The Martial Saint rose to power starting as a substitute bridegroom.

The entire room fell silent, and all eyes were on the boy.

The boy's eyes widened in surprise, and his face turned pale instantly, because he realized that everyone here was either masked or wearing a mask, and he was the only one who had not made any attempt to conceal himself.

In his panic, the boy pulled out a handkerchief and covered his mouth and nose before finding a place to sit down.

In reality, this is just self-deception. Everyone has seen what this person looks like, so whether the face is covered or not makes no difference.

It seems that not everyone who comes for the first time makes preparations in advance.

Li Yuan frowned slightly, because this person was none other than his junior brother from the Green Ox Martial Arts Society, Lu Qing, the genius.

This guy is really desperate and grasping at straws.

They came without thoroughly investigating the black market auction, revealing their true identities.

On stage, the scarred man cleared his throat and then shouted, "Five hundred taels, any higher?"

...

Subsequently, items such as leather armor supposedly impervious to blades and spears, strangely colored animal bones, and tattered scrolls with blurred writing were auctioned off amidst a flurry of bids.

"The next item is the highlight of this auction!"

The scarred man kept everyone in suspense, then picked up a small green bottle from a copper tray belonging to a woman in a cheongsam.

The cheongsam's slit reached all the way to her waist, revealing her entire round, snow-white thigh and the faintly visible bra, but everyone's attention was clearly not on that, but rather fixed on the small green bottle.

A series of swallowing sounds rang out.

With a hint of smugness, the scarred man held the small green bottle high: "Minor Qi-Nourishing Pill! Made by Master Alchemist Mo Xuan of the Gui Cang Alliance! No need for further introduction! Starting bid: five hundred taels of silver!"

A moment of silence fell over the scene.

Li Yuan's heart sank inexplicably. The starting price was only five hundred taels?

He glanced at Lu Qing out of the corner of his eye and saw that Lu Qing's gaze was burning as he stared blankly at the small green bottle in the scarred man's hand, while his teeth were tightly biting his lower lip.

"Five hundred and fifty taels!" A hoarse voice rang out from the corner.

Lu Qing's eye twitched almost imperceptibly, and he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Six hundred taels!"

It seems this is the highest price he can afford.

"Six hundred and fifty taels!" The man's voice rose several octaves, as if he were retaliating.

"Guest number five, six hundred and fifty taels! Anyone else offering a higher price?" the scarred man shouted.

Lu Qing slumped back in his chair, his shoulders relaxed, and lowered his head.

Li Yuan decided to wait and see.

"Nine hundred taels!" The young man in seat number seven gestured to one of his four attendants and announced a despairing price.

While Lesser Qi-Nourishing Pills are rare, they are not without substitutes. Lesser Qi-Nourishing Powder and exotic beast meat, though less effective, can compensate for their lack of quality if consumed in large quantities.

Normally, Xiao Peiyuan San costs fifty taels and Xiao Peiyuan Dan costs around one hundred taels, but as the martial arts exam approaches, the prices of both have skyrocketed, with Xiao Peiyuan Dan being speculated to be around five hundred taels.

Now, the auction price has almost doubled again.

Li Yuan was relieved; he had only prepared 750 taels, so it seemed there was no hope.

However, he stayed here to see who would ultimately win the Lesser Qi-Nourishing Pill.

"Nine hundred taels, is there any more...?" The scarred man became excited.

"Nine hundred and fifty taels." The attendant next to the slender man in seat number nine gestured.

"One thousand two hundred taels!" The young man in seat number seven sounded somewhat dissatisfied, and even threatening.

After a moment's thought, the man in number nine gestured with the amount of 1,300 taels.

"Five thousand five hundred taels!" The man number seven couldn't contain himself and stood up abruptly.

The man with number nine then made a gesture indicating 1,600 taels.

The entire venue fell silent, everyone waiting to see the final outcome of this war without gunfire.

The man in seat number seven clearly looked more important, and the four burly men behind him didn't seem like good people.

In comparison, the man with number nine was less imposing, even though his two guards were quite good, he was still outnumbered.

The young man number seven was panting heavily. He exchanged a glance with the people behind him, then sat down, seemingly giving up on the bidding.

However, when his gaze swept over the man number nine, a fleeting chill ran through him.

Seeing the expressions and behavior of Number Nine and his companions, those who originally wanted to bid had to swallow their pride. At this moment, everyone was sweating for Number Nine.

"Sixteen thousand, any higher?!" The scarred man raised the auction gavel.

Out of the corner of Li Yuan's eye, he saw that Lu Qing's expression was ashen.

"Sold for 1,600 taels! This one-of-a-kind Minor Qi-Nourishing Pill belongs to Young Master Number Nine!" The scarred man brought down the gavel.

"The next item up for auction is truly remarkable..."

Number Nine didn't linger any longer, got up, and hurriedly left through the back door with two guards.

Seeing this, Number Seven stood up, gave a wink to the four people behind him, and they hurriedly left through the back door.

Li Yuan frowned. Given the situation, it wasn't hard to guess that a fierce battle was about to break out outside, which might be a good opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

Just as he was about to get up and leave to see what was going on, the shouts of the scarred man on the stage caught his attention.

"...The Tai Chi Qiankun Manual! A secret martial art that is never passed down to outsiders!"

Li Yuan froze, "Tai Chi Qian Kun Jue?"

It was the stance training that came with the Tai Chi Palm manual I had.

If you haven't practiced Tai Chi Palm before, it's because you didn't have the corresponding stance training. If you rush into learning it, you won't be able to fully grasp its essence, and it might even make your Qi and blood become mixed up.

Discussions arose from the crowd.

"Zhengyi Sect? Is that the great martial arts sect with a history of over a thousand years, renowned throughout the world?"

"Yes, I also heard it from an elder in my family. Until two hundred years ago, the entire Zhengyi Clan moved away and went into seclusion, disappearing from the martial arts world..."

"The lineage of Tai Chi is indeed terrifying! But it's just a technique; without the corresponding martial arts techniques, it can't fully unleash its power! Moreover, I've heard that the Tai Chi Qiankun Technique can only be practiced by those with a cultivation level of Dark Force or higher, and it's extremely difficult. Even if an ordinary person spends their entire life on it, they'll hardly gain anything worthwhile."

"In that case, instead of wasting time on such illusory things, it would be more practical to seriously learn a matching cultivation method or martial art..."

"Furthermore, it is still unknown whether this 'Tai Chi Qian Kun Jue' is genuine or not. If it is a fraud, practicing it may be more harmful than beneficial."

"Then you don't have to film it!"

...

The scarred man on the stage became restless and gestured for everyone to be quiet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this cultivation method was actually consigned to us by a distinguished guest for auction. As for its authenticity, that guest has already verified part of it for us. Putting aside everything else, the first three levels are all cultivable."

He originally thought that the appearance of this lost martial arts technique would surely cause a sensation, but the result was far beyond his expectations.

Most people didn't seem very interested.

Although the technique is exquisite and profound, it belongs to the superior martial arts.

But no one dared to gamble, because the practice of the technique affected the smooth flow of qi and blood. Although the Tai Chi lineage was renowned, the effect could only be achieved by reaching the top level and combining it with corresponding martial arts techniques. Otherwise, it was not as reliable and practical as other relatively ordinary matching techniques.

But some people are willing to give it a try.

"Two hundred taels!"

"Three hundred taels!"

...

The price quickly reached five hundred taels.

"Six hundred taels!" Lu Qing said from the corner, his gaze firm and determined.

"Six hundred and fifty taels!" A fat middle-aged man retorted without backing down.

"Seven hundred taels!" Lu Qing's eyes were bloodshot. Clearly, this was the absolute limit for him. It wasn't just the six hundred taels of silver notes he had brought with him; he even had to give up the black jade thumb ring on his thumb.

He has never taken off this ring, which symbolizes his identity, ever since he put it on.

Li Yuan raised his hand and slowly gestured "seven hundred and fifty taels".

"The guest in seat number seventeen has bid seven hundred and fifty taels. Is there anyone bidding higher?" the scarred man on the stage said.

Li Yuan felt the chill in Lu Qing's gaze, but through the mask, he couldn't tell who he was.

"...Since there's no higher level, then this 'Tai Chi Qian Kun Jue' belongs to guest number seventeen!"

Looking at Lu Qing again, his chest heaved violently as he slammed his hand on the armrest.

Li Yuan felt a surge of excitement.

It could be considered a case of losing one thing but gaining another.

He put away the manual, got up and left through the back door without lingering. He hadn't gone far when he heard a fierce fight coming from near the tree-lined path ahead.

The night was hazy.

Li Yuan took a deep breath, stepped forward lightly, and leaped down, landing steadily on a branch, coldly watching the scene below.

"Hand over the goods and you'll suffer less." The man number seven at the auction stared coldly at the three men, especially the slender boy number nine in the middle, with a sinister look in his eyes.

No nonsense.

The two guards beside the boy in the ochre cloak roared simultaneously, pushed off the stone slab with their feet, and shot out like arrows.

The person in front used a palm strike, aiming straight for the other person's neck;

The man behind him delivered a swift and powerful low sweep aimed at the opponent's lower body.

The four burly guards behind the man number seven suddenly rushed forward.

One of them took the blow without flinching or dodging. His large, fan-like hand grabbed the guard's wrist with a loud thud, while his other fist slammed into the guard's heart like a cannonball.

The guard twisted his body to deflect the force, and the punch grazed his ribs, tearing his clothes in the gust of wind.

Seeing that things were not going well, the slender boy immediately turned around and ran away.

The man with the number seven smirked and chased after him like lightning.

On the other side, a guard who was sweeping low was blocked by the strong man's leg, and the shin bones collided, making a tooth-grinding "thud".

The guard grunted and paused slightly. The burly man grinned and pounced on him, his thick arms like iron hoops grabbing him around the waist. With a forceful lift and throw, he slammed him down!

The guard was slammed heavily onto the stone pavement, the sound of his back hitting the ground heavy and dust flying everywhere.

Before he could even turn over, a large foot in a hard-soled leather boot stomped down hard, hitting him squarely in the chest.

The clear sound of bones cracking was muffled in his chest cavity. The guard spat out blood and foam, twitched twice, and then stopped moving.

Seeing his companion die a horrible death, the guard who wielded the palms was filled with rage. He flew his palms around, disregarding his own safety, and desperately launched an attack.

His palm was indeed hard, and it struck a burly man's shoulder, tearing his clothes and leaving his skin ripped open.

But the burly man didn't even utter a sound, and instead punched him in the armpit.

The guard's body went numb, his movements became distorted, and another burly man had already circled around to his side and back, locking his throat with his iron arm and simultaneously slamming his knee into his lower back and spine.

"Snap!"

After the sharp crack, the guard's body bent at an odd angle and fell limply, his eyes wide open, still filled with resentment.

From beginning to end, it takes no more than ten breaths.

Two guards lay dead on the spot, blood oozing from their mouths and noses, slowly soaking the stone slab beneath them.

The man number seven leaped forward and stood in front of the slender man number nine.

Four burly men caught up from behind and surrounded the area.

Li Yuan frowned slightly. He had thought that the slender boy's side was no match for them, but he did not expect them to be defeated so quickly and miserably, which was a completely one-sided situation.

It seems that we'll have to put in a lot more effort to win the treasure.

The figure in the ochre cloak stood alone within the encirclement, trembling slightly.

"You can't even run fast, you're like a woman!"

The man with the number seven grinned, revealing yellow teeth, and strode forward, his movements so fast they left afterimages.

With one large hand, he flung open the wide ochre hood, and with the other, he precisely tore off the mask that covered most of his face.

Moonlight streamed down, and her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall.

A pale, delicate face was exposed to the cold air, her eyes filled with suppressed panic, yet still exuding an indelible air of nobility.

Song Ziwei, the eldest daughter of the Song family in Linjiang City.

Li Yuan's heart suddenly tightened.

To be honest, Song Ziwei couldn't buy the Lesser Qi-Nourishing Pill at the pharmacy, but she got some information about a possible black market auction, so she disguised herself and came to try her luck.

At this moment, Song Ziwei was terrified. She never expected that her attempt to help Li Yuan bid for a Small Qi-Nourishing Pill would lead to such a huge disaster.

She originally thought that having two guards at the peak of the Ming Jin realm would ensure everything was foolproof.

I never expected to encounter such a powerful opponent.

In an instant, I felt utterly hopeless, but I had to remind myself to stay calm.

"I am the eldest daughter of the Song family," her voice finally rang out, trembling slightly, yet she struggled to remain calm, "Aren't you afraid of retaliation from the Song family for doing this?"

The burly men visibly froze, their heavy breathing clearly audible.

The Song family's weight is as heavy as a boulder.

The muscles in the seventh man's cheeks twitched, and greed and ferocity struggled fiercely in his eyes.

He spat out a mouthful of saliva, his eyes turning utterly ruthless: "Damn it! If we kill her, how will the Song family know? Go!"

Once the intention to kill was formed, there was no more hesitation.

The burly man grinned and reached out his large hand, his five fingers like hooks, to grab Song Ziwei's slender and fragile throat. His fingers had already touched the fine hairs on her neck.

Song Ziwei closed her eyes in despair.

"puff!"

A strange, muffled thud, like a sack full of grain being smashed by a hammer.

The burly man who was grabbing at Song Ziwei suddenly froze, his eyes bulged out, and a strange "clucking" sound came from his throat.

He looked down and saw a fist pressed against his chest, causing his chest to cave in slightly and instantly become covered with frost.

Blood spurted from his mouth and nose, and his massive body slumped backward, kicking up a cloud of dust.