Chapter 25: Repaying Kindness
Xiao Hongchen felt the sting of betrayal from his own sister, but everything had already been agreed upon. It would be too shameful to go back on his word now.
"I'll take it easy and start tomorrow," he said calmly.
"Okay," Meng Hongchen nodded in agreement.
She then took Xiao Hongchen to the hospital, with Jing Hongchen following close behind. Since Xiao Hongchen had just been beaten, this was the best time to teach him a lesson—that there are always people stronger than you, and the sky stretches endlessly beyond what you can see.
Only a recently beaten Xiao Hongchen would be humble enough to truly absorb Jing Hongchen's words. After a few instructions to the teacher who had summoned Xiao Hongchen—Jing Yun—Jing Hongchen left the hospital.
Meanwhile, Xiao Qiang asked Jing Yun for the location of the Sun Moon Royal Auction House. After grabbing something to eat, he hailed a soul guide taxi to head there. Since the sealed milk bottles that stored soul power hadn't been produced yet, these taxis were powered manually by soul masters injecting soul power on the spot—making the fares extremely expensive.
Fortunately, Xiao Qiang had just received a generous funding from Jing Hongchen, so he wasn't short on money for the time being.
After about 30 minutes in the soul-powered car, Xiao Qiang arrived at the Sun Moon Royal Auction House. Just before he entered, a staff member approached him respectfully.
"Excuse me, sir. Are you here to participate in the auction? Please show your invitation letter."
Xiao Qiang didn't have an invitation letter. However, he did possess something even better: the identity token given to him by Jing Hongchen. When he presented the token representing Jing Hongchen's disciple, the staff member's attitude instantly changed to one of deep respect.
"So you are the disciple of Master Mingde. My apologies. Please, follow me," the staff said, bowing slightly as he led Xiao Qiang inside without asking any further questions.
As soon as he stepped into the magnificent building, Xiao Qiang instantly understood the meaning of the words "golden and magnificent."
Even the floor beneath his feet made him suspicious—was it really pure gold? It didn't look like simple gold plating.
Soon, the staff led him to a luxurious private room. Xiao Qiang selected a plush sofa and sat down. The moment he did, he was amazed by the comfort—it made him feel like he had never really sat on a sofa before.
Almost immediately, a beautiful girl entered and knelt down before him. She had clearly been waiting in the room already.
"Dear guest, I'm Ruoshui, a staff member of the Sun Moon Royal Auction House. How may I assist you?" she said sweetly.
"I need elixirs or natural treasures that can remove drug residues from a Four-Ring Soul Sect's body, as well as medicines that can help them steadily improve their strength," Xiao Qiang replied.
Ruoshui nodded. "Dear guest, the elixir you're referring to is the Marrow Cleansing Pill. Its starting price is five million gold soul coins. If you wish to purchase it ahead of the auction, there is a 20% price increase. As for the medicine that helps strengthen a Four-Ring Soul Sect, we recommend the Soul Ascension Pill. It's primarily used to increase a Five-Ring Soul King's soul power by one level, but it is safe and effective for a Four-Ring Soul Sect as well. Its regular price is 300,000 gold soul coins, and like the Marrow Cleansing Pill, there's a 20% markup if bought in advance."
"Soul Ascension Pill?" Xiao Qiang raised his eyebrows. "It allows a Five-Ring Soul King to increase their soul power by one level? What's the connection to the Soul-Raising Pill?"
Ruoshui smiled patiently. "Dear guest, the Soul Ascension Pill was developed by our Sun-Moon Empire. It has a superior and tightly guarded formula. In the past, people from the Douluo Continent coveted this formula. However, all they managed to obtain was an incomplete version, resulting in the creation of a lesser pill they call the Soul-Raising Pill. That version can only raise the level of a Soul Venerable by one."
"So the Douluo version is a complete knock-off?" Xiao Qiang asked, recalling something Xuan Ziwen had once said in the original Douluo Dalu II: that the Sun-Moon Empire was number one in the world when it came to refining medicine.
Ruoshui nodded. "Exactly, dear guest. Not just the Soul-Raising Pill. For instance, the Xuanming Sect on the Douluo Continent is known for their Xuanshui Pill. But that's just a downgraded version of their so-called Xuanwu Divine Pill, which itself is a low-tier copy of our Sun-Moon Divine Pill."
"Sun-Moon Divine Pill? Can I buy that?"
Ruoshui shook her head. "Unfortunately, the Sun-Moon Divine Pill is our most advanced elixir. Only families of Titled Douluo may possess it. It's not available for public purchase."
"I see… I'll ask someone later then."
Xiao Qiang then dialed his soul guide communicator. Within moments, Jing Yun picked up the call.
"What is it?" Jing Yun asked.
"It's like this, Teacher Jing Yun. I'm at the auction house now. I'm planning to buy a Marrow Cleansing Pill for five million and a Soul Ascension Pill for three hundred thousand. Should I pay the 20% markup to buy them now, or wait for the auction and try to save some money by bidding?"
"For the Soul Ascension Pill, just pay the 20% markup. At auction, it often goes above 500,000. As for the Marrow Cleansing Pill—while it's only useful for those below the Six-Ring Soul Emperor, those kinds of people usually have powerful backgrounds and access to innate pills that make the side effects irrelevant. So the Marrow Cleansing Pill rarely gets much attention—it can usually be bought at the starting price."
"But those pills aren't for you, are they? Especially the Marrow Cleansing Pill—it's too early for you to take it."
"It's not for me," Xiao Qiang explained. "Back at the East China Sea Junior Soul Master Academy, I owed Vice President Bai Qingshan a lot of favors. Back then, I was weak and penniless. Now that I have some money, I want to return the kindness."
"…I understand. As long as you're not using them on yourself, that's fine."
After clarifying the pricing situation, Xiao Qiang ended the call and looked at Ruoshui.
"I'll purchase the Soul Ascension Pill in advance. For the Marrow Cleansing Pill, I'll wait and buy it at auction."
"Yes, dear guest," Ruoshui replied respectfully.
Meanwhile, at Mingde Hall, the report about Xiao Qiang's purchase plan quickly reached Jing Hongchen, courtesy of Jing Yun.
"He's spending over five million to prepare pills for a Four-Ring Soul Sect who once helped him?" Jing Hongchen asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, Hall Master," Jing Yun confirmed.
"Not bad… A young man who knows how to repay kindness."
Jing Hongchen smiled faintly.
"Although it's rare, there are people who take all the benefits and then walk away without giving anything back. This one seems better than that."
"Hall Master, you must be joking. Even if someone like that exists, they wouldn't get far in life."
"Not far?" Jing Hongchen snorted coldly. "There's a very famous man with the surname Tang who's gone quite far despite that kind of behavior."
As the head of the Mingde Hall, Jing Hongchen naturally had access to far more intelligence than the average person.
"Famous person with the surname Tang?" Jing Yun was puzzled.
Among the famous Tang surnames, only one came to mind: Tang San.
But… that couldn't be right. How could Tang San possibly be the kind of man who takes everything and gives nothing in return? Wasn't he said to be perfect?