A large crowd swarmed to Lin Chen's stall, jostling each other in their eagerness to purchase the Strength Talismans.
Lin Chen was bewildered by this sudden surge of customers.
After all, for the past half-hour, his business had been bleak, with virtually no one coming to buy anything.
And now, the sudden influx of so many people made Lin Chen feel unexpectedly flattered.
Lin Chen hadn't promoted his Strength Talismans at all, so why did these people suddenly have such a strong desire to buy?
Lin Chen's gaze drifted off into the distance, towards the direction of the Martial Arts Arena.
Lin Chen quickly pondered, suspecting that all this probably had something to do with Zhang Kailu, who had bought a Strength Talisman earlier.
Now was a perfect time to sell the Strength Talismans, but Lin Chen didn't rush to sell them.
Lin Chen had always been cautious, and while he was sure these people weren't shills, it was still better to ask and confirm.
After all, understanding the reason behind the sudden interest would be helpful for Lin Chen's future talisman creation and sales.
"Why is this happening? Can someone explain it to me?"
Lin Chen politely inquired of the crowd.
Upon hearing this, the crowd was taken aback.
It turned out that Lin Chen was unaware of the impact his Strength Talisman had made.
Among the crowd, many were vying to be the ones to explain it to Lin Chen.
Finally, a young woman clarified the whole story for Lin Chen.
It turned out that Zhang Kailu was the leader of a mercenary group.
A month ago, while hunting magical beasts in the Mystic Illusion Jungle, he got into a conflict with another mercenary group.
The dispute over the division of a second-order magical beast led to a fight.
Both sides suffered casualties, and, unable to let it go, they decided on today's duel.
Their duel was the kind that determined both victory and the fate between life and death.
For these mercenaries who frequently faced death, such life-and-death duels were common occurrences, and even events like wiping out a mercenary group or destroying a family could happen in Desolate Sky City.
As long as it conformed to the jianghu rules, Desolate Sky City's guards wouldn't intervene.
In Desolate Sky City, countless families rose and fell, countless mercenary groups flourished and declined, all part of the natural order of things.
After hearing the full account, Lin Chen finally understood what had happened.
Zhang Kailu faced off against another Mercenary Group Leader on the life-and-death stage, where the underpowered Zhang Kailu entered with a resolve to face certain death.
During the duel, Zhang Kailu was initially at a disadvantage and was losing, but in the final moments, he used a Strength Talisman purchasable from Lin Chen's stall, instantly turning the tables and killing the opposing Mercenary Group Leader.
The outcome of the duel astonished everyone, and after a series of inquiries, it came to light that Zhang Kailu had bought a Strength Talisman from Lin Chen's stall which doubled his strength.
With that revelation, everyone was up in arms, and that's why they all came here to buy Strength Talismans.
"There are still Strength Talismans available, but there are only nine left for today. The price is the same as when Zhang Kailu bought them—fifty low-grade spirit stones each. Let's proceed with the purchases in the same order as you lined up earlier, one per person."
As Lin Chen announced, he sold the remaining nine Strength Talismans in a blink of an eye, and within moments, he had five hundred low-grade spirit stones.
That was enough to buy many herbal materials for refining Body Tempering Pills.
Furthermore, based on what the charming young woman had said, Lin Chen learned another piece of information.
It was that Zhang Kailu's life-and-death duel had been turned into a betting event, with stakes placed on the outcome.
If Zhang Kailu lost, the odds were one to three.
But if Zhang Kailu won, the odds were one to ten.
Everyone at the scene had bet on Zhang Kailu's loss, for the gap in strength between Zhang Kailu and another Mercenary Group Leader was there for all to see. They felt certain Zhang Kailu would lose today, and with it, his life was undoubtedly at stake.
Only Zhang Kailu himself had bet on his own victory.
In the end, Zhang Kailu won, making a hefty profit.
Thinking of this, Lin Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.
This gambling fight seemed like a big opportunity to make a fortune.
But Lin Chen didn't dwell on it for long, as his priority was still to purchase herbal materials for refining elixirs to enhance his strength.
"Young Master Lin Chen, do you still have any Strength Talismans in stock? I'm willing to pay one hundred low-grade Spirit Stones for one," someone said with eagerness.
"I'm willing to pay two hundred low-grade Spirit Stones."
Just as Lin Chen was about to leave, several people suddenly spoke up, looking at him with anticipation, hoping to buy a Strength Talisman.
The price even rose to three or four times the original. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel•fire.net
After all, Lin Chen's Strength Talisman was incredibly powerful, a Divine Artifact capable of overpowering enemies, slaying those of higher tiers, and destroying families and sects.
Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on the corner of Lin Chen's mouth.
It was good news that people were willing to offer higher prices for his talismans.
However, Lin Chen currently had no more Strength Talismans to sell.
"My apologies, everyone. I have no more Talisman Inscriptions for sale today. But once I return, I will quickly draft new ones. As long as you have money, Talisman Inscriptions will not be an issue," Lin Chen replied with a faint smile.
For a Formation Master, there's always a chance of failure when drafting Talisman Inscriptions.
A First-Rank Spirit Array Master can create first-grade runes, while it takes a Second-Rank Spirit Array Master to create a second-grade Talisman. That's common sense.
Even among talismans of the same grade, there are different levels of quality, which are distinguished by the effects they offer.
Lin Chen's Strength Talisman, which had a doubling effect, was considered high quality.
The higher the quality, the lower the success rate for the Formation Master during inscription.
But Lin Chen's mastery in spiritual arrays was inherited from the most primitive Profound Truths of the Great Dao contained within the Primordial Myriad Transformation Cauldron.
Aside from a few initial failures due to inexperience, Lin Chen never faced any failures in drafting Talisman Inscriptions.
Moreover, the quality of the Talisman Inscriptions Lin Chen drafted could only improve over time.
Upon hearing Lin Chen's words, joy appeared on the faces of the crowd.
After closing up his stall, Lin Chen took the five hundred low-grade Spirit Stones and headed towards the herb shop of the Wanxing Commerce Association.
Originally, Lin Chen intended to purchase herbal materials, but now, with the profitable avenue of selling Talisman Inscriptions, he no longer wanted to waste time refining elixirs.
He directly bought fifty sets of materials for Talisman Inscriptions and two hundred Body Tempering Pills from the Wanxing Commerce Association, spending all five hundred low-grade Spirit Stones in the process.
"This money really doesn't last long," he lamented, then headed home.
Upon arriving at his residence, Xiaoyu had already prepared dinner and bathwater early, waiting for Lin Chen at home.
This gave Lin Chen a sense of belonging to a home.
After finishing his meal, Lin Chen took a quick bath and then returned to his room.
Instead of rushing to consume the Body Tempering Pills for cultivation, he began drafting Talisman Inscriptions first.
And as he grew more skilled in drafting Talisman Inscriptions, Lin Chen found that his level in spiritual formations had improved.
The effects of the Strength Talisman had now doubled.