Chapter 9: Buy Buy Buy

Xiao Yan's eyes suddenly snapped open, a strand of deep white flame flickering through them—but the flame appeared and vanished in an instant, soon disappearing entirely.

Xiao Yan sat up and exhaled slowly, licking his lips as a hint of fascination and intoxication appeared on his face: "Elixirs are truly miraculous—I feel I can break through the Three-Star bottleneck and reach Fourth-Star Dou Zhe within another one or two months of cultivation."

Xiao Yan had only just broken through to Third-Star Dou Zhe not long ago; this was his first time using an elixir to enhance his cultivation realm.

"No wonder Alchemists are sought after everywhere on the Dou Qi Continent—everyone is willing to owe them a favor. This one elixir truly lingers in the memory."

Whoosh—the energy of Xiao Yan coalesced into a ball of flame, within which a faint, icy-white line curled like a wandering dragon.

Xiao Yan hadn't forgotten—the Poison Pill had fused with a strand of Bone Spirit Cold Fire, which had also been swallowed by his Burning Scripture.

"Strange Fire… with my current strength, I'm nowhere near capable of swallowing Bone Spirit Cold Fire, and I don't even know where the other Strange Fires are. My top priority now must be raising my cultivation realm and gathering intelligence on Strange Fires."

A sweet, ethereal voice came from outside the door: "Brother Xiao Yan, aren't you up yet?"

"This girl really shows up early." Xiao Yan smiled faintly, remembering he hadn't accompanied Xun Er to the marketplace in quite some time.

Xiao Yan turned, rummaged through a cabinet for a moment, changed into a presentable outfit, stepped out the door, and whistled lightly at the youthful girl standing there.

Today, Xun Er wore a tasteful light-green outfit; the muted tones enhanced her purity, while snug, long pants hugged her slender, elegant legs, revealing every graceful curve.

"Xun Er looks absolutely beautiful today," Xiao Yan teased.

Xun Er smiled sweetly at Xiao Yan and said playfully: "Does that mean Xun Er wasn't beautiful in Brother Xiao Yan's eyes yesterday?"

Xiao Yan's heart jolted—yesterday! Yesterday, his fiancée had come to his door!

Xiao Yan had been pursued by countless young maidens for far longer than just a day or two—he was already a seasoned rogue.

Xiao Yan gently tucked Xun Er's hair behind her ear, smiling confidently: "The Xun Er of this moment is always more beautiful than the one before."

Xun Er's cheeks flushed crimson instantly; she shot Xiao Yan a glance tinged with affection and reproach—his mouth was truly blessed.

With his cultivation realm elevated, Xiao Yan was in high spirits; the two chatted merrily as they walked beyond the clan grounds, encountering several clan members along the way, who all immediately paused their tasks and bowed deeply to greet him.

Yesterday's gift of the elixir had earned Xiao Yan even greater admiration from the entire clan—Fourth-Rank Pills might be useless to them, but they could still be sold; yet he had given one freely to Xiao Ning for the clan's future.

This kind of magnanimity earned him immense respect from countless clan members.

Xiao Yan led Xun Er in greeting each clan member in turn; the two strolled leisurely through the bustling streets.

Though Wutan City was no match for Wang Du, it was still a medium-to-large city in the Jia Ma Empire, economically prosperous and teeming with people—even under the blazing midday sun, the streets remained packed.

After leaving the clan, Xun Er grew livelier, dragging the reluctant Xiao Yan from stall to stall; her light, tinkling laughter cooled the scorching street slightly.

Though they claimed to be shopping for Xun Er, in truth, Xiao Yan bought the most.

"Boss, twenty-year-old Purple Leaf Orchid grass, five-year-old Bone-Washing Flower, three-year-old Double-Headed Flower—do you have any Yin Spirit plants?"

Seeing Xiao Yan arrive, the boss rushed out with a beaming smile: "Young Master Yan! We have them! Just a moment, Young Master Yan!"

Xiao Yan spent money like water—each purchase ran into thousands of Gold Coins.

Did Xiao Yan have money? Yes—he had a lot of it.

Not only because he regularly hunted beasts in the wild, but also because he was the Young Clan Leader of the Xiao Clan.

Originally, Wutan City had been a tripartite balance among three clans: the Xiao Clan, the Gale Clan, and the Oba Clan. But because of Xiao Yan, the Gale Clan and Oba Clan had been forced into an alliance to jointly oppose the Xiao Clan.

The word "genius" represents the future—Xiao Yan's reputation had even reached Wang Du. Merchants, hunter teams, and even auction houses in Wutan City all had high expectations for Xiao Yan's future, causing the Xiao Clan's assets to grow steadily.

Coupled with Xiao Zhan's friendship with Nalan Jie, one of the Ten Greatest Warriors of the Jia Ma Empire, the Xiao Clan had quietly become the dominant power in Wutan City.

Naturally, the amount of money Xiao Yan could control had increased significantly.

Watching Xiao Yan continuously purchase various low-grade medicinal materials, Xun Er blinked and asked: "Brother Xiao Yan, are you planning to try Pill Alchemy?"

"Hmm, who wouldn't want to be an Alchemist? I don't even know if I have the talent—I'm just practicing for fun."

After thinking for a moment, Xun Er said: "Brother Xiao Yan, I have some Alchemy Technique manuals and Pill Formulas."

Hearing Xun Er's words, Xiao Yan's heart warmed—he could still tell who was pretending and who was sincere.

"No need—I don't even know if I have the talent for Alchemy. I'll just experiment with simple herbal powders. If I truly need a Pill Formula, I won't hesitate to ask you."

Laughing and chatting, they had unknowingly walked the entire Xiao Clan marketplace—but Xun Er still hadn't found anything she truly wanted.

"How about we go across the street and take a look?" Xiao Yan suggested.

"Across the street?"

Wutan City's marketplace wasn't owned solely by the Xiao Clan; after uniting, the Gale Clan and Oba Clan had built a larger marketplace not far from the Xiao Clan's.

For the Young Clan Leader of the Xiao Clan to enter the opposing marketplace would surely cause a commotion.

Xun Er grinned mischievously: "Brother Xiao Yan, if you go to the other marketplace, they might not even let us in."

Xiao Yan shrugged helplessly: "We're not here to steal or rob—we're customers. Why wouldn't they let us in?"

After turning a few corners along the wide street, they arrived at the grand marketplace—Oga Marketplace.

As a joint venture between two clans, every shop's décor and façade was extravagantly luxurious, and the variety of goods was immense.

Seeing Xiao Yan arrive, the two guards at the entrance instantly tensed, leveling their spears at him and stammering: "Y-you—what are you doing here?!"

Is the Xiao Clan attacking?!

Hearing the guards' shouts, many others turned to look—and when they saw Xiao Yan, they all fled the marketplace, terrified the Xiao Clan had truly come to attack.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan was helpless; Xun Er giggled quietly beside him. Even geniuses had their own troubles.

Before Xiao Yan could speak, a voice rang out from the crowd: "Xiao Yan! What are you doing here?!"

Xiao Yan turned toward the voice and saw a group surging toward them, with a finely dressed young man at the center, surrounded like a star by others.

The guards bowed respectfully to the young man: "Young Master Gale Ao."

Gale Ao, Young Master of the Gale Clan, wore a Golden Star Emblem on his chest. At twenty-one, he was a First-Star Dou Zhe—modest talent by Wutan City standards, but utterly insignificant compared to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan glanced at Gale Ao, saw the golden star, and shook his head—he was only a First-Star Dou Zhe; Xiao Yan himself had reached First-Star before he was eleven.

Seeing Xiao Yan's expression, Gale Ao gritted his teeth in fury—twenty-one and a First-Star Dou Zhe was already impressive!! The very thing he took pride in was being dismissed as worthless in this boy's eyes.

"I came to the marketplace to buy things—what else would I do?"

Gale Ao roared: "We don't welcome you here! Leave immediately!"