Chapter 250: Five Rank

"Why?"

Zhou Yuan was stunned when he heard Cao Jin's words, then frowned and asked, "Is it about the price? Or are you worried I won't be able to refine them? You don't have to concern yourself with that, Manager Cao; I won't overexert myself."

Cao Jin waved his hand awkwardly and said, "It's not that... these three bottles of origin beast essence blood have already been reserved. I brought them out earlier just as a backup, and I didn't expect them to catch your eye." He truly hadn't anticipated Zhou Yuan's discerning taste, dismissing high-grade Rank 4 origin beast essence blood but being drawn to Rank 5 essence blood. One must remember that Rank 5 essence blood was equivalent to the strength of a Divine Dwelling realm expert. An ordinary expert in the First Heaven of the Alpha Origin realm would never dare attempt to refine essence blood of this level.

Zhou Yuan's brows furrowed upon hearing this. He clearly hadn't expected these origin beast essence blood to be reserved. "Are there any other essence blood of the same grade?" he asked.

Cao Jin shook his head. "Our Outer Mountain Linglong Pavilion only has this one backup. After all, we're not the Inner Mountain; if this were the Inner Mountain's Linglong Pavilion, the stock would be plentiful."

Zhou Yuan was a bit speechless. Looking at the three bottles of Rank 5 dragon-type origin beast essence blood, he felt an undeniable urge. He couldn't help but say, "Which fellow disciple reserved them? I'm willing to pay double the price to buy them back." The Nine Dragons Scripture had high requirements for the quality of origin beast essence blood, and Zhou Yuan naturally wanted to achieve perfection, not wanting any flaws to appear.

Cao Jin hesitated upon hearing this. Just as he was about to speak, a light chuckle suddenly came from outside the door, subtly tinged with amusement: "Heh heh, it seems teaching Origin Arts truly is profitable. I never thought there'd be a day when I, Lu Feng, would enjoy such treatment."

The door was pushed open, and Lu Feng, dressed in white, walked in with a faint smile, his gaze playful as he stared at Zhou Yuan. Zhou Yuan's expression couldn't help but sink. He hadn't expected the person who reserved these three bottles of origin beast essence blood to be Lu Feng.

"Are you also cultivating the Nine Dragons Scripture?" Zhou Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly.

"The Nine Dragons Scripture?" Lu Feng chuckled lightly and said, "While that Origin Art is decent, I have better options. Buying these dragon-type origin beast essence blood was just for fun."

A cold glint flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes. Clearly, Lu Feng must have known he was cultivating the Nine Dragons Scripture, and so deliberately intervened, reserving the highest quality origin beast essence blood in the Linglong Pavilion in advance. This way, he could diminish Zhou Yuan's performance at the Selection Ceremony a month later.

"Lu Feng!" Zhou Yuan's gaze turned icy cold. A powerful surge of Origin Qi erupted from his body, golden Origin Qi coiling around him, faintly forming a massive golden python that hissed menacingly at Lu Feng.

"Oh? You want to fight me? Who gave you the guts?" Lu Feng smiled playfully, utterly fearless. His powerful Origin Qi swept out as he stared mockingly at Zhou Yuan.

"Stop right there!" Seeing the two about to come to blows at the drop of a hat, Cao Jin immediately shouted, stepping between them. "Don't you fear punishment for fighting in the Linglong Pavilion?!" With a wave of his hand, many figures emerged from within the Linglong Pavilion, and streams of Origin Qi surged, locking onto both Zhou Yuan and Lu Feng.

Zhou Yuan and Lu Feng's gazes met, both sharp with coldness, but in the end, they both snorted and reined in their Origin Qi. They knew that if they fought here, they would inevitably face punishment and needlessly waste cultivation time.

Lu Feng sneered, then with a flick of his sleeve, his Origin Qi swept away the three bottles of Rank 5 origin beast essence blood from the tabletop. He said indifferently, "Don't worry, I'd rather keep these essence blood and let them go to waste than sell them to you."

The chill in Zhou Yuan's eyes gradually receded at this moment, though deep within his gaze, it was like a frozen lake. He no longer paid attention to Lu Feng, turning instead to Cao Jin and saying, "Manager Cao, please give me the high-grade Rank 4 origin beast essence blood." Since the Rank 5 essence blood was unavailable, he could only temporarily use the high-grade Rank 4. Its power might be slightly weaker, but it shouldn't have a significant impact.

Cao Jin gave Zhou Yuan an apologetic look, nodded, and then instructed someone to bring out the origin beast essence blood. Zhou Yuan took them, paid with source jade, and without another word, turned and walked out.

As he brushed past Lu Feng, Lu Feng suddenly smiled faintly and said, "Zhou Yuan, do you think this is over? The show I've prepared for you, I'm sure you'll see it very soon."

Zhou Yuan's eyes narrowed. He tilted his head to look at Lu Feng. "Do you enjoy causing trouble?" "I heard you're determined to get first place in the Selection Ceremony?" A cold curve slowly formed on Zhou Yuan's lips as well.

Lu Feng also tilted his head, smiling. "What can you do?"

Zhou Yuan stared at him and slowly said, "Then I'm afraid I have to tell you, you probably won't get that first place. If you want to play, I'll play until you're satisfied!" Zhou Yuan withdrew his gaze and turned to leave.

Lu Feng watched his receding figure, momentarily stunned, then an expression of contemptuous amusement spread uncontrollably across his lips. He shook his head, seemingly finding it immensely funny. "What an ignorant... fellow who doesn't know his place. Heh... I'd like to see what you'll use to contend for first place with me?!"

After leaving the inner hall, Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, exhaling the displeasure in his heart. Lu Feng's actions this time had indeed disgusted him. "If there's no Rank 5 dragon-type origin beast essence blood, I'll just have to make do with the high-grade Rank 4," Zhou Yuan muttered to himself.

He stopped overthinking, wandered around the Linglong Pavilion, found Yaoyao, and after accompanying her for half a day, leisurely exited the pavilion and walked back towards the small building.

"Why do you look so displeased? What's bothering you now?" Yaoyao asked, holding Tun Tun as they walked through the mountains, her clear eyes sweeping over Zhou Yuan, her red lips slightly parted.

"Do I?" Zhou Yuan awkwardly touched his face. Was he really that obvious? Yaoyao's gaze lingered on his face.

Zhou Yuan shrugged, then recounted what had happened earlier. After listening, Yaoyao's beautiful face shifted slightly. "Does cultivating the 'Nine Dragons Scripture' require refining dragon-type origin beast essence blood?"

Zhou Yuan nodded. "However, currently, in the Outer Mountain Linglong Pavilion, only high-grade Rank 4 dragon-type origin beast essence blood is available. It's a bit different from the Rank 5 I'd envisioned, so I expect the 'Nine Dragons Scripture' cultivated with them will be slightly less powerful," Zhou Yuan said.

Yaoyao suddenly smiled, tilting her head. Her dark hair cascaded diagonally, revealing half of her exquisite, beautiful face. She said, "That's not too big of a problem..." Looking at Zhou Yuan, she lowered her voice and continued, "I have a method that can make your high-grade Rank 4 dragon-type origin beast essence blood even more potent than Rank 5 essence blood."

Zhou Yuan's eyes narrowed, and he asked in surprise, "Really?"

Yaoyao nodded her pale chin emphatically. Then, under Zhou Yuan's confused gaze, she covered Tun Tun's bewildered ears with her hands and whispered softly, "Just between us, if you mix Tun Tun's blood with those high-grade Rank 4 dragon-type origin beast essence blood, you can upgrade their quality..."

Zhou Yuan's steps instantly froze. He swallowed hard, staring intently at Yaoyao. Yaoyao, meanwhile, smiled faintly and said, "Don't let Tun Tun know I told you."

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, then a most gentle smile appeared on his face. He took the still-bewildered Tun Tun from Yaoyao's arms. Gently stroking it, Zhou Yuan softly said, "My little dear, do you want to go to the Hundred Flavors Pavilion? It's my treat! Eat all you want!"

In Tun Tun's beast eyes, a craving gleam instantly burst forth. At this moment, in its eyes, Zhou Yuan suddenly appeared immensely tall and magnificent.