At that moment, Song Miaozhu had a bad feeling. Counting her, there were only ten Elite Masters in total. So just how many items could there be in this so-called Featured Spiritual Item Vault?
She clicked into it, and just as she suspected, she didn't even need to scroll to see the whole list.
There were only eleven items.
And her Bowl-Holding Paper Servants were one of them.
Only Master Yu Lichuan had two featured spiritual items, the Xiezhi Jade Seal and the Peace Amulet. The rest of the masters had just one each.
Master He Zhen had the Tiger-Bear Embroidered Fan, Master Yin Chunan had the Orchid Sword Script, Master Xie Wushuang had the Grain Rain Painting, Master Yuan Liben had the Blue-and-White Jade Dew Bottle, Master Gong Anyan had the Disease-Cleansing Miao Silver Bracelet, Master Wu Qingfeng had the Thousand-Eyed Bodhi Bracelet, Master Le Pengkun had the Spirit-Breaking Tang Blade, and Master Zhang Yunxi had the Colorful Paper Dragon Head.
Yu Lichuan was a jade carving master. His Xiezhi Jade Seal could monitor the fulfillment of contracts, while the Peace Amulet could genuinely ward off disasters and protect the wearer. He had also crafted the Spirit-Nurturing Beads, although those hadn't been classified as featured spiritual items.
He Zhen was a master of Suzhou embroidery. Her Tiger-Bear Fan was a round fan with double-sided embroidery of different animals—on one side a fierce tiger, on the other a panda. With a light wave, the embroidered beasts would manifest as spirit creatures. Their combat strength exceeded even their real-world counterparts.
Yin Chunan was a calligraphy master. Her Orchid Sword Script, when infused with spiritual power, could transform the brushstrokes into sword energy capable of cutting through enemies at a distance.
Xie Wushuang was a painting master. His Grain Rain Painting could summon spiritual rain when activated, which, when falling on plants, greatly increased both growth and yield.
Yuan Liben was a porcelain master. His Blue-and-White Jade Dew Bottle, when nourished with spiritual energy daily, would produce a kind of spiritual dew that heightened inspiration and memory retention for a short time.
Gong Anyan was an old Miao silversmith. Her Disease-Cleansing Silver Bracelet could draw out sickness and poison from the body when activated with spiritual energy.
Wu Qingfeng was a wood carving master, known for his prayer bead bracelets. His Thousand-Eyed Bodhi Bracelet contained 108 beads, each with its own cubic storage space. Together, the 108 beads formed a highly flexible storage system.
Le Pengkun was a swordsmith. His Spirit-Breaking Tang Blade inflicted wounds that continuously drained spiritual power from the target.
Zhang Yunxi, from Xiangcheng, was a master of festive paper crafts. Her Colorful Paper Dragon Head, based on classic Xiang-style designs, could unleash a massive fire dragon that burned hot enough to melt metal when activated.
"No wonder the SEIU had specifically chosen and cultivated these Elite Masters. They might not produce many spiritual items, but the quality of each one was top-tier."
Back when Song Miaozhu browsed the SEIU Contribution Store, she was only there to browse. The only item she ever bought was the Spirit-Nurturing Bead.
But now, every single item in the Featured Vault caught her interest.
She clicked on each to try and purchase one, only to see the same message: "Reserved, currently queuing." Each item already had hundreds of people ahead of her in line.
It might seem like just a few hundred, but there were only a few hundred SEIU task forces in the whole country. With a queue that long, who knew when her turn would come?
Especially since these spiritual items took considerable effort to raise. They required not only spiritual power but time as well. Still, where there's a rule, there's a workaround. If the official route didn't work, private transactions with the masters might be the answer.
It was obvious from the forum that the masters weren't trying to hide the fact they sold privately. The SEIU likely turned a blind eye. Just then, Master Zhang Yunxi asked if she wanted to join the private Elite Masters group chat. If she didn't build connections now, then when? Song Miaozhu immediately agreed.
The group was called "Elite Masters Exchange Group."
The moment she joined, the screen filled with the same kind of greetings and applause emojis she'd seen in the forum. These masters were all old enough to be her grandparents.
Song Miaozhu cautiously sent her greeting.
[Miaow Zhu]:Hello, seniors. I'm Song Miaozhu. (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ [Polite, slightly shy bow]
Amidst the sea of floral and nature-themed profile pictures using real names, her cat-avatar and username stood out as especially fresh and charming.
[Yu Lichuan]: Oh, no need to call us seniors! We all speak through our craft. Let's consider each other peers (＾▽＾)／
[He Zhen]:That cat avatar is adorable! Are they your pets? (✧ω✧)
[Yin Chunan]:Song Master's name is cute too~ so, may I privately reserve a Bowl-Holding Paper Servant from you?
[Yin Chunan]: (￢‿￢ )
[Xie Wushuang]: +1
[Yuan Liben]: +2
[Yuan Liben]: (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ:･ﾟ✧
[Gong Anyan]: +N
[Gong Anyan]: (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ [Mock frustration at being late]
[Wu Qingfeng]: +10086
[Wu Qingfeng]: (⌐■_■) [Deadpan "I'm winning"]
[Yu Lichuan]: Can I reserve three—no, five of them? (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
[Zhang Yunxi]: Come on, Master Yu! I only bought one! Be fair! (｀ε´)ﾉ彡☆
Song Miaozhu watched the group explode into chatter. The same dignified masters who used poetic usernames like "Tranquil Years" and "Quiet Heart" were now fighting over her Bowl-Holding Paper Servants with zero hesitation.
She carefully rewrote her reply several times before finally sending it.
[Miaow Zhu]:I currently have seventeen Bowl-Holding Paper Servants available. That's just enough for everyone to get two each. (•̀ᴗ•́)و
[Miaow Zhu]: Please send me your addresses, and I'll have my Spirit Paper Kite deliver the empty Spirit-Nurturing Beads. You just need to fill them with spiritual energy. You'll be able to complete the item ownership transfer today and start using your new servants. (✉️≧ω≦)ﾉ
[Miaow Zhu]: Also, I'm very interested in everyone's spiritual items. Would it be possible to privately reserve one from each of you? (◕‿◕✿)
She had just reviewed the sales stats of the other featured items. Judging by that, saying she only had ten left earlier was a bit too conservative. Some masters had already sold over thirty, even those with slower production were past ten. It seemed spiritual items could be produced faster than she had imagined.
For example, Master Yu Lichuan's Peace Amulets were being sold at a rate of one every six days. That meant his actual output had to be even faster. She didn't know how they managed it, but that didn't stop her from adjusting her own numbers accordingly.
After all, the more she sold, the more she earned.
She could have listed more, but there were nine people in the group. To avoid any conflict or jealousy, she capped it at seventeen—just enough so that each of them could get two, including the one already sold to Master Zhang Yunxi.
[Yu Lichuan]:I'd be happy to trade. I just finished crafting a set of the Xiezhi Jade Seal and Peace Amulet. No problem selling them to you. (ᵔᴥᵔ)ﾉ
[Yu Lichuan]: But what's this Spirit Paper Kite? I'm in the northwest. You sure I can receive the item today? (⊙_⊙)?
[Zhang Yunxi]:Ha! You all don't know yet, do you? Miaozhu's Spirit Paper Kite can travel through space to deliver items. (¬‿¬ )
[Zhang Yunxi]: From Xiangcheng to Lingcheng, it only took three minutes! Here, look at this photo I took when it arrived: [image] (＾• ω •＾)♪