14 Shop's speciality
A day passed by, not a single soul came to Jun's shop.
He sat on a recliner chair like an old man, waiting to receive a customer for the day, but all he got was disappointment.
"Should I make some tea for you, master?" Hua Zhenyi asked politely. As someone with a higher cultivation base than Jun, she never refused his order, whether it was cleaning the shop or doing other chores.
"With extra sugar," Jun instructed her coldly, without even taking a look at her.
It was not that Jun was being rude; it's just that he wanted to see if this woman would complain about doing chores all day with a loyalty of 65.
"As you wish," she politely replied and took her leave without complaining.
"Not bad, it looks like I can trust her a little bit for now," Jun thought, not disappointed at all with Hua Zhenyi's behavior.
She was quite reserved but did her job well without any complaints.
"Shop Owner Jun," Ding Xue called out to Jun. Beside him was a young man with sharp brows and a handsome appearance.
"Who's this beside you?" Jun sized up the young man beside Ding Xue curiously.
"This is Young Master Hao Zheng. He is a sword cultivator," Ding Xue introduced the young man. Hao Zheng also sized up Jun with a haughty expression.
"Are you the one who recruited brother Ding?" Hao Zheng frowned as he realized that Jun was just a 2nd stage Qi Condensation Realm cultivator.
"Yes, I am," Jun replied indifferently.
Hao Zheng frowned and looked at Ding Xue with pity. "I can't believe you have to suffer through so much."
"What are you talking about, Brother Zheng?" Hao Zheng's words made Ding Xue confused.
"What else? Just because of your damned brother, you have to work for such a desolate shop in the outskirts, even though you are already a Talisman Apprentice."
Hao Zheng shook his head, feeling that Ding Xue had no other choice but to work for Jun.
"You might have misunderstood something, Brother Zheng. I am not being pressured into working here. It's just that I like working for Shop Owner Jun," Ding Xue explained, trying to clear Hua Zheng's misconception.
"You don't have to make excuses now. Don't worry, I will protect you from now on," Hua Zheng insisted.
"But, brother..." Ding Xue wanted to clarify, but Hua Zheng placed his hand on Ding Xue's mouth to shut him up.
"Don't worry, let me handle this," Hua Zheng said and turned to look at Jun with a cold glint in his eyes. "As for you, I will pay for the resources you have invested in Brother Ding."
"Are you Ding Xue's real brother?" Jun was unfazed by Hua Zheng's cold glare.
Hua Zheng frowned and replied, "No, I am not. I am an outer sect disciple of Sword Nurturing Sect and an old friend of Brother Ding."
"So, you want to recruit Ding Xue for the Sword Nurturing Sect, right?" Jun asked with narrowed eyes.
There was only one reason Hua Zheng would want to protect Ding Xue, and that was to recruit him for his sect.
"Why wouldn't I? Although Brother Ding's talent in talisman crafting is a little lacking, he has already reached the level of a Talisman Apprentice. It will be a waste for him to work for you," Hua Zheng sneered, looking down on Jun.
"You are an old friend of Ding Xue, but you are only showing concern for Ding Xue now that he has become a Talisman Apprentice. And you want to recruit him? Why? Because you can earn some sect merits by recruiting a professional, right?" Jun retorted with a frustrated look.
This Hua Zheng was clearly just after some small benefits while acting like a good old friend.
"You..." Hua Zheng was furious, but he tried to hold himself back. Otherwise, if he were to bully such a weak cultivator, he might as well dirty his sect's reputation.
"Brother Zheng, you don't have to insist any longer. I will not join your sect and will keep on working for Shop Owner Jun," Ding Xue chimed in. He could no longer watch Hua Zheng being haughty in front of Wu Jun.
"Don't regret it later," Hua Zheng snorted coldly before taking his leave.
"Forgive me, Shop Owner Jun. I had no idea he would behave like this in front of you. I just wanted to introduce him to you; I didn't think this would happen," Ding Xue apologized, feeling ashamed from Hua Zheng's actions.
"It's fine; you were not the one in the wrong," Jun reassured Ding Xue. It was this Hua Zheng guy's fault.
However, Jun couldn't do anything in broad daylight to the other party, and neither could Hua Zheng. Nevertheless, nobody knows what happens in the shadows.
"Don't mind it too much and just focus on your talisman crafting," Jun instructed Ding Xue, gesturing him to take his leave.
Ding Xue bowed before turning to leave. He obviously noticed the renovated shop and the signboard of "Golden Phoenix Pavilion."
He was curious to know how Jun was able to do all this in one night. But when he thought about Jun's secret identity, he didn't pester him any longer.
Jun sighed while watching Ding Xue take his leave. "No one came today. I asked Ding Xue to advertise my shop to his fellow disciples and friends, but only a haughty brat came to make trouble."
Jun had thought that maybe with Ding Xue advertising his shop, some people would be curious about it and would at least come to take a look.
After waiting for a while, no one came, and Jun realized how naive his thought was.
There was nothing attractive in his shop. Every shop had its own specialty, like Shop Owner Cheng's special Blazing Sundew Pill and Snow Ganoderma Pill, both grade 2 pills that were only available in his shop.
Besides that, Jun's shop was in the outskirts of the city. Who would want to come over here just to buy some grade 1 talismans at a regular price?
"I may need a specialty like that. Something that might be only unique to my shop," Jun pondered over his options.
He could not reveal the existence of his talent trading ability at all. Other than that, there were things available in the system shop.
Without further ado, Jun started to scroll through the shop options to look for something unique.
[Spiritual Advancement Elixir (Mortal grade high-level): 40 tokens]
[Flood Dragon Armor (Mortal grade high-level): 30 tokens]
[Sky Viper Puppet (Mortal grade med-level): 20 tokens]
[Shadow Beast Spirit (Mortal grade med-level): 20 tokens]
[Illusory Space Array (Mortal grade low-level): 10 tokens]
Among all the options available, [Spiritual Advancement Elixir] immediately caught Jun's eye.
[Spiritual Advancement Elixir (Mortal grade high-level): After consuming this elixir, your spiritual roots can advance from mortal grade low/medium level to high level. This elixir is completely ineffective above mortal grade spiritual roots. (Price: 40 tokens)]
"Tsk, it only works for mortal grade spiritual roots, and I can't afford it either," Jun was dejected after reading the elixir's description.
Among all the other options, there was only one last option that he could afford. After giving Ding Xue a basic talisman crafting technique, only 10 tokens were remaining. Hence, he contemplated if he should use these tokens to buy this [Illusory Space Array] or not.
[Illusory Space Array (Mortal grade low-level): This sophisticated array grants the ability to craft a convincing illusionary dimension lasting more than an hour. Within this illusion, opponents experience simulated sensations without actual consequences. The array impeccably broadcasts the occurrences inside in real-time to the external world. Particularly effective against individuals below the 4th stage of Qi Condensation Realm. (Price: 10 tokens)]
