I have a composite mirror

Chapter 70 Assessment

The moment the brush touched the talisman paper, he felt a sense of awkwardness and sighed softly in his heart.

This talisman... is quite different from the water-fixing talisman and water-avoiding talisman he practiced before.

Both water-fixing and water-avoiding are water-related talismans, naturally compatible with him.

Every time he drew those two talismans, he could feel a faint attraction, which was the talisman paper actively accepting his spiritual energy.

However, the Divine Stabilizing Talisman leans towards the meaning of "guarding" and uses a mixture of local and natural spiritual energy, which is not quite in line with his approach.

So much so that when spiritual energy is injected, there is always a sense of incompatibility, like pouring water into oil, no matter how much you stir it, it will not be even.

He could only follow the drawing methods in the book and draw in a conventional way.

When the time it takes for an incense stick to burn was almost up, he put down his pen.

The runes glowed, more stable than Jia Shouren's, but not as bright as Han Sushuang's.

Lu Bingwen picked up the talisman, first noticing the strokes, and nodded slightly.

Then his brows furrowed again.

"The brushwork and artistic conception are both quite good."

He stroked the talisman and pondered:

"Unfortunately, the infusion of spiritual energy was not stable enough, and there were several stagnations along the way."

"Seventy-three... no, seventy-five points, after all, it does have its merits."

Gu Shenyan was not surprised, and even thought that this fortune teller Lu was quite fair.

Without the water element, his advantages were already greatly diminished.

This is the drawback of "being unbalanced in one subject".

Lu Bingwen put down the talisman and took out a wooden box from under the desk.

This time, the box contained three incomplete talismans that were only half-drawn.

"Second challenge: Complete the missing talisman."

He distributed the three fragmented talismans:

"These three talismans are incomplete works that I deliberately left behind; you need to complete them."

"Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, you don't need to be bound by the original painting method; you can freely express yourself."

Gu Shenyan took the broken talisman and looked down at it.

The ink on the talisman paper had dried, and only six or seven tenths of the strokes were completed, with the remaining part completely blank.

Judging from the existing strokes, this is a water-fixing talisman.

He felt a slight surge of joy.

The Water-Stabilizing Talisman is one of the talismans he is most skilled at.

He looked up and glanced at the broken talismans in the hands of the other two.

Han Sushuang received an Ice-Sealing Talisman, while Jia Shouren received a Wealth-Gathering Talisman.

The Ice Seal Talisman is an advanced water-element talisman, and given Han Sushuang's foundation, completing it shouldn't be difficult.

The Wealth-Gathering Talisman is a miscellaneous talisman, not belonging to the Five Elements orthodox path, but it requires an extremely precise grasp of the flow of spiritual energy.

This is somewhat troublesome for someone like Jia Shouren, whose foundation is not solid.

Lu Bingwen lit another incense stick.

Han Sushuang was still the first to start writing.

She only glanced at the incomplete talisman before understanding the purpose of its missing parts.

The defect was not random; it was intentionally broken at a critical point.

If one continues without understanding the underlying principles, the talisman may still be completed, but its effectiveness will be greatly diminished.

She smiled slightly, wrote decisively, and took a different approach, bypassing the trap from the side.

The brushstrokes flowed like dragons and snakes, completed in one go.

The moment the runes were completed, a cold light shone on the talisman paper, and even a thin layer of frost condensed in the air.

Lu Bingwen nodded approvingly:

"That's right, you can spot the flaws in the imperfections and fix them."

"Eighty points."

Han Sushuang bowed slightly to express her gratitude, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Jia Shouren gave a bitter smile.

A wealth-gathering talisman... Sir, you're testing him on purpose.

He had only seen the illustrations of this symbol in books and had never actually drawn one.

Now that we've given him a fragmented talisman, asking him to complete it is just making things difficult for him.

However, he wasn't too flustered.

The way of talismans, though varied, never deviates from its fundamental principle.

Once you grasp the principles of the flow of spiritual energy, you can deduce the subsequent trends from the existing strokes.

He carefully studied the incomplete talisman and simulated it in his mind several times before cautiously putting pen to paper.

There were a few setbacks along the way, and we almost failed at the last minute.

Fortunately, he calmed himself down and managed to finish drawing the talisman.

The runes glowed faintly, though not very stable, like a candle about to go out, but it was still a success.

Lu Bingwen looked at the talisman and pondered:

"The foundation is too weak, the drawing is barely passable."

"Sixty-six points."

Jia Shouren thanked him repeatedly, but he was secretly sweating.

Sixty-six points, which is passing, but seeing how outstanding Brother Gu's performance was earlier, I'm afraid I'll be at the bottom...

Gu Shenyan looked down at the broken talisman in his hand, his brows furrowing slightly.

This water-fixing talisman... is strangely incomplete.

Judging from the existing strokes, the original drawing method was conventional and had nothing special about it.

However, the missing part has several obvious deviations.

If the drawing is completed using the conventional method, these deviations will persist, ultimately diminishing the overall effect of the talisman.

This is... a deliberately set trap?

He pondered for a moment and decided to draw according to his own understanding.

Since the gentleman said, "There is no need to be bound by the original painting method; you can freely express yourself," then he would express himself.

I have drawn this talisman countless times. I know every stroke and every turn by heart.

What he had to do was to "correct" the incomplete talisman.

A moment later, he made his first stroke.

That stroke did not continue the original trend of the broken symbol, but instead started a new stroke, cutting in from the side.

At this moment, Han Sushuang's gaze also turned towards them.

She frowned slightly, as if wondering: What is this person doing?

Gu Shenyan remained unmoved and continued writing.

His brushwork was completely different from when he drew the Divine Symbol before.

If before it was all done in a proper and cautious manner, now it's all done smoothly and effortlessly.

Every stroke was perfectly placed, and every drop of spiritual energy was delivered flawlessly.

As the final stroke was made, the rune lit up.

The light was much more stable than the previous calming talisman, and it faintly resembled the image of flowing water.

If you look closely, you can even see tiny ripples on the talisman paper, like ripples on water after a stone is thrown in.

Lu Bingwen looked at the talisman with some surprise.

"You didn't draw it based on the incomplete marks?"

"Reply, sir."

Gu Shenyan bowed and said:

"This disciple believes that the mark is incorrect. If drawn according to it, the talisman can be completed, but it will lose its essence."

"Therefore, I have dared to start anew and correct the original deviation."

Lu Bingwen stared at him for a moment.

"That does offer some insight..."

He nodded slightly: "Eighty-three points, very good."

Gu Shenyan secretly breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed his judgment was correct.

He had been secretly worried that the other party might conduct some kind of disgusting "obedience test," forcing him to go along with his mistake and draw a zero score according to his own ideas.

In retrospect, I was the one who judged others by my own petty standards.

After the assessment ended, Lu Bingwen stood up and paced back and forth in front of the three men with his hands behind his back.

"Han Sushuang, excellent."

"Jia Shouren, below average."

"Be careful with your words, Liang."

He stopped and looked at the three of them:

"Su Shuang has the best foundation; she can learn more advanced talismans in the future."

"Shen Yan's foundation is decent, but he has some weaknesses and needs to make up for them."

"Shouren, you must start with the basics and not aim too high."

At this point, his tone became serious:

"Let me make this clear from the start."

"No matter your background or origin, here only your abilities matter."

As he said this, he only stared at Han Sushuang:

"Over the years, I have seen too many spoiled brats who act arrogantly because of their family background, and too many fools who think they are smart but are unwilling to work hard."

"These people never had a good ending."

"Did you understand?"

The three replied in unison, "We understand."

Lu Bingwen nodded and waved his hand:

"Alright, that's enough for today."

"The assessment period will officially begin in two days. Go home and prepare."

"A senior student will come to meet you and show you the rules here."

The three men rose to take their leave and exited the main hall in turn.