"How can you assert that my Talisman Inscription is fake without having seen it?"
Lin Chen's eyes fell on Li Huan with an unpleasant look, as the Li Family had always been at odds with the Lin Family. At this moment, Li Huan was clearly picking a fight.
"Hmph, within Desolate Sky City, even the Pavilion Master of the Spiritual Talisman Pavilion wouldn't dare claim they could inscribe a Strength Talisman that doubles one's power. How could your Talisman Inscription possibly achieve a doubling effect? If you're not exaggerating, then what else could this false advertising be?"
Just as Li Huan was about to retort, an elderly voice came from behind him.
Lin Chen and Li Huan both turned their heads to look and saw a silver-haired elder appear, looking quite spirited, with the character for 'Talisman' on his clothes.
This was the symbol of the Spiritual Talisman Pavilion, and the silver-haired elder was one of its elders, named Jiang Chengtian.
"Master."
Upon seeing Jiang Chengtian appear, Li Huan's face showed a glimmer of joy, holding his broken arm while staring fiercely at Lin Chen.
Jiang Chengtian was notoriously protective of his charges. The news of Lin Chen breaking his disciple's arm had reached his ears, and he hurried over to the scene.
Today, Jiang Chengtian wouldn't allow Lin Chen to leave the Wanxing Commerce Association without consequences.
Jiang Chengtian arrived in front of everyone and nodded slightly to Duan Xingzheng as a sign of respect. The Spiritual Talisman Pavilion of Desolate Sky City was affiliated with the Wanxing Commerce Association, and both Jiang Chengtian and Duan Xingzheng belonged to the association. However, Duan Xingzheng, being the Law Enforcement Elder, held much more power and status than Jiang Chengtian.
But so long as Jiang Chengtian didn't do anything against the rules of the Wanxing Commerce Association, Duan Xingzheng wouldn't interfere with however he chose to take revenge on Lin Chen.
"Kid, you've got guts selling fake talismans at the Wanxing Commerce Association."
"To think you could inscribe a Strength Talisman with double the enhancement effect, the forgery is truly thoughtless. Such actions are a blatant disregard for our Spiritual Talisman Pavilion, not to mention our Pavilion Master."
Jiang Chengtian's face was filled with anger as he spoke, immediately pinning two big accusations on Lin Chen.
Upon hearing this, Lin Chen's face remained calm.
He had nothing to lose; his Talisman Inscription was based on the methods of the Primordial Spirit Formation within the world of the Primordial Myriad Transformation Cauldron, and it absolutely had the effect of doubling efficiency.
"Elder Jiang, you carry quite the presence. My Strength Talisman does have double the enhancement effect, yet on what basis do you accuse me of selling fakes? Could it be that the Wanxing Commerce Association is now solely under your control, disregarding right and wrong, relying solely on your own words?"
Lin Chen spoke coldly.
Hearing this, Duan Xingzheng's expression changed immediately.
Lin Chen was right. From the very beginning, nobody had witnessed Lin Chen's Talisman Inscription, yet both Li Huan and Jiang Chengtian accused it of being fake as soon as they entered the scene.
The Wanxing Commerce Association was not for them alone to dictate.
"Hmph, you brazen boy, still defiant. We only need to take your Talisman Inscription to the Wanxing Commerce Association for testing to see the truth for ourselves."
Jiang Chengtian said, believing in his heart, just like Li Huan, that Lin Chen's Talisman Inscription could not possibly be genuine.
"Fine, then let's have it tested."
Lin Chen looked at Jiang Chengtian and agreed straight away. He didn't have much time and only wanted to quickly end this farce, then sell the Talisman Inscription in exchange for Spirit Stones to buy Herbal Materials.
As he spoke, Lin Chen turned to pick up the Talisman Inscription, ready to proceed to the testing area of the Wanxing Commerce Association.
"Wait."
Jiang Chengtian suddenly interrupted Lin Chen's action again.
Lin Chen turned around, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. This old man really was relentless.
"Elder Jiang, I've already agreed to the test. What more do you want?"
Lin Chen's tone became somewhat colder.
Beside him, Duan Xingzheng also frowned slightly, looking at Jiang Chengtian with disapproval.
"Boy, since you are so certain that your talisman inscription has an amplifying effect of one fold, would you dare to make a bet with this old man?"
Jiang Chengtian had not expected Lin Chen to agree to the test so readily.
He sneered inwardly, thinking that Lin Chen believed there would be no punishment even if the test showed his talisman inscription did not have the one-fold effect, which is why he agreed so quickly.
But he had no intention of letting Lin Chen off the hook so easily.
"A bet, you say? What kind of bet? Let's hear it."
Lin Chen immediately sensed the ill-intent in Jiang Chengtian's voice, but his talisman inscription definitely possessed the one-fold amplifying effect. He wasn't afraid of any tricks that Jiang Chengtian might play; it was clear the latter had already decided his talisman didn't have the claimed effect and just wanted to use this as an excuse to cause him trouble.
After all, his talisman inscription had not been sold yet, so even if it were fake, it didn't technically violate the rules of the Wanxing Commerce Association.
"I'll bet with you that if your talisman inscription truly has a one-fold amplifying effect, this old man is willing to offer three hundred Body Tempering Pills to apologize. If your talisman inscription doesn't have this effect, then..."
Jiang Chengtian looked at Lin Chen with a smirk, convinced that Lin Chen wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of three hundred Body Tempering Pills.
"Alright, if my talisman inscription doesn't have the one-fold amplifying effect, I will leave everything to Elder Jiang's discretion. Please, Elder Duan, be our witness."
Lin Chen agreed readily.
So this old fox had such a scheme in mind, but unfortunately, Lin Chen was going to disappoint him.
The crowd of onlookers who were there to watch the excitement had grown even larger.
Jiang Chengtian's face showed a cold smile, thinking Lin Chen was indeed just a young man who couldn't resist the temptation of those three hundred Body Tempering Pills and had therefore taken the bet.
Even the Pavilion Master of the Spiritual Talisman Pavilion couldn't create a Strength Talisman with a one-fold amplifying effect. Could Lin Chen really do it?
In his eyes, Lin Chen was already within his grasp, a dead man walking.
"Boy, you brought this upon yourself. Just wait and see how I'll destroy you."
Li Huan sneered inwardly. Once Lin Chen won the bet, in his mind, Lin Chen was as good as dead.
They could deal with him as they pleased, and with this bet in place, even if he killed Lin Chen in the street, the Wanxing Commerce Association wouldn't say a thing.
The crowd listening to the details of the bet was also greatly moved.
After all, those were three hundred Body Tempering Pills—a considerable fortune for them.
But the crowd was also aware that Lin Chen would likely not be able to claim the three hundred Body Tempering Pills.
A Strength Talisman with a one-fold amplifying effect, was it possible?
While everyone queued up to watch the spectacle, Lin Chen, with his talisman inscription in hand and accompanied by Duan Xingzheng and others, made his way to the Wanxing Commerce Association's artifact quality testing area.
The testing area was an array, where one simply needed to place the item on the testing scale, and the jade token in front of it would display the test results.
Under everyone's gaze, Lin Chen calmly placed a talisman inscription onto the testing scale.
The test results appeared on the jade token in front.
"Testing item: Strength Talisman"
"Test result: First-Grade High-Level Talisman Inscription, amplifies strength by one fold."
The words displayed on the jade token were large and clear for everyone to see.
At this moment, everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. They had come to see the commotion, eager to witness what kind of fate would befall Lin Chen.
No one believed Lin Chen's talisman inscription truly had a one-fold amplifying effect, yet the result now displayed shocked everyone present.
"This... this is impossible! The testing device must be broken; there is no way his Strength Talisman could have a one-fold amplifying effect."