Innate Martial Artist

"Don't sell them—whatever you do, don't sell them!"

Shorty squeezed through the crowd, shouting loudly between ragged breaths.

Jiang Yan had entered Ruin No. 56 these past few days and had not seen this little black-robed dwarf for quite some time.

Without caring whether the ground was clean, he plopped down and raised a brow at Shorty. "Why can't I sell them?"

Although he had not intended to sell these goods off cheaply, he still wanted to hear what this black-robed dwarf had in mind.

The dwarf caught his breath before finally speaking.

"Big Brother, the things you have here are priceless—rare items even within the city. If you sell them here at a low price, you'll be cheated blind. Take your brother's advice: put these things up for auction at the Warrior Chamber of Commerce in the city. Believe me, the price will definitely satisfy you."

After listening to him rattle off so much in one breath, Jiang Yan did not immediately rejoice. Instead, he looked at Shorty suspiciously.

"Why are you being so considerate toward me? We're not that close, are we?"

The other red-eyed merchants hurriedly chimed in as well. "Yeah, why are you so concerned about him? Don't tell me you have some ulterior motive?"

"That's right. I think you just want to swallow up all these goods for yourself. Brother, listen to me—sell them to me, and I guarantee you won't leave at a loss."

Those merchants had originally wanted Jiang Yan's materials. Now that Shorty had cut them off halfway, they were naturally displeased and began disparaging him one after another.

"Shut up, all of you!"

Jiang Yan barked out a furious rebuke. A powerful aura erupted from his solid, powerful body, his entire being as sharp as a bloodthirsty blade.

After countless battles, Jiang Yan's killing intent had long since become almost tangible. Once unleashed, it truly cowed everyone present.

The others fell silent, unable to hide the shock in their eyes. They could not believe that a man who looked no older than eighteen or nineteen possessed such an imposing aura.

Jiang Yan's shout worked well. Sure enough, no one around dared to talk nonsense anymore. They all looked at him with a hint of awe, not daring to overstep in the slightest.

Sure enough, when your fist was big enough, people listened wherever you went. At first, they had seen that he was young and easy to bully, each one of them trying to drive down the price. Only after witnessing his strength did they finally behave themselves.

If Jiang Yan had been a combat-power-five scrub, he was certain he would have been robbed clean the moment he stepped out of the Exchange. Without some strength, it truly was hard to gain a foothold in the Wilderness.

He turned to Shorty. "What's the background of this auction you mentioned?"

Shorty concealed the surprise in his eyes and answered truthfully.

"It's the auction on the second floor of the Warrior Building in Linjiang City, but you need a certain status before you can put things up for auction."

"What status?"

"You need to have spent at least ten million on the third floor."

Jiang Yan followed Shorty into the city and learned why Shorty had sought him out along the way.

"My mother is critically ill and urgently needs an Evergreen Green Plant as a medicinal catalyst. Brother, consider it a favor I owe you. I'll buy half an Evergreen Green Plant from you at above market price."

That was why Shorty had stopped him.

On one hand, he urgently needed half an Evergreen Green Plant, while Jiang Yan happened to be planning to sell the thing.

On the other hand, he had once spent more than ten million on the third floor of the Warrior Building and possessed a Warrior Auction Qualification Certificate, allowing him to auction these materials for Jiang Yan as a favor.

Each repaid the other; neither owed the other anything.

Jiang Yan did not care whether Shorty's words were true or false. He only knew that this matter benefited him, and that was enough.

"I agree."

Linjiang City Warrior Building.

Nearly every city had such a building, constructed specifically for martial artists.

The first floor was the martial artist certification office.

Martial artist rank certification, talent verification, and martial strength testing were all conducted on the first floor.

The second floor was for auctions, exhibitions, and other large-scale events.

The third floor was a marketplace specializing in goods related to martial artists.

As the two headed toward the building, Shorty eagerly struck up conversation with Jiang Yan along the way.

"My name is Chen An. What's your surname, brother?"

"Jiang Yan."

"Brother Jiang Yan, you don't look very old. You should have just started university, right?"

"No, I'm about to take the College Entrance Exam."

"Holy shit, you're still a high school student!"

Chen An cried out in shock, never having expected that someone capable of obtaining so much quality loot in the Wilderness would be a high school student.

"What's wrong with high school students? Can't high school students enter the Wilderness?"

Jiang Yan turned his head and asked with amusement.

Chen An swallowed and gave Jiang Yan a thumbs-up.

"You're badass, Brother. The College Entrance Exam is in two days—I'll cheer for you in front of the TV when the time comes."

"Hahaha, I'll take your good wishes."

"By the way, you're so strong. Don't tell me you have an A Grade talent?"

Jiang Yan shook his head. "I haven't had the time to test my rank yet."

Chen An suddenly stopped, his voice rising a few pitches. "Brother Jiang, the government gives rewards to Talent Users. Since we're heading to the Warrior Building anyway, you should test your talent rank while we're there."

"Oh? What rewards?"

Jiang Yan truly did not know about this. Over the years, he had focused on opening his apertures and had not paid much attention to what came after.

"A B Grade talent gets a monthly subsidy of ten thousand Star Coins."

"An A Grade talent gets a monthly subsidy of twenty thousand Star Coins."

"An S Grade talent can even receive a rare bottle of Body Tempering Fluid subsidized by the state!"

Jiang Yan followed up, "What about an SS-rank talent?"

"An SS-rank talent? Uh... I really don't know what rewards an SS-rank talent would get. It seems Linjiang City has never had an SS-rank talent."

Chen An scratched his head and answered honestly.

Jiang Yan pondered to himself, I wonder what rank the Battle Saint Armor is?

The Battle Saint Armor had evolved from the Thick-Skinned Physique, and its boost to Jiang Yan's combat power was obvious for all to see.

But as for what rank it was, Jiang Yan truly did not know.

Forget it. I'm passing by anyway, so I might as well test it. Snagging a bottle of Body Tempering Fluid wouldn't be bad either.

For martial artists taking it for the first time, Body Tempering Fluid was an incomparable treasure, providing an immense boost. If Jiang Yan drank a bottle, he might get one step closer to becoming a Third-Tier Innate Martial Artist.

However, breaking through to the third tier was practically impossible. Or rather, no one had ever broken through to the third tier of Xiantian by taking Body Tempering Fluid.

The Xiantian realm had already surpassed the limits of the human body and begun to comprehend the mysteries of heaven and earth. There was a collective term for those below the third tier.

Postnatal Martial Artists.

Postnatal Martial Artists focused on tempering their qi, blood, and fleshly bodies, and Body Tempering Fluid had an exceptionally obvious effect on improving the physical body. That was why it was so widely praised by Postnatal Martial Artists.

But Xiantian was different.

To break through into Xiantian, one needed to comprehend "qi."

A special energy that existed throughout the universe, an energy that transcended all common sense and created countless Miracles.

Extraordinary powers were written from it and born of it.

Jiang Yan had only just broken through to Blood Condensation Perfection and was still quite a distance from Xiantian. A bottle of Body Tempering Fluid was extremely necessary for him.

The Battle Saint Armor would not disappoint him. What was more, he had many Traits to assist him.

"Alright, let's go test my talent rank."