First Encounter

After a wave of twists and turns, the auction ended with the clash between Lu Zhi and He Kui. It was safe to say that whether the participants had managed to buy anything or not, witnessing so many good things and seeing a Dou Emperor powerhouse make a move meant their trip was well worth it.

Xiao Yan, Xu Yingwu, and the others walked through a designated passageway in the Gold Alliance Chamber of Commerce to collect their auctioned items. Although there was no need to rush, Zi Yan put on a look as if she were about to weep, leaving Xiao Yan with no choice but to go collect them immediately.

After all, the Echo Sect was a major power with vast resources, and they were also taking the exclusive passageway. Naturally, Xu Yingwu led the way, while Xu Chengzze had left with a solemn expression right after Lu Zhi won the Emperor Essence Fruit at a sky-high price.

Before long, they walked to the end of the passageway and pushed open a plain door. What came into view was a room furnished with quiet elegance and a fresh fragrance. Sitting in the middle of the room were Xue Ningyi, He Kui, and the owner of the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion, Tang Huang.

Xu Yingwu smiled and said, "This junior greets President Xue, Pavilion Master Tang, and Senior He!"

Xue Ningyi swept her gaze over them, smiled gracefully, and curtsied as she said, "Welcome, Young Sect Master Xu. Why, did Sect Master Xu not come?"

"Hehe, what is this, is President Xue afraid this younger brother of mine cannot afford to pay?" Xu Yingwu said with a frivolous smile.

"How could this older sister look down on Young Sect Master Xu? The person behind you is probably Master Xiao Yan, who tops the Medicine Ranking Nomination."

Xiao Yan rubbed his nose. Although Tang Huang had seen him before, being recognized directly by Xue Ningyi showed that her management of the Gold Alliance Chamber of Commerce was truly not undeserved; her intelligence-gathering ability was first-rate.

"It's just sheer luck, I hardly dare accept the title of master."

Xue Ningyi took a storage ring from the maid beside her, handed it to Xu Yingwu, and said, "Everything the Echo Sect won at the auction is right here."

As she spoke, she also cast a meaningful glance at Xiao Yan.

After tallying the items, Xu Yingwu also handed a storage ring to Xue Ningyi and said, "President Xue, you should check it as well!"

"There's no need. I still trust the Echo Sect's reputation."

With that, she put away the storage ring. Who would have thought that Xu Yingwu would mutter under his breath, "Had I known the Echo Sect's reputation was so useful, I would have bid a few tens of millions less."

Xue Ningyi rolled her eyes at him. "You little fellow, you never act serious day in and day out. Look, someone else snatched away your title of number one, didn't they?"

Hearing this, Xu Yingwu put both hands behind his head and said, "That fellow Lu Zhi is too freakish. Among the younger generation, who is his match?"

A trace of admiration flashed in Xu Yingwu's eyes. As a genius of the Echo Sect, he was confident he was inferior to no one, yet only toward Lu Zhi did he lack confidence.

At this moment, He Kui, who had been standing indifferently to the side, suddenly spoke up, "In my opinion, among these young people beside you, there are probably more than one who can surpass Lu Zhi."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yingwu raised an eyebrow. The implication of He Kui's words was that two among them could match Lu Zhi, and in all likelihood, he probably wasn't referring to himself.

However, before Xu Yingwu had time to voice the doubt in his heart, someone else entered, leaving him with no choice but to drop the matter.

The group withdrew from the room, and all the way along, Xu Yingwu did not stop pondering who He Kui was talking about. Xiao Yan? But his alchemy was stronger than his own, his cultivation was stronger than his own, and he was even younger than him—was there any justice in this?

As for the three young lasses beside them, he felt nothing at all. The prettiest one was Xiao Yan's girlfriend, who held him in absolute reverence, while that little purple-haired girl and the saintess of the Heavenly Snake Mansion hadn't even advanced to Dou Emperor yet, making it even less likely.

While Xu Yingwu walked with his head down in thought, he bumped unexpectedly into a group of people. Dressed in a brand-new wide white robe with four elders and Lu Chen behind him, who else could it be but Lu Zhi, who had shone brilliantly at the auction?

Just as the two groups were about to brush past each other, Lu Chen stared at Zi Yan and said, "Big Brother, they are the ones who snatched our White Fragrant Berry!"

"Oh?" Lu Zhi looked at the group, his interest piqued.

"Who says it's yours? Obviously we got it ourselves..." Before Zi Yan could finish her retort, Xiao Yan pulled her away. It wasn't that he was in a rush to leave, but rather out of disdain for Lu Chen.

"Brat, you're tired of living. You want to leave without making things clear?"

Feeling Xiao Yan's disdain, Lu Chen surged with fury. Condensing Dou Qi patterns on his arm, he struck out at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan casually swept out a fist backward. The two fists collided, and Lu Chen was directly blasted flying by the punch, rolling several times down the passageway before barely coming to a stop.

Seeing this scene, Zi Yan could no longer hold back her laughter, and the expressions of the others were quite colorful as well.

Lu Zhi, however, fixed his gaze tightly on Xiao Yan and said, "Not bad. Try this move of mine."

Gray patterns condensed on Lu Zhi's right arm, and the skin on his arm turned a yellowish-gray color. It was the exact same angle, the exact same direction, and the exact same punch as Lu Chen's, with only the force differing.

Xiao Yan's expression also tightened slightly; the pressure Lu Zhi gave him was not small. His right fist trembled bizarrely, and the kinetic energy brought forth by the vibration caused the air to emit a buzzing sound.

Eight Extremities Collapse!

As their fists met, Xiao Yan only felt as though he were shaking a mountain head-on, and he was forced back three solid steps before steadying his stance.

Lu Zhi also retreated his right foot by half a step, looked at Xiao Yan, and smiled, "Not bad, you have some strength. But it's still not enough. Work hard these next month and a half, and give me some surprises at the Ten Thousand Beasts Assembly!"

With that, he left with the elders, while Lu Chen said, "Big Brother, are we just going to let this brat go?"

"I didn't stop you; you can go on your own." Lu Zhi's indifferent words drifted back.

Lu Chen cast a vicious glare at Xiao Yan and the others. Meeting Zi Yan's eager-to-try gaze, he gritted his teeth and hurried to catch up with the departing Lu Zhi.

Xiao Yan and Xu Yingwu exchanged glances and smiled. Compared to Lu Zhi, this Lu Chen was downright a profligate young master.

Xiao Yan looked at his right fist, which had already shown signs of bleeding, and muttered to himself, "This Lu Zhi is indeed a good opponent."

Xu Yingwu threw an arm around Xiao Yan's shoulders and said, "That fellow just now used the Hard Skin Pattern, which can enhance one's own hardness. Just remember to pay attention next time."

"The Mystic Pattern Sect's methods are indeed strange. It's very easy to fall for them on a first encounter."

"Who is saying otherwise? My father even said that this simply doesn't look like a method from the Dou Qi Continent. There are fifteen kinds of patterns in total, and their combinations are quite tricky to deal with."

Xiao Yan asked with genuine interest, "Then how many does this Lu Zhi know?"

Xu Yingwu pondered and said, "According to intelligence, he knows seven: the Hard Skin Pattern for enhanced defense, the Spirit-Devouring Pattern for devouring Dou Qi, the Wind Control Pattern for enhanced speed, the Bloodthirsty Pattern to provoke vital blood, the Spirit Chaos Pattern for mental attacks, and the last two he is only known to possess, though no one has ever seen him use them."

Hearing halfway through, Xiao Yan was also startled. "He even knows mental attacks?"

Xu Yingwu waved a hand and said, "Against others, his Spirit Chaos Pattern has a very good effect, but it's useless against us alchemists. His soul power isn't as formidable as ours, so he would end up being injured instead."

Even so, Xiao Yan did not let down his guard. After all, the promise he made to Yang Yue was to take first place at the Ten Thousand Beasts Assembly. Now it seemed that Wan Qing of the Heroes Alliance and Shi Meng of Elephant Rhino Mountain were no pushovers, let alone formidable rivals like Lu Zhi.

It's time to strengthen my own power.

Xiao Yan looked at the storage ring he had just won back, which contained vital blood, and thought to himself.