Ignoring the wary gazes of the fully armed guards at the entrance, Xiao Yan walked straight in.
The moment he entered the clubhouse, the oppressive heat seemed to peel away from his body.
A refreshing coolness enveloped him, creating a strange sensation of two different worlds.
Xiao Yan's gaze swept across the vast, opulent hall, and he strode towards a room.
The door of the room was emblazoned with three large, gold characters: "Appraisal Room."
Pushing open the door, he found the room rather empty, with only a middle-aged man idly seated at a table.
Hearing the door open, the middle-aged man looked up. Seeing the figure cloaked in black robes, he frowned almost imperceptibly. Then, a professional smile quickly spread across his face. "Sir, are you here for an appraisal?"
"Hmm," a somewhat dry, aged voice drifted out from beneath the black robe. It was Old Yao's voice.
Xiao Yan took two steps forward and tapped his finger lightly on the table. A shimmering, azure flower appeared.
The moment the flower materialized, a wave of icy coldness emanated, causing the room's temperature to begin dropping.
"This is…" The middle-aged man blinked, carefully picking up the medicinal herb and examining it closely before saying, "Ice Begonia."
It was an extremely precious herb. Due to its strong ice attribute, it was undoubtedly a great boon for those who cultivated ice-attribute Dou Qi.
Most importantly, the Ice Begonia's petals were quite large, indicating it was of considerable age, which was rare.
This Ice Begonia was one of the spoils of war Xiao Yan obtained after killing a Wolf Head Mercenary Group squad. It was the most valuable herb among them, worth at least three thousand Gold Coins.
The middle-aged man was visibly moved. He carefully placed the Ice Begonia back on the table and respectfully said, "Sir, could you wait a moment? I need to ask Master Gu Ni from our auction house to come and appraise the herb's age."
"Alright, hurry up." Xiao Yan waved his hand, not standing on ceremony. He sat down on a chair nearby and closed his eyes to rest.
The middle-aged man nodded and hurried out of the room.
Sitting in the chair, Xiao Yan said, "Just a seventy-six-year-old Ice Begonia probably won't be enough to buy what we need, right?"
"The value of that little flower alone is definitely not enough," Old Yao chuckled. "But that doesn't mean we can't buy other things. Using money to make money is one of the most powerful abilities of an alchemist."
"Teacher is planning to refine medicine?" Xiao Yan murmured, feeling a little curious about what Old Yao would refine first.
Old Yao sighed, "I usually wouldn't give this to others, but now I can only take out some of my hidden treasures. Watch carefully later; it'll be of great benefit to your future alchemy."
Let me watch... This means the rank isn't high, Xiao Yan speculated. Could it be the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid?
A moment later, the middle-aged man returned. This time, however, he brought with him an old man in a green robe with some gray hair.
"Sir, this is Master Gu Ni from our auction house. He is a One-Star Great Dou Master! He is also a Second-Rank Alchemist," the middle-aged man said respectfully.
The old man's face was flushed. Although his green clothes seemed ordinary, they subtly shimmered, indicating they were likely reinforced with some kind of magic core protection.
His ordinary old face held a hint of barely concealed arrogance, a characteristic every alchemist possessed.
The moment Master Gu Ni entered, he subtly sized up Xiao Yan. Finding nothing remarkable about him except for his peculiar attire, he seemed utterly ordinary.
The middle-aged man carefully picked up the Ice Begonia from the table and handed it to Master Gu Ni.
Taking the medicinal herb, Master Gu Ni examined it closely. He then said to the middle-aged man in a low voice, "This Ice Begonia is crystal clear, and its veins have developed special ice patterns. It's at least seventy years old. It's indeed quite good."
Hearing this, the middle-aged man, having learned from the appraisal, turned to Xiao Yan with a warm smile, "Sir, are you planning to auction this medicinal herb?"
"Arrange the fastest auction time for me."
"Hehe, of course, no problem. Sir, take this to Auction Room Number One. They're currently holding an auction there, and your medicinal herb will be auctioned shortly!" The middle-aged man smiled and handed over a jet-black iron牌.
"Mm," Xiao Yan took the iron牌 without pausing. Under the watchful eyes of the two men, he left the room.
After watching Xiao Yan disappear, the middle-aged man quietly asked, "Master Gu Ni, I recall that Ice Begonia is usually guarded by a pack of Ice Wolf magical beasts. And the older the Ice Begonia, the stronger the guarding Ice Wolf magical beasts."
"A seventy-year-old Ice Begonia would require at least an elite mercenary squad. What level is this person?"
"I couldn't detect any strength from him," Gu Ni frowned, shaking his head with some confusion. "Perhaps he's a representative sent by a mercenary group, just a regular person at the Dou Qi stage."
Given Wutan City's proximity to the Magical Beast Mountain Range, such occurrences weren't exactly rare for the two of them.
Under the guidance of a handmaiden, Xiao Yan entered the ongoing auction.
He had been here many times and was quite familiar with the place.
At this moment, beneath the lights in the center of the auction hall, Ya Fei, dressed in a red gown, was using her charming, bone-meltingly sweet voice to explain the functions of the item in her hand to everyone present.
Amidst Ya Fei's clear, sweet voice, the price of the item, which wasn't particularly rare, was rapidly climbing at a feverish pace.
Ya Fei was around 1.7 meters tall, with a slender figure. Her skin was like white jade, and her face was like a peony. Her eyes were clear and bright, captivating and enchanting. Her cherry-red lips were small and delicate, appearing as if they were about to drip with moisture.
Her teeth were neat and white like crushed jade, or perhaps like a pomegranate. Her chest was high and full, her curves alluring. Her waist was like a tightly bound scroll, her hips were high, and her legs were slender and beautiful.
Amidst her charm, there was a hint of a young girl's purity. Ya Fei, in her early twenties, was truly a perfect mature woman, every movement stirring the heart.
It was hard to imagine how alluring she would become, catalyzed by time, after three years.
Because he wasn't under the spotlight as the young master of the Xiao Clan this time, Xiao Yan sat in a rather secluded position.
\n\n
Sitting quietly, Xiao Yan suddenly frowned. He tilted his head slightly, looking at a man hidden in the shadows not far from his seat.
At this moment, the man was staring intently at Ya Fei on the stage, his hands subtly moving as if he was trying to comfort himself near her red cherry lips.
"Damn!" Xiao Yan, under his cloak, cursed softly, rolling his eyes. This guy was too hardcore. He even started this three years early, wasn't he afraid of dying in the auction house?
....
Completed eng PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Guys, I've uploaded some High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! Feel free to check it out—if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics:
"Douluo: Heaven-Burning Phoenix"
"Naruto: The Innately Evil Uzumaki Naruto"
"Douluo: Xiao Yan Travels Through Time and Space to Become Tang San's Brother"
"Douluo Strongest Son-in-Law"
"In Douluo Dalu with the Naruto System" many more are available for you,
Your support means a lot—thanks in advance, legends!
patreon.com/UIGOD
(End of Chapter)