“Heh, young man, I’m not targeting you, but our Divine Phoenix Auction House has another rule. For humans wanting to auction items, the commission is doubled. And if you want to bid on something, the price is doubled too!” Elder Bai said with a smile.
Bastard!
Ling Xiao was furious inside but held himself back.
The Human Holy Dynasty had been destroyed. Though it had its flaws, when it was strong, no foreign race dared treat humans this way.
Now, with the Holy Dynasty all but gone, humans on the Divine Phoenix Continent were considered inferior.
Unless you had enough strength, no one took you seriously.
That was reality!
To change it, you either had to become strong yourself or rebuild a powerful human empire to make these foreign races bow.
Becoming strong seemed easier, but it only changed one person’s fate.
Building a human empire was far harder, but it would change the fate of all humans.
Ling Xiao might not be that noble, but he wanted to strive toward that goal.
He didn’t want to keep seeing his people insulted as slaves.
Taking a deep breath, he nodded. “Fine, do it your way.”
“Good, sign the contract.”
Elder Bai had Ling Xiao press his handprint on a pre-prepared contract.
“Alright, you can head to the auction hall and wait. If you see something you like, you can bid. After your Mysterious Ice Mad Lion is auctioned, bring the contract to collect your spirit stones,” Elder Bai said with a smug smile, tucking the contract away.
The contract’s key terms were that the auction house set the starting bid, and they took a twenty percent commission after the sale.
Ling Xiao wasn’t worried about them lowballing the price. The higher the bid, the more the auction house earned.
They wouldn’t be foolish enough to sabotage their own profits.
After securing the contract, Ling Xiao followed an attendant to the auction hall.
“Honoured guest, we recently received a batch of fine goods, including humans from the Tianlong Continent. You might be interested,” the attendant said.
He wasn’t trying to provoke Ling Xiao. Many humans living on the Divine Phoenix Continent had become lackeys of its various nations.
They hated and despised humans even more than the continent’s native races.
These people saw their human blood as lowly and shameful.
They proved their difference by insulting and abusing humans.
The attendant likely mistook Ling Xiao for one of them.
Ling Xiao stayed silent. He did intend to buy humans, but for a different purpose.
To build a human empire, he needed allies, and slaves were likely the most loyal.
“Honoured guest, you can’t go there!”
As Ling Xiao headed toward the second-floor VIP section, the attendant stopped him.
“Why not?” Ling Xiao asked, frowning.
“That’s the VIP area. Humans are absolutely forbidden, no matter their status!” the attendant said, shaking his head.
“And if I insist?”
Ling Xiao’s expression turned icy.
He could tolerate the doubled commission, but being barred from the VIP area was infuriating.
“If you insist, you’re asking for trouble. The VIPs up there are all nobles of the Divine Phoenix Empire. I wouldn’t dare go up with you,” the attendant said bluntly.
“Then wait here. I’ll go alone.”
Ling Xiao figured sitting in the VIP area without causing trouble shouldn’t be an issue.
More importantly, VIPs got a fifty percent discount on bids.
That could save him a lot of spirit stones.
He was a practical man.
If they doubled his costs, saving half was only fair, right?
With that thought, Ling Xiao headed toward the VIP area.
At the staircase exit, two burly men blocked his way.
The attendant below sneered. “Idiot human, lowly human, trying to enter the VIP area? What if you disturb our honoured guests?”
He didn’t even consider that he, too, was human, once a slave sold here.
His mind was thoroughly warped.
“This isn’t your place. Get lost!” one of the burly men said, shoving at Ling Xiao.
When someone makes a move, what should Ling Xiao do?
*Crack!*
“Ah—!”
The man didn’t push Ling Xiao but had his wrist snapped by him instead.
“This is just a warning. Try that again, and I’ll kill you!”
A terrifying killing intent surged into the two men, making them tremble. They stepped aside, letting Ling Xiao pass.
“Good grief, what kind of person did I provoke?”
The attendant’s sneer froze, and he dropped to his knees.
People like him were both pitiful and hateful. Despite their own tragic past as slaves, they inflicted that pain on others.
As Ling Xiao entered the VIP area, all eyes turned to him.
Their gazes were filled with disgust, as if he carried a plague.
Ling Xiao ignored them and found an empty seat.
He noticed the VIP area wasn’t entirely free of humans.
But the humans here were in a sorry state.
One human, likely at the ninth level of the Heaven-Human realm, wore a leash around his neck and was used as a mount.
His large frame bore array seals on his hands and forehead, likely suppressing most of his cultivation, leaving him unable to resist.
His eyes were cold, giving Ling Xiao a brief glance without speaking.
Judging by his armour, he was likely a former general of the Holy Dynasty.
“What are you looking at, filthy human? Get lost!”
The person sitting on the human slave, likely a noble from the Great Peng Clan, glared at Ling Xiao with cold disdain and shouted.
Ling Xiao frowned but stayed silent.
He didn’t want trouble.
Especially not at the auction house.
His item was up for auction, and he needed to buy those Tianlong Continent slaves, so he didn’t want to escalate things.
“Lowly scum, didn’t you hear me? Get out! Don’t sit near me!”
The voice grew louder. The noble had none of the supposed refinement of aristocracy, acting like a mix of a street shrew and a thug.
Ling Xiao stood, smiling at the youth. “Who’re you calling scum?”
“I’m calling you, scum!”
“Oh, so you’re calling yourself scum? That’s odd. I’ve never seen someone demean themselves like this,” Ling Xiao said with a faint smile.
