Given how difficult talismans were to make, one might have expected Talisman Makers to be rare—yet in practice, they were the most numerous of the four coveted professions. The reason was simple: there were simply too many types of talismans, and the method for making each one differed from the rest. Even a master Talisman Maker who had reached an exceptional level with certain talismans would find that switching to an unfamiliar type brought their success rate crashing back down—not quite as low as an absolute novice, perhaps, but not much better either. As a result, the vast majority of Talisman Makers were only ever skilled at producing a limited handful of types.
When Andy learned all of this, he felt he might actually have a chance. In his past life, he had been a man of many skills—and during his years of study, he had developed a particular fondness for drawing and illustration. Making talismans is just drawing a bunch of strange symbols, isn't it? I can definitely handle that. Catching sight of this sliver of hope, Andy quickly made up his mind: he would become a self-sufficient junior Talisman Maker.
To make talismans, one first had to learn the corresponding spells—that much went without saying. The Jian clan had dedicated elders who taught children of the third layer of Qi Refinement and above how to use various basic Five Element spells. Andy had actually had the opportunity to learn spells years ago, but at the time he had felt that while such techniques were impressive and undeniably powerful, they offered nothing to advance his own cultivation. If he'd had the time to spare, he would certainly have been happy to learn a few practical spells—but in those years he was spending seventeen or eighteen hours every day on diligent cultivation, and had no time for anything else. Now that he had suspended his intensive training, he finally had that time. Whether a year would be enough to learn several spells and make his first attempts at talisman crafting, he wasn't sure. He could only do his best.
He had heard that Jian Kun, whose cultivation aptitude was outstanding, had still taken three full months to learn just two of the simplest spells. If Andy's aptitude for spells matched his spirit root quality, he might not manage even one in a year. He made his way to the Skill Transmission Hall with a knot of anxiety in his chest. The hall was a spacious courtyard several hundred zhang across, its layout remarkably sparse—aside from a small hexagonal pavilion at the center, a shallow pond in the eastern corner, and an assortment of rocks of various shapes and sizes scattered across the ground, it was essentially bare.
Inside the pavilion, a broad-faced middle-aged cultivator with thick brows and keen eyes was explaining the finer points of the Flame Serpent Technique. Three youths of seventeen or eighteen sat gathered around him, listening attentively—none of them paid any attention to Andy's arrival. The Flame Serpent Technique was a mid-grade Qi Refinement spell that only cultivators at the seventh or eighth layer or above could master—far beyond what Andy had come for today. Still, he had the sense to stand quietly off to the side and listen without interrupting.
This broad-faced cultivator was one of several Jian clan members responsible for teaching the foundational Five Element spells—though he carried neither the Jian name nor any clan blood. His surname was Li, and the younger generation all addressed him as Uncle Li. As the story went, Uncle Li had not originally been a Jian clan cultivator at all, but a rogue cultivator without sect or affiliation. In his youth he had happened to meet a female cultivator of the Jian clan; the two had gotten along at once, and before long they became cultivation partners, pursuing the path together—which was how Uncle Li had come to settle within the clan. Unfortunately, not many years later, his partner perished while carrying out a clan mission. After that, Uncle Li's heart was no longer in it, and his cultivation stalled. He stayed on at the clan to pass on what he knew to the younger generation, seeing out what remained of his years.
His reputation among the younger members was excellent. He had a deep and distinctive understanding of foundational Five Element spells, and an inexhaustible patience—he would demonstrate the same thing over and over until the student understood and could apply it, never once raising his voice or berating anyone. Whenever Uncle Li was on duty at the Skill Transmission Hall, there was always a crowd eager to hear him. It was precisely because Andy knew today was Uncle Li's shift that he had made a point of coming. He had even deliberately chosen the quieter afternoon hours—only to find three other youths already there ahead of him.
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When Uncle Li finished a segment of his explanation, the three youths posed a round of questions, which Uncle Li answered one by one in full detail. It was over two hours before the three finally took their reluctant leave, bowing to Uncle Li before heading off to practice on their own. On their way out, one of the youths recognized Andy and couldn't resist a parting jab: "Well, if it isn't Brother Wugen! Here to learn spells, are you? Try not to take up too much of Uncle Li's time."
Even with over thirty years of life experience behind him, Andy felt his face go slightly red at that.
Uncle Li took no notice of the remark. He asked Andy about his spirit root attributes and a few other basics, then heard him out before offering some words of encouragement: "Learning spells is a bit different from cultivating spiritual power. The former is about how to use spiritual power; the latter is about how to gather spiritual energy and convert it into your own. Generally speaking, using spells is something that improves with practice—put in enough repetition and you'll get the hang of it, and spirit root attributes don't play nearly as big a role. As long as you apply yourself, you can master one or several low-grade spells before long. As for mid-grade Qi Refinement spells and above, your cultivation isn't yet sufficient to supply the spiritual power needed, so those are off the table for now. What spell did you have in mind? With all five spirit roots, you can learn any of the low-grade Five Element spells—but I'd suggest starting with the Fireball Technique, the simplest of the bunch. Better to progress step by step."
"Thank you for the encouragement, Uncle Li. I'll do as you suggest and start with the Fireball Technique," Andy said. After so long in the Jian clan, it was a rare thing to have someone speak to him without a trace of mockery. He was genuinely moved. So Uncle Li really is every bit as decent as people say.
Under Uncle Li's guidance, Andy began practicing the Fireball Technique. Uncle Li first gave a concise explanation of how to draw on the spiritual power within one's dantian, then recited the technique's incantation once through. The incantation was not very long—Andy listened carefully to a single pass and had it memorized. Uncle Li then sent him back to practice on his own, telling him to come back whenever he had questions.
Andy thanked him and returned to his meditation chamber, where he threw himself into practicing the Fireball Technique without delay. Drawing up a thread of spiritual power from his dantian came easily enough; running it through the appropriate meridians to the tip of his right index finger was also manageable. But releasing that spiritual power out through the fingertip and beyond his body—that was where he kept hitting a wall. He tried more than a dozen times in a row. With his spiritual power noticeably depleted and fatigue setting in, he didn't dare push any further, settled into meditation, and spent the night recovering.
The next several days followed the same pattern: endless attempts to force the spiritual power out through his fingertip, each one ending in failure. Each day was nothing but practice and meditative rest, practice and rest. He was growing increasingly discouraged, and was on the verge of giving up and going back to Uncle Li for help, when an idle practice session produced something different. He distinctly felt a thread of spiritual power burst out through his fingertip. A small disturbance flickered in the air just above it—and then, with a faint crackling sound, as though the air nearby had been ignited, a tiny flame less than a cun long appeared. It lasted only a few breaths before the spiritual power gave out and it vanished—but the sight filled Andy with excitement, and he threw himself back into practice with renewed drive.
Whether that unexpected breakthrough had unlocked something in him or not, his subsequent sessions went more and more smoothly. He could almost always summon a flame of one size or another. Finally, after nearly a month of working at the Fireball Technique, Andy successfully released a complete fireball—barely more than a cun across, but a clear sign that he had grasped the fundamentals of the technique at last.
Mastering his first spell in just a month was not exactly a stunning achievement, but it still gave quite a start to those who had written Andy off. Uncle Li, upon hearing of it, praised him twice over and took to using him as an example to encourage other young disciples with poor aptitude. For a short time, Andy became a topic of conversation around the clan—some said that while his spirit root was truly terrible, he seemed to have a real gift for picking up spells. Of course, this discussion lasted only briefly before being swept aside by some other talented disciple's astonishing new progress.
Only Andy himself knew the truth: he had no gift to speak of, nothing more than average ability at best. Everyone else was cultivating their spiritual power alongside their spell practice; none of them had done what he did—suspending cultivation entirely to pour every waking moment into a single spell. He had only practiced for a month, but the sheer number of repetitions he had put in was something no one else could match.