Zhao Manyan's Request

"You!"

Dongfang Lie was left speechless. Though furious, he had not lost his reason.

Seeing this, the auctioneer onstage immediately spoke up. "Young Master Dongfang, this is the Zhao Trading Company. If you do not intend to bid, then please do not make things difficult for the others."

"Exactly! Is this really all the dignity the mighty Dongfang Family has?" someone mocked.

"Hmph!!"

"Just you wait!"

Dongfang Lie snorted at Li Xingze, then stood up and left the auction hall outright.

"Congratulations to this gentleman for winning this lot!"

The remaining lots were all magic equipment and magic tools, none of which interested Li Xingze.

As for the Soul Essence Li Xingze intended to auction, it was not in this auction area, but in a higher-tier auction area, where the attendees were generally advanced mages or above.

After the auction ended, Li Xingze immediately went to collect the remaining money. The Commander-level Soul Essence had sold for 450 million; after deducting 74 million, he had 376 million left.

Just as Li Xingze was about to leave, the girl who had received him earlier came running over, panting, with her ample breasts bouncing up and down.

"Sir, our boss would like to meet you. Do you have the time?"

"The boss?"

Li Xingze was somewhat surprised. Wasn't the owner of the Zhao Trading Company Zhao Manyan's father? Shouldn't he be overseas right now?

Could it be the boss of a branch company?

Still, there was no harm in meeting him. With a random Teleportation Scroll on hand, he could simply flee if trouble arose.

"Lead the way."

VIP room.

"Please come in!"

Li Xingze strode inside. The room was lavishly and exquisitely decorated, far more comfortable than the lounge from before.

Sure enough, even guests were ranked into different classes!

The moment he entered, a young man about his age approached him. Beneath a flowing head of black hair was a strikingly handsome, almost bitchy face.

He really was good-looking, but compared to Li Xingze, he still fell short.

The man's face was deathly pale. Though they were the same age, he gave off the impression of someone with weak kidneys.

Combined with his extraordinary bearing, there was no need to guess—this man was Zhao Manyan.

By this time, Zhao Manyan had probably plucked quite a few flowers already, hadn't he?

"I am Zhao Manyan. How should I address you, friend?"

The handsome young man showed none of the arrogance and domineering attitude one might expect. Instead, he treated others with warmth.

Upon hearing the name "Zhao Manyan," Li Xingze merely raised an eyebrow without showing any surprise. After sizing Zhao Manyan up, he said blandly, "Li Xingze."

Li Xingze had considered using a false name, but there was no need. They would get to know each other eventually anyway, and Zhao Manyan was not such a bad person. (P.S.: Only from a man's perspective.)

"Li..." Zhao Manyan pondered secretly. There was no prominent Li family in Magic City.

The Ancient Capital Li Clan was indeed famous, but if this man dared to offend the Dongfang Family, it was unlikely that he was relying on the Ancient Capital Li Clan thousands of miles away.

Could he be the descendant or disciple of some great mage?

As the second young master of the Zhao Trading Company, even if he had not truly entered the business world, Zhao Manyan had developed insight far beyond ordinary people through constant exposure.

This young man before him, who was about the same age as himself, was definitely no ordinary person!

"Brother Li, which city are you from?" Zhao Manyan asked probingily.

Even he could not produce a Commander-level Soul Essence right now, yet this man could.

Li Xingze frowned slightly and said directly, "There is no force backing me. You don't need to keep probing."

"Uh..." Zhao Manyan gave an awkward laugh. He had not expected Li Xingze to be so direct.

Still, he did not believe Li Xingze's words. How could someone who could produce a Commander-level Soul Essence and was unafraid of the Dongfang Family possibly be an ordinary person?

"Brother Li, rest assured, I mean no harm. I merely wish to ask you for a favor."

"No time." Li Xingze decisively shook his head. He was still thinking of going back to play little games with Xin Xia.

Zhao Manyan's mouth twitched, and he forced out a smile. "I've run into a small problem. As long as Brother Li is willing to help, I'm willing to offer a High-Grade Magic Tool."

"A High-Grade Magic Tool!"

Li Xingze was somewhat surprised. Zhao Manyan really was generous.

Magic tools were far more expensive than magic equipment. Especially rare, high-quality magic tools—ones worth over a hundred million were easily found.

"Go on."

Li Xingze did not agree immediately. Even with Hai Bo Dong as his bodyguard, his safety in the wilderness could not be guaranteed one hundred percent.

As the second young master of the Zhao Trading Company, Zhao Manyan had both money and influence. He could easily hire a Hunter squad, yet he had not done so.

That only showed that this mission was far from simple.

"My Light Element needs a Spirit Seed."

"A Spirit Seed? The Zhao Trading Company is short on Spirit Seeds?" Li Xingze questioned.

Zhao Manyan sighed and said seriously, "You don't understand. Light Element Spirit Seeds are extremely scarce to begin with. Most Light Element mages choose artificially synthesized Spirit Seeds."

"A Spirit Seed is only temporary anyway. Choosing a synthesized one won't affect anything," Li Xingze said blandly.

"That was what I originally planned to do, but then I received some information—information about a Top-Grade Light Spiritual Seed."

Li Xingze immediately became somewhat interested and looked curiously at Zhao Manyan.

"What's so special about this Spirit Seed?"

"This Spirit Seed comes with the Scorching Effect, allowing my Light Element to possess a certain degree of offensive power."

So that was it. Li Xingze immediately understood why Zhao Manyan was interested in this Light Element Spirit Seed.

By now, Zhao Manyan had probably awakened his second element, the Water Element. Both of his elements were defensive ones, which only made him want offensive magic even more.

After all, being a turtle-shell mage was a major obstacle to picking up girls!

"A place that even the Zhao Trading Company can do nothing about probably isn't that simple, is it?"

Although Li Xingze had figured out the reason, that did not mean he had to help Zhao Manyan.

A High-Grade Magic Tool was nice, but it was not something Li Xingze desperately needed.

"Just as expected, I couldn't hide it from you." Zhao Manyan's face was full of worry. "According to the information I received, the Spirit Seed is on Mingyun Ridge. But there's a Feathered Demon there that's close to Monarch-level."

"Close to Monarch-level."

Li Xingze looked at Zhao Manyan with concern. Had this guy lost his mind?

He was only an Intermediate-Level Mage who had entered the intermediate level not long ago. How could he possibly risk going to such a dangerous place?

Even though he had quite a few life-saving methods, it was completely not worth it for just a High-Grade Magic Tool!

"Don't worry. I'm confident it won't discover us," Zhao Manyan said with absolute certainty.

Li Xingze shook his head and said flatly, "Instead of looking for an Intermediate-Level Mage like me, you might as well hire a Hunter group to kill that Feathered Demon."

"Of course I considered a Hunter group, but I can't come up with that much money right now." Zhao Manyan scratched his cheek and said awkwardly.

The family assets had always been managed by his father and older brother. Although he never lacked resources or spending money, he really could not afford to hire a Hunter group.