“Got it,” Lauren said, smirking. “So… does that mean he’s my master too?”

  “Of course. If you ever make it to the upper realm, pay respects before his statue. You’ll be recognized as the heir to his life’s work.”

  Lauren nodded seriously. “If I ever get the chance, I’ll do it.”

  Lauren spent the next few days buried in talisman work.

  She drew another twenty third-grade Explosive Spirit Talismans, then collapsed onto her bed, fast asleep.

  The next day, she got up and did it again.

  Then the day after that.

  And the day after that.

  She kept at it for over a month straight, and by the end, her third-grade Explosive Spirit Talisman technique had reached its absolute peak.

  When she finally counted them, the total came to over a thousand.

  She’d drawn a hundred first-grade talismans to perfect the basics, then three hundred second-grade ones to reach mastery, and finally a thousand third-grade talismans to hit the pinnacle.

  Her instincts had been spot-on.

  Those five thousand sheets of talisman paper she’d bought? Barely enough.

  When she finally started attempting the fourth-grade versions, though, the difference was brutal.

  On the very first day, she barely managed to complete three before her spiritual energy felt completely drained.

  She crawled into bed, napped for a few hours, and forced herself back to the table. Five in a day—that was her absolute limit.

  “No way,” she groaned, clutching her head. “Creating a fourth-grade Explosive Spirit Talisman is too damn hard.”

  Edmund, who had been quietly lounging nearby, flicked his tail and snorted. “Hard? You call this hard? Do you have any idea how long most people take to advance from a first-grade talisman to a second-grade one? Or how many failures they rack up along the way?”

  Lauren grimaced. Of course she did. Her whole family were talisman painters. “Didn’t you tell me that a cultivator capable of Spirit Transformation must at least reach the ninth-grade talisman level to be considered a real master?”

  When she was this tired, she only wanted to hear praise, not a lecture.

  Edmund went on mercilessly. “Cornelius, the Peak Master of your Ashenreach, is one of the top Talisman Masters in this realm. He’s had Spirit Transformation skills since he was a child. A professional through and through.”

  Lauren nodded weakly. “That’s right.”

  “Then tell me,” Edmund said, his voice dripping with disdain, “he’s been drawing talismans for thousands of years—shouldn’t he have reached the ninth grade by now? How does a man like that dare call himself the number one Talisman Master?”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Lauren stared at him, speechless.

  “And you,” Edmund continued, “how long have you even been at this? You’re already making fourth-grade Explosive Spirit Talismans, and you still have the nerve to say it’s hard? If Cornelius heard that, he’d probably jump off a cliff out of shame.”

  Yeah, well, that was exactly why she was not telling him.

  After another night of rest, she dragged herself back to the table and started drawing again.

  Honestly, there was probably no one in the entire Thunder Sect working harder than she was.

  Then one day, as she was about to start another batch, a voice transmission talisman flickered beside her.

  “Hey, Lauren,” came Nash’s cheerful voice, “I did it! I finally formed my Core! You must still be in seclusion, right? Don’t worry, when you’re done, let’s celebrate together!”

  Lauren froze.

  Should she reply?

  When Nash last saw her, she hadn’t even reached the peak of Foundation Establishment. If he found out she’d already broken through to Core Formation ahead of him… it’d probably crush his confidence.

  After a moment’s hesitation, she sighed and tucked the talisman away. “Forget it. I’ll message him after a few more days.”

  And so she kept going—drawing talismans, sleeping, then drawing again.

  Her Core Formation cultivation gradually stabilized, and by the end of the month, she had produced one thousand fourth-grade Explosive Spirit Talismans.

  When she counted them all, she felt both pride and despair.

  According to her usual progress, she’d need at least three thousand fourth-grade talismans before she could even attempt a fifth-grade one.

  And these thousand alone had nearly killed her.

  Lately, even when she wasn’t drawing, her head was spinning and her vision kept blurring. Her body screamed for rest, but her mind wouldn’t stop calculating, creating, and refining.

  She simply couldn’t keep going like this.

  Edmund finally put his tail down and said seriously, “You need to stop for a while. If you keep pushing like this, you’ll fry your mind. Damage your spiritual sea, and you won’t just lose your talent—you might go insane.”

  Lauren froze.

  Go insane?

  That scared her more than she wanted to admit. She’d been treating this as nothing more than exhaustion, but if mental overuse could lead to madness…

  Yeah, no thanks.

  A thousand talismans were plenty. With that many Explosive Spirit Talismans, even someone at the Nascent Soul stage would get blasted into dust.

  After two full days of sleep, she finally picked up her voice transmission jade and messaged Nash.

  He replied instantly.

  > “Whoa, Lauren, you formed your Core too?”

  To him, it wasn’t strange. Back then, all of them had reached the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment and gone into seclusion to form their cores. Lauren had only been at the tenth level then—so naturally, she’d need more time.

  She was only three months behind Nash. In his eyes, that was already incredibly fast.

  Lauren hesitated, then lied smoothly.

  > “Yeah. Congratulations, Nash.”

  > “Haha, thanks! When are you coming down the mountain?”

  > “Today, I think.”

  > “Great, message me when you get here.”

  Lauren exhaled slowly. It was about time she went home anyway.

  Before leaving, she went to see her master and senior brothers to say her farewells.

  Drake, calm as ever, handed her a small, clear glass vial. Inside, a bolt of lightning coiled and crackled like a living thing.

  Lauren blinked. “Master, what’s this?”

  Drake said lightly, “A detonator. It contains a lightning strike I sealed personally. You might find it useful.”

  Detonator. The name sounded almost casual, but she didn’t doubt for a second that this thing’s power was terrifying.

  She’d read enough ancient texts to know what it meant when a cultivator “sealed lightning.” It wasn’t just a weapon—it was a fragment of their full strength.

  Her master’s “full strength” was probably more destructive than a small atomic bomb.

  Lauren’s hands trembled slightly as she carefully sealed the vial inside her storage bag.

  Then Drake handed her another small pouch. “These are some scraps I collected in my younger years. You might find them useful when traveling. Don’t turn your nose up at them.”

  “Master…” Lauren bowed deeply, taking it with both hands. Even if you gave me enough scraps to bury me alive, I would still be grateful.