“This tan is from the sun and wind, his paleness is from malnutrition. Old man, we have no money.”

Aldrich laughed, thinking it was amusing that someone was still using such cheap tricks.

“Ahem, this young man is really funny. How could I possibly cheat you out of your money? It seems you don’t believe me. Let me guess—hmm, is this young man thinking about becoming the follower of the unparalleled princess?”

The old man stroked his beard and nodded knowingly. Aldrich, whose secret had been exposed, blushed. “Eh? How did you know?”

“Heh, the princess’s followers are all warriors chosen from thousands. Will and courage alone aren’t enough—the most important thing is strength!”

“Elder, please give us guidance on the secret realm!”

“It’s actually not difficult. You two should take me as your master. From the Heavenly Demon Technique, the Undying Sword, the Blood Refining Art, to the Zhen Clan Divine Skill of the Eight Tribes, and down to all kinds of divine arts from the Borra Continent and the Netherworld—I know them all, nothing is beyond me!”

The old man spoke with great pride.

Aldrich sobered up a bit. Unless this man was Brahma himself descended to earth, but even if he was, such good fortune wouldn’t fall on him.

“You don’t believe me? Watch!”

Swish...

The old man very suavely pulled out a stack of items and fanned them out. It had to be said, splitting more than a dozen books into a perfect fan shape without a single flaw would take at least ten days or half a month of practice. His movements were extremely smooth.

Essence of the Heavenly Demon Technique, Key Points of the Undying Sword, Essentials of the Blood Refining Art, Complete Guide to Kinnara Illusions...

It truly covered the essence of the Borra Continent, leaving Aldrich utterly dumbfounded.

“This one.”

The always-silent Owen suddenly pointed to one of the books.

The old man’s expression changed slightly.

Chapter 11: Good Things Can Still Be Cheap

“You’re sure you don’t want these miraculous skills?”

The old man pointed to the most famous Heavenly Demon Technique of the Borra Continent.

Aldrich tugged at Owen and whispered, “He’s obviously a con artist. Let’s go.”

Although he didn’t know how the old man guessed his thoughts, even a fool could tell these books were fake.

Aldrich gave a tug but couldn’t move him. “Just buy this one.”

Owen insisted firmly. Aldrich was speechless. After spending time together, he knew this kid was stubborn to the core. Looking at the old man’s smug smile, he seemed quite pleased with himself.

“How much?”

“Ten Fan coins!”

The old man waggled his finger. “No bargaining!”

“You... you might as well just rob us!”

Aldrich shouted.

Ten Fan coins were all his savings, equivalent to a month’s expenses for an average person. For people their age, it was a huge sum.

“Heh, it is robbery!”

The old man gritted his teeth, not even bothering to hawk his wares, though it seemed like he was the one being robbed.

Owen, standing to the side, looked at Aldrich with a longing gaze. Aldrich knew that Owen had no spiritual power. For someone from Borra, nothing was more tragic. No matter how hard he tried, he could only remain at the level of a martial artist, at best cannon fodder in the army. Well, since they got along so well, giving Owen a bit of hope wouldn’t hurt!

Aldrich was more mature, and it was rare to have a friend his age who got along so well. This kid was going all in, so he’d buy it!

He handed over ten shiny Fan coins. The old man casually pocketed them, while Owen reached for the book. The old man’s hand flickered, and Aldrich felt a bit dazed. At that moment, Owen’s hand passed right through, the daze turning into stillness, and a hint of surprise flashed in the old man’s eyes.

A corner of the book was pinched.

“How did you know it was this one?”

The old man asked.

Aldrich, standing to the side, was a bit annoyed. “Hey, old man, I’ve already paid, why are you still holding onto that piece of toilet paper!”

Although he bought the book to give Owen hope, it was still a lot of money!

In Aldrich’s eyes, the authenticity of this book was close to zero, and the more someone looked like a master, the more of a fool they probably were.

The old man ignored him, just staring at Owen, his beady eyes radiating a kind of penetrating force, but when they met Owen’s calm gaze, there was no ripple at all.

“When you opened to this book, your spiritual power fluctuated, your strength increased a bit, and your hand moved back slightly. That means you care about it.”

As he spoke, Owen took the book, and the old man was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing, “Good, good, good! I’m always the one tricking others, but today I got played. Fine, fine!”

There was a hint of reluctance in the old man’s laughter. Watching him put on a show, Aldrich couldn’t take it anymore. He dragged Owen away. “Let’s go, if I keep watching I’ll go crazy. My savings! So there really is such blatant daylight robbery in this world!”

Owen tugged at Aldrich, stopped, and handed the book over. “Here, it’s for you.”

“Come on, you keep it. If you master some peerless lightness skill, teach me.”

Aldrich didn’t want to discourage Owen, but his heart ached for those ten coins.

“We’re the ones who did the robbing. This book is real.”

Owen said with a gentle smile.