Eternal Life: My Talents Can Refresh-Chapter 60: Man Proposes, God Disposes
It was still the same Daochang from five days ago, and Chu Ning arrived a little earlier than scheduled once again.
At this moment, there were only a little over twenty people inside Daochang.
From the expressions of these people, Chu Ning could roughly gauge their state of mind, which was mostly relaxed.
It’s estimated that those who arrived early had at least achieved a 20% success rate in talisman making, meeting the basic qualification.
Afterward, more people came in succession, and their faces mostly bore expressions of disappointment.
Evidently, even a 20% success rate in talisman making was still too high for most people.
Before long, the place gradually grew more crowded.
The other five who were promoted together with Chu Ning also arrived, each with different expressions on their faces.
Luo Hongping and Lu Yunfang maintained their usual expressions, so it was hard to ascertain their situations at a glance.
Lu Ming and Chen Jinhua bore faintly disappointed expressions on their faces.
Apparently, they either hadn’t reached the 20% success rate or were barely meeting it and felt it unlikely to bring any good outcome.
As for Jiang Dawei, he looked downcast and listless, a result that spoke for itself.
Soon after, He Changyou reappeared in Daochang with the disciple surnamed Liu.
Standing at the front, He Changyou slowly began to speak after sweeping his gaze across the crowd below.
"The five-day period is over. Those who have achieved a 20% success rate in crafting the Wood Escape Talisman, step forward."
Immediately, a small group of people from different areas in the Daochang stood up and walked forward.
After waiting for a moment and realizing that none of the six people he was acquainted with seemed intent on getting up, Chu Ning finally stood up slowly.
He then walked from the back to the front under their surprised gazes.
"Chu... he..."
A dejected Jiang Dawei raised his head at this moment, his mouth slightly open, unable to say a complete sentence.
The other four also exhibited expressions of astonishment.
It wasn’t until Chu Ning walked forward to the very front of Daochang that Lu Yunfang spoke softly:
"I didn’t expect this Junior Brother Chu to have not only a talent for Wood Techniques but also a talent for talisman making."
At this moment, Lu Ming asked with a hint of envy:
"Do you think he could be among the top ten and qualify to learn the art of talismans?"
No one answered, as none of them could provide a definite answer.
After five days of studying talisman making, they were well aware.
Talent in talisman making had little correlation with one’s cultivation level.
While everyone present could easily draw dozens of talismans with their magical power, how many would successfully be made remained uncertain.
"Twenty-seven people, not bad, a few more than I expected."
He Changyou’s gaze rested on the crowd standing in front, appearing slightly surprised upon noticing Chu Ning at the very end.
Considering Chu Ning had just been promoted from Zone D, he had left a strong impression.
What surprised He Changyou was that Chu Ning seemed to have a talent for talisman making as well.
Of course, the surprised expression was fleeting.
Soon, He Changyou’s expression returned to normal.
"The rest of you step back, leaving the front of Daochang empty.
We will now proceed with the talisman making competition. Each person will draw Wood Escape Talismans on ten sheets of talisman paper.
The top ten in success rate will officially qualify to learn the art of talismans."
Having said that, He Changyou ordered everyone to spread out, placing one table between each person to avoid interference.
Soon, the disciple surnamed Liu distributed ten sheets of talisman paper to each person.
After everyone had taken out their talisman brushes and inks from their storage bags, He Changyou swept his gaze around.
"Begin!"
At his command, over twenty people picked up their talisman brushes in unison.
Chu Ning picked up his talisman brush leisurely, took a deep breath, and slowly infused spiritual power into his brush.
For him, the Wood Escape Talisman was already immensely familiar.
He had a 70% confidence level of success if he utilized divine sense sensing.
However, Chu Ning didn’t choose to use external divine sense at this time.
Given He Changyou was watching from the front, with his Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, he might detect Chu Ning’s divine sense.
Abstaining from using divine sense and not entirely into his best state at the start, Chu Ning experienced a slight fluctuation in spiritual power halfway through the talisman.
Consequently, the talisman paper ignited unexpectedly and turned to ashes.
As Chu Ning’s "mistake" occurred, the remaining twenty-odd people also failed in turn.
Chu Ning inadvertently glanced around, observing everyone’s performance with a calm heart.
"After all, everyone here is new at this, compounded with the challenge of having so many people around.
It’s hard to immediately get into the best state for talisman making, and mistakes are understandably common."
Thinking this, Chu Ning adjusted his condition slightly, dipped his brush into ink, and began drawing on the second sheet of talisman paper.
This time, Chu Ning held nothing back. Although he didn’t intentionally use divine sense sensing, his entire heart and spirit were fully immersed.
As a result, the talisman drawing went smoothly without a hitch.
The successful talisman making did not escape He Changyou’s notice.
Though Chu Ning wasn’t the only one to succeed, He Changyou’s gaze still shot over immediately.
Seizing the moment, Chu Ning allowed a hint of joy to show.
In the meantime, as others succeeded in their talisman making, He Changyou’s attention shifted away.
The second talisman paper saw success from seven individuals.
This undoubtedly increased the pressure on the remaining twenty, with subtle signs of anxiety emerging on many faces.
Consequently, many again failed on the third talisman paper.
After succeeding with the second talisman paper, Chu Ning found himself in optimal "condition."
He also succeeded on the third one, becoming one of just two disciples to complete two talismans.
For the subsequent sheets, Chu Ning paced himself. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
By the ninth sheet, he had successfully made four talismans.
Among them, there were indeed three he couldn’t successfully make, and one was deliberately failed by Chu Ning.
But even so, Chu Ning was one of only two disciples to successfully make four talismans.
When everyone picked up the last sheet of talisman paper, He Changyou cast a glance at the two.
The next moment, Chu Ning suddenly sensed a very familiar feeling.
Divine sense!
His heart quivered.
He hadn’t anticipated He Changyou would use his divine sense at the last moment to observe his talisman making.
Having trained with divine sense sensing, Chu Ning knew well.
This kind of sensing was highly perceptive and could minutely capture fluctuations in his spiritual power.
This undoubtedly put Chu Ning in a difficult position.
According to Chu Ning’s initial plan, he intended the first nine sheets to ensure completing four talismans.
This would place him confidently among the top ten and rank him near the top.
After all, a 40% success rate was extraordinarily high for a novice.
Moreover, Chu Ning had just noticed that another person had also completed four talismans.
Therefore, if his last talisman failed, it would place him high but not overly conspicuous.
However, discovering He Changyou was sensing him made him hesitate.
While it’s true a slight fluctuation in spiritual power could affect the final success rate, Chu Ning was uncertain.
Whether intentionally causing a fluctuation would be perceived by He Changyou was unknown.
After all, He Changyou was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"Forget it, let’s just leave it up to fate." Chu Ning whispered to himself.
He decided to go with the flow on the final sheet, leaving its success to chance.
Because of his prior pondering, Chu Ning started his last talisman later than the other person who had also completed four talismans.
Thus, he didn’t notice while drawing.
That person’s talisman self-ignited halfway through, declaring its failure.
Meanwhile, all of He Changyou’s divine sense was focused on Chu Ning.
Drawing straightforwardly, Chu Ning refrained from doing anything intentional, which allowed him to maintain his normal state.
"..."
As the green light flashed once more and another Wood Escape Talisman appeared on the desk in front of him.
Chu Ning found himself speechless, his expression slightly stunned.
"Man proposes, God disposes!"
The last talisman paper turned out to be successful as well.
At this point, He Changyou’s gaze toward Chu Ning was incredibly bright.
Because Chu Ning had succeeded with five out of ten talisman papers, achieving a 50% success rate in talisman making!
