“One million and ten thousand Black Astral Coins.”

Just when Xiao Chen thought that no one would be competing with him, someone from booth sixty-five increased the bid by ten thousand Black Astral Coins.

Hence, Xiao Chen followed up on the bid, adding another hundred thousand Black Astral Coins.

“Booth seventeen increases the bid by one hundred thousand. The current bid is one million one hundred and ten thousand Black Astral Coins.”

“One million and five hundred thousand Black Astral Coins!” The person in booth sixty-five had paused for a while. Clearly, he had not expected anyone to compete with him over this item.

After seeing this price, that person shouted out a bid for one million and five hundred thousand Black Astral Coins in a rich and imposing manner, trying to scare off Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen activated the Bidding Stone and calmly shouted out, “Two million Black Astral Coins.”

The doubling in price caught even the yellow-clad old man somewhat off-guard. He had not expected the Azure Underworld Fruit that no one really cared about to trigger such an intense bidding war over it.

“Two million five hundred thousand Black Astral Coins!”

The person in booth sixty-five angrily raised his bid. Then, after a pause, he continued, “I am the Sole Hegemon Mountain Manor’s Young Manor Lord, Shi Feng. Friend from the booth across, would you be willing to give me some face? The Sole Hegemon Mountain Manor will definitely remember this favor.”

[TL Note: The name Shi Feng must sound very familiar by now. So far, the name Shi Feng has already appeared five times in the novel. However, do note that all five have different Feng characters. This particular one is 烽.]

“Three million Black Astral Coins!”

Ao Jiao very rarely asked Xiao Chen for something for herself. As far as he recalled, it had never happened before.

Since it was rare for Ao Jiao to express interest in something, Xiao Chen would not let it go, no matter what.

Rage flashed across the face of the yellow-clad old man on the auction platform. He said, “Young Master Shi, after this auction, you do not need to come to Cloud Treasure City anymore. Cloud Treasure City does not welcome you any longer.

“If you still wish to use your identity to ruin this auction, don’t blame the Treasure Master’s residence for not being sensitive and inviting you out.”

The people of the Treasure Master’s residence were extraordinarily emphatic. The yellow-clad old man’s reaction was beyond Xiao Chen’s expectations.

“Haha! Senior is joking. This Shi just wants to make a friend and not try to ruin this auction. I will give up this Azure Underworld Fruit in favor of this friend.”

---

“Bang!”

Right after Shi Feng finished speaking in booth sixty-five, his face sank. Then, he smashed his fist on the table and shattered the exquisite redwood table into powder.

“Senior Jiang, I’m really sorry. It looks like I will have to disappoint you.”

“Haha! Little Friend Shi is too serious. This old man’s main target is still the Divine Grade Black Patterned Gold. The Azure Underworld Fruit is only something that caught my eye in passing.”

Shi Feng said sullenly, “That won’t do. I already said that I would help Senior Jiang, so I will definitely obtain this Azure Underworld Fruit for you.”

“Old Yang, help me keep an eye on booth seventeen. I want to see who is so bold, not giving any face to our Sole Hegemon Mountain Manor.”

A heavy murderous intent flashed in Shi Feng’s eyes as he spoke to an old man.

Old Yang obeyed the order and silently left the booth.

---

Inside booth seventeen, Xiao Chen successfully obtained the Azure Underworld Fruit that Ao Jiao wanted after paying the bill. Then, he revealed a faint smile on his face.

Zi Ying remained silent at his side. She seemed like she wanted to say something but did not know what to say.

After putting away the Azure Underworld Fruit, he glanced at her and smiled. “Miss Zi Ying, just speak what is on your mind.”

“You are in trouble.”

Xiao Chen asked, “What trouble? The Sole Hegemon Mountain Manor?”

“Naturally. Among the many factions of the Northern Sea Alliance, the Sole Hegemon Mountain Manor ranks within the top ten. In recent years, they rose up strangely quickly. Many are saying that they will squeeze the Ye Clan out of the Alliance Chief position in the next round.

“Although the rules here state that one cannot fight here, the other party has his eye on you. Once you leave the Treasure Master’s residence, there will be some trouble.”

Xiao Chen nodded in agreement. Then, he said seriously, “Yes, there will indeed be some trouble.”

Seeing Xiao Chen’s indifferent appearance, Zi Ying felt somewhat powerless. She suddenly burst out, “Are you messing with me? You already know about the Sole Hegemon Mountain Manor.”

Zi Ying hit the nail on the head. Xiao Chen did indeed know.

Xiao Chen had once considered getting help from the Northern Sea Alliance, using Ye Chen as a connection. So, he had done his homework first.

Hence, he was rather clear on the inside information of the Northern Sea Alliance.

“You…”

Seeing Xiao Chen’s tacit confirmation, Zi Ying clenched her teeth. At this moment, she really hated this fellow. However, she could not do anything to him, nor could she bear to lose his big business.

Xiao Chen smiled and said, “My purpose in coming to the Northern Sea this time is to look for the Ye Clan. If the two clans are fighting, I will definitely help the Ye Clan. Sooner or later, I will run into this group of people.”

Zi Ying felt wronged as she said, “You sure are carefree. However, the one that will suffer is this lady.”

“When doing business, one must be smooth and slick in establishing relationships. One should go everywhere and try to maintain good relations with everyone. However, this requires extremely high skill. Given your current experience, mental state, and age, that is impossible. You will end up hitting snags everywhere, unable to gain any benefits.

“Now that you know your shortcomings, you should quickly make a choice as soon as you can. Pick either the Ye Clan or the Sole Hegemon Mountain Manor, then fully support your choice with all your might.”

These words stunned Zi Ying. It was like Xiao Chen figured out everything from her seemingly calm expression.

These words were like a heavy blow that brought about enlightenment, shocking her awake. She was speechless for a long time.

Wait a minute, Zi Ying reacted. I clearly wanted to teach him a lesson. How is it that the situation turned around, and he taught me a lesson instead?

Xiao Chen nearly managed to influence Zi Ying’s decision with just a few words.

Zi Ying wanted to say something but discovered that Xiao Chen was already staring at the light screen.

The auction for the Divine Grade Black Patterned Gold had already begun; the bids kept rising rapidly. Soon, from the starting bid of one million, it reached three million.

Xiao Chen sighed, “There are really many nouveaux riches around.”

Zi Ying calmed herself down and analyzed, “Five million is the dividing line; it is already twice the market rate. Any more spent will result in a great disadvantage.”

As Zi Ying expected, once the bids passed five million Black Astral Coins, the zealous competition slowed down.

Only two or three people remained in this bidding war. Of which, Shi Feng, who was in booth sixty-five was the most stubborn.

Shi Feng did not hesitate to raise the price every time, increasing the bid by five hundred thousand Black Astral Coins each time. He gave off a rich and imposing attitude, wanting to suppress the rest with money.

“Booth sixty-five bids seven million Black Astral Coins. Is there anyone willing to place a higher bid?” the yellow-clad old man slowly asked as he looked around.

Seven million Black Astral Coins, that was already almost three times the market rate. Any higher would not be worth it.

The bustling scene finally showed some calm and quiet. The astronomical price of seven million forced out several potential buyers.

“Ten million Black Astral Coins!” Xiao Chen called out a bid calmly after activating the Bidding Stone, shocking the entire place.

Inside booth sixty-five, Shi Feng was chatting happily with that mysterious Senior Jiang as he waited to receive the goods. This heavy blow caused him to spit out the tea in his mouth.

“Damn. He hasn’t finished yet?!”

The astronomical price of ten million Black Astral Coins shocked everyone in this place. The imposing Shi Feng who flaunted his wealth to suppress others no longer said anything.

Xiao Chen won the bid for the Divine Grade Black Patterned Gold. When the maidservant brought the goods up, he paid happily.

Zi Ying was flabbergasted. Xiao Chen bid five times the market rate, paying a sky-high price to obtain the Divine Grade Black Patterned Gold. His boldness was truly something to behold.

And he still needed to pay twenty million Black Astral Coins for the other divine materials.

Which was to say, for the sake of refining two dragon-seeking Secret Treasures, Xiao Chen would spend a total of thirty million Black Astral Coins. Not including the valuable treasures that one carried, this amount of Black Astral Coins equaled the wealth of an ordinary Martial Emperor.

“Was it worth it, using such a high price to obtain the Divine Grade Black Patterned Gold? That is half the price of the other ninety-nine types of divine materials.”

The Divine Grade Black Patterned Gold flickered with an illusionary flowing nine-colored light. Xiao Chen felt entranced looking at it. He replied softly, “If you knew what these two Secret Treasures mean to me, you would not ask such a question.”

“You really are a Geomaster?”

“You should not ask what you should not ask.”

Xiao Chen did not answer. He put away the Black Patterned Gold and headed towards the door.

“Don’t be so petty.”

Zi Ying smiled faintly and gave chase quickly. “Just tell me whether you are a Geomaster who can seek dragons and fix veins.”

Xiao Chen ignored Zi Ying and left the booth. There was no one in this dazzling corridor.

He casually looked around before leaving directly by the same route he had come.

After Xiao Chen was far away, a figure slowly appeared in a corner. This was Old Yang, who was currently obeying Shi Feng’s order.

As Old Yang looked in the direction that Xiao Chen had taken, he muttered to himself, “So, it is him, the Azure Dragon King Xiao Chen. No wonder he was so overbearing, not even giving the Young Manor Lord any face. This is going to be difficult to handle.”

Shaking his head, Old Yang did not think anymore. He returned to booth sixty-five with a few flashes to report everything he had seen.

“The Azure Dragon King? As if that’s incredible?”

After hearing Old Yang’s report, Shi Feng felt strangely angry for no reason at all. Then, he snorted coldly.

“Right now, everyone knows that he is fated to die early, like a meteor in the sky. He is just a cripple, and yet he dares to compete with me. How reckless! If I don’t teach him a lesson, he will think too highly of himself.”

The mysterious, black-robed old man with the family name Jiang put down his teacup and said in a soft voice, “I think we should just let this matter go. He is just a genius with no future. No matter how dazzling he is, it will be useless. However, I do not want to offend the Thunder Sovereign, who supports him.”

Seeing Shi Feng opening his mouth to say something, the old man with the family name Jiang interrupted, “Young Master Shi, rest assured. I will still do what I promised you. Given the Manor Lord’s sincerity, I will not reject it.”

Shi Feng had become famous at a young age, sweeping through the Northern Sea. Since when had he ever been so aggrieved? After getting his face badly slapped at the auction, he would become a big joke if word of this spread.

“Senior Jiang, I will shoulder all the consequences of this. I don’t believe that the Thunder Sovereign will do anything to me over a genius that does not have a future.”

Disdain flashed in Shi Feng’s eyes. His voice was bone-chilling.

His tone was full of confidence. He felt that Xiao Chen was already past his prime and believed that he would not suffer any major consequences if he attacked Xiao Chen.

However, while Shi Feng considered the possible revenge of the Martial God Palace’s Thunder Sovereign, he did not think about whether he was capable of getting Xiao Chen to pay any attention to him.

In Shi Feng’s opinion, Xiao Chen was merely someone who was not even a Small Perfection quasi-Emperor. Indeed, Shi Feng did not care about morality, planning to beat Xiao Chen down as much as he wanted, to show him a small chance of turning things around, to toy with him as he pleased.

Shi Feng believed that as long as he did not kill Xiao Chen, the Thunder Sovereign and the Martial God Palace would not do anything to him.

“Let’s go. Let me see what kind of person this Azure Dragon King is.”

The moment Shi Feng spoke, he led the Sole Hegemon Mountain Manor’s group out of this booth, quickly giving chase.

Soon, only the mysterious old man with the family name Jiang remained inside, sampling tea on his own.

Then, the old man with the family name Jiang slowly set down the teacup. Doubt flashed in his eyes. Why would this Azure Dragon King spend such an astronomical sum to bid for the Divine Grade Black Patterned Gold for no reason?

According to rumor, Xiao Chen was not some spendthrift with more money than sense. Could there be some complication beneath his fame?

Whether this old man’s thoughts were correct or not, or whether there was more to Xiao Chen than met the eye, he would know by observing the fate of Shi Feng’s group.

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