Chapter 476: Spiritual Transformation's Screech, Approval of Calligraphy and Painting

"Spiritual Resonance?"

Elder Chen and Elder Lu exchanged glances, both freezing. "This... how is this possible?"

"The sound of a bell is heavy and muffled, with a gloomy undertone, but this sound was sharp and piercing, resonating deep within the heart. Only the legendary spiritual resonance can make someone feel joy from the depths of their soul," said Pavilion Master Sai.

"This..."

The two swayed. The sound had indeed echoed in their hearts, giving them a stirring feeling. Upon closer reflection, it was truly unlike a bell's chime. Could it really be... spiritual resonance? How could this be possible?

Elder Chen's face twitched uncontrollably, his lips turning white. He had just self-righteously declared that Zhang Xuan couldn't even recognize a treasure, yet not only did Zhang Xuan recognize it, he even caused a spiritual resonance... Could he be so incredibly powerful?

"The artifact recognized him, a spiritual resonance! Is this... a powerful spirit weapon, autonomously emitting an excited hum?"

"This, this..."

Hearing Pavilion Master Sai's words, everyone who had previously sympathized with Sun Qiang was now dumbfounded, their mouths agape, unable to close them. They had just thought this guy would surely lose everything, but then came this huge reversal...

Fortunately, they hadn't foolishly bet against him just now, or they would be the ones without underwear! Cold sweat trickled down their backs as they looked at Elder Chen, whose face was ashen, dark lines on his brow, looking as if he might faint at any moment. Three thousand spirit stones—even as a four-star appraiser, he was probably questioning his entire existence after such a loss.

"What's 'spiritual resonance'?"

Seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, Sun Qiang, oblivious and carefree, looked over with a blank look.

Elder Chen could no longer hold it in and spat out a mouthful of blood. Spiritual resonance of an artifact—any appraiser, even an apprentice, would know about it perfectly. This guy knew nothing... He had lost to a five-star appraiser or a super expert, that would be acceptable, but he actually lost to a subordinate who was worse than an apprentice... Why had he been so foolish as to agree to that bet just now?

Seeing the bewildered expression on the plump man's face, who even seemed about to ask the frantic Elder Chen, Liu Chang couldn't stand it anymore and hurried over. "Artifacts are divided into five grades: Divine, Sacred, Spirit, Ghost, and Mortal. You know this, right?"

"Yes," Sun Qiang nodded. This grading system wasn't a secret even in Tianxuan Kingdom; everyone knew it. Although he was a merchant, he was also a cultivator, so it wasn't surprising he knew.

"When a weapon reaches the Spirit grade, it gains spirituality. Similar to the 'spirit manifestation' in calligraphy and paintings, while it cannot possess intelligence like a human, it will recognize and approve of a cultivator. This is somewhat similar to a ferocious beast accepting a master," Liu Chang continued. "A weapon that recognizes a cultivator will emit this resonating sound, which is called spiritual resonance. Once it occurs, the cultivator can directly bind with it by dripping blood, refining it to make it their own..."

"Refining?" Sun Qiang's eyes widened.

"Yes... The weapons and treasures on the Winding Stream have remained unappraised by countless appraisers for thousands of years. To achieve spiritual resonance so quickly after entering... could it be that he not only recognized it but also accurately stated its pros and cons?" Liu Chang's face was full of disbelief.

"Pros and cons?"

"Weapons and treasures are forged with the aim of perfection, but due to limitations in materials and the skill of the artifact smith... even the most powerful treasures will have various flaws. By remedying these flaws, their grade can be advanced."

"The spirituality of a weapon knows its own problems, but unfortunately, it cannot communicate with humans, so it cannot be repaired. Some powerful experts can easily discern these problems. Once identified, they can easily gain the artifact's spiritual recognition. However, this is a skill possessed only by high-level artifact smiths. How... did it come to be applied to an appraiser?" After explaining a few sentences, Liu Chang's face was filled with confusion. Appraisers only need to identify an artifact, know what it is, and its origin. They cannot discern its pros and cons. Only powerful artifact smiths, who have an extremely deep understanding of weapons and treasures, can do so. Could it be... this guy isn't an appraiser, but a very powerful artifact smith? Is that why he could correctly identify the artifact and analyze its pros and cons?

"If he's an artifact smith, and the first item happened to be a weapon, it's normal for him to recognize it. However, an appraiser is proficient not only in appraising weapons but also calligraphy, paintings, antiques, natural treasures, and even cultivation techniques and martial arts... The ten treasures of the Winding Stream cover many professions. If he's just an artifact smith, he'd probably only recognize one..." Elder Lu also reacted, looking at his old friend beside him.

It was not surprising for an artifact smith, who was intimately familiar with weapons, to quickly recognize one, find its pros and cons, and gain its recognition. However, the Winding Stream test evaluated appraisers, not artifact smiths. The ten treasures included not just weapons but other items. Even if an artifact smith was familiar with many weapons, recognizing one would probably be their limit, and they would surely fail the rest.

Elder Lu intended to comfort his old friend, but before he finished speaking, he heard the plump man beside him muttering to himself, "Oh, by the way, did Pavilion Master Sai just say that recognizing even one artifact counts as passing?"

Elder Chen, who had just relaxed slightly, turned green again, his heart bleeding. In all these years, no one had ever successfully completed the Winding Stream test. Therefore, recognizing just one of the ten items counted as passing... This meant that regardless of whether Zhang Xuan recognized the subsequent items, his three thousand spirit stones were... definitely lost!

Outside, everyone was astonished, but Zhang Xuan looked at the strange hammer in front of him, speechless for a moment. "What's all that senseless shouting? You startled me!"

He had just finished writing a section about the hammer's description from the library when the thing suddenly roared, scaring him so much he almost dropped his brush. What was that all about? A broken hammer, not a bell or a gong, what was it roaring for? Didn't it have any manners? Scaring people like that could give them a heart attack.

"Forget it, writing down the name should be enough. I don't need to write the rest..." His thoughts interrupted, he stopped. The descriptions of the bronze hammer's flaws in the library had seventy-two points. Copying them all would be exhausting. Since he had already identified its name, origin, and two or three flaws, that should be enough to pass!

Putting down his brush, Zhang Xuan no longer looked at the bronze hammer on the leaf. He was just waiting for the next artifact to arrive when the heavy iron lump suddenly flew out of the water, landing in front of him with a *whoosh!*

"What's going on here?" Zhang Xuan blinked. You're a big hammer, why aren't you staying on the leaf? Why jump in front of me? I'm not a female hammer!

"Never mind..." After wondering for a long time without figuring out what was happening, he saw the leaf had already floated away, and the second artifact slowly drifted toward him. Zhang Xuan shook his head, no longer paying attention to the hammer.

The second leaf held a scroll, floating on the water, emitting a faint glow. The surrounding spiritual energy was involuntarily drawn to the painting, and numerous birds flew around as if alive.

"At least a Fifth-Realm painting!" As a three-star calligrapher and painter, he had some understanding of such works. Though far away, he could already tell this piece was extraordinary, definitely no less than Fifth-Realm. His Eye of Discernment activated. Unfortunately, just like with the bronze hammer, he couldn't make sense of it, meaning the painting's preciousness exceeded the scope he could easily discern.

Soon, the leaf reached him, and he clearly saw the details on it. The painting was clear, but there was no signature or title, making it impossible to identify the artist. The birds in the painting also looked very unfamiliar; none of the beast training records he had studied matched them. This meant the painting not only had no title but also depicted birds whose species couldn't be determined. No wonder so many appraisers couldn't identify it.

"Flaws!"

As his hand touched the painting, Zhang Xuan once again began writing furiously.

"Teacher, after the artifact's spiritual resonance, it will likely automatically accept a master. It's possible that our Appraisal Pavilion won't just have to pay 5,000 spirit stones, but this artifact will also be..." Having thought of something, Liu Chang didn't bother explaining to Sun Qiang and went to Pavilion Master Sai.

A spirited treasure could freely choose its master. This meant Zhang Xuan not only passed the Winding Stream test and earned 5,000 spirit stones, winning his bet against Elder Chen, but he might even walk away with... this weapon. What kind of situation was this? When others paid 100 spirit stones to enter, they usually lost money, but this guy was earning money and even getting a bonus artifact! The Appraisal Pavilion was suffering a huge loss this time.

"An artifact with a spirit can freely choose its master. Although this item has been in our Appraisal Pavilion for so many years and has never been recognized by anyone, now that someone has identified its origin, it's naturally incredibly excited and wants to recognize a master. There's nothing we can do to stop it; we can only let nature take its course!" Pavilion Master Sai had also thought of this point and couldn't help but shake his head. Every artifact in the Appraisal Pavilion was incredibly precious, and he didn't want it to leave. But since the other party had gained its spiritual recognition, there was no way to deny it.

"Then... what if the next artifacts also exhibit this behavior?" Seeing that his teacher was helpless, Liu Chang looked over with a hint of worry.

"Heh heh, don't worry. The first item was a weapon. An appraiser or someone with a natural affinity for weapons can easily gain recognition, but the subsequent ones are different. The following artifacts are varied: antiques, paintings, various natural treasures... these cannot be identified by anyone other than extremely skilled appraisers. Furthermore, even if one can identify them, gaining their spiritual recognition is incredibly difficult, almost impossible!" Pavilion Master Sai smiled faintly. "There's no need to worry needlessly or trouble yourself."

"That... is true!" Liu Chang paused, then realized, nodding. Just as he was about to say something more, the spiritual energy in front of them suddenly fluctuated violently, converging directly towards the door. Then, everyone's vision blurred, and they saw the spiritual energy gather into countless unknown birds, flying and crying out in unison.

"Spirit manifestation and cries, painting recognition? Is this a supreme painting recognizing its master?" Pavilion Master Sai's eyes went dark.