System Reward: Peak Golden Core Puppet Bodyguards

Lin Ying froze at Lu Yang's gesture.

The gentle touch came from the top of her head, turning into a warm current that flowed over her heart.

Only after a breath did she come back to her senses. Her slender shoulders trembled slightly, and her skin took on a visible shade of crimson.

She lowered her head until her chin nearly disappeared into her chest and squeezed out a barely audible "Mm."

Qin Nanyue sat beside them, her eyes wide and round.

She opened her mouth, glanced at Lu Yang's hand resting on Lin Ying's head, then at Lin Ying's thoroughly flushed face and her obedient manner, like a cat being stroked. She couldn't help complaining, "Hey... couldn't you two at least consider where you are? I'm still sitting right here. Flirting as if nobody else were around—have you considered how I feel?"

Most of the cultivators on the second, third, and fourth floors were at the Foundation Establishment Realm. Even the few in the Qi Refining Realm were at least at the late stage, if not the peak.

Quite a few cultivators of no mean strength were also seated in the first-floor hall.

Each of these people had better hearing than the last. Though Lu Yang and Lin Ying had spoken softly, they had still been heard perfectly clearly in the now-quiet auction hall.

When they had heard Lu Yang casually say that twenty-five thousand for five bottles of Supreme-Grade Yellow Dragon Pill "wasn't expensive," their composure had already been on the verge of shattering.

That was twenty-five thousand low-grade Spirit Stones!

Not two hundred and fifty!

And that wasn't expensive?!

Who on earth was this man?

How deep did his family's pockets have to be for him to say something like that?

Then, right on its heels, they heard Lu Yang and Lin Ying's conversation, and the cultivators present wore strange expressions.

Hey... if you're going to whisper sweet nothings, couldn't you at least set up a soundproofing array?!

Isn't it a bit much to flirt so openly?

Couldn't you at least consider how we feel?

In box nine on the third floor, a young man and a youth sat upright by the railing.

The youth's expression was ugly. He stared fixedly at Lu Yang's box and said through gritted teeth, "Who on earth placed that bid? Five bottles of Supreme-Grade Yellow Dragon Pill for twenty-five thousand. Is he an idiot?"

The young man beside him frowned slightly, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. "The Golden Rainbow Sword Sect is one of Qin Province's top sects, full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. It has countless disciples with astonishing backgrounds and formidable talent. Perhaps he's a direct descendant of some great Lineage."

The youth clenched his fists, his voice anxious and angry. "Brother, what am I supposed to do? I was lucky to come across so many bottles of Supreme-Grade Yellow Dragon Pill this time. I was planning to use them to break through to Mid-stage Qi Refining within five months, complete the assessment, and enter the inner sect directly! Now there's no chance of that!"

He was a disciple who had joined the sect in this intake.

If he completed the assessment within five months, there was a good chance a sect elder would take a liking to him!

For him, that would be an excellent start!

The young man glanced at him, his gaze calm but carrying a crushing pressure. "I know what you're thinking... The Golden Rainbow Sword Sect isn't our Lineage's territory. Don't bring those threats and bribes here. If you offend someone you shouldn't, not even our Lineage will be able to save you."

The youth's face alternated between green and white, his eyes full of resentment and defiance.

Under the young man's silent, heavy gaze, he finally gritted his teeth and lowered his head. "I understand, Brother."

The young man was silent for a moment, then sighed softly, his tone easing somewhat. "After we return to the sect, I'll look into that person's background first. Just now, I heard Qin Nanyue, the Qin Household's youngest daughter, in that box. If there's no other way, we'll do the Qin Household a favor and ask Qin Nanyue to introduce us. If he's willing to part with one bottle, we can simply buy it at a premium. One bottle of Supreme-Grade Yellow Dragon Pill will be enough for you to break through within a year."

Hearing this, the youth's expression brightened considerably, and he hurriedly smiled. "Thank you, Brother! Once the auction is over, let's go take a look."

On the auction stage, Liu Yaoyao's smile remained as beautiful and alluring as ever.

She had seen plenty of cultivators flirting in the auction house.

After all, she had hosted so many auctions. What grand spectacles hadn't she seen?

Naturally, she had no great reaction.

What truly piqued her curiosity was the young cultivator who had placed the bid. She had no recollection of him at all!

As the daughter of an elder of the sect's External Affairs Hall, Liu Yaoyao had heard of most disciples in the sect who had origins and backgrounds to speak of, thanks to her position.

But this disciple—she searched her memory and drew a complete blank.

She didn't dwell on it, though.

The Golden Rainbow Sword Sect had countless disciples and was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. It was only natural for one she didn't know to appear now and then.

She laughed in a sweet voice. "Honored guest number fifteen on the second floor has bid twenty-five thousand low-grade Spirit Stones! Are there any higher bids? Yaoyao will start counting down—three!"

The auction hall fell silent.

Liu Yaoyao's gaze swept slowly across the room. After a pause, she parted her red lips. "Two!"

"One!"

"Congratulations to honored guest number fifteen on the second floor for successfully bidding on five bottles of Supreme-Grade Yellow Dragon Pill. The transaction is complete."

Liu Yaoyao's expression showed no surprise.

Twenty-five thousand was already far above the usual price, well beyond what she had expected before the auction began. She had originally thought twenty thousand would be quite a good result.

Inside the box, Lu Yang heard that the transaction had succeeded. The corners of his mouth rose slightly, and he slowly let out a breath.

He had succeeded!

But...

Lu Yang noticed the varied gazes coming from every direction—some curious, some probing, some envious, and some greedy, hidden in the shadows.

His heart sank slightly.

He really had been a little too conspicuous this time.

His previous transactions involving hundreds or thousands of Spirit Stones had been small potatoes, and they had taken place in market shops, so they hadn't drawn much attention.

But the auction house was different. Seated here were descendants of the great Aristocratic Clans, as well as geniuses from the sect.

In front of so many people, he had thrown down twenty-five thousand low-grade Spirit Stones for a batch of pills. It would have been hard not to attract attention.

He had originally planned to visit home for the new year, but now it seemed he would have to put it off.

Within the sect, the rules kept people in check, and no one dared do anything to him.

But once he left the mountain gates, wealth could stir people's hearts. He couldn't take that risk.

Even so, money that needed to be spent still had to be spent.

The Rebate Card could only be assigned to a single purchase, so naturally, the greater the amount, the richer the return.

He couldn't possibly go out of his way to spend less.

Twenty-five thousand was already the limit of what he could manage at present.

Tens of thousands of low-grade Spirit Stones would at most arouse the greed of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators. If he had let the heat go to his head and thrown down hundreds of thousands, even Golden Core cultivators would probably have gone red-eyed.

As he pondered, a screen of light quietly appeared before his eyes, and a line of text slowly popped up.

[The host won an auction item with an absolute price, displaying the style of a tycoon, but the wealth exposed has drawn covetous eyes. Reward: puppet bodyguards ×5!]

Lu Yang stared at the words on the screen, stunned for a moment.

Puppet bodyguards?

The corner of his mouth twitched. They couldn't be those soldier-king bodyguards transplanted from an urban setting, could they?

In the cultivation world, a soldier king probably couldn't even beat an early-stage Qi Refining cultivator, could he?

He grumbled inwardly and casually opened the bodyguards' information.

The five bodyguards formed a standard squad, consisting of one captain and four members.

Five phantom images appeared on the panel: wooden-looking, black-haired middle-aged men with ordinary faces and stiff expressions, like five soulless stone statues.

Lu Yang first opened the captain's information.

[Wang Da: puppet bodyguard captain]

[Realm: peak Golden Core]

[Fortune traits: Fire Manipulator (mid-grade), Prairie Fire Spark (low-grade)]

[Skills: "Great Sun Gold-Melting Canon" (max level), "Flame Heart Instruction" (max level), "Great Sun Gold-Melting Finger" (max level), "Great Sun Divine Palm" (max level)...]

[Note: puppet bodyguards have no humanity or independent will and are governed by the host's will. Please do not use puppet bodyguards for illegal or disorderly activities!]

[Note: puppet bodyguards' skills cannot be taught!]

"?????"

Lu Yang's eyes widened. He stared fixedly at the attributes on the screen, wondering if he had read them wrong.