Over twenty - thousand unread messages were lying in Kai's voice mailbox.
Not only that, but this number was rising crazily, showing no sign of stopping!
Kai had to put the Lone Wolf Medal aside for the moment, turn on the computer, and log into the Wolf's Nest Forum.
As soon as he entered the forum, Kai saw a title in red, bold, and with a flaming effect.
[Charge for equipment appraisal, including hidden entries, price negotiable....]
"Strange. Didn't I post this in the morning?"
Kai remembered clearly that at that time, he wanted to exchange money by appraising equipment to lift the blood - line restriction of the Forbidden Magic Tome.
After posting the thread, the response was mediocre. Only Li Xiaoping came to him.
"Let's see what's going on."
Kai dragged the mouse and quickly browsed through the thread.
In the first half, most people thought it was a bait - and - switch thread. Only a user named [Bigbigbigbig] left a message, expressing the desire to have their equipment appraised.
Originally, that was the end of it, and Kai's thread gradually sank.
In the afternoon, the user named [Bigbigbigbig] posted again, saying that they had already had their equipment appraised and thanked the poster, even giving a five - star - like rave review.
This immediately sparked a new round of heat!
Some were swayed, while others suspected that [Bigbigbigbig] was a shill, and the two were acting in a double - act to deceive people.
[Bigbigbigbig]: "We made the deal in the trading secret realm. Here is a copy of the trading contract!"
When the trading contract was presented, most people fell silent.
This thing couldn't be faked!
Even so, they still doubted the appraisal ability of a "first - rank warrior".
Until another user, [Seize the Day], posted.
[Seize the Day]: "The poster's appraisal ability is at least master - level. I've tested it myself!"
This short sentence instantly ignited the entire Wolf's Nest Forum, sparking countless discussions.
"Am I seeing this right? [Seize the Day] posted!"
"He's a forging master! Although the things he forges have a time limit, he's a genuine forging master!"
"Whoa—The poster is actually a master - level appraiser! This isn't fishing; it's like blowing up a fishpond!"
"The poster is a good person. May you live a long and peaceful life. Please appraise an item of equipment for me, Lao Wang!"
"Get out of the way, you. I was here first. Poster, I have a War King - level weapon..."
"..."
From then on, it was out of control.
After watching the whole farce, Kai felt a bit helpless.
You can't make a flower bloom no matter how hard you try, but a willow planted without effort grows into a shade.
He posted this thread to solve his money - shortage problem.
Now, Kai had a list of people to report, each of them like a walking one - hundred - thousand gold coins, soon to be in Kai's pocket.
For now, he wasn't short of money.
"However, charging for appraisals is also a way to get a steady stream of income," Kai thought to himself. "Reporting people is, after all, a one - time thing. You can't report the same person twice."
As Kai's strength increased, his consumption of various resources would also grow!
If converted into gold coins, it would be an astronomical figure.
A horse doesn't get fat without extra forage at night, and a person doesn't get fat without having midnight snacks.
Having a side - job with a stable income was a sure - win deal for Kai.
After thinking it through, Kai dialed the Wolf's Nest hotline again.
"Hello, how can I help you?"
"I want to cancel the commission I posted this morning, or rather... change it."
"Okay, what would you like to change it to?"
"I can appraise equipment for others, and the compensation I require is as follows: A War King - level powerhouse imprints a forbidden spell on a special item; crafts a melee weapon with a potential upper limit of War King - level; repairs the durability of a special item.
You can choose one of these three."
Kai stated his requirements. These things couldn't be valued with gold coins, so it was better to barter on the forum.
"And please add that I can appraise 5 pieces of equipment/items per day, and I still have 2 chances left today."
"Okay, we're registering this for you. Please wait a moment..."
Kai had already drafted this statement in his mind.
He knew very well that if he could appraise equipment an unlimited number of times, it would surely attract higher - level attention and bring unnecessary trouble.
So, Kai came up with a way to disguise himself!
[Eyes that analyze the essence] had always looked down on [Sharp Eye], an S - class talent!
Originally, [Sharp Eye] could only be used three times a day.
But when Kai checked the relevant notes, he noticed that [Sharp Eye] could be trained and strengthened, and after strengthening, it could be used up to nine times!
Kai claimed that he could appraise five pieces of equipment a day, which was within the normal range.
In the eyes of these lone wolves, there was a 99.99% chance that Kai had the S - class talent [Sharp Eye].
[How could a top - notch SSS - class talent need to disguise as an S - class? The world is going downhill, and people's hearts are not what they used to be!]
Apparently, [Eyes that analyze the essence] was quite dissatisfied with Kai's approach and protested.
The protest was invalid.
"We've finished modifying it for you. If there are any relevant messages, they will be forwarded to your voice mailbox."
"Thank you."
After hanging up the phone, Kai cleared all the more than twenty - thousand messages.
The new thresholds he added were enough to filter out most people.
The three requirements were getting more and more stringent, and the simplest one required a War King - level powerhouse to take action!
Even so, Kai soon received nearly 10 messages. He browsed through them one by one.
"I can invite a War King - level priest to imprint a priest's forbidden spell!"
"I can repair an item and increase its durability by 10 - 30 points. I hope to exchange for 2 equipment appraisals."
"Craft a melee equipment with War King - level potential. I'll bring my own materials. The price is negotiable."
".... "
Kai sorted through them, ranking them according to his current urgency.
"Equipment crafting can be put at the end for now. I only have one main material at hand, and I don't have any ideas about what equipment to craft yet."
"Durability... The Forbidden Spell Scroll still has 55 durability and can be used 11 times. I can wait on this too."
What Kai needed most at the moment was to imprint a forbidden spell!
From the messages, Kai selected two people and sent them an invitation to meet.
One of them responded quickly,
"No problem. I'll be waiting for you in the trading secret realm!"
Kai didn't think much and directly activated the Tower of Eternity mark and entered the trading secret realm.
Asher Parker was waiting at the agreed - upon location.
The moment Kai saw him, a note appeared above Asher Parker's head:
[Asher Parker, Stella Parker's grandfather, a War King - level powerhouse, Burning Sky Berserker.....]
"Ah, this."
Kai didn't expect to meet Stella Parker's grandfather here!
"Whatever. Anyway, he doesn't know my true identity. I'll just get him to imprint a warrior - type forbidden spell."
"I'll just avoid dealing with this old man in the future."
Kai forced himself to step forward.
This was his first time dealing directly with a War King - level powerhouse.
Legendary War Kings had the power to change the world. The outstanding ones could even break through some lower - level planes!
Seeing Kai approaching, War King Asher Parker also guessed his identity and said respectfully,
"Hello, Master!"
Whoa—
Kai smiled knowingly.
Young man, I like you!
Keep talking like this!
"Hello, Master!"
A War King, perhaps even a peak War King, had to respectfully address Kai as "Master"!
Kai wasn't a vain person. He had a faint smile on his face and nodded in response.
"Greetings, Senior War King."
This "senior" hit the right spot for Asher Parker. Looking at this mass of thunder elements in front of him, he liked what he saw more and more.
"Not bad. This young man is really good!"
Since the other party was registered as a first - rank warrior, his strength probably wasn't too strong, and he wasn't very old either.
War King Asher Parker knew very well that the other party's potential and value were far beyond those of an ordinary War King. That's why he was willing to call him "Master"!
When dealing with peers, they should treat each other with equal respect.
War King Asher Parker conjured two flaming palms and clasped them in a salute, saying,
"I'm Asher Parker. Greetings, Master."
"I've long heard of Asher Parker. Meeting you today, it seems that Senior is on the verge of a breakthrough. Congratulations," Kai said casually.
This simple sentence made Asher Parker's body tremble. He immediately looked at Kai with new eyes!
"This guy can even tell the depth of my realm through the trading secret realm. Even if he's not a War King - level powerhouse, he's probably not far off!"
While shocked, Asher Parker also had some doubts in his heart,
"Such an extraordinary person shouldn't be unknown... That's right. With the appearance of the Asura and the changes brought about by the seeds of the Supreme Being, many big shots hidden in the shadows have come to the forefront!"
The person in front of him was probably in a similar situation.
Asher Parker couldn't help but think more highly of this mysterious powerhouse.
He laughed heartily and said,
"Let's not go through these formalities. What should I call you?"
"I'm ranked fourth. If you don't mind, you can call me Fourth Brother."
Asher Parker was no ordinary person. To become a War King, one couldn't rely solely on brute force. He immediately said,
"Fourth Brother, this matter of mine is a bit tricky. I hope you can take a confidentiality oath."
"No problem."
Kai agreed, but he was a bit curious. What could be so secretive?
Witnessed by the Secret Realm Spirit, Kai swore an oath of confidentiality, promising not to disclose Asher Parker's secret.
"Fourth brother, here's what happened..."
Asher Parker briefly introduced what had happened to his granddaughter.
However, he omitted the existence of [Kai Blake], only saying that his granddaughter had accidentally had a second - stage talent awakening and now had an S - grade talent.
As if hearing this for the first time, Kai casually exclaimed,
"She's really lucky."
With a bit of showing - off and pride, Asher Parker pretended to be modest and said, "Well, she also had some help from a noble person."
Come on, of course I know she had help from a noble person.
Kai couldn't help but roll his eyes in his heart, because that noble person was himself!
"So, Senior Asher Parker, is the matter you came to me about related to your granddaughter?"
When communicating with Asher Parker, Kai had to act like a reclusive expert.
He addressed Asher Parker as "senior", while Asher Parker called him "fourth brother". The senior - junior relationship was quite messed up.
Each followed their own way of addressing.
"That's right, fourth brother. My granddaughter can summon otherworldly creatures to assist in battles by sacrificing special items. I wonder if you could help appraise this ability?"
Asher Parker said sincerely.
He didn't lack items like equipment, weapons, or props. He had already prepared everything for Stella Parker.
Moreover, for low - level equipment, there was no need to invite Fourth Brother, this appraising master!
Kai said modestly, "I can give it a try. But I can't guarantee success for now."
[You're too modest, bro. It's definitely 100% going to work]
"Good, good, good!"
Asher Parker said three "good"s in a row, and the corners of his mouth almost reached his ears.
"My granddaughter will reach level 10 tonight and be able to participate in the class transfer.
After the class transfer, I'll bring her to the Trading Secret Realm to trouble you, fourth brother."
"And as for the reward, it will definitely satisfy you, fourth brother!"
After discussing Stella Parker's matter, Asher Parker took out a War King - level weapon and asked Kai to help identify the advancement conditions.
"Advancement conditions: Burn the finger bone of the Sixth Demon God into ashes, smear it on the handle of the knife, apply it once every 12 hours, and after six times, it can be advanced."
After the appraisal, Kai couldn't help but complain in his heart,
"Such harsh advancement conditions, who could have thought?"
Why did Kai get an overwhelming response and a stir in the Wolf's Nest Forum after posting?
Everyone had more or less some advanced equipment, but they couldn't identify the advancement conditions.
And appraising masters were even rarer than master blacksmiths!
Not all master blacksmiths were also masters in appraising!
[Seize the day and live it to the fullest] Even he himself, a master blacksmith, had to entrust Kai for appraisal. From this, it was not difficult to see the rarity and nobility of appraising masters!
Putting away the weapon, Asher Parker felt refreshed. Good things had been happening one after another recently.
"Fourth brother, let's talk about the reward."
He was always straightforward and generous.
"I saw on the forum that you want to imprint forbidden spells. How many times do you need?"
"Twice."
"Leave this to me!"
Asher Parker introduced, "Even for a War King, using a forbidden spell comes at a high cost. Otherwise, why is it called a forbidden spell?"
After using a forbidden spell, a War King's own combat power will also be affected. Some weaker War Kings may even enter a period of weakness.
Of course, as long as enough resources are invested, with various therapeutic potions and scrolls, they can recover quickly!
Therefore, imprinting a forbidden spell is actually a money - consuming task!
Asher Parker said bluntly, "I don't need to participate in the front - line battles recently, nor do I need to explore the Tower of Eternity. It's just right for me to imprint the spells!"
Since he was so generous, Kai wasn't polite either.
"Then I'll have to trouble Senior Asher Parker to help me imprint the two forbidden spells, [Burning the All Seas] and [Eternal Flame]."
"Good taste!"
Asher Parker couldn't help but exclaim. These two forbidden spells were his signature skills with outstanding effects.
Although they were not the most powerful forbidden spells in Asher Parker's possession, they were the most convenient to use!
[Burning the All Seas] was a large - scale AOE (Area of Effect) spell. It could cause massive fire damage to the surroundings, burning everything. It had a special damage bonus against aquatic creatures.
Beings below the War King level had no chance of survival!
Even a War King, if caught off - guard and taking a hit from [Burning the All Seas] head - on, would surely suffer a setback!
[Eternal Flame] was a life - saving skill. After using it, up to eighteen heart - lamps would light up all over the caster's body. As long as the lamps remained lit, the caster would not die!
Of course, after taking massive damage, death was still inevitable.
In the face of absolute power, everything was in vain.
However, as a life - saving forbidden spell, [Eternal Flame] had an outstanding effect.
Taking the Forbidden Spell Scroll, Asher Parker immediately started imprinting the forbidden spells.
[Burning the All Seas] was successfully imprinted after two attempts, and [Eternal Flame] was imprinted four times!
Asher Parker returned the Forbidden Spell Scroll to Kai, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and introduced,
"[Burning the All Seas] should be able to cause tens of billions of levels of fire - type magic damage, which is equivalent to a casual strike of a War King."
"[Eternal Flame] was imprinted successfully on the first try, but I wasn't satisfied with the effect, so I re - imprinted it three times. It should be able to light up sixteen heart - lamps. Unless a War King makes a move, there won't be a risk of death!"
"Thank you, Senior Asher Parker."
Kai noticed and remembered Asher Parker's gesture of goodwill.
Asher Parker did this not only to pay Kai for the appraisal but also, more importantly, to pave the way for his granddaughter!
"Senior, I have other things to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."
"Take your time, fourth brother."
Asher Parker watched Kai leave and nodded slightly.
"This fourth brother is most likely cultivating a junior, a successor!"
"For fourth brother's true strength, these two forbidden spells are rather useless. But they are most suitable for protecting a junior!"
Asher Parker had a sharp eye and immediately judged that a War King definitely didn't need such things!
As for who the junior cultivated by fourth brother was, Asher Parker was rather curious.
"Anyway, it's unlikely to be stronger than my granddaughter Stella!"
"Second - stage awakening, S - grade talent. Hahaha, my old comrades will probably be green with envy!"
...
After leaving the Trading Secret Realm, Kai returned to Blue Star.
Through the Lone Wolf Medal, Kai politely declined the appraisal requests from others.
At the moment, he neither lacked money nor forbidden spells, and he had almost used up his five appraisal opportunities for today.
Asher Parker spent a lot of time imprinting the forbidden spells, and it was nearly 12 o'clock at this time.
Kai also needed to prepare for the upcoming journey to the Tower of Eternity.
Tick - tock, tick - tock -
The second hand, hour hand, and minute hand met again after traveling across great distances.
12:00!
Kai activated the Tower of Eternity mark.
"Welcome to the Eternal Core City!"