"The Gale Darts I promised you before," Yuan Shang said, opening the box with a smile. "This has been lying around in the warehouse for a long time. Hardly anyone uses it, so you can have them."

Previously, Li Ming's hidden weapons had made Xu Ke quite envious, and Yuan Shang had offered to get him some Gale Darts at the time.

The box opened to reveal sixteen darts shimmering with a snowy radiance, looking incredibly sharp.

Xu Ke took one out and caressed it lightly. "The True Qi conductivity in this is something else..." he exclaimed in surprise.

With my True Qi enhancement, this dart could probably damage the Protective True Qi of an Innate Mid Stage cultivator.

The power was terrifying!

"Of course," Yuan Shang said, raising an eyebrow. "Would I bring out anything substandard?"

Xu Ke nodded. "These can't be used as disposable weapons. I'll have to retrieve them after each use."

A smile spread across Yuan Shang's face.

"Thanks a lot!" Xu Ke said earnestly as he took the box.

This time, the haul was substantial.

"Hahaha," Chen Xiong chuckled, patting Xu Ke on the shoulder. "Don't be in such a hurry. Now that you've got these, come with me to my old friend's place to pick some herbs."

"My old friend's warehouse is even more impressive."

Xu Ke was suddenly eager. "Alright!"

Who knew what kind of herbs he might find... This was something Xu Ke was really looking forward to.

「...」

This time, only Xu Ke and Chen Xiong went out. Yuan Shang had to stay at the Martial Alliance to handle the return procedures for the treasury guards. With Chen Xiong's formidable strength and Xu Ke being no slouch either, the two of them didn't even need bodyguards. They simply got in a car and left the Martial Alliance.

Xu Ke sat in the driver's seat and joked, "Grandpa Chen, if I pick something too expensive later, don't complain about the cost."

Chen Xiong's offer was to pay for whatever herbs Xu Ke chose. If he picked something particularly precious, the price would naturally be high.

However, Xu Ke wouldn't actually let Chen Xiong spend too much. The trouble was started by Chen Haiming and had nothing to do with Chen Xiong. A young man's mess shouldn't be a burden for an old man to clean up.

"Not at all, not at all," Chen Xiong said with a wave of his hand. "Just go ahead and pick whatever you want."

"However, my old friend can be a bit temperamental. If he refuses to sell, then I'll just find the same herbs for you on the market."

Xu Ke was a little taken aback when he heard this. A bit temperamental?

Just then, Chen Xiong said, "Xu Ke, turn left up ahead. I already arranged for him to let us see his treasury. He's having a meal with someone at a restaurant today, but he should be about done. We can go find him there directly."

Hearing this, Xu Ke nodded and drove in the direction Chen Xiong indicated.

「Fengming Pavilion.」

Xu Ke parked the car and looked up. Three gilded characters hung right before his eyes. The restaurant's pagoda-like exterior stood in stark contrast to the city's forest of high-rises, giving it a unique charm.

"He's eating on the seventh floor. Let's go," Chen Xiong said with a smile, walking over to Xu Ke after getting out of the car.

Xu Ke hesitated. "They're in the middle of a meal. Isn't it a bit rude for us to barge in?"

"It's fine. He told me himself to come find him when I arrived. He said the person he's with is asking him for a favor, so we don't need to worry about interrupting," Chen Xiong explained.

Xu Ke chuckled to himself. Chen Xiong's old friend sure was casual.

Fengming Pavilion was a famous restaurant in Tianhai, and reservations were usually required. But with Chen Xiong's status, he didn't need one to enter a place like this. In Tianhai's top circles, everyone knew who he was. The owner of Fengming Pavilion would have naturally instructed his staff to remember Chen Xiong's face.

So, Xu Ke followed him straight up.

「The Seventh Floor.」

Xu Ke stood at the door of a private room named 'Years Like a Dream.' A small plaque on the door indicated it was a private room for two. Seeing that Fengming Pavilion had such intimate private rooms, Xu Ke made a mental note to consider it for future discussions.

Chen Xiong stood in front of him. "Wait a moment, I'll send him a text."

"Okay!" Xu Ke nodded. He wasn't in a hurry and took the opportunity to look around.

A short while later, the door to the private room suddenly opened, and a young man stepped out.

"Alliance Leader Chen, Doctor Yang said to ask if you could please wait a little longer. He's still discussing something," the man said with a smile as he approached Chen Xiong.

Chen Xiong was taken aback for a moment before letting out a chuckle. "This guy is so unreliable. He didn't even bother to mention it."

"If I'd known, I wouldn't have come so early..."

Chen Xiong was just about to turn and apologize to Xu Ke when he noticed something peculiar.

The young man had caught sight of Xu Ke and now exclaimed in surprise, "Dr. Xu, what brings you here?!"

Xu Ke was also stunned. "Xiao Ji?"

This young man was none other than Yang Shoukang's male assistant.

Xiao Ji's face lit up with delight and surprise. "Doctor Yang has been dreaming about you these past few days! But when he heard you were busy with the Martial Alliance's selection competition, he told me not to look for you."

During this period, Xiao Ji had witnessed firsthand how Yang Shoukang had been studying acupuncture with such obsessive focus that he forgot to eat or sleep. Xiao Ji didn't know exactly what his mentor was researching, but from Yang Shoukang's occasional exclamations like "How on earth did Xu Ke do that?" and "Xu Ke is truly amazing...", he could deduce at least one thing: Xu Ke was the person on Yang Shoukang's mind the most.

Unfortunately, Xu Ke was too busy, so Xiao Ji couldn't fetch him to ease Doctor Yang's scholarly frustrations. Now, seeing the man himself appear right in front of him, how could Xiao Ji not be thrilled? Honestly, if not for fear of being rude, he would have found a rope to tie Xu Ke up and prevent him from leaving.

"Doctor Yang has been talking about me?" Xu Ke asked, surprised.

"Yes, he often praises you. Sometimes he even thinks about calling to ask you questions," Xiao Ji replied after a moment's thought.

Xu Ke was baffled for a second, but then it dawned on him. Yang Shoukang most likely wants to ask about the Seven-Star Exquisite Needle.

"Hold on a moment," Chen Xiong suddenly said.

Both of them turned to look at him.

"You two..." Chen Xiong pointed at them, surprised. "You know each other?"

"Of course we do," Xu Ke nodded instinctively.

"And you know Yang Shoukang too?"

"Yes!" Xu Ke nodded again.

Then, it hit him. Damn, what a small world! If Yang Shoukang is Chen Xiong's old friend, does that mean I'm supposed to pick herbs from his treasury? There won't be anything to pick! I haven't forgotten that he already showed me his entire collection last time, and I found nothing!

Chen Xiong slapped his forehead. "Silly me, I completely forgot Yang Shoukang is with the Wang Family." Then, he grew excited again. "Since you two know each other, this will be much easier! He definitely won't object to you picking items from his treasury. I was worried his foul temper would make him refuse a stranger."

"Yes, that's right!" Xu Ke forced a smile.

Object? Yang Shoukang would probably just stuff the herbs into my hands himself.

Chen Xiong didn't notice the reluctance in Xu Ke's smile; he was simply pleased. The task of rewarding Xu Ke would be much simpler now.

But he wasn't the only one who was happy. Xiao Ji, standing beside them, was even more so. No, 'excited' would be a more accurate word.

He grabbed Xu Ke, absolutely thrilled. "I never expected to see you here at Fengming Pavilion! Why don't you go in now?"

At these words, the joyful smile on Chen Xiong's face froze.

Didn't Xiao Ji just tell me to wait? So why can Xu Ke go straight in? What about me? This is completely unfair!

Just then, an excited shout came from behind the door. "Where's Dr. Xu?"