The heavy wooden door of the shop slammed open with cracks.
A gust of eerie air rushed in, curling around the artifacts on the shelves like spectral fingers. The temperature inside the shop dipped unnaturally, and a subtle pressure descended upon the area. Three figures walked in, clad in black-purple robes with silver-hemmed edges. Their steps were silent, yet their presence thundered like the beat of war drums, enough to make anyone under the Elysian stage feel fear.
At the front were two men—one with a haughty demeanor, smirking as if the world owed him reverence; the other, very refined and elegant, with a gaze that carried both calm and caution. Behind then followed a hunched back old woman with cloudy eyes and a walking staff. At first glance, she seemed like a mere elder using her cane for balance. But those somewhat versed in refining treasures, arrays, or even basic alchemy could feel the slight aura from the staff. It was not a crutch, but a weapon!
Tang Jiyan and Dong Chen instinctively tensed, feeling a very oppressive weight from the trio. A faint tremble passed through their bones.
Shen Yuan, however, stood unaffected. With his Divine Sense he could see that the two men were at the early-Elysian stage, while the old woman stood firmly at the mid-Elysian stage.
The arrogant man looked everywhere and then at the front toward the shopkeeper, then sneered. "What is this garbage you are selling here?" His voice, dripping with disdain, echoed across the silent shop.
Tang Jiyan silently leaned closer to Shen Yuan, whispering quickly, "They're from the Moon-Light Sect... that came in sixth place in the first phase of the tournament."
Shen Yuan slowly settled his eyes on them, and analyzed their expressions.
The arrogant man felt eyes on him and then his almost sharp gaze landed on the flute in Shen Yuan's hand. "That's what you came for?" He said with a mocking scoff. "You're here for this garbage?"
Shen Yuan parted his lips to speak but before could respond, the shopkeeper stepped forward and bowed slightly toward the arrogant man, his voice respectful yet nervous. "Senior Yan Bao... I did not expect you to be here so early—"
"Shut up," Yan Bao snapped, glaring. He waved the man off as if swatting a fly, then turned to Shen Yuan again.
"The Twin Soul Sect has really fallen far, accepting people with only strength but no eyes, heh."
Dong Chen and Tang Jiyan bristled, ready to speak, but Shen Yuan calmly raised his hand, blocking them.
His face was expressionless. Distant. Unimpressed. As though Yan Bao's existence barely registered.
Yan Bao, seeing Shen Yuan's reaction, scoffed. "This flute is trash. But I'll take it anyway. Consider it a lesson from your seniors and learn who is more dominant here." He reached for the flute.
But before his fingers could even touch the flute, Shen Yuan spoke with a quiet calm, "If you try that, it'll end badly for you."
Yan Bao halted, then smirked. "You'd fight me for this garbage?"
Before Shen Yuan could answer, Tang Jiyan's voice rang out.
"You've already humiliated enough people, Yan Bao. Do you really need to snatch a trash to feel superior? How insecure are you?"
Yan Bao's face darkened. He turned to Tang Jiyan with venom. "How dare a Nirvana stage ant raise his voice at me? Seems like I have to teach everyone of you a lesson today."
Before the tension could escalate further, the elegant man finally stepped forward, voice smooth and composed.
"How about we have a friendly duel?" He suggested. "Oh and forgive the lack of introductions—I am Luo Nan, senior disciple brother to Yan Bao."
Shen Yuan offered a respectful fist-cup salute in return. "Shen Yuan."
Luo Nan continued with a mild smile, that wasn't really a smile. "Your name echoes across the countries already, though you haven't fought anyone properly yet. My junior disciple brother simply wishes to test your strength, you saw how haughty he can be. Just a friendly duel, nothing more. Of course, no domains will be used, only physical strength."
Yan Bao snorted with a smirk. "If you can take one hit from me and return a counter, I'll back off. If not, you crawl out of this shop, and all the way to the arena."
Shen Yuan smirked, his expression confident and dark. "Is that all? Sure then, I agree."
Yan Bao's eyes gleamed with malice, he didn't feel annoyed this time but threatened by Shen Yuan's expression. He raised his fist, crackling purple lightning dancing across his knuckles. The sound of lightning snapping through the air echoed like the snarls of an angry beast.
"You should've crawled, when I was being generous," he sneered. And then he vanished.
Only Shen Yuan, Luo Nan, and the old woman could follow his movements.
BOOM!
The fist struck Shen Yuan's chest in a second. Thunder crackled. Shelves rattled violently. The defensive array talismans around the shop burned under the pressure of the thunder. Tang Jiyan and Dong Chen instinctively stepped back a few meters.
But then suddenly, Yan Bao's expression twisted in confusion.
Shen Yuan's hand had grabbed his fist mid-strike.
A red aura glimmered faintly around Shen Yuan's grip.
Then with a sonic boom, Shen Yuan punched him in the abdomen with immense force. Yan Bao stumbled back barely able to balance himself, blood spurting from his mouth. The air rippled. Shelves cracked. Dust exploded outward.
Though both had held back a lot, there were still some minor damages.
Rage contorted Yan Bao's face, he felt very humiliated. Thunderous energy surged from his body. He was about to activate his domain.
But Luo Nan grabbed his shoulder, grip firm, and tone harder. "Enough."
Yan Bao growled, "I can't just let him humiliate me like this!"
"If you break your word," Luo Nan said, eyes sharp, "you'll bring shame to the Moon-Light Sect as a palace that goes back on their words."
A long pause. Then Yan Bao exhaled sharply, sneered at Shen Yuan, and looked away.
Luo Nan offered a final bow. "You are indeed worthy of your rising name, brother Shen. My apologies for my junior's rudeness. We shall take our leave now."
The three quickly exited.
But before the old woman stepped out, she paused and looked back. Her cloudy gaze rested long on Shen Yuan, he looked at her as well with narrowed eyes, then she slowly looked away and departed silently.
Outside, as they left the marketplace—
"How could he match me, an early-stage Elysian cultivator?" Yan Bao hissed.
Luo Nan's expression was unreadable. "Strange indeed. If my calculations are correct, only his speed should be comparable to an early-Elysian cultivator, strength should be way lower, as for the domain… it is somewhat similar in terms of power to an early-Elysian cultivator, but the only disadvantage is that Shen Yuan's domain is a pseudo-domain and unlike a true domain it isn't completely formed and needs a trigger to activate. We'll have to look into him."
After a moment of silence, the old woman finally spoke, "I saw something you both missed. His fist glowed red—not lightning, not fire. Something very strange. That red light... it's what allowed him to meet your strength. His true strength would probably be lower than that."
Luo Nan frowned slightly. "I see. Thank you for your hard work, Elder Cui."
The old woman called Elder Cui waved them off. "It was no big deal for me."
Then they vanished into the crowd.
Back in the shop, Tang Jiyan stared at Shen Yuan. "That lightning of his… is poisonous, you know. Even early Elysian stage cultivators would get paralyzed for a few minutes. How did you resist that?"
Shen Yuan gave a vague smile. "It's just my cultivation method, nothing more."
Tang Jiyan didn't press further. He knew Shen Yuan wouldn't answer even if he asked.
Shen Yuan then tossed a small pouch onto the counter. "Three hundred gold coins."
The shopkeeper bowed gratefully, and the trio left.
As they wandered away from the area, Dong Chen stretched and groaned. "Did you hear that shopkeeper call Shen Yuan an 'Old Master'?"
Tang Jiyan spoke with a smile, "Yeah, it was funny and weird kind of."
Shen Yuan nodded. "Well, technically we're all older than him."
Tang Jiyan laughed. "True. It's still weird hearing a middle-aged looking man call us old masters."
Dong Chen sighed and asked in an almost tired tone. "So, what now?"
"I'm going back to refine the flute," Shen Yuan said.
Both looked at him, surprised.
"You know treasure refining?" Tang Jiyan asked.
"Not really," Shen Yuan said with a wry smile. "It's my first try, actually."
"Want help?"
"Nope. I'll do it alone. As a help, just don't disturb me."
They nodded knowingly. Shen Yuan always chose solitude over teamwork.
The moment they parted ways, Shen Yuan vanished—reappearing instantly inside his private room.
He sealed the windows with a flick of his formless grip, then activated a mid-tier grade 6 array, forming a sound-and-sense blocking field around the room. However, it wouldn't stop a late-stage Elysian cultivator or someone even higher or someone with a powerful artifact, but this would suffice for now.
"This is the only sixth-grade defensive array I learned," he muttered. "Should've studied more… well can't do anything about that now. The ones from my clone's Asura inheritance memories are all of grade 7 or higher that use the power of rules, I am not at that level yet."
He then went to a side table and lit a sandalwood incense, the rich aroma calming his thoughts. Sitting cross-legged, he placed the flute before him.
Then he pointed two fingers toward his forehead and touched it.
Deep within his mind, old memories stirred—information from three hundred years ago. After going through many memories, he finally found it, the memory where he stored all the methods and techniques from the book that his long lost teacher gave him.
The Dark Qi Condensation Method.
A sinister smile touched Shen Yuan's lips.
"I wonder where the teacher is actually, never met him more than 2 times before… well anyways I can worry about that later, for now lets focus on refining this flute!"