Seeing how well that pill worked, Ryan Ling was riding high. Next up: he was dead set on crashing the Treasure Exchange Conference at West Mountain. Word from Harvey “Million” Jin was, this year’s conference was all about trading artifacts—especially the big-ticket spirit artifacts. Rumor even had it a Dao Artifact might show up.
The moment he heard, Ryan’s heart started itching. Right now, all he’s got are the Demon-Snaring Bowl and Hell Furnace—just magic artifacts. If he could get his hands on a Dao Artifact, he’d be unstoppable! His chances at the Jiangnan Martial Arts Tournament would go through the roof.
Ryan didn’t hesitate—he told Harvey Jin to get them in ASAP. He couldn’t wait to jump in.
Harvey Jin worked fast—just a few minutes later, he told Ryan everything was set. The long-awaited Treasure Exchange Conference was happening tomorrow night at the Westridge State Guest Hotel, with at least a thousand guests. It was the perfect pre-tournament warm-up, packed with trading, auctions, and a wild crowd.
Ryan rounded up Harvey Jin, Angie Chen, and the rest of his crew. They all had serious cash—if something good popped up, they could buy to their hearts’ content.
But if it came down to swapping treasures, Ryan’s Void-Ascension Pills and Revival Pills alone would grab attention. He was determined to land some top-tier loot.
One busy day of prep flew by.
That evening, Ryan heard from the Yan Family that Victor Yan was already up and about—and wanted to thank Ryan in person.
Ryan felt a bit down hearing that. Sure, Victor survived, but now Jinling’s number-one butt was officially off-limits. What a shame.
Right then, Serena Yan walked in with a cup of tea—her eyes red, like she’d just been crying.
"Why are you here so late? Shouldn’t you be taking care of Victor Yan?" Ryan asked, a little dazed.
"He—he won’t let me take care of him. He kicked me out!" Serena sobbed, tears streaming down her face again.
"Wait, what happened?" Ryan asked, completely lost.
"His body’s healed, but, well, that part is totally ruined. He doesn’t want to drag me down, so he told me to leave and find someone else. Boohoo!" Serena cried, heartbroken.
Ryan was stunned. "No way—did my pill mess up? Can’t be, right?" He almost wanted to laugh.
"It’s not your pill. He’s always had issues down there. Honestly, our married life’s never been great—he’s a ‘three-second man.’ Now he’s not even one second." Serena glanced at Ryan’s lower half, swallowing hard. "He doesn’t want to hold me back, so he wants me gone. But I’m not some young thing anymore—if he divorces me, where do I go?"
As she spoke, Serena couldn’t help leaning on Ryan’s shoulder.
Ryan was speechless. Seriously, if Victor really dumps you, are you planning to marry me or something?
But for now, all Ryan could do was let her lean on his shoulder.
Right at that awkward moment, Lily Yan barged in, her voice trembling with tears: "Mom, Dad—he... he..."
Seeing Lily Yan suddenly burst in, Serena Yan hurriedly took a couple steps to the side, but Lily seemed to catch her in the act, her expression turning a little strange.
"What happened, Lily? Why are you so flustered?" Serena fussed, fixing her hair and rushing over.
"Dad... he left home!" Lily Yan blurted out, nearly bursting into tears.
"What? That stubborn old man!" Serena jumped up, ready to rush out, but Lily grabbed her arm to stop her.
"I checked everywhere, inside and out, and he's gone. Plus, he left this note for you." Lily handed Serena a slip of paper—written in blood, no less. The gist? He’d wasted Serena’s best years, now he’s a cripple, and even though Ryan saved his life, he’s lost all hope. So he’s decided to leave home and become a monk.
Ryan read the note and couldn't help admiring Victor's guts.
But what really got him was the next part: Victor actually mentioned Ryan by name, saying not only did Ryan save the Yan Family and his life, but he’s the only one he trusts. He officially hands over the Yan Family’s business to Ryan and asks him to look after Serena and Lily.
Reading this, Ryan’s head spun. Man, these people really trust him—they’re literally dumping their wife and kid on him!
And attached to the blood note was an honest-to-god divorce letter, neatly written and stamped.
Seeing the divorce papers, Serena realized Victor was dead serious. She looked at Ryan, her eyes full of helplessness, while Lily just stared at him with innocent, blinking eyes.
Ryan was absolutely speechless. Looks like he’s officially stuck with this mother-daughter duo now.
Even in the middle of all this sadness, Serena couldn’t help sneaking a glance at Ryan’s lower half, like she’d already decided her future happiness depended on him.
...
After all that drama, the day of the Treasure Exchange Conference finally arrived.
Ryan took his crew and headed out bright and early. Serena and Lily insisted on tagging along—one, to bring the Yan Family’s cash to back him up; two, to distract themselves from all their family drama.
"Master Ling, good morning!"
"Master Ling, you’re here!"
"Master Ling, I’m Long Yu from Min Province—remember me?"
...
By now, the Treasure Exchange Conference was packed, and Ryan’s arrival instantly set off a wave of excitement. Tons of Void Realm experts from other provinces came over to greet him.
Watching all this, the local Jinling heirs were grinding their teeth in jealousy.
"That punk’s been stealing the spotlight for days now. Today, no matter what, we’ve gotta knock him down a peg."
"Exactly. The rules say no dueling before the tournament, but we can still compete in cash and treasures. That country bumpkin from East River—no way he can beat us rich kids from Jinling!"
"Yeah, let’s take out our best stuff and show him there’s always someone stronger out there. He’s just a frog in a well!"
(Irrelevant line skipped)
...
While the Jinling heirs were plotting, the Treasure Exchange Conference officially kicked off.
In a flash, people started showing off their treasures—some for trading, some just to flex. Everyone was swapping comments, and the place was a total whirlwind.
A bunch of folks even brought their best artifacts straight to Ryan, hoping this year’s hottest martial artist would give them some feedback.
Ryan glanced around and thought, Honestly, most of these so-called artifacts are just ordinary treasures. The really good ones are just average magic items—nothing that could actually impress him.
But for the sake of everyone’s enthusiasm, Ryan just smiled and tossed out a few polite comments.
According to Harvey Jin’s intel, after the exchange comes the auction—and rumor has it a Dao Artifact might show up. Ryan’s eyes were locked on that prize.
But just as Ryan was chatting and mingling, a local Jinling heir suddenly sneered: "What does some country bumpkin from East River know about real treasures? He can’t even tell the difference between junk and the real deal. Our Wang Family is Jinling’s top appraising clan—if you want a real expert, look no further than me!"
Ryan frowned. He knew full well that at an event like this, the local Jinling crowd would definitely try to mess with him.
"Ryan, that’s Zelin Wang from the Wang Family—one of Jinling’s top ten houses, famous for treasure appraisers. Their vault is packed with rare artifacts!" Serena quietly explained.
"Well, tell me—if I put this double-colored jade vase up for sale, how much could it fetch?" an out-of-province Void Realm expert cut in, clearly annoyed.
"This thing? Second-rate goods. My family vault’s stuffed with them. Honestly, it’s embarrassing you’d even bring it out to show off!" Zelin Wang said bluntly.
"You—you…" The out-of-province expert was so furious his face turned green.
"Oh, don’t get mad. Today I’ll show you country bumpkins what a real treasure looks like!" Wang Zelin declared, whipping out a glowing blue pill.
"Whoa, is that a Body-Tempering Pill? A supreme healing medicine?" someone gasped.
"This is the holy grail of healing. Even if you lose an arm, pop this pill and it’ll reattach in seconds!"
"No kidding, that’s insane! This is what real martial artists dream about. I heard pills like this have basically vanished from the market—they’re priceless!"
...
Listening to all the praise, Wang Zelin shot Ryan a smug look. "Well, Mr. East River, everyone’s showing off their treasures—why don’t you show us yours? Don’t be shy, we promise not to laugh!"