Chapter 54

The old man didn’t even look up, dryly saying, "A thousand gold coins!!"

"A thousand?" The three of them raised their eyebrows simultaneously.

"A thousand!"

Tang Yan’s eyes widened. "A thousand? Why not just rob us! A thousand gold coins for this broken sword? Do you think we’re easy to bully?"

The old man, dissatisfied, retorted, "What are you shouting for! If you don’t want to buy, forget it. A thousand gold coins, no negotiation!"

"Are you from out of town? Don’t you know who I am?"

"I don’t care who you are! Even if the city lord came, it’s still a thousand!"

"Yuhuo? You’re a tough one! Why don’t you tell us what material it’s made of, where it comes from, and what its use is? Which aspect makes it worth a thousand gold coins? If you can tell me, I’ll give you two thousand! If you can’t, I’ll report you for extortion!"

"I..."

"What do you mean 'I'? You don’t know anything at all. Just because it feels special, you’re selling it for a sky-high price? I feel special too, do you want to buy me? I’ll charge you a hundred thousand!"

The old man opened his mouth, wanting to argue but found no reason, and seemed a bit embarrassed. "A herbalist found this in a cave, growing together with stalactites. It seems to have a history of millions of years, definitely not an ordinary thing."

"Not an ordinary thing? Could it be a holy object? If it were really a treasure, why didn’t he send it to an auction house? Why did he have to come here to set up a stall? I can understand you wanting a good price, but don’t be too greedy."

"Five hundred gold coins!!" The old man gritted his teeth.

"A hundred!! That’s enough consideration for you!"

"Four hundred!"

"I guarantee that you won’t sell this for a hundred gold coins even if you set up a stall here for a lifetime. Do you believe me? Do you believe me!! I’ll stake my head on it."

"Three hundred and fifty!" The old man’s face turned red. He was sure this battle knife wasn’t ordinary, but it shouldn’t be too valuable. Even a few dozen gold coins would be hard to get.

"Eighty!"

"You... two hundred!!"

"Fifty!"

The old man gritted his teeth and forced out two words: "You’re ruthless."

"Fifty gold coins are enough for you to live comfortably in your old age." Tang Yan poured out fifty gold coins and handed them to the old man with a smile, despite his grim expression. "Don’t look so gloomy. If I didn’t see how old you are, I’d only give you ten gold coins."

"Take it! Take it!" The old man couldn’t stand Tang Yan anymore and hurriedly shooed him away.

"Keep looking, I still have some gold coins. If you want to buy anything, just say so." Tang Yan, satisfied, put away the ancient battle knife, tied it to his back, and felt like he was carrying a small mountain. After getting used to it, he casually picked up the little black dog, but the little thing was so small, not even as big as a bun.

"Whimper whimper." The little thing was still scared, curling up tightly and occasionally glancing at Tang Yan.

"I’m not being polite anymore!!" Du Yang pointed to the broken stone blocks on the adjacent stall, lowering his voice. "My spirit veins can sense its extraordinariness. It’s probably a petrified object, not very useful to others, but I might be able to discern some 'traces' from it, which could help me with the Rock Forest Technique. Give me one gold coin, and I’ll take it."

Ailinda, seeing Du Yang speak up, didn’t hesitate. "I’ve set my eyes on that Ice Spike Grass, which is very precious to me. Give me five gold coins."

Tang Yan wasn’t stingy, and as they walked to the stall, he haggled and bought the items one by one.

"Boss! Boss! Finally found you, heard you need us?" Pang Hai and Ren Lingfeng rushed into the trading square, barging through the crowd and heading straight for Tang Yan.

"Oh? What the heck!! Ailinda Mentor!!"

"Ailinda Mentor, how can you be with such a pervert."

"Am I seeing things? Mentor, please don’t do anything rash, this guy is no good!!"

"Exactly, you must hold on. If you’re threatened, tell us, we’re happy to eliminate evil and promote good."

The moment they saw Ailinda, their eyes were glued to her, sizing her up from head to toe.

"Move your eyes to me!" Tang Yan grabbed Pang Hai’s chubby chin and turned it toward himself. "I have a task for you. Find the grandson of the academy’s dean, Dong Leming, and challenge him to a duel. Three days later, at the academy’s arena."

"What? A challenge? Dong Leming? Boss, are you hit by a donkey?"

Tang Yan, annoyed, said, "Can you be less dramatic with your actions and expressions?"

Du Yang frowned. "Dong Leming is a battle maniac, fearless of any challenge. He always leaves his opponents bedridden for months. Are you sure you want to challenge him?"

Ailinda looked at Tang Yan, confirming he wasn’t joking. "Think carefully. Dong Leming is at the peak of the Martial Spirit realm, just a step away from the Martial Ancestor realm. Because he practices the Golden Elephant Technique, his defense is incredibly strong. He has challenged all the new mentors at the academy and won easily, making him the strongest below the Martial Ancestor realm."

"I have my reasons, Pang Hai, find him and issue the challenge, immediately." Tang Yan patted Pang Hai’s chubby face and then said to Ren Lingfeng, who was secretly peeking at Ailinda, "Madman, if Dong Leming doesn’t accept, spread the news that he’s afraid to fight. Exaggerate as much as you want until he accepts the challenge."

Ren Lingfeng hesitated. "Boss, you must think carefully. Dong Leming is a tough opponent. Although you can defeat Li Shoujian, you might not be able to stand up to Dong Leming, who is known as the top young talent in Juxiang City, even your elder brother would give him some respect."

"Stop blabbering and do as I say."

The two looked at each other, took a deep breath, and nodded forcefully.

"Boss, since you’ve decided, we’ll do our best. Just wait and see, we’ll handle this perfectly!"

"We’ll also find the best doctor for you and prepare a coffin, and a few funeral bands."

"Right, right, that’s a good idea, we need to be thorough."

"Get lost!" Tang Yan kicked them out.

"Ha ha ha, let’s go!!"

An hour later, Du Yang and Ailinda selected a few more items they liked and left the noisy trading square, following Tang Yan into a nearby tavern. Seeing that the second young master of the Tang family had arrived, the owner personally came out to greet them, smiling and leading them to a luxurious suite on the second floor.

Just as the food and drinks were laid out, Pang Hai and Ren Lingfeng rushed in, shouting loudly.

"Boss!! Something big happened!!"

"We’ve lost face!"

Tang Yan rubbed his forehead in pain. "Can you two have a bit of dignity? Can you not be so unconventional?"

Ren Lingfeng looked grim. "Boss, this time it’s really serious."

Pang Hai, out of breath, said, "We went to the academy first. We heard Dong Leming was at the best restaurant, Quanjude. We rushed over, but guess what? Who did we see?"

"Who?"

"Th-th-th-three... Prince!!"

"Don’t stutter, who!!"

"The third prince of the royal family, Zhou Liangren!"

"What’s the third prince doing in Juxiang City?" Tang Yan tried to recall his memories of the royal princes but drew a blank. Sometimes he really admired this young master, who had lived for fifteen years but whose memories were filled with nothing but women.

"You don’t know? Oh, you might really not know."

Du Yang was puzzled. "What big deal? Why would an imperial prince come to this remote place?"

Ren Lingfeng explained seriously, "About half a month ago, the 'Earth Radiance' auction organization issued a bounty to the three southern empires, to capture a group of raiders called 'Red God.' The reward is a Tier Earth martial technique, five Tier Spirit martial techniques, and ten thousand gold coins."

"A Tier Earth martial technique!"

"Ten thousand gold coins?"

Du Yang and Ailinda’s faces changed. This was an unheard-of bounty!

"What’s 'Earth Radiance'? What’s 'Red God'?" Tang Yan was interested.

Ren Lingfeng said, "We don’t know much. According to the elders, it’s a very powerful auction organization with super-large auction halls in many imperial capitals, even the royal family often does business with them. 'Red God' is a notorious raiding group, active in the southern empires, committing all sorts of atrocities, and has been a wanted criminal by all empires."

Pang Hai lowered his voice. "They say they raided an 'Earth Radiance' transport team, which contained very valuable items. The three southern empires responded to 'Earth Radiance’s' bounty and sent search teams, but their goals differ from mercenary groups. They want... the items stolen by 'Red God'!!"

Tang Yan’s heart stirred. "Could it be that Chiyen fled into the Northern Wasteland?"

"Exactly!! Half a month ago, several mercenary groups discovered the trail of 'Red God' and tracked them to the Great Zhou Empire. But 'Red God' is cruel and powerful, and they set up an ambush in the southern part of the Northern Wasteland, wiping out these mercenary groups and then disappearing."

"Now, hundreds of mercenary groups have gathered in the Northern Wasteland, and the royal teams of the three empires are also searching. The three princes of our Great Zhou Empire have all taken action: the first prince went to Tianyuan City, the second prince went to Wasteland City, and the third prince came to Juxiang City, planning to stay for a few days to wait for news."

Ren Lingfeng continued, "The major families of Juxiang City have sent their young generations to welcome the third prince. The academy has four great warriors: Dong Leming, Zuoqiu, Jiang Le, and Zhu Tiangan; the Yang family has the eldest son Yang Xingwei and the recently emerged Yang Ruyan; Li Shoujian from the Li family hasn’t recovered from his injuries but still went. And your family’s Tang Qian! Other talented young masters and beautiful young ladies from other families have also gone."

Pang Hai looked grim. "They were hosting a welcome party for the third prince at Quanjude. We barged in blindly... and the result..."

"The result, you told everything?"

Du Yang looked at the two and shook his head with a smile. "That challenge was really bold. Dong Leming