BTTH : From Humble Beginnings to Dou Di

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”Mm, not bad.”

Lin Feng nodded slightly. He curled his fingers and drew the storage ring into his hand. After confirming that it indeed contained twelve sets of materials for the Dou Spirit Pill, he nodded again with satisfaction.

After confirming there were no issues with his faction, he let the others go back to their respective tasks.

”Lin Feng, so what do you want me to do?”

Once everyone had left, Zi Yan immediately stood up and asked.

”Come with me to the alchemy room.”

Lin Feng glanced around, still feeling a bit uneasy. He turned and headed toward the alchemy room, which had perception-blocking functions, and spoke as he walked.

”Alright.”

Seeing how cautious he was, Zi Yan’s expression also became serious. She could tell this mission probably wasn’t going to be simple.

After sealing the stone door of the alchemy room, Lin Feng took out a map from his storage ring and unfurled it.

Pointing to a specific location on the map, he finally spoke: ”The place I want you to go this time is called the Jia Ma Empire. About half a month from now, there will be an Alchemist Grand Meeting held there. One of your tasks is to observe the event and see if any of the participants use a white, cold flame.”

After a brief pause, he added, ”Once you’re done with the Alchemist Grand Meeting, go north of the Jia Ma Empire’s capital to the Yun Lan Sect and observe an event called the Three-Year Agreement. After you return, I’ll need a full report of everything you witnessed.”

Lin Feng had originally considered having Zi Yan go to the Xiao Clan to somehow steal the Tuo She Ancient Emperor’s Jade. But after thinking it over, he decided to abandon that idea.

After all, he couldn’t be sure whether the Gu Clan or Hall of Souls had already planted strong individuals to monitor the Xiao Clan.

The Gu Clan didn’t even need guessing—Gu Yuan, their clan leader, had already brought his daughter Gu Xun’er to the Xiao Clan. One of their purposes was to obtain that jade.

Sending strong cultivators to monitor the Xiao Clan was only natural.

As for the Hall of Souls, judging by the original story where they kidnapped Xiao Zhan, the patriarch of the Xiao Clan, it was clear they had their eyes on the Xiao Clan long ago.

If he sent Zi Yan to steal the jade now, the risk would be far too great.

Though Zi Yan had a natural talent that made her extremely hard to detect when approaching others...

She was still only a Dou Wang. If she ran into a Dou Zong, there would be nowhere to hide.

In the end, it’d be a dead end.

Not to mention, if she were captured, there was the chance she’d expose him as the one behind it all.

Even just speaking of her worth—Zi Yan was undoubtedly far more valuable than that piece of the Tuo She Ancient Emperor’s Jade.

Besides, that jade wouldn’t directly increase his strength, and it carried enormous risk.

Zi Yan, on the other hand, if she could safely return to her clan, would be a key to forging an alliance with a power that had Dou Sheng level experts.

That kind of backing would make many future endeavors far more convenient for him.

And then there was the matter of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan’s treasure-hunting abilities. Who knew how many hidden legacies and ancient inheritances they had collected in the void over the years?

As long as he could hold onto Zi Yan’s thigh, if she brought him a few volumes of ninth-tier pill formulas or even some Heaven Class cultivation methods or Dou Techniques...

Wouldn’t he be making a killing? And with no risk involved!

After all, if he held onto the Tuo She Ancient Emperor’s Jade, it would bring him massive danger, with nowhere safe to trade it.

If he dared use it to barter, the moment the ancient clans found out, he could basically say goodbye to the world.

What’s more, if luck was on his side and he managed to reach the Dou Sheng level and participate in the battle over the Dou Di inheritance...

Then the help of Zi Yan’s father—an old dragon king at the peak of Nine-Star Dou Sheng—would be worth far more than a damn piece of jade.

Shaking his head, Lin Feng cast aside those unnecessary thoughts. Bottom line—he wasn’t going to risk Zi Yan’s life for that.

When Zi Yan heard the mission, her pretty brows furrowed. Glancing again at the vast distance on the map, she pouted and grumbled, ”That’s way too far. Even with my speed, it’ll probably take me seven or eight days just to get there.”

”Hehe, if you manage to get me a description of the person carrying the white flame, I’ll give you at least two Dou Spirit Pills. If you’re lucky, I might even give you a Mighty Huang Pill. And even if you don’t find them, you’ll still get one Dou Spirit Pill.”

Hearing her complaint, Lin Feng gave a sly smile and added the bait.

”Mighty Huang Pill?!”

Hearing the name of such a high-tier pill, Zi Yan couldn’t help but gasp in surprise.

She immediately recalled the thick medicinal fragrance of that Mighty Huang Pill from the previous auction. Her little tongue involuntarily licked her lips.

But then she remembered that Lin Feng was only a fifth-tier alchemist, and asked suspiciously, ”You can’t refine Mighty Huang Pills yet—where would you even get one?”

In response, Lin Feng simply smiled and said lightly, ”As long as you get me a good look at the person with the white flame, I’ll have a way.”

”Alright, I’m in.”

Zi Yan thought back and realized Lin Feng had never lied to her before. And the lure of the Mighty Huang Pill was just too tempting, so she agreed.

Anyway, even if she didn’t find the person with the white flame, she’d still get one Dou Spirit Pill as a guarantee.

”Good. I’ll first refine a few pills the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion needs. After that, you can take me back to Jia Nan Academy. Then you can head out.”

Lin Feng thought for a moment, then added seriously, ”One more thing. Whatever you do, don’t engage with the person carrying the white flame. Just observe from a distance in public places. Do not follow them!”

”Alright.”

Seeing the seriousness in Lin Feng’s expression, Zi Yan gave a firm nod in return.

Watching her seriously take in his instructions, Lin Feng finally relaxed. Without wasting time, he began refining the pills that Heavenly Treasure Pavilion needed.

Several days later, after producing enough pills and giving out a few final instructions, Lin Feng and Zi Yan once again re-entered the Inner Academy from their usual secret location.

”Be careful in the Inner Academy. I’ll head to the Jia Ma Empire now,” Zi Yan said, tossing the map in her hand casually after escorting Lin Feng in.

”Don’t let that person discover you,” Lin Feng reminded her seriously, aware of the importance of her mission. He had even decided against sending a letter to the Yun Lan Sect with her, just to be safe.

”Got it.”

Zi Yan waved her hand carelessly and vanished into the spatial barrier.

”Hope everything goes smoothly for her… though, I feel like I’ve forgotten something…”

Letting out a soft sigh, Lin Feng paused for a moment, his brows furrowed. He felt like something was slipping from his mind, but couldn’t figure out what. Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought and flickered toward the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.

”Lin Feng! You’re finally here. I’ve been looking for you for days!”

A familiar voice called out as Lin Feng approached. It was Lin Yan, who waved him over excitedly. Behind him stood two men and a woman.

One man was handsome and refined, the other was tall and burly.

But it was the woman in the silver robe who drew Lin Feng’s attention—not because he was lusting after her, but because she bore an uncanny resemblance to Xue Mei. The tall, silver-haired girl, with a cold and distant aura, seemed to emit the same unapproachable air as Xue Mei. With her waist-length silver hair and silver gown, she was like a reflection of an old acquaintance.

For a moment, Lin Feng felt like he had met a long-lost friend.

”Lin Yan, are you here to give me fire energy?”

Seeing his old friend, Lin Feng remembered he had given him a batch of Ice Spirit Pills a few days ago to trade for fire energy points. With a grin, he tossed over his purple fire crystal card.

”Hehe, not just that.”

Lin Yan quickly transferred 400 fire energy points to Lin Feng’s card before tossing it back. Then, pointing at the handsome man, he began the introductions. ”This is Lin Xiuya, ranked second on the Strong Ranking. He’s also the leader of the Wolf Fang.”

”Nice to meet you,” Lin Xiuya said with a slight bow.

”Pleasure,” Lin Feng responded with a polite nod.

Next, Lin Yan gestured toward the burly man. ”This is Liu Qing, ranked third, leader of the Splitting Mountain.”

The two exchanged brief pleasantries.

Finally, Lin Yan pointed toward the silver-haired woman. ”This is Han Yue, leader of the Moon Spirit.”

”…”

After introducing them, Lin Yan turned to Lin Feng, visibly pleased. ”Most of the Ice Spirit Pills from before were bought by them. Now, each of them wants to buy another hundred pills.”

There was a note of pride in his voice—he had brought in some seriously big clients this time.

With each pill priced at five fire energy points, the three of them were asking for 300 pills total—1,500 fire energy points.

In the Inner Academy, aside from the official academy stores, few individuals could afford such a sum.

With a good business deal at his doorstep, Lin Feng naturally wouldn’t decline.

He thought for a moment, then said, ”That’s doable. But with such a large order, I’ll need a 200 fire energy point deposit from each of you.”

”No problem.”

Lin Xiuya and the others exchanged glances, then agreed without hesitation.

After a few more words, they agreed to meet again in three days to collect the goods and then each went their separate ways.

”Hehe, Lin Feng, look at the business I brought you. How are you going to thank me for this?” Lin Yan said proudly, raising his eyebrows in a playful manner.

Smiling at his antics, Lin Feng tossed him a jade bottle. ”This Qi Gathering Powder is your reward.”

With a casual wave, he turned and made his way toward the eastern trading area.

After all, he still had 300 sets of medicinal ingredients to buy.

”Whoa! A fourth-tier pill! You alchemists really are extravagant!”

Pouring out the green pill from the bottle and staring at the marble-sized orb in his palm, Lin Yan couldn’t help shouting in excitement.

As someone from a humble background, high-grade pills like this were extremely rare for him.

But Lin Feng had no time to chat. He picked up the pace toward the eastern sector.

About ten minutes later, he arrived at the trading area and browsed several stalls.

In the end, he purchased 400 sets of ingredients, paying one fire energy point per set.

The extra 100 sets were for backup.

In any case, these pills were in high demand in the Inner Academy—he had no fear they’d go unsold.

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