Chapter 23: Rejection

Chapter 23: Rejection

Noticing the elderly man's gaze, Lin Shen was offended. He stopped the meaningless conversation and randomly picked one of the three secret manuals.
"Alright, cut the crap. We're even now. Goodbye!"
Without waiting for the elderly man's response, he left in a hurry.
Lin Shen feared if he stayed any longer, he wouldn't be able to withstand this wretched elderly man and beat him up.
The elderly man's energetic voice came from behind.
"If you find it effective, come back and visit me again!"
Lin Shen quickened his pace without looking back.
It wasn't until he was a distance away that he took out the secret manual and took a look.
It was Dragon Spear.
Lin Shen flipped open the secret manual and skimmed through it.
To his disappointment, it was filled with unsightly drawings and words.
"I knew it. How can a real powerful cultivation technique be obtained so easily? Hermits and unknown experts only exist in novels and movies. They can't be found in the real world."
Shaking his head, Lin Shen put away the Dragon Spear.
After all, he had spent 20 spirit coins on it. It would be a waste to throw it away. He would put it next to his pillow when he returned home to remind himself day and night that he couldn't take any chances in the future.
Ten minutes later, he arrived at the shop mentioned in the notebook.
From the outside, the shop looked like an ordinary grocery store. There was nothing special about it.
He pushed open the half-closed door, and the only light came from an incandescent lamp. The dim light gave off a sinister atmosphere.
Behind the counter facing the door, a chubby, balding middle-aged man was focused on a magazine. His expression was extremely serious.
Had it not been for the scantily clad woman on the cover of the magazine, Lin Shen would have thought the man was studying academic knowledge.
Hearing Lin Shen's footsteps, the balding shop owner reluctantly looked away from the magazine and looked up at Lin Shen. He sized him up a few times and said coldly, "What do you want to buy?"
"Condensing Liquid," Lin Shen answered, looking around the shop with subtle movements.
There were only two shelves in the cramped shop, and on them were some seemingly worthless goods.
After taking a few glances, Lin Shen retracted his gaze with little interest.
The items displayed on the shelves were obviously meant to fool the public. The truly valuable goods were probably hidden elsewhere.
That was normal. In a chaotic place like the black street, openly placing valuable things outside was no different from inviting thieves and burglars to come and snatch them!
Hearing what Lin Shen said, the balding owner looked at him in surprise. It was probably very rare for anyone to buy something as useless as Condensing Liquid.
However, he had no intention of probing further and directly asked, "2,000 spirit coins per liter. How much do you want?"
"Five liters!"
Lin Shen's understanding of the Condensing Liquid all came from the notebook. The specific effects of the liquid had yet to be verified, so he didn't dare to buy too much at once.
Five liters of Condensed Liquid was comparable to five bottles of Essence Tempering Pills. If everything went smoothly, this much would be enough for him to advance his cultivation from the seventh to the eighth level of the Qi Transformation Stage.
It wouldn't be too late to buy more after he made sure the Condensing Liquid was really effective.
Not many people would compete with him over such a thing.
The balding shop owner seemed to think only the poorest people would buy the Condensing Liquid, so he had no intention of trying to sell other goods to Lin Shen. He said very little this whole time. After taking the money, he took out a small box from under the counter.
Lin Shen took a look. The box was filled with reagent bottles containing a light green liquid. Each was about 100ml, and there were 50 in total.
After all the bottles were counted for, Lin Shen turned around and left with the box.
He didn't put the box into his storage jade plate on the spot.
One shouldn't reveal one's wealth. The storage jade plate was extremely precious. If one didn't have sufficient strength but dared to use it on a black street, it would be no different from a child carrying gold through a busy street. They would probably get mobbed before they even walked out of the black street.
On the way back, Lin Shen left the black street smoothly.
After running for more than half an hour under the night sky, he successfully returned to the apartment with the Condensing Liquid.
Looking at the box of Condensing Liquid, Lin Shen smiled from the bottom of his heart.
With the Essence Tempering Pills and the Condensing Liquid, he didn't need to worry about lacking cultivation resources before breaking through to Level 8.
Moreover, if he could obtain first place in the competition, he could obtain another bottle of Origin Pills.
"The competition is in eight days."
Lin Shen looked at the dark night outside the window, his eyes flickering.
…
In the brightly lit suite, Yan Xing leaned lazily on the sofa and stared at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling without saying a word.
Since he didn't speak, Zhou Zhihai, who was sitting opposite him, didn't dare to speak without permission. He could only suppress his anxiety and wait quietly. Soon, a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.
After a long while,
Yan Xing started talking slowly. His tone didn't reveal anything.
"You want me to help you teach Lin Shen a lesson?"
Zhou Zhihai secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He didn't wipe his sweat and hurriedly said, "Mr. Yan, that kid has gone too far. In private, he has no respect for us influential families. If we don't teach him a lesson and what he did spreads, wouldn't it ruin the reputation of our families?"
"Reputation?"
Yan Xing glanced at Zhou Zhihai indifferently.
"You lost to Lin Shen in a one-on-one battle. Your skills are inferior. If you really had any reputation, you would have lost it long ago."
Zhou Zhihai's expression froze, and more sweat immediately appeared on his forehead. He summoned up his courage and said,
"Mr. Yan…"
But as soon as he spoke, Yan Xing raised his hand and cut him off.
"I won't interfere in this matter. You're on your own."
Zhou Zhihai was shocked. "Mr. Yan!"
Unfortunately, Yan Xing didn't want to talk to him anymore. He raised his finger, and a bodyguard beside him immediately pressed Zhou Zhihai's shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Zhou, sorry about this!"
Zhou Zhihai's expression changed several times. In the end, he lowered his head dejectedly and walked out of the room under the escort of his bodyguards.
Yan Xing watched as Zhou Zhihai disappeared behind the door, and a look of contempt flashed in his eyes.
"What an insatiable man! I only let you follow me around because you're from one of the declining old families. You actually want to use me to stand up for you. How incredible!"
With a snort, Yan Xing's eyes flickered, and he summoned a bodyguard.
"Investigate Lin Shen's background!"
"Yes, Sir!" The bodyguard replied and left.
In the blink of an eye, only Yan Xing was left in the suite.
]He leaned back on the leather sofa and looked up at the crystal chandelier above his head.
"A commoner genius? Interesting."
…
Zhou Zhihai walked out of the hall with a gloomy expression.
His companions, who had been waiting impatiently outside, immediately went forward and asked anxiously,
"Hai, how did it go?"
"Did Mr. Yan agree to help?"
Zhou Zhihai's face twitched as he shook his head with a darkened face.
Everyone was disappointed.
"If Mr. Yan doesn't make a move, how are we going to get back at that boy?"
"What else can we do? Lin Shen is so powerful. We're not his match at all!"
Hearing this, Zhou Zhihai's face darkened. He felt a dull pain in his right palm, which had already recovered as if the humiliation and pain from that night had reappeared.
His expression changed indeterminately for a moment before he suddenly gritted his teeth and said fiercely,
"Even if Mr. Yan doesn't help me, I must teach Lin Shen a lesson!
"If I don't take revenge for that slap, I won't be able to take this lying down!"