Chapter 528: I Will Master the Supreme Sword Dao (2)
ate it thoroughly to see if there was any chance of infiltrating the Fang family; however, he didn't know!"But what if we don’t kill him What if he leaks information out And those constables as well,...Chapter 528: I Will Master the Supreme Sword Dao, Part 2
"Come here and take a look. There is a poem inscribed here, and the flaw lies in one of these words. Within this word are hidden several others, carved using micro-engraving techniques. The other two pieces have them as well, but not within the text—this one is concealed within the images on the carving, and that one..."
The shop owner immediately took out a specially made magnifying glass for viewing micro-engravings. After taking a look, his expression changed drastically—he saw the word Immortal Way mentioned, confirming that he had run into the works of Zhao Yan, thus making this item fake.
"It's actually something from Zhao Yan—this isn't too eye-catching either. It's also normal for me to not be able to tell." The shop owner sighed in his heart; at this point, all he could do was bemoan his bad luck. Zhao Yan was the world’s foremost imitation master, and his works were so lifelike that no one could distinguish them from genuine ones.
He hadn't been known for anything other than what he had himself revealed; it never occurred to him that this young gentleman before him would be able to tell Zhao Yan's work. Could it be possible that he knew about the item
"Did you already know this was a fake by Zhao Yan" The shop owner asked doubtfully, and anyone else would feel similarly.
"I realized it was a fake as soon as I saw it, but whether or not it belonged to Zhao Yan, I couldn't tell," Immortal Way replied.
The shop owner became even more perplexed after hearing what Immortal Way said. According to him, Immortal Way should have only figured out the micro-engraved signature before identifying it as a fake; thus he should also know that this belonged to Zhao Yan's work.
"This is the only flaw I can tell you about. The others aren't easy to explain because they're just feelings, impossible to put into words," Immortal Way said with a smile, his demeanor seeming enigmatic.
Go ahead and pretend, he thought to himself. You probably figured it out through this micro-engraving; your eyesight must really be good—no need for any tools.
The shop owner silently disagreed but didn't question why Immortal Way's vision was so sharp. There were many oddities in the world, and the effects of cultivation techniques varied widely. Since Immortal Way was a cultivator, he might have had exceptional eyesight; this wasn't anything extraordinary.
"You don't need to feel bad about it. Even though this is fake, its materials are high-quality, so it still has considerable value. Moreover, the value of these forgeries may actually surpass that of genuine pieces in future."
In history, many imitation pieces had been more valuable than their originals. No matter whether they were imitations or not, once passed down to later generations, they would become rare antiques.
"Hm." The shop owner nodded firmly; he seemed to agree with Immortal Way's viewpoint and decided that these three items should be passed on for future generations to discover their value. At least this way, he wouldn't lose out.
In fact, his decision was correct. By the tenth generation of his descendants, his family had fallen into decline, but it was thanks to these three pieces that they managed to revive. Back then, their worth was already astronomical.
"Since we're done here, let's take our leave. Thank you for your generosity," Immortal Way said as he packed away the jade objects and handed them to Qiyaran, who gladly accepted them.
The shop owner wanted to say something but realized that it wouldn't be wise to go back on his word now; if he did, these two would likely do something regrettable.
These people were all unapproachable. Forget about the rest, let's just consider them forgeries too.
The shop owner didn't know who Qiyaran was, but he could sense that she wasn't someone to trifle with; there weren’t many ordinary individuals in Demon City, and his survival here depended on not making enemies.
"Haha, really great. No expense for so much good stuff. Immortal Way, what else can you do" Qiyaran said smilingly; she just had to ask again out of curiosity now that all the previous questions were put aside. He'd just been playing chess and appraising jade—both at a high level—which left her in awe once more.
"I know plenty, but I'm too lazy to list them," Immortal Way said with a smile.
"Tell me then, so I can have an idea of your abilities." Qiyaran persisted.
“Do you want to know that I will master the supreme sword dao”
“…”
The girl was speechless. She also researched the supreme sword dao and didn't think it needed explanation. Forget about it—this kid knows so much already, another skill isn’t surprising.
Qiyaran played with the jade objects Immortal Way gave her and then went back to rest after wandering around a few places with him.
A few days later, the Demoness Election began. During these days, Immortal Way had already received his winnings. Chu Xinan finally admitted defeat two days later; although everyone knew the outcome in advance, many still waited for it out of hope for a miracle. The bookmakers wouldn't complete this bet since the chess game wasn't over yet either. They wished that no miracles would happen because they stood to make huge profits if Immortal Way won and only small ones if Chu Xinan did.
When Immortal Way received his 60,000 silver coins as winnings, their smiles were bright and there was not a hint of reluctance. They also gave him some little gifts which Qiyaran happily accepted.
"I didn’t know the Demoness Election would involve this," Immortal Way said when he learned what the competition entailed; it surprised him somewhat despite being logical.
The Demoness Election had only one event, and a very simple one at that: a martial arts elimination round!
"What did you think It’s obvious. Do you really think Demon Sect's demonesses would compete in poetry or chess" Qiyaran replied with disdain.
"This..." The Free-and-Easy's words were choked off. That's right, the witches of the Demon Sect only compete in martial arts; the Demon Sect values strength above all else. The daughter and son of the Heavenly Devil are simply the top young generation members; it’s that simple.
"That works out well then. I was actually worried about you but it looks like there's no need to be." Said the Free-and-Easy.
"What were you worried about me for" Qiyao Ran asked somewhat puzzled.
"Besides being able to do some martial arts, you can’t play any music or chess, or paint and write. You’re even a bit less clever than others. If it was anything else, your chances would be slim but in terms of martial arts, I believe that you’ll come out on top." Said the Free-and-Easy quite seriously with an equally serious expression.
"Hehe, naturally. As for everything else, I'm not too good at them, but my strength is full-on." Qiyao Ran said smilingly as though she didn’t mind at all the Free-and-Easy calling her a bit stupid and saying that she couldn’t do anything.
Originally she had been rather upset about him calling her stupid. But when she thought about it, what did it matter if she was stupid As long as he was smart, there was no need to overthink it. She seemed to have completely taken on the role of an older sister and even this didn’t bother her…
"Have you already done a draw" asked the Free-and-Easy; he wasn't sure if the competition’s draw had been done now or previously.
“This is just starting right now. The drawing of lots will be happening soon.” Qiyao Ran replied.
"How many reserve witches do you have in total" asked the Free-and-Easy; he still didn't know this information up until now.
Qiyao Ran smiled and said with her head slightly raised, "There are only eight reserve witches. Do you think that’s a lot"
"Only eight" The Free-and-Easy was actually somewhat surprised; he originally thought there would be at least around ten more even if the number of reserves were small, but it turned out to be only eight.
“This is already selected. We divided the Demon Realm into eight regions and one reserve witch for each region. The trials within these regions have been completed a year ago, however, anyone can challenge the reserve witch in their own area during this period of time. I’ve faced many challenges but I defended my position!”
Qiyao Ran continued, “Some people fell short and were beaten by an unheard-of person; that’s normal after all since everyone has a chance.”
"So it was like this then With only eight people, if we do it quickly enough, then today can be wrapped up." said the Free-and-Easy. The Demon Sect is very straightforward and wouldn’t specially divide trials into different days just for some rules and etiquette.
“Yeah, the victor should be decided by today. I can take them all out.” Qiyao Ran boasted proudly; but she had a right to be proud.
In these reserve witches now, there shouldn’t be any divine level beings—she’s unique in this regard. This trial actually doesn't have much meaning, and the Free-and-Easy was going to use that as an excuse not to come watch it at first but he was dragged along by Qiyao Ran.
Soon enough, the Free-and-Easy picked up a plate of melon seeds from the table. It’s quite interesting to crack melon seeds when bored since they can help pass time; and at the same time, Qiyao Ran kept chatting with him so time passed quickly.
A short while later, the Free-and-Easy spotted Xiaofeng et al in the crowd below but it seemed that none of them had the right to sit here as this was a VIP seat.
Of course, giving the Free-and-Easy VIP status wasn’t because they worshipped him; it was simply because he was Qiyao Ran’s relative and all reserve witches can allow one family member into the VIP area.
But usually, the relatives of reserve witches are not lowly ranked either, so they could be considered a guest as well and sit above.
Seeing Xiaofeng's unhappy expression, the Free-and-Easy smiled, that smile seemed to say, “If you don’t like it, come up here yourself.”
"Ladies and gentlemen, I will now announce today’s combat sequence..."
When the Free-and-Easy was teasing Xiaofeng, someone went on stage to host. He revealed the battle sequence of the reserve witches as well as their respective opponents.
"Le Xiaoxue Isn’t she that person without a name How did it turn out like this, my opponent is actually her." Qiyao Ran was rather surprised when she heard who her opponent would be.
The Free-and-Easy understood after hearing what Qiyao Ran said; the one who had defeated another reserve witch must have been Le Xiaoxue.
Le Xiaoxue, this girl is related to me in some way since we share a surname.
"Am I first"
The Free-and-Easy heard Qiyao Ran’s voice again and looked at the scoreboard above which had her name listed as number one.
"That's not bad, you can rest after this." The Free-and-Easy smiled.
“Indeed!” Qiyao Ran nodded. Since they have to fight anyway, it’s better that she fights first and rests afterwards; that isn’t too bad.
Soon enough, Qiyao Ran went onto the stage, her opponent Le Xiaoxue also came out. As soon as Le Xiaoxue appeared, the Free-and-Easy who had been drinking tea immediately spat it all out.
"No way, it’s actually her..." (To be continued)sentence."I've been drinking with your father recently and feel that there might be some issues between them. I want to see if I can help." Xianyao made up an excuse casually."Then Brother must try to...