Innate Martial Artist

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

Shorty pushed through the crowd, shouting breathlessly.

Jiang Yan had been inside Ruin No. 56 for days and hadn't seen this little black-robed shorty in a long time.

He didn't care whether the ground was clean or not; he sat down right there, raised an eyebrow, and asked Shorty, "Why can't I sell?"

Even though he hadn't planned on offloading these goods at a low price anyway, he still wanted to hear what the black-robed shorty had to say.

Shorty caught his breath and finally spoke:

"Big bro, the stuff you've got here is precious—rare finds in the city. If you sell it cheap right here, you'll get ripped off. Take my advice: put these items up for auction at the Warrior Chamber of Commerce in the city. Trust me, the price will blow your mind."

Jiang Yan listened to him rattle off all that without jumping for joy right away. Instead, he eyed Shorty suspiciously:

"Why are you looking out for me so much? We're not exactly close, are we?"

The other merchants, red-eyed with envy, quickly chimed in: "Yeah, why are you so concerned for him? You planning something shady?"

"That's right. I think you just want to hog all the goods yourself. Listen to me, buddy—sell them to me, and I guarantee you won't leave empty-handed."

The merchants had been angling for Jiang Yan's materials, and now this shorty was cutting in. Naturally, they were pissed, so they started badmouthing him.

"All of you, shut up!"

Jiang Yan barked, and a fierce aura erupted from his solid, powerful frame, making him as sharp as a bloodthirsty blade.

After countless battles, Jiang Yan's killing intent had long become tangible. The moment it burst forth, it stunned everyone present.

The rest fell silent, unable to hide the shock in their eyes. They couldn't believe that a man who looked barely eighteen or nineteen could wield such overwhelming presence.

Jiang Yan's shout worked like a charm. No one dared to speak out of turn anymore; they all looked at him with a hint of awe, careful not to overstep.

Sure enough, when your fists are big enough, you get heard anywhere. These people had initially thought he was young and easy to push around, lowballing prices left and right. Now that they'd seen his strength, they finally behaved.

If Jiang Yan had been a weakling, he was sure he'd have been robbed clean the moment he left the Exchange. Without some real skill, surviving in the Wilderness was no joke.

He turned to Shorty: "What's this auction you mentioned?"

Shorty hid the surprise in his eyes and answered honestly:

"It's the auction on the second floor of the Warrior Building in Linjiang City. But you need a certain status to put items up for auction."

"What status?"

"At least spending over ten million on the third floor."

Jiang Yan followed Shorty into the city, learning along the way why Shorty had sought him out.

"My mother's critically ill at home, and she urgently needs an Evergreen Green Plant as a medicinal ingredient. Brother, consider this a favor from me. I'll buy half an Evergreen Green Plant from you at a price above market rate."

That was why Shorty had stopped him.

On one hand, he desperately needed half an Evergreen Green Plant, and Jiang Yan happened to be selling the stuff.

On the other hand, he had once spent over ten million on the third floor of the Warrior Building, holding a Warrior Auction Qualification Certificate. He could use that as a favor to help Jiang Yan auction off these materials.

It was a give-and-take—no debts between them.

Jiang Yan didn't care whether Shorty's story was true or not. He only knew this deal benefited him, and that was enough.

"I agree."

Linjiang City's Warrior Building.

Almost every city had a building like this, built specifically for warriors.

The first floor housed the Warrior Certification Office.

Warrior rank certification, talent verification, and strength testing all took place on the first floor.

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

The third floor was a marketplace, selling goods related to warriors.

The two of them walked toward the building, with Shorty eagerly chatting up Jiang Yan along the way.

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

"Jiang Yan."

"Brother Jiang Yan, you don't look that old. Just started college, right?"

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

"Holy crap, you're still a high schooler!"

Chen An blurted out in shock, completely unable to believe that someone who could score so many high-value items in the Wilderness was just a high school student.

"What's wrong with being a high schooler? Can't high schoolers enter the Wilderness?"

Jiang Yan turned his head and asked him with a smirk.

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

"You're insane, brother. The College Entrance Exam's in two days—I'll be cheering for you in front of the TV."

"Haha, I'll take your word for it."

"By the way, with strength like yours, you've got to be at least A-grade talent, right?"

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

Chen An suddenly paused, his voice rising a notch. "Brother Jiang, the government offers rewards for Talent Users. Since we're heading to the Warrior Building anyway, why not test your talent level while you're at it?"

"Oh? What kind of rewards?"

Jiang Yan genuinely didn't know. He'd spent all these years focused on opening his apertures and hadn't paid much attention to what came after.

"B-grade talent gets a monthly subsidy of ten thousand Star Coins."

"A-grade talent gets twenty thousand Star Coins a month."

"And S-grade talent can even get a rare bottle of Body Tempering Fluid subsidized by the nation!"

Jiang Yan followed up. "What about SS-grade talent?"

"SS-grade? Uh... I really don't know what rewards SS-grade would bring. Linjiang City has never seen an SS-rank talent before."

Chen An scratched his head and answered honestly.

Jiang Yan mused to himself. I wonder what grade the Battle Saint Armor is?

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

But as for what grade it was, Jiang Yan truly had no idea.

"Forget it. Since I'm passing by, I'll test it and snag a bottle of Body Tempering Fluid—that'd be nice."

For a martial artist taking it for the first time, Body Tempering Fluid was a rare treasure with an enormous amplification effect. If Jiang Yan downed a bottle, he might even take a step closer to becoming a Third-Tier Innate Martial Artist.

Still, breaking through to Third-Tier was basically impossible—no one could achieve Third-Tier Innate just by consuming Body Tempering Fluid.

The Innate Realm had already surpassed the limits of the human body, beginning to comprehend the mysteries of heaven and earth. Everything below Third-Tier had a unified name:

Postnatal Martial Artists.

Postnatal Martial Artists focused on tempering their blood, qi, and physical bodies, and Body Tempering Fluid's effect on the flesh was remarkably obvious, which was why it was so highly praised among them.

But the Innate Realm was different.

To break through to Innate, one needed to comprehend "Qi."

A special energy within the universe, one that transcended all common sense and forged countless miracles.

Supernatural abilities were written from it and derived from it.

Jiang Yan had just broken through to Blood Condensation Perfection and was still a fair distance from the Innate Realm. A bottle of Body Tempering Fluid was absolutely necessary for him.

The Battle Saint Armor wouldn't let him down, and on top of that, he still had plenty of word entries to support him.

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