Chapter 156: Wright Auction House

"Come on, little brother, use your full strength. If you can force me back even a single step, I will agree to let you join the Iron-Blood Mercenary Group," Wang Yong said as he looked at Ye Cheng, sizing him up.

In his eyes, the youth before him was merely seventeen or eighteen years old. No matter how high his cultivation base was, it could not exceed the Great Accomplishment stage of the Blood Qi Realm. If he were at the Great Accomplishment stage of the Blood Qi Realm, let alone making him step back one step, making him retreat even half a step would be extremely difficult. Unless it was someone whose combat prowess far surpassed their actual realm—such individuals did exist in large numbers.

Therefore, Wang Yong also wanted to see what kind of strength this young man truly possessed and whether he was qualified to join their upcoming escort mission. If his strength was sufficient, they would naturally welcome him; if it was not, it would serve to make him tactfully withdraw. After all, their mercenary group lived by the edge of a blade, not out of charity.

"Little brother, you must hold back a little when you strike, lest you injure Uncle Wang," Liu Yan said, lightly covering her red lips with a bitter smile. The last time, Wild Wolf had attacked with all his might, yet the latter had sent him flying with a single blow. Furthermore, Wang Yong's strength was roughly on par with Wild Wolf's. If the latter truly did not fight back and took Ye Cheng's full-strength blow head-on, the consequences would be severe. Thus, she could not help but voice a warning.

"Ugh, Xiao Yan, what kind of words are those? Could it be that this little brother could really injure your Uncle Wang?" Upon hearing her words, Wang Yong could not help feeling rather depressed. Suddenly, the sound of rushing wind reached his ears, forcing him to abruptly cut off his words and elevate his defensive aura to its absolute limit.

"Boom!"

When fist and palm collided, a dull echo resounded. Ye Cheng stood firmly in place, his arm still maintaining the posture of having thrown a punch, his feet having retreated merely half a step. In contrast, Wang Yong's expression shifted instantly as he staggered backward for a full three steps. Every step he landed cracked the ground, showing just how immense the force he had endured was.

"What a terrifying blood Qi strength for a youth!" After steadying his stance, Wang Yong cast an astonished gaze at Ye Cheng. He could not fathom how a tender-aged youth had managed to cultivate such horrifying blood Qi.

The sheer strength of that blood Qi blow had shaken his heart and lungs. By his estimation, even the combined blood Qi force of three peak Blood Qi Realm practitioners could not compare to the explosive power the youth had just unleashed.

Moreover, it seemed he hadn't even used his full strength just now. At this thought, Wang Yong's expression became rather awkward; having spoken so boastfully earlier, he now found it difficult to maintain his pride.

"I wonder if my strength has met the Second Leader's approval, and if I am qualified to follow your mercenary group?" Ye Cheng retracted his fist and said with a smile.

An elementary Origin Realm expert was still not enough to force him to use his full strength.

"That's right! Uncle Wang, you have no objections now, do you? I warned you just now, but you insisted on suffering a loss. I really don't know what to do with you," Liu Yan said with a smile.

Wang Yong also offered a wry smile and said to Ye Cheng, "My Iron-Blood Mercenary Group warmly welcomes little brother Ye to join us this time. I apologize for my previous behavior, little brother. I didn't expect you to be so young yet possess such extraordinary strength. Truly, heroes come from the youth; I am deeply ashamed."

He had originally thought the youth was at most at the Great Accomplishment stage of the Blood Qi Realm, but he had severely underestimated the latter's capabilities. If they were to fight in earnest, he had no confidence that he could defeat the youth before him.

"Hehe, the Second Leader is too polite. Since you agree to let me tag along, just call me Ye Cheng," Ye Cheng said, unwilling to beat around the bush.

"In that case, I will just call you Ye Cheng. I see you are only a few years younger than Xiao Yan, so I'll pull rank a bit. If you don't mind, just call me Uncle Wang directly—there's no need to be so distant." Wang Yong said with a chuckle.

"Alright!" Ye Cheng nodded.

"Hehe, since I'm a few years older than you, why don't you call me Elder Sister and let me hear it!" Liu Yan was naturally lively by nature, and of course she wouldn't miss the opportunity to tease Ye Cheng.

...

After asking Wang Yong and the others about the departure date, which was set for the day after tomorrow, Ye Cheng did not linger any longer and walked out of the Iron-Blood Mercenary Group.

By the time he emerged from the mercenary group, dusk was already approaching. Ye Cheng noticed many martial artists continuously hurrying in a single direction.

"Now that the sun is setting, it seems the auction is about to begin," Ye Cheng realized, and immediately followed the crowd toward the auction house.

As it happened, he still had some Grade 2 medicinal powders—Blood-Coagulating Powder and Qi-Solidifying Powder—left over from before. His body had already developed a tolerance to these two types of medicine; taking any more of them would yield little effect. Rather than keeping them, he might as well sell the concoctions to the auction house in exchange for some spirit stones.

Perhaps, if he spotted something he needed at the auction, he could use them to increase his bargaining chips.

The Wright Auction House was the only auction house in Poison Dragon Town, and it was affiliated with the Wright Firm in the prefectural city of Nanyang Prefecture.

Throughout the entire Nanyang Prefecture, the wealth of the Wright Firm was among the top tier—filthy rich—and the experts within the firm were countless.

Therefore, with such a formidable backing, no matter how enviable the auction house's profit margins were, and no matter how chaotic Poison Dragon Town could be, no one dared to harbor malicious intentions toward this auction house.

Historically, there had once been an ignorant rogue cultivator who attempted to forcefully plunder items from an ongoing auction. As a result, the powerful expert stationed at the auction house shattered his Dantian with a single punch and threw him out of the front gates like a dead dog.

...

Looking at the massive, ornate venue at the end of the street, where a continuous stream of people flowed through the entrance, Ye Cheng quickly quickened his pace and walked into the venue under the watchful eyes of the guards at the door.

Scanning the spacious lobby with his gaze, Ye Cheng did not immediately follow the crowd into the main auction hall, but instead turned and walked toward a certain room. Above the door, three characters were inscribed: "Appraisal Office."

Pushing open the door and entering, he saw an elderly man sitting somewhat bored in a chair by a desk. Hearing the door open, the old man raised his head and saw it was a youth. He frowned slightly, but immediately recognized the interspatial ring worn on the latter's finger, and a smile bloomed on his face. "Is this little brother here to have something appraised?"

The old man naturally knew the value of an interspatial ring. A youth capable of wearing one must be either wealthy or noble. Naturally, the old man did not dare to be negligent.

Ye Cheng nodded. He stepped forward two paces, retrieved a bottle of Blood-Coagulating Powder and a bottle of Qi-Solidifying Powder from his interspatial ring, and placed them on the desk.

"This is?" The old man looked puzzledly at the two jade bottles placed on the desk. Lifting their stoppers, he sniffed them, his expression shifting slightly as the gaze he cast back at Ye Cheng carried a hint of extra bewilderment. "Are these medicinal preparations concocted by you, little brother?"

"Yes!" Ye Cheng nodded. The path of alchemy was something anyone could attempt, and the threshold to becoming an alchemist was not high; it was just that very few achieved great success. Grade 2 medicinal preparations were merely low-grade products, nothing worth hiding.