Trap of Unknown Material

Five minutes later, Liao Feijun returned with a face as dark as a storm cloud, his teeth grinding with a crack-crack.

A large patch of his chest had been soaked through with red wine, leaving him in a miserable state.

"Ning Xueshi!"

He viciously chewed over the name. "I had thought it was better to resolve enmity than deepen it, and that through the interactions between us juniors, we could dissolve the grudges of the older generation. I never expected you to give me so little face! And that brat surnamed Meng—a guy who lives in public housing and has probably never even seen an elevator—he thinks he can contend with me, Liao Feijun?"

"Young Master Jun! Young Master Jun!"

Several flamboyantly dressed young men and women who had come with him had witnessed the conflict between the two sides and hurriedly tried to dissuade him. "Today's guests are all people of standing. You can't openly fight here. There will be plenty of chances later."

Liao Feijun took a deep breath. "Don't worry. Getting physical with that brat would only dirty my hands. Isn't he Old Ning's newly accepted disciple? There will be plenty of ways to make him lose all face later!"

On the other side of the trade fair, Ning Xueshi clumsily apologized to Meng Chao. "Sorry, Liao Feijun is a lunatic. Don't pay any attention to him."

Meng Chao said, "I'm fine. You, on the other hand—you're pretty fierce. You went straight for the wine and drenched him."

Ning Xueshi blushed. She had not originally intended to go that far. After all, they all moved within the Reaper circle. No matter how great their private grievances were, tearing their faces apart was never a good thing.

But after she had just been discussing lofty topics with a remarkable man like Meng Chao, someone indifferent to fame and fortune, about how to contribute to society, Liao Feijun, a spoiled young master, had suddenly come over to pester them. Ning Xueshi felt as though even Meng Chao's opinion of her had been dragged down.

Angry and flustered, she had splashed the wine at him.

Fortunately, the trade fair officially began, shifting both sides' attention.

All manner of strange and rare materials broadened Meng Chao's horizons and stirred the fragments of his past-life memories into restless motion.

With his current physical condition, he had no need to buy overly high-grade rare materials for medicine refinement. It was enough just to feast his eyes on them.

That Crystallized Nerve Ball, however, had been sold for 1.33 million after Ning Shewo worked every trick in his arsenal to drive up the price. It was twenty to thirty percent above market value, much to Meng Chao's delight.

With a huge sum of money in his pocket, he began to entertain thoughts of picking up a bargain.

But everyone present had sharp eyes, and the price of every material was fair and reasonable. Nothing as melodramatic as "a material clearly worth five million being bought for fifty thousand by an unremarkable high school student with a discerning eye" occurred.

Before they knew it, two hours had passed, and the trade fair entered its liveliest stage.

"Experts, three days ago, our Blood Wolf Squad collected an unknown material Deep in the Mist. We do not know its properties, uses, or how to price it, so we have brought it here for all of you experts to appraise. We also hope to find a buyer. If anyone can truly identify it, the appraisal fee will certainly be generous."

A burly man holding a wooden tray stepped onto the stage and spoke in a ringing voice.

There were countless monsters, evolving and mutating every moment. No matter how formidable a hunter was, they could never recognize every material in the Monster Mountain Range.

Reapers dealt with all kinds of materials year in and year out, and thus often had keener eyes than monster hunters.

Outstanding Reapers were often outstanding appraisers as well. Moreover, trade fairs gathered relatively capable buyers and sellers. Once the value of a rare material was determined, someone would often purchase it on the spot.

Over time, identifying unknown materials had become the grand finale of high-end trade fairs.

Of course, this was also an extremely risky affair, with one's reputation at stake.

Successfully identifying a rare material no one had ever known could indeed give one a chance to rise to fame overnight.

But if one misjudged it, one could just as easily stumble headfirst into a great fall.

For a time, numerous Reapers and major buyers gathered around, all waiting with great interest to see this unknown material.

"Hold on!"

At that moment, Liao Feijun suddenly stood up. He shot Ning Shewo a malicious glance, then raised his voice. "I heard that Old Ning recently accepted an heir to his mantle. By seniority, that would make him my junior granduncle. I exchanged a few words with 'Uncle Meng' just now and gained much enlightenment. Why not invite Uncle Meng to identify this material and let everyone see his methods? We can also see Old Ning's eye for choosing disciples. What do you say?"

Everyone was taken aback, then grew interested.

"Liao Feijun, don't spout nonsense."

Ning Xueshi's face reddened as she stood and retorted, "Mr. Meng is not my grandfather's disciple. He is my grandfather's friend despite their difference in age. He has nothing whatsoever to do with the matters between your family and ours, so stop biting random bystanders!"

"A friend despite their difference in age?"

Liao Feijun laughed loudly. "Old Ning was poisoned by a snake, yet his realm has become more and more enlightened. He can become friends despite an age gap with anyone. Such a spirit of withdrawing bravely amid rushing currents and being content with the ordinary is truly worth us juniors learning from."

Ning Shewo's face was as dark as water, but he could not act out.

With his status as the White-Haired Ghost Hand, confronting Liao Feijun directly would only be lowering himself to the younger man's generation.

Ning Xueshi was so furious that her willow-leaf brows stood on end. Just as she was about to step forward and say, "What material? I'll identify it,"

Meng Chao had already taken a step forward. "Fine. Let me have a look at this material."

He had never been the sort to swallow anger and endure humiliation. The matter of Ripple Force that morning had already left his belly full of fire. Since Liao Feijun was in league with Gu Ming, he was obviously no good person. Now that he had spoken provocatively, Meng Chao could use this brat to vent his fire.

Besides, he would awaken quite a few future Harvesting Techniques in the future, or recall the structures behind future monster evolution. He was bound to make many contributions within the Reaper circle.

For that, he needed a certain degree of fame. He needed to speak loudly enough for people to believe him.

Young Master Jun, right? Sorry, but since you've taken the initiative to stick your face out, if I don't step on it twice, I'd be giving you far too much face, Meng Chao thought.

Ning Xueshi failed to stop him. Meng Chao strode onto the stage and calmly accepted the scrutiny of the many experts.

His confidence moved the burly man from the Blood Wolf Squad. The monster hunter lifted the gauze and respectfully said, "Mr. Meng, please appraise it."

A stream of radiance shot straight toward the ceiling. Refracted through the glass chandelier, it filled the room with dazzling colors, rippling like seven-colored waves.

Even the well-traveled Reapers could not help crying out softly, and they all stood on tiptoe to look.

Amid the fluffy red velvet lay a treasure pearl the size of a goose egg. Crystal-clear and layered with color, it seemed as though more than a dozen richly inked landscape paintings had been condensed into a space no larger than one's palm. As the angle changed, it gave off different halos of light.

"What is that?"

"What a beautiful treasure. It looks like the crystal core of some kind of super beast, but who knows what kind."

"The spiritual energy is so dense. It must have taken that super beast decades, perhaps even centuries, to condense it. It will surely be of great benefit to cultivation!"

Everyone's gaze fell upon Meng Chao.

They were all curious what was so remarkable about this youngster in a wrinkled high school uniform.

Meng Chao swept it with a glance and immediately had an answer. Just as he was about to speak,

a demonic glint that flashed through the depths of the crystal core made his pupils suddenly contract. He gave a soft "Eh."

"Could this actually be..."

Meng Chao held his breath and observed it closely, his expression growing increasingly grave.

He circled the unknown material three times, then leaned close and studied it for another three minutes. He even borrowed a magnifying glass specially used for appraising materials from Ning Xueshi.

The more he looked, the more focused he became; the more he looked, the more absorbed he was. It was as if his entire body were about to burrow into the material.

A full five minutes passed. Everyone had begun to clamour impatiently before he finally sighed and shook his head. "I don't know."

The crowd erupted. You didn't know, yet you put on such an act and studied it for so long? Did you think the time of all us experts was worthless?

Liao Feijun even laughed aloud.

"You know, then?" Meng Chao asked with a sidelong glance and a cold snort.

He was not boasting.

If even he could not be one hundred percent certain about this unknown material, then no one in present-day Dragon City could possibly know.

"I know a little."

Liao Feijun was radiant with confidence as he strode onto the stage and unceremoniously shoved Meng Chao aside. "Deep in the mist south of Dragon City grows a Spirit-infused Plant called Single-Eyed Grass. It is the favorite food of the local monster, the Golden Bristle Hyena Pig. Single Wood Grass bears fruit once every three years, and after it has fruited hundreds of times, it produces a mutated Ghost Eye Fruit. Once this mutated fruit is eaten by a Golden Bristle Hyena Pig, it cannot be digested and remains inside its body, becoming something akin to a stone.

"Originally, the Ghost Eye Fruit has mild properties and can coexist peacefully with the digestive system. But the Golden Bristle Hyena Pig also happens to be the favorite food of the Level Three super beast, the Red-Tailed Golden Python. Once a Red-Tailed Golden Python swallows a Golden Bristle Hyena Pig containing a Ghost Eye Fruit, the hyena pig is naturally digested and absorbed, but the Ghost Eye Fruit is stimulated by the Red-Tailed Golden Python's digestive juices and develops a new shell.

"After several decades or even a century, the Ghost Eye Fruit is refined into the Red-Tailed Golden Python's crystal core—using the terminology of supernatural novels from the Earth Era, calling it the Red-Tailed Golden Python's inner pellet would not be inaccurate. At that point, it gains a brand-new name: the Flood Dragon Eye!

"Deputy Captain Zhao, may I ask whether this Flood Dragon Eye was dissected from the body of a Red-Tailed Golden Python?"

Liao Feijun smiled as he asked the Blood Wolf Squad's burly man.

The Zhao Surname Strongman's face was filled with shock and admiration. He nodded repeatedly. "Young Master Jun's words are accurate down to every word. This crystal core was indeed obtained when we hunted a Red-Tailed Golden Python. Near its nest, we also found many remnants of Golden Bristle Hyena Pig fur, and even vast patches of Single Wood Grass!"

Their peers, buyers, and sellers were all greatly impressed.

Many people had guessed that it was the crystal core of a python.

But they had not known what species of python it was, or under what circumstances it had formed. Naturally, none of them could explain it as clearly and systematically as Liao Feijun, every detail sounding as though he had witnessed it himself.

"Young Master Jun truly is Young Master Jun—well-read and retentive, with Fiery Eyes and Golden Gaze!"

"Unlike that kid. Ha, never mind that he couldn't name the Red-Tailed Golden Python—he didn't even know it was the crystal core of a python-type super beast. What kind of Reaper does he think he is?"

"Old Master Ning really is grabbing at straws in desperation. How did he find such an heir?"

"Not an heir. Didn't you hear? He's a 'friend despite their difference in age'—hahahaha!"

Noisy chatter rose from all around.

It was Liao Feijun's gang of fair-weather friends egging things on.

The Ning grandfather and granddaughter were so angry that their hands trembled, and they felt even more distressed for Meng Chao.

Ning Shewo shot Ning Xueshi a fierce glare and said heavily, "It was all because you were too impulsive. You tore your face apart with Liao Feijun, yet dragged Little Friend Meng into it—he is only a high school student. Even if the Fire-Passing Old Man gave him all the guidance in the world, how could he identify every material Deep in the Mist? This time, he has taken a disastrous fall!"