Chapter 23: I Possess All Abilities, You're Free to Choose

Suddenly, the auction stage lit up under the watchful eyes of countless spectators. Ya Fei, dressed in her striking red cheongsam, gracefully stepped onto the stage. Every subtle movement she made captured the attention of the onlookers. The form-fitting attire that accentuated her voluptuous figure immediately drew the fervent gaze of some individuals in the audience.

Only Xiao Yu could match those long, slender legs.

With just a smile and a few teasing jokes, Ya Fei effortlessly ignited the atmosphere in the entire auction hall. For young boys like Xiao Ning, it would only take a few sweet words from this natural-born enchantress to impulsively bid on useless items in a moment of infatuation.

"Ya Fei is deeply grateful to everyone for taking the time out of their busy schedules to attend our Miteer Auction House's quarterly auction." Ya Fei's red lips parted slightly as she chuckled slightly before clapping her jade-like hands. One by one, beautiful young women carrying trays walked to the center of the auction stage and displayed the auction items.

These items included treasures obtained by mercenary groups and major clans in the wilderness near Wu Tan City, as well as goods that had been passed over in other branches of the Miteer Auction House. There were even high-grade 2nd-tier medicinal pills that Master Gu Ni had personally refined.

Even the three bottles of Foundation Building Pill that Xiao Yan had sold to Ya Fei some time ago were included in the lineup.

Medicinal pills were always the most sought-after items. Even Xiao Yan himself had purchased two medicinal pills: a 2nd-tier Flame Enhancing Pill to speed up the cultivation speed of fire attribute Qi Methods, and a 2nd-tier Qi Recovering Pill to increase the restoration rate of one's Dou Qi. Although they were not as expensive as the Qi Gathering Pill, the total price of these two pills was still tens of thousands of gold coins.

"Alright, the next auction item is quite interesting. This is a precious item brought from the headquarters, a medicinal cauldron with three openings."

Ya Fei clapped her hands, and three burly men brought a green and red medicinal cauldron with three openings onto the stage.

Everyone seemed uninterested the moment the medicinal cauldron appeared.

This was not surprising. A good cauldron was indeed needed to refine medicinal pills. However, such cauldrons could be passed down from generation to generation and were only needed by alchemists.

But the most important reason was that the alchemists were too scarce.

"This is a medicinal cauldron with three openings, a superior item among medicinal cauldrons. The starting bid is 100,000 gold coins."

Even with Ya Fei's temperament, her inner thoughts at this moment were filled with curses directed at the shameless old bastards at headquarters.

This item was basically unsold goods from the headquarters that were dumped in Wu Tan City. In plain terms, they were trying to see if Ya Fei could hoodwink some naive country bumpkin into buying this thing.

But no matter how much Ya Fei shouted, no one was willing to bid. Even though Liu Xi was a 1st-tier alchemist, he had his own medicinal cauldron and was unlikely to switch to a new one.

Just as Ya Fei was about to announce the item as unsold, a hand slowly rose. Xiao Yan leisurely asked, "Miss Ya Fei, may I inspect the item?"

Ya Fei's willowy eyebrows furrowed slightly. She felt an unusual ripple within her heart at this moment.

"Normally, auction items cannot be touched, but since this is a request from Little Clan Leader Xiao Yan, Ya Fei will make an exception today." Ya Fei's words were as gentle as a spring breeze. Her tone was perfectly balanced, neither overly flattering nor offensive.

"Inspect the item?"

"How can one inspect a medicinal cauldron?"

"Maybe tap it a few times to see if there are any cracks?"

Liu Xi looked down at Xiao Yan with disdain as he stepped onto the stage and sneered, "Such an idiot, thinking he can get a bargain by buying a medicinal cauldron at a low price and reselling it at a profit. He doesn't even understand that alchemists despise the use of secondhand cauldrons."

Amidst murmurs and skeptical glances, Xiao Yan approached the cauldron and placed a hand over one of its openings.

"This is?!" Master Gu Ni's expression changed drastically at the sight of Xiao Yan's action! The next second, with a muffled 'puff', a yellow stream of air passed over the opening and abruptly turned into a tangible yellow flame within the cauldron. It swirled and burned steadily. Then, a strand of green wood-attribute Dou Qi merged with the flame, causing the flame to take on a hint of green color.

The astonishment could be seen on Ya Fei's pretty face as she stood aside and realized what Xiao Yan was doing!

"What the fuck!" Xiao Yu even uttered an obscenity as she abruptly stood up from her seat.

Jia Lie Bi, Ao Ba Pa, Liu Xi, and others who had seen alchemy performed before, all stood up. Their eyes were wide with astonishment.

"You... you... you... you... you're an alchemist?!!" Liu Xi pointed at Xiao Yan on the stage. His tone was filled with disbelief.

How could an alchemist appear in such a remote city! They were extremely rare even in the Jia Nan Academy.

As Liu Xi's words came out, even those who had never seen alchemy understood what Xiao Yan was doing at this moment.

He was refining pills!

Is this how you inspect items?!

Xiao Yan flicked his fingers, and a stalk of Blood Clotting Grass, a Lively Fruit, and two Poppy Flowers flew into the cauldron at a speed that was invisible to the naked eye, all of them consumed by the flames in an instant to prevent anyone from discerning the complete recipe.

Hidden within the fierce cauldron flames were strands of Bone Chilling Flame. Xiao Yan had refined the 1st-tier medicinal pill, Blood Clotting Powder, dozens of times and had it down to an art. Coupled with a bit of assistance from the Bone Chilling Flame, both the speed and quality of his alchemy were excellent.

In just thirty minutes, Xiao Yan had prepared a paste-like Blood Clotting Powder and placed it in a box. A wave of medicinal fragrance instantly filled the entire auction house.

During those thirty minutes, not a single person felt impatient, because everyone knew they were witnessing the future of Wu Tan City!

With a faint smile, Xiao Yan handed a large box of Blood Clotting Powder to Ya Fei and confidently said, "Apologies for the interruption, Miss Ya Fei. Please accept this box of Blood Clotting Powder as compensation for the inconvenience."

"This medicinal cauldron is quite good. I bid 100,000 gold coins for it."

Ya Fei accepted the box almost reflexively, completely forgetting the auction procedure of calling out '100,000 gold coins once, 100,000 gold coins twice'. She was simply stunned.

Xiao Yan can refine pills!

You kid know alchemy?!

Is there anything you can't do?!

Clamor!!!

The entire auction house exploded with excitement!

"Spread the news immediately! The Little Clan Leader of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan, is an alchemist!"

"The Jia Lie Clan and the Ao Ba Clan are finished!"

Jia Lie Bi and Ao Ba Pa slumped into their chairs in despair as they felt their entire bodies become utterly weak and powerless.

Xiao Yan was more than just an alchemist. His identity as the Little Clan Leader of the Xiao Clan was the coup de grâce!

A foreign 1st-tier alchemist like Liu Xi had already thrown Wu Tan City into turmoil. However, Liu Xi didn't offer his alchemy services for free; he charged exorbitant fees, which resulted in outrageously expensive medicinal pills.

But Xiao Yan! He was the Little Clan Leader of the Xiao Clan! This meant that for every pill sold by the Xiao Clan, after deducting the cost of materials, the rest would all be pure profit!

Sheer profit! Absolute sheer profit!

The medicinal pills from the Ao Jia Market couldn't possibly compete with those of the Xiao Clan; the latter naturally had a price advantage. Not to mention, Xiao Yan's pill recipes and alchemy techniques were superior to Liu Xi's.

From the moment Xiao Yan publicly demonstrated his alchemy skills, this war over medicinal pills had already come to an end.

Ya Fei suddenly remembered the five-year herb supply contract that the two major clans had signed. She didn't need to guess to know that the prices of the specific medicinal ingredients Liu Xi needed would plummet, and his medicinal pills would be endlessly suppressed by those of the Xiao Clan.

The medicinal pills from the Ao Jia Market would essentially be unsellable as long as Xiao Yan kept the prices of his medicinal pills within a certain range. Even if they were sold, each sale would result in a loss. Besides, they wouldn't need that many medicinal ingredients in the first place.

It was basically a predatory price-cutting strategy!

Xiao Yan now had the capital to do it!

Ya Fei knew that in order to procure more medicinal ingredients and prevent the Xiao Clan from monopolizing the supply, the two major clans had mortgaged many of their properties and had already paid deposits to the herb merchants for cooperation.

'This was his plan all along!' Ya Fei's small mouth hung open slightly as she looked at Xiao Yan, who was shining like a star, and suddenly understood many things.

Xiao Yan wanted to completely ruin the other two major clans and make the Xiao Clan the sole authority in Wu Tan City!