat with a small smile. The remaining participants filed in and found their places. Once everyone was seated, a second elder came to the front of the hall and repeated the rules for the audience. Then he turned to face the participants, raised his hand, and a small square of paper flew from his palm to each desk, landing face-down in the centre. Yang did not touch his.

No one else reached for theirs either.

"You may begin." Yang reached for the paper and flipped it over. Wind Blade Talisman. He had to smile. He had been working on this one for some time, had known the inscription well before the Skill Judging manual had introduced him to its more advanced version. He took the first sheet of talisman paper, checked the brush one more time, dipped it cleanly into the cinnabar ink, and began inscribing.

The Wind Blade Talisman compressed existing air into a thin concentrated edge rather than generating something from nothing. For Yang, this was a favourable inscription in a competition context. Its strength relied more heavily on the quality of the inscription itself than on the cultivator's qi output. Shaping air required precision.

The competition inscription manual's version included additional control inscriptions that constrained the blade's area of effect, which made the inscription even more reliant on the crafter's inscribing skill. A chime rang. One minute. Yang was not quite halfway. He kept his pace steady. He was not going to rush. Each line needed to be clean, and each node needed to carry exactly the right balance of qi. The second chime rang. Two minutes.

He finished the last stroke, held the brush still for a moment as the inscription settled, and set it down. The talisman gave a faint glow along the inscription lines as it completed. He placed it at the top of his desk and looked up. Some of the participants were already done. Most were still working. A few looked tense.

He noticed the disciple to his left complete her talisman and reach for the remaining four sheets, placing them with the completed piece into a white envelope that had been sitting beneath the bundle. Yang reached for his own remaining sheets, slid them into the envelope along with his completed talisman, and set it aside. The fourth chime rang. Four minutes. The participants still working bent a little closer to their papers. The fifth chime rang.

Thirty seconds remaining"Place your talisman and remaining sheets in the envelopes." The last few participants pressed to finish. A brief scramble. Then the final chime rang, and the elder called time. The envelopes rose from every desk at once and flew to the elder at the front. He waved his hand. Another small square of paper flew to each desk and landed face down. Yang leaned forward, waiting for the signal, and when it came, he flipped the paper over and read the name of the next talisman.