he practice room was located on the third floor of the trading centre. It was the private quarter of the Fang Family. Normally, it was the practice room for Fangyue and Fangyuan. Xuanyuan was allowed to use the place as an honoured guest. The room was decorated with some magical markings to a.s.sist with the absorption of spiritual Qi. The floor was covered with black granite, giving the room a heavy and serious atmosphere.

Inside the room, Xuanyuan was moving according to the Heavenly Dragon's Long Strikes. He looked formidable. His shadow resembled an imposing dragon. The white dragon waves would not dissipate until they had travelled a few metres away from his fist.

Every punch cost him a lot of his energy. He now needed to take one strength replenis.h.i.+ng pill every four hours, but the amount of spiritual Qi he absorbed was unimaginable. For every punch, he could feel that his veins were stretching like rubber. It was extremely painful, but with every movement, the fighting Qi strengthened his veins, refining his circulatory system...

He didn't sleep for three days. He spent all his time practicing. As a result, the veins in his upper body were all open and clear of impurity. His strength surged from fourteen dragons to twenty six dragons - much more than ordinary spiritual realm fighters!

"Hahaha, very nice... You'll have to refine your lower body, and finally your head. The head is the most important part. If you can get the veins in your head unblocked, you'll get a whole new sensation when feeling the world."

Fangyue was shocked to see how much Xuanyuan had transformed in just three days. "Just by taking strength replenis.h.i.+ng pill, he managed to practice for three days straight. He has a very strong will. No wonder Master Fung Lie likes him!" Fangyue thought. He thought of the contrast between the industrious Xuanyuan and his failure of a son. It was a very bitter reminder.

"Master Fangyue, is the auction about to start?" Just when Fangyue was standing silently outside the room, absorbed in his own thoughts, Xuanyuan's voice came from inside.

"Young master Xuanyuan made such progress with your practice! The auction is indeed going to begin soon. Many powerful people have come this time. Some of them are inner disciples from the sect. They are all ranked in the List of Merits!"

Xuanyuan frowned, "List of Merits? What's that? Brother Fung Lie didn't tell me much about the sect. He only gave me his token and asked me to find him in the sect."

Fangyue was not surprised by Xuanyuan's question. He investigated the boy's background from the true disciples of the school who came to the judgment stand. Xuanyuan arrived at the school for less than a day before he was appointed to join the sect by Fung Lie. Fung Lie killed the true disciple, Ting Han, for Xuanyuan. This intimidated Fangyue even more. After all, not everyone could justify killing a true disciple, but Fung Lie did that for this boy. He also heard that Xuanyuan was protected by an old man, a peak king realm fighter. The old man called himself Xuanyuan's servant. This boy's ident.i.ty became more mysterious with the more information gathered.

Fangyue was one of the elders of the Cave of Full Moon. He climbed the social ladder to manage the trading centre. Among all the elders in the cave, he was the only one that was a king realm fighter. He was the best merchant they had. Naturally, he didn't want to make trouble for the cave. He could only do his best to please Xuanyuan and build a good relations.h.i.+p.

"Well, the Fighting Dragons Sect has set up two lists. The List of Merits contains the ranking of the thirty best inner disciples. The List of Fighting Dragons contains the ten best true disciples. Those who are on the lists are all elites in the sect. Master Fung Lie ranked first in the List of Merits before he became a true disciple. Soon after that he was ranked in the List of Fighting Dragons for his astounding potential! He is the most famous talent in the entire Land of the East." Fangyue explained carefully, inserting a compliment to Fung Lie. He knew how to flatter.

"I see. Do you know any of the inner disciples who are coming to the auction this time, do they have support from other true disciples?" Xuanyuan knew why Fangyue was mentioning this and smiled as he asked.

"Master Xuanyuan is young and brilliant. He knew what I meant immediately. He is so much smarter than my son. I spoiled him too much." Fangyue thought. He was in awe at Xuanyuan's intelligence. He was about fourteen years old, much younger than his own son, but much more talented. Sometimes you don't know how much was missing until there was something to compare it too.

"That's right. I would like to remind you to be careful not to get into a conflict with them. The true disciples supporting them might even be more influential than Master Fung Lie!" Fangyue replied. He was experienced in business. The power dynamic inside organisations like the sect was his expertise. He had a rough idea about who would rise to power and who would fall, so he was doing some early investments in Xuanyuan by purchasing everything from him and getting closer to him.

"Very well. Master Fangyue. Thank you for your reminder. I will be careful." Xuanyuan smiled, then turned back to his room. "Where is the auction? I will go there later."

"The auction will be held on fifth floor. I've arranged a luxurious box for you. Box number six." Then Fangyue left.

Xuanyuan arrived outside Yan Ziyun's room just when she opened the door to come out. They looked at each other and smiled. Behind Yan Ziyun was Guxing. The wolf seemed to know that Yan Ziyun wouldn't be with them for much longer so it spent as much time as possible with her.

"Come on. The auction is on fifth floor. There seems to be a lot of strong fighters gathering there." Xuanyuan said.

She nodded shyly. Guxing growled to acknowledge what Xuanyuan said.

They arrived at the fifth floor. The place was extremely large. From the entrance there was a staircase going down to the auction stage. Below the stage were many small tables. People were sitting and chatting around. On the two sides, there were ten luxurious spectator boxes for honoured guests. Xuanyuan was offered one of the boxes during the auction. He gained special treatment because he was the appointed disciple of Fung Lie.

A sultry, voluptuous young woman approached them. Xuanyuan blushed at the sight, since she was wearing very exposed clothing, she showed off the curves of her body.

"If the old beggar was still alive, he would be over the moon. She is exactly his type."

"Master Xuanyuan, Lady Yan? I was told by Master Fangyue to take care of you both. Please follow me." The sultry woman's voice was sweet.

"Please lead the way." They headed straight to box number six.

From their box, they could get a glimpse of the crowded room below. There were indeed many powerful people here.

Many were curious about the wolf following them. The wolf had a decent amount of strength but it was not the most powerful beast, and yet they were heading towards the special boxes, that were reserved for grandmaster realm pract.i.tioners or people with powerful backgrounds.

Just when they arrived at their box, a slightly feminine man’s voice broke the air,

"I was wondering for whom this box was reserved. It's just you two weaklings. Who the h.e.l.l are you? I'll break all of your limbs and kill that filthy wolf. Let me, Yuexing, teach you a lesson. So you know that someone like you cannot disrespect your elder brothers and steal my place in the special guests' box."

Along with the speech was a hostile gust of wind moving straight at Xuanyuan.