The First Pot of Gold

"Jennifer!" A trace of sorrow flashed through those clear eyes, a sorrow utterly unsuited to her age, and the little Gema Tribe girl spoke calmly.

Slowly shaking her head, Jennifer continued, "My seal has existed ever since I can remember, and my parents died when I was eight. I left the tribe then too, so there was never anyone to tell me who cast the Purification skill on me, or what all of this was for!"

Disappointment surged up in Liu Feng's heart once more, and he could only smile bitterly. It seemed the secret of this seal would have no answer for the time being.

"But I remember a line in the tribe's ancient records about this kind of situation. People who are born with vast energy inside them are all born in response to destiny, and their endings are extremely tragic. I think the reason someone cast Purification on me was merely to protect me!" Jennifer smiled faintly, but the sorrow in her eyes did not lessen in the slightest.

No matter the reason, no one could truly accept with calm indifference the change from a genius into a piece of trash.

Born in response to destiny? A tragic end? Protection? Hearing Jennifer say something that sounded like a charlatan's nonsense, Liu Feng instantly had an urge to laugh. Although after arriving on the Falan Continent, Liu Feng had already developed a certain tolerance for those mysterious and uncanny things, he still could not agree with this statement. If it was destiny, could sealing it away avoid it? That was simply bullshit.

Knowing he could no longer learn anything more from Jennifer, Liu Feng could only helplessly give up for now. He immediately had Jennifer sit on the bed, and at the same time called Turner over, instructing him to keep watch outside over the next few days and not let anyone disturb them, preparing to undo Jennifer's seal.

This instruction to get onto the bed finally made Jennifer's little face turn red. After hesitating for a long while, she slowly climbed onto the bed, making Liu Feng once again lament that he had no idea what about him made people feel he was so filthy, to the point that even this underage little girl kept suspecting whether he had some improper thoughts.

Life! Lonely as snow! Liu Feng sighed inwardly as he sat behind Jennifer, placing both hands on the little girl's bony back, and his consciousness slowly sank down.

Feeling Liu Feng's broad, warm hands, Jennifer's body trembled again. Her little face reddened like an apple about to ripen, and a hint of shyness and confusion appeared in her clear eyes. In the end, however, it turned into a kind of resolve, and she finally controlled the urge to dodge away.

After sensing the state of the seal inside Jennifer's body, Liu Feng could now be completely certain that this little girl's situation was exactly the same as his own had been back then. This gave Liu Feng endless confidence, but also brought him trouble.

The reason the Devour skill could break this kind of seal was merely that it absorbed the energy away. But according to Jennifer, the sealing energy created by this Purification had originally been something she was born with. If Liu Feng used the Devour skill to break this seal, then the energy that originally belonged to Jennifer would all be absorbed into Liu Feng's own body. In that case, even if Jennifer returned to normal, she would also lose the talent she had been born with.

After thinking for a long while, Liu Feng still decided to ask Jennifer's opinion first.

Unexpectedly, after Jennifer heard Liu Feng's concerns, she nodded and agreed at once without even thinking it over. The moment she recalled the contemptuous, discriminatory looks she had endured from her clansmen because she had been unable to Awaken normally, losing that energy—which might not necessarily have been good fortune—no longer mattered at all.

Since Jennifer agreed, Liu Feng no longer hesitated. His eyes closed slightly, his mind sank down, and he cast aside all distracting thoughts as he began to slowly operate the Devour skill.

The sealing energy inside Jennifer's body was much less than Liu Feng's had been, and the speed of absorption was even faster.

After two days and two nights, once a dense ball of energy had formed around the Devour skill again, the sealing energy inside Jennifer's body was finally completely absorbed by Liu Feng, and the seal was thoroughly declared broken.

After gently laying Jennifer, who had already fallen into a deep sleep from her body's weakness, on the bed and covering her with a blanket, Liu Feng comfortably stretched and walked out.

To ordinary people, this kind of sealing energy might be endless trouble, but to Liu Feng it was like a great tonic. During the process of Devour, the Soul Formation realm's cultivation method had also been circulating continuously, and it had replenished quite a bit of energy for the Crystal Core as well. A faint light had already begun to glow on the Crystal Core again, clearly showing that the Soul Formation realm had made some progress.

Seeing Liu Feng come out, Turner was instantly overjoyed. He immediately darted up and said, "Young master, you're finally out. Boss Roger came once this morning and said that after you woke up, you should go to the auction house immediately. It seems there are results from the Gold-Quenching Stone auction!"

There were results this quickly? After a moment's daze, Liu Feng was immediately wild with joy. He did not even have time to rest; he simply washed up, changed clothes, took Turner with him, and rode a carriage quickly toward York Town.

Upon learning of Young Master Nicholas's arrival, the fat Roger stuck out his big belly and hurried over on his bowed legs. From far away, he wiped the greasy sweat from his fat face while shouting, "Young Master Nicholas, these Gold-Quenching Stones are simply too sought-after! Can you get any more?"

The fat man's eyes flickered as if with golden light. Clearly, the popularity of the auctioned Gold-Quenching Stones had far exceeded his expectations.

Liu Feng directly ignored this fat man, who looked as though he was about to have an epileptic fit, and suppressed his wild joy as he asked, "How much did they sell for in the end?"

After forcefully gulping down several large mouthfuls of water, the fat man panted heavily and quickly explained the situation.

It turned out that after Liu Feng left that day, the fat man had started arranging the auction of the Gold-Quenching Stones. First, he had sent people to contact the bosses behind several major weapon shops nearby, and after making a great fanfare of publicity for two days, he finally held the auction.

Unexpectedly, after this kind of Gold-Quenching Stone, which could be used with confidence, was publicly demonstrated without exploding, it immediately caused an incomparable sensation. In just a few minutes, the bids had already reached the terrifying price of five hundred gold coins per piece. This made Roger's heart ache terribly. If he had known, he would not have run the test first; he had wasted five hundred gold coins for nothing!

In the end, the dozen or so Gold-Quenching Stones Liu Feng had left there were all bought by the largest weapon shop in York County. However, this also caused the other merchants who had not managed to buy any to complain nonstop. One after another, they pestered Roger, asking whether he could get more of this material in the future. Out of professional ethics, Roger did not reveal that Liu Feng was the one who had obtained these Gold-Quenching Stones, only saying he would do his best to think of a way, barely managing to pacify that group of shop bosses.

So after the auction ended, Roger immediately went to Palister Manor. Unexpectedly, at that time Liu Feng was in the middle of undoing Jennifer's seal, so the fat man could only return helplessly. Before leaving, however, he told Turner to have Liu Feng come to the auction house as soon as he came out.

After listening to Roger's account, and then receiving that amethyst card which still held a full five thousand gold coins after fees had been deducted, Liu Feng finally, for the first time since coming to this world, started grinning stupidly with incomparable happiness. His appearance was as though he had suddenly married eighteen concubines as beautiful as flowers.

This was five thousand gold coins! Although compared to truly rich people, it was still nothing at all, at least it proved that Liu Feng's original guess had been absolutely correct. And what were the thousands of Gold-Quenching Stones piled up like trash and lying idle inside the manor? They were an astonishing fortune. Moreover, according to Butler Bard, in the family's quarry, there were still many more of these useless stones that had not been mined.

Even if they were still calculated at five hundred gold coins apiece, how much money would that be? Thinking of this, Liu Feng felt as if his drool was about to run out, and he became completely dazed and foolish.

Only after Roger called out to him countless times did Liu Feng finally come back to his senses. After throwing down a sentence that he would deliver another thirty Gold-Quenching Stones in a week, he immediately held that amethyst card containing five thousand gold coins and brought Turner flying back toward the manor.

With this first bucket of gold, Liu Feng finally developed incomparable confidence in his own future. Why did the Twelve Palaces, The Church, and the Fire Worship Sect have such lofty status on the continent? Experts were one aspect, but that abundant financial power was also indispensable. And with the huge wealth brought by these Gold-Quenching Stones, even if he had to smash money into it, Liu Feng believed he could smash out a force that belonged to him!

Protecting his own little life and reviving the Palister Family—Liu Feng believed that all of this was no longer an unreachable dream...