“Appraisers?” Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up.
He could understand why Sovereign Chen Ling would want to recruit physicians, poison masters, or even those with unique abilities, but appraisers…
What the heck was the other party up to?
The Master Teacher Pavilion had classified most occupations into the Lower, Middle, and Upper Nine Paths. In contrast, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe did not have a clear classification for occupations, and there were no corresponding guilds. Nevertheless, they still had the heritages of occupations that were passed down from generation to generation.
Of course, it was nowhere near as detailed and thorough as the heritage on the Master Teacher Continent.
Appraisers served to identify artifacts and determine their value; they possessed no ability to cure or heal. Why was Sovereign Chen Ling bringing such people in?
Was there some kind of misunderstanding?
“I was skeptical about the news as well, so I made sure to verify the matter several times. Ever since Sovereign Chen Ling returned from the Master Teacher Continent, he has been cooping himself in the depths of his palace, but instead of rallying physicians, he has been bringing appraisers in instead,” Liu Yang said.
“Despite being severely injured, he didn’t seek the treatment of physicians. Instead, he went to look for appraisers… There’s something really amiss here!”
The more unnatural something was, the more likely that there were treacherous currents that lay beneath the surface.
The entire matter simply sounded too ridiculous to be true.
Just thinking about a couple of appraisers standing by the ill Sovereign Chen Ling’s side, appraising his wounds…
“Wow, this injury sure is amazing. It must be worth at least eight hundred pinnacle spirit stones!”
“That isn’t just it. Take a closer look at this injury… It’s caused by an Ancient Sage who lived tens of thousands of years ago, and the injury has a unique mark on it. It must be worth ten thousand pinnacle spirit stones at the very least!”
“You want to buy a treasure like this with just ten thousand pinnacle spirit stones? Dream on! Even the injuries inflicted by an ordinary Ancient Sage are worth this much, let alone something of such caliber…”
…
“Cough cough.” Zhang Xuan realized that his thoughts had unintentionally wandered too far away, so he quickly dragged himself back to reality.
Zhang Xuan shook away the miscellaneous thoughts in his mind and said, “No matter what his motive is, I should head over to take a look for myself…”
“Teacher, what do you have in mind?” Liu Yang asked.
“Since he’s bringing in appraisers, I reckon that there should be some kind of examination grounds for the appraisers, right? I’ll head over there to have a look!”
After Sovereign Chen Yong’s ‘death’, Sovereign Chen Ling had officially become the highest leader of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. As such, if he let out the news that he was recruiting appraisers, countless Otherworldly Demons would rush forward to fill the position.
Naturally, not everyone who applied for the job would be allowed to enter Sovereign Chen Ling’s palace. There was bound to be some kind of exam to filter the capable from the mediocre. Since that was the case, it was a good opportunity for him to head over there and construct a new identity for himself.
“There’s indeed an examination for the appraisers. Allow me to take you there!” Liu Yang quickly replied with a nod.
“There’s no need for that. Your current identity is a little sensitive, and you’ll draw too many gazes if we head there together. It’ll be safer for me to head there alone, so you just have to point out the directions to me,” Zhang Xuan said.
“Alright then!” Liu Yang did not insist on the matter.
As the successor that Sovereign Chen Yong had chosen, Sovereign Chen Ling and Sovereign Chen Xing would definitely be keeping track of every single one of his movements. If he was seen walking around with another person, it would cause a fair bit of trouble.
Thus, Zhang Xuan discreetly left the silent chamber and began heading in the direction that Liu Yang had pointed out to him.
The destination was a market that sold treasures of all kinds. If one wanted to enter Sovereign Chen Ling’s palace, one would have to display true capabilities. It happened that there were innumerable rare and precious artifacts in the market, which made it an ideal location to hold the examination.
Disguising himself as an ordinary Otherworldly Demon, Zhang Xuan swiftly slipped into the crowd.
The market was bustling. While it was not as prosperous as the markets of major human cities, the treasures that were on display were truly exquisite. There were all sorts of precious herbs, skeletal frames of powerful beasts, and so on. Even Zhang Xuan had trouble naming some of the items despite the vast knowledge that he possessed.
It’s no wonder so many people are drawn to the Subterranean Gallery despite the dangers. These medicinal properties of these herbs are far superior to what we have on the Master Teacher Continent… Zhang Xuan nodded as he walked across the vendors.
It went without saying that Wu Kuang and the others did not choose to enter the Subterranean Gallery for fun and games. While plants were much sparser in that extreme environment, the very fact that they were able to survive in the face of such dense killing intent already meant that they were extraordinary.
It was similar to how plants that could survive the arid heat of the desert tended to be far more resilient and tenacious.
However, while these things were invaluable to others, they meant nothing to Zhang Xuan. He simply spared them a glance before heading in the direction that Liu Yang had pointed.
“This thing is trash because I said so. Are you casting doubt over my judgement?”
Before Zhang Xuan could get far, he heard a particularly abrasive voice nearby. He turned around and saw an elder standing before a stall with his hands behind his back. The elder was glaring at the vendor with frosty eyes.
“Lord, I risked my life in order to obtain this Greenleaf Amber, and I even lost my arm due to that… I can swear on my life that it is true!” A middle-aged man flung his arms around anxiously.
Glancing over, Zhang Xuan saw that the middle-aged man had indeed lost his left arm, and the wounds had yet to recover.
“There’s no vendor who wouldn’t say that. They prepare a sob story for the artifacts that they have on display so as to give it some kind of amazing history, but I’ll have to ask you to spare me such nonsense. Such trickery won’t work on me!” The elder’s face remained utterly cold.
He flung his sleeves coldly and said, “In terms of appearance, Greenleaf Amber looks nearly identical to Lostdictum Grass. It’s clear that what you have here is a Lostdictum Grass, but you dare to pass it off as a Greenleaf Amber and hiked up its price… Shall I report you to the guards right now and have them put you away for selling fake medicinal herbs?”
Upon hearing those words, the middle-aged man’s face paled in fright. “I really am not selling fake medicinal herbs!”
“Since you need to make a living as well, even though this fake medicinal herb of yours is completely worthless, I’ll spare you my compassion and buy it for two Great Yong coins!”
As he said those words, the elder flicked two coins toward the middle-aged man.
Great Yong coins were the standard currency distributed by Sovereign Chen Yong. Their purchasing power was limited, such that ten Great Yong coins was only equivalent to a low-tier spirit stone. Two Great Yong coins was pretty much nothing.
“Two coins? But my Greenleaf Amber is able to sell for at least two hundred thousand Great Yong coins!” the middle-aged man exclaimed in agitation.
True Greenleaf Amber was worth at least two hundred thousand Great Yong coins, but he was only being offered two coins. This difference was simply too huge!
“Are you doubting the words of our Old Master?” The servant standing behind the elder harrumphed. “I’ll have you know that our Old Master is an appraiser who has cleared Sovereign Chen Ling’s examination! Since he says that what you have over there is Lostdictum Grass, it can’t possibly be anything else. If you dare utter another word of complaint, I’ll have someone destroy your stall. Just wait and see if anyone dares step in and lend you a hand!”
Appraisers were not highly regarded in the world, but the word of an appraiser was golden in the market.
If an appraiser said that an artifact was authentic, it would be seen as authentic regardless of the truth. The contrary applied as well.
Due to the strict rules of the Appraiser Hall that allowed appraisers to only make three mistakes in their lifetime, no appraiser would dare make an appraisal lightly on the Master Teacher Continent. On the other hand, such a restriction did not apply in the otherworldly battlefield, thus making appraisers an existence whom no one dared offend.
“It seems like that fellow doesn’t wish to spend money and still wants to acquire that middle-aged man’s Greenleaf Amber…” Zhang Xuan shook his head.
While he did not know too much about the medicinal herbs of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, as a physician, he was still able to see the spirit and medicinal properties of the herb with ease.
Based on the tremendous medicinal energy harnessed within the herb, it was definitely worth more than two Great Yong coins.
Clearly, the appraiser knew that as well, which was why he mislabeled it the Lostdictum Grass so that he could underhandedly snatch it.
To intentionally appraise an artifact incorrectly so as to purchase it at a lower price… such occurrences were, in fact, not too rare. He had often encountered such situations in his previous life, let alone here.
The crowd in the surroundings were also well aware of what was going on, but they dared not say anything about the matter.
They feared that the elder would resort to the same tactics on them, thus affecting their business and reputation.
“I happen to lack an identity at the moment, so I guess you’ll be the perfect candidate for me to impersonate…”
Zhang Xuan had been planning to proceed to the place where the appraiser examination was held when he heard this commotion. A smile crept onto his lips as he halted in his tracks.
He would require a verifiable identity in order to get into Sovereign Chen Ling’s palace. Since that fellow was openly bullying others, it would not weigh on his conscience to use him.
