Yan Peng glared at the still-laughing Ling Xiao, trembling with rage, utterly furious.
“You dare laugh at me?”
“Why wouldn’t I dare laugh at you? A fool trying to suppress the price. Did you really think no one would compete with you for something as fine as the Mysterious Ice Mad Lion, even if Yanran didn’t bid? A young master of the Great Roc Clan? You think too highly of yourself.”
Ling Xiao’s disdain for Yan Peng grew.
This man was far too arrogant, acting as if the Great Roc Clan were the only ones in the imperial city.
Little did he know, the city was full of people who did not care about giving face to nobles.
These individuals were not weak. They had both the courage and confidence to defy the royal clan.
The price had climbed to over twenty million, which was a bit too high, and they stopped bidding because it was no longer cost-effective.
“Yanran, let’s go.”
Leaving the embarrassed Yan Peng behind, Ling Xiao called to Feng Yanran, and the two headed backstage.
Ling Xiao paid the six million-plus low-grade spirit stones for Qin Huo, still making a profit. He had thought he might need to use the Heavenly Spirit Divine Pills, but they were not necessary this time.
“Can the seal on this man be removed now?” Ling Xiao asked, looking at the white-haired old man who was still limping from the beating Ling Xiao had given him.
“Young Master Ling, it’s not that we don’t want to remove it, but once the seal is lifted, with his strength, you might not be able to control him. If something happens to you in the auction house, we couldn’t explain it to the Clear Void Academy,” the old man replied.
“Heh, deliberately making things difficult, are you?”
Ling Xiao gave a cold smile, said no more, and left the auction house with Feng Yanran and Qin Huo.
Qin Huo was still under the seal’s control, no different from a slightly stronger ordinary person. Any decently skilled warrior could subdue him.
Though Qin Huo did not fully trust Ling Xiao, he had no choice but to follow him to leave the auction house, so he stayed silent.
As they stepped outside, Yan Peng suddenly appeared behind the white-haired old man, patting his shoulder. “Well done, Manager Bai. If Qin Huo’s seal had been removed, my men might not have been able to handle him.”
“Young Master Yan, you flatter me. That Ling Xiao dared to lay hands on me. I want to see him dead,” the old man said with a sinister grin.
“Hahaha, don’t worry. Soon you’ll see that kid’s living corpse,” Yan Peng said, laughing wildly.
On the sparsely populated road to the Clear Void Academy, Ling Xiao suddenly stopped and casually removed Qin Huo’s handcuffs and shackles.
“General Qin, I’m going to remove your seal next. Don’t resist,” he said.
Qin Huo was stunned, then showed a look of delight, nodding repeatedly.
He did not know if Ling Xiao’s words were true, but he would not give up even a sliver of hope.
“Yanran, please stand guard. Removing the seal might take some time,” Ling Xiao said to Feng Yanran.
“Why not wait until we’re back?” Feng Yanran asked, glancing at Qin Huo, clearly wary of him.
With Qin Huo’s strength, dealing with the two of them would be easy.
“Because there’s no time. Do you think Yan Peng will let me go?” Ling Xiao said with a smile. “I’ll give him a surprise.”
With that, he wasted no time, pulling materials from his storage ring and beginning the process of removing the seal.
Ling Xiao’s mastery of array techniques was no less than his alchemy skills. The array sealing Qin Huo’s Heavenly Essence Force was impressive but far inferior to primordial arrays, merely above average.
He estimated it would take about fifteen minutes to fully remove it.
He only hoped no trouble would arise during that time.
The process required both soul force and Heavenly Essence Force, and any interruption could be dangerous.
But fifteen minutes was still too long.
Around ten minutes in, danger arrived.
It was the assassin.
The one by Yan Peng’s side.
A warrior at the Tenth Heaven Realm, just like Qin Huo.
No wonder Yan Peng had prevented the Divine Phoenix Auction House from removing Qin Huo’s seal. Though the assassin was formidable, Qin Huo was not intimidated by him.
“Stop,” Feng Yanran said, blocking the assassin’s path.
“Move, or I’ll kill you too,” the assassin said, frowning. He knew Feng Yanran’s identity and did not dare act rashly, or he would have no place left in the imperial city.
“How much did Yan Peng pay you? I’ll double it,” Feng Yanran said, knowing her status alone might not deter him, so she resorted to bribery.
“You think I’ll fall for that?” the assassin sneered, seeing through her attempt to stall.
In a flash, he became a blur.
Then, Feng Yanran collapsed to the ground.
The assassin had not dared to kill her but had no issue knocking her out.
“Now die,” he said, his remaining targets being Ling Xiao and Qin Huo.
Killing these two would earn him a fortune from Yan Peng, granting him a life of freedom and luxury.
At the critical moment, Qin Huo’s Xingtian Martial Soul reappeared behind him, its towering battle intent surging toward the assassin, trying to use the soul to temporarily halt him.
“Pathetic trick,” the assassin sneered, summoning his own martial soul, a vague blood-red shadow, its form unclear.
But as it appeared, the assassin’s aura surged, and a powerful will clashed with Qin Huo’s battle intent.
Boom!
Both wills vanished simultaneously.
The assassin grinned wickedly, his sharp blade slicing through the air toward Ling Xiao’s throat.
But in that moment, his expression changed drastically.
Unbeknownst to him, a massive eye had appeared in the sky, staring down at him.
Its terrifying will was far stronger than Qin Huo’s.
“How is this possible?” the assassin thought, cold sweat pouring as his spiritual sea churned chaotically, disrupting the move he was about to unleash.
Soul force was key to controlling martial techniques, and inner force determined their power.
Lacking either was fatal.
He realised he had underestimated Ling Xiao.
This young man was far more terrifying than he had imagined.
“Blood Remnant Technique,” the assassin roared, spitting a mouthful of blood. His chaotic gaze gradually cleared, breaking Ling Xiao’s World Eye through self-inflicted damage.
“You must die,” he said, now even more convinced Ling Xiao had to be eliminated, not just for Yan Peng’s orders but because he felt a profound threat.
“Blood Remnant Kill,” he shouted, spitting another mouthful of blood. His two daggers turned blood-red, and a terrifying move was unleashed toward Ling Xiao.
It was fast.
It was powerful.
And the technique was cunning.
