After staring at the vortex for a full three or four minutes, it finally changed. Just like before, the vortex suddenly stopped, then seemed to be parted like muddy water.
The image gradually became clear, and Claire focused her gaze on it.
Ancient times? Claire wondered.
The man before her looked to be around thirty. His clothes were nearly identical to those worn in ancient times, and they looked as though they had not been washed in ages. Even through the screen, she could almost smell the stench coming from him. His face was filthy as well.
Claire frowned slightly. If this was merely an ordinary ancient world, then there really was nothing in his world that interested her.
"Hello, little brother."
"Hello, my name is Antonio. What should I call you?" Claire habitually used her alias.
"Just call me Chen Han. Let's get straight to the point. What do you have over there that can be traded?"
Claire put on an uninterested expression, propping her chin up as she said, "What do you want? I have miracle medicine that can treat external injuries. What do you have over there?"
"Miracle medicine for treating external injuries?" Chen Han repeated, though he did not seem especially concerned.
Just as he was about to speak, his expression suddenly changed. He gave Claire an apologetic smile and said, "Sorry, wait a moment. I need to shake off the pursuers behind me."
"Hm?"
Claire voiced her confusion, then saw the man named Chen Han leap into the air from where he stood. His toes lightly tapped against a protruding rock, and in less than a few seconds, he had flown onto a cliff dozens of meters high.
Claire's eyes widened slightly. A martial arts world?
Once Chen Han had flattened himself against the ground, dozens of martial artists on horseback came chasing after him in the distance, shouting curses as they rode.
"We have to catch that little thief! He actually dared to steal our sect's foundational art, the Five Elements Breathing Technique!"
"This isn't the first time he's done this. Our Five Elements Sect is already the fourth sect he has robbed. If he weren't relying on that superb Movement Technique of his, the other sects would have killed him long ago."
"If we fail to catch him this time, we'll join forces with the other four sects and issue a wanted notice for him! Let's see where he can hide then!"
"That's right! Chen Han does such things without fearing that lightning will strike him dead the moment he steps outside!"
The angry curses gradually faded into the distance. After confirming that no one was nearby, Chen Han scratched his head and revealed an embarrassed smile.
"Sorry you had to see that. Let's continue discussing the trade."
"What did you do to have so many people hunting you down?"
"I merely stole their sect's cultivation technique. They're so stingy; no wonder their Five Elements Sect can't grow stronger. But it's not a problem. With my Movement Technique, they'll need another thirty years of training before they can catch me." Chen Han curled his lip.
"What does that technique do?" Claire asked.
"It seems to strengthen the body. There are plenty of techniques like that, but the Five Elements Breathing Technique does have some unique aspects. It gets twice the result with half the effort compared to other techniques. Still, it's only a foundational technique. I don't even know whether I can trade it for a hundred taels of gold."
A foundational technique?
Claire immediately caught the key phrase. When it comes to developing the human body, a martial arts world is undoubtedly at the forefront. And this happens to be a foundational technique. Perhaps it could help with advancing to Apprentice Knight...
Claire's heart leaped with joy at the thought, and she directly asked, "I'm very interested in your cultivation techniques. We can trade for them."
"Of course, that's no problem. I stole this technique to sell it in the first place, so it doesn't matter who I trade with. The question is whether you can produce a treasure that interests me. If it's like the miracle medicine for external injuries you mentioned earlier, forget it. We aren't short on such things here."
Just as Chen Han had said, a martial arts world did not lack medicine for treating external injuries. Besides, even if he took it, he would have no use for it. His enemies usually could not even catch up to him, much less injure him. In the more than ten years since he had begun wandering the martial world, the only injury he had ever suffered was when a mad dog bit him while he slept in an abandoned temple.
Claire licked her lips and narrowed her eyes. This was rather troublesome. The other party clearly did not care for her basic healing potion. What else did she have that could interest him?
Claire suddenly remembered something. Right, he had said he wanted to trade the technique for gold! He lacked spending money, so perhaps they could still make a deal.
"Wait a moment. I'll go fetch a treasure," Claire said as she stood up. She then aimed the trade screen at the reclining chair she had been sitting in, so the other party would not see what happened next.
"Hurry back. Half the time is almost gone," Chen Han urged.
After getting up, Claire walked over to the desk, reached out, picked up the glass cup on it, and started walking back.
After taking only a few steps, she paused. Turning around, she rummaged through a cabinet and took out the gifts the nobles had given her. She casually tossed a gold cup from among them onto the floor, then placed the glass cup inside and closed the lid. A beautiful crystal glass cup had thus appeared.
The gold cup rolled across the marble floor and slid back to Claire's feet.
Bang! With a kick, she sent the gold cup flying several meters away.
With that, Claire carried the repackaged glass cup back to the chair.
"What treasure did you bring?" Chen Han asked, staring at the gift box in Claire's hands.
Just from its appearance, the gift box gave off an extraordinary impression, so the treasure inside had to be worthy of it.
Claire carefully opened the gift box and displayed the glass cup within, all while closely watching Chen Han's expression.
Sure enough, the moment the glass cup appeared, Chen Han's eyelids twitched slightly. However, he quickly controlled his expression and did not let his reaction become too exaggerated.
Perfect. It seemed that the world on the other side had yet to produce glass.
Claire began her deception. "This is a treasure from the Merfolk Kingdom in the far eastern sea: a crystal glass cup! I assume your world also has such wondrous things as glass, but glass this crystal-clear must be exceedingly rare."
Chen Han stared fixedly at the glass cup in Claire's hand, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. Rare? He had not merely never seen anything like it; he had never even heard of it. Ordinary glass was yellow or green. Where could one find such a transparent glass cup? Even multicolored glass was worth a fortune. If he could trade for this crystal glass cup, wouldn't he strike it rich?
Claire continued to fool him. "It was crafted from crystal taken from an abyss ten thousand fathoms deep. Only merfolk royalty may possess it. I spent a great deal of money to buy it..."
"Stop talking. I really am very interested in it. Let's make the trade," Chen Han said hurriedly.
The countdown in the upper right corner was already nearing one minute. If they delayed any longer, the trade channel would close.
"No rush." Claire smiled and closed the gift box, tucking it into her clothes.
Chen Han's eyes nearly popped out. What did she mean, no rush? It was extremely urgent!
"I also have a Minor Heavenly Cycle Circulation Method that I stole from Mount Wugong. It can increase one's spiritual power. They say that if cultivated to a profound level, one can form an Yin Spirit and break free from the shackles of the flesh."
Claire merely continued smiling without saying a word.
Chen Han anxiously glanced at the countdown again and said, "I already sold all the cultivation techniques I stole before. These are the only two books I have on me now. What else do you want?"
"Add the Movement Technique you displayed earlier," Claire said softly.
Chen Han's eyes widened, and he shouted, "That's the Movement Technique passed down through my family!"
"So no deal?"
"No, but you need to pay more!"
"Deal!" Claire took out an empty test tube from her Spatial Ring.
Chen Han's eyes lit up once more. "Deal!"
Remember to vote after reading!
Before you continue