Spoiled and Arrogant Girl

"Four-Eyed Cat Eagle Flander, headmaster of Shrek Academy, the number one miser on the Douluo Continent..." Information about the shop owner before him surfaced in Yun Chuan's mind, along with a minor plot point related to this shop.

"I remember that Tang San seemed to have found a treasure in this little shop in the original story. Was it a Dragon Beard Needle? It looked like a piece of murky crystal, but if you smashed it open, there was a treasure hidden inside!" As he racked his brain for the original plot, which he had nearly forgotten, he ignored Flander, who was clearly pretending to sleep. He slowly wandered around the room, looking this way and that, examining the items hanging on the walls with interest.

After sweeping his gaze over everything in the shop, Yun Chuan found that Flander truly deserved his reputation as a notorious profiteer from the original story. The entire shop was basically filled with counterfeit junk. At first glance, the things hanging on the walls, emitting faint Soul Power fluctuations, looked like unidentified Soul Tools.

But in reality, with the discerning eye he had developed since childhood under Spirit Hall's training, he could easily see that there was something wrong with every one of those Soul Tools. Their interiors were probably merely sealed with things like Soul Beast claws, fangs, and fur, meant to confuse one's senses.

If anyone truly bought these things hoping to snag a bargain, they would absolutely lose everything.

Of course, the shop did have genuine Soul Tools, but judging from their unstable fluctuations, the core regions inside them were likely damaged. They could still be used, but problems were extremely likely to arise. For example, storage-type ones might leak their contents from time to time. With bad luck, they could even explode, destroying everything stored inside.

Profiteer! A blatant profiteer!

After looking around, Yun Chuan cried inwardly that the human heart truly could be this dark.

There was not a single good item in the entire shop. The only exception was a crystal roughly the size of a human head.

That crystal looked unremarkable. It was transparent in itself, but large patches of dark yellow impurities filled its interior. It hung closest to the entrance. Yet the moment Yun Chuan saw it, his pupils contracted. At that moment, the rune between his brows in his mind actually began to tremble faintly, conveying a vague message: useful... absorb...

Though Yun Chuan looked calm on the outside, his insides were already in turmoil. He was practically on the verge of cheering with joy. The rune between his brows had actually taken the initiative to send him a message. Normally, it was incredibly aloof. Other than during training, it never paid him any attention. Yet upon encountering this crystal, that aloof rune had actually reacted on its own.

"This crystal will definitely be of tremendous help to me! I have to get it!" Yun Chuan thought, then impatiently said to Flander, "I want this crystal. How much is it?"

"Not expensive. One hundred Gold Soul Coins." A lazy, slightly hoarse voice rang out. Flander remained sprawled in his recliner, not even opening his eyes.

One hundred Gold Soul Coins was absolutely an extortionate price, but Yun Chuan did not care. He was not short on money. He directly pulled out a pouch of gold coins from his Soul Tool and said, "Fine, I..."

"...I'll buy it!"

A woman's voice suddenly cut him off.

Yun Chuan froze and instinctively turned his head. A girl had walked in through the shop entrance. She was the one who had spoken just now.

"Where did you come from? I was the one who asked the price of this crystal first!" Yun Chuan frowned, his tone somewhat unfriendly. Looking at the girl before him, he vaguely guessed her identity.

"Hmph, but did you pay for it? Since you haven't paid, the transaction hasn't been completed. Why can't I buy it first?" The girl who had entered from the doorway gave a soft snort, speaking with a hint of spoiled arrogance. Her voice was gentle and lovely, lacking some of the heroic spirit one might expect, but it was soft and sweet, making one's bones feel weak. The faint Fire Qi in Yun Chuan's heart somehow quietly faded when he heard that voice.

All he could say was that this really was a world that judged by appearances. As long as someone was cute enough, they could be forgiven no matter what bad thing they did. And the girl before him happened to have a pretty face that Yun Chuan could forgive.

She wore a blue-green long dress, and her smooth coffee-colored hair fell long behind her. Two slender braids secured the center-parted bangs that had been combed to either side of her head. Beneath those bangs was a delicate oval face, fair and tender with a faint blush. She was charming and adorable, brimming with the youthful vitality unique to young girls.

Her eyes were the color of sapphires, and framed by long lashes, they looked bright and dewy. Her whole person gave off a fresh and elegant air.

Seeing the girl's Eastern classical-style attire, which perfectly suited his tastes, along with the innate nobility she carried, and considering the current point in time, Yun Chuan had already guessed the spoiled girl's identity. Could she be Ning Rongrong, the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect who had run away from home?

But although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul naturally possessed the ability to identify treasures, the original story never mentioned her coming to this shop. Could his arrival have caused a butterfly effect?

Various speculations surfaced in Yun Chuan's mind, but on the surface, he merely frowned and said coldly, "There should be a first come, first served rule in everything, shouldn't there? I clearly spotted this crystal first. You came in and tried to snatch it right away. Isn't that rather inappropriate?"

"There's nothing inappropriate about it. Isn't that how business works? The highest bidder gets it." At that moment, Flander, who had been pretending to sleep, sat up. With a full-faced profiteer's grin, he said, "How about this? Whoever offers the higher price gets the crystal."

Upon hearing this, Yun Chuan and Ning Rongrong frowned at the same time!

Because the profiteer before them was clearly trying to fleece them.

They both had money and were not short on it.

But neither of them was willing to be swindled out of money for no reason. After all, who would willingly let someone take advantage of them for nothing?

"Forget it. I won't buy it." Ning Rongrong suddenly shook her head. She had not particularly wanted the crystal in the first place. Earlier, she had merely happened to pass by this shop when her martial soul's senses told her that there seemed to be some kind of treasure inside. Curious, she had walked over, only to spot the crystal at a glance.

The sensation from her martial soul told her that this murky crystal held something unusual, that there was definitely a treasure inside. So, seized by the thrill of finding a hidden bargain, she had blurted out that she would buy it without a second thought.

But after entering the shop and seeing that someone else had already made an offer for the crystal, Ning Rongrong had felt a little embarrassed. She had originally intended to apologize, but Yun Chuan's frown and unfriendly tone stirred up the young lady's rebellious nature. That was why she had snorted and said such an unreasonable thing.

After all, she had been the Sect's precious darling, its cherished jewel, ever since childhood. Who dared pull a face at her like that, let alone speak to her in that tone? He looked as though he might hit her the next second. Who was he trying to scare?

Of course, Ning Rongrong did not normally speak like this. In public, she was still gentle and kind, the very picture of a proper young lady. After all, outside, she represented the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. At home, it did not matter much, but if she acted so spoiled and willful in public, it would disgrace the Sect. People would think that the dignified Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was an overbearing sect.