The hall fell into a deathly silence once more.
Xu You Rong gazed at Lin Da Niao, her eyes cold and shadowed, her body emanating icy killing intent.
Evidently, Lin Da Niao’s lavish display had enraged her beyond measure.
“Uncle Tian, do we have enough spirit stones?” Xu You Rong asked.
“Not enough.” Uncle Tian replied, “Even if we sought funds from Yong An City’s lord now, it would fall far short; drawing from the sect would be too late as well.”
“Bastard.” Xu You Rong snorted in fury, her fists clenched tight.
Gongsun Yang, seeing no further bid from the second floor, could not help but ask, “Saintess You Rong, the young master on the third floor has bid twenty million spirit stones; will you follow?”
Xu You Rong drew a deep breath, then said calmly, “Forget it; let him have it.”
Gongsun Yang asked the others in the hall, “Gentlemen, twenty million spirit stones, first call; anyone to follow?”
Follow? Bollocks!
Who had that many spirit stones?
Gongsun Yang declared loudly, “Twenty million spirit stones, second call; opportunities like this do not come twice, gentlemen; seize it!”
No one responded.
Gongsun Yang said, “Twenty million, third call; congratulations to this young master on the third floor; you have won the Blood Rainbow Spirit Bamboo.”
At once, murmurs arose among those present.
“Who is that fatty; how does he dare challenge the saintess of the Yin Yang Sect?”
“Whatever his background, spending twenty million spirit stones on the Blood Rainbow Spirit Bamboo makes him a wastrel.”
“Who says otherwise; a hundred-thousand-year Blood Rainbow Spirit Bamboo is worth at most five million spirit stones at most; he spent twenty million, and offended the saintess of the Yin Yang Sect to boot; his brain must be waterlogged.”
Uncle Tian was livid.
As Xu You Rong’s servant, he knew full well the purpose of her trip to Yong An City this time; to accomplish that great task, the Blood Rainbow Spirit Bamboo was essential; precisely for that reason, Xu You Rong had attended the auction.
Uncle Tian stared at Lin Da Niao, his eyes brimming with undisguised killing intent, and said coldly, “You dead fatty, twenty million spirit stones; do you think they are mere pebbles? Can you even produce them?”
Lin Da Niao rose to his feet, standing on the third floor, looking down as he said, “To me, spirit stones are no different from ordinary pebbles.”
In an instant, the hall erupted in uproar.
“What nerve!”
“He must be bluffing.”
“Even Yong An City’s lord cannot produce twenty million spirit stones; how could he? Who does he think he is fooling?”
Uncle Tian laughed in fury, “So flush with wealth, then; produce the spirit stones for us to see; if you cannot, even if our Yin Yang Sect is magnanimous and lets it slide, I fear Mr Gongsun would not spare you.”
At once, voices chimed in from around, “Fatty, bring out the spirit stones for us to behold.”
“If you lack that many, you are disrupting the auction’s order; Rong Bao Pavilion will not let you off.”
“I tell you, last time a fellow who disturbed the auction was slain on the spot.”
Uncle Tian bowed to Gongsun Yang and said, “Mr Gongsun, pray say a word; if that fatty cannot produce twenty million spirit stones, then this Blood Rainbow Spirit Bamboo ought to belong to my miss.”
Gongsun Yang hesitated a moment, looked at Lin Da Niao, and said, “Young master, everyone wishes to witness your wealth; why not show it off for all?”
Lin Da Niao laughed heartily, reached into his pocket, and tossed out a black ring.
Ye Qiu stood beside Lin Da Niao and saw it clearly; the ring Lin Da Niao threw was etched all over with dragon patterns.
“Mr Gongsun, please!”
Gongsun Yang caught the ring, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, and said smilingly, “No need to inspect; I believe the young master has the means.”
Uncle Tian was baffled, “Mr Gongsun, what do you mean?”
Gongsun Yang held up the ring and said, “Gentlemen, behold.”
Uncle Tian peered closely at the ring, then his pupils contracted sharply in shock: “Dragon Pattern Gold Ring!”
At these words, the entire hall quaked.
“What, that fatty possesses a Dragon Pattern Gold Ring? How is that possible!”
“The Dragon Pattern Gold Ring is the Black Dragon Merchant Guild’s emblem; they say only steward-level bigwigs qualify to hold one.”
“I heard too that with a Dragon Pattern Gold Ring, one may draw five hundred million spirit stones from the Black Dragon Merchant Guild at any time.”
“What is this fatty’s origin?”
“…”
Voices babbled around, discussion unending; at the same time, gazes upon Lin Da Niao turned to ones of awe.
After all, the Black Dragon Merchant Guild was the cultivation world’s largest trading house; like Rong Bao Pavilion, their business spanned the entire realm, self-contained and beholden to no faction.
Moreover, in terms of wealth, Rong Bao Pavilion paled far behind.
Uncle Tian had thought Lin Da Niao could not produce the stones, yet instead, he had let Lin Da Niao steal the show before all; his face darkened utterly.
“You dead fatty, daring to challenge our Yin Yang Sect; you have some nerve!”
Uncle Tian said chillingly, “In the Eastern Wastelands, few dare oppose our Yin Yang Sect.”
“Today, you made my miss and our sect lose all face; you shall not leave here alive.”
Uncle Tian had long taken a dislike to Lin Da Niao; besides, slaying him would not only yield the Blood Rainbow Spirit Bamboo, but also serve as a warning to others; two birds with one stone.
As for Lin Da Niao’s possible ties to the Black Dragon Merchant Guild, Uncle Tian was unconcerned; though the guild’s wealth was staggering, in experts, it fell far short of the Yin Yang Sect.
“Old sir, you are mistaken.”
Lin Da Niao said, “I had no intent to oppose the Yin Yang Sect.”
“The Blood Rainbow Spirit Bamboo was ownerless to begin with; Mr Gongsun said earlier, highest bidder wins.”
“If you, old sir, can produce more spirit stones, I shall yield the Blood Rainbow Spirit Bamboo to you.”
If I could produce the stones, would I be prattling here with you?
Uncle Tian took Lin Da Niao’s words as an insult.
Enough was enough.
“Since you court death so, I shall oblige!” Uncle Tian declared, killing intent surging, and moved to strike.
Gongsun Yang’s eyes narrowed.
At that moment.
“Halt!” Xu You Rong’s cold command rang out.
“Miss!” Uncle Tian urged, “What the Blood Rainbow Spirit Bamboo means to us, you know well; we cannot let that boy take it…”
Slap!
Xu You Rong rose and struck Uncle Tian across the face, saying, “How I conduct affairs is not for you to teach.”
“Do you not understand Rong Bao Pavilion’s rules?”
“Highest bidder wins!”
“Since he can produce more spirit stones, the Blood Rainbow Spirit Bamboo naturally belongs to him.”
Xu You Rong finished, then said politely to Gongsun Yang, “Mr Gongsun, my apologies; I have been lax in disciplining my subordinate; you have my embarrassment.”
Gongsun Yang smiled faintly: “No matter.”
“Farewell.” Xu You Rong said, turning to leave.
Yet, at that very moment, an untimely voice suddenly sounded.
“Wait a moment!”
