Jia Lie Ao

"Good! Good! Thank you! Thank you!" The merchant immediately smiled and took out a bag from his bundle to pack the items for Xiao Yan. As he searched for the bag, a rust-stained Black Iron Piece with traces of yellow earth fell from the bundle.

Xiao Yan frowned when he saw the Black Iron Piece. It was giving off a faint soul fluctuation.

Could it really be such a coincidence? Is this thing fated to be with me? Xiao Yan felt somewhat moved.

"Little Yan, buy that Black Iron Piece. It's good stuff!" Medicine Elder's voice rang out in Xiao Yan's mind at just the right moment.

However, Xiao Yan had no intention of spending any more gold coins. He casually said to the merchant, "I gave you at least fifty extra gold coins. You should throw in something for free, right?"

"Huh?" The merchant was clearly unwilling when he heard that he still had to give something away.

"Hehe, don't worry. I won't take anything expensive. I just want to buy a gift for my Xun'er." Xiao Yan said with a smile.

Hearing that Xiao Yan would not take anything valuable, the merchant finally relaxed and said with a smile, "Alright, pick any two items you like!"

Under the merchant's slightly pained gaze, Xiao Yan casually picked up a rather pretty light-blue bracelet and the Black Iron Piece, then took out a bag of gold coins and handed it to the merchant.

Seeing that Xiao Yan had only taken a bracelet worth a few gold coins and the Black Iron Piece their mercenaries had dug up while setting traps, the merchant's heartache faded. In their eyes, that iron piece was trash. They had only kept it because even a fly was still meat. Besides, Xiao Yan had handed over the gold coins without hesitation.

"This young master has taken a liking to that Magic Core too." Just as the merchant was about to accept the gold coins, a somewhat frivolous voice sounded behind Xiao Yan.

Hearing the vaguely familiar voice, Xiao Yan frowned slightly and turned around. He saw Jia Lie Ao leading more than a dozen guards toward him and Xun'er with an arrogant swagger.

Xiao Yan had just wanted to speak when Xun'er beat him to it. "Jia Lie Ao, do you have no shame? Brother Xiao Yan saw it first. Do you even understand first come, first served?"

The weather was rather hot, and people naturally became irritable. Even the normally quiet and gentle Xun'er could not help losing her temper.

Jia Lie Ao was clearly stunned when he saw Xiao Xun'er angry. He had obviously never expected the usually refined and graceful Xiao Xun'er to curse at someone. But he was only stunned for a moment. Seeing Xiao Xun'er's true side made his heart stir even more, and he liked her all the more. Smiling faintly, he said, "I need to make a piece of jewelry recently, so I also need a Wood-attribute Monster Core badly. If Miss Xun'er wants it, how about I give you the jewelry for free once it's finished?"

Seeing Jia Lie Ao pursue Xun'er right in front of him, Xiao Yan's mouth twitched. He stood up, handed the bracelet he had just bought to Xun'er, and said calmly, "I'll buy whatever Xun'er needs. There's no need to trouble Young Master Jia Lie Ao."

Jia Lie Ao looked at the bracelet in Xiao Xun'er's hand. After examining it closely, he saw that aside from being pretty, it had nothing special about it. It was clearly just a cheap street-stall item, not worth more than a few gold coins. He immediately mocked, "I wonder whether Young Master Xiao Yan is stingy, or whether his status in the clan is simply too low? You're only willing to buy such cheap street-stall trash for Miss Xun'er? How shabby! Hahaha!"

The guards who had come with Jia Lie Ao also burst into mocking laughter. However, the laughter did not last long before it abruptly stopped, as though someone had seized their throats. Their mouths hung open, and their stunned expressions were quite comical.

Xun'er swiftly put on the bracelet and said excitedly, "What a beautiful bracelet! Thank you, Brother Xiao Yan. Xun'er really likes it!"

"Hehe! I didn't expect Miss Xun'er's tastes to be so unusual. It seems I miscalculated." The jealousy on Jia Lie Ao's face flashed past in an instant. With a wave of his hand, he ordered his attendants to surround the entire stall.

"This bracelet doesn't belong to you yet, does it? How much are these things? I'll pay double! Since you haven't paid yet, don't say I'm being unfair."

Seeing that this young master who had arrived later was willing to pay double, the merchant was naturally tempted. However, he did not immediately agree. Having spent years in the marketplace, he knew that the best choice now was to wait and see. Neither side was someone he could afford to offend. If he angered either one, it would be difficult for him to survive in Wutan City afterward.

The merchant had made the right choice, because Payne quickly arrived with a patrol squad. They forcibly broke through Jia Lie Ao's encirclement and came to Xiao Yan's side. Every time Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er went shopping, Payne would have men follow them from a distance so he could arrive immediately if Xiao Yan ran into trouble.

Seeing Payne arrive, a smile appeared on Xiao Yan's lips. Payne truly deserved to be the patrol captain personally appointed by his father. He handled matters with great care. This time, without Xiao Yan calling for him, he had taken the initiative to help Xiao Yan out of trouble.

"Young Master, are you alright?" Payne asked respectfully.

"Hehe, I'm fine." Xiao Yan replied with a smile.

Seeing Payne ruin his plans again, Jia Lie Ao could not help but fly into a rage. Having suffered last time because he had brought too few guards, he had brought quite a few this time. Naturally, he did not leave in disgrace as before. Instead, he sneered, "This young master is buying that Magic Core no matter what. Pay him!"

One of Jia Lie Ao's guards took out a heavy bag of gold coins and forcibly handed it to the merchant. Feeling the two bags of gold coins in his hands, the merchant inwardly groaned. He had never felt gold coins burn his hands so badly. With a bitter smile, he looked toward Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan took a deep breath. He knew there would be no peaceful resolution today. Even if he did not buy that Magic Core, he still needed the Black Iron Piece, so he could not yield. He said in a low voice, "What do you want? Say it."

"Hehe, straightforward! Fight me once. If you win, it's yours. If you lose, it's mine. I heard that a few months ago, you easily defeated Xiao Ning, who had seven stages of Dou Qi in your clan. Then you should be at least at the eighth or ninth stage of Dou Qi now, right? With your current strength, you wouldn't be afraid, would you? Or was that merely a show your clan staged to help you shake off the name of trash?" Jia Lie Ao laughed loudly. He had also heard about Xiao Yan's duel, but he had only treated it as a joke. He believed it was a trick staged by the Xiao Clan.

"Oh? Are you sure?" A teasing smile appeared on Xiao Yan's face, because he sensed several powerful auras appearing nearby. One of them was particularly domineering, like a male lion.

Seeing Xiao Yan act so fearless, Jia Lie Ao showed a look of disdain. He believed Xiao Yan was merely putting on a brave front. He had been at the ninth stage of Dou Qi for a long time, while Xiao Yan had only been at the third stage a few months ago. No matter how talented he was, how much could he have improved in half a year? Jia Lie Ao waved his hand, ordering the guards to spread out and leave an open space. He sneered, "Stop bluffing. Your little tricks can only fool children."

Xiao Yan also waved his hand and had the guards move aside. Xun'er merely smiled and told him to be careful before walking directly to one side. She knew Xiao Yan's strength. Even she could only fight him to a draw, much less Jia Lie Ao. They might both be at the ninth stage of Dou Qi, but were they really comparable?

The two stood in the center of the space surrounded by guards from the Xiao Clan and the Jia Lie Clan, staring into each other's eyes. Xiao Yan's face was filled with a confident smile, while Jia Lie Ao assumed Xiao Yan was only pretending.

The taller mercenaries and merchants around them immediately crowded over to watch, while the shorter ones fetched chairs from nearby and stood on them. Quite a few people knew Jia Lie Ao and Xiao Yan. Knowing that the young masters of Wutan City's two major clans were about to fight, they naturally did not mind seeing the situation grow bigger.

The two did not disappoint the spectators. Jia Lie Ao clenched his right fist, and a faint green glow appeared around it. With a step forward, he charged swiftly at Xiao Yan.

Seeing Jia Lie Ao's attack, Xiao Yan tensed his body like a drawn bow. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his fists clenched tight.

When they were about to meet, both threw their fists at the same time. Each used a killing move, both intending to end the fight with one strike.

"Eight Extremes Collapse!"

"Qingfeng Whirlwind Fist!"

A cracking sound rang out as bones broke. Jia Lie Ao spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward.

Seeing Jia Lie Ao blasted away by Xiao Yan's punch, the entire area fell into deathly silence. Everyone rubbed their eyes in unison, thinking they had seen wrong.

"Hey! I'm not dreaming, am I? Was Jia Lie Ao really the one who got sent flying, not Xiao Yan?" someone who knew both Xiao Yan and Jia Lie Ao cried out in shock.

"I think so! And I heard the sound of bones breaking. It seems Young Master Xiao Yan broke Jia Lie Ao's arm with just one strike," the person beside him said with wide eyes.

"Wasn't it said that Young Master Xiao Yan had lost his cultivation talent and become trash? How could he be this powerful? Sending Jia Lie Ao flying with one punch—he must at least be a Dou Zhe, right?" another mercenary voiced his doubts.

"You don't understand, do you? I heard that Young Master Xiao Yan never lost his cultivation talent. Everything before was just smoke and mirrors spread by the Xiao Clan. Because the young master's cultivation talent was too monstrous, they feared attracting the attention of those with ill intentions. To protect him, they deliberately spread rumors that he had lost his cultivation talent." A rather burly man spoke with a confident expression, though it was only his own guess.

"So that's how it is!" Hearing this explanation, everyone present suddenly felt enlightened.