Money Was No Object! Ning Rongrong Offered a Fortune for a Clear Mind Talisman

"I can't... Lin Xuan... I really can't run anymore..."

Ning Rongrong grabbed a crooked tree by the roadside and bent over, gasping for breath. Mud flecked the hem of her skirt.

Lin Xuan stopped and turned to look at her.

Xiao Wu stopped too, folding her arms as she stood nearby.

"Only seven laps, and the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is already done for?"

Ning Rongrong bit her lower lip. Xiao Wu's jab brought her temper flaring right back.

"Who... who says I'm done for? I'm just... catching my breath!"

She braced her hands on her knees and tried to straighten up, but her legs were so weak that she nearly fell after a single step.

Lin Xuan caught her by the arm and steadied her at the roadside.

Most of Ning Rongrong's weight sagged against him. Sweat beaded across her forehead, and she panted heavily.

Lin Xuan took a bamboo water flask from the storage ring on his finger and held it out to her.

"Take a couple of sips to wet your throat. Don't drink too fast."

Ning Rongrong forgot all about her usual noble manners. She took the flask and tipped it back, then wiped the water from the corner of her mouth and squatted beneath the tree, refusing to budge.

"I'm not running anymore. My legs feel like they're filled with lead. Dean Flender is doing this to torment us."

Xiao Wu stopped two steps away and gave a soft snort.

"It's because you slack off and never train your body. You're not used to exercise."

"I have a support-type Martial Soul. What support-type Soul Master runs through the mud every day?"

Ning Rongrong raised her chin defiantly, though her weak legs still refused to obey her.

Lin Xuan took back the flask and brushed the dust from the corner of his clothes.

"Starting out is hard when you haven't trained under a sustained load in a long time. But Dean Flender only told us to run twenty laps around the village. He never said we couldn't use soul skills along the way."

Ning Rongrong froze, then looked up with a blink.

"We can do that?"

Three Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—rose and circled beneath Lin Xuan.

His fingertips shifted, and ten pale-yellow sheets of Talisman Paper formed out of thin air.

Intricate cyan whirlwind patterns appeared on five of them. They were Gale Talismans.

The other five glowed like clear white jade and gave off a grassy scent that soothed the mind. They were Clear Mind Talismans.

Lin Xuan flicked his wrist. The talismans turned into streaks of light and flew straight into the five runners' chests.

Ning Rongrong started to raise a hand to block them, but the talismans dissolved the moment they touched her clothes.

The next instant, the heaviness throughout Ning Rongrong's body vanished.

A faint breeze surrounded her, and her weak legs felt so light she could almost float off the ground.

The change in her mind surprised her even more.

A cool sensation washed away the heat and frustration of running. Her head, muddled by lack of air, cleared rapidly, leaving her with an indescribable sense of comfort from head to toe.

Zhu Zhuqing stood nearby, staring down at her hands in a daze.

She could clearly feel the Soul Power that had grown restless during the run flowing smoothly under the talisman's effect. The resistance in her meridians had eased considerably.

"Wh-what soul skill is this?"

Ning Rongrong sprang up from the ground and stamped her feet, her face full of disbelief.

"I get moving faster, but why am I not dizzy anymore? I feel so refreshed!"

Lin Xuan started running again.

"The Gale Talisman increases movement speed, and the Clear Mind Talisman settles the mind. Neither reduces physical fatigue. Come on, let's finish training. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can rest."

Tang San and Xiao Wu were already used to these boosts and immediately fell in beside Lin Xuan.

Zhu Zhuqing steadied her breathing and followed with light steps.

The four of them slowed together, keeping to a pace Ning Rongrong could follow easily.

Ning Rongrong caught up with a spring in her step. With both boosts, the long run that had tormented her became effortless.

She skipped around to Lin Xuan's left, her feet light and her mouth never still.

"Lin Xuan, Lin Xuan! What was that white talisman you used called? How does it work so well?"

Lin Xuan kept a steady pace, his eyes forward.

"It's called a Clear Mind Talisman."

Ning Rongrong edged closer, her voice brimming with curiosity.

"Then is this how the three of you raised your Soul Power so quickly and became Soul Elders at twelve? Was it all thanks to that talisman?"

Lin Xuan glanced at her.

"Ning Rongrong, you talk too much."

That shut her up for a moment. Then she caught his sleeve and gave it a shake.

"Oh, come on, I'm just curious! We're all classmates at Shrek now. Tell me!"

Ning Rongrong was pulling out all the stops to charm him!

Xiao Wu pursed her lips beside them.

"Someone was carrying on about how she couldn't run another step just now. Give her a talisman, though, and suddenly she's full of energy."

Ning Rongrong stuck her tongue out at Xiao Wu, then went back to watching Lin Xuan expectantly.

Lin Xuan considered it.

He had never planned to keep the Clear Mind Talisman a secret forever.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was the wealthiest of the Upper Three Sects, and Ning Fengzhi held immense influence across the continent.

Lin Xuan was on his own, with no powerful background to rely on. If he could use his connection with Ning Rongrong to establish ties with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, trading for rare medicinal herbs and cultivation resources would help him enormously when he drew higher-grade talismans.

Of course, it was still too early to meet the sect's Titled Douluo.

Xiao Wu's identity as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast remained a risk. He would have to wait until she obtained the Lovesick Heartbreak Red to conceal her aura, or until the Primal Beginning Talisman Scripture unlocked a higher-grade talisman that could hide it. Only when he was certain she was safe would he make his move.

For now, though, showing Ning Rongrong some of the Clear Mind Talisman's value and planting a seed suited his plans perfectly.

Lin Xuan slowed and explained.

"You guessed right. The Clear Mind Talisman's main effect is to calm the mind and drive away distracting thoughts. Use it while meditating or circulating Soul Power, and you can stay completely focused. Your meridians will also absorb the energy of heaven and earth much more efficiently."

At his words, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing both slowed down.

Zhu Zhuqing pressed her lips together, her heartbeat quickening despite herself.

Burdened by her family's brutal rules of competition, she thought constantly of growing stronger as fast as possible and escaping her predetermined fate.

A soul skill that aided meditation and improved cultivation efficiency was unheard of throughout the Soul Master world.

Ning Rongrong was so excited that she leaped in front of Lin Xuan and ran backward.

"I knew it! Nobody becomes a peerless genius for no reason. You've had a treasure like this all along!"

Ning Rongrong patted the Storage Soul Tool at her waist, her tone lavishly generous.

"Lin Xuan, could you give me one to use whenever you cultivate? I won't ask for it for free. I'll buy it! How many Gold Soul Coins per talisman? A hundred? A thousand? Ten thousand? Name your price!"

Tang San listened in silent astonishment.

The young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect certainly spent freely. She had offered ten thousand Gold Soul Coins without batting an eye.

With that much money to buy ore, how many more hidden weapons could I make?