Chapter 201 Appraisal

This is a 2-in-1 Chapter. So, it may be a little longer. Also, Thank you everyone for supporting me and Wish you all a Very Happy Deepawali.

---------

"Appraiser Mo practices the Clarity Mantra. The Clear eyes trained using this technique can see through all types of falsehoods. So, don't try to fool her eyes."

Lian Hua whispered a warning to Ikasa as they stopped before the closed door of the Appraisal chamber.

Her bias against Ikasa was evident in her voice.

Why would she not be?

Even though she knew that her side was in the wrong, it was also true that she had lost everything because of Ikasa.

She could place the blame on the mysterious Adventurer but she had not found any clues about him despite mobilizing all of her connections in Sal City. It was as if he never existed in the first place!

Thus, she could only place the blame on Ikasa's head.

Even so, Lian Hua never thought of revenge against Ikasa. She had accepted the responsibility for the events that happened.

After returning to this branch of the Fortune Lotus Pavilion, she had started over again from the bottom as an atonement for her sins.

Now that she met Ikasa here, she did not want her efforts to be wasted just because he made a fool out of another Appraiser.

In fact, she didn't even want to be associated with him. She had only accepted his request so she could form a connection with Sang Yi.

Ikasa only smiled helplessly at her warning. His actions in Sal City were in order to expose a fraudster. Unless this Appraiser Mo is of the same creed as that Appraiser Jin Ping, he had no reason to antagonize him.

Lian Hua did not fall for his docile smile but she had no other choice. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Soon, a young voice answered, "Enter."

Lian Hua placed her lotus badge on the circle and the door clicked open. She led Ikasa and Sang Yi into a spacious and airy room.

Ikasa's eyes immediately met the clear and transparent eyes of the  woman who seemed to be in her thirties. She had completely white eyes, and her pupils seemed absent.

Yet, Ikasa's intuition said that the woman could clearly see them. Ikasa placed the Yi Jian sword before Appraiser Mo and stepped back lightly.

"This seems to be the beginning of something great."

Without even touching the scabbard, Appraiser Mo commented. In a way, she was not wrong but Ikasa neither denied nor replied to her comment.

He simply stood before her, his hands folded behind his back as he awaited her evaluation of the Sword.

The Appraiser did not care about the lack of response. She removed the scabbard and placed the sword on the table.

"The Tanner was inexperienced yet he did a good job considering his lack of proficiency. This leather of the Red-Skin Deer is durable and can last for a long time even with rough handling."

She traced her finger on the Purple stripes on the leather and let out a disappointed sigh.

"The craftsmanship of the scabbard is crude. The person who made it has mastered the technique but the technique he mastered is itself flawed. Is the maker from a Tier-3 City?"

Appraiser Mo asked, expecting an answer. When their eyes met, Ikasa simply replied with a 'Yes'. The lady was not disappointed with the curt answer. She put the scabbard aside and picked up the Sword.

She first tried to balance the sword tip on the tip of her finder. A bright red blood drop emerged from the skin cut by the Sword.

Appraiser Mo simply sucked her index finger and placed the pommel of the sword on her palm. Then she speedily oscillated her palm front and back.

The Sword danced on her palm but it never fell. Instead the hearts of the three observers jumped to their throats. In case the sharp sword fell, it would directly land on the lady's head, edge first.

They only heaved a sigh of relief when she lightly tossed the sword and caught it skillfully in her right hand.

"The balance of the sword is the best I have ever seen. The forger must be incredibly talented to make such a sword."

Ikasa felt like her eyes were focused on him as she said this; as if she meant to compliment the maker of the Sword and for some weird reason, she felt that he was the one who created it.

'I must be overthinking.'

Ikasa convinced himself as the expression on his face did not change. He quietly watched the Appraiser pour energy into the Sword.

'She was a Path Finder? Or is she perhaps a Chakra Sage?!'

For the first time, Ikasa showed a visible shock on his face. The bluish white energy entered the Sword, shrouding the tip and edges with a glaring light.

After a few breaths, she stopped. She placed the Sword on the table and watched the light surrounding the sword start to fade away.

"There is only one Energy Vein and that too is uneven. It is narrow in some parts while broad at others. The maker can use a lot of practice with the hammer."

She once again looked pointedly at Ikasa as if reprimanding him personally.

Then she turned to Lian Hua and said, "Record this weapon as a One Veined Spiritual Weapon."

The plump lips of the mature woman opened slightly at the Appraiser Mo's evaluation. She could not believe her eyes that Ikasa had brought a Spiritual Weapon to consign for an Auction!

Just as she was wondering about the origins of the weapon, she heard the Appraiser ask Ikasa about the same.

"This should also be the first weapon of a future Master Blacksmith, correct?"

The Appraiser directly questioned Ikasa.

He had nothing to hide and nodded as the evaluation was finished.

"You are right, Appraiser Mo. This is indeed the First Spiritual Weapon my friend has made."

"This weapon was not made by you?"

Her nose and eyes scrunched together as she asked with confusion.

"This sword was created by Blacksmith Gu Dan."

Ikasa answered, puzzled as to why she reached such a conclusion.

Appraiser Mo narrowed her eyes. Her Clear Eyes could not see any signs of falsehood in his words. She grew even more confused.

She once again placed a hand on the Sword and looked at Ikasa. To her eyes, the energies of the two seemed very similar, as if they were extensions of each other.

'How? Why then…?'

Questions surged in her mind and she had no answers to these questions. Since she could not reach a conclusion, her face relaxed.

'You are an appraiser not an investigator.'

She consoled herself as she let go of her curiosity.

She resumed her role as an Appraiser and started to dictate the pros and cons of the sword to Lian Hua who quickly noted them down.

".... The base price of this sword should be 1000 gold. Would you like to sell it to us for this price or consign it with us?"

After presenting the options, the two women looked at Ikasa, waiting for his decision.

"Shouldn't the base price of a Single Veined Weapon be 1200 gold?"

Sang Yi interrupted, having seen his fair share of Auctions. He could not let Ikasa get a shorter end of the stick for no good reason.

"The Energy Vein of those weapons is smooth and even."

Appraiser Mo answered succinctly and looked at Ikasa for his decision. Ikasa had already decided on the course of action long ago.

Though the base price they offered was better than his estimations, Ikasa was here to consign the sword, not sell it to the Fortune Lotus Pavilion.

"I will entrust your Pavilion to auction this Sword for me."

Appraiser Mo sighed upon hearing his words and took out a contract from her ring.

"The consignment fees are 5% and appraisal fees are 1% of the winning bid. If you agree, add your thumb here."

Ikasa received the contract and quickly read through it. Compared to the complicated legalese on Earth, the terms and conditions were fairly straightforward and easy to understand.

Still, he did not hurry to complete it. He took out two books with glossy covers and placed them before Appraiser Mo.

"The Yijian Sword is not the only thing I want to consign for this auction."Ikasa said. Gesturing to the two books on the table, he invited the lady to take a look.

Appraiser Mo was intrigued when she laid her eyes on the books. She had never seen anything like these glossy covered objects in her entire career.

However, Lian Hua identified them immediately.

"You want to auction the High Grade technique that commoners in Sal City have learned?"

She hissed with displeasure at Ikasa.

If this fact was exposed, the reputation of the Fortune Lotus Pavilion would definitely fall. As the attendant to Ikasa, she would have to bear the blame.

Ikasa smiled and shook his head.

"The Dumb Belle's Guide to Strength is no longer in circulation."

He explained, assuaging Lian Hua and Sang Yi's worries. Pointing to the manual in Appraiser Mo's hands, Ikasa said, "Also that book is not a Path Forging method but a Sense Realm Cultivation manual called…"

"Think quick, Act quicker."

Appraiser Mo finished the sentence for him by reading the title of the book.

Ikasa had gathered many Sense Training manuals during these past few months but he did not consider selling them in his shop for two reasons-

Firstly, not many people could pay the price of 1000 gold to get these manuals.

Secondly, his GHBG may have 12 Sense Trainers, but none of them had the power to utterly suppress other hostile Sense Trainers.

So, until GHBG had a few Path Finders at the helm, Ikasa had no plans to distribute the Sense Realm Manuals to the public and create problems for his own business.

However, he had no such fears when auctioning the manual in Elm City.

Unlike Tier-3 Cities, a single Sense Trainer was nowhere near enough to change the power equations here.

Not only would he get a good price for his manual, it would also not attract any troubles for him.

Also, he could introduce the ignorant merchants and other powers to his Single Use Manuals through this Auction, paving the way for the success of his Manual Shop.

Before that, he had to convince the Appraiser that his manuals were worth putting in the Auction.

Ikasa watched the lady with white eyes skim through his manual. She did not activate the Spiritual Imprint because she was a Chakra Sensing Realm Expert.

She could no longer train her Spiritual Sense even if she wanted to and thus did not fit the criteria for triggering the Spiritual Imprint.

Soon, the Appraiser Mo finished reading through the description of the Sense Training Method and closed the book.

"What a great technique! If I had it when I was a Sense Trainer, training my Spiritual Sense would have been much easier."

Lian Hua became alarmed upon hearing these words. She had a bad premonition as she had heard those words from another Appraiser before.

Remembering his fate, Lian Hua gulped. She looked at the gentle smile on Ikasa's face and thought,

'Appraiser Mo should not have offended this guy, right?'