6 The Effect of the Spiritual Eye Technique

"What about Dao cultivation?"

"What realms of Dao cultivation are there?"

It was rare for Xu Hongtao to be interested. This bunch of odd-job workers naturally could not resist wanting to know more.

"Dao cultivation is another cultivation system. However, I don't know much more about it than you."

"All I know is that there are very few Daoist cultivators. It's much harder to cultivate the Dao compared to martial arts."

"Although there are Dao Temples in the Great Zhou Dynasty, they only teach the basics at most. In order to engage in actual entry-level cultivation, you still have to join the various Daoist sects."

"What about the realms?"

"Everyone has their own theories. If one is not a cultivator, it is truly difficult to understand the theories."

Xu Hongtao shook his head.

He only knew a little about this, so he didn't want to make a fool of himself.

"Uncle Xu, what is your martial arts realm?"

A servant couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Me?"

Xu Hongtao was stunned and a complex gaze flashed across his eyes. He was no longer in the same mood as he was in the beginning. His face showed some impatience as he said, "Go, go, go. Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

Then, he stopped talking.

When Chen Shaojun heard this, he could not help but look at Xu Hongtao.

Obviously, he seemed to have something that was difficult to speak of.

However, it made sense.

Xu Hongtao had been part of a gang in his early days and roamed the pugilistic world. Clearly, he had some martial arts background. Thus, his realm shouldn't be too low.

Now that he was living in the pawnshop of the Lin family as an unpacker, his status and identity were worlds apart from what they were in the past. Naturally, it was because of an unforeseen event.

…

"How exactly can I learn martial arts?"

After returning to his residence, Chen Shaojun pondered seriously.

As for learning the Dao, the threshold for doing so was indeed too high for him.

Even many wealthy families would find it hard to support their children in doing so.

Furthermore, as Xu Hongtao said, even if he entered the Dao Temple, he could only learn some superficial knowledge.

True Dao cultivation experts only came from Daoist sects.

Only martial arts were more suitable for the common people.

There were even some farmers who knew harvesting-style martial arts techniques.

Therefore, he could only temporarily focus on his martial arts.

However, even learning martial arts was not easy for him.

"Now, I've found out that the nearby Wire Fist Gallery requires three taels of silver per month as tuition fees. With the silver I've saved over the years, I can only stay for at most two months."

"In that case, can I ask Uncle Xu to teach me martial arts?"

In the pawnshop, as long as one completed the routine appraisal work, no one would say anything.

Other than the fact that the profession itself was dangerous, the rules were rather relaxed.

If they wanted to practice martial arts, no one would stop them.

The only thing that restricted him was the amount of silver he had.

His predecessor had entered the Lin family at the age of eight. As he was quite handsome, he was lucky enough to be the attendant of a Lin family disciple from the very beginning. He could be considered to be literate, and he would occasionally be rewarded.

However, his previous self remembered his family and would send the money home every once in a while.

Three years ago, that Lin family disciple was no longer pampered and was sent back to the Lin family's old residence after being punished. Thus, his predecessor also lost his status as an attendant, and his life became bitter. However, he did not stop saving for his family.

When he was 15 years old, his elder brother had gotten married and came to look for him. Since he had received a reward of 10 taels in one go, he had voluntarily entered the Lin pawnshop and became an apprentice.

Then, he began to think about himself and slowly accumulated money.

Now, he had only saved up six taels of silver.

Six taels of silver were not enough for him to go to a martial arts academy.

It was also hard to learn anything in two months.

That was why he thought of going to find Xu Hongtao and see if he could learn martial arts from him.

"However, judging from his secretive manner when he talked about his own martial arts realm, he must've had a hard time."

Chen Shaojun was somewhat puzzled.

After thinking for a long time, he decided to wait.

He was still most excited about the Psychic Treasure Mirror.

After all, he had obtained two rewards from two appraisals.

Even though there would be risks during the appraisal, the rewards were indeed huge.

In the future, he might even be rewarded with a martial arts technique or a Dao cultivation technique.

When he thought of the Spiritual Eye technique that he received as a reward today, he could not help but use it.

He first looked at Zhao Hu, who was sleeping beside him.

His spiritual energy was gray, while his blood and qi were weak. Why was he so weak at such a young age?

Meanwhile, next to Chen Shaojun was a tall and thin young man. It was said that he had been here for almost a year.

His spiritual energy was grayish-black and lifeless. It was even weaker than Zhao Hu's.

In reality, just by looking at his complexion, one could tell that he was not in a good state. His face was pale and his glabella was dark… If a doctor were to inspect him right now, the former would undoubtedly say that the latter should not be far from death.

Then, there was Li Tiechui, whose spiritual energy was dark and lifeless… Was he also close to death?

Meanwhile, Du Hao's spiritual energy was gray, and his blood and qi were weak.

As for Zhang Ke, his spiritual energy was gray, while his blood and qi were weak.

None of them looked like normal people.

"In that case, am I the same as them?"

Chen Shaojun was worried. The next day, he looked in the mirror and heaved a sigh of relief.

His face was rosy and his eyes were glowing. He was much stronger than normal people.

It was probably because he had eaten the Essence Augmenting Pill earlier that his body had been forcefully repaired.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be much better than the others.

However, he also discovered that using the Divine Vision technique was indeed extremely damaging to the body.

Every time it was used, he had to expend his blood and qi to stimulate his spirit.

After he used the Divine Vision technique for the first time, he was weak for an entire day.

In the long run, without any nourishment, even a brawny man would not be able to withstand it. Their blood and qi would suffer losses, and their lifespan would be greatly reduced.

"What a pity."

"For apprentice pawnbrokers to become official pawnbrokers, the Divine Vision technique is of utmost importance."

"I have to achieve the level of Lesser Mastery in this essential technique."

"Only those who have achieved Lesser Mastery in the Divine Vision technique will be recognized by the pawnshop and promoted to official pawnbrokers."

"Thus, apprentice pawnbrokers like me have no choice. Even if we train until our bodies become weak and our vision turns dark, we still have to continue…"

As Chen Shaojun sighed, he was already standing in the storeroom.

In the storeroom, the remaining six apprentices lined up in a row, waiting for Ticketing Manager Shen to distribute the treasures that were going to be appraised today.

Soon, Ticketing Manager Shen came over with a few servants behind him. Each of them was carrying a tray with a few treasures that needed an appraisal. There were quite a few treasures on the tray.

"Half a year ago, there was a murder on East Street. All seven members of the family died."

"After the government office locked their house, the family's belongings were sealed inside."

"During the six-month public announcement period, no one claimed their belongings."

"Thus, this morning, the shopkeeper went to the government office to buy these items."

"There are quite a lot of things here, so if you have some spare energy, you can appraise a few more."

As Ticketing Manager Shen spoke, he gestured for the apprentices to come and register their treasures one by one.

"Zhang Ke, this jade pendant is yours."

"Li Tiechui, take this locket."

"Du Hao…"

One by one, the items were distributed.

Everyone first received one item.

Chen Shaojun looked at the 'raw materials' on the tray and knew that it was time to witness if his previous idea could be implemented. He hurriedly used the Spiritual Eye technique.

In an instant, the appearance of the treasures on the tray changed in his eyes.