Don't Be Fooled

The next day, as the rising sun climbed into the sky, pale golden light shone through the clouds and spread across the land, draping the earth in a layer of golden radiance.

When the first ray of sunlight streamed into the room, Huo Xuan slowly opened his eyes, ending his cultivation. It was time to go see Xiao Yan.

After making some inquiries, Huo Xuan learned that Xiao Yan had already awakened. At this moment, Xiao Yan was accompanying Gu Xun'er through the marketplace. Yao Chen had presumably already taken Xiao Yan as his disciple and was about to refine Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid to help him improve his cultivation.

According to the original storyline, when Xiao Yan bought the medicinal ingredients for refining Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid today, he would also obtain a small stroke of fortune: a Mystic Low-Rank Fighting Skill—Absorption Palm—from a Black Iron Slab.

Absorption Palm: Mystic Low-Rank Fighting Skill. When cultivated to mastery, it could draw in a thousand-jin boulder. When facing an enemy, its ferocious suction force could forcibly tear the blood from a human body.

Although Huo Xuan had no interest in this fighting skill, he could still go cause some trouble for Xiao Yan and prevent him from obtaining it.

At this moment, in the Xiao Clan marketplace.

"Hehe, Young Master, you have a keen eye. This is the Magic Crystal of a first-tier Magical Beast, the Wood Devouring Fox. Among first-tier Magic Crystals, this is considered top quality. To obtain this Magic Crystal, our Sharp Fang Mercenary Group stood guard for three whole days and killed five Wood Devouring Foxes before finally getting this one..." Seeing that Xiao Yan was dressed extravagantly, the stall owner hurriedly introduced it with great enthusiasm.

"If Young Master likes it, five hundred gold coins will do. Hehe, in order to hunt the Wood Devouring Foxes, several of our brothers suffered quite serious injuries..."

Xiao Yan rubbed away the bloodstains on the Magic Crystal with his finger and discovered that they had indeed not fully congealed. He nodded slightly, glanced at the two golden stars on the man's chest, and said casually, "Too expensive. The price of an ordinary first-tier Magic Crystal is only around four hundred to four hundred fifty, and while the Wood Devouring Fox is also a Magical Beast, its attack power isn't very high. Don't tell me your team members haven't even reached the Dou Zhe level?"

The stall owner's lips twitched, and he gave a dry laugh. He clearly had not expected the youth before him to know so much about market prices and Magical Beasts. He could only force a smile and say, "Four hundred seventy, then. No less than that. After all, my brothers need to make a living too..."

"Sigh..." Under the stall owner's uneasy gaze, Xiao Yan sighed. He bent down and rummaged through the goods on the stall, conveniently including that strange iron slab among them. Raising the handful of items in his hand, he said, "Four hundred seventy for all of this together..."

The stall owner's eyes swept shrewdly over the items in Xiao Yan's hand, and he quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they were all cheap things. Just as he was about to agree readily, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Wait!"

The stall owner, Gu Xun'er, and Xiao Yan all turned to look at the speaker.

"It's you!" Xiao Yan's brows furrowed slightly, his expression turning grave. All of a sudden, he had a bad feeling.

"What are you doing here?" Gu Xun'er had not forgotten how Huo Xuan had treated Xiao Yan yesterday, humiliating him so thoroughly. Instinctively, she joined Xiao Yan in regarding Huo Xuan with hostility.

Seeing Huo Xuan, Gu Xun'er was deeply displeased. Anyone who hurt Xiao Yan was her enemy. She had wanted Ling Ying to kill Huo Xuan last night, but because she had been taking care of the injured Xiao Yan, she had forgotten to send Ling Ying after him.

Huo Xuan said lightly, "Stall owner, don't let this kid fool you. That Black Iron Slab is worth quite a bit!"

"What?" The stall owner was slightly astonished by Huo Xuan's words.

"This Black Iron Slab contains a fighting skill, and it's Mystic-rank."

"What? A Mystic-rank fighting skill?" The stall owner was nearly petrified upon hearing this.

One had to know that on the Dou Qi Continent, the importance of fighting skills to a Dou Zhe went without saying. Even a low-rank Mystic fighting skill would undoubtedly be considered a top-tier cultivation technique or fighting skill in Wutan City. If a Mystic-rank fighting skill were put up for auction, even the three great clans would scramble to buy it.

If this was true, selling it for four hundred seventy would be an enormous loss.

"If you don't believe me, take this Black Iron Slab to the Mittel Auction House and have an appraiser examine it. After the appraisal, you'll know whether I deceived you."

The stall owner looked at the Black Iron Slab in Xiao Yan's hand, unable to make up his mind. If the person before him was lying, deceiving the Mittel Auction House would bring severe consequences. But if it was true, he would strike it rich.

"Stall owner, I advise you not to sell it, or you'll definitely regret it," Huo Xuan warned again.

"Uh..." After hearing Huo Xuan's words, the stall owner fell into deep thought.

"I'm not selling this Black Iron Slab." In the end, the stall owner made up his mind. Better to believe it existed than to believe it did not. He snatched the items from Xiao Yan's hand and prepared to pack up his stall and leave.

Seeing the Mystic-rank fighting skill that was practically in his grasp fly away, Xiao Yan grew furious. "Who exactly are you? Why do you insist on opposing me?"

"My name is Huo Xuan. I'm from the Central Plains."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xun'er's expression froze. She had heard Huo Xuan's name before. He was the Flame Clan's once-in-a-generation genius. It seemed she would need to investigate carefully; if his identity was genuine, she could only abandon the idea of killing him.

"The Central Plains? What kind of place is that?" It was Xiao Yan's first time hearing of this place. Astonished by this unfamiliar name, he asked in his mind, "Teacher, what exactly is the Central Plains?"

Yao Chen composed himself for a moment before saying, "The Central Plains are the most prosperous region in the entire Dou Qi Continent. Experts are as numerous as clouds there. A force like the Yun Lan Sect wouldn't even qualify as a second-rate faction in the Central Plains."

Xiao Yan's face changed. "Then, Teacher, is the force behind Huo Xuan very powerful?"

"Very powerful. In short, it's not something you can come into contact with now. Cultivate diligently. Perhaps one day, you'll be able to catch up to those people," Yao Chen said in a somewhat comforting tone.

Looking at Gu Xun'er and Xiao Yan's differing expressions, Huo Xuan felt there was no need to continue tangling with Xiao Yan.

As Huo Xuan passed by Xiao Yan, Yao Chen's voice transmitted from Xiao Yan's ring to Huo Xuan. "Little one of the Flame Clan, come out and meet me tonight. I'll be waiting for you at the Xiao Clan Back Mountain."