Xiao Yan had only taken a few steps when Jia Lie Ao's voice came from behind him.
"Xiao Yan, let me give you a piece of advice."
Xiao Yan didn't stop.
"Since you killed someone from the Misty Cloud Sect, you might as well crawl on your knees and apologize to them," Jia Lie Ao called loudly. "Maybe they'll take pity on you and spare your worthless life."
Several of Jia Lie Ao's underlings laughed along with him.
"Young Master's right. If he gets down on his knees and apologizes, he might live."
"A good-for-nothing kills someone and still thinks he can run? Where does he think he's going?"
"What kind of power is the Misty Cloud Sect? And what is the Xiao Clan?"
"Just wait. It won't be long before the Xiao Clan is finished."
Xiao Yan stopped.
He turned around and walked back.
Jia Lie Ao's smile stiffened. He hadn't expected Xiao Yan to come back.
"You... What are you doing?" Jia Lie Ao's voice wavered.
Xiao Yan walked up to him and looked down at him.
"What did you just say?"
Jia Lie Ao swallowed. With his underlings watching, he didn't want to back down.
"I said you should get on your knees and apologize to the Misty Cloud Sect," Jia Lie Ao said, steeling himself. "What about it? Was I wrong? You're a good-for-nothing who killed someone from the Misty Cloud Sect. If you don't apologize, are you just waiting to die?"
Crack.
A sharp snap rang out.
Xiao Yan raised a hand and struck Jia Lie Ao's arm, breaking the bone on the spot.
"Ah!"
Jia Lie Ao screamed and dropped to his knees.
His arm bent at a grotesque angle, and he shook all over with pain.
"You... You broke my arm..." Jia Lie Ao's voice trembled. "You dare lay a hand on me? The Jia Lie Clan won't let you get away with this."
Xiao Yan looked at Jia Lie Ao, his expressionless face giving nothing away.
Jia Lie Ao's underlings paled and rushed forward to surround him.
"Xiao Yan, have you gone mad?"
"You dare touch our young master?"
"The Jia Lie Clan won't let you get away with this!"
Xiao Yan turned and looked at them.
"Got anything else to say?"
The underlings shuddered under his gaze.
But their young master was injured. They couldn't just stand by.
"Get him! Avenge the young master!" one of them shouted.
They charged at Xiao Yan all at once.
Xiao Yan raised his hand and struck out with his palm.
Bang!
The underling at the front was sent flying on the spot. He hit the ground and lay still.
The others paled. One of them turned to run.
Xiao Yan flashed forward, striking them down one by one.
Bang, bang, bang!
After several muffled thuds, every last underling was sprawled on the ground, not one of them able to get back up.
Jia Lie Ao knelt there, staring at the scene before him, completely dumbstruck.
All of Jia Lie Ao's underlings were dead. Xiao Yan had killed every one of them with a single palm strike.
"Xiao... Xiao Yan..." Jia Lie Ao's voice trembled. "I was wrong. I shouldn't have said that about you. Please spare my life. I'll never do it again!"
Xiao Yan looked at Jia Lie Ao and said flatly, "Too late."
He brought his palm down.
Jia Lie Ao's body stiffened, then slowly toppled over.
Silence fell over the street. A few passersby stood at a distance, afraid to come any closer.
Xiao Yan lowered his hand and turned to leave.
Outside the Miteer Auction House.
Xiao Yan had just reached the entrance when the system's voice rang in his mind.
[The host helped Xiao Yan kill Jia Lie Ao and received a reward.] [Strength increased: Four-Star Dou Wang.]
The corners of Xiao Yan's lips lifted slightly.
A Four-Star Dou Wang. He wasn't far from reaching Dou Emperor.
He murmured to himself, then smiled with satisfaction.
VIP room, Miteer Auction House.
Ya Fei sat in a chair with a cup of tea in her hands.
Gu Ni stood nearby, his expression grave.
"Ya Fei, have you heard? Xiao Yan killed the Misty Cloud Sect's Fourth Elder," Gu Ni said.
Ya Fei set down her teacup. "I've heard."
"He was a Dou Wang expert," Gu Ni said. "How could a boy in his teens possibly kill a Dou Wang?"
"I don't know," Ya Fei said. "But the news can't be false."
"If that's really true, then this Xiao Yan..." Gu Ni trailed off.
Ya Fei understood what he meant. A young man capable of killing a Dou Wang expert had boundless prospects.
"When he came to buy Thousand Spirit Grass last time, I already thought he was no ordinary person," Ya Fei said. "I didn't realize just how much I'd underestimated him."
"Ya Fei, we can't afford to offend someone like him," Gu Ni said.
"I know," Ya Fei said. "We'd be better off not offending him."
A knock came from outside.
"Come in," Ya Fei said.
A maid opened the door and came in.
"Miss Ya Fei, Xiao Yan is here."
Ya Fei and Gu Ni exchanged a glance.
"Please show him in," Ya Fei said, rising to her feet.
The maid nodded and left.
Before long, Xiao Yan was ushered into the VIP room.
Ya Fei hurried forward to greet him, a smile on her face.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, it's been a long time."
Xiao Yan nodded.
"Please, have a seat," Ya Fei said.
Xiao Yan sat down.
Ya Fei poured him a cup of tea herself and handed it to him.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, what brings you here today?"
Xiao Yan took a list from his Storage Ring and placed it on the table.
"I need these medicinal ingredients."
Ya Fei picked up the list. As she scanned it, her expression changed slightly.
Snow Spirit Ganoderma, Ten-Thousand Year Fire Lotus, Ice Crystal Orchid... Every ingredient on the list was used to refine Sixth-Grade Pills.
Ya Fei looked up at Xiao Yan.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, these ingredients... they're all for Sixth-Grade Pills."
"I know," Xiao Yan replied.
A storm of emotions surged in Ya Fei's heart.
Sixth-grade ingredients—what did he need them for? Alchemy? Was a fifteen-year-old boy really a Sixth-Grade Alchemist?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
There were only a handful of Sixth-Grade Alchemists in the entire Jia Ma Empire. Every one of them was an old monster who had spent decades cultivating.
Xiao Yan was only fifteen. Even if he'd started learning alchemy in his mother's womb, there was no way he could have reached the sixth grade.
But if he wasn't going to refine pills, what did he need these ingredients for?
Ya Fei suppressed her shock, keeping any trace of it from showing on her face.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, these ingredients are all very precious," Ya Fei said. "They won't come cheap."
"Money isn't a problem," Xiao Yan said.
Ya Fei nodded. "Understood. I'll do my best to find them for you. But our auction house doesn't currently have many of these ingredients. It'll take some time to bring them in from elsewhere."
"How long?" Xiao Yan asked.
"Three days," Ya Fei replied. "We should have them all by then."
Xiao Yan stood. "I'll come back for them in three days."
"All right," Ya Fei said.
Xiao Yan turned and left.
Ya Fei walked him to the door. Only after he had gone did she close it.
Leaning against the door, Ya Fei let out a long breath.
Gu Ni came over and looked at her.
"Ya Fei, this Xiao Yan..."
"I know what you're going to say," Ya Fei interrupted. "A fifteen-year-old boy asking for Sixth-Grade ingredients is either a Sixth-Grade Alchemist himself or has one backing him. Whichever it is, we can't afford to offend him."
Gu Ni nodded firmly.
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