Feast of Fear and Greed

His heart hammered frantically within his chest.

Every impact felt as though it would shatter his ribs and leap right out of his throat.

Su Chen's fingertips were icy, and a fine layer of cold sweat seeped from his temples, sliding down his cheeks.

He forced himself to tear his gaze away from the shattered porcelain scattered at his feet and cast it back out the window.

The thin, lean figure rushing out of the Xiao Clan estate was walking alone along the bustling main street.

Most of the passersby cast glances at him filled with a mixture of pity and mockery. He was a piece of trash publicly rejected by the Misty Cloud Sect, a laughingstock who had brought shame upon his entire family.

No one could see through the true storm hidden beneath that stubborn frame.

But Su Chen could.

Deep within his consciousness, that void of space had already returned to calm.

Yet, the ancient Stone Platform at its center was now completely different from before.

Above the Stone Platform, a phantom needle formed from countless profound runes was emitting a faint white light.

This needle traversed the barriers of space, pierced through the walls of the teahouse, ignored every person and object on the street, and locked firmly onto the youth named Xiao Yan!

No matter where the youth walked, the needle followed like a maggot on a rotting bone, not missing a single inch.

Precise, cold, and carrying a greed that was determined to claim its prey.

A mad thought erupted from the deepest part of Su Chen's heart like a volcano.

"Follow him!"

"Find out exactly what he has on him! Find out in what form that Heavenly Flame exists!"

This thought was filled with a lethal temptation.

As long as he followed, as long as he found an opportunity...

No.

Su Chen gritted his teeth hard.

The sharp pain from his tongue tip allowed his mind, nearly overwhelmed by ecstasy, to regain a sliver of clarity.

He forced himself to calm down, though the blood in his entire body surged even more violently due to this extreme restraint.

He could not go.

He absolutely could not go!

Su Chen's gaze remained nailed to Xiao Yan, but the thoughts in his mind were spinning at an unprecedented speed.

Xiao Yan, a "piece of trash" known to all the world.

A youth who had remained at the third stage of Dou Disciple for three whole years.

Could such a person possibly possess a real Heavenly Flame?

Impossible!

What kind of violent, miraculous treasure of heaven and earth was a Heavenly Flame? Let alone a youth at the third stage of Dou Disciple, even a genuine Dou Grandmaster would be reduced to ashes if they dared to rashly make contact!

Then, there was only one conclusion.

That Heavenly Flame had an owner!

Its master was hiding within Xiao Yan in a way unknown to others!

A powerhouse capable of possessing and controlling a real Heavenly Flame...

What kind of terrifying existence would that be?

A Dou King? A Dou Emperor? Or perhaps... the legendary Dou Ancestor?

This deduction hit Su Chen like a basin of ice water from the Nine Nether Hell, poured directly over his head.

It left him chilled from head to toe.

Fear.

A fear a hundred, a thousand times stronger than when he faced the pursuit of the Jialie Clan, instantly seized his heart!

The Jialie Clan were merely local snakes of Wutan City; their strength was still within the realm of comprehension.

But a mysterious powerhouse capable of controlling a Heavenly Flame...

That had already exceeded all of Su Chen's current understanding; that was a life form from another dimension!

If he were truly blinded by greed and followed, once he was discovered by the other party...

Su Chen did not doubt for a second that the other party wouldn't even need to lift a finger.

Perhaps, with just a single thought.

He would be completely and silently erased from this world! Not even a trace of his existence would remain!

Cold sweat soaked his back once again.

He watched the receding figure of Xiao Yan, and for the first time, two completely different paths appeared in his heart.

The first path is safety.

Stay far away from Xiao Yan and pretend that nothing happened today. Relying on the Rock Fire Seed in his hands and his partnership with the Miteer Auction House, he could easily establish a firm foothold in Wutan City, steadily accumulating wealth and strength step by step.

This was the most secure and rational choice.

And the other path...

Su Chen's breath hitched abruptly.

His gaze fell involuntarily upon Xiao Yan's retreating figure.

That was not just a youth.

That was a walking, priceless treasury, containing the most supreme power in the world!

If he could "steal" even a tiny wisp of the origin from that Heavenly Flame...

Then, use the Stone Platform to analyze and replicate it!

What he would create in his hands would no longer be a mere Rock Fire Seed refined from a first-tier beast flame.

It would be... a true child flame possessing the properties of a Heavenly Flame!

Even if it only had one ten-thousandth of the original's power, what kind of frenzied wave would it cause once it appeared on the market?

Every alchemist in the entire Jia Ma Empire would go mad for it!

The wealth it would bring would be unimaginable! It would be the capital that allowed him to ascend to the heavens in a single step and converse on equal footing with the top powers of this world!

Fear and greed.

Like two giant pythons from the abyss, they were tearing and battling wildly deep within his heart!

On one side lay an abyss of death from which there was no return.

On the other side lay the endless temptation leading to a throne of gods.

Time seemed to freeze in this moment.

The clamor inside the teahouse and the bustling traffic outside the window all faded away from him.

In his world, only the choice between those two paths remained.

A long time passed.

A long time.

Su Chen's tense body slowly relaxed.

He leaned back against the chair and exhaled a long, murky breath.

His eyes, which had appeared unfocused due to the internal struggle, regained their clarity.

All fear and all hesitation were replaced in this instant by something far more scorching and far more insane.

Greed!

Overwhelming, absolute greed!

Fortune favors the bold!

Having lived a mediocre life in his previous existence, now that he had finally obtained a chance to defy fate, was he really going to shrink back because of a vague, ethereal "possibility"?!

No!

He did not want stability!

What he wanted was to stand at the pinnacle of this world!

To hell with Dou Kings and Dou Emperors!

As long as he wasn't discovered, who would know that it was he who stole his fire!

A flash of near-pathological madness flickered in Su Chen's eyes.

But he did not stand up immediately.

Greed did not mean recklessness.

He knew very well that following him directly was courting death. He needed a plan—a meticulous, perfect plan that could achieve his goal without anyone knowing.

A... "non-contact" replication plan!

His brain began to operate at high speed once again.

Since he could not make direct contact with Xiao Yan, he would have to approach from the side.

The pointer of the Stone Platform locked onto the aura of the Heavenly Flame. As long as he was within a certain distance, theoretically, he could attempt to analyze and replicate it.

What was this "distance"?

And what conditions were required for analysis and replication?

Consumption of spiritual power? Or did it require some special medium as a guide?

Question after question surfaced in his mind, only to be dismantled one by one.

In the span of just a few minutes, his mindset had undergone an astonishing transformation.

From a passive "discoverer," a gambler torn between fear and greed.

He had transformed into an active "schemer," a cold and fanatical hunter who viewed the entire Wutan City as his chessboard!

He looked out the window once more.

The figure of Xiao Yan had already vanished around the street corner.

Yet, there was not a hint of anxiety on Su Chen's face.

Because he knew that from this day forward, this youth named Xiao Yan would no longer be an irrelevant protagonist from a story.

He would be his most important "mobile resource library."

He was the first, and most crucial, lever with which he would pry open the entire Dou Qi Continent!

Su Chen stood up and placed a few silver coins on the table.

"Check."

He did not spare the waiter another glance, turning to walk down the stairs.

His footsteps were steady and powerful.

Stepping out of the teahouse, he did not return to the Miteer Auction House, nor did he head back to his own dilapidated little courtyard.

He identified his direction, turned, and began walking in the exact opposite direction from where Xiao Yan had departed.

That was where the largest material market in Wutan City lay.

The auction three days from now was merely the beginning.

And the grand "welcoming ceremony" he had prepared for that true Heavenly Flame was, at this very moment, just beginning to unfold.