Two old men simultaneously extended their right hands, resembling iron hooks, towards Luo Tianshui's shoulders.
Luo Tianshui didn't dodge. Instead, he punched out with both fists, aiming directly for the old men's chests.
Their speeds were comparable. Just as the two old men grabbed Luo Tianshui, his fists landed.
The two old men had never encountered such a fighting style and, startled, quickly retreated. As soon as Luo Tianshui retracted his fists, his right leg swept out again.
Luo Tianshui's movements were agile and decisive. He threw one punch after another, leaving the two old men no chance to counter, forcing them to constantly evade.
After the short old man dodged Long Xiao's finger, he coldly remarked, "A mere parlor trick."
The capital was a place of hidden talents. The "Dragon Treasury" recorded the Dragon family's legacy, so Long Xiao dared not directly use "Raging Dragon Fist" or "Chi Mei Xiao Yao Step."
The previous finger strike came from "Dragon Walking Hand." This martial art focused solely on the application of Qi, not specific hand techniques. The hand techniques of "Dragon Walking Hand" were infinitely variable, making it impossible for even those with a basic understanding to identify them accurately.
Long Xiao smiled at the old man and said, "Tell me, who was the young man with you at the auction, and I'll spare your life today."
"Heh heh, arrogant. While it's good for young people to be arrogant, arrogance requires capital."
"You want to see my capital for arrogance? Very well."
Long Xiao flexed his arms, his hands moving like fluttering butterflies, leaving afterimages before the short old man.
The short old man retreated rapidly in shock, exclaiming, "Flowing Water Cloud Movement, are you from the Zhao family in the southwest?"
Long Xiao didn't answer the old man. Instead, he continued to increase his speed, wanting to gauge how much of his attack speed the old man could evade.
After dodging Long Xiao's attacks three times, the short old man heard a series of crisp sounds: *pa, pa, pa*. Long Xiao's hands landed on his face.
Even with only seventy percent of his attack speed, the short old man couldn't dodge Long Xiao's blows.
In the past two days, Long Xiao had been practicing intensely every night after a breakthrough. For three consecutive days, his strength had been rapidly increasing. By last night, the rapid growth had slowed, and Long Xiao had only slept a few hours.
After the old man's face became swollen like a pig's head, Long Xiao grabbed him by the neck and asked, "I'll ask you one more time, what is the name of the young man who was with you?"
The short old man felt extremely frustrated. The person with him was the famous Young Master Long, Long Yunshan of the capital. Anyone with even a slight understanding of the Long family knew this, yet this brat didn't, and insisted he reveal it.
The short old man's name was Zhou Xiaoyun, a martial arts expert and a retainer of the Long family. He was protecting Long Yunshan by special arrangement of the elder Mr. Long. Revealing Long Yunshan's name might not be a major issue in itself, but it was a betrayal.
Zhou Xiaoyun knew that if he spoke Long Yunshan's name, he would lose face and could no longer serve the Long family.
Long Xiao's grip tightened slightly, then suddenly loosened. Before Zhou Xiaoyun could react, Long Xiao struck his dan tian with the back of his right hand.
With a bang, Zhou Xiaoyun was sent flying five to six meters and fell to the ground. His dan tian erupted in pain, and all his strength vanished without a trace.
"You little brat, you, you crippled my dan tian!" Zhou Xiaoyun glared at Long Xiao through gritted teeth, roaring with all his might.
Long Xiao's face remained faintly smiling. He nodded slightly and said, "Yes. Someone like you, who aids and abets evil, shouldn't keep your dan tian. It's better to disable it."
Zhou Xiaoyun knew that in a society governed by law, the other party wouldn't dare kill him casually, which was why his dan tian was disabled. Lingering here would be self-deception. He lowered his head and left the Hua Yi Tang pharmacy.
The other two old men, who had been fighting Luo Tianshui to a draw, were startled when they saw Zhou Xiaoyun crippled. They quickly disengaged and fled outside the door.
Luo Tianshui wanted to pursue, but Long Xiao grabbed him and said, "Don't chase, it's pointless."
Luo Tianshui said sheepishly, "Brother Long, I couldn't defeat them."
Long Xiao patted Luo Tianshui's shoulder and said, "That's normal. Let's go to the VIP room."
The two entered the VIP room, followed by two attendants. One brewed them tea, while the other brought paper and pen, asking Long Xiao to list the types and quantities of herbs he needed.
The attendants at Hua Yi Tang pharmacy were very efficient. In a short while, they returned with several large bags of herbs.
Long Xiao opened the bags, smelled them, and found the quality of the herbs to be excellent. With these herbs, refining ten "Longevity Pills" should be no problem.
With sufficient materials, Long Xiao and his companions took a taxi back to the Luan family. Lacking a pill furnace, Long Xiao decided to try refining the pills using a pressure cooker.
Long Xiao's method of refining pills was completely different from traditional Daoist alchemy. Both Luo Tianshui and Luan Jiping watched, mesmerized.
He rubbed his hands together, grinding all the medicinal herbs into powder and placing them into the pressure cooker. He then placed the open pressure cooker on the fire, and the temperature quickly rose.
Long Xiao clasped the pressure cooker with both hands and began to spin it. The pressure cooker spun faster and faster. The herbs, which should have been scorched by the high heat, began to turn into a black liquid under the rapid rotation, emitting a burnt smell.
"Long Xiao, did it burn?" Luan Jiping whispered a reminder.
Luo Tianshui quickly said, "President Luan, don't disturb Brother Long. He's concentrating on refining the pill. If he's distracted, he could suffer qi deviation."
Luan Jiping's tongue, which had been slightly sticking out, retracted in fright, and she gave an embarrassed smile.
Long Xiao focused intently on spinning the pressure cooker. A layer of sweat gradually appeared on his forehead, which then turned into white mist and began to steam. Soon, Long Xiao was completely enveloped in white mist.
After another ten minutes, the burnt smell gradually turned into a pleasant fragrance. This refreshing aroma cleared the mind and invigorated anyone who smelled it.
"It smells so good! Brother Long, is he refining an elixir of immortality?" Luo Tianshui exclaimed happily.
Luan Jiping covered her mouth, her face full of astonishment. She hadn't expected Long Xiao to be able to refine pills.
With a bang, as the fire was turned off, the pressure cooker stopped spinning and settled down.
The white mist quickly dissipated. Long Xiao picked up the pressure cooker and poured out ten thumb-sized pills.
The ten pills were black and lustrous, rolling around on the cabinet.
Long Xiao wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "To each his own. One for everyone."
He picked up a pill, put it in his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed.
"Long Xiao, why did you eat it? Didn't you say you were going to give it to my grandfather?" Luan Jiping became anxious when she saw Long Xiao start eating.
Long Xiao chuckled and said, "One pill is enough for your grandfather. Old people shouldn't consume too much of this."
"Oh, is that so."
Luan Jiping sniffed the air. The "Longevity Pill" was too fragrant. She couldn't resist picking one up and popping it into her mouth.
Luo Tianshui remained still. He knew that as Long Xiao's subordinate, he wasn't entitled to eat this.
Long Xiao pinched a pill and said, "Tianshui, open your mouth."
"Brother Long, I, I don't want it."
Actually, Luo Tianshui wanted it. He knew that such a good pill could at least increase his power by ten percent.
"Just open your mouth when I tell you to. We're brothers, why are you being so polite?"
A "Longevity Pill" was tossed into Luo Tianshui's mouth. He felt a warm current flow into his dan tian, and a thunderous sound echoed within.
"Brother Long, I need to meditate for a few hours. You guys go ahead with your business."
After saying that, Luo Tianshui ran back to his room. Without even getting on the bed, he began meditating on the floor.