Xu Ziyan sighed in her heart. When she came to the capital, she believed that she could allow her parents to survive by using her own ability. However, she never would’ve known that five silvers, which appeared to be a lot for her, were hardly enough to buy anything. And so, she felt extremely helpless. She knew that she would need her position as Keqing Elder, or else, it would be hard to continue living.

As she thought up to this point, Xu Ziyan looked into Lin Pinghai’s mocking eyes. Her heart sunk. In her past life, she was a peak figure and she was also extremely arrogant. Her arrogance has permeated her soul for many years. Even if the future had many more difficulties, she was unwilling to put down her pride. If she were to turn and leave right now, then she would only be admitting that Lin Pinghai’s words were true and that she was a trickster. However, if she were to show her skills right now, it would make it seem as though she was trying to prove herself to the Xu clan in order to gain their favor.

The atmosphere in the room was strange. Xu Haoran didn’t say anything, but had a wishful gaze. Xu Haobo had a look of helplessness. Xu Ziyan knew that these two would not speak and would instead have her solve the problem by herself.

When she thought over everything clearly, she silently stared at Lin Pinghai. Her gaze was very profound as though she was looking at someone with a lower position than her. Since she was a peak figure in her past life, she naturally had an aura of superiority. She released the aura on purpose which then caused three people to change their expressions.

Xu Haoran’s eyes flashed with enlightenment. He thought: Who is she? This type of aura that she releases can only be developed with the high position. Where does she come from? Which clan is she from? Or which sect is she from?

When Lin Pinghai first noticed Xu Ziyan’s gaze, he thought she couldn’t stand the pressure he was releasing and was preparing to beg for mercy. His eyes showed ridicule. He was about to mock her until her saw her arrogant look. He froze. He felt even angrier. He already said so much and yet the Patriarch still didn’t support his words. He couldn’t help but feel anger towards the Patriarch. He turned to Xu Haoran and said: “I implore the Patriarch to punish that liar!”

When he heard Lin Pinghai’s words, Xu Haoran felt awkward. He was in a difficult position. Suddenly, Xu Ziyan’s cold voice rang out: “Patriarch, who is he?”

“Oh, this is our clan’s talisman department’s Gongfeng Elder, a first degree talisman expert, Lin Pinghai.” When Xu Haoran heard her, he felt a bad premonition. But he still gently replied to her.

“Oh…” She stretched out the last word and then quietly said: “A first degree talisman expert? Is he fit to have that t.i.tle?”

At first when the Patriarch was introducing Lin Pinghai as a first degree talisman expert, he had arrogantly thrust out his chest. On this continent, other than some sects, in all the clans, a first degree talisman expert is considered a true master of the art. However, before he had even completed his arrogant gesture, he heard Xu Ziyan say: “Is he fit to have that t.i.tle?”

Lin Pinghai immediately felt as though he wanted to spit blood. His face was red. The Patriarch only let off a bitter smile. It seemed like Xu Ziyan was prepared to fight Lin Pinghai.

“Little trickster, what did you say?” He stomped the ground.

“You did hear clearly? You want me to say it again?” Xu Ziyan’s face showed a serious expression, “What I just said was: Are. You. Fit?”

“You…You….Do you dare say that again?!” Lin Pinghai trembled in anger.

Xu Ziyan had a sympathetic look on her face as she gently said: “Ai…I never knew that your hearing was so bad. So you were a disabled person. Alright, I’ll tell you again. Are! You! Fit?!”

Lin Pinghai’s body exploded with the power of the fifth level of the Lingqi layer. He rushed towards Xu Ziyan. When Lin Pinghai released the power of his cultivation base, so did Xu Ziyan. However, she felt extremely depressed that her cultivation base and Lin Pinghai’s were vastly different.

Under the pressure of Lin Pinghai’s cultivation base, she couldn’t even move and inch.

“Am I going to die here?” Xu Ziyan mournfully thought, “This Lin Pinghai thinks too much of himself. Even if I were to die, I’m not going to weaken my resolve!”

Xu Ziyan’s gaze fell on Lin Pinghai. It was filled with ridicule and disdain.

A shadow flitted past and landed next to Xu Ziyan. Xu Ziyan watched as Lin Pinghai was forced to moved back two steps. His face was full of disbelief as he looked at Xu Haobo, who stood next to Xu Ziyan: “You…You…”

“Lin gongfeng,” Xu Haobo said: “Even if you want to teach this litte miss a lesson, that is only because she is questioning your skill in talismans. However you also think she is a liar. And so, the both of you are both questioning the other. The only way to solve this problem would be for you both to show your skills.”

Xu Ziyan’s actions earlier were to force her and Lin Pinghai to compete so that it wouldn’t be only Xu Ziyan making talismans like a regular disciple while Lin Pinghai was watching like a master. Even though the final result would definitely be that she would win over everybody, however, it would make her att.i.tude seem weak and she would be bullied within the clan. Even though Xu Ziyan was better than anyone in the clan at making talismans, however, her cultivation base was very weak. She would definitely get the position of Keqing Elder, but for the sake of making her life more relaxed, she needed to get a position that fit her the best.

When she finally forced Xu Haobo to say those words to Lin Pinghai, she was extremely delighted. However, her eyes still carried disdain as she watched Lin Pinghai. She was trying to add oil to the fire* to make him agree.

As expected, Lin Pinghai didn’t let down Xu Ziyan’s hopes. When he heard Xu Haobo and saw Xu Ziyan’s mocking look, he felt very wronged and angry. He had done everything for the clan out of the goodness of his heart. He truly believed that Xu Ziyan was a trickster and that she needed to be removed. He was angry though, that both the Patriarch and the talisman department leader all didn’t believe him and instead protected the little trickster. He felt his blood boiling as he angrily spat out: “Good! I’ll immediately make a talisman. If this little trickster can make a talisman better than me – no! If she can make one as good as mine – no! As long as she can make even a talisman, I will kowtow and taker her as my master. If she cannot make one, she’ll have to kowtow and apologize and then crawl all the way from here to the streets.”

“Good!” Xu Ziyan deadpanned. She had long awaited this moment and for the fear that Lin Pinghai would go back on his words, she replied and accepted as fast as possible.

Xu Ziyan and Lin Pinghai both exchanged looks. At this time, Lin Pinghai held a talisman writing brush in his hand and had regained his calm. After making talismans for a whole lifetime, as long as he held the brush, he would immediately forget everything else and completely be immersed within the world of talismans.

Xu Ziyan’s eyes shone with respect. Even though Lin Pinghai was arrogant, he did indeed have things he could be arrogant about. Xu Ziyan sighed deeply. Her heart became as calm as the waves of a well. She lightly lifted up the talisman brush and held it evenly. The spiritual energy within her body entered the brush and then gathered toward the tip. Without the slightest pause, she drew the marks with efficiency. A peak first degree talisman had been made.

She softly put down the brush and then looked at her talisman. She was extremely satisfied. She found that her skills had improved again. She could faintly tell that she would soon be able to break into the level of a second degree talisman expert. She looked up at Lin Pinghai.

At this time, Lin Pinghai finally put down his talisman brush. He over towards her direction. He couldn’t help but feel shocked as he saw her standing there with a faint arrogance. “She finished drawing? She can actually make talismans?” he thought.

When Xu Haobo saw that the both of them had put down their talisman brushes, he quietly said: “The both of you have finished?”

Xu Ziyan and Lin Pinghai both looked at each other and then nodded.

Xu Haoran got up from his seat. Out of respect for Lin Pinghai, he first went to Lin Pinghai’s table. Even though he already knew Lin Pinghai’s level of mastery in talismans, he still looked at it very seriously. He lightly nodded his head and then turned to go towards Xu Ziyan.