"Hao'er!?"
Qin Tian and Yun Xiyue exchanged a glance, both feeling deeply surprised.
By rights, Qin Feng had already proved his strength just now. What eight-year-old could possess such terrifying combat power?
By contrast, although Qin Hao possessed the unparalleled Supreme Bone, it hadn't been activated yet, so no one knew how strong he was.
As for that—
Lin Hao merely smiled, offering no explanation.
He hadn't chosen Qin Hao at random. He'd weighed the pros and cons before making his decision.
As everyone knew, Qin Feng and Qin Hao were twins, so their talents couldn't be all that different.
Their older brother Qin Feng had just broken all kinds of records, and his younger brother Qin Hao had immediately broken them too. It was clear that Qin Hao's talent was slightly greater than Qin Feng's.
Since both had the same upbringing and background, naturally he was more inclined toward the younger brother with the Supreme Bone.
Most importantly, rumors had been circulating throughout the Ancient Wasteland that Qin Feng was the Blood Moon Demon born eight years ago—and a thorn in the side of the Great Xia Royal Family.
Investing in Qin Feng was too risky. Investing in his younger brother Qin Hao was the safer bet.
If something ever happened to the Qin family, Qin Hao would have no choice but to stand with their Heavenly Heart City.
"Very well!"
Qin Tian didn't ask any more questions. His goal was to form an alliance through marriage, after all.
As long as the two great powers controlling eastern and western Great Xia joined forces, even if the Great Xia Royal Family allied with other clans, they would have to think twice about the consequences. So long as the two children were given time to grow, the Qin family would have won.
In the end, with both families' elders tacitly understanding one another, an alliance through marriage—one based on their own interests—was settled just like that.
The two people involved, however, still knew nothing about it. Lin Xin'er was out exploring Qin Family City with the two brothers, accompanied by Lin San.
"I feel like I could lose my life at any moment!"
As a Destined Arch Villain,
</di>
Qin Feng felt no sense of security at all, even in Qin Family City, with tens of millions of Qin family relatives protecting him, when he was with two Epic Sons of Heaven.
He was afraid they'd activate their halos together and send the whole family off as a neat little package.
"Wow, it's so lively here!"
Lin Xin'er couldn't help exclaiming. They had arrived at the Qin family's market.
Unlike the sort of market where ordinary people sold vegetables, this one was for cultivators. It was full of treasures used in cultivation, such as Immortal Grass, pills, and magical artifacts.
Since the Qin family was the undisputed ruler of eastern Great Xia, Qin Family City was unquestionably safe.
Every day, countless cultivators from outside came here to trade. The Qin family also needed those transactions to strengthen its disciples, and so this free-trade market had gradually taken shape.
"Hm!"
Qin Hao and Lin San's eyes lit up at the same time, both of them staring at a battered little cauldron.
"Hm!!"
Qin Feng perked up too, as if a lecher had unlocked a new move.
Rather than worry about these two Sons of Heaven getting him killed, he might as well use their absurd Auspicious Qi to hunt for treasure. If both of them had noticed the little cauldron, it surely wasn't ordinary.
"I saw it first!"
"I saw it first!"
Qin Hao and Lin San glared at each other, neither willing to give up the little cauldron.
But while the snipe and the clam struggled, Qin Feng became the fisherman and asked the seller how much it cost.
"It was 1,000 spirit stones originally. If the Eldest Young Master wants it, how about 888?"
The stall owner gave the price cautiously, keeping an eye on Qin Feng's expression as if he'd lower it the moment Qin Feng so much as frowned.
What could he do?
The Qin family was the local power. Who would dare disrespect them?
"888 spirit stones!?"
The cultivators passing by stopped in their tracks, declaring that the stall owner must be out of his mind with greed.
One spirit stone could keep an ordinary person fed and housed for a lifetime. For a cultivator, absorbing one was equivalent to a week of hard cultivation. And now the stall owner was asking 888 spirit stones for a battered little cauldron.
The stall owner was nervous too.
He absolutely wasn't trying to take Qin Feng for a fool. It was just that the little cauldron's origins were truly extraordinary.
He'd once been a minor leader in the Tigerhead Gang, whose membership exceeded a hundred thousand. One day, the gang leader learned of some Ruins and led all one hundred thousand members there to excavate them.
After sacrificing the lives of more than a hundred thousand gang members, they finally reached the depths of the Ruins.
There was no scene of golden light flashing everywhere, as they'd imagined. There was only a battered little cauldron, enshrined on a stone platform.
The gang leader either had been too badly injured beforehand or something else had happened. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and died, leaving the stall owner as the only survivor for reasons he couldn't understand.
For a little cauldron bought with the lives of a hundred thousand gang members, 888 spirit stones was already a fire-sale price.
"Fine. I'll take it for 888 spirit stones!"
Afraid things might drag on and change, Qin Feng told the stall owner to go to the Qin family to collect the money.
As the Eldest Young Master of the Qin family, the Number One Clan of the Ancient Wasteland, it was perfectly reasonable for him to go out without carrying money.
"Thank you, Eldest Young Master!"
The stall owner thanked him over and over, happily handing the little cauldron to Qin Feng.
"You..."
Lin San was dumbstruck, stunned by Qin Feng's extravagance.
He hadn't even inspected the thing or bargained over the price. He'd just bought it for 888 spirit stones.
Even if you had money, you shouldn't be so reckless with it!
</di>
He couldn't explain why, but he felt as though he'd missed out on a fortune. He didn't know what the little cauldron was good for, but his instincts told him it was a treasure. He owed much of his success to his instincts.
"Ding-dong! Congratulations, host. You've disrupted a Son of Heaven's opportunity and earned one Lucky Draw Opportunity!"
"This really is a treasure!"
Qin Feng took the little cauldron and examined it carefully, but he couldn't see anything unusual about it.
Damn it!!
Why was the difference in treatment so huge!?
How could the protagonist tell it was a treasure just by instinct, while all he could see in his hands was a battered little cauldron?
He refused to accept it. The villain refused to accept it!
"Big brother, big brother, can I have it?"
Qin Hao started shaking Qin Feng's arm again, trying to get the little cauldron by acting cute and pitiful.
But Qin Feng had never fallen for that trick. Only if his younger sister had been the one asking might he have given in.
Still, he couldn't see anything special about the battered little cauldron. He could let his second younger brother, a Son of Heaven, activate it for him.
"Fine!"
Qin Feng said with a straight face, "I just spent 888 spirit stones on this battered little cauldron. As your big brother, I'll cover two eights. If you pay the remaining eight, I'll lend it to you for a few days. How about it?"
"Big brother, you're the best!"
Qin Hao clearly hadn't caught on yet. He happily pulled out a cloth pouch.
It was a storage pouch commonly used by cultivators, and it contained the New Year's money he'd saved over the past few years. Qin Feng had been eyeing it for ages.
Before long—
Under Qin Feng's coaxing, Qin Hao paid one eight—that was, 800 spirit stones.
"Uh..."
The bystanders were completely speechless. Anyone with a kindergarten diploma wouldn't have fallen for that...
Before you continue