Emerald Protective Pill

"Of course." Yue Shen agreed readily with a cheerful smile.

Long Haochen had been about to decline, but when he heard Yue Shen agree, he could only follow the two of them without a word.

Lin Jialu and Li Xin exchanged a glance. They, too, had just learned of Lin Xin's standing at the Temple Alliance Auction House in Aimei City from the middle-aged appraiser.

Naturally, they were now a little curious about what sort of person this young man, who was about their age, really was.

"I have a private room up front, and I'm the only one using it. Let's all go there. It's more spacious." Lin Xin draped an arm around Yue Shen's shoulders and chuckled. "Besides, if you buy anything here, the auction house will have to give you a discount for my sake."

Yue Shen thought to himself, Sure enough, Lin Xin is still the richest of our group at this stage.

Before long, Lin Xin led them down the sloping stairs of the auction house to the private rooms at the very front.

Here, dedicated female attendants received them.

The attendants were all slender and pretty, dressed in beautifully fitted silver gowns.

"Master Lin, you're here."

As soon as she saw them come down, one of the attendants approached Lin Xin and bowed respectfully.

"Yes." Lin Xin chuckled. "These are all friends of mine. Take us over."

The attendant glanced at the people behind Lin Xin with curiosity, unable to hide her surprise.

In all her time working here, this was the first time she had seen Master Lin bring friends to an auction.

When her gaze passed over Yue Shen beside Lin Xin, she was surprised again.

"Please follow me, everyone," the attendant said with a smile, bending slightly and extending a hand toward the passage.

Lin Xin's private room was in an excellent position, directly facing the auction stage.

Once they had settled onto the sofas, Lin Xin clapped his hands. "Xiao Nuo, bring us a few bottles of Nectar Red Devil."

"Of course, Master Lin. Right away." The attendant smiled at him and left the room.

Lin Xin sat down beside Yue Shen. Compared with the quiet Long Haochen, he would much rather talk to Yue Shen.

"Brother Yue, do you happen to have any other Demon corpses on hand?" Lin Xin asked expectantly. "Especially a Verdant Twin-Blade Demon of the rank yours reached. Those are practically impossible to find these days."

"No." Yue Shen shook his head. "But if you're interested, Brother Lin, I can give you first refusal on any Demon corpses I obtain in the future."

"Still, I'm a little curious. What do you need those Demon corpses for, Brother Lin?" Yue Shen asked, despite already knowing the answer.

Lin Xin chuckled at that. "Take a look."

A flash of red light appeared, and a crystal bottle materialized in his hand. Three crimson pills were visible through its sides.

"I use those Demon corpses to refine pills," Lin Xin explained. "These are Great Strength Pills I made. Their main ingredient is powder ground from a Verdant Twin-Blade Demon's carapace."

As he spoke, Lin Xin placed the crystal bottle in Yue Shen's hand.

Yue Shen raised the crystal bottle and activated the Identification Tool.

[Emerald Protective Pill (Great Strength Pill), peak third-tier pill. Increases External Spiritual Power for bodily defense by 500 for half an incense stick's burning time after consumption.

Makes the skin's surface as hard as refined steel. Effective against both physical and magical attacks.

Value: 2,000 gold coins.]

Good grief! Two thousand apiece!

That price came as quite a surprise to Yue Shen. So his Quasi-Gold-Patterned Twin-Blade Demon corpse had only been worth enough to buy these three Great Strength Pills?

Yue Shen shook his head slightly,

set the crystal bottle on the table before him, and pushed it back toward Lin Xin. Seeing this, Lin Xin was just about to speak.

Just then, the attendant who had gone to fetch his wine pushed open the door, holding a bottle of Nectar Red Devil in each hand.

The attendant seemed to sense something. She set down the two bottles of red fruit wine, poured everyone a glass, and quietly withdrew.

"Brother Yue, Brother Long, and you two lovely ladies, give it a try." Lin Xin raised a glass. "It tastes pretty good. It's a specialty from a small town in the southern part of the Alliance."

Yue Shen picked up his glass and took a sip, but to his surprise, the fruit wine did not taste particularly impressive.

After a couple of sips, Yue Shen put his glass back on the table and turned his attention to the auction, which was about to begin.

A beautiful auctioneer had already stepped onto the stage and bowed slightly to the guests.

She wore a rose-red, floor-length gown. Tall and voluptuous, with thick, long black hair neatly arranged, she looked both gorgeous and capable.

"Welcome, honored guests, to the Temple Alliance Auction House in Aimei City. I'm Xing Xuan, and it's a pleasure to serve you." The beautiful auctioneer smiled.

"Now, let's bring out our first lot." With a smile, she signaled for a staff member to wheel the cart holding the auction item to the center of the stage.

"Xing Xuan is so beautiful. If I weren't only eighteen, I'd definitely try courting her." Lin Xin's eyes shone. "Brother Yue Shen, what do you think of her?"

"She's very pretty." Yue Shen nodded in agreement. "If I weren't only ten... myself, I'd try courting her too."

"Great minds think alike." Lin Xin chuckled.

Yue Shen did a quick calculation. If he added his early twenties from his previous life to the nearly three years he had spent here, wouldn't that put him at just the right age?

"Ahem." Lin Jialu suddenly cleared her throat twice.

"Yue Shen, you're definitely going to become a Demon Hunter someday," Lin Jialu explained. "With a dangerous profession like that, an ordinary civilian isn't a suitable partner."

"I was just joking with Brother Yue." Sensing that things had taken a bad turn, Lin Xin hurried to smooth things over. "Let's watch the auction first. The item they're auctioning right now is one of this master's creations."

Hearing that, everyone turned their attention to the auction stage.

Onstage, the beautiful auctioneer named Xing Xuan was saying with a warm smile, "Our first lot today is once again a creation of our mysterious Master Lin.

I'm sure you're all curious about where else you can buy the pills Master Lin refines.

The answer is: nowhere but here.

Master Lin has partnered with our Temple Alliance Auction House, and all the pills he personally makes are sold through us. At present, we're the only place in the entire Federation where you can buy them."

On the auction stage, Xing Xuan held a crystal bottle identical to the one on the table before Lin Xin, though hers contained only a single crimson pill.

She was explaining the effects of the Emerald Protective Pill to everyone present.

Inside the private room, Yue Shen stroked his smooth chin thoughtfully.

He kept feeling that the plot had already strayed far beyond his control-and yet, perhaps it hadn't.