With the Gold Soul Coins he'd earned from that drop of Soul Silver, Yang Fan bought a piece of Thousand-Year Whale Glue and several pieces of Ten-Year Whale Glue.
The former was for aiding cultivation; the latter was for trading.
Whale Glue was considered hard currency on the mainland.
In this era, no one had yet discovered how it could strengthen the body and increase the number of years a Soul Ring could be absorbed for, but its effects on bedroom performance were no secret.
And the higher its age, the stronger the effect—though those with low levels could easily burst apart from it.
That made Ten-Year Whale Glue the best kind for trading, especially in impoverished districts, where many people wanted children. A talented child could turn a family's fortunes around. A girl without talent could be sold to slave traders or brothels for money, while a boy could do manual labor.
Yang Fan grieved for this corrupt era, yet felt somewhat powerless to change it. All he could do was cultivate harder, whether for self-preservation or for that faint ideal deep in his heart of making things better.
Time flowed on, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
A shop called Yang's Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, which bought and sold treasures, had made a name for itself in Heaven Dou City.
The shop had obtained Ten-Year Whale Glue through special channels, opening up a sales market among the lower classes. Its buy-now-pay-later service, in particular, had helped it build a loyal customer base.
The little shop from back then had now expanded several times over. A two-story building of more than a hundred square meters stood there, its golden signboard imposing and grand. Its new name had been bestowed by the current crown prince.
That day, a girl in a pale-yellow dress walked in, her bearing noble and striking. Two beautiful, formidable maids followed behind her.
At a glance, it was clear she was either a member of the imperial family or a sect's little princess—in any case, she was no ordinary person.
"So this is Yang's Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, which boasts that its appraisal skills rival those of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?" Ning Rongrong said coldly.
Her gaze passed over the front desk. The girl sitting there was pretty enough, but she was disabled and confined to a wheelchair.
A few days earlier, Ning Rongrong had overheard her father saying that the Heaven Dou Imperial Family had found a Soul Master who was very skilled at appraising treasures, and that their own business had suffered as a result. That had piqued her curiosity.
In her heart, the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda was the authority in appraisal, and her own Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda was the ultimate authority among them.
Her Martial Soul's quality ranked among the best in the sect's history. That had made her, already doted on, even more spoiled, and shaped her into a little demoness.
"Yes. If you'd like a treasure appraised, you can go to the second floor. The owner is upstairs cultivating," the frail young girl, Ye Rou, replied softly.
"Here, take these."
Ning Rongrong took ten Gold Soul Coins from the little brocade pouch at her waist and tossed them to Ye Rou.
"Thank you."
Ye Rou didn't like the girl in front of her. That lofty manner, tossing money around to put others in their place, reminded her of unpleasant things.
But Ye Rou knew that cultivation required money and that her master needed it, too. Otherwise, he wouldn't have opened this shop—or casually saved her from that thug and brought her here to manage it.
Ning Rongrong was sharp enough to notice Ye Rou's dislike at once, but she didn't care. It was only a little money. If she hadn't felt sorry for the disabled girl, she wouldn't have given her any.
Today, she had come to kick up a fuss.
She was Ning Rongrong of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda—the best treasure appraiser in the world!
Upstairs, she saw a jade-like young man with a gentle bearing, idly teasing a flourishing pot of Blue Silver Grass.
"Are you Yang Fan, the so-called number-one treasure appraiser in Heaven Dou?"
Ning Rongrong stared at the youth, who was only a few years older than her, in surprise.
All she knew was that her father had said the man had a glasses Martial Soul, but she hadn't expected him to be around her age.
In treasure appraisal, knowledge mattered just as much as one's Martial Soul. She had learned by being at her father's side from childhood, absorbing everything around her. Then, after her Martial Soul Awakening, she'd received special training that made her a prodigy at appraisal.
What gave this guy the right?
Ning Rongrong couldn't help growing curious about the boy before her.
Yang Fan had been using his spiritual power to bond with Ah Yin when the question from the person who'd just come upstairs suddenly irritated him. He felt like making her wait a little.
Even the prince played by Qian Renxue, who was supposedly the number-one treasure appraiser in Heaven Dou, wouldn't dare act so haughty toward me. Who is this girl, anyway?
"Hey!" Ning Rongrong snapped, furious at being ignored. "Are you deaf?"
"I heard you."
Yang Fan sighed inwardly. Between his two lives, he was already in his thirties. He wouldn't stoop to arguing with a little girl. He'd give her a few replies, fob her off, and send her on her way.
"You here to kick up a fuss?" Yang Fan asked mildly.
"I heard you're the number-one treasure appraiser in Heaven Dou. Quite a boast. I want to challenge you."
Ning Rongrong had never been ignored like this. In the sect, her peers had always showered her with praise. She'd even tugged on the beards of Titled Douluo, the top fighters on the mainland.
"Since it's a contest, there should be a stake. I have a piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue here. Do you dare wager against it?"
Yang Fan took a fine-looking piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue from the storage bracelet on his right hand and set it on the table, planning to test her reaction.
Over the past six months, to strengthen his cooperation with the imperial family, he had revealed the method of consuming Whale Glue at high temperatures. But it was still a closely guarded secret known only to powerful Soul Masters.
If the girl showed surprise, she was probably from either the Upper Three Sects or the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, and worth welcoming properly.
If she looked at him with embarrassed, disgusted eyes, as if he were some lecher, she was most likely all bark and no bite, just here to cause trouble. He'd have someone escort her out.
"This is Whale Glue, a body-tempering treasure—and it's ten thousand years old?" Ning Rongrong looked at the Whale Glue on the table in surprise. Her father had fed her several pieces, but this was the first time she'd seen one of such a high age.
With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's influence, obtaining Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue wouldn't be difficult. But as a support-type tool Soul Master, Ning Rongrong had a weak constitution, so her elders hadn't given her any. After all, possessing a treasure could invite disaster.
"Don't say I'm bullying you. How about this token? With it, you'll have a much easier time obtaining Soul Rings in the future."
Ning Rongrong thought it over. She really didn't have many things that could match Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue. Though she was the young miss of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she was still young, and her family didn't trust her with their real treasures. After all, carrying a jade ring could invite trouble.
Yang Fan glanced at the token. Carved on it were the emblems of five Martial Souls: a sword, a hammer, a Tyrant Dragon, a crown, and a chrysanthemum. He immediately recognized it as a token issued by Spirit Hall, and a high-ranking one at that.
With this token, she could enter most Soul Beast forests under Spirit Hall's jurisdiction for free. She could even hire Soul Masters affiliated with Spirit Hall to hunt for her at a discounted rate.
The token was pretty good, but he didn't really need it. Later, when he went to Legend of the Dragon King to get the methods for creating and contracting Soul Spirits, would he really be short on Soul Rings?
It was a white elephant—too useless to enjoy, too good to throw away.
The moment she took out that token, Yang Fan could guess the girl's identity.
"The young miss of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, huh? Since you want a contest, let's do it."
Yang Fan clapped his hands, and the guard stationed by the stairs came to his side.
"Go fetch the goods the imperial family just sent over. Let me have a match with Miss Ning Rongrong."
Watching the guard from Yang's Treasure Pavilion head downstairs, Ning Rongrong narrowed her eyes slightly.
That pressure—could he be a Soul Sage?
A Soul Sage serving as a guard for a child who was barely ten? The Heaven Dou Imperial Family really valued him. Now she just had to find out how capable he was.
She folded her arms and stared coldly at Yang Fan.