Battle Through the Heavens

Chapter 274: Primer Auction House, An Old Friend

“Dammit. In the future, I won’t sit on this broken thing. This slow speed really causes people to feel unbearable.” After walking out of the crowded Flying Transportation Company, Hai Bo Dong deeply inhaled a few breaths of fresh air as he cursed softly.

Seeing the ugly expression on Hai Bo Dong’s face, Xiao Yan smiled and raised his head. His gaze swept across this magnificent capital and could not help but sigh with praise. With such a large size, this Jia Ma Sacred City was definitely ranked first in terms of size among all the cities that Xiao Yan had seen.

“It really deserves to be called the capital of the Jia Ma Empire, being so domineering and peerless.” Xiao Yan said with a smile as he clicked his tongue and let out a sound of admiration.

Hai Bo Dong was not interested in watching these boring buildings. His gaze swept across his surroundings before he suddenly asked, “When are you heading to the Misty Cloud Sect?”

“Half a month from now.” Xiao Yan mused and calculated the time to the Three Year Agreement before replying.

“There’s still so much more time? Then where do we go now?” Hearing this, Hai Bo Dong frowned and he immediately asked annoyed.

“Ok! Let’s first go to the auction house in the capital to take a look. That is the largest place in the Jia Ma Empire to conduct business transactions. It should have some of the things that we need. After which, we will make a trip to the Alchemist Association headquarters.” Xiao Yan fondled with his chin and answered while smiling, “This session of the Alchemist Grand Meeting will be conducted there. I am thinking of going to take a look. Moreover, alchemists love to collect all kinds of different precious medicinal ingredients. It may be possible that we will be able to find the medicinal ingredients needed for the ‘Spiritual Recovery Purple Pill’ there.”

“Hee hee, it’s just as well. This Alchemist Grand Meeting is a rare and great event in the Jia Ma Empire. It would be a pity to miss it…” Hai Bo Dong did not oppose Xiao Yan’s plan. He fondled his white beard, smiled and said with some interest, “But it is really worthwhile for you to take a look at this Alchemist Grand Meeting. For an alchemist, not only does allow you to interact with those in the same occupation, but it also has a somewhat extraordinary significance at the same time. As long as one is able to to reveal one’s brilliance there, one’s future will really be immeasurable!”

“Each Alchemist Grand Meeting attracts the attention of many powerful strengths. Those alchemists who have quite a good refining skill will be like hot buns for these strengths to win over. Tsk tsk. The kind of treatment that these alchemists receives really causes people to be so envious that they have the impulse to murder.”

Hearing Hai Bo Dong’s somewhat exaggerated words, Xiao Yan smiled but shook his head slightly. He said, “An alchemist is a special occupation that many would pay attention and seek out wherever they are. Although being roped in by these huge strengths may allow one to obtain quite a good treatment, it somewhat limits one’s freedom and is not really worthwhile…”

“Not worthwhile? How can it be? You should know who Gu He is right?” Hearing Xiao Yan’s words, Hai Bo Dong rolled his eyes, curled his lips and said.

“Pill-King Gu He. There really isn’t anyone in this Jia Ma Empire who doesn’t know him.” Xiao Yan shrugged his shoulders and laughed faintly. Not only did he know of him, they had even fought against each other.

“He was the largest black horse in the Alchemist Grand Meeting two sessions ago. Before that time, not many people knew Gu He’s name. Ever since he revealed his brilliance in the Grand Meeting, he caught the eye of the previous leader of the Misty Cloud Sect. After which, he was invited to become an elder of the Misty Cloud Sect. Back then, Gu He was merely a tier four alchemist. However, during these few years, with the huge wealth of the Misty Cloud Sect behind him, his refining ability has risen by two tiers. In addition, his reputation also changed from not being very well known, into the current Pill-King that everyone respects.” Hai Bo Dong laughed, “Therefore, if it were not because of the Misty Cloud Sect, he would at least need twenty more years before reaching the recognition he has currently achieved.”

Xiao Yan’s eyebrows twitched in a somewhat surprised manner. He did not expect that Gu He actually came about in this manner.

“An alchemist is indeed a rare occupation. However, it is also an occupation that burns a great amount of money. Although one’s refining ability relies heavily on talent, if one does not have a never ending supply of medicinal ingredients to support him, it would be extremely difficult to quickly raise one’s refining ability and tier regardless of how great one’s talent is. However, if behind him there is a huge strength that is able to support him by providing an endless supply of medicinal ingredients, they would be able to stay relaxed and save the time needed to run all over the place to search for medicinal ingredients. Under such concentration, the achievement that one could obtain would naturally be a little richer than those free alchemists. Therefore, there are also many alchemists who want to find financial backers who would allow them to squander money in this Alchemist Grand Meeting.” As the two of them were slowly walking the street where people were coming and going, Hai Bo Dong spoke lazily with his hands inserted into his sleeves.

“Perhaps that is the case. But I am not at all interested in that kind of thing.” Xiao Yan shrugged his shoulders. With Yao Lao, this extremely experienced teacher guiding him by the side, there would undoubtedly be extremely few detours that Xiao Yan would make. Therefore, he was able to become a young tier two alchemist from a young man who had not been acquainted with medicinal plants in just a short three years ago. It was also due to this reason that he was unclear just how difficult it was for ordinary free alchemists to swiftly raise their ability. After all, not everyone was as lucky as him.

“Of course, with your refining skills, no one in the entire Jia Ma Empire, including the Misty Cloud Sect has the qualification to hire you.” Hai Bo Dong shook his head and laughed. Forget about Jia Ma Empire, a high tier alchemist who could refine a tier six medicinal pill would also fare very well even in the Dou Qi continent.

Xiao Yan smiled slightly but did not directly reply. Excluding the Yao Lao’s factor, his own tier was merely that of a tier two alchemist. Of course, after a year of tough training in the desert, the current him which possessed the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’ had the confidence that his refining ability would not be worse than a tier three alchemist. However, he was also clear that even a true tier three alchemist would still have very little attraction to a Dou Huang like Hai Bo Dong.

The only reason why Hai Bo Dong would continue to stay around Xiao Yan and willingly lower his status to become a bodyguard was because he assumed that Xiao Yan was able to refine a tier six medicinal pill. Therefore, he hardened his heart and agreed to protect Xiao Yan’s safety at the Misty Cloud Sect.

If Hai Bo Dong was to learn about the truth in the future and Yao Lao had yet to wake, it would be a small problem if he were to just storm off angrily. If he takes things too hard, he might forcefully coerce Xiao Yan into returning the mysterious map fragment. After all, their collaboration was usually built upon the prerequisite that both parties had similar strengths. Xiao Yan, as a Dou Shi and a tier two alchemist, obviously did not have the qualification to work together with a Dou Huang.

“Ah, looks like the matter of getting Teacher to wake-up needs to be done quickly. Otherwise, once Hai Bo Dong gathers all the medicinal ingredients, how would I refine that tier five medicinal pill?” Xiao Yan sighed in his heart. He suddenly realized that without Yao Lao by his side, the him in his current fragile state actually faced restrictions everywhere.

After all, the strong people that Xiao Yan came into contact all had strengths that far surpassed what someone of his ability was able to come into contact with. Who would imagine that a Dou Shi would actually be able to muddle along so intrepidly in the plane of Dou Huangs?

If it were someone else instead, attempting to get a stranger Dou Huang to follow him as a bodyguard with only the strength of a Dou Shi was undoubtedly a whimsical thought. However, Xiao Yan who had the help of Yao Lao was able to overcome this disadvantage and take the lead in coming into contact with these extremely strong people. However, it was also because of this reason that Xiao Yan, whose true strength was not very strong, needed to always be very careful when facing these extremely strong people. Moreover, he needed to forcefully act calm as he handled them, not daring to reveal even the slightest thing that would give himself away.

“Ah, strength. As long as I am able to reach the Dou Wang class, I think I should be able to follow in Yao Lao’s footsteps. When that time comes, I don’t need to do things that exploit other people’s strength.” Xiao Yan laughed bitterly and softly muttered in his heart. Hai Bo Dong’s laughing voice, however, suddenly broke Xiao Yan’s musing.

“Hey, we have arrived at the auction house!”

Hearing this, Xiao Yan’s footsteps slowly came to a stop. He raised his head and eyed the huge building and the special symbol that appeared at the end of the street. Surprise involuntarily surfaced on his face as he shook his head and sighed, “It really deserves to be called the headquarters of the Primer Clan (owner of Primer Auction House). The size of the building is really something that the branch at Wu Tan City cannot compare with.”

“Hee hee, the Primer clan is one of the three large clans of the Jia Ma Empire. It has a long history and a strong foundation. Even the Mo clan from Yan City is undoubtedly just a suddenly rich but uncouth clan when compared to them.” Hai Bo Dong said with a smile. His words held disdain for the Mo clan who had wanted to dominate the north-eastern region of the empire. The strongest person in the clan was merely of the Dou Ling class. With only such a strength, they still wanted to have a vain attempt at dominating? They really overestimated their strength. If it were not for the Misty Cloud Sect backing them, the Mo clan would have long been secretly destroyed by some strong people who disliked them.

Xiao Yan smiled and nodded his head. He eyed the huge building that was like a bottomless pit, swallowing up the unceasing flow of people. His hands gently inserted into his sleeves as he turned his head around and softly said to Hai Bo Dong, “Let’s go in and take a look at this so-called Jia Ma Empire number one auction house and see just how is it amazing. Hopefully, we will be able to find the things that we need.”

Once he said those words, Xiao Yan lead the way as they slowly walked to the end of a spacious street paved by bluestone. Behind him, Hai Bo Dong closely followed.

As they gradually walked into the huge Primer Auction House, the surprise on Xiao Yan’s face also grew increasingly rich. His body was like a swimming fish that followed the press of the human flow as he shuttled past.

Xiao Yan was expressionless as he passed through the crowd. Occasionally, he waved his sleeves. A thin Dou Qi would immediately cover his soft sleeves and it was ruthlessly tossed at the surprise hand among the human crowd which had strangely reached toward the storage ring on his hand.

Each time he waved his sleeve, a blood red color would suddenly appear on the hands of those people.

Xiao Yan indifferently glanced at those people who hugged their hands and painfully inhaled a breath of cold air. A cold smile was lifted at the corner of his mouth. This kind of trick was a common sight for him back when he was managing the marketplace of his clan in Wu Tan City.

Paying little attention to these houseflies, Xiao Yan shook his body slightly and finally passed through the tightly packed door. Under the inspection of the sinister eagle like gazes of the guards at the main entrance, he calmly walked in.

Once he entered the auction house, a gentle light was poured over him. The noisiness outside seemed to have become isolated at this moment. It was only a distance of a few meters, but it was as though they were two worlds apart.

Xiao Yan slowly stopped his footsteps. His gaze swept everywhere. Immediately, his mouth widened as he eyed the enormous hall, which was like a crystal city, with a shock filled face.

In the interior of the hall, full armed expressionless guards could be seen everywhere. On the chest of these guards, they wore the Primer clan badge. Clearly, they were the force directly under the Primer clan.

The moment when Xiao Yan entered the hall, he could sense at least twenty sharp gazes sweeping across every part of his body before the sharp and sinister gazes were slowly withdrawn.

“It really lives up to being one of the three large clans of the Jia Ma Empire. This manner of lavishness is really not cheap…” Xiao Yan sighed emotionally. He turned his head back slightly and eyed Hai Bo Dong who had closely followed him like a ghost before slowly walking to the center of the hall.

There were countless crystal counters placed in the large hall. On one side of the counter, there was an unceasing flow of people. A countless number of rare items were placed on these counters. Under these items there were tags that stated their prices. However, all the prices of these items were at least thirty thousand gold coins. These expensive prices were sufficient to cause many people to be discouraged.

“These are the outer sales counters. The things that are sold here are not considered too valuable… At the headquarters of the Primer clan, the auction area is also strictly divided into Tian, Di, Xuan and Huang classes just like the Qi Methods. Among them, the Tian class is the highest. However, the Tian class auction area very rarely opens and sometimes only opens once every few years. However, when it opens, it represents that the thing that the Primer auction house is about to auction is definitely of a very high-grade. When that time comes, almost half of the strong people and leaders of the different strengths within the Jia Ma Empire would swarm over… Ah, I remembered having attended once back then. That time, the thing that the Primer Auction House was auctioning seemed to be an egg of a rank six ‘Fire Scale Crocodile’.”

“According to rumors, it was said that if that ‘Fire Scale Crocodile’ was successfully hatched, it would be a natural-born Dou Wang. Moreover, if one were to raise it properly, it would sooner or later be able to enter the Dou Huang class…”

Hearing this, surprise flashed across Xiao Yan’s face. Once the crocodile hatched, it would have the strength of a Dou Wang! How terrifying. Wouldn’t the person who managed to obtain it be able to acquire a new contender with the Ten Strong of the Jia Ma Empire in a short time?

“The Di class auction area is also rarely opened. The Xuan class one is more common. As for the Huang class, it is opened everyday.” Seeing Xiao Yan’s slightly shocked expression, Hai Bo Dong smiled and continued introducing. He was clearly a frequent customer of this place in the past. Therefore, he was able to clearly and logically explain the rules here.

“It is somewhat interesting…” This kind of class division caused Xiao Yan to smile and said with some interest.

“If you want to enter the Tian, Di and Xuan class auction area, you would need to have some identification of your worth. Other than some exceptional circumstances, if you want to enter the Xuan class auction area, you would at least need to be worth a million gold coins. Ugh, that’s right, do you have that much money with you?” Appearing to have remembered something, Hai Bo Dong suddenly asked.

“Hmm, I seem to only have two to three hundred thousand.” Xiao Yan rubbed his face and smiled awkwardly.

“…It seems that you only have the qualification to enter the Huang class auction area.” Hai Bo Dong rolled his eyes. He had expected an alchemist of Xiao Yan’s tier should at least need to bring millions along with him.

Regarding Hai Bo Dong’s words, Xiao Yan could only helplessly shrug his shoulders. He was about to say something when his gaze suddenly turned toward a corner of the hall.

That place was a doorway for the upper echelons of the Primer Auction House. A moment ago, that place was still quiet. Seeing this sudden commotion, it appeared that there was a big shot who had quite a high status walking out from there.

Eyeing the disturbance of the crowd there, Xiao Yan uncertainly blinked his eyes. He tilted his head slightly and his gaze passed through those excited men who seemed like male wolves suddenly becoming passionate. After which, he faintly glance at a somewhat red colored and blurry lovely tender figure.

Lowering his gaze, Xiao Yan saw a pair of red colored long boots. The heel of the long boots was slightly sharp as it released waves of clear and sweet sounding ‘click-clack’, ‘click-clack’ sounds on the clear and shiny bluestone ground surface, like a beautiful musical note. His gaze drifted a little higher. A pair of long snow white pretty legs that were a little eye-piercing appeared in his sight.

“The legs are not bad…” Xiao Yan evaluated them in his heart. However, with his mental strength, he was naturally a little better than some men surrounding the large hall whose faces were filled with longing. His face still maintained a calm smile, his gaze carried some admiration. Gradually lifting it slightly, his gaze finally seeped through the gap and saw an enchanting and moving face. Immediately, shock slowly climbed onto his face as he softly muttered, “Why is she here?”

As the clear sound of footsteps moved closer, the beautiful lady who was surrounded by the crowd finally slowly walked out of it.

The lady was wearing a bright red colored tight dress. The elegant dress was gorgeously and meticulously made, precisely and perfectly outlining the beautiful curves of the lady. Under the dress were her snow white dazzling long legs, causing people to feel a fiery impulse in their hearts. At the extremely narrow waist that could be hugged with one arm, there was a bundle of silver colored belts that highlighted the narrow waist more vividly.

This lady was emitting a delightful enchantment from all over her body. Under the gaze of those long peach blossom eyes, one would unconsciously take the initiative to pull out all the gold coins in one’s pocket to buy some high priced item that one did not need.

For many men, she was a stunning creature. This female cat which was filled with a temptation all over her that hooked many men’s hearts.

In the human crowd, the lady wearing a red colored gorgeous dress walked toward the hall with elegant footsteps. Her somewhat shallow smile and pretty face contained an unknown meaning behind it. Her voluminous and matured lovely body was like those overripe honey peaches where the water seeped out, causing the lower part of some of the men in the hall to faintly have the trend of being lifted. Immediately, there were some embarrassed faced people in the hall to carefully pull back their abdomen.

The enchanting beauty appeared to have quite a great popularity. Since she had walked out until now, there had been people repeatedly smiling and greeting her. Perhaps some of these greetings were targeted at her beauty, but most of which were clearly because of their reverence to her status.

The gorgeously dressed lady elegantly and calmly handled the surrounding customers. Her superficial shallow smile severed those bored people who wanted to forcefully hit on her. A pair of peach blossom eyes that appeared to have been brewed by the spring water randomly swept across the hall. After anyone came into contact with this pair of eyes that seemingly contained a fascinating enticement, their throats would involuntarily roll slightly. A hot flame would combust and rise in the deep region of their eyes. From the looks of it, after these people returned home, they would imagine their wives or female servants at home to be this enchanting lady that was filled with temptation.

The enchanting peach blossom pretty eyes slowly swept across the hall. At the moment when it was about to be withdrawn, the gaze abruptly stiffened. The walking footsteps also suddenly paused. Her gaze was blankly paused at the side of a crystal counter not far away on the body of a black clothed young man carrying a huge black ruler on his back. Immediately, some disbelief surfaced in those pretty eyes.

Being the focus of attention in the large hall, the action of the gorgeous dressed lady undoubtedly caused everyone to shift their gaze over. However, when they saw that delicate and handsome black clothed young man, they similarly felt somewhat in a daze. When they eyed the extremely rare and strange emotion of the gorgeous dressed lady, some envy toward the young man rose in their hearts without them realizing it.

Ignoring those sharp knife like gazes from his surroundings, Xiao Yan smiled at the gorgeous dressed lady who was staring at him blankly. His smile was gentle and the dark pupils were as crystal clear as they had been one and a half year ago.

Seeing the same clear smile as before, the lady finally believed that this new Xiao Yan, who seemed somewhat mature, was really the same as the kid pretending to be mysterious.

Emitting clear footstep sounds, the gorgeous dressed lady slowly walked toward Xiao Yan. A moment later, she stopped in front of him. Being in such close contact, she realized that boy who had only reached her chest level was already able to look at her at an equal level.

“Xiao Yan di-di, after having not seen you for three years, it appears that you have really changed. You have actually reached a point where I nearly could not recognize you.” As she smiled and eyed the delicate and handsome young man, the gorgeous lady gently inhaled a breath of air. Her voluminous chest under the cover of her gorgeous dress appeared to protrude because of its roundness and was extremely alluring. She lifted her pretty face and greeted him with another smile.

“Ya Fei-jie is also becoming more enchanting and moving. It is a pity that by leaving Wu Tan City, you have hurt the hearts of who knows how many young men.” Xiao Yan gently smelled the faint alluring body scent transmitting from in front of him. His mind suddenly recalled the sordid matter of him seeing a group of people seated at the last row and secretly staring at her when he first entered the auction house back then. With a soft laughter, he teased.

TL: di-di means younger brother, jie means older sister

The beautiful gorgeous dressed lady in front of him was shockingly the Top Auctioneer of the Primer Auction House branch in Wu Tan City, Ya Fei.

“I have completed the mission that my clan had me undergo. Naturally, I would need to return to take over some things. However, it is really thanks to you that I am able to return. These years you had never returned, so I did not have a chance to express my thanks. Since we have met today, your elder sister will say thanks here.” Ya Fei eyed the pair of dark black eyes that were as crystal clear as they were three years ago. Having been used to usually seeing eyes that hid desire and possession, she realized that she had a great liking for this pair of clear eyes. She pursed up her red sleek lips, placed her hands behind her and leaned her body slightly forward as she faced Xiao Yan and spoke with a light smile.

With the angle between the two of them, this courteous action of gratitude by Ya Fei, which caused the gorgeous dress to be lowered slightly, immediately resulted in a deep cleavage and glaring snow whiteness, which would cause many to go insane, appeared in Xiao Yan’s eyesight. Instantly, someone’s face gradually became somewhat rosy.

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