Absorption Palm

"Ugh..." Yun Shu sighed helplessly as he looked at the shameless old man.

He had originally planned to make a move on Ya Fei after returning today, but it seemed that plan had fallen through.

Yun Shu did not have the habit of letting others watch while he played poker.

"Sister Ya Fei, I'm back!" Yun Shu returned to the Mittel Auction House with the old Yao Lao and the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid.

"Little brother, why are you back so early today?" Ya Fei asked curiously.

Yun Shu usually did not return to the Mittel Auction House until nearly dark. Today, there were still at least one or two hours before sunset.

"Hehe!" Yun Shu took out the bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid that he had refined at great expense from his Ring of Holding and handed it to Ya Fei.

"What is this?" Ya Fei asked curiously. Yun Shu generally did not refine pills for the Mittel Auction House; what they earned came from the Xiao Family's Medicinal Herbs.

"A Second Grade Pill, Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid! It can rapidly increase the Dou Qi of those in the Dou Qi stage without any side effects, and it can also strengthen the body!" Yun Shu said with a smile.

"You really became a Second Grade Alchemist?!" Ya Fei froze at Yun Shu's words, then excitedly threw herself into his arms. Yun Shu's rate of growth let Ya Fei see hope, which was why she acted so intimately.

Yun Shu was nearly sixteen now, and he was not much shorter than Ya Fei. She only needed to lower her head slightly to bury herself completely in his embrace.

Fortunately, they were in Ya Fei's room. If this had happened in the main hall, the Mittel Auction House's business would probably have plummeted. After all, some old perverts came specifically for Ya Fei.

"Hehe! You brat sure have good luck with women!!"

Yao Lao's lecherous voice suddenly sounded beside his ear, and Yun Shu immediately cursed, "Damn it!! Didn't you say you wouldn't peek, old man?!"

"Shameless old bastard!"

"Look at how nervous you are! Fine, fine! Your teacher is going to sleep!" After saying that, Yao Lao fell silent once more.

I knew it... Yun Shu thought to himself. Fortunately, he had not done anything else, or that old man would have seen everything.

"Little brother, how much do you plan to set as the starting bid for this medicinal liquid?" Ya Fei trusted Yun Shu so much that she intended to put it up for auction without even having it appraised.

"Um... set it at ten thousand! After all, even Pill King Gu He cannot refine a pill like this, one that can be consumed by people below the Dou Zhe level!" In the original story, the slightly inferior Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid had a starting bid of eight thousand Gold Coins. His was made with superior Medicinal Herbs, so adding another two thousand Gold Coins was not excessive, right?

In any case, the final price would still depend on the customers attending the auction.

The extra two thousand was only to make himself feel a little better.

"Even a Sixth-Rank Alchemist like Pill King Gu He cannot refine it?" Ya Fei's eyes lit up at once. As the chief auctioneer, such explosive news was the best possible way for her to raise the price and stir up the atmosphere.

"Yes, because my teacher provided the Pill Recipe. Without it, there's no way he could refine it! But, Sister Ya Fei, there's no need to reveal anything about my teacher!" Yun Shu said.

"Don't worry, little brother! I know what should and shouldn't be said!" Ya Fei smiled seductively, pinched Yun Shu's nose, and said.

Damn that old man!! Otherwise, I could have taken this little vixen today! Yun Shu could only look but not touch, and it was driving him crazy.

Yet Yao Lao was still lurking shamelessly on his hand and refused to leave.

For the next two months, he would not be able to touch Ya Fei.

"I'll go deal with this medicinal liquid. Little brother, get some proper rest first!" Seeing Yun Shu's tightly furrowed brows and weary expression, Ya Fei said with concern.

She thought Yun Shu was exhausted from refining medicine for too long. In truth, he was merely annoyed with that damned old man.

No longer paying attention to the auction, Yun Shu returned to his room and began cultivating the Dou Qi within his body. The plot had already begun; he could not delay any longer.

"That brat is quite diligent..." Yao Lao nodded approvingly from within the Ring of Holding when he saw that Yun Shu had not rushed to rest after returning, but had immediately begun cultivating.

Unfortunately, he probably could not place any hopes on this disciple Yun Shu when it came to the Flame Devouring Art.

Yun Shu had already become a Dou Zhe and had learned an Earth-Rank cultivation technique. If he were made to switch to the Flame Devouring Art now, not only would his strength drop considerably, but even his total amount of Dou Qi would decrease sharply, making alchemy incredibly difficult.

Yun Shu was currently a Two-Star Dou Zhe and cultivated an Earth-Rank technique. If his current total amount of Dou Qi were one hundred...

Then Xiao Yan, as a Two-Star Dou Zhe cultivating the Flame Devouring Art, might not even have thirty.

When Xiao Yan first refined medicine, even his first batch of Healing Medicine had to be refined in several attempts because his total amount of Dou Qi could not support him in refining all the Medicinal Herbs at once...

With such a massive drop in strength, who would be willing?

Therefore, he would not force Yun Shu to switch to the Flame Devouring Art. But when Xiao Yan broke through to become a Dou Zhe, he would still gather both disciples and let Yun Shu and Xiao Yan decide for themselves who would cultivate the Flame Devouring Art.

Because of the Flame Devouring Art's special nature, it needed to constantly devour Strange Fire to grow. Only one of them could cultivate it; otherwise, in the later stages, there might not be enough Strange Fire for the two martial brothers to divide between them.

As for who would be the senior brother...

Naturally, it would be Yun Shu. In terms of age, Yun Shu was several months older than Xiao Yan. In terms of strength, Yun Shu could easily crush Xiao Yan. In terms of Alchemy Art, Xiao Yan had not even become an alchemist yet...

So by both reason and propriety, Yun Shu should be the senior brother.

The next day.

After cultivating all night, Yun Shu was not tired in the slightest. He even felt refreshed, since he had cultivated his meridians as well and was naturally full of energy.

"Little Shu, let's go! Let's see how that little Xiao Yan is progressing in his cultivation!" After Yun Shu finished breakfast, Yao Lao's voice sounded beside his ear.

"Mm." Yun Shu had already planned to head to the Xiao Family's marketplace. Today was the perfect chance to collect the black iron sheet he had bought—the low-grade Dou Technique, Absorption Palm.

Although it was only a low-grade Dou Technique, it was quite convenient for retrieving objects in the early stages. Once mastered, it was also very useful for bullying weaker opponents. Paired with Yao Lao's Fire Blowing Palm, it could really mess with people's heads and was absurdly effective.