Curiosity

Zhao Hu's feet scraped across the ground, throwing up two trails of sparks as he slid back half a meter before... stopping!

He had actually used sheer physical strength to forcibly halt a charging Iron-Hide Savage Bull!

"Up!"

The veins on Zhao Hu's neck bulged as he roared and exerted force with both arms.

Under the stunned gaze of thousands, the early second-tier Iron-Hide Savage Bull was actually lifted straight into the air, then viciously slammed into the ground!

Boom!

The entire platform shook.

The savage bull let out a mournful cry, twitched twice, and fell still.

The entire venue fell silent!

Even the sound of a needle hitting the ground could have been heard.

An eight-star Dou Zhe tearing apart a savage bull with his bare hands?

Was that something a human could even do?

"This..."

Xiao Yan's mouth hung open in the private room, his throat dry. "This pill... is practically cheating!"

For mercenaries who lived with blades at their throats year-round, this was no pill. It was clearly a second life!

Ya Fei looked at the distorted faces below, stunned beyond belief, and felt utterly exhilarated.

This was the confidence Lu Heng had given her.

Ya Fei smoothed her slightly disheveled hair. Her smile was enchanting, but the words she spoke left everyone present utterly shaken:

"With one Beast Power Pill, there are no permanent side effects. You only need to rest for a day or two afterward."

"Ten bottles will be auctioned today, with three pills in each bottle."

"The starting price is one thousand gold coins per bottle!"

"I don't believe it!"

Jia Lie Bi could no longer remain seated. His eyes were red, and even his voice trembled.

"One thousand gold coins? Why don't you just rob us? Where did this formula come from? Who refined it?"

Ya Fei raised her head and met Jia Lie Bi's greedy eyes directly, slowly uttering a single sentence:

"No comment."

"Bidding begins now."

The moment her words fell—

"Fifteen hundred! I bid fifteen hundred!"

"Two thousand! Even if I have to sell everything I own, I'm buying a bottle! With this thing, I'd dare head deep into the Magical Beast Mountain Range tomorrow!"

"Twenty-five hundred!"

They had gone mad.

The entire auction house had gone mad.

Behind a concealed small window at the very top of the auction house, Lu Heng held a green fruit in his hand, munching on it as he watched the frenzied auction below.

"This is only the beginning."

"The real show is just getting started."

The uproar in the auction house was practically enough to blow the roof off.

"Five thousand gold coins!"

When Jia Lie Bi shouted that number, the veins on his neck bulged.

"Five thousand five hundred."

Xiao Zhan sat in his chair and casually raised his paddle. His calm, unruffled manner nearly enraged Jia Lie Bi and Ao Ba Pa to death.

After weighing it for a long while, Ao Ba Pa threw his paddle onto the table. "Have you all gone mad? It's just a bottle of pills, and only first-grade at that. You're treating money like dirt!"

The independent cultivators and mercenaries below could only stare helplessly. This clash between giants had long since become something they could not interfere with. What they had thought was a chance to snatch a bargain now looked like a joke.

In the end, the small hammer in Ya Fei's hand fell.

"Congratulations to Clan Head Xiao for winning this set of Beast Power Pills."

Of the ten bottles, the wealthy Xiao Family gritted their teeth and swallowed four in one go.

Of the remaining six, the Jia Lie Family snatched three, the Aoba Clan picked up two, and the last bottle was intercepted by an unknown black-robed man at the sky-high price of six thousand five hundred gold coins.

When the auction was about to end, Ya Fei deliberately held something back. Standing on the stage, she smiled at the disappointed independent cultivators below.

"Everyone, don't be anxious. Though the bottled pills are gone, there are still five loose Beast Power Pills as a token of appreciation. The starting price... is five hundred gold coins per pill."

The entire venue erupted once more.

Inside a concealed compartment on the second floor.

Lu Heng sat cross-legged on a soft couch, tossing an unfinished green fruit in his hand as he listened to the frantic bidding below. The corners of his lips curled up slightly.

"That's more like it."

Through the one-way crystal window, he watched Xiao Zhan leave with Xiao Yan and the little girl named Xiao Xun'er.

Xiao Yan seemed to still be excitedly gesturing about something, while the little girl in purple quietly listened, only occasionally turning back to glance toward the auction stage.

Lu Heng immediately shrank farther into the shadows.

Even from such a distance, he instinctively did not want to draw the attention of that young lady from the Ancient Clan.

"Xiao Yan is a hot potato right now."

Lu Heng took a bite of the fruit, the crisp sound of chewing echoing through the quiet room.

"The old man in that ring has probably already awakened. And with Ling Ying, a Dou Emperor-level bodyguard, following him around, there's no benefit in approaching him now."

He would wait until Xiao Yan's Dou Qi disappeared before getting acquainted with this child of destiny from the original story.

At that moment, the door was pushed open, and a fragrant breeze swept in ahead of its owner.

The professional smile on Ya Fei's face vanished the instant she shut the door. She slapped a thick gold card onto the table and sank into the chair opposite Lu Heng.

"I'm exhausted."

Ya Fei rubbed her cheeks, stiff from smiling, her alluring eyes glittering brightly.

"But that battle was beautifully fought. You should have seen Jia Lie Bi's expression at the end. He looked like he'd swallowed a dead fly."

Lu Heng picked up the teapot from the table, poured Ya Fei a cup of water, and pushed it toward her.

Looking at the exhausted Ya Fei before him, Lu Heng felt a slight ache in his heart.

Ya Fei took a sip of water to moisten her throat, then her expression suddenly turned serious.

"Little brother Lu Heng, the Beast Power Pill has become completely famous now. Though I didn't reveal the alchemist's identity, anyone with intentions will definitely investigate."

Ya Fei stood and walked up to Lu Heng, bending slightly. The unique, subtle fragrance of a mature woman instantly enveloped him.

"A tree that rises above the forest is bound to be destroyed by the wind. Big sister will protect you, but you must protect yourself too, understand?"

Lu Heng looked at that alluring face so close to his. He could even make out Ya Fei's long eyelashes.

"Don't worry, Sister Ya Fei."

Lu Heng smiled.

"I cherish my life the most. Besides, I still have to help Sister Ya Fei become the most powerful woman in the Jia Ma Empire."

Ya Fei froze for a moment, then burst into laughter and straightened up.

"Then I'll be waiting."

The Xiao Family residence lay beneath a night as still as water.

In a secluded side courtyard, Xiao Xun'er sat on a stone bench, playing with a Beast Power Pill that Ling Ying had just obtained from someone else.

The pill was dark red like blood and emitted a violent aura.

"Elder Ling," Xiao Xun'er called softly.

In the previously empty shadows, the air twisted slightly, and a dark figure silently appeared.

Ling Ying dropped to one knee. "Miss."

"Have you seen this pill before?" Xiao Xun'er handed it over.

Ling Ying accepted it with both hands, held it near his nose to smell it, then used a trace of Dou Qi to examine it.

His brow beneath the black robe furrowed.

"Reporting to Miss, this subordinate is ignorant and inexperienced."

Ling Ying pondered for a moment.

"The refining method for this pill is extremely crude—one could even call it primitive. This subordinate has never seen it before."

"Even Elder Ling hasn't seen it before?" Xiao Xun'er was somewhat surprised.