"According to legends, the Elemental Spirit Pearl is a unique treasure of the heavens and earth. Not only can it temper the body, strengthen the internal organs, and consolidate the foundation of the meridians, but it can also extend one's lifespan by over twenty years."
"It is said that when a martial artist cultivates, as long as they reach the Qi Ocean Realm, they would be able to live up to 100 years if they did not encounter any illnesses or calamities."
"However, if they use this Elemental Spirit Pearl, their lifespan will surpass this 100 years limit and they will be able to live to 120 years."
"Although 120 years pales in comparison to the age of the current Emperor Sheng De, which is 132 years, to be able to live to such an age is still something that only exists in the dreams of many people."
The information about the Elemental Spirit Pearl flashed through Peng Dongcheng's mind, and he became even more excited.
At that moment, his martial arts realm was at the 7th Stage of the Body Tempering Realm. He was at the stage of internal organ training.
He was confident that if he used the Elemental Spirit Pearl, he would definitely be able to break through very quickly once his foundation was improved. He would be able to enter the 8th and 9th Stages of the Body Tempering Realm, the hollow organ training, and the internal inspection stages respectively. He might even be able to advance to the next realm without facing any obstacles.
He might be able to break through to the Qi Ocean Realm.
"At the Qi Ocean Realm, one's essential qi will be nourished, and martial artists will be called martial masters instead. From then on, one's status will no longer be the same."
"Not to mention, my lifespan will also increase due to the effects of the Elemental Spirit Pearl."
"In that case, it's not impossible for me to reach the Connate Realm in the future."
Peng Dongcheng thought about this excitedly.
Once he reached the Connate Realm, he would be known as a grandmaster. He would be in a completely different world.
The reason why Emperor Sheng De was able to live past 130 years and remain on the throne for 97 years was that his martial arts realm had already broken through to the Connate Realm.
This meant that a grandmaster who had reached the Connate Realm could also break through the limits of their life and increase their lifespan to more than 130 years.
"Let's start using the Elemental Spirit Pearl."
Peng Dongcheng suppressed his excitement. He finally decided to start absorbing the elemental power in the Elemental Spirit Pearl.
However, when he tried to draw out the power of the Elemental Spirit Pearl, his expression changed.
"How is that possible?"
"It's empty inside?"
His heart trembled violently, and his face turned ghastly pale as an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.
He hurriedly increased the pulling force of his spirit.
Crack—
There was a crisp sound.
Then, the Elemental Spirit Pearl that was embedded in the jade ruyi shattered.
At this moment, Peng Dongcheng was furious.
His heart also shattered along with it.
All of the wonderful things he had imagined, including the improvement of his foundation, increasing his longevity, breaking through to the Qi Ocean Realm, and reaching the Connate Realm… All of his thoughts had vanished when the Elemental Spirit Pearl shattered.
They disappeared; like bubbles pricked with a needle.
"What's going on?"
His heart ached so much that he could not breathe.
He did not react for a long time.
He had never expected that the treasure he had painstakingly obtained after half a year of planning would only be an empty shell.
Furthermore, the empty shell had even shattered!
"Could it be that someone discovered the secret of the Elemental Spirit Pearl and absorbed its energy in advance?"
It took him a moment to catch his breath, then he quickly shook his head. "No, that's impossible."
He quickly thought that if the power in this Elemental Spirit Pearl had been discovered and absorbed by someone else long ago, it would have been impossible for the Elemental Spirit Pearl to remain in its original form within the jade ruyi.
Without the support of its elemental power, the Elemental Spirit Pearl could not last for long at all.
"In that case, the elemental power in the Elemental Spirit Pearl could only have been absorbed by someone recently…"
Peng Dongcheng was full of regret and unwillingness as he guessed this possibility.
He hated the unfairness of the world. He hated himself for not discovering this ahead of time. He also hated the person who had absorbed the elemental power, ruined his plans, and destroyed his future…
…
The next day, the pawnshop remained calm.
The only thing worth mentioning was that Zhang Ke entered Third Pawnbroker Zhang Gao's Water Cloud Room.
What awaited him was an unknown journey.
If he was lucky, he would be safe.
However, if he was unlucky, he might go in standing and come out lying down.
Those who did not know the truth were more or less envious of him.
However, Chen Shaojun had already learned from Ah Yong that Zhang Ke was merely a test subject. He could only sigh and look on indifferently.
Would he remind Zhang Ke?
There was no need.
It was hard to persuade someone that was destined to be damned. Zhang Ke might even think that he was jealous of him.
Chen Shaojun could not be bothered to think about it either.
Since he had the time, he might as well find a suitable training hall to learn martial arts.
Today's appraisal mission obviously contained much fewer items.
Chen Shaojun appraised two items and received the Carpenter's Inheritance and Blood Qi Pill respectively.
Then, he went to the shopkeeper and requested leave.
The shopkeeper of the Lin Pawnshop was an old man with silver-white hair. His surname was Liu and everyone called him Shopkeeper Liu.
Perhaps it was because he did business all year round, but he always smiled at everyone.
Of course, it had to be said that one of the reasons for Shopkeeper Liu's friendly attitude was probably the fact that Chen Shaojun's mastery of the Divine Vision technique had reached the Proficient-Level.
"Smart choice."
When he heard Chen Shaojun's reason, Shopkeeper Liu looked at Chen Shaojun approvingly and said, "I've worked at the pawnshop for decades. My understanding of pawnbrokers can't be compared to the actual pawnbrokers, but it's not much different."
"When pawnbrokers appraise treasures, they prioritize spiritual power."
"How does this spiritual power come about? It is converted from blood and qi."
"Thus, all pawnbrokers should actually learn martial arts."
"It's not necessarily for the sake of being competitive. It's more for the sake of training one's physique and strengthening one's blood and qi."
"Putting everyone else aside, all three pawnbrokers in the Lin Pawnshop have all practiced martial arts, right?"
"Did you know that not only is Great Pawnbroker Qin Dazhao proficient in appraising treasures, but his martial arts skills are not weak either? He is even known as Iron Hands in the outside world."
"You want to learn martial arts. Furthermore, you reached the Proficient-Level in the Divine Vision technique in a short span of half a year."
"This means you have talents, brains, and ideas."
"In that case, I'm really looking forward to the day you become an official pawnbroker."
As Shopkeeper Liu spoke, he seemed to have taken Chen Shaojun seriously.
"You flatter me, Shopkeeper Liu."
Chen Shaojun had a look of gratitude on his face, but he was also surprised.
Who would have thought that the mysterious Great Pawnbroker Qin Dazhao not only possessed brilliant appraisal techniques but also possessed a decent amount of martial arts skills?
One had to know that there was no such thing as a title that appeared out of nowhere.
He had to have a few excellent achievements.
As for the official pawnbrokers…
"Well, since you want to learn martial arts, as the shopkeeper, I can't just do nothing."
"How about this? You can take ten taels of silver from Shen Lang later. You can consider it as a form of support for you to learn martial arts."
Shopkeeper Liu pondered for a moment before speaking again.
"Thank you, Shopkeeper Liu."
Chen Shaojun cupped his hands and didn't refuse.
After all, the tuition fees of martial arts academies were not low.
He could pay the tuition fees every month. Furthermore, with his wealth, he should be able to support himself for two months.
But who would complain about having too much money?
Furthermore, if a person wanted to practice martial arts, not only would they need to cultivate diligently, but they would need to have extra nourishment as well.
He would need tonic food, medicinal cuisine, and even pills… All of them were extremely expensive.