After returning to Rose Hotel, Ye Liangchen checked out, then put on a bamboo hat and headed towards the adjacent Fasinuo Province.
As he passed a street, Ye Liangchen inadvertently glanced over and spotted a shop with a hammer and sword emblem above its entrance, clearly a Spirit Master shop.
"Huh! Could this be Four-Eyed Cat Owl Flander's antique shop?"
At this moment, Ye Liangchen recalled how Tang San had obtained a crystal in Flender's antique shop, which he then used to create the incredibly lethal Dragon Beard Needle. That thing was as fine as hair, and once it pierced the body, it would rapidly contract into a ball, causing unbearable pain, and in severe cases, even death to the victim.
The Dragon Beard Needle, as fine as hair, made it impossible to guard against. It was a true killing weapon, especially for a master of Hidden Weapons like Tang San, who would be like a fish in water with it.
"This item cannot fall into that fellow's hands. Otherwise, during future competitions, if the opponent can't accept defeat and, in a moment of madness, uses this Hidden Weapons to injure my little sister, that would be bad."
Under the influence of Little Rabbit, Tang San had a twisted protective instinct. Once Little Rabbit was harmed, he would immediately lose all reason and resort to all sorts of underhanded tricks, regardless of the consequences.
Yu Xiaogang had long brainwashed Tang San, telling him he was the number one genius in the World, which gave him a twisted sense of superiority. Once he faced defeat, he would also lose his sanity.
When fighting other Spirit Masters, that fellow always adopted an attitude of "I can hit you, but you can't hit me," as if the entire World had to revolve around him.
Thinking of this, Ye Liangchen stepped into the antique shop, intending to take that crystal in advance. Although he didn't need it himself, he absolutely couldn't leave it for Tang San.
"Creak…"
As Ye Liangchen pushed open the shop's wooden door and stepped inside, a variety of ancient scents immediately assailed his nostrils. Some even carried an earthy smell, as if they had just been dug out of the ground.
Then he saw a middle-aged man wearing glasses, feigning sleep in a rocking chair. This person was Four-Eyed Cat Owl Flander.
"Pick whatever you want. The prices are fair."
Flender saw a young man in a bamboo hat enter his shop. He raised his head and said indifferently, then pretended to lie down again, a cunning glint in his eyes.
Ye Liangchen scanned all the items in the shop. They were all insignificant old objects, along with some damaged spirit tools that weren't worth much money. On the table lay a few old items, among which was a slightly yellowish transparent crystal with many golden threads inside, which should be the crystal.
"Boss, how much is this crystal? I'll take it."
Ye Liangchen pointed directly at the crystal on the table and asked Flender, wanting to see how this shrewd merchant would react.
"100 gold coin, no bargaining."
Flender was overjoyed to hear that a customer had come, and that the other party had even taken a liking to that broken crystal. So he tentatively quoted a price.
"Alright, here's 100 gold coin. I'll buy this crystal."
Ye Liangchen knew that Flender was trying to trick him, but he didn't care about a mere 100 gold coin. So he directly pulled out a small bag of gold coin from his spirit tool, threw it on the table, picked up the crystal, and turned to leave.
"Wait! Your money isn't enough. My crystal costs 500 gold coin."
Just as Ye Liangchen picked up the crystal from the table, Flender's cunning and sly voice rang out again.
Flender had initially just casually quoted 100 gold coin, not expecting the other party to actually pay that price. He immediately realized that this kid was rich and planned to fleece him heavily.
"Boss, aren't you being dishonest?" Ye Liangchen feigned surprise. He had long known that Flender was a shrewd and deceitful merchant.
"My crystal is worth 500 gold coin. Take it or leave it."
Seeing that the young man could produce 100 gold coin, Flender concluded that this kid definitely needed this crystal, so he believed the other party would surely continue to pay.
"Boss, 500 gold coin, one price, right? No backing out."
Ye Liangchen didn't care about 500 gold coin either, so he took out another 400 gold coin, threw it on the table, picked up the crystal, and left.
"Wait, my crystal is now worth 2000 gold coin."
When Flender saw that this kid took out another 400 gold coin without batting an eye, he knew for sure he was a big fat sheep. The opportunity to get rich had come. How could he live up to his shrewd merchant nature if he didn't fleece him severely? So he directly raised the price to 2000 gold coin.
"Boss, you're not honest in business. Are you planning to make a one-time deal, just scamming whoever you can?"
Ye Liangchen was speechless. He knew from the novel that this guy was shameless, but he didn't expect him to be this shameless, directly raising the price from 500 to 2000.
"My crystal is worth that much. Seeing as you're also a Spirit Master, if you don't have enough money, you can pay 500 first, and then pay 10 gold coin each month for the rest, but with a ten percent interest."
Flender continued to put on that shameless act. Anyway, he was determined to get a sum of money from this kid today.
"My elder once mentioned to me that there's a four-eyed shrewd merchant in Soto City. Seeing you today, it's indeed true. How are you a shrewd merchant? You're simply a shameless swindler."
"Is Four-Eyed Cat Owl Flander, the dean of Shrek Academy and one of the Golden Triangle, really like this?"
Ye Liangchen didn't bother to beat around the bush with the other party anymore and directly revealed his identity. Anyway, his Chicken King HK416 had already been disengaged from safety, ready to be taken out at any time to deal with a crisis, so he wasn't afraid of Flender bullying the weak.
"Hmm! Who are you? How do you know my identity?" Flender was stunned, and a powerful aura immediately erupted from him.
"Swish, swish, swish…"
Ye Liangchen quickly retreated a few steps, and a powerful spirit power aura also erupted from him to protect himself. He was ready to take out the Chicken King and give the other party a burst.
However, Ye Liangchen immediately thought of another method, so he directly shouted at Flender.
"Uncle Four-Eyes, are you planning to bully the weak? If you attack me, the consequences will be severe."
"We met three years ago at the Soul Attack Hotel. At that time, you even tried to trick me into joining Shrek Academy! If you attack me, your fate will definitely be miserable."
Hearing the young man directly reveal his identity, Flender was instantly bewildered, so he immediately reined in his aura.
He immediately stood up from the chair, his eagle eyes fixed on the young man in front of him. Seeing the ordinary face beneath the bamboo hat, he felt something was off again. Clearly, this kid had disguised his appearance.
"Uncle Four-Eyes? You're that kid from three years ago."
Although Flender didn't know Ye Liangchen's true identity, he had a deep impression of him. Three years ago, this kid had beaten Dai Mubai to the ground without even using his Spirit. He was definitely an unparalleled genius.
"Uncle Four-Eyes, you, a dignified Spirit Saint of level 78, how can you engage in such deceptive practices? And you even want to bully a weak Spirit Master like me."
Ye Liangchen directly revealed Flender's strength level, making the other party feel that he wasn't alone and that there must be a strong person secretly protecting him.
"Cough! Kid, I didn't even ask for your money. This crystal is yours. Don't talk nonsense."
"Besides, your strength has already reached the Spirit Elder level. How are you weak?"
Flender's face showed a hint of embarrassment. This kid could instantly know his strength level, and seeing his calm gaze, as if everything was under control, there must definitely be a Spirit Douluo expert secretly following him. So he quickly gave away the crystal, hoping this kid would leave quickly.
"I don't like owing favors. I'll give you 100 gold coin, according to the price you first quoted."
Seeing that Flender wasn't making things difficult for him, Ye Liangchen put away four bags of gold coin and the crystal from the table, leaving only one bag.
"Kid, from your spirit power fluctuations, I've already sensed that your strength has reached the advanced Spirit Elder level. That's incredible. Do you want to come to our Shrek Academy? Our academy is very suitable for a monstrous genius like you."
Flender secretly sensed Ye Liangchen's strength with his spirit power and was immediately astonished by this little fellow's spirit power. He became even more curious about this little fellow's identity and desperately hoped that this little fellow would join his academy.
"Uncle Four-Eyes, I haven't even joined your academy yet, and you're already trying to trick me like this. If I went to your academy, wouldn't I be completely fooled by you?"
"My elder has sent word to me; I must go. Uncle Four-Eyes, do less of these deceptive things in the future. Be careful, one day you might encounter other strong individuals who will definitely beat you into a pig's head."
Ye Liangchen didn't tell Flender his strength and directly walked out of the antique shop.
Flender's cunning and deceit were well-known. Ye Liangchen originally thought he would make things difficult for him, but he didn't expect that revealing the other party's strength level would directly make Flender yield. However, the other party was also bluffed by his calm demeanor; he really thought there was a Spirit Douluo protecting him.
After leaving the antique shop, Ye Liangchen quickly left the street and found that Flender hadn't followed him, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Flender walked out of the shop and watched as the young man disappeared, then muttered to himself, "This kid, at such a young age, already knows how to hide his strength. He has rich experience in the pugilistic World. He truly is a talent."
Flender had originally wanted to check Ye Liangchen's Spirit and spirit ring, but the other party remained calm and composed even when he released his spirit power aura, which made Flender abandon that idea.
At a post station, Ye Liangchen spent a few gold coin to buy a good horse to use as a mount and galloped along the official road towards Fasinuo Province.
A few hours later, he finally left Soto City. Ye Liangchen sold the horse to a post station and then slowly walked along the official road.
"With the crystal in hand, Tang San won't be able to show off after joining Shrek Academy. He'll definitely be beaten down by Zhao Wuji in the assessment, and he might even be seriously injured."
"Once Tang San is seriously injured, Tang Da Chui definitely won't be calm. Zhao Wuji will probably be seriously injured too."
"In this way, Zhao Wuji will likely develop resentment towards Tang San in the future, which will be very interesting."
In the evening, Ye Liangchen ate roasted wild rabbit meat in the mountains, thinking to himself that by merely changing some minor details, he could alter future events. He felt like a major villain.
"Hehehehe! This is truly great."
Thinking of this, Ye Liangchen was in a great mood. So he took out the crystal, placed it on a hard stone, attached spirit power to his surface, then grabbed a large stone and directly smashed it onto the crystal.
"Bang…"
"Crack…"
The crystal shattered directly from the impact, releasing many golden threads that quickly formed small beads and splattered in all directions.
"Swish, swish, swish…"
Ye Liangchen activated his Five Elements Mysterious Steps and quickly grabbed a portion of these metal particles in his hand. Most of the other particles fell into many rock crevices.
Ye Liangchen didn't pay attention to those golden particles anyway, as he didn't need this kind of Hidden Weapons.