Xiao Yan spread his hands and seemed to speak offhandedly, "Oh, who would have thought that the so-called largest market in Wu Tan City would be one that picks and chooses its customers? Unlike the Xiao Clan's market across the street, they never turn anyone away. Every customer there is treated as if they were a Dou King."
Jia Lie Ao's face changed dramatically. If this rumor were to spread, the reputation of their market would surely be damaged.
"What should we do, young master?"
Jia Lie Ao looked at the surrounding customers and merchants. Many of them frowned when they heard Xiao Yan's words.
For merchants, of course, the more customers, the better. They had no reason to drive away customers. Especially someone like Xiao Yan, who was known to be a big spender. Needless to say, the customers also didn't want to be driven away for no reason the next time they were shopping.
Having said that, Xiao Yan ignored Jia Lie Ao's sullen face and turned to Xun Er, "Xun Er, we should avoid places that drive away customers like this in the future. Let's go back to our market instead."
Xun Er blinked her lively eyes and nodded her head like an obedient child, "Oh, Xun Er understands."
Jia Lie Ao's mouth twitched when he saw Xun Er nod her head in response to Xiao Yan's words, and the two of them even turned around and prepared to leave. His fists clenched so tightly they creaked. His gaze was dark and venomous as he stared at the talented young man.
"Wait a moment!"
Jia Lie Ao slowly stepped back, clearing a path, and said through gritted teeth, "Since you've come to the market to buy things, then please be my guest."
Xiao Yan and Xun Er shared a smile. Xun Er linked her arm with Xiao Yan's as they walked through the path made by the crowd into the market.
Jia Lie Ao watched Xiao Yan's back with a contorted face, his knuckles cracking in anger. Four years ago, he had been severely beaten up by the then-only ten-year-old Xiao Yan for harassing Xun Er.
It was from that incident that Xiao Yan's reputation as a genius started to spread. In other words, he, Jia Lie Ao, was his stepping stone!
However, four years had passed, and he had only become a 1-star Dou Practitioner, while Xiao Yan had already reached the 3-star Dou Practitioner stage.
Almost a star per year, such a rate of progress was terrifying!
"Have someone follow these two. Since they dared to come alone, there's a chance..." Jia Lie Ao made a throat-slitting gesture.
With his powerful Spiritual Strength, Xiao Yan naturally knew that they were being followed.
"Three 7-star Dou Practitioners. They are really underestimating Xiao Yan ge-ge," Xun Er also noticed that they were being followed, but she wasn't worried.
If Jia Lie Ao knew that Xiao Yan had defeated Nalan Yanran, who had learned the Xuan Class Dou Skills of the Misty Cloud Sect, in just one move yesterday, they would never have done such a stupid thing.
Not to mention Dou Practitioners, even Dou Masters without Xuan Class Dou Skills would be no match for Xiao Yan.
"Xiao Yan ge-ge, coming here wasn't just for shopping, was it?" Xun Er's eyes sparkled with intelligence. She knew that Xiao Yan's sudden risk of venturing into the rival's market couldn't be just for shopping.
Caressing Xun Er's hair, Xiao Yan said, "Xun Er is truly smart. Nothing can be hidden from you."
Receiving Xiao Yan's praise made Xun Er unconsciously smile.
"The Grand Elder mentioned something at the clan meeting a few days ago. There are several Dou Grandmaster Elders from the Jia Lie and Ao Ba Clans who often leave Wu Tan City, and it's not clear what they're up to. That is why I have taken the opportunity to investigate this matter today," Xiao Yan replied in a low voice.
Sending someone else from the Xiao Clan might indeed have resulted in them falling victim to foul play.
"From the looks of it, Xiao Yan ge-ge must have already figured things out, right?"
Xiao Yan could only spread his hands helplessly and smile wryly, "It seems I can't deceive Xun Er anymore. I actually have some clues now, but I still need to discuss them with my father."
"Of course, now we should deal with those few tailing us first."
Xiao Yan slowly turned to face the three Dou Practitioners who had been following them. By now, they had ventured deep into the market, into a section that was still under construction and had not yet been opened to the public, which naturally made it sparsely populated.
"Do you prefer to leave on your own? Or shall I assist you?" Xiao Yan's gaze was sharp as he looked at the three 7-star Dou Practitioners behind him. He made no effort to hide his killing intent.
Normally, the Dou Masters of a clan were rarely found within their own market. They were mainly in charge of protecting the clan's medicinal herb gathering teams when they went into the mountains and wilderness to gather herbs, or even leading teams to hunt magical beasts for their cores to sell.
The reason the three major clans built their markets was because they were the largest suppliers of medicinal herbs and monster cores. Instead of selling to others, they preferred to sell their products to themselves, hence the establishment of the clan markets.
Therefore, as long as there was no interference from a Dou Master this time, Xiao Yan would have the upper hand with his strength.
The three Dou Practitioners exchanged glances. The leading Dou Practitioner, who was holding a red-tipped spear, suddenly lunged forward with a Dou Technique and thrust the spear toward Xiao Yan's throat with a gust of wind.
Xiao Yan remained calm. He extended two fingers to catch the spear tip, snapped it off with a click, and then flicked it like an arrow, instantly piercing the opponent's shoulder and pinning him to the wall.
He then kicked the broken spear up from the ground, grabbed it like a long stick, and quickly dispatched the remaining two opponents with just a couple of moves.
"You're even weaker than Nalan Yanran."
If Nalan Yanran were to hear this, she would definitely cough up blood. She, the pride of the Misty Cloud Sect, had become a unit of measure for combat strength…?!
Xiao Yan walked out of the market, patted Jia Lie Ao on the shoulder, and said, "Send someone more formidable next time."
These words infuriated Jia Lie Ao to the point where his blood surged and his eyes became bloodshot.
…
Xiao Yan reported his findings to Xiao Zhan after returning to the Xiao Clan.
"You're saying they're planning to refine and sell medicinal pills?!"
Xiao Yan nodded, "I visited our clan's market this morning and noticed that all the merchants selling medicinal herbs had half of their usual stock of low-grade medicinal ingredients."
"And in their market, the merchants have no low-grade medicinal ingredients at all."
"Low-grade medicinal ingredients are usually used to refine 1st and 2nd-tier medicinal pills. If it's 1st-tier pills, it's still manageable, but 2nd-tier pills would be problematic."
Xiao Zhan's face changed dramatically when he heard his son's analysis. If the Jia Lie Clan and the Ao Ba Clan truly could refine medicinal pills, it would be a devastating blow to the Xiao Clan!
Indeed, the alliance between the two clans was not easy to deal with!
Xiao Yan patted his father's shoulder to comfort him, "Father, don't worry. A 2nd-tier alchemist wouldn't just obey the orders of the Jia Lie and Ao Ba Clans."
"And if it really comes down to it, we could ask Elder Nalan Jie for help."
"So our top priority now is to have the herb gathering team collect more herbs and reduce the sale of those herbs so as not to be swallowed up by others. Having the raw materials in hand also gives us some leverage."
Xiao Zhan sighed and nodded. Even though his father and Nalan Jie were life-and-death friends, he had always been reluctant to ask for Nalan Jie's help. After all, the original agreement was that Xiao Yan would marry Nalan Yanran. If they asked Nalan Jie for help, wouldn't it look like the Xiao Clan was living off others?!
Wouldn't his son become a dependent son-in-law?
As a father, how could he allow his son to bear the stigma of living off others?
…
Xiao Yan ventured into a secluded cave on the back mountain alone and brought out a medicinal cauldron along with a large amount of low-grade medicinal ingredients and several monster cores.
In truth, the reassurances that Xiao Yan gave to Xiao Zhan were nothing more than words of comfort. The person he cared for wasn't Nalan Yanran, nor did he wish to become overly involved with the Nalan Clan.
Only being strong himself was the true path!
'It seems I need to practice alchemy more frequently now. If they really manage to hire a 2nd-tier alchemist, just being able to refine 1st-tier medicinal pills won't be enough.'