"Hmm? What would this young man like to buy? I only sell rare goods, and I treat everyone fairly, young and old alike~"
Aether pushed up the small sunglasses on his nose, looking like a sly merchant as he spoke to Yanqing.
"Oh? Is that so."
Hearing this, Yanqing's interest was piqued. He scanned the stall, picked up a secret manual titled "Thousand-Year Kill" from a corner, and asked, "Boss, how much is this?"
Aether's eyes lit up when he saw Yanqing wanted to buy it, and he immediately began to promote it enthusiastically:
"Ah! Young man, you have excellent taste! This is a long-lost martial arts manual. Through some connections, I managed to get my hands on this relatively complete copy. I see you're a martial artist; buying this will definitely be a huge profit for you, it's only…"
As Aether spoke, he raised his right hand, making a five with his fingers, and said, "Five hundred Strale."
"How much? Five hundred? You're far too greedy."
Yanqing immediately put down "Thousand-Year Kill" and complained, "Even if I went out to buy other legitimate martial arts manuals, they'd be better than this unscrupulous thing of yours."
"Just by looking at you, I can tell you're a sly merchant. You probably don't even know martial arts, yet you dare to swindle people here. I advise you to pack up and go home soon, find a decent job, and stop always trying to con people." Yanqing said to Aether, crossing his arms.
"Hey, you little brat."
Hearing Yanqing's less-than-friendly tone, Aether's temper flared. Did he really think he was a pushover?
He might not be able to defeat a few of the Xianzhou generals, but dealing with a greenhorn like Yanqing would be easy. To speak to an Emanator of Abundance like him, it seems Yanqing had grown too accustomed to being invincible on the Xianzhou and needed a good lesson.
"Kid, since you don't think this manual is real, I won't argue with you. How about we have a fight? I see you're also a martial artist; you must be quite lacking in opponents, right?" Aether grinned and said.
Upon hearing of a fight, Yanqing immediately became excited. He had never had an opponent on the Luofu; it could be said that apart from the generals, he was almost invincible. Someone voluntarily wanting to fight him was exactly what he wished for.
"Alright, but let's agree in advance, my moves might be a bit heavy. If you can't beat me, it's best to surrender immediately." Considering his own strength, Yanqing warned.
"Don't worry, I definitely won't need to. You lead the way." Aether suppressed the urge to laugh and said to Yanqing.
Yanqing nodded and led the way. The two quickly arrived at a secluded, empty space.
"It's quite open here, should be enough room for us to fight. Do you have a weapon?" Yanqing looked at Aether and asked.
"Don't worry, I do."
As Aether spoke, he raised his hand, and a black sword materialized out of thin air, appearing in his hand.
"Oh, by the way, I still don't know your name." Yanqing summoned his flying swords and said.
"Just call me Aether, little brother Yanqing. Are you ready?" Aether drew the black sword from its sheath and asked.
"Come on, let me see what you've got." Yanqing took a stance, speaking with great confidence.
No sooner had he spoken than Aether vanished. Yanqing, unable to find him, couldn't help but be stunned.
Before he could make his next move, Yanqing felt the world spin, a strong impact on his face, and his entire body flew backward to the right, embedding directly into the wall.
The camera shifted, and Aether was now in Yanqing's original position, his body still in the motion of throwing a left punch.
"Hey? Little brother Yanqing, are you alright?" Aether, seeing Yanqing embedded in the wall and not coming down, asked with concern.
At this moment, Yanqing's mind was still in a daze. He hadn't even realized what had just happened before he was hit into the wall.
Such incredible speed. I wonder if I can keep up.
I must get serious, otherwise, I might lose early.
Snapping back to reality, Yanqing pulled himself out of the wall and stubbornly retorted, "I'm fine. Your speed is truly fast, but unfortunately, your strength is a bit lacking. I didn't feel much at all."
Oh, still being stubborn, huh? You were clearly embedded in the wall by my punch.
Since that's the case, don't blame me for not holding back. I was originally worried about causing you any problems, but now I'll first cure your stubbornness. If your body gets damaged, I can always heal it later.
Seeing Yanqing still being stubborn, Aether simply stopped holding back. He raised his hand and took off the sly merchant sunglasses from his nose, his tone serious as he said, "Since that's the case, it seems I can't justify not getting serious. Little brother Yanqing, I apologize."
With that, Aether flashed in front of Yanqing and brought down the black sword in his hand in a direct overhead chop.
Yanqing immediately broke out in a cold sweat and quickly raised his sword to block.
But Aether's strength was as heavy as a thousand jun. With just one strike, he forced Yanqing to his knees, and large sections of the ground shattered.
"Damn it, such fierce power…"
Yanqing was shocked. Aether's strength was also so powerful. Yanqing did not primarily Train strength, and with his own power, he simply couldn't resist.
At this moment, Aether was still exerting force. As the black sword pressed down, about to cleave his shoulder, Yanqing quickly formed a sword seal, causing several flying swords to fly out and stab towards Aether's back.
Sensing the attack from behind, Aether finally retracted his black sword and turned to block the flying swords.
As Aether withdrew his attack, Yanqing finally caught his breath. Seeing that the flying sword attack was effective, Yanqing quickly formed a sword incantation, manipulating several flying swords to cooperate with him, constantly interspersing attacks and interference to counter Aether.
Aether, however, was unhurried. With his left hand behind his back, he held the sword only in his right hand, constantly parrying Yanqing's attacks, transitioning from an initial fierce offense to his current defense.
"There's a chance. As long as I keep interfering with him, I can find his weakness and then subdue him with one blow." Seeing the opportunity right before him, Yanqing couldn't help but smile.
Not long after, Aether revealed an opening. Yanqing seized the chance, just about to thrust his sword, when he suddenly found he couldn't exert any strength. Even his flying swords couldn't fly, falling to the ground one after another.
"Wh-what's going on? Why am I so tired? My sword feels so heavy…"
Yanqing was drenched in sweat at this point, truly unable to hold the sword in his hand, and slowly let go.
As Yanqing released his grip, his sword fell directly to the ground, actually creating a crater in the surface.
Aether leisurely walked up to Yanqing, now sporting a sly, triumphant smirk, and asked Yanqing, "How about it, little brother Yanqing, do you admit defeat?"
"Wh-what exactly did you do?" Yanqing demanded.
"It's simple, 『Gravity』. It's just one of my sword's abilities. Each touch can increase gravity, including on living things." Aether explained.
"And don't think I'm cheating with an ability. My speed and strength alone could have suppressed you from the start. Using my ability is me going easy on you." Aether said, gently stroking the sword blade.
"I admit defeat…"
Yanqing was not someone who couldn't accept losing, but this defeat was too direct; he was completely crushed.
"Aether, no, Teacher , I want to learn martial arts from you!"
As Aether deactivated his ability, Yanqing bowed to him, speaking very sincerely.