Luoyang City was one of the most prosperous cities of the Tang Dynasty, having once been the capital of a previous dynasty. Furthermore, it was the city where Ancestor Allfist spent a good majority of his years when he was still a regular mortal. To martial cultivators, Luoyang was a pilgrimage site, and there were even rumors that Ancestor Allfist had left a secret inheritance for his future tenth disciple.

As a holy ground for martial cultivation, numerous forces had entrenched their influence in Luoyang. Among them was the Shanxi House of Business, or just Shanxi House for short.

Shanxi House was formed by Fan Li, a politician, strategist, and businessman, who later turned to martial cultivation. Despite starting cultivation at a late age, Fan Li was among the few who managed to ascend to a higher realm, and his influence on the world was not one bit inferior to Ancestor Allfist.

Proof of this was that his Shanxi House still existed despite being created over a hundred thousand years ago. In modern times, Shanxi was still the number one merchant company in the Allfist Realm, and the Fan Clan main branch was equal to the most powerful dynasties, clans, and sects.

The current patriarch was Fan Zhongyan and was said to have four sons and three daughters, each brilliant in their own way.

However, none of this was related to the current Leng Junfeng. He wanted to borrow the power of the Shanxi Auction House to auction his physique transforming fruits. Although the auction house would take twenty percent as commission, Leng Junfeng still chose them because they were known to be trustworthy. Not to mention, the Shanxi House also operated as an information agency.

Leng Junfeng wanted to discover which force killed his clan, but his personal connections and powers were not enough to investigate the truth, so he wanted to borrow Shanxi House’s power to discover the truth.

“Dear customer, please bring forth the items you would like to auction.” The receptionist, a pretty lady in uniform, smiled and said. As a receptionist responsible for the preliminary inspection of items, she was a body transformation skin toughening acolyte.

She did not show any disdain for Leng Junfeng despite his haggard appearance from being tort—trained by Fenghua and spending over a week on the road.

She was very professional, okay?

Leng Junfeng had entered the auction house and waited for his turn to present his wares. Unless you were a VIP or had connections, you had to wait in line to get your item appraised. And even then, over ninety-five percent of the items did not pass their inspection. As the premier auction house of the Allfist Realm, how could ordinary items meet their standards?

Leng Junfeng reached into his robes, pulled out a fruit, and placed it on a tray in front of the receptionist.

“Let’s see,” The receptionist brought the tray up and inspected the item, and very soon, she was shocked by the dense spiritual qi within the fruit. Knowing that the fruit was out of her league, she said, “Please hold on while I bring the item to the master appraiser.”

Leng Junfeng waited in line, ignoring the stares that were digging into him by the people in line. Although he had not cultivated most of his life, he was still the son of the Leng Clan’s patriarch, after all. He had seen all sorts of rare treasures, and the physique transforming fruit was a heaven-defying item.

For geniuses, the fruit was useless, but what about the sons and daughters of masters and grandmasters who couldn’t cultivate like their parents? Most would spare no effort to purchase it for their children.

Soon the receptionist returned, but without the tray and fruit. "Mister Leng, please follow me."

Leng Junfeng nodded and followed the receptionist into a small room. At the center were a tea table and four chairs. "Please have some tea."

The receptionist seamlessly switched into the role of a maid and elegantly poured a cup of tea for the teen. Leng Junfeng picked up the tea and tasted it.

"Hmmm," Uttering a noncommittal grunt, Leng Junfeng placed the teacup back down. Back at the Leng Clan, he was served even better tea.

Not long after, an elderly gentleman entered the room. Despite being seemingly frail, Leng Junfeng felt a sense of danger. Fenghua knew why. It was because the man was at the Bone Refinement Stage.

"I'll get straight to the point, Mister Leng. The Shanxi House would directly purchase this fruit from you for a hundred thousand gold." The elderly man directly said.

Leng Junfeng was dazzled by the price. Even the Leng Clan couldn't easily bring out a hundred thousand gold in liquid assets. He had to bite down the urge to immediately agree and seriously ponder the matter.

Usually, when an auction house offered to purchase an item directly, it meant that the auction house wanted the item but had no confidence in purchasing the item at the auction.

Leng Junfeng's second urge was to disagree, but he stopped that too. Although the Shanxi Auction House was trustworthy and held their word, it didn't mean they couldn't play some small tricks, such as auctioning it off without announcing it in the itinerary and on an unpopular day.

"I agree, but instead of gold, I have three conditions," said Leng Junfeng.

"Please speak," the elderly man said.

"First, I want you to promise complete confidentiality on my identity."

"Consider it done."

"Second, instead of gold, I want a movement and defensive techniques."

"What kind?"

"Whatever you think the fruit is worth."

Sly brat. The elderly man thought but still nodded his head.

"And third," Leng Junfeng brought out the remaining two fruits. "I want to auction these two at the highest possible price."

"This?!" The elderly man sucked in a cold breath at the two new additions to the table. He sent a deep look at Leng Junfeng before standing up. "Please give me some time to consider."

"Take your time." Leng Junfeng said, seemingly unconcerned.

The elderly man nodded and left, but not before giving a look at the receptionist-turned-maid.

"Mister Leng, would you like anything while you wait?" The receptionist asked, her smile taking on a flattering tone.

Leng Junfeng shook his head and waited for the elderly man to return. Once he returned, the elderly man sat down and said, "We can do it for two fruits."

A smile graced Leng Junfeng's face. "Then the conditions will need to be different."

"Naturally," The elderly man said as he and Leng Junfeng began to haggle.

Near the end, Leng Junfeng placed down his final condition. "I need to find out who exterminated the Leng Clan."

The elderly man didn't show any shock on his face and only quieted for a moment. "That can be done."

"Then we have a deal."

Both Leng Junfeng and the elderly man saluted the other by cupping their fist in the other hand, a satisfied expression on their face.

"Mister Leng, please follow me. The curator has decided that your physique-transforming fruit will be auctioned at the end of the month, along with other valuable items, such as the Vitality Rejuvenation Herb. We have prepared an abode for you while you wait for the auction and the items you seek." The receptionist said with a smile.

Leng Junfeng nodded and followed her.

In another room, the curator, the elderly man that had spoken with Leng Junfeng earlier, bowed to a man who seemed to be in his late twenties. Next to him lay two fruits on the table. "Third Young Master, I've done as you told."

The man was Fan Chunli, the third son of Patriarch Fan Zhongyan. "Un. You did well. You can leave now."

The curator bowed once more and retreated out of the room, making sure to close the doors as he left. Once he was alone, Fan Chunli released a sigh and picked up one of the fruits. "With this, younger sister will finally be able to cultivate."

The younger sister he spoke of was his sister from the same mother, not his half-sisters of the same father. Patriarch Fan had three wives, each of whom bore him a son, and as a result, the competition to become the next clan head was particularly brutal.

The next patriarch could only be the most outstanding and was not passed down according to age. As long as the four brothers did not cross the bottom line, their father was happy to see them compete using any means necessary. This was also the reason why the Fan Clan could exist today as a top-tier force.

Because each successive head was bathed in gunpowder and blood as the current patriarch had.

Back with Leng Junfeng, he picked up the two books that had been delivered to him. He was given a mansion in the wealthy district of Luoyuan, and it was filled with servants that catered to his every need. He didn’t explore the mansion at all, and impatiently went to the training ground and read the two techniques.

Swift Falcon Steps was a top-tier movement technique that allowed the user to have a near-weightless body, able to traverse both the ground and any footholds such as tree branches. He could even run through snow without leaving a single footprint once mastered.

Hundred Turtle Defense was a defensive technique that allowed the user to momentarily toughen their skin to reach the level of iron and contract their muscles to prevent any penetrative damage. Not only that, it allowed the user to survive in disastrous environments such as underwater or near lava.

"Teacher, how are these two?" Leng Junfeng asked.

"Don't know, they're too low level for me. Compared to techniques that use qi, they focus more on bodily aspects." Fenghua admitted. "Well, I'll advise you if it is detrimental to you."

Leng Junfeng considered asking for different techniques, but recalling that his teacher was from a higher realm, perhaps her standards were just too high. Leng Junfeng was still pleased with these two techniques chosen by the Shanxi House. He had read some martial manuals in the Leng Clan, but it was when he still didn’t want to submit to his fate, so it was a long time ago. He had long forgotten what he had read.

Leng Junfeng walked out of the halls towards the training grounds. As a mansion owned by the Shanxi House, how could their mansion not be equipped with such a facility?

The first technique Leng Junfeng started to learn was Swift Falcon Steps. In two weeks, the tiled ground was littered with cracks due to Leng Junfeng using too much strength in his legs. When the art was mastered, there should be no visible effect on where the user stepped, and all the force should be used to move the user.

"I finally got the basics down." Leng Junfeng said. He wanted to move onto learning the Hundred Turtle Defense technique, but tomorrow was the day of the auction where his physique transforming fruit would be auctioned, so it was better to allow his body and mind to rest.

"Done?" Fenghua asked as she walked next to Leng Junfeng.

"For now." Leng Junfeng said. He paused as if he thought of something. "Sorry for making you stay with me. If you want, Teacher can go sightseeing. No one will dare to attack me here."

"I've already had," Fenghua said to Leng Junfeng's shock. "What? Did you really think I was staying with you twenty-four-seven? Naive."

Fenghua didn't go out only to sightsee. She was cultivating at the same time.

Fenghua cultivated the Primogenitor Flame Scripture. The flame in the name referred to a real fire, but it also referred to the will of man. When spiritual qi was sparse, she could substitute it with human emotions, and Luoyuan was a hub of human emotions.

Although cultivating this way won't raise her cultivation quickly, but it allowed her to gain a deeper understanding of the Primogenitor Flame Scripture, which was beneficial for her recovery.

"Ahem, then I'll go see Luoyang. This is my first time here, and I want to pay respect to Ancestor Allfist." Leng Junfeng said. Fenghua didn't say anything, but she did jump onto Leng Junfeng's shoulder. The two then left the mansion.

Along the way, the two inspected the various wares that cultivators sold on the streets. Sometimes they went into a shop that interested them and left.

When Shanxi House purchased the two fruits from Leng Junfeng, they had also given him a hundred thousand gold as a complimentary gift, so Leng Junfeng had money to spare. Although carrying a hundred thousand gold was too much, so most of it was converted into banknotes.

When the sun nearly reached the horizon, Leng Junfeng had reached Allfist Temple. It was one of the most magnificent structures in all of Luoyang, and ten-meter high walls fenced it in, preventing onlookers from seeing nothing but the third floor of the temple. The only way to get in was to pass the trial.

As Ancestor Allfist was a martial cultivator, he considered bodily strength to be a foundation, so everyone who wanted to enter had to open the black iron gates by themselves.

Leng Junfeng could see a person attempting the trial. He was a dark-skinned man who appeared to be in his forties. Under his push, the black iron gates were pushed slightly ajar, but the moment he slackened, the gates immediately closed again.

Fenghua judged him to be at the Tendon Reinforcement Stage.

Leng Junfeng couldn't tell and only wanted to give the test a try, so he lined up with the other people who wanted to attempt it. The line wasn't long since unless you made a breakthrough and advanced to the next stage, your strength wouldn't increase, and you would be met with the same results ninety-nine percent of the time. Most people had already attempted, and wouldn’t come back unless they had advanced or mastered a new technique.

There were even horror stories of people overestimating themselves who pushed their body in the slight gap before fully opening the gate, resulting in their body being crushed in half from the closing gates.

Not long after, it was Leng Junfeng's turn. He placed both his hands on the gate and began to push. It was as if the two gates were permanent fixtures into the earth, unable to budge even a smidge.

The crowd only shook their heads and laughed. They could see that Leng Junfeng was very young, so they didn't think he had enough strength to open the gate or even move it. However, they were soon shocked to see the gate move slightly, causing their eyes to nearly pop out.

Leng Junfeng continued to push, the strength granted by the Dragon Elephant Transformation Manual boosted by his qi from the Wood Book of the Five Element Method and his Broad Stream Physique gave him unnaturally large stamina. His strength was also good, his stamina was even better, allowing him to push the door a meter apart through sheer perseverance.

But that was his limit as he ran out of strength and was pushed back by the closing gate.

Leng Junfeng sighed and looked at the black iron gates with unwillingness. So close, he thought. If he reached the next stage, he would definitely be able to open the gate.

"Hm?" Leng Junfeng felt his shoulder lighten and saw Fenghua jump in front of the gate. Just as he was about to ask what she was doing, he saw Fenghua slap the gate with two of her three tails.

BAM!

The gate slammed open as if they were made of paper and someone had taken a hammer to them. Under the disbelieving eyes of the crowd, Fenghua held her little fox head high and walked through the black iron gates, which slowly closed not long after.

Leng Junfeng made a bitter smile. Sure enough, Teacher is Teacher.

He blinked when he heard the sound of gates being slammed open again. Is there more than one trial?