Chapter 2: Stifled

"Hey, did you hear? Yesterday, the Young Sect Master of the Yun Lan Sect personally came to the Xiao Clan to annul the engagement. It seems he even set some kind of three-year agreement..."

"I just heard about it. With something like this happening, I really want to see how Xiao Zhan and his son can still show their faces in public." After saying this, the person chuckled, his face full of schadenfreude.

"Exactly. If it were me, I'd just kill myself on the spot to avoid disgracing my clan."

—

At the gates of Wu Tan City, Lin Feng saw this scene and thought to himself, So, Yun Lan Sect came to break the engagement yesterday? What a pity—I was working all day and missed the legendary engagement annulment scene.

But looking at it this way, Yao Lao should be showing up soon, right?

On his way back to the city and toward the trading company, Lin Feng overheard countless people mocking Xiao Yan for his broken engagement. He couldn't help but shake his head.

Judging from this situation, it was almost certain that the Jia Lie Clan and the Ao Ba Clan were fanning the flames, using this event to thoroughly disgust the Xiao Clan.

However, the fact that Xiao Yan was being mocked by so many people was also largely his own doing.

Back when Xiao Yan still had his talent, he had relied on the powerful protectors provided by Xiao Zhan—a Da Dou Shi and several Dou Zhe-level experts—to run amok in Wu Tan City, offending quite a few people.

Lin Feng had also once wanted to befriend Xiao Yan, who was the same age as him. His plan was to stay close, and once Xiao Yan's strength declined over the next three years, he could occasionally offer him some words of encouragement.

That way, when Xiao Yan eventually rose to prominence, there would surely be benefits in it for him.

Unfortunately, at that time, Xiao Yan's talent had already been widely publicized by the Xiao Clan.

Moreover, as the son of Xiao Zhan, the patriach, someone of Lin Feng's status had no chance of even speaking to the genius of Wu Tan City.

"Annulment? Vacuum Hand?"

Lin Feng suddenly remembered that in the original story, the day after Xiao Yan's engagement was annulled, he stumbled upon a Low-Grade Black Class Dou Technique in the Xiao Clan's marketplace—Vacuum Hand.

Thinking of this, Lin Feng's eyes lit up. This was his best opportunity to acquire a Black Class Dou Technique, and he had to seize it.

Without hesitation, he turned and ran straight toward the Xiao Clan marketplace.

Upon arriving, he walked past several stalls before finally spotting the black iron piece at a small stand tucked in a corner.

"Finally found it."

Lin Feng gazed at the black iron piece on the stall, sensing a faint, obscure soul fluctuation within it. He breathed a sigh of relief.

The iron piece was quite old, covered in rust and speckled with dried yellow mud, making it look like it had just been dug out of the ground.

But Lin Feng knew that inside it was a Low-Grade Black Class Dou Technique.

Dou Techniques, as the name suggests, allow one to manipulate Dou Qi in unique ways by channeling it through specific meridians, greatly amplifying its power.

Of course, like cultivation techniques, Dou Techniques were divided into ranks.

However, compared to cultivation techniques of the same rank, Dou Techniques were generally less valuable.

Lin Feng steadied his mind. The merchants here were all cunning. The moment they saw someone showing interest in an item, they would immediately raise the price. He didn't want to be taken for a fool—especially since he didn't have much money.

Instead of touching the expensive magic cores worth several hundred gold coins, Lin Feng casually picked up a few random old trinkets, pretending to browse.

When he saw a crystal ball for testing Dou Qi attributes, he suddenly remembered that he had never tested his own Dou Qi attribute before.

So, he casually picked one up and smiled at the shifty-looking mercenary behind the stall. "Boss, how much is this?"

"Ten gold coins." The man glanced at the item in Lin Feng's hand and then at his plain clothing, concluding that he wasn't wealthy. He quoted a fair price.

"Can you lower it a bit?"

The man waved his hand impatiently. "No. Attribute-testing crystal balls are the same price everywhere in the marketplace. If you think it's expensive, go mine one yourself and polish it into shape."

"Alright." Lin Feng pretended to be disappointed and began digging through his belongings. After gathering ten gold coins, he handed them over.

The stall owner checked the amount, then casually waved his hand, signaling Lin Feng to leave.

Lin Feng took a deep breath to suppress his excitement. Then, as if it was an afterthought, he picked up the black iron piece and said casually, "My table at home is a little wobbly. Can I use this as a support?"

"Alright, get lost. Don't block my business here."

The man glanced at the item in Lin Feng's hand and saw that it was just a worn-out iron fragment he had randomly picked up in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Feeling impatient, he waved Lin Feng away and pushed him aside.

Lin Feng didn't mind. He thanked the man, took the item, and prepared to leave the Xiao Clan Market.

"Excuse me, are you selling that black iron fragment?"

Just as he rounded a corner, a black-clothed youth of about the same age as Lin Feng swiftly blocked his path, pointing at the black iron fragment Lin Feng had just been about to tuck into his collar.

"Hmm?" Lin Feng looked up and immediately recognized the young man—it was Xiao Yan.

After a brief moment of surprise, he quickly guessed that it was likely Yao Lao who had sensed something inside the black iron fragment.

However, when his gaze shifted to the young woman beside Xiao Yan, a hint of astonishment flashed in his eyes.

The girl had a cold and indifferent demeanor, as pristine as a freshly bloomed lotus. Despite her young age, she already exuded a refined, otherworldly aura. Her graceful figure displayed alluring curves, making it hard to imagine how breathtakingly beautiful she would become when she grew up.

Lin Feng thought to himself, Is this Xiao Xun'er? She's indeed quite pretty. But unfortunately, trying to build a relationship with her now is basically impossible.

He quickly snapped out of his thoughts and said to Xiao Yan, "Not selling."

Xiao Yan glanced at Lin Feng's clothing and then, feigning casualness, said, "My family's table happens to be a little uneven, and I need something to prop it up. That iron fragment in your hand looks just right. How about this? I'll give you five gold coins for it. What do you think?"

Hearing the familiar words, Lin Feng's lips twitched. With acting skills like that, if I hadn't read the original novel, I might have actually been fooled. He immediately responded, "Not interested. Not selling!"

Could he also know the secret of this black iron fragment? Xiao Yan wondered upon hearing Lin Feng's refusal.

But then he recalled what Yao Lao had just told him—that this iron fragment contained at least an Black Class Dou Technique. The highest-grade technique in the Xiao Clan was only at the same level, which made it incredibly valuable.

Moreover, at this point in time, Xiao Yan had yet to witness the vast and boundless world beyond, and his vision was still limited. The temptation of an Black Class Dou Technique was simply irresistible.

Besides, the young man before him was just a teenage boy dressed plainly, showing no signs of having any notable background.

With this in mind, Xiao Yan cleared his throat and introduced himself, "Let me introduce myself. I am Xiao Yan, son of Xiao Zhan, a Five-Star Da Dou Shi and the head of the Xiao Clan. I am also the third young master of the Xiao Clan."

Then, his tone changed, "Recently, Wu Tan City has been rather chaotic. If someone were to go missing, it wouldn't be that surprising. You might want to reconsider your decision."

Yao Lao, observing the situation from within the storage ring, did not intervene. After all, survival of the fittest was the fundamental principle of the Dou Qi Continent.

Such occurrences were all too common in this world. Besides, Lin Feng was merely a weakling with ten stages of Dou Qi and was not in any real danger.

Faced with this blatant threat, Lin Feng felt a surge of anger but suppressed it, knowing his own weakness. He then said, "Since the third young master wants to buy it, I originally paid ten thousand gold coins for it, so I'll sell it to you at cost. How about that?"

"Ten thousand gold coins? Heh, do you take me for a fool?" Xiao Yan sneered.

When he was searching for a wood-elemental first-rank Magic Core earlier, Yao Lao had alerted him to the iron fragment. However, due to the distance and the noise of the market, he hadn't clearly heard Lin Feng's conversation with the vendor. But judging by Lin Feng's attire, there was no way he could afford ten thousand gold coins. Clearly, Lin Feng was treating him like an easy mark.

Lin Feng suppressed his fury and asked, "Then what do you want?"

"Here's a hundred gold coins. Give me the iron fragment."

Upon hearing this, Lin Feng had an overwhelming urge to punch Xiao Yan. An Low-Grade Black Class Dou Technique is worth at least tens of thousands of gold coins, yet this guy wants to forcefully buy it for just a hundred? This is outright bullying!

But at this moment, Xiao Yan had the upper hand. Lin Feng was powerless to resist, so he could only grit his teeth, accept the coins, and hand over the iron fragment, leaving with frustration.

At this moment, he had never yearned for strength as much as he did now!

Inside the storage ring, Yao Lao watched Lin Feng leave and sighed, "To be able to quickly assess his situation and willingly give up something already in his possession, this boy is not simple."

Back at the cave where he planned to break through to Dou Zhe, Lin Feng was still fuming. He clenched his fists and muttered angrily, "Xiao Yan, you better watch out. If I ever get the chance, I'll make sure to get my revenge!"

After calming down, Lin Feng retrieved the crystal ball he had bought earlier, gripped it tightly, and infused it with Dou Qi.

The moment his Dou Qi entered the crystal ball, a blazing red glow erupted from within, illuminating the grayish-white stone walls of the cave in a fiery hue.

"Fire attribute? Well, that's not bad."

Seeing the intense red glow, Lin Feng prepared to put the crystal ball away. But just then, he noticed a faint trace of green light flickering within the fiery glow.

Staring at that streak of green, Lin Feng couldn't help but blurt out, "Fire and wood attributes?!"

His expression immediately turned ecstatic.

With both fire and wood attributes, coupled with the powerful soul perception he gained from transmigrating, this meant he had the talent to become an alchemist!

Alchemists, as the name suggests, were able to refine various miraculous pills using a cauldron.

If a faction had a skilled alchemist, they could rapidly enhance their disciples' strength, heal injuries, and continuously attract powerful experts to their ranks, significantly bolstering their influence.

For this reason, every alchemist was someone that all forces sought to win over and curry favor with.