"Brother Zhang Yuan."
Feeling the warmth from his hand, Xun Er suddenly felt that Xiao Yi Xian, Ya Fei, Xiao Yu—none of them mattered.
At least for now, she, Gu Xun Er, was the only one whose relationship with Zhang Yuan had been openly declared and proudly displayed.
As long as she, Gu Xun Er, was around, the other women would ultimately only be concubines.
Xun Er lowered her head. Like a blooming snow lotus, she became even more beautiful, yet made people afraid to stare for too long.
"Tap! Tap! Tap!"
A group of people hurried over after hearing the commotion from the fight. They wore standard uniforms emblazoned with the Xiao Clan emblem.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, Miss Xun Er, Young Master Zhang Yuan."
Seeing that it was Xiao Yan and the other two, the captain of the market patrol immediately paid his respects.
Zhang Yuan nodded in response and said, "Send someone to bring Galen and that Dou Master back to the Jia Lie Clan. Tell them Galen intended to molest a woman of the Xiao Clan in our market, so I, Zhang Yuan, dealt with him."
"If the Jia Lie Clan Head is dissatisfied, he can come find me at the Xiao Clan. I will be waiting at any time."
His words were full of dominance, and paired with the fact that he had taken down a Dou Master with one punch, they were utterly convincing.
"Yes!" The patrol captain immediately sent someone to handle it.
After offering them a few words of encouragement and instruction, Zhang Yuan took Xun Er's soft hand and continued walking forward while speaking quietly with her.
Xiao Yan: ""
So I really am unnecessary. I have to find a girlfriend someday and force you two to choke on dog food!
Xiao Yan crossed his arms over his chest and followed behind them like a walking corpse.
Once the three vanished around the corner, this area of the market immediately became noisy.
"Who was that guy? So domineering."
"You don't know? That's Zhang Yuan, the Xiao Clan's relative. I heard he joined the Black Armored Guard and is even a squad captain."
"Gasp, a Black Armored Guard squad captain? Doesn't that make him a High-Rank Dou Master!?"
"If I remember correctly, Zhang Yuan is only sixteen, right!?"
"Terrifying."
"Such a young talent, and a member of the Black Armored Guard too. No wonder he treated the Jia Lie Clan as if they were nothing."
"A prodigy should be like this."
Hearing these words, the Xiao Clan patrol members all felt deeply honored.
About half a quarter-hour later, Xiao Yan, who was still lamenting how unnecessary he was, suddenly stopped.
Old Yao's voice suddenly rang out beside his ear. "Heh, Little Yan, there's a stall over there. One of the black iron pieces is a good item. Go buy it."
Following Old Yao's guidance, Xiao Yan looked toward a stall and found an ancient black iron plate lying there. Its surface was covered in rust and still bore unwashed yellow mud. At a glance, it was obvious that it had only recently been dug out of the ground.
Since Old Yao said it was a good item, Xiao Yan naturally did not doubt him. But the problem was that he had not brought any money. Was he supposed to use the necklace Zhang Yuan had given him to buy the iron plate?
If the stall owner noticed that the iron plate was valuable, he might have to pay dearly.
With that in mind, Xiao Yan quickly caught up to Zhang Yuan and told him about Old Yao's discovery.
"An iron plate? Suction Palm?"
Zhang Yuan immediately guessed what it was.
The iron plate contained an attributeless Mysterious Tier Low-Grade Dou Technique called Suction Palm.
The Xiao Clan's strongest Dou Technique was only Mysterious Tier Mid-grade, and only the upper ranks of the clan and outstanding members who had rendered merit could learn it. This Suction Palm was quite good and would remain useful until one became a Dou Wang.
"Perfect. I'll learn it too."
With a turn of thought, Zhang Yuan walked over to the stall, crossed his arms, and said, "How much for all this stuff?"
The stall owner's eyes lit up, and he was about to name a price.
But Zhang Yuan spoke first. "You only get one chance to name a price. If it doesn't satisfy me, I'll turn around and leave."
The stall owner immediately hesitated. Finally, gritting his teeth, he said, "Five thousand—no, four thousand five hundred gold coins."
At that price, he could probably earn five hundred gold coins.
"Wrap it up." Zhang Yuan took out a pile of gold coins.
The stall owner's breathing hitched. He swiftly rolled everything into a bundle and said with a smile, "Thank you for your patronage, Young Master."
Zhang Yuan nodded and looked at Xiao Yan. "We haven't seen each other in two years. Consider these gifts for you."
"Thanks, Cousin!" Xiao Yan stepped forward and slung the bundle prepared by the stall owner over his shoulder.
The three did not linger any longer and left directly. Nothing else happened along the way.
After returning to Xiao Manor, Xun Er seemed to remember only then that her hand had been held. She pulled it free and hurried away.
"Stop staring, Cousin. Keep staring, and you'll turn into a stone waiting for your wife," Xiao Yan teased.
This time, Zhang Yuan did not bother arguing with him. He merely smiled and said, "A bachelor like you is just jealous and bitter. There's no point talking to you."
Xiao Yan's mouth twitched, and he felt like a clown.
The two then went together to the Training Room.
Once the door was shut, Old Yao emerged from the ring.
Xiao Yan took the two main medicinal ingredients needed to refine the Three-pattern Green Spirit Pill, along with more than a dozen other ingredients, from his Storage Ring. Then he urged Zhang Yuan, "Cousin, hurry and take out the Magic Core so Teacher can refine the Three-pattern Green Spirit Pill."
"Once you become a Da Dou Shi, I'll be able to strut around Wutan City without fear."
Seeing how impatient he was, Zhang Yuan said with amusement, "Are you a crab? Why would you walk sideways?"
After saying that, he did not immediately take out the Magic Core. Instead, he looked at the bundle Xiao Yan had thrown on the ground and said, "Aren't you going to see what's inside that black iron plate first?"
"Huh?" Xiao Yan froze for a moment, then crouched down and picked up the black iron plate. After carefully examining it from every angle, he frowned and asked, "Teacher, what is this thing for?"
Old Yao reached out and took the iron plate. After sensing it, he smiled. "As expected. A Dou Technique has been sealed inside. The person who made this iron plate was likely an Alchemist. Only someone with sufficiently strong soul perception could sense what was hidden within."
"A Dou Technique? Sealed by an Alchemist?" Xiao Yan's breathing quickened as he hurriedly asked, "What grade is it?"
The value and importance of Dou Techniques were no less than Dou Qi cultivation methods. Profound Dou Techniques could allow one to display strength far beyond one's own realm in battle.
Like cultivation methods, Dou Techniques were divided into four tiers: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow. Ordinary people could at most come into contact with Yellow Tier High-grade techniques. For anything higher, one had to join forces such as academies, clans, or sects.
Of course, if one was lucky enough, one could also obtain them by looting corpses, finding bargains, or stumbling upon tombs.
Old Yao wrapped the iron plate in soul power. After a moment, he said somewhat disdainfully, "Suction Palm, a Mysterious Tier Low-Grade Dou Technique. When cultivated to mastery, it can pull in a thousand-pound boulder. Against an enemy, its fierce suction can even forcibly tear the blood from a human body!"
Gasp!
Xiao Yan sucked in a cold breath and exclaimed, "That's too terrifying! If someone's blood leaves their body, who could possibly survive?"
"You're thinking too simply." Zhang Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he said calmly, "This ability may seem good, but it can only deal with opponents weaker than or equal to you. If you encounter someone stronger, trying to suck them over is just delivering yourself to them to be beaten up."
Old Yao nodded approvingly. "That is indeed the case. If used well, this Dou Technique can broaden one's combat methods at lower realms, but in the eyes of high-realm cultivators, it is nothing much."
"With your current Three-stage Dou Qi strength, Little Yan, it would already be impressive if you could pull up a twig. You still have a long way to go before you can pull out someone's blood."
Hearing this, Xiao Yan was neither upset nor disdainful. He smiled and said, "No matter what, this Suction Palm is stronger than most of the Dou Techniques in the clan. It can serve as a Dou Technique for me to cultivate for quite some time."
Old Yao was an important figure, so naturally his standards were high.
Zhang Yuan was already a Peak Dou Master at sixteen and had joined the Jia Ma Empire military. He definitely cultivated powerful Dou Techniques as well.
They could look down on it, but Xiao Yan knew his own limits.
"That is a fair way to put it." Zhang Yuan smiled and said, "Once you've mastered it, remember to copy down the technique and submit it to the clan."
"I understand." Xiao Yan's expression turned solemn.
Over the years, the clan had spent quite a few resources on him. Naturally, he was willing to repay the clan within his abilities. A Mysterious Tier Low-Grade Dou Technique could count as interest.
Thinking of this, Xiao Yan asked, "Cousin, do you want to learn this technique?"
Zhang Yuan did not stand on ceremony with Xiao Yan and took the iron plate into his hand.
His soul power was not yet strong enough to discover the iron plate's uniqueness from a distance like Yao Chen, but directly reading the information within it was no problem.
"Done."
A moment later, Zhang Yuan returned the iron plate to Xiao Yan.
He would be able to master a Mysterious Tier Low-Grade Dou Technique very quickly, and it could broaden his combat methods.
If he wanted to learn truly powerful Dou Techniques, he would have to rely on a real big shot.
With that thought, Zhang Yuan turned to Old Yao and smiled. "Senior, you were once the continent's number one Alchemist. It is only natural that you would look down on a Mysterious Tier Low-Grade Dou Technique. I wonder if you could take out a high-grade Dou Technique for this junior to study?"
Before you continue