Brazen-faced

The plump shop owner kept his gaze fixed on Chen Fengyun, but to his disappointment, he couldn’t discern any change in the young man’s expression; he simply couldn’t tell if this scrap of jade was truly something valuable.

“What price can you offer?” The shop owner, ever shrewd, turned the question back on Chen Fengyun, hoping to glean some information from his bid.

“I’ll buy it for a hundred or two hundred. Any more, and I’ll let it go.” Chen Fengyun nodded as he spoke, returning the broken jade to its place.

“Two hundred, then.” In truth, the shop owner couldn’t even recall how that piece of broken jade had ended up in his shop. It had languished in that corner for years without attracting notice. To manage a sale for two hundred yuan was more than enough.

“Thank you, sir.” Chen Fengyun remained composed, handed over two hundred yuan, and pocketed the broken jade.

“My friend, now that the deal is done, tell me honestly—is there something special about this broken jade?” The shop owner, still suspicious, smiled as he probed for information.

“I’m just a senior in high school; how could I know anything about jade? I just saw it was broken and figured it wasn’t worth much, so I bought it. I’ll probably pay someone to split it into two small pendants—one for me, one for my girlfriend.”

Chen Fengyun stuck to his story, but inwardly he was thinking about using this piece of jade to craft talismanic charms—inscribing miniature arrays within the jade to create charms with different effects. For this, only genuine jade would suffice.

He knew little about jade; after looking at so many pieces, he still couldn’t distinguish real from fake. But since this fragment contained a special energy, it was not only genuine, but ancient—a perfect material for talismanic work.

Though only about two-thirds the size of an egg, it was enough for him to fashion several charms the size of two fingers each. He intended to give one each to his parents, carving arrays within them to nourish their bodies and spirits, and adding a defensive formation for protection in emergencies.

That evening, Chen Fengyun spent two or three hours at home splitting the jade and crafting a Buddha and a Guanyin charm. He inscribed three miniature arrays within each: one for spirit nourishment, one for health, and one for protection, threading them with sturdy silk cords to give to his parents as gifts.

“Where did you get the money to buy these things?” His parents, though delighted, still questioned him.

“Don’t you remember? I learned miniature carving one summer before high school. I bought a piece of jade by the roadside and carved these myself. Wear them always—they’ll help you sleep well and stay full of energy.” He made up an excuse, recalling that he had indeed learned miniature carving from a relative before starting high school.

“Thank you, son. Dear, look at our boy’s skill—it’s every bit as good as those in the jade shops, even better!” His mother, always doting, put hers on immediately and praised her son’s craftsmanship to his father.

“Fengyun, you’re about to take the college entrance exams. You should focus on studying now and leave these things until after the exams. Remember Uncle Zhang’s daughter from dinner last time? She’s ranked in the top hundred in Rongcheng. If you do better than her, we’ll be even prouder.” His father was sterner than his mother.

“Don’t worry, Dad. I just finished the second mock exams—I promise I’ll make the top hundred in Rongcheng and make you proud. But make sure to wear that pendant—it really benefits your health.” Chen Fengyun grinned, reminding his father before heading off to rest.

“You shouldn’t push our son so hard. Zhang’s daughter goes to Rongcheng No. 4 High School; their school is far better than our son’s. How can you compare them?” Once Chen Fengyun was gone, his mother defended him.

“I’m just trying to motivate the boy, so he doesn’t get distracted with these hobbies. Besides, wasn’t he ranked around 130th after the first mock exam? I believe he can break into the top hundred. When he does, I’ll invite Zhang’s family out for dinner and show off a bit,” his father replied, putting on the Guanyin pendant with a hint of pride.

Unaware of their conversation, Chen Fengyun returned to his room to cultivate. Though the spiritual energy in the air was faint, his gathering array ensured a steady trickle of aura.

This energy not only aided his cultivation but also improved the household environment, which would benefit his parents’ health in the long run. For this reason, Chen Fengyun kept the gathering array active.

Although he’d earned two attribute points that day, Chen Fengyun noticed that only the plus signs behind Array Techniques and Golden Bell Shield were illuminated on his system panel; other options couldn’t be improved.

After some thought, he decided not to use the points immediately, but to store them for later. By his estimation, advancing from the fourth to the fifth level of Qi Refinement would require at least four attribute points.

As for his spiritual power, it had already reached Mortal Rank Ten. He didn’t know what conditions were needed for further advancement, or how many points it would require—just like with his spiritual root, the plus sign behind it had never lit up, and he had no idea how to upgrade it.

His main cultivation technique, Stellar Incineration Scripture, also showed no sign of being upgradeable. Perhaps, as before, it would require merging with other techniques. Similarly, his flying sword and array flags couldn’t be improved for now. Thus, saving his attribute points seemed the wisest course.

Having made his decision, Chen Fengyun resolved to save his points for now, focusing first on improving his cultivation and seeking opportunities to enhance the other options in the future.

However, things didn’t go as smoothly as he’d hoped. On Sunday, he scoured over twenty shops but found nothing else with special energy. It seemed such finds were a matter of luck.

“Madman, you’re something else! The second mock exam was so tough, and you nearly aced mathematics!” On Monday, as scores for various subjects started coming out, Gao Xiaohua burst breathlessly into the classroom after morning exercises, shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Fatty, where did you see the math results?” Chen Fengyun grabbed him and asked.

“In the math teachers’ office. I heard the results have been returned to the school and the teachers are compiling them on the computer. You scored 142 in math—the highest in our liberal arts class!” Gao Xiaohua’s voice drew the attention of the whole class.

“Chen the Mad, did you get first in the class this time?” other students teased.

“Don’t forget, he’s aiming for first in the grade, top hundred in Rongcheng. Maybe he’ll give us a surprise this time,” a girl nearby called out—it was Li Xiaoya.

“Fatty, keep your woman in check. Tell her not to run her mouth,” Chen Fengyun thought to himself that the two of them truly were a pair—both loved to make a scene.

“Big news! Chen Fengyun scored 130 in English—the highest liberal arts score in the school!” Another student soon rushed in, shouting.

“Let’s keep it low-key, everyone. You’ll get used to it.” Chen Fengyun urged them, and to everyone’s surprise, he said it with a straight face, as if it were the absolute truth.

“Madman, your shamelessness has reached new heights. Maybe you’ll get first in the school this time, but you can’t do it every time. And to call this being low-key—you really have a unique way of keeping a low profile, you know that?” Fatty sidled up to comment.