Xiao Yan Would Just Have to Suffer a Little More

Beside the pool on Back Mountain, Xiao Long rose from the rock and rolled his neck, his joints cracking twice.

With a shift of his feet, he vanished into thin air. When he reappeared, he was beneath another old pine dozens of yards away, without so much as a whisper of wind.

"With Dou Qi here, it's pretty hard to produce a sonic boom, but my speed should be at least Mach two or three."

Xiao Long muttered to himself and raised his right hand, spreading his fingers. A crimson flame appeared out of nowhere in his palm.

The flame was dazzlingly vivid, its edges rimmed with faint gold. It danced in his palm, so hot that the surrounding air warped slightly.

He casually flung it toward a low cliff in the distance. The flame traced an arc and struck with a muffled boom, sending shattered stone flying and smoke and dust billowing several yards high.

Once the dust cleared a little, an enormous crater appeared in the cliff. The stones around its edges glowed red from the heat, and cracks spread outward like a spiderweb.

Birds throughout the surrounding woods took flight in a flurry of wings, chirping in alarm. It took quite a while before they settled back down.

Xiao Long raised an eyebrow, glanced at his palm, then at the crater, and clicked his tongue.

"That explosive power should at least be on par with a Dou Ling. Too bad there isn't one around for me to test it on..."

He stretched and extinguished the flame in his palm. The scorching aura soon dissipated completely.

But when he circulated the Dou Qi within his body afterward, its speed had noticeably slowed.

The power flowing from his dantian into his limbs and throughout his body seemed partially obstructed, making its circulation much more difficult.

Xiao Long frowned and muttered, "Xuan Tier cultivation methods are still too slow! This is rough..."

After breaking through to Dou Zhe, he had discovered that his affinity was exceptionally pure fire.

In certain immortal cultivation worlds, people would have fought tooth and nail over his talent. They would have called it something like a pure-fire heavenly spiritual root, letting him advance a thousand miles a day with fire cultivation methods.

The problem was that this was the Dou Qi Continent. Alchemists needed both fire and wood affinities, so his pure fire affinity shut him out of alchemy altogether.

That was also why he had never coveted the Bone Flame Ring. It would only go to waste in his hands; with Xiao Yan, it could be put to its fullest use.

As for the Earth Tier Cultivation Method in Yao Lao's possession, Xiao Long had certainly had his eye on it.

He had considered how to get his hands on it, but entering dreams with the Sheep Talisman offered no way to do so.

It looked like Xiao Yan would just have to suffer a little more. Once his little brother got acquainted with Yao Lao, squeezing some gold out of that old geezer would be much easier.

Then he could ask a few roundabout questions.

After all, it was just sitting there anyway.

As Xiao Long mulled this over, he had already left Back Mountain, changed into clean clothes, and headed onto the streets of Wutan City.

After walking down two streets, he turned into an alley. He checked both ways to make sure no one was around, then swept a hand over his face. The Monkey Talisman's power seeped from his fingertips, and his facial bones and muscles clicked softly as his features slowly changed.

A few breaths later, the person standing in the alley was no longer Xiao Long, but a middle-aged man with a distinctive large nose, small eyes, and a slightly guileless curve to his lips.

In his previous life, this face would have been recognizable in every household. Children who saw him might have chased after him, calling out to that iconic figure from Jackie Chan Adventures.

Xiao Long examined himself in a bronze mirror hanging on the wall and nodded in satisfaction.

The Monkey Talisman allowed countless transformations, but this was the face he had grown most practiced at using over the years. Back when he killed magical beasts in the Magical Beast Mountain Range and sold their materials, he had used this face for his visits to the auction house. It was convenient and kept anyone from bringing trouble back to the Xiao Clan.

He strode out of the alley, crossed two streets, and reached Wutan City's busiest avenue, where he stopped before an imposing building.

A signboard with golden lettering hung above the entrance, bearing the words "Mittel Auction House." Two uniformed guards stood at the door, their backs ramrod straight.

Xiao Long approached. Recognizing his face, one of the guards stepped forward half a pace and bowed slightly. "Senior, you're here."

"Mm." Xiao Long nodded without saying anything more.

The guard turned and hurried inside. A short while later, he returned with a woman in a long red dress following behind him.

The woman was tall, with long, pale-golden hair.

Alluring, seductive, and captivatingly beautiful, she wore a vivid red, form-fitting brocade robe. Its exquisite workmanship and sumptuous fabric perfectly outlined her lovely curves.

The glimpse of dazzlingly pale, long legs beneath the robe stirred a fiery impulse in anyone who saw them. A silver sash encircled her slender, willow-like waist, narrow enough to fit within a single grasp.

Ya Fei.

She was the manager of the Mittel Auction House's Wutan City branch. Though young, she handled affairs with seasoned skill. After several years of running the business here, she commanded a measure of respect from every faction in the city.

Ya Fei walked briskly up to Xiao Long and dipped in a slight bow. "Senior, you're here. Please come inside."

Xiao Long murmured his assent and followed her through the main hall, past several screens and corridors, into an elegantly furnished side room.

The door closed, instantly shutting out the noise outside.

Ya Fei personally poured a cup of tea and placed it beside Xiao Long's hand before sitting in the chair opposite him.

"Have you brought something special to sell this time, Senior, or is it the usual?"

Xiao Long did not pick up the teacup. With a casual wave, a pile of items appeared on the table before him: magic cores, beast hides, and beast bones, all neatly arranged.

There were both high- and low-grade items, all in good condition. One glance showed they had been properly harvested from magical beasts, with clean, precise cuts that left the essential materials undamaged.

Ya Fei's eyes brightened slightly as she surveyed the pile on the table, though her expression barely changed.

She had seen this senior bring out his goods several times. Every visit came with a sizable haul of consistent quality. For an auction house on Wutan City's level, he was an excellent supplier.

As Ya Fei inventoried the items, she said, "Senior, you've brought thirty percent more than last time. It seems your recent harvest has been quite good."

Xiao Long leaned back in his chair and answered casually, "Not bad. By the way, any news about the High Xuan Tier cultivation method I asked for?"

Ya Fei paused and looked up with a slightly apologetic smile. "Not yet.

"As you know, Senior, High Xuan Tier cultivation methods aren't particularly rare in the Jia Ma Empire, but Wutan City is a small place, after all. The methods circulating on the market are Yellow Tier at most.

"The high-tier goods you want have to be brought in from Jia Ma Holy City. Our contacts say supplies have been tight lately, so we'll need to wait a little longer."

Xiao Long did not seem particularly disappointed. He nodded. "All right, then. Keep looking. There's no rush."

"Oh, and Senior..." Ya Fei finished counting the items, had the servants take them away, then turned back to him.

"The statue you commissioned earlier is finished. Shall I have someone carry it in?"

Xiao Long's eyes lit up. "Bring it in."