"Gentlemen, thank you for waiting. The high-level auction conference of Lanyue Pavilion is about to begin. Now, please welcome Miss Yue Lan, our experienced auctioneer from Lanyue Pavilion, to host this auction." Amidst thunderous applause, a tall and graceful woman slowly walked onto the auction stage. Seeing her silhouette, Zhu Bufan couldn't help but catch his breath.

The beauty stepping onto the auction stage, Yue Lan, wore a dress similar to a qipao. The intentionally high slit revealed her long and perfect jade legs every time she moved. Her cascade of black hair was simply coiled atop her head, complementing her black qipao-style attire, giving her an air of mystery and elegance.

Her flawless, white jade-like skin emitted a faint blush. Her classic beauty was accentuated by her enchanting eyes. With the tight-fitting clothes highlighting her impeccable figure that no one could criticize, Yue Lan stood revealed before everyone. Even compared to the beauty of Huo Ling beside Zhu Bufan, Yue Lan could only be described as having her own unique charm, to the extent that Huo Ling's beauty could not completely overshadow Yue Lan. This alone spoke volumes about Yue Lan's perfection.

"Hiss..."

As soon as Yue Lan took the stage, everyone around was captivated by her bold outfit and stunning appearance, and the sound of people drawing sharp breaths filled the air. These gasps included those from Zhu Bufan himself, although his reason differed—it stemmed from the sharp pinch he felt on his soft waist. If not for his composure, he might have already jumped up in pain!

"What are you doing~~" Zhu Bufan gritted his teeth and turned to the culprit who nearly made him leap in pain. It was Huo Ling, who was intently watching the auction stage, not even sparing Zhu Bufan a glance. From the side, Zhu Bufan noticed the frighteningly icy look in Huo Ling's eyes.

"Unreasonable~~~" With Huo Ling's icy glare, Zhu Bufan dared not provoke her, only muttering helplessly before turning his head back. Hearing Zhu Bufan's quiet muttering, Gu Yue assumed he was praising Yue Lan, and immediately nodded, saying, "Indeed, Miss Yue Lan is almost like the main pillar of Lanyue Pavilion. Auctions she hosts usually fetch good prices for the items."

"Famous effect, huh? This Lanyue Pavilion isn't simple." Hearing Gu Yue's words, Zhu Bufan smiled slightly and said.

Sure enough, under Yue Lan's leadership, the auction became very lively from the start. Initially on auction were luxury goods, which were actually of no practical use, but under Yue Lan's silver-tongued introduction, they were described in an exaggerated manner. More astonishingly, whatever she spoke of became very convincing, fetching high prices for these luxury items.

"The next items are elixirs all cultivators greatly desire." As the next batch of auction items was brought on stage, Yue Lan's sweet voice rang out again, as melodious as an oriole emerging from the valley.

The red cloth was lifted, revealing a white jade bottle the size of a palm placed on stage. Yue Lan picked up the jade bottle and smiled as she said, "This bottle contains five incredibly precious Returning Qi Pills."

"Regarding Returning Qi Pills, surely everyone here is familiar with them, right? A Human Rank middle-grade elixir, once consumed, swiftly replenishes the Primordial Qi lost in battle. You must understand, in a fight between cultivators of the same rank, with the help of a Returning Qi Pill, your chances of victory considerably increase. Furthermore, these returning pills are crafted by Master Wang Hui, a name I'm sure many of you have heard?"

"Master Wang Hui?" Hearing Wang Hui's name caused a stir among those present. Wang Hui's reputation was evidently significant. Seeing Zhu Bufan puzzled, Gu Yue quickly said, "Master Wang Hui is a well-known Third Rank upper-level Alchemist, not affiliated with any factions of the Three Great Cities. Yet, he's been known to auction elixirs frequently. There are rumors that Master Wang Hui is about to break through to a Fourth Rank Alchemist."

"A Third Rank upper-level Alchemist? About to advance to Fourth Rank? Such a power not belonging to any faction, is that even possible?" Hearing Gu Yue's words, Zhu Bufan found it hard to believe. After all, a Third Rank upper-level Alchemist is someone no faction can afford to ignore. Not even considering overall cultivation, having an alchemist stationed within a faction makes a world of difference.

"Precisely because all three City Lords desire him under their banner, they end up in a stalemate where none can recruit him." With a wry smile, Gu Yue continued, "A Third Rank upper-level Alchemist cannot be ignored by any faction. The power and influence of the Three Great Cities are evenly matched; none can overpower or eradicate the others, resulting in a state of stalemate. Therefore, they all want to recruit Wang Hui, but none can allow the others to succeed in recruiting him either."

"As it stands, all want to recruit Wang Hui but fear igniting a coalition between the other two factions. The three City Lords' mutual restraint has tacitly acknowledged Wang Hui as a free Third Rank upper-level Alchemist. Furthermore, even if recruitment were forced, with Wang Hui's reputation, raising a call would likely result in endless trouble for that faction. It's known that, across any location, Alchemists and Artifact Refiners are professions most welcomed and eagerly sought after."

"Indeed so." After listening to Gu Yue's explanation, Zhu Bufan finally understood why Wang Hui could remain independent of the Three Great Cities' factions. It turns out the mutual restraint of the City Lords is the reason.

During this time, Yue Lan had also finished introducing the Returning Qi Pills in her hand. Under her persuasive and flowery rhetoric, the Returning Qi Pills were elevated to a level comparable to Heaven Rank elixirs. Strangely, under that crisp voice, everyone found it reasonable, almost akin to believing Heaven Rank elixirs couldn't compare to the Returning Qi Pills.

"What nonsense Returning Qi Pills. Back in my day, I used to treat Yuan Condensing Pills as candy, let alone Returning Qi Pills!" At this moment, the gloomy voice of Emperor Yan echoed in Zhu Bufan's mind. Apparently, Emperor Yan had clearly witnessed Yue Lan's glorification of the Returning Qi Pills, and when the bidding began, Emperor Yan couldn't help but grumble out loud.

Hearing Emperor Yan's words, Zhu Bufan couldn't help but laugh. Emperor Yan's childlike tone was one factor, but mainly it was because Emperor Yan mentioned treating Yuan Condensing Pills as candy. You must know Yuan Condensing Pills are Earth Rank middle-grade elixirs, treating them as candy would be extraordinarily absurd.

"Forget it. This emperor shall sleep. Just a little more to completely recover from the last depletion. Humph, lack of sleep is a beauty's worst enemy!" After saying words that almost made Zhu Bufan spit blood, Emperor Yan once again fell silent.

As the bidding continued, a bottle containing five Returning Qi Pills had pushed beyond three hundred jade coins in price. Clearly, these life-saving elixirs during critical moments still had buyers willing to pay a high price. Three hundred plus jade coins were the highest bid Zhu Bufan had heard at the auction so far.

Ultimately, the five Returning Qi Pills sold for over three hundred forty jade coins. Seeing the happy expressions on Yue Lan and the other auction staff on stage, Zhu Bufan knew this price exceeded the actual value of five Returning Qi Pills, hence their expressions.

"Next is the grand finale of today's auction." Unveiling the red cloth covering the next item, Yue Lan continued, "The highlight of today's auction is this, the Human Rank upper-grade martial art 'Beast King Howl'!"

"I believe all present know that sound-based martial arts are exceedingly rare. More impressively, the Beast King Howl has reached the level of Human Rank upper-grade martial art, making it an extremely powerful technique. Imagine, during combat, even your voice can become a deadly weapon. Isn't that something to yearn for?" After finishing, Yue Lan displayed a reverent look, causing more than half the auction attendees to experience accelerated heartbeats.

"Sound-based martial arts?" Zhu Bufan's expression turned serious after hearing Yue Lan's introduction. Sound-based martial arts indeed belong to a niche avenue of attack, but if their grade is high enough, their lethality is unquestionable. Sound attacks differ entirely from regular assaults, making defense difficult.

"The bidding for Beast King Howl starts now, with an initial price of four hundred jade coins, and subsequent bids must increase by no less than fifty jade coins." As soon as Yue Lan finished speaking, a familiar voice resounded.

"Five hundred jade coins!" The one who bid was the same Lian Hao who had earlier provoked Gu Yue. He directly increased the bid by a hundred jade coins and then cast a sharp, menacing glare around, implying clearly for others not even to think about competing with him!

"Five hundred and fifty jade coins." At this moment, a cold voice rang out, instantly souring Lian Hao's expression. Looking back, Lian Hao saw a man, dressed in black combat attire with an indifferent expression, slowly lowering his bidding hand. Beside the man sat a veiled woman dressed similarly.

"Ha! Who would've thought they came too? They're from the Zhou Family, a competing power with our Gu Family and the Lian Family in Heiyan City. Didn't expect that guy to come, too, well now things are getting interesting." Seeing the black-clad man bidding against Lian Hao, Gu Yue wore a schadenfreude expression.

"Six hundred jade coins!"

"Six hundred and fifty jade coins."

"Seven hundred jade coins!"

"Seven hundred and fifty jade coins."

"Eight hundred jade coins!!"

"Eight hundred and fifty jade coins."

"Two thousand jade coins!!!"

Seeing the black-cloaked man signaling with a gaze that implied no matter how high Lian Hao bid, he would always add fifty more, the enraged Lian Hao abruptly shot the price to two thousand jade coins. Witnessing this, Zhu Bufan burst into laughter.

"That fool got tricked and doesn't even know it. It's obviously something the Zhou Family put up for sale, continually inflating the price to trap him." Sure enough, when Lian Hao shouted the price to two thousand jade coins, the black-clad man ceased bidding, and naturally, the onlookers had no intention to bid either. Two thousand jade coins far surpassed what a Human Rank upper-grade cultivation technique should cost. The Beast King Howl was worth at most nine hundred jade coins, and realizing the trick, Lian Hao's face turned ghastly. Though he knew he'd been played, he dared not default—being brazen enough to default at Lanyue Pavilion meant even his Lian Family would face annihilation the next day, without any chance of resistance.

"Zhou Xian! I won't forget this!!" Glaring fiercely at the back of the black-clad man, Zhou Xian, Lian Hao suddenly noticed from this angle, he could glimpse the beautiful face hidden beneath Huo Ling's veil. This startled him to his core.

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