Fairy Eye

Today is the assessment day for the recruitment of new students for the Fu Academy.

It was close to noon.

In the central square, rows of low tables were neatly arranged.

On each table was a small stack of blank talisman paper, a bowl of beast blood, and a talisman pen.

At the entrance of the main hall on the north side of the square, there was a middle-aged man dressed in a Confucian robe.

He stood with one hand behind his back, smiling as he watched the large, bustling crowd at the entrance to the square across the street.

"Gentlemen! I am Liang Yiqiu, the head steward of the Talisman Academy. Welcome to this year's Talisman Academy recruitment assessment."

"Next, I'll briefly explain the assessment rules."

"As you can all see, the tools for making talismans have been prepared in front of you."

"The rules are simple: everyone just needs to draw three low-grade fireball talismans within half an hour to pass."

"However, it should be noted that there are as many as fifty people applying for the assessment this time, while our Fu Academy only has twenty places available for admission."

Therefore, we will give priority to the first twenty people who complete the production.

Even if you succeed in creating it within the time limit after ranking 20, you will still be ineligible for the Talisman Academy.

Only twenty people will be accepted?

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned secretly.

Making three talismans within half an hour was already very difficult for them.

Adding the quota limit is undoubtedly making matters worse.

Because of this, everyone will definitely want to be in the top twenty to complete the task. When they are anxious, the success rate of making talismans will undoubtedly be greatly reduced.

"Steward Liang! I have a question. As far as I know, the Fireball Talisman is meant to seal the Fireball Technique, right? If the person who makes the talisman doesn't know the Fireball Technique, how can they make the Fireball Talisman?" A young man at the fifth level of Qi Refining asked, full of doubt.

"Oh, right? I forgot about that. How can I make a fireball talisman without learning the fireball spell?"

"Yeah, yeah!"

Upon hearing this, the others who did not have fire elemental roots nodded repeatedly and looked at Liang Yiqiu.

"Hehe, there's no need for you to worry about that! I was prepared."

Liang Yiqiu pointed to several disciples from the Talisman Academy standing with their arms crossed beside the plaza and said with a smile, "You all see them, right? Those people are not only examiners, but they've also learned the Fireball spell! After you draw the sealing runes, they'll help you infuse them with the Fireball spell."

It turned out to be the case.

Everyone nodded in understanding.

But some people whispered, "What if these guys sabotage us in the dark? Even if we draw the best, we might not pass the test."

Upon hearing this, Han Lin couldn't help but frown.

He lowered his eyelids and pondered for a moment before asking, "May I ask Steward Liang, if someone can cast a fireball spell, is it also necessary for the proctor to help seal it?"

"No need! If you already know the Fireball spell, you can seal it yourself."

Liang Yiqiu glanced at Han Lin and said with a smile.

Oh, I see.

Han Lin breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Liang Yiqiu said, "Alright, that's the rule. Please take your seats. The assessment will begin shortly."

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, everyone bowed and walked towards the assessment area ahead.

The jade talismans distributed yesterday have corresponding numbers on them; you just need to match them to your assigned number.

Han Lin was positioned in the center, surrounded by people on all sides.

Fortunately, they were about half a zhang apart, so as long as no one deliberately interfered, they wouldn't be affected.

Han Lin glanced down at the talisman-making tools on the low table, then slowly sat down cross-legged.

There were four proctors on each side of the examination area. These were all senior students from the Talisman Academy. One of them, dressed in red with a few red pimples on his face, looked at Han Lin with a mocking smile.

Han Lin did not notice this person.

He picked up a stack of talismans and pulled out one from the bottom, a folded yellow paper.

There was a bright red rune on the paper, which looked like a blooming peony.

On either side of the rune were densely packed small characters.

It's an introduction to this rune, including how to begin, how to end, and how to use ink, etc.

Han Lin guessed that this rune was the "Fire Lock Pattern" of the Guiyuan Sect, which was completely different from the Fire Lock Pattern he learned from "Huang's Talisman Making Experience".

In other words, even if they had learned some unorthodox methods before, they now had to start all over again.

This is a considerable challenge for many people.

However, Han Lin wasn't too worried. He believed that with the help of the keen insight, he would soon be able to adapt to the new fire lock pattern.

Having memorized the description of the runes on the yellow paper, Han Lin placed it flat on the front of the low table.

"when!"

Just then, Liang Yiqiu, who was standing at the entrance of the main hall, struck a hanging gong heavily beside him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the timer begins now!"

"You have a maximum of half an hour. If twenty people finish ahead of schedule, the assessment will end early."

"The exam will now begin!"

After saying this, he placed the wooden stick on the shelf and turned back into the main hall.

Only eight disciples from the Talisman Academy remained, standing silently on either side, watching the numerous examinees.

Upon seeing this, everyone focused their attention and began to concentrate on studying the runes on the yellow paper.

Some people seemed to have already mastered the rune, and they even picked up a pen and began to carve it.

Because Han Lin had some experience in making talismans, he only glanced at the talisman description before picking up a blank talisman paper, laying it out in front of him, and starting to draw.

Seeing how quickly Han Lin got the hang of it, the young man with pimples on his face raised an eyebrow.

But he quickly turned his gaze to the other side with a cold smile.

This talisman pen looks quite ordinary; the bristles at the tip are very coarse, and its absorbency isn't very good.

Han Lin assumed everyone was the same and didn't take it to heart. He then lightly dipped his finger into the beast's blood in the bowl and prepared to begin carving.

But before he could even put pen to paper, Han Lin frowned.

On the surface, the beast blood doesn't seem to have any major problems, but under the observation of the All-Seeing Eye, it is quite problematic.

Apart from being mixed with a lot of red sand inside, it is almost devoid of any spirituality.

It was as if it had been forcibly taken from a wild beast that had been dead for a long time.

Han Lin glanced around and saw that everyone was focused on their own things, so he shook his head and tried to draw something.

As expected, under Hongsha's intervention, despite his best efforts to control the brushstrokes, the rune lines he drew were quite different from the fire lock patterns on the yellow paper; the thick lines were not thick enough, and the thin lines were not thin enough.

Occasionally, issues such as ink blockage, ink accumulation, and air bubbles may occur.

In addition, the beast blood lacked spirituality, so Han Lin discarded the drawing before it was even finished.

This wasn't the first time he had drawn a talisman, and under these circumstances, even if he forced it to finish, there was absolutely no way he could successfully seal it.

Upon seeing this, the young man with red pimples who was proctoring the exam immediately intensified his mocking expression.

He was worried about how to please Zhao Changping when he unexpectedly saw the name Han Lin on the registration list yesterday. He thought it was just a coincidence, but after asking Luo Feng, he found out that it really was him.

So he immediately devised a plan to make things difficult for Han Lin.

The reason is simply that he has been in the Talisman Academy for several years. Even though his success rate in making talismans is decent, he has been unable to climb the ranks because he has no powerful backers.

On the other hand, those who had a low success rate in making talismans but had powerful backers, even if they were only of average strength and had very ordinary talisman-making skills, all climbed over him one by one.