Chapter 72: Murder and Robbery
Leaving the auction house, Liu Yang kept a close eye on the burly man behind him, all while calculating the distance between them. When he reached the location designated by Bubble Bar, he suddenly accelerated, and in the blink of an eye, had darted into the nearby forest.
The burly man trailing him sneered, his eyes full of disdain. "A first-level Mystic wants to escape from me? Foolish wishful thinking."
As he finished speaking, he unleashed the energy of an early second-level Mystic, following Liu Yang at a steady pace. They were still near the auction venue; he planned to wait until they reached a deserted area before making his move. After all, murder and robbery were hardly honorable deeds.
Soon, the two arrived one after the other at a secluded valley in the Mystic Beast Mountains, far from the town and devoid of human presence—a perfect place to dispose of a body.
Seeing this, the burly man hesitated no longer, his second-level Mystic power erupting to its fullest. Within just a few breaths, he caught up to Liu Yang, who was several hundred meters ahead.
"Kid, in your next life, I hope you grow some eyes and learn who you can and cannot provoke!"
He sidestepped to Liu Yang's flank, raising his right fist high and swinging it fiercely toward Liu Yang's head.
Crunch!
But before he could complete the motion, a sound of bone breaking came from beneath his feet.
Hmph!
The burly man grunted, falling face-first into the dirt like a dog. His arrogance a moment ago was now replaced by utter humiliation.
"You actually dared to set me up!"
Seeing his left leg caught in a bloody animal trap, rage seemed to ignite in his eyes, almost becoming tangible.
"Don't think you can defeat me just by injuring me with an animal trap. The gap between first and second-level Mystics can't be bridged by such petty tricks!"
Boom!
With those words, he exploded with energy, slamming his fist into the ground and leaving a deep imprint. Using the rebound, he forced himself upright once more, his face twisted with malice, as if ready to tear apart the youth who dared ambush him.
Yet Liu Yang, only a few steps away, remained calm and unruffled, as though he hadn't even taken the man seriously.
"I’m well aware of the difference between first and second-level Mystics. That’s why I spent a fortune on Scorpion Rainbow Poison, strong enough to kill an early third-level Mystic."
At Liu Yang’s words, the burly man’s eyes widened, his mouth gaping as if to protest. But before he could utter a sound, his face turned from red to black, and with a thud, he collapsed, lifeless. Even in death, his eyes remained open, a testament to his confusion and unwillingness.
Only now did Liu Yang’s heart, which had been taut with anxiety, finally relax. To be honest, he hadn’t been very confident. After all, a second-level Mystic, if even a little cautious, would never be injured by something as trivial as an animal trap.
---
Not bad for me, to have calculated even this.
Looking at the prompt message before him, Liu Yang felt a sense of pride light up his face. But after a few self-congratulatory thoughts, he quickly crouched down and began searching the burly man’s body for spoils.
Found it.
At the man’s chest, his hand felt something hard. Liu Yang’s face brightened with delight as he pulled it out—a yellow jade bracelet, now only one-third intact.
This bracelet was his target—a damaged spatial artifact.
On the Mystic Mainland, spatial artifacts were exceedingly rare and expensive. Even the most ordinary ones cost tens of thousands of gold coins!
Although the one the burly man carried was broken, its storage function remained. It was still worth at least several thousand gold coins.
With the help of the prompts over the past few days, Liu Yang had only managed to earn a few hundred coins. Now, his wealth had increased nearly tenfold in an instant!
Sure enough, robbery is the fastest way to get rich, he mused, licking his lips. He eagerly poured his spiritual sense into the spatial bracelet to inventory the rest of his gains.
569 gold coins
Three boxes of Qi-Infusion Paste
[Increases the chance of breaking through to the second level. Each box is worth 100 gold, but in reality, it’s priceless—twice the money still can’t buy it.]
Cultivation Technique: Thunder Ape Art
[This is trash. You could find better just browsing the shops.]
Hmm? What’s this…
Suddenly, Liu Yang’s attention was caught by a piece of parchment inside the bracelet.
Qi Cleansing Pill! This is actually a recipe!
His eyes widened, hardly able to believe what he saw.
Alchemy masters—the most revered profession on the Mystic Mainland. On average, only one appears per million people.
The rarity comes not only from their demanding talent requirements, but also from the scarcity of pill recipes.
Owning a recipe makes one an alchemy master; without one, merely an apothecary. The Qi-Infusion Paste, for example, was made by apothecaries. They were considered high-level professionals, but their status was nowhere near that of alchemy masters.
This recipe alone is worth tens of thousands of gold coins…
Liu Yang drew a sharp breath, overwhelmed by the windfall.
Wait, why sell it? Why not become an alchemy master myself?
If he did, even the Mystic Azure Sect would treat him as a prized guest.
---
The thought stirred Liu Yang, and he immediately checked the ingredients required for the recipe.
[You don’t have the aptitude for alchemy. Don’t waste time on this—focus on cultivation and go slap that show-off from the Mystic Azure Sect.]
...
Liu Yang sighed, quietly putting the recipe away.
Fine. When I advance further, I’ll just capture a few alchemy masters, lock them in a little dark room, and make them refine pills for me. If they refuse, no food.
He indulged in such fantasies for a moment, then began to deal with the burly man’s corpse.
Once the body was disposed of, he headed back to the town at once.
After honing himself in the Mystic Beast Mountains and three years of stagnation in cultivation, his power had accumulated and finally burst forth. After several breakthroughs in quick succession, he had reached the ninth stage of the first level!
With the Qi-Infusion Paste, all he needed was a new technique to replace the entry-level Mystic Qi Art, and he could become a second-level Mystic!
Anticipation filled Liu Yang's heart as he unleashed his speed, soon arriving back in town and entering the most powerful merchant association there: Treasure Hall.
"Welcome, are you here to sell materials or purchase supplies?" A fresh-faced hostess greeted him as he entered.
Liu Yang didn’t waste words: "What cultivation techniques do you have?"
He now possessed over seven hundred gold coins, counting those from the burly man. That was more than enough to buy a decent low-level technique.
"Please follow me," she said, leading him to a seating area and handing him a booklet.
"These are all the techniques our Treasure Hall has," she explained.
Liu Yang opened the booklet, searching for the one he needed.
[Ice Art, Yellow-tier technique. Trash, don’t bother.]
[This one’s trash, too.]
[Still trash.]
[Don’t waste time; look straight for the Mystic-tier.]
...
Seeing the prompt messages in the booklet, Liu Yang blinked. It seemed he could get what he wanted for free.
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