My Master Knows It All-Chapter 230 - 134 Never Had _2

Although generally speaking, anyone who could refine a talisman, even a level one talisman, to level forty-one must have considerable skill in talisman making; otherwise, they wouldn’t be fit to bear the title of a king.

But no one could guarantee that the opponent wouldn’t be able to create a talisman of the same grade.

Therefore, to take first place, one had to pursue not only the grade of the talisman but also its level.

Everyone wanted Ling Xi to take first place, but they were genuinely afraid, for Ling Xi had already failed twice. What if she failed a third time?

The crowd started persuading her once again.

"However, Peak Master Cao, there is no need to chase perfection too far, right?"

"Exactly, your disciple is the Talisman King; it’s impossible for her to lose."

"Just let her continue refining and don’t pursue perfection too much."

Cao Zhen shook his head resolutely and said, "No, in order to take first place, we must pursue perfection. We have waited too long for this day; Four Treasures Peak does not wish to remain in last place any longer!"

"Peak Master Cao, even if you don’t want to stay in last place, you must ensure that you can obtain the Peak Bamboo."

"That’s right, Peak Master Cao, this time, the ranking of Four Treasures Peak will surely rise quite a bit."

Cao Zhen continued vigorously, "Merely rising is far from enough; our goal for Four Treasures Peak is the Upper Fifty Peaks!"

The Upper Fifty Peaks!

Around them, many people were shaken. Cao Zhen’s goal was indeed to reach the Upper Fifty Peaks. They had heard rumors before, that Chief Tu from Vermilion Bird Peak had told Cao Zhen to propel Four Treasures Peak into the top fifty, and they had laughed.

After all, the gap between the lower fifty peaks and the upper fifty was enormous; even a peak ranked fifty-one would have a significant disparity compared to one ranked fiftieth.

In the last three Hundred Peaks Competitions of the Hundred Peaks Sect, not a single peak from the lower fifty had made it into the top fifty.

In the last five Hundred Peaks Competitions, only one peak moved from the lower fifty to the upper fifty, and that was from rank fifty-one to fifty.

And among them, very few had bet that Four Treasures Peak could break into the Upper Fifty Peaks.

However, if Ling Xi really did take first place this time, Four Treasures Peak might genuinely have a chance.

In the Six Arts competition, those who entered the top three hundred would each receive Peak Bamboo, with the three hundredth rank receiving one, the two hundred and ninety-ninth rank receiving two, and so on.

But the top three places were different.

The third place could take three hundred and ten pieces of Peak Bamboo.

The second place, three hundred and forty pieces.

The first place could take an entire four hundred pieces of Peak Bamboo!

The gap between the first and second place was a whopping sixty pieces of Peak Bamboo; this was no ordinary disparity.

They understood Ling Xi’s determination to reach first place all too well. But Ling Xi only had one chance left; what if something went wrong?

"Peak Master Cao, we mean no offense, but reaching the Upper Fifty Peaks is extremely difficult."

"Peak Master Cao, your peak will surely rise a lot this time. Afterwards, you can recruit more disciples and wait for the next Hundred Peaks Competition. That will be the best chance for Four Treasures Peak to break into the top fifty."

"Right, Peak Master Cao, you can always aim for it next time."

The crowd tried to persuade him once more.

"Next time?" Cao Zhen shook his head vehemently, "Next time is too far away. For us at Four Treasures Peak, we strive for immediate results!"

As his words fell, as if responding to him, the talisman that had been taking shape before Ling Xi suddenly exploded with a bang, scattering bits of paper all around.

Ling Xi looked at the scattered talisman papers with a face full of regret, deep in thought. She was so close, just so close to success—she could have taken one more step, tested that last part.

But now, having failed before reaching that last step, she could only go back to Four Treasures Peak and use the resources there to conduct her trials.

As she pondered, she lamented, "The last step, just the last step. Next time, I will definitely succeed."

Around her, one by one, those who had bet on a higher ranking for Four Treasures Peak felt the world turn bleak.

"She failed!"

"She failed again!"

"She, she actually failed again."

"A Talisman King, failing three times consecutively in talisman making during the competition, not winning a single piece of Peak Bamboo!"

"I always said, she needed to be more stable. She pursued perfection too much!"

"Look at how regretful she is, sigh, she’s still too young. We advised her for so long, but she didn’t listen at all."

"She says next time will be fine, but what’s the use if there is no next time? She only had three chances, and now she has none left."

"If she had been more cautious, she wouldn’t have ended up without a single piece of Peak Bamboo."

"It’s all over, completely over. If she had just been a bit more stable, she could have gotten at least three hundred pieces of Peak Bamboo. Now, she’s got none. With the remaining arts competitions, Four Treasures Peak probably won’t stand a chance."

"It’s finished, my Spirit Stones are all gone."

"Wouldn’t it have been better to just secure a place in the top three steadily? She is the Talisman King; as long as she stabilized, there wouldn’t have been any problem for her to reach the top three."

The people acted as though they were part of Four Treasures Peak, each more upset than the last.

From a distance, quite a few individuals showed a hint of joy on their faces.

"Thank goodness, thankfully Ling Xi failed at her last attempt. She really scared me just now; I felt like she was about to succeed!"

"Yes, thank goodness, she failed in the end."

"It feels like now, our bets on rank eighty or so are secure."

"Even ranks in the seventies are possible."

Above the crowd in an elevated spot stood only five people, set apart from the densely gathered crowd elsewhere.