Chapter 3: The Appraiser
Qi Tian spent three streets walking through the market district, quietly familiarizing himself with the prices of the current era.
Gold coins were still used as ordinary currency.
But spirit stones were the true currency among cultivators.
One low-grade spirit stone could be exchanged for one thousand gold coins.
A cultivator's guest room equipped with a basic Spirit Gathering Formation cost one thousand gold coins per night.
Even the cheapest communication talisman cost two hundred gold coins each.
And Qi Tian...
Did not possess a single coin.
Standing in the middle of the marketplace, the most valuable thing he owned was the piece of beast hide wrapped around his body.
He was just wondering where he should obtain his first source of income when a commotion suddenly erupted ahead.
The crowd surged toward one direction like a tide, quickly forming a dense circle of people.
"Master Zhou is here!"
"The two-star appraiser invited from the Royal City!"
"A two-star appraiser! How many years has it been since Zhenyuan City saw someone of that level?"
"Quick, go take a look!"
Qi Tian stopped a young man who was squeezing through the crowd.
"Appraiser?" he asked. "What exactly does an appraiser do?"
The young man turned around.
Seeing a disheveled stranger wrapped in beast hide, he did not show any impatience. Instead, he answered enthusiastically:
"You don't even know what an appraiser is?"
"Whether an item is genuine or fake, where it came from, how valuable it is—all of that depends on the appraiser's judgment."
"This profession is extremely demanding. You need to understand materials, age, medicinal properties, refining techniques, and countless other fields. Only someone who masters all of them can become a ranked appraiser."
"The appraisers in our city are only one-star."
"But Master Zhou is a two-star appraiser. He came all the way from the Royal City. A rare guest indeed!"
After saying that, the young man immediately pushed into the crowd.
Qi Tian remained where he was.
He quietly repeated the words in his mind.
"Appraiser..."
This profession was new to him.
Ten thousand years ago, people who judged treasures had existed as well.
The shopkeepers of auction houses and treasure pavilions all needed sharp eyes.
But back then, such expertise had never become an independent profession.
There had been no star rankings.
Now, it seemed that treasure appraisal had developed into a complete system of its own.
With ranks.
With standards.
With a recognized status.
Qi Tian's thoughts shifted.
He needed gold coins.
He needed spirit stones.
And this profession was clearly both respected and profitable.
As for judging treasures...
He would not dare claim he was unmatched in every field.
But after spending so many years cultivating, his ability to recognize valuable objects was still something he trusted.
Perhaps this was an easy path to his first fortune.
His interest was piqued.
Following the flow of people, he squeezed forward.
The man surrounded by the crowd was not what Qi Tian had expected.
He had imagined some arrogant expert who carried himself with an air of superiority.
Instead, Master Zhou was a man in his forties.
His cultivation was only at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.
He wore a simple green robe.
His features were gentle, his eyes carrying a faint smile.
Even while surrounded by countless people calling out his name, he showed no trace of arrogance.
Rather, he looked like an ordinary man happily wandering through a market, casually searching for interesting items.
Earlier, he had appraised several treasures for the City Lord's Manor.
Now he walked through the marketplace with his hands behind his back, looking around leisurely, as though he were simply browsing for small curiosities.
Yet wherever he went, a crowd followed.
Everyone held their breath, hoping to catch even a glimpse of the famous two-star appraiser's skill.
"Master Zhou! Master Zhou!"
A stall owner finally gathered his courage and called out from the crowd.
"Please, take a look at this item for me. I will—"
Before he could finish, someone nearby sneered.
"You?"
"You think you can ask a two-star appraiser to examine your junk?"
"Know your place. Don't embarrass yourself."
The stall owner immediately flushed red.
But Zhou Shen only turned around and smiled.
"It is nothing."
"If it only requires a glance, there is no harm."
The stall owner's eyes immediately lit up.
"However..."
Zhou Shen's tone remained gentle, but there was a clear boundary in his words.
"The rules of the profession cannot be broken."
"Appraisal fees exist for a reason. If we stop charging, the entire profession loses its order. How would other appraisers make a living in the future?"
"Your item..."
He paused.
"According to the standard fee for a two-star appraiser..."
He named a price.
The joy on the stall owner's face instantly froze.
The appraisal fee of a two-star appraiser was nearly equal to half a year's income from his small stall.
He opened his mouth.
But in the end, he lowered his head awkwardly.
Zhou Shen saw his expression and did not force him.
He waved his hand with a smile.
"You look troubled."
"How about this? Just give something small as payment. The rule remains unbroken."
He casually pointed at an item on the stall.
"Take that as the appraisal fee."
"Would that be acceptable?"
Qi Tian followed his gaze.
It was a gray, ordinary-looking stone.
It sat at the corner of the stall, used only as a paperweight.
The stall owner usually did not even bother looking at it.
The moment he heard Zhou Shen wanted only that useless stone, he became overjoyed.
"Of course! Of course!"
"Master, please take it!"
But Qi Tian quietly made a sound of surprise inside his heart.
That was not an ordinary stone.
It was a piece of Shadow Jade Marrow.
Born within cold underground spiritual veins, it possessed the ability to suppress fire energy and calm the soul.
Ground into powder and added into pills, it was an extremely valuable auxiliary ingredient.
Its surface was dull and lifeless, making it easy to mistake for ordinary stone.
But with a single glance, Qi Tian could tell.
That small piece alone was worth more than half of the stall owner's entire inventory.
Zhou Shen had casually pointed at it...
And happened to choose the most valuable item on the stall.
Qi Tian raised an eyebrow.
Interesting.
This Master Zhou...
Was genuinely skilled.
Zhou Shen calmly placed the Shadow Jade Marrow into his sleeve.
Only then did he pick up the actual item the stall owner wanted him to appraise.
A bone fragment glowing with faint light.
"Demonic beast bone."
Zhou Shen turned it over several times, running his fingertip across the markings before bringing it close to examine its scent.
"A shoulder blade from a third-rank Wind Wolf. Around two hundred years old."
"Refined into a talisman bone, it can enhance the effectiveness of movement-type talismans."
"Its value... twenty low-grade spirit stones."
The stall owner froze.
Then his expression exploded with joy.
He had originally thought it was nothing more than an ordinary beast bone.
To receive even a few low-grade spirit stones would have been a blessing.
Qi Tian stood nearby and quietly nodded.
Accurate.
He had examined the bone fragment himself.
The estimate of two hundred years of accumulation...
Not a single detail was wrong.
This Zhou Shen's appraisal skills were indeed precise.
Qi Tian looked at this easygoing two-star appraiser with a little more respect.
Zhou Shen continued strolling forward at an unhurried pace.
After witnessing the first example, the stall owners became much bolder.
One after another, they stepped forward, hoping to have their items appraised.
Every time, Zhou Shen followed the same rule.
The professional standards could not be broken.
The appraisal fee had to be paid.
But instead of taking spirit stones, he would casually choose one item from the stall as payment.
Qi Tian followed among the crowd, watching with interest.
As he continued observing, he gradually noticed some patterns.
At the second stall, Zhou Shen appraised a withered spiritual herb.
"Three-Leaf Rejuvenation Grass," he said.
"The medicinal properties are still about seventy percent intact."
"Value: eight low-grade spirit stones."
This time, Qi Tian hesitated.
He was not completely certain.
The medicinal properties of spiritual herbs were not something that could always be determined through appearance alone.
One needed genuine knowledge of alchemy.
From what he could tell, Zhou Shen's estimate of "seventy percent" seemed slightly too generous.
Perhaps fifty percent would have been closer.
But Qi Tian did not understand the Dao of pill refinement well enough to make a final judgment.
Only then did he realize—
Appraising treasures was not something that could be mastered simply by having sharp eyes.
Spiritual herbs.
Medicinal materials.
Pills.
All of these required genuine knowledge and years of study.
The confidence he had initially carried—that he could easily become an appraiser—quietly diminished.
This profession was far more specialized than he had imagined.
But he also noticed something else.
Every item Zhou Shen accepted as an "appraisal fee"...
The Shadow Jade Marrow.
A damaged talisman nail that everyone treated as scrap.
A small handful of Star Sand that looked completely worthless.
Not a single one was truly useless.
He specifically chose things that appeared dull and ordinary, items the stall owners themselves did not recognize, yet secretly contained hidden value.
And when a stall had nothing worthwhile, even if the owner begged for an appraisal, Zhou Shen would simply glance over the items, politely refuse, and continue walking without slowing down.
Qi Tian's lips curved slightly.
So this was not merely wandering through a market.
This was treasure hunting disguised as "a small favor."
He could not help but laugh quietly.
Impressive.
The treasures Zhou Shen picked up...
Every stall owner was still thanking him sincerely, believing they had received a great favor from a two-star appraiser.
Everyone involved was satisfied.
A fair exchange.
No one lost.
Qi Tian's opinion of him rose once again.
At that moment—
A sudden commotion erupted outside the crowd.