The next day, Ash got up early and headed to the largest auction house in the outer city, owned by the Frostveil family. This auction house bought and sold all kinds of high-end medicinal herbs, weapon-refining materials, and rare pulse stones. It was the only place where Ash could find all the medicinal herbs required to make the body-tempering liquid, as these herbs were extremely rare and unavailable in ordinary pharmacies.
When Ash entered the auction house, he saw that it was packed with people. As he walked inside, a few attendants glanced at his shabby attire and chose to ignore him. No one came forward to greet him. Ash quickly made his way to the counter, but just as he was about to speak, a group of receptionists glanced at him. One of them said impatiently, "Go somewhere else. We're busy." After saying this, they went back to chatting among themselves.
Damn, how am I so unlucky? What kind of crappy service is this? Ash thought to himself. They're clearly looking down on me.Whatever. I'll just buy what I need and get the hell out of here.
As he looked around, Ash noticed a quiet, cute-looking girl standing at the far end of the counter. She was wearing a cheongsam and seemed isolated from the others, her expression somewhat sad. Ash walked up to her and said politely, Excuse me… um, hello.
The girl looked startled and replied softly, H-hello. What do you need?
Seeing her flustered appearance, Ash felt it was a bit strange. Maybe she's shy or socially anxious, he thought. Shaking the thought away, he said, "I need all of these items," as he handed her the prepared list of medicinal herbs he had discussed with the Black Index.
"U-uh, okay," the girl replied and quickly got to work. After a few minutes, she gathered all the herbs and said, "Your total is 450,000 pulse coins."
Just as Ash was about to pay and take his items, a sarcastic voice rang out. "Move aside." One of the receptionists who had been chatting earlier walked over and said, "I'll handle this. You go somewhere else."
The quiet receptionist tried to say something, but the other woman pushed her aside and turned to Ash. "Don't worry, I'll get your order ready right away," she said, reaching for the medicinal herbs.
Ash stopped her hand and said coldly, "This lady welcomed me first, so she will be the one handling my order. Get lost and don't bother us."
Hearing this, the rude receptionist's expression darkened. She tried to argue, but Ash interrupted her. "If you don't leave right now, I'll file a complaint with your store manager."
Hearing this, she turned and walked away, though Ash could still hear her muttering curses under her breath. "That bitch just got lucky… hump."
A soft voice then reached Ash's ears. "Thank you…"He turned his head and saw the quiet girl bowing slightly as she handed him the items. Ash paid the amount during the exchange.
"If you don't mind me asking," Ash said, "why did she try to snatch your customer? Do you two not get along?"
The girl hesitated before replying, "It's because we get a commission for the products we sell. For your order, the commission alone is worth several months of our salary."
"Oh, I see. That explains it. Thank you for your help."
After thinking for a moment, Ash added, "Let's exchange contact information. If she bothers you again, you can message me. And if I need to buy something in the future, I'll let you know."
Saying this, Ash extended his communicator.
"O-okay," the girl replied, and they exchanged contact information.
"I'm Ash. Nice to meet you."
"My name is Selene," she said softly. "Nice to meet you too."
Ash nodded. "See you later."
After returning home, Ash went to his room and began preparing the body-tempering liquid. He added all the materials into the pot, but the first attempt failed. The second attempt failed as well. The third attempt succeeded, but only partially—it was a defective product.
After a long while, on his fifth attempt, he finally succeeded.
"It's finally done," Ash said as he looked at the blue potion resting in the jar. He felt a thrill surge through him. With this body-tempering liquid, he could make up for his biggest shortcoming—a weak physical body. Using it, he could begin practicing the Chaos Body Refining Technique transmitted to him by the Black Index the previous night.
"Now calm your mind, take the liquid, and begin practicing the technique," the Black Index instructed.
Ash sat cross-legged on his bed and gulped down the body-tempering liquid. After a few seconds, his body began heating up, followed by sharp pain spreading throughout his body. The pain was intense, like ten thousand ants crawling all over him, causing Ash to scream in agony.
He quickly began running the cultivation method. Slowly, the pain transformed into a warm, comfortable current that flowed through his limbs and bones. He could feel his body constantly changing—his muscles being tempered and growing tougher.
The experience was agonizing, but it was worth it. When Ash finally stood up, he felt his body had become lighter and more agile. Suddenly, a foul odor hit his nose. Looking down, he saw black, sticky filth clinging to his body.
Ugh, it stinks. What is this? Ash said.
These are impurities," the Black Index replied. "During your awakening, your body released some impurities, but some remained. They've now been completely expelled. Your body is now in perfect condition. This body-tempering liquid can only be used once. After that, it becomes useless.
Ash quickly went to the washroom to wash up and remove all the filth covering his body. After taking a bath, he came out and looked at himself in the mirror, feeling puzzled. His appearance hadn't changed much, unlike during his awakening. The only noticeable differences were that his skin felt tougher, his muscles firmer, and his body seemed slightly brighter. However, the changes were not as significant as before.
Your body has changed from the inside, the Black Index explained. "It has become much tougher, and your self-healing ability has increased greatly.
I see, Ash murmured.
Well, now I should focus on cultivation. It will be time to meet Sophie tomorrow, Ash thought.
Saying this, he quickly sat on his bed, calmed his mind, and began focusing on cultivation.