Auction

The midday sun shone directly onto the ground, illuminating Huayun Pavilion and making it appear even more magnificent; despite the scorching heat, countless people were still flocking toward it.

In front of Huayun Pavilion, the spacious auction hall was already packed with people; those who could be invited were either wealthy or noble, holding high positions of power, or were formidable experts.

"Haha, this is my first time attending a Huayun Pavilion auction; just thinking about it makes me excited," Monkey said, looking outside from inside the private box with an excited expression.

Shi Feng, Fatty Yu, and the others were no better than Monkey; through the glass wall of the private box, they could clearly see every movement outside, while others could not see them.

Watching those prominent figures of the Empire's capital, characters they usually looked up to, now having to sit in the public seating area, filled him with genuine pride.

"Today, we're borrowing some of Long Chen's light; otherwise, we might not have had such treatment in our entire lives," Shi Feng also sighed with emotion.

Now, after quiet recuperation, Shi Feng had completely recovered; furthermore, Shi Feng had never before suffered such a blow.

After this failure, he had turned a misfortune into a blessing, strengthening his will even further; he had actually achieved consecutive Breakthroughs, advancing to the Third Heaven of the Blood Condensation Realm, and was only one step away from entering the Middle Stage of Blood Condensation.

One must know that Shi Feng's father was also only at the Middle Stage of Blood Condensation, so he placed great expectations on Shi Feng.

In fact, the reason Shi Feng was able to achieve such a rapid Breakthrough was partly due to his own efforts, and partly thanks to Long Chen's Medicinal Pill.

This time, Shi Feng's suffering was effectively due to being implicated by Long Chen; feeling ashamed, Long Chen had later secretly given Shi Feng a Foundation-Solidifying Pill.

It allowed him to completely stabilize his Foundation, and the powerful medicinal effects enabled him to easily break through his shackles and advance consecutively.

"By the way, Long Chen, why does Huayun Pavilion value you so much to give you such a luxurious private box?" Shi Feng asked, feeling somewhat puzzled.

One must know that in this auction hall, which could accommodate tens of thousands of people, there were only ten private boxes, all reserved for extremely distinguished guests; logically speaking, Long Chen did not have the qualifications to obtain one.

"Do you think this private box was given for free? Once the auction starts, we're going to be bleeding money," Long Chen laughed.

"No way, the items at the annual auction are all rare treasures; for the good stuff, even if we sold ourselves, we wouldn't be able to afford them," Monkey said with a horrified expression.

"Forget it, with your build, even if you were for sale, no one would want you; whether by the pound or by parts, you're the safest one," Fatty Yu said.

"I'm not afraid, so why are you? We're following Brother Long; I find that you really are just worrying about nothing."

Long Chen laughed and said, "Don't worry, no one will kick us out. Huh, he's here too."

To Long Chen's surprise, he suddenly saw a familiar figure—Xia Changfeng—and his eyes couldn't help but turn cold.

This bastard actually hadn't left yet; Long Chen secretly gritted his teeth. The current Xia Changfeng had returned to his usual dashing self, entering while laughing and chatting with the First Prince, Xia Yang.

Behind them was a woman with a graceful figure, who was none other than Xia Baichi, who had lost the Medicinal Pill bet against Long Chen.

Behind them were several guards, all looking very young, around thirty years old, but all of them were experts at the Blood Condensation Realm.

When Long Chen saw one of them, his heart stirred slightly; he sensed a familiar Soul fluctuation.

It reminded him of the time he defeated Li Hao, of the man wearing a bamboo hat who used hidden weapons to kill Li Hao to silence him.

Although he wore a bamboo hat at the time, Long Chen couldn't see his face, and he moved extremely fast, disappearing in an instant; however, as an alchemist, Long Chen's Soul power was exceptionally strong.

He didn't need to see the other person's face; he could recognize them entirely based on their Soul fluctuation, because everyone's Soul fluctuation had significant differences; this was a unique ability of alchemists, as sensitive as a hound's nose.

"He actually belongs to the First Prince."

Long Chen narrowed his eyes slightly; could it be that he was the mastermind behind this matter? As Long Chen was deep in thought, the First Prince had already led Xia Changfeng into another private box.

"Look, the Fourth Prince is here too," Monkey said.

Through the transparent wall, Long Chen saw the Fourth Prince and a group of other princes, but he didn't see Chu Feng; presumably, he must be hiding away to Cultivate at this moment.

The Fourth Prince and the other princes also entered a private box, though it was not the same one as the First Prince and Xia Changfeng's.

"Hehe, today we can finally get a taste of what it's like to be a prince," Monkey laughed; being able to sit in a private box just like the princes was quite an honor.

They all knew that the reason the princes could enter these boxes was partly due to their noble status, and partly because these princes had deep pockets.

Just then, a person slowly entered the hall; he was tall and slender with a fair complexion, and although he appeared to be in his forties, he still gave off a very handsome feeling.

However, his handsomeness had a feminine softness to it; when this kind of effeminacy appeared on a man, it gave Long Chen a cold feeling.

As soon as that person entered the hall, the originally noisy hall was immediately subdued, and many people even shut their mouths.

"This person is one of the strongest experts in the Phoenix Empire, Marquis Ying, Ying Zhao," Shi Feng said with some difficulty while looking at the man.

Marquis Ying, Ying Zhao; Marquis Wu, Wu Yi; and Marquis Zhenyuan, Long Tianxiao, were known as the three top experts of the Phoenix Empire, commanding awe.

Long Chen's heart also stirred; he turned to look at this man who looked as soft as a woman—this was the powerful figure who shared the same reputation as his father.

At the same time, he remembered what Chu Yao had once said, that Marquis Ying was responsible for teaching them how to Cultivate; he wondered if the schemes against him were the work of this man.

Just as Long Chen was observing Marquis Ying, the Marquis suddenly raised his head and looked in their direction; his narrow eyes shimmered with a ripple of light, as if he had looked straight through the wall and saw them all.

Long Chen's heart jumped; what sharp perception! No wonder he was called one of the strongest experts in the Phoenix Empire; although he was not an alchemist, this level of perception was too terrifying.

After Marquis Ying glanced at this private box, he acted as if nothing had happened and slowly walked into another private box.

Several more groups of people arrived and entered the private boxes; according to Shi Feng's introduction, one of them was a wealthy merchant, and others were local titans.

Long Chen nodded; Huayun Pavilion was, after all, a business that needed to sell items, and selling them at high prices was the key; it was normal for them to attract some high-end clients.

"Welcome, new and old friends, to our annual Huayun auction event; as the chief auctioneer of Huayun Pavilion, I would like to express my deep gratitude for everyone's support."

A voice like an oriole singing in the valley echoed throughout the hall; first the voice was heard, then a curtain on the stage slowly pulled back, revealing a gorgeously dressed woman to everyone.

As soon as the woman appeared, it immediately caused a gasp of astonishment from everyone present; she was an extremely beautiful woman.

She appeared to be twenty-five or twenty-six, with willow-leaf eyebrows, phoenix eyes, and peach-blossom cheeks; her narrow eyes flashed with a Soul-stirring seductiveness.

What was most lethal was that she wore a tight-fitting long dress, with a tube top underneath, exposing a large expanse of snowy, tender skin to everyone.

If that were all, it would be fine, but the most terrifying part was that deep cleavage, making it impossible for people to stop themselves from peering inside.

However, she was standing on the stage, a perspective that was simply impossible to reach; many people in the audience secretly stood up, then sat back down helplessly, looking up at the private boxes above with envy.

Fatty Yu, Monkey, and the others' eyes were about to pop out; even Shi Feng couldn't help but look dazed, and several of them were pressed hard against the transparent wall, making Long Chen worry that they might crush it and fall off.

However, Long Chen had to admit that this woman was very beautiful, although not quite as much as Meng Qi, and slightly inferior to Chu Yao.

But this woman had a natural seductive charm and knew how to dress herself, displaying all her assets completely; the killing power was too terrifying, making her, who was only six parts beautiful, display twelve parts of allure.

"Slap."

Long Chen patted Fatty Yu's shoulder and couldn't help but scold, "Can you guys not have a little self-respect?"

Shi Feng and the others finally came to their senses and hurriedly stepped back, pretending to be serious, but Fatty Yu said with an indifferent expression, "Brother Long, it's fine, this wall is very sturdy, it won't collapse."

"I'm not worried about the wall; I'm worried that if you keep looking, the water will cover your feet," Long Chen said irritably, pointing to a large puddle of drool on the floor.

Everyone couldn't help but blush, hurriedly returning to their seats, while also secretly admiring Long Chen's self-control.

The woman was clearly accustomed to such scenes, feeling not at all strange, with not a hint of shyness; instead, she said generously:

"My name is Yao Niqian; I am untalented, but I will be serving as the auctioneer for this auction; I hope everyone will look after me."

After speaking, Yao Niqian swayed her willow waist and bowed slightly to the crowd, and the scenery that could originally only be seen from the private boxes was suddenly presented before everyone's eyes.

The people below couldn't help but stir, but unfortunately, Yao Niqian bowed very quickly, and before anyone could react to anything, she was already standing properly again.

Long Chen couldn't help but curl his lips; he admired Huayun Pavilion more and more—from Fugui to Qianfu, and now to the chief auctioneer, every one of them was obsessed with money; this auctioneer was even more direct, her name actually sounding like "I want your money."

But Long Chen had to admit that this Yao Niqian had great methods; her control over men's hearts was truly seasoned.

Showing yet not showing, refusing yet welcoming—that hazy visual effect almost stirred up everyone's desires.

The auction hadn't even started yet, and many of the younger people's breathing had already started to become heavy.

At this moment, Long Chen recalled why Fugui had been so confident when he said that items in their hands, after being hyped up by the auctioneer, would definitely sell for sky-high prices; this time, Long Chen believed it.

Watching the whole scene almost following her rhythm, a smile appeared on Yao Niqian's pretty face; she clapped her jade hands, the center of the stage slowly opened, and a small stone platform emerged.