Battle Through the Heavens Chapter 21-25

Chapter 21:Second Tier Alchemist Gu Ni

Premier Auctions: Wu Tan City’s largest auction house and a branch of Jia Ma empire’s richest family, the Premier Family.

The Premier family was extremely ancient and had been a quite powerful force in Jia Ma Empire for a couple of centuries already. Their networks were definitely impressive and some rumors even claimed that the Premier family had close ties with Jia Ma Empire’s royalty.

In the Empire, the Premier Family, Nalan Family, and Ritter Family are the three largest families and have various connections in the commercial and military world.

Therefore, with the Premier family supporting it, no matter how enticing the profits of the auction were, no one would dare to try anything against them.

…..

Looking at the auction house at the end of the street, Xiao Yan turned into a side alley and quickly put on a black robe.

TL: Imagine a harry potter school robe

The black robe did not only cover up Xiao Yan’s face, it also altered his skinny frame to seem a lot wider. Even if Xue Er was looking at the robed figure, she would not be able to realize it was Xiao Yan…

After being covered by a black robe, Xiao Yan let out a relieved breath. It wasn’t that Xiao Yan was being too careful, but rather that the Foundation Elixir was too precious. For clans, the attraction of Foundation Elixirs was huge. If someone could mass produce it, then it would mean that the younger generation of the clan would grow at an accelerated rate, which would help the clan further their power and in turn lead to a positive cycle.

In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Xiao Yan could only choose to hide himself….

Carefully touching the slightly cold White Jade bottle, Xiao Yan slowly walked out of the alley and went towards the auction house at the end of the street.

Under the vigilant glances by the fully armored guards, Xiao Yan walked into the auction house without stopping.

As soon as Xiao Yan entered the house, the scorching feeling from the sun was replaced with a cool feeling. It made people feel as if they had stepped into a new world.

Sweeping through the fancy hall, Xiao Yan quickly found a side room. On the door which led to the room were the shiny words “Inspection Room”.

Walking inside, the room was quite empty and only a middle aged man who was obviously bored sat there. Hearing the door open, the man raised his head and, upon seeing the black robed Xiao Yan, his brow slightly furrowed. But immediately, the expression on his face changed to a professional smile: “Sir, do you plan on having something inspected?”

“Yes.” Under the black robe, a dry and old voice lightly floated out. It was Yao Lao’s voice!

Xiao Yan walked up and placed the White Jade bottle on the desk in front of the middle aged man.

“This is?” Looking confused, the middle aged man carefully picked up the White Jade bottle and sniffed it. The expression on his face immediately changed and when he looked back at the black robed figure, his gaze had a hint of respect: “Mister, you’re an Alchemist?”

“Yes.” The aged voice came out again.

“Could I ask, what… pill is within this bottle? What does it do?” Hearing that he was dealing with an alchemist, the middle aged man asked with even more respect.

“Foundation Elixir: It can increase Dou Qi training speed but only useful for people under the Dou Zhe level.”

“Oh? It can increase the Dou Qi training speed?” Hearing Yao Lao’s words, the expression on the middle aged man changed. Everyone knew that Dou Qi could only be trained following a set formula and since the Qi Paths for individuals are especially weak at this point, if the effects of the medicine were too fierce, then the Qi Paths would burst and the person would die…

“My elixir doesn’t have any side effects and the medicinal power is extremely peaceful so it won’t cause something like that to happen. You don’t need to worry about that happening.” As if he could understand what the middle aged man was thinking, the wizened voice calmly explained.

His expression changing once more, the middle aged man carefully placed the White Jade bottle on the table in front of him and respectfully asked: “Mister, could you wait for a second? I need to ask our auction’s Gu Ni master to inspect this Elixir!”

“Sure, hurry up.” Waving his hand, Xiao Yan did not pretend to be polite and sat in a chair to the side.

The middle aged man quickly nodded and hurriedly left the room.

Sitting on the chair, Xiao Yao remained silent and didn’t attempt to speak with Yao Lao. This was someone else’s place and being cautious was better than not. Who knew if there were things that could listen in on their conversation.

After waiting in the room for a little while, the middle aged man returned with a green robed elder with slightly whitened hair.

On the chest of the elder were not gold stars but rather something like an alchemy furnace and on the alchemy furnace were two silver lines sparkling with elegance.

“Mister, this is our auction’s Gu Ni Master. He’s a three small Da Do Shi! At the same time, he’s also a second tier Alchemist!” The middle aged man respectfully introduced the newcomer.

Hearing the identity of the elder, Xiao Yan’s brow instinctively jumped. This was the first time that he met an alchemist beside Yao Lao. He carefully re-examined the elder.

The elder had a red face and even though the green robe seemed ordinary, there were slivers of light surging across it. Obviously, this robe had some kind of a Monster Core implanted into it. On the elder’s commonplace face was an ever present arrogance, something that all Alchemists had.

While Xiao Yan was examining Gu Ni, Gu Ni was also studying the person in front of him. Alchemists weren’t like Dou Zhes and Alchemists were highly sought after by various forces. Therefore, when Gu Ni was studying Xiao Yan, he was also trying to guess who the Alchemist was.

The middle aged man carefully picked up the Jade bottle on the table and passed it to Gu Ni…

Taking the White Jade bottle, Gu Ni first sniffed the sweet fragrance while his old eyes closed slightly. Lightly tipping the bottle, a drop of green liquid slowly rolled from the opening of the bottle to land in the middle of Gu Ni’s palm.

Staring at the green liquid, Gu Ni whipped out a silver needle and on the tip of the needle showed a slight Dou Qi fluctuation. It quietly slipped into the green liquid and slowly stirred…

With the stirring of the needle, Gu Ni’s calm face changed into a serious expression. Moments later, he placed the green liquid back into the jade bottle. When he looked at Xiao Yan again, his arrogant face had a hint of respect. Turning towards the middle aged man, he said: “The elixir is at second tier. Everything that was said before is true!”

Hearing that, the middle aged man let out a relieved breath and excitedly smiled at Xiao Yan: “Mister, do you plan on auctioning this Elixir?”

“Yup, can you auction it as soon as possible?”

“Hehe, that’s no problem. Mister, take this and go to the first auction room. Luckily, we’re having an auction there right now and your Elixir will be auctioned immediately!” The middle aged man smiled while handing over a pitch black metal card.

“Okay.” Taking the metal card, Xiao Yan didn’t wait and left the room immediately.

“Gu Ni Master, is he really an Alchemist?” Only after Xiao Yan had left their sight did the middle aged man whispered quietly to Gu Ni.

“Yes, he’s an Alchemist. His agile Soul Perception, can’t be wrong…” Gu Ni nodded but his brow was furrowed and he muttered: “But where did he come from? I haven’t heard of any Alchemist that can refine a second tier pill in Wu Tan City.”

“Shall I do some research?”

Gu Ni paused before shaking his head: “Not now. All alchemists have weird tempers and if he notices you trying to dig up his history, he’ll have a bad impression of the auction. To be on the bad side of a mysterious Alchemist is never a smart move.”

Turning around, Gu Ni lightly said: “For him to have a good impression of our auction, you should know how to do that right?”

“Hehe, I understand.”

“Remember, even if we can’t become friends with him, we can’t offend him either. Or else…” Leaving behind a couple of cold words, Gu Ni also left the room.

Chapter 22:Hurricane Chant

Under the lead of an waitress, Xiao Yan entered the already started auction.

Entering the hall where the auction was being held, the originally bright environment darkened while thunderous yells poured everywhere. It made Xiao Yan furrow his brows.

The auction was huge and the hall could definitely fit at least hundreds to even thousands of people. At this time, at the center of the hall, under a bright light, a red robed beauty was using her charming voice to describe the item in her hand.

Under the numbing and clear sound of the voice, the item that really wasn’t worth much had it’s price increase at an exponential rate.

Finding a remote seat, Xiao Yan quietly sat down and glanced at the beauty in the middle of the hall. With his acute observations, he realized that most of the people were here for her and not the items that were being auctioned.

Premier Auction House’s top auctioneer: Ya Fei. She was an extremely famous beauty within Wu Tan City and her mature charm made many attracted to her.

Suddenly, the silent Xiao Yan turned around and stared at a man not too far away from him but hidden in a corner. His arms were swaying with words of Ya Fei’s small red mouth and his hands disappeared beneath his waist…

“Damn!” Lightly cursing, Xiao Yan, who was under the robe, rolled his eyes: This guy is so shameless!

While cursing in his mind, Xiao Yan quickly moved away and bitterly smiled. His gaze once again went to the center of the hall and watched the charming curves of the auctioneer while muttering: “Yao Jing.”

TL: Yao Jing is a derogatory(depends on context) term for beauties

After looking at the item in Ya Fei’s hand, Xiao Yan lost his interest. He didn’t have that much money to buy a piece of junk, even if the seller of that item was a beautiful woman. After tearing his gaze away from Ya Fei, Xiao Yan started slowly looking around the hall.

“Huh… father?” His gaze stopping, Xiao Yan focused in on a middle-aged man sitting in the front row. Suddenly, his facial expression became one of shock: “Does father have an interest in that women?”

The odd thought didn’t last long because Xiao Yan had discovered that his father’s gaze wasn’t focused on Ya Fei but rather was looking into the distance, as if he was waiting for something.

Why is father here? Pondering the question, Xiao Yan moved his gaze again. This time, he surprisingly realized that the clan leaders of the other two big clans, Jia Lie Clan and Ao Ba Clan were here!

Something’s going to be auctioned that attracts all of them! His brow jumping, Xiao Yan curiously touched his nose. What could have attracted all three of the clan leaders to come here?

…..

To be honest, the woman named Ya Fei was a expert at creating the atmosphere. Her glances and smiles would make the price of the item go up exponentially for a while. In addition, every time the price was raised, she would send a charming smile to the person who just called out the latest price and they would forget their pain of overpaying for the item.

The atmosphere within the auction house was kept at a climax with her smiles.

“Hehe, everyone, the auction house has just received a new auction item. I believe, that everyone would be interested in it.” After auctioning the latest item, Ya Fei suddenly paused and said aloud towards the audience. With a wave of her hand, a waitress quickly brought up a jade plate and in the middle of the plate was a while jade bottle.

“This is a second tier pill.” With her delicate hand picking up the jade bottle, Ya Fei’s charming voice calmed the auctioneers for an instant. But soon, the yells became even louder, in Dou Qi Mainland, the pills refined by Alchemists were the most sought after items.

“This thing is named Foundation Elixir. It is only effective to those below the Dou Zhe level. Training in Foundation Elixir allows people under the Dou Zhe level to have an increased efficiency in training! Hehe, if you like you son or grandson to be called a genius, this is perfect for you!” Her attractive mouth lightly breathed the words and numbed the minds of many of the auctioneers.

“Foundation Elixir? It can raise one’s Dou Qi training speed? Lady Ya Fei, the people in that stage can’t take the pressure of the pill right?” Even though Ya Fei was extremely charming, there were also many people that stayed calm and after a brief silence, someone raised an essential question.

“Hehe, this elixir was personally inspected by our Gu Ni master and was found to be a second tier pill. There will not be a problem, everyone can be assured of that.” Ya Fei lightly laughed while responding.

Hearing that Gu Ni had personally inspected the pill, those with doubt didn’t question the validity of the pill anymore. Everyone knew that Gu Ni Master was a second tier Alchemist. in the entire Wu Tan City, even the clan leaders of the three clans were courteous towards him.

Xiao Yan lazily leaned on his chair and watched the excited atmosphere within the crowd. Letting out a light breath, he thought: Looks like this Foundation Elixir will bring quite a bit of income! Slightly shifting his gaze to his father, Xiao Yan realized that the previously calm expression on his father had slightly changed.

“8500!” Right when Ya Fei’s voice stopped, a person yelled out a price.

“9000!” Another price came right after the first price had been called.

…..

The price quickly went up and within a couple of seconds, it got to 13,000!

Even though Xiao Yan’s father’s was somewhat excited, he didn’t call out a price immediately and instead closed his eyes, waiting for the small fry calls to stop.

The price went up again but soon, the voices died out. At that time, an elder also sitting in the first row lightly said: “20,000!”

After calling out that price, the final voices in the auction died out. Some of the hopeful looked towards that emotionless elder but could only sit back down, disappointed. They didn’t have the wealth to be in a price war with the Jia Lie Clan.

“Hehe, Jia Lie Bi, didn’t your son already become a Dou Zhe? Why are you still thinking about this Foundation Elixir?” A middle aged man who was also sitting in the first row turned around to fakely smile at Jia Lie Bi.

“Ao Ba Pa, can’t I buy it for my future grandson?” Jia Lie Bi obviously didn’t like the middle aged man and coldly sneered at the latter.

Let’s see if your luck lets you have a grandson, maybe some day your son finds himself without….After silently cursing at Jia Lie Bi, Ao Ba Pa also called out: “23,000!”

“25,000!”

……

Within 10 minutes and under the surprised stares of everyone within the auction, the two were like dogs fighting over a meal and raised the price to 31,000!

“40,000!” The closed eyed Xiao Zhan suddenly spoke up.

Everyone within the auction hall went silent and switched their stares to Xiao Zhan. Even Ao Ba Pa and Jia Lie Bi were stunned by the sudden raise in the price.

“Hehe, Clan leader Xiao, looks like you really want this Foundation Elixir.” Jia Lie Bi smiled.

Xiao Zhan glanced at him and said: “If you want it, then just raise the price. I promise I won’t raise the price again.”

Jia Lie Bi paused and thought about the truth within Xiao Zhan’s words. Soon, he shook his head since his purpose here today wasn’t for the Foundation Elixir and to waste money that could have gone to that item was not a smart idea.

Ao Ba Pa on the other side, seeing that Jia Lie Bi stopped raising the price, also shrugged his shoulders. Even though the Foundation Elixir was extremely tempting, his goal wasn’t that. Therefore, he also stopped raising the price.

“Clan leader Xiao Zhan has bid 40,000 Gold Coins, is there anyone that wishes to raise the price?” Seeing the calm hall, Ya Fei smiled while reminding the crowd.

“Since no one has raised the price, this Foundation Elixir will go to clan leader Xiao Zhan!” Seeing that no one responded, Ya Fei was smart and lightly tapped her small hammer on the table, signalling that the Foundation Elixir had found its new owner.

In a remote area, Xiao Yan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. After so much, he had received the money off of his father.

“Hehe, next, we’ll be auctioning the final auction item!” Placing the jade bottle back within the plate, Ya Fei waved her hand and the light in the hall dimmed. Bending down, she took out a silver plate and in the middle of the plate was a green, unadorned scroll.

The scroll was slightly glowing green and with the reflections off of the silver plate, it was cast in a mysterious light.

“High Xuan Level Qi Method: Hurricane Chant!”

Chapter 23:The Scramble

The moment Ya Fei said High Level Xuan Qi Method, the entire auction went silent.

Compared to the Foundation Elixir, Dou Qi Methods were infinitely more valuable.

Even though pills were expensive, they were a one-time use item. But Qi Methods would last for one’s entire life and can even be inherited by one’s sons and grandsons. So from a long term standpoint, a high level Qi Method was much more sought after compared to pills.

After all, once a person has a high level Qi Method, even without the support of pills, that person can become a force to be reckoned with after a period of time. On the other hand, if one doesn’t have a Qi Method and only has pills, then even if that person is eating pills like they are candy, he still would not become too strong.

After a brief moment of shock, the auctioneers recovered and sent their burning gazes at the green scroll at the middle of the hall. Even the charming Ya Fei seemed to have been forgotten…

Sitting in the back row, Xiao Yan let out a breath. High Xuan Level Qi Method? No wonder… The Qi Method is an entire tier higher than Xiao Clan’s top Qi Method, Furious Lion’s Rage. No wonder that the three clan leaders in Wu Tan City came here in person. So they were all gunning for this…

“A High Xuan Level…” Watching the motionless green scroll, Xiao Yan instinctively licked his lips. To own that scroll would basically mean that they have a pass to become a top Dou Zhe and after a few decades, there would be a new force that would rival the three clans in Wu Tan City.

“It’s only a High Xuan Level Qi Method, what’s so special about that.” Right when Xiao Yan was fantasizing about the Qi Method, Yao Lao’s voice awkwardly sounded within Xiao Yan.

“Only…” Rolling his eyes, Xiao Yan felt that there was a huge gap between him and the old geezer that would claim top tier Qi Methods were trash. He could only purse his lips and remain silent.

“Brat, just keep on training. The day that you become a Dou Zhe, I’ll let you see what a high tier Qi Method is!” After Yao Lao finished his thought, he became silent again.

Pursing his lips again, Xiao Yan muttered: “I hope so.”

……

“Everyone, this Xuan Level Qi Method was found by a hunter in the mountains. It must have been left behind by an ancestor so it won’t bring anyone any trouble after they buy it. Everyone can bid without fearing that there may be consequences.” Ya Fei carefully held up the green scroll and lightly said.

“Lady Ya Fei, can you set the bottom price already!” One of the auctioneers impatiently yelled out.

Keeping her charming smile, Ya Fei said: “Hurricane Chant, bottom price, 200,000 Gold Coins!”

After she called out the bottom price, the auction house became visibly quieter. Obviously, a lot of the auctioneers didn’t have the wealth to buy such an expensive item.

In a remote region, Xiao Yan couldn’t help but shake his head. This woman kills people without spilling blood! 200,000 Gold Coins is equal to the profits of Xiao Clan for an entire two years!

TL: Killing people without spilling blood means to indirectly “kill” someone, something like I leave a huge cliffhanger at the end of this chapter 😛 Of course that won’t happen

Xiao Zhan and the other two clan leaders visibly shivered. But they could do nothing about the price, for something as valuable as this; they would be willing to pay such a high price to obtain it. Even if they didn’t want to buy it, someone else would.

Under the 200,000 price, no one bid at all.

Facing the awkward atmosphere, Ya Fei kept her charming smile. She knew that the attraction of this Qi Method was so huge that people would be willing to use their entire fortune to buy it.

Just like her prediction, the lack of bids didn’t last for long. A nearly bald middle aged man shakily yelled out: “210,000!”

Xiao Yan looked towards the voice; he knew this bald middle aged man. The bald man was the owner of a weapon shop that nearly monopolized the entire weapons market in Wu Tan City. Even though he couldn’t compare to the three clan leaders, he was still quite powerful.

“230,000!” Right after the weapon shop owner yelled out his price, a yellow robed elder also called out his price.

The yellow robed elder was a huge medicine merchant that owned quite a few shops in Wu Tan City. Like the middle aged man, he couldn’t compare to the three clan leaders but nevertheless, he was quite powerful. L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l–B1n.

Giving an evil eye to the elder, the bald middle aged man yelled out again: “240,000!”

Within the auction house, there were only a few bids. After all, the 200,000 price was enough to bar the majority of auctioneers from bidding.

“300,000!” Right when the previous two were about to quit bidding, Jia Lie Bi in the first row finally called out his bid.

After Jia Lie Bi called out his bid, the two helplessly back down.

“330,000!” In Wu Tan City, the only people that could rival Jia Lie Clan were Xiao Clan and Ao Ba Clan. This price was called out by Ao Ba Clan’s clan leader, Ao Ba Pa.

Coldly glancing at Ao Ba Pa, Jia Lie Bi coldly said: “350,000!”

Ao Ba Pa forced out: “370,000!”

“380,000!”

“400,000!”

Under Ao Ba Pa’s continuous raises, Jia Lie Bi followed without hesitation. It seems like he was prepared to get the scroll at any cost.

When the price got to 430,000, Ao Ba Pa had to stop bidding. 430,000 was enough to force the powerful Ao Ba Clan into a financial crisis.

“450,000!” Seeing Ao Ba Pa back down, Jia Lie Bi didn’t have a chance to celebrate before Xiao Zhan’s bid his price.

Coldly staring at Xiao Zhan, Jia Lie Bi was full of rage. In the three clans, Xiao Clan and Ao Ba Clan had Middle Xuan Level Qi Methods but Jia Lie Clan only had a Low Xuan Level Qi Method which is why Jia Lie Bi was willing to pay any price to get this High Xuan Qi Method.

Under the gleeful look of Ao Ba Pa, Jia Lie Bi clenched his teeth and spit out: “460,000!”

“500,000!” The impassive Xiao Zhan raised the price to a whole new level!

At the center of the auction hall, watching the two fight over the bids, Ya Fei’s beautiful smile became even more charming.

“550,000!” His eyes red, Jia Lie Bi finally decided to raise the price again after a brief pause.

“You’ve won.” Contrary to everyone’s predictions, after Xiao Zhan heard Jia Lie Bi’s bid, Xiao Zhan only smiled and taunted Jia Lie Bi.

The surprise in Jia Lie Bi’s expression was quickly replaced with a dark face. The rational side of him knew that he had been played…

“Xiao Zhan, you win! I’ll remember this!” After cursing at Xiao Zhan, Jia Lie Bi raised his head to look at the stunned Ya Fei. Even though he was extremely angry, he wasn’t one to be dictated by his emotions and with a dark face suppressed his emotions: “Lady Ya Fei, should the auction end?”

Not changing expressions because of Jia Lie Bi’s angry stare, Ya Fei calmly smiled. Her eyes contained a hint of ridicule and under the tense stare of Jia Lie Bi lightly tapped the hammer in her hand.

“Hurricane Chant, won by Jia Lie Clan Leader!”

Seeing the final moments of the auction, Xiao Yan smiled and slowly got up, leaving the auction house.

“Hahh, once I get the money, I’ll start training. One year later, I need to give father a surprise.” When he was at the door steps of the auction house, Xiao Yan lightly muttered.

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