Once the two returned to the inn and closed the door, Su Ye could finally no longer hold it in. “Junior Sister, supreme-grade talismans are hard to come by. It's such a waste to sell them. You should have kept at least one for self-defense. That's a supreme-grade talisman! If you run into any danger in the mystic realm, it could save your life.”
Xue Mingzhao cleared her throat and said casually, “Senior Brother, ten was already me holding back.”
Su Ye was stunned. “What do you mean?”
With a wave of Xue Mingzhao's hand, a massive pile of talismans clattered onto the table.
Su Ye's mouth hung so wide an egg could fit inside.
“Th-this... this... are these all supreme-grade talismans?!”
“Oh, I just drew them casually for fun.” Xue Mingzhao leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. “If I wasn't afraid of scaring them by taking out too many, I would've sold them all.”
Su Ye gripped the corner of the table to steady himself. What did his junior sister just say?
Drawn casually!
Who drew them casually?
Her?
A mere Qi Condensation cultivator like her had casually drawn thousands of supreme-grade talismans?
“Junior Sister, are you even human?”
He pointed at the mountain of talismans on the table, then at Xue Mingzhao. “If word of this gets out, forget the Heavenly Talisman Pavilion—the entire Tianyan Continent will be hunting you down.”
Xue Mingzhao patted his shoulder. “Don't worry, Senior Brother, I won't go around blabbing about it.”
With that, she picked up a thick stack of supreme-grade talismans and stuffed them into Su Ye's hands, saying generously, “These are for you. Use them however you like in the mystic realm, and don't hold back. Once you run out, I'll draw more for you when we get back.”
Then, she pulled out a spirit stone pouch. “We made fifty thousand today. There's forty thousand in here. Keep ten thousand for pocket money, and give the remaining thirty thousand to Master so the old man can buy whatever he wants. Tell him not to be so frugal.”
Su Ye looked down at the storage pouch and quickly pushed it back. “Junior Sister, you earned this yourself. I can't accept it. I'll just take a few talismans for self-defense.”
Xue Mingzhao didn't feel like arguing with him. She stuffed it directly into his arms, placed both hands on his back, and pushed him toward the door. “I need to rest. You should get some sleep early too, Senior Brother. Goodnight, see you tomorrow.”
Before Su Ye could speak, the door behind him shut with a decisive click.
Standing in the corridor, he looked down at the stack of faintly glowing talisman papers in his arms, then at the heavy spirit stone pouch in his hand. He chuckled softly. “Thank you, Junior Sister.”
Returning to his room, he saw Su Mingyuan meditating. He crept over mysteriously, pulled out a supreme-grade talisman, and waved it in front of his master. “Master, look at this. What do you think it is?”
Su Mingyuan opened one eye and calmly slapped his hand away. “A supreme-grade talisman.”
Su Ye was stunned. “This is a supreme-grade talisman! How are you not surprised at all?”
“Your junior sister gave it to you, right?”
“...How did you know?”
Su Mingyuan closed his eye again, his tone completely unfazed. “Your Martial Uncle Wen and I watched her draw them with our own eyes.”
Su Ye felt his world shatter. He wasn't even the first to know!
Master knew, Martial Uncle Wen knew, which meant the other elders definitely knew as well.
So in the end, he was the only one in the entire Grand Primordium Sect who was kept in the dark!
He had spent the past month training from dawn to dusk on Cloud Listening Peak, exhausted like a dead dog, collapsing into bed the moment he returned to his room every night. Just how much news had he missed?!
Su Mingyuan paid no mind to Su Ye's inner turmoil. He thought about Xue Mingzhao's cultivation speed, and his expression grew solemn.
The step of Foundation Establishment was crucial. A common Foundation Establishment Pill wouldn't do, and a mid-grade one was barely acceptable. She needed at least a high-grade one, and ideally a supreme-grade one.
A supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Pill was out of the question; they barely ever circulated on the market and were instantly bought up at auctions the moment they appeared.
So, it had to be a high-grade one.
He needed to look into news regarding high-grade Foundation Establishment Pills as soon as possible.
Standing by the bed, Su Ye watched his master's expression shift from gratified to solemn. He wanted to chime in but didn't know what to say.
He silently sat back down on his bed and closed his eyes.
Tomorrow was the day the mystic realm would open. It was best to get some sleep.
His dreams were filled with supreme-grade talismans flying through the sky, which gradually transformed into spirit stones as they flew.
The next day, before dawn had even broken, Xue Mingzhao opened her eyes in excitement.
She looked down and touched the string of storage rings hanging around her neck on a red thread, ten silver rings neatly resting against her chest.
Before setting off, she had specially gone to beg Wen Shuxian, wheedling and pestering him until she got ten storage rings.
Wen Shuxian's lips had twitched for a long time when he saw that she already had all ten of her fingers full and still wanted more.
In the end, he found a red thread, strung the rest of them together, and hung them around her neck. “Fine, this is enough for you to store things. Any more and you won't even be able to lift your head.”
Xue Mingzhao spent a long time admiring herself in the corridor's water-mirror, looking more and more pleased the longer she stared.
The moment Su Mingyuan stepped out of his room, he caught sight of the jingling necklace of storage rings around her neck, and his eyelids twitched violently.
Just as he was about to warn her, he saw Xue Mingzhao tuck the necklace into her collar, pat her chest, and give him a reassuring gesture.
Su Mingyuan swallowed his words. Thankfully, his disciple wasn't a fool.
He turned and called for Su Ye to hurry up so they could depart.
By the time the three arrived at the entrance of the mystic realm, a massive crowd had already gathered ahead.
Su Mingyuan turned around and repeatedly urged them, “You must not be greedy. If you can't win, use what I taught you...”
Xue Mingzhao's gaze was already wandering. With a single glance, she spotted Shen Chaoyue in the crowd.
She dressed in a plain white martial outfit, her face cold and aloof. She stood in the crowd like an unsheathed sword, the surrounding noise seemingly having nothing to do with her.
Standing beside her was a handsome and upright youth—none other than the male lead, Yun Yanchen.
Just standing there, the two of them were a pleasing sight to behold.
However, she noticed that a group of people had gathered around Shen Chaoyue.
Jiang Yuran and a few others from the Flowing Cloud Sect were talking about something, and the atmosphere looked rather off.
Su Mingyuan lightly slapped the back of Xue Mingzhao's head, pulling her wandering attention back. “Did you hear what I just said?”
Xue Mingzhao rubbed the back of her head. “I heard you, I heard you. If you can't win, run. If you can't run, crush the jade token. Don't be greedy, and prioritize your life above all else. Staying alive is what's most important. Only by staying alive can you deal damage.”
Su Mingyuan shook his head helplessly. This girl was quick with her tongue, but she probably hadn't taken much of it to heart.
Oh well, as long as she remembered the key points.
Rate on N.U.
