Ling Yun had rarely suffered defeats in previous duels. His swordsmanship was superb, and his speed was extremely fast; few in the Qi Refining stage could match him. His last defeat was against a Qi Refining Grand Perfection cultivator.
Unexpectedly, on such an ordinary day, he was defeated by an ordinary round-faced girl.
The viewers who had placed bets were extremely unhappy. This unhappiness stemmed from the fact that it was a sure win, yet they inexplicably lost. Even now, with the dust settled, they still refuse to believe the result.
From the moment the round-faced girl stepped onto the stage until now, she has never shown any sign of being able to win; in the end, she relied on luck!
This felt like a cooked duck flying away, even more frustrating than losing spirit stones normally.
Shi Xuan slumped to the ground for a while before struggling to his feet. Using his sword as a cane, he staggered away from the arena.
When exchanging spirit stones, the cultivator carefully examined Shi Xuan. Regardless of her strength, this girl was incredibly lucky. He just wondered how long her good luck would last.
Shi Xuan didn't care what he thought; she only felt that her twelve thousand high-grade spirit stones were kind and lovely.
With a large sum of money in his pocket, Shi Xuan found a secluded spot, changed his clothes again, and then blended into the crowd, inconspicuously following the flow out of the black market.
Round Face became famous after two battles; in the black market, no one who participated in duels didn't know her. First, she stumbled and fell to defeat Iron Blade, then she staggered and fell to defeat Ling Yun, ruthlessly ripping off the old gamblers, making everyone grit their teeth at the mention of her name.
The next morning, when Shi Xuan entered the room, he glanced in Dong Jingwei's direction to check on his condition. But he didn't seem to be doing well; not only did he look extremely haggard, but he was also sitting much further away from Xiang Rong, almost touching the wall.
As soon as Xiang Rong saw Shi Xuan, she started complaining to her: "That bastard Dong Jingwei said he's been allergic to round faces lately and can't stay near me! How outrageous!" Xiang Rong had never been disliked like this before. Dong Jingwei had really offended her this time.
Shi Xuan, always eager for a good show, casually suggested, "Why don't you challenge him to a duel at the arena and beat him to the ground to vent your anger!"
"But I can't beat him..." Xiang Rong was annoyed, being criticized for having a round face and being unable to beat him.
“Well, I have a good idea,” Shi Xuan said, his eyes sparkling with a sudden thought.
"Tell me about it," Xiang Rong said, leaning closer with great interest. She was so angry that she was about to burst.
Shi Xuan laughed and said, "Hey, isn't he allergic to round faces lately? Today, do nothing else but follow behind him, and every now and then, when he's not looking, shove your face right up to his face. I've heard that allergies can be forced to adapt, and maybe more contact will help."
Shi Xuan made up his bad idea and then disappeared, keeping his achievements and fame hidden.
Poor Dong Jingwei suffered a whole day of attacks from the round face, which made him constantly think of the huge sum of money he lost because of it.
He impulsively placed a bet the day before yesterday, but unexpectedly lost badly. He was not convinced and wanted to go back to try his luck yesterday. Who knew that the round-faced girl would have such good luck that she could even defeat Ling Yun, a sword cultivator whose cultivation level was two levels higher than hers!
The more he lost, the more he wanted to win back his losses, but Xiang Rong's constant, round-faced attacks today had left a deep shadow on him! Such a terrible day, his luck was bound to be bad, so he decided not to gamble tonight.
The mini-exam is coming up soon. If he stays up for two more days, he might not even win back the spirit stones, and his chances of making the top ten are in jeopardy.
In a way, Xiang Rong really did cure him.
After finishing her morning lessons, Shi Xuan went back to refine pills. Today she had plenty of time and didn't need to refine pills on-site; she could go to Hundred Herbs Peak to gather all the necessary materials. She could also pick the missing medicinal herbs from the herb garden, which was very convenient.
While we're at it, we can also urge the disciples of Hundred Herbs Peak to hurry up and refine pills to sell; they can't be lazy.
The elixir she's refining today is also a third-tier one, called the Four Symbols Pill. Its effect is to replenish the body's essence and promote the body's self-reconstruction.
She couldn't find this elixir in the historical records of the Qian Yuan Continent, which suggests that its lineage had been broken. No wonder the people here couldn't be cured of damage to their dantian.
Just like yesterday's Shattered Spirit Pill, this time refining a third-tier pill required her to take a painkiller due to excessive use of spiritual energy. Shi Xuan thought to herself, "I've sacrificed so much for this Xiao Leng. I'll definitely double the price when I get there later."
The trading area of the black market for rogue cultivators was even more crowded today than yesterday, with more people arriving early to watch the excitement. Xiao Leng didn't leave the black market at all; staying put and waiting was his best option.
Yesterday's duel was spread around by two onlookers, and now everyone knows that the "liar" is none other than the infamous Round Face from the arena. This news made her even more skeptical, because why would a powerful alchemist, so noble and wealthy, go to the arena to earn such a pittance?
But curiosity still lingered, and everyone wanted to see how this "scammer" would end up.
Halfway through the afternoon, the round-faced man still hadn't appeared. Small groups of onlookers gathered, spouting discouraging remarks.
Xiao Leng leaned against the wall, head down, not uttering a word. Everyone thought he was in despair, but only Xiao Leng himself knew that he still held onto a sliver of hope.
Is it really possible to cure it?
A commotion arose, and the crowd parted to make way. The round-faced girl from yesterday strolled in from outside; she had come after all.
Seeing the round face, a glimmer of light ignited in Xiao Leng's eyes. He looked in the direction the round face had come from, only to see that she seemed rather unhappy.
Shi Xuan walked up to Xiao Leng, sighed, and said as his first words, "It was too much trouble to refine pills for you. Let's double the price for treatment."
"Oh~" The crowd cheered. Sure enough! The scammer's tricks came out! She wanted more spirit stones, and kept adding more spirit stones, but she probably wouldn't succeed this time. Even if she killed Xiao Leng, she wouldn't be able to squeeze out that many spirit stones.
Xiao Leng nodded and said, "Y-yes. I can only owe you for now."
Shi Xuan took out a piece of paper and placed it in front of him, "Come on, put your fingerprint on it."
It was an IOU. It read: "Xiao Leng owes Yuan Lian five thousand high-grade spirit stones. This is hereby acknowledged." The inkpad was prepared, and Xiao Leng was told to quickly put his fingerprint on it.
Xiao Leng pressed the button without hesitation. If he lived today, he was willing to repay this debt, even if it were doubled. If he died, what difference would it make whether he pressed the button or not?
Shi Xuan carefully put away the IOU before examining his injuries again.
He's still in the same condition as when he left yesterday. It seems he hasn't moved much all day and is doing well.
Shi Xuan nodded in satisfaction and said, "I will teach you a set of techniques. After you take the pill, you can start using it to absorb spiritual energy and gather it in your dantian."
“But I… am currently unable to retain spiritual energy…” Xiao Leng replied. His dantian was damaged, so naturally he could not store spiritual energy.
"No need to store it, just concentrate it in your dantian as I tell you." After Shi Xuan finished speaking, he passed on the incantation to him.
The incantation was very short, consisting of only a few sentences. Its purpose was to specify the route of spiritual energy flow when absorbing it. Shi Xuan instructed him to direct all the spiritual energy entering his body towards his dantian. That was enough.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
