Seeking Medicine

"Young Master Xuan, here is the list of everyone who registered yesterday and the items they submitted. Please review it."

Ya Hanxiao presented the dossier.

Xuan Jin took it and flipped through it casually.

"Blood Pattern Ganoderma, Jia Lie Family..."

"Ice Flame Heavenly Heart Grass, Lin Family..."

Xuan Jin scanned through it rapidly, his brows gradually furrowing.

Most of them were Fifth Grade medicinal herbs. They might be considered treasures in a place like Wutan City, but in his eyes, they were no different from weeds by the roadside.

Ya Fei watched his expression from the side, and her heart tightened as well.

She had expected this outcome. Wutan City was simply too small, after all.

Xuan Jin's finger slowly moved across the dossier before finally stopping at two entries.

"Ao Ba Family, rare item, one Black Iron Lump, said to be incomparably hard and impervious to water and fire."

"Xiao Family, Xiao Zhan, one Ancestral Ancient Jade."

Xuan Jin lightly tapped his fingertip against the four words "Ancestral Ancient Jade."

This was it. What Xuan Jin had not expected, however, was that Xiao Zhan had truly been willing to send over this ancient jade that represented the Xiao Family's inheritance. As a father, Xiao Zhan was indeed admirable.

However, if he chose only the Xiao Family, his intentions would be too obvious and would inevitably arouse the suspicions of those with ulterior motives.

Xuan Jin raised his head and looked at Ya Fei.

"Notify the Ao Ba Family and the Xiao Family. Have them bring their items over."

"See both of them?" Ya Fei was somewhat surprised.

"Mhm." Xuan Jin answered indifferently. "Have them come together."

Ya Fei understood at once.

This Young Master Xuan was meticulous in his thinking. He wanted the two families to compete against each other, thereby driving up the price.

As expected, an expert left no room for error in anything he did.

"Yes. Ya Fei will make the arrangements at once."

Ya Fei bowed and withdrew. As she turned around, an enchanting curve rose at the corners of her lips.

Things were becoming more and more interesting.

She was very curious to see what kind of sparks Wutan City's two great Clan Leaders would create before that mysterious master for the sake of a chance to meet him.

The door closed.

Xuan Jin leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.

The reason he was being so high-profile, aside from drawing out the Xiao Family and Xiao Xun'er, was also to temper himself.

An alchemist's cultivation was not merely about shutting oneself away to refine pills.

Experiencing the world, witnessing all its many faces, and understanding the seven emotions and six desires were likewise forms of tempering for one's state of mind and soul.

In his previous life, he had merely been an ordinary office worker. He worked day after day, leading an unremarkable life whose future could be seen at a glance.

In this life, he possessed power, but the growth of one's state of mind could not be achieved overnight.

Which of those old monsters in the Pill Tower had not lived for hundreds or even thousands of years, with minds as cunning as demons?

Fortunately, Xuan Jin had crossed over early and possessed a special constitution, though he knew nothing of his own origins.

But none of that was important. If Xuan Jin wanted to gain a firm foothold on the Dou Qi Continent, he had to become stronger.

And Wutan City was the first stop on his journey of worldly cultivation.

Everyone here—Ya Fei's shrewdness, Xiao Zhan's fatherly love, Jia Lie Bi's greed... they were all scenery along his path of cultivation.

Xuan Jin slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. Everything was only just beginning.

Inside a private room at Tianxiang Tower.

The atmosphere was somewhat solemn.

Xiao Zhan and Ao Ba Pa, the two Clan Leaders of Wutan City, sat upright on opposite sides, neither looking at the other.

Ao Ba Pa held a long Brocade Box in his arms, his face carrying the pride of certain victory.

He believed that the treasure his family had produced would definitely move that alchemy master.

Xiao Zhan, meanwhile, held a somewhat worn wooden box in both hands. His expression was tense, and his palms were drenched in sweat.

He did not know whether his Ancestral Ancient Jade, which was good for nothing but its hardness, could truly catch the master's eye.

Ya Fei entered with graceful steps, a perfect professional smile on her face.

"Clan Leaders, thank you for waiting. Master Xuan will see you now."

Xiao Zhan and Ao Ba Pa rose at the same time. Following Ya Fei, they passed through a quiet corridor and arrived at a more spacious room.

The room was simply furnished, with only a single seat of honor.

Xuan Jin sat there casually, not even raising his head to look at them.

Yet an invisible pressure enveloped the entire room. Xiao Zhan and Ao Ba Pa both found their breathing catch.

He was not the white-haired elder they had imagined, nor did he possess the air of an immortal sage.

Sitting in the seat of honor was merely a black-robed young man who appeared to be around twenty.

The young man was handsome, his expression indifferent. He held a cup of tea and gently blew on the steam.

"This..."

Ao Ba Pa nearly blurted out, "What the hell is this?"

A mere brat?

Was the Miter Auction House playing them for fools?

Just as he was about to flare up, Ya Fei beside him gave a soft, inconspicuous cough.

Ao Ba Pa instantly came to his senses. Only then did he remember that the pressure making his heart pound came from this very young man before him.

He immediately swallowed all his doubts, cold sweat breaking out across his forehead.

Xiao Zhan's heart, however, sank to rock bottom.

He was too young.

How could someone so young possibly be a Sixth Grade Alchemist?

Could this really be a scam?

The flame of hope that had just ignited within him was about to be extinguished in an instant.

"Begin."

Xuan Jin set down his teacup. His cool voice rang through the room—not loud, yet clearly entering everyone's ears.

Ya Fei dipped in a slight bow and moved gracefully toward Ao Ba Pa first.

"Clan Leader Ao Ba, please."

Ao Ba Pa recovered himself and hurriedly presented the Brocade Box in his arms with both hands, his attitude as respectful as if he were on a pilgrimage.

Ya Fei accepted the Brocade Box and placed it on the table before Xuan Jin.

Xuan Jin did not rush to open it, merely signaling for her to continue.

Ya Fei then walked over to Xiao Zhan.

Xiao Zhan's heart rose to his throat as he lifted the worn wooden box with trembling hands.

This box looked far shabbier than Ao Ba Pa's ornate Brocade Box.

Ya Fei accepted the wooden box and placed it on the table as well.

Xuan Jin's fingertips first landed on Ao Ba Pa's Brocade Box, giving it a gentle push.

The lid opened.

A pitch-black, lusterless, irregularly shaped lump of iron lay quietly upon the yellow silk lining.

Ao Ba Pa's heart nearly leaped out of his chest, and he quickly introduced it.

"Master Xuan, this item was accidentally obtained by an ancestor of my Ao Ba Family. It is impervious to water and fire, and even blades cannot damage it. We have exhausted every method, yet we could not harm it in the slightest. It is absolutely a rare item!"

Ya Fei stood to the side, equally puzzled.

Rather than a rare item, this thing looked more like a slightly harder piece of scrap iron.

Xuan Jin said nothing.

He reached out and picked up the Black Iron Lump.

It felt cold and heavy in his hand.

He sent a thread of Soul Power into it.

In the next instant, his movements halted.

Within his perception, this utterly ordinary lump of iron had unexpectedly produced a faint resonance with his Soul Power.

Though he did not know what it was, anything capable of resonating with Soul Power was certainly no ordinary object.

"I'll take this."