Battle Through the Heavens: Xiao Yan, who was kidnapped to another world

"1,500, please count it."

Although the short-haired woman next to him looked completely bewildered, Xiao Yan didn't care at all. He then took out 1,500 gold soul coins and 15 money bags from his Awakening Flame Ring and neatly placed them on the ground.

The middle-aged man remained silent, seemingly indicating he really had no intention of changing the price.

Such a greedy two-star Dou Ling... oh, a level 75 Soul Saint. This is the first time Xiao Yan has ever seen such a greedy level 75 Soul Saint.

"Three thousand gold soul coins, I'll buy those two items!"

Before Xiao Yan could even put the two 'crystals' away, the short-haired woman beside him suddenly announced an astonishing price.

"She offered three thousand, what about you?"

Well, Xiao Yan now understood why the middle-aged man had stopped talking earlier; he had clearly realized that the short-haired woman was about to raise the price!

Do you know what these two are?

Xiao Yan ignored the unscrupulous merchant who was trying to incite the two of them to compete, and looked at the short-haired girl with some curiosity.

"You know?" The short-haired girl wasn't fooled and asked back directly.

"I think I know what it is."

With a casual shrug, Xiao Yan spoke with a hint of unease. He didn't know what the deep red crystal was made of, as his spiritual power couldn't penetrate it. He estimated that he would need to remove the outer shell to understand the internal structure.

As for the dark yellow one...

It was just a smokescreen, but this unscrupulous merchant was quite skilled, or rather, greedy enough, to raise the price of the deep red one at the last minute. However, buying the dark yellow one for 800 gold soul coins wouldn't be a bad deal. At least after making contact, Xiao Yan confirmed that this crystal was quite good for refining weapons.

Of course, all of this is predicated on the fact that he actually bought both items.

So? Are you going to make an offer?

When she heard Xiao Yan say "I think I know," the short-haired girl's expression changed slightly for a moment, but she didn't seem to give up.

"Tomorrow morning at ten o'clock, I will rest for half an hour at the North Gate, and then I will leave Soto City." Xiao Yan did not answer, but instead reported his itinerary for tomorrow.

"……What's the meaning?"

"I just suddenly felt like saying that," Xiao Yan shrugged. "See you again sometime~"

He picked up the money bag from the ground, then turned around and prepared to leave.

"If you don't have enough money, you can borrow it from me. You can pay it back slowly later. It's not much, just 99 a month, but there is a 10% interest rate."

The unscrupulous merchant seemed quite dissatisfied with the fact that he hadn't managed to incite the two to continue bidding. He even offered to lend Xiao Yan a loan, but only for ninety-nine gold soul coins per month, clearly indicating to Xiao Yan that he knew Xiao Yan's soul power level.

"No thanks, I wouldn't dare borrow money from the Soul Saint." Xiao Yan pursed his lips and didn't turn around.

"Here are three thousand gold soul coins."

After Xiao Yan left, the short-haired girl took out a card from her soul tool and threw it at the middle-aged swindler.

"I wouldn't dare accept money from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School," the unscrupulous merchant mumbled after catching the card that flew towards him.

"Then throw it away."

After leaving a single sentence, the short-haired girl put the two crystals into her soul tool and turned to leave the shop.

"What a nuisance..." The unscrupulous merchant flipped his left hand, and the Golden Soul Card disappeared from his hand.

"An eleven or twelve-year-old Soul Master, that's truly remarkable. It seems the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School will produce another Super Douluo in the next generation," the shrewd merchant muttered. "But that scar on his face... is that kind of makeup trendy now?"

The shrewd businessman with the hooked nose scratched his chin, feeling as if he had grasped some trend among young people.

Chapter 23 Ning Rongrong

The next day, at the north gate of Soto.

'If that girl doesn't come, you really don't want that thing anymore?'

At 10:27, Yao Lao's voice rang in Xiao Yan's heart.

"How could that be? What I, Xiao Yan, set my sights on, must be mine!" Xiao Yan took a sip of tea, then nonchalantly spat out the tea leaves from his mouth. "If you're not coming, go out first, change your clothes, and then come back."

Xiao Yan was determined to obtain the crystal that emitted energy fluctuations similar to those of a demonic core. If he couldn't get it peacefully, he would have to resort to underhanded methods.

"name."

As Xiao Yan was leisurely sipping his inferior tea, he suddenly heard a sentence.

"Didn't you hear me yesterday?" Xiao Yan didn't turn around, as if he already knew someone was behind him. "Although support-type Soul Masters aren't as physically strong as combat-type Soul Masters, you deliberately walked so slowly back then, wasn't it just so you could hear me introduce myself?"

Standing behind Xiao Yan was naturally the short-haired girl who had been following him since the city gate yesterday.

However, the girl was also very confident in her 'skills' in tracking people. Although Xiao Yan pointed it out, she showed no surprise. "I thought you hadn't noticed."

After saying that, he sat down opposite Xiao Yan.

"Yan Xiao... is that your real name?" The girl asked, glancing disdainfully at the tea on the table and ordering the shopkeeper to bring her a pot of good tea.

"I'm not a criminal, so of course I'm using my real name."

This level of lying is naturally within their grasp.

"She's wearing such fake makeup, yet she's using her real name?" The girl looked utterly incredulous.

"So, Miss, who is naturally beautiful without makeup, what is your name?" Xiao Yan avoided the girl's gaze.

Is it fake? I think it's actually alright...

"Humph--"

The girl made a soft nasal sound, seemingly expressing disdain for Xiao Yan's refusal to reveal his real name or admit that the scars on his face were fake.

"Ning Rongrong".

"Hmm, it's a good name." He nodded, but as for why it was good... Xiao Yan didn't know either.

"What's so good about it?"

As a result, as if she didn't know how to be polite, Ning Rongrong asked the question directly.

"Ahem, well, Miss Ning Rongrong, it's quite a coincidence that we met here," Xiao Yan looked up at the sun outside the teahouse, "However, it's getting late, if there's nothing else..."

"You're not from the Heaven Dou Empire, are you?" Ning Rongrong abruptly interrupted Xiao Yan's farewell.

“I have never said where I come from,” Xiao Yan said, not to Lin Dong. He was not going to change his expression because of the statement that he was “not from the Heaven Dou Empire.”

What brings you here?

"Miss Ning, I have other things to do. If you're not in a hurry, let's save these polite words for when we meet again."

Xiao Yan remained unmoved by reason. When he saw Ning Rongrong's sleepless night, he knew that he had won this "war".

"What...are these two things?"

When Xiao Yan threatened her for the second time that "there's something to do," Ning Rongrong finally gave in and asked the question, placing the two crystals on the table.

Fortunately, there was no one else in the teahouse, otherwise the two enormous crystals might have caused some disturbance.

Setting down his teacup, Xiao Yan picked up the deep red, prismatic crystal with four fingers, examined it for a while, and then slowly spoke.

"The red one is a special soul tool. If I'm not mistaken, it should be a one-time use item, and it has already been used."

"A used, disposable soul tool? Who are you trying to fool?" Ning Rongrong scoffed at Xiao Yan's words. "Do you think I can't see the soul power fluctuations on it?"

The technology for making soul tools has been lost, but there are still many disposable soul tools on the Douluo Continent. It is a common knowledge that these disposable soul tools will not have any soul power fluctuations after use.

"If a disposable cup is filled with water but no one has drunk from it, does it count as used?" Xiao Yan asked a strange question.

"...You mean?"

Ning Rongrong, dressed in luxurious clothes, was clearly not stupid. Although she had never seen a cup that was disposable, she still understood the general meaning.

What's inside?

"Like a thief," Ning Rongrong asked in a low voice.

Xiao Yan glanced around at his surroundings and smiled without saying a word.

"Tsk... Just tell me straight, where are you going?"

Ning Rongrong hated people who acted mysterious, and stood up angrily.

“Of course, it’s outside the city. There are few people there. If we’re inside the city, we might be mistaken for dangerous people.” Xiao Yan put the two crystals into his Awakening Flame Ring.

“Outside the city…” Ning Rongrong hesitated.

As for Xiao Yan's act of storing the crystal in his soul tool... when she wanted to know what these two things were, it was tantamount to handing them over to Xiao Yan. Ning Rongrong, who was quite wealthy, naturally didn't care about the things she bought for a few thousand gold soul coins.

"Scared?"

Xiao Yan glanced at Ning Rongrong, then subtly glanced at the two 'Soul Emperors' buying things at a stall not far away, "If you're scared, then forget it."

'Runaway from home...or does she think she's runaway, you spoiled brat? How willful...'

If it were Xiao Yan, even if he ran away from home, he would definitely bring a few "lackeys" with him so that he could take advantage of his status to do whatever he wanted. Otherwise, if the bodyguards following him were even slightly slower, Chun Bai would be dead.

"Who's afraid? Let's go!"

Unfortunately, this willful young lady is also someone who can't resist being provoked. If Xiao Yan harbors even the slightest evil thought, her father might be able to hold his grandson next year.

Soto City is the most important city in the Kingdom of Barak besides the capital. It is known as the granary of Barak. This is mentioned only to illustrate that Soto City is located in the middle of a vast plain, with large tracts of farmland on both sides of the official road, as if to prove the reputation of being the 'granary'.

The "outside the city" that Xiao Yan mentioned could not possibly be this farmland.

"How much longer do we have to go? Is it really necessary to go to such an extreme? It's just a soul tool!"

After leaving Soto City and walking for more than an hour, Miss Ning Rongrong finally couldn't take it anymore and started yelling loudly.

"...Okay, no one around here should see it."

Xiao Yan rolled his eyes, scanned the area within a kilometer radius with his mental power, and nodded. In any case, besides the two of them, there were only Ning Rongrong's two bodyguards hanging far behind them.

"Alright, go ahead and say it." Ning Rongrong breathed a sigh of relief after receiving Xiao Yan's permission.

“First of all, this outer layer of the red crystal… is useless, just a protective shell.” Xiao Yan took out the prismatic crystal from his soul tool, showed it to Ning Rongrong, and then held it in his palm.

"Crack!"

With a crisp sound, Xiao Yan opened his right hand—

The deep red outer shell shattered completely, revealing the true form of the soul tool, a blood-red sphere, buried within the broken shell.