Team Up

Xiao Yan stared at Xiong Hui, dumbfounded. "Brother, they say every medicine has its poison—you just downed that whole thing in one gulp?"

"Aren't you afraid of the medicinal toxins building up and killing you?"

But the die was cast, so Xiao Yan could only encourage the other to cultivate hard and not waste the medicinal power.

As for Wu Feng, she remained unable to make up her mind.

She wasn't worried about whether she could reach the top three or become a core disciple.

She was simply hesitating over whether to accept Xiao Yan's... good intentions.

She was a member of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect, yet after making a name for herself, she wasn't advertising for her own sect, but instead promoting someone from another faction. How could she justify such a thing?

Would she be worthy of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect's long-term support and cultivation? Damn it, give me a refund!

If she did this, wouldn't she be kicked out by the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect and never see Ning Tian again?

After hallucinating such a horrifying scenario, Wu Feng couldn't help but turn pale.

She couldn't let that happen. Even if she couldn't see her, at the very least, at the very least, Ning Tian had to remain single for another ten or twenty years...

Slap.

Xiao Yan slapped her.

"If you aren't going to eat it, why are you still standing there? Get lost!"

Clutching her rapidly reddening and swelling cheek, Wu Feng didn't even have a shred of desire to resist; she scurried away in a dejected heap.

Watching the girl's retreating back, Xiao Yan couldn't help but sigh.

"Sigh, the underlying code of the Douluo Continent is at work. No wonder she couldn't even become a Soul Emperor in the future; her heart toward the Dao is simply not firm enough..."

Fortunately, there was still one person in the class willing to toil away.

Xiong Hui was born from humble roots, but he made up for it with sheer effort. Getting into the top three shouldn't be a problem for him; the only question was who he would end up teaming with.

This guy's name never appeared in the novels he read in his past life, so he was likely just a generic extra. But this time, with Xiao Yan providing the Purple Sun Pill, who knew how far he would grow?

Holding onto this anticipation, Xiao Yan left the classroom, preparing to follow the original plot's footsteps and snatch a bargain.

In the original work, Huo Yuhao had picked up a piece of ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber at an auction. It was a supreme tonic, extremely rigid, masculine, and potent. Although it had nothing to do with his Heavenly Flame, Xiao Yan still wanted to secure it.

If there was an opportunity and he didn't take it, wouldn't that be an insult to his status as a transmigrator?

If little Huo could rely on this ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber to increase his soul ring limit by a full ten thousand years, couldn't he, Xiao Yan, make better use of the energy contained within it to refine medicine and reshape his body?

Wouldn't letting little Huo swallow it whole be a waste of resources? At worst, he could just give him a pill later as compensation for stealing the opportunity. This ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber was something Xiao Yan was determined to have.

To that end, Xiao Yan even made a trip back to the dormitory to find the young master Xiao, who would return to the dorm to cultivate whenever he had nothing else to do.

He didn't have many Gold Soul Coins himself, but borrowing some from Xiao Yulü shouldn't be a problem.

Upon hearing Xiao Yan's plan to go to the Treasure Appraisal Fair to hunt for bargains, Xiao Yulü generously tossed his wallet to him.

"A mere thousand Gold Soul Coins? Your brother Xiao doesn't even look at such pocket change. Take it and spend it as you please."

He didn't know if Xiao Yan had the eye for spotting hidden treasures, but he truly didn't care about a thousand gold coins. This magnanimity shocked Xiao Yan once again.

With the money in hand, Xiao Yan didn't waste a second and sped toward Shrek City.

The ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber wouldn't be auctioned off by little Huo for several weeks, but since he wasn't sure when it would appear at the Treasure Appraisal Fair, Xiao Yan planned to camp out for a few days. Once the Whale Rubber appeared, he would snatch it up to avoid any complications.

The bustle of the Treasure Appraisal Fair exceeded Xiao Yan's expectations. Numerous precious items were placed in glass display cases for countless people to admire; if someone saw something they liked, they would naturally produce Gold Soul Coins to claim it.

Xiao Yan searched for a long time but failed to see the "weathered thousand-year Whale Rubber." It seemed it hadn't appeared at the fair yet.

Just as Xiao Yan was feeling listless and preparing to return to the dorm to cultivate, he was suddenly called out.

"Class monitor, are you here shopping too?"

Xiao Yan looked up and saw the golden-haired, freckled young lady. It was worth noting that her red-haired lesbian sidekick was uncharacteristically absent.

"It's you, Ning Tian."

He gave a casual greeting, only to see Ning Tian cover her mouth and giggle, a hint of teasing in her eyes.

"I've noticed the class monitor has been wandering this Treasure Appraisal Fair for quite a while. You've stopped in front of many things, but now you're empty-handed. Is it... that there's something you want, but you can't afford to take it?"

"...Huh?"

Xiao Yan was stunned. Was she stalking him for a while now?

He had indeed stopped in front of many display cases, but that was to identify if the items inside were that lump of ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber disguised as weathered dung.

As for not being able to afford something? She was seriously underestimating young master Xiao's wallet! Not to mention buying out the whole venue, he could certainly afford anything he wanted!

"Ahem, no, it's just that I haven't seen anything that caught my eye."

Xiao Yan cleared his throat and said.

"Is that so?"

Ning Tian chuckled, then leaned in close to Xiao Yan and whispered into his ear:

"Then, I wonder if the class monitor would be interested in some intelligence regarding unusually active fire elements in the area near Shrek City?"

"...?"

Xiao Yan blinked, only to hear Ning Tian continue:

"The Nine Treasures Glazed Sect recently gathered some intelligence, and one piece of it is related to this."

"Originally, we intended to give it to Wu Feng, but she prefers to deepen the dragon attributes of her martial soul and isn't very interested in fire-attribute resources. However, it would be a waste to just throw this intelligence away..."

"If the class monitor is interested, Ning Tian is willing to gift this intelligence to you, free of charge~"

Watching the little-devil expression on Ning Tian's face, Xiao Yan couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

There could be many reasons for abnormally active fire elements—fire-attribute soul beasts or perhaps some rare treasures—but regardless, it was something that interested Xiao Yan.

Soul beasts could provide his next soul ring, while medicinal herbs could be refined into pills or even crushed to absorb their elemental fire essence to strengthen the Burning Technique; the uses were truly manifold.

The girl had hit the nail on the head; Xiao Yan felt quite tempted.

"Heh, and the conditions?"

Xiao Yan looked at Ning Tian, suddenly feeling that this scene was somewhat familiar.

Hadn't he just been asked this by someone else not long ago? Now it was his turn to ask someone else?

The corners of Ning Tian's mouth curled up, and she pointed a Great Desolation Imprisoning Heaven Finger at Xiao Yan.

"I want you to..."

"Miss Ning Tian, please conduct yourself with dignity."

"Join my team for the freshman tournament in three months."

Xiao Yan was momentarily stunned. What did this mean? So this young lady wasn't here to poach him for the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect?

What a false alarm, truly a false alarm.

"What, does the vice-monitor have no one to team up with?"

"There are countless soul masters in this world who want to team up with a Seven Treasures Glazed soul master, but those whom a Seven Treasures Glazed soul master would actively seek to team up with are extremely rare."

"As it happens, you, class monitor, are one of them."

Ning Tian's smile was radiant, carrying a hint of sweetness.

"Hmm... could this also be considered an investment by the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect in Class Monitor Xiao?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yan pondered for a long time before saying:

"What is that intelligence about? A soul beast, or an herb?"

"Neither."

Realizing that Xiao Yan intended to hold out for a better price, Ning Tian stopped playing the mystery and spoke frankly:

"It is intelligence regarding Earth Fire."