"Sir, he isn't one of our martial artist squad..."
Scarhead hurried forward and stood in front of Lu Xuan.
"Hm?"
The Qi and Blood Martial Artist's gaze swept over. With a sharp puff, Scarhead was sent flying and smashed into the glass tables and chairs.
The Monster Potion Company was the first to release this book across the entire internet.
Everyone in the private room was shocked.
Lu Xuan's eyes narrowed as he looked at the Qi and Blood Martial Artist. The latter still held his chin high and coldly ordered him:
"Come with me!"
He had just turned around to leave when Lu Xuan's icy voice came from behind him.
"Apologize!"
Swish!
In an instant, everyone's eyes locked onto him.
They all fell on Lu Xuan, who sat upright on the sofa, unmoved.
"What did you say?"
The Qi and Blood Martial Artist's chest heaved violently. Powerful pressure poured from his body, filling the entire room.
"Sorry, s-sir..."
Scarhead hurriedly got up. Despite the wounds covering his body, he still forced a smile and said, "He's my nephew. He doesn't understand the rules... I hope you'll be magnanimous and let the little man off?"
"Apologize!"
Lu Xuan's face remained expressionless. He swirled the wineglass in his hand and spat out those two words again.
Boom--!
The entire private room fell deathly silent.
Everyone looked at Lu Xuan and felt that he had gone mad.
A martial artist was provoking a martial master. Wasn't he courting death?
In fact,
they could already imagine Lu Xuan being pinned to the floor and rubbed into the dirt by the Qi and Blood Martial Artist the next second.
"Hahahaha!"
Sure enough, the Qi and Blood Martial Artist laughed wildly. Staring at Lu Xuan, he snorted:
"Kid, you really..."
"Apologize!"
Before he could finish, an even colder voice came from the entrance of the private room.
Hearing it, the Qi and Blood Martial Artist's heart jolted. He hurriedly reined in his aura, hunched his neck, and turned around.
At the doorway,
there suddenly appeared the boss of Zero Martial Arts Company—the woman Scarhead and the others had mentioned, whom Lu Xuan had seen in a photograph.
"Boss!"
Everyone present except Lu Xuan went to pay their respects.
The woman nodded, then looked at the Qi and Blood Martial Artist and repeated the words from before:
"Apologize!"
"Boss, this..."
"Three!"
When the boss began counting, the Qi and Blood Martial Artist abruptly turned around, bent his body ninety degrees, and apologized to Scarhead and the others.
"I'm sorry!"
The sudden turn of events plunged the private room into an eerie silence.
Scarhead and the others exchanged glances.
They couldn't believe their eyes. The previously overbearing Qi and Blood Martial Artist was actually apologizing to them.
And all of this was merely because of Lu Xuan, who sat on the sofa!
Shock and bewilderment filled their eyes.
They looked at Lu Xuan in confusion, wanting to speak but hesitating.
At that moment, the woman approached in high heels, speaking as she walked:
"What is your martial artist squad called?"
"The War Spirit Squad."
"Good!"
The woman sat opposite Lu Xuan and said, "Starting today, your squad's treatment will be upgraded to that of an advanced martial artist squad. Your monthly salary will be 100,000 Federal Coins, with commissions calculated separately. Your resources will be the same as those of a Ninth-order advanced martial artist..."
As everyone wondered whether there was something wrong with their ears,
the woman raised her head and asked Lu Xuan tentatively, "Is this enough?"
Hiss--!
Whether they were members of the War Spirit Squad or other people from Zero Martial Arts Company, everyone was completely dumbfounded.
The ones who had caused trouble clearly weren't the company, yet their own boss was being so polite to a strange man—even faintly fawning over him?
What exactly was going on?
Where was their normally aloof and ascetic boss?
Especially Scarhead and the others. They retreated to the side, exchanging glances as if saying, "Holy crap, could Xuan really be our boss's boyfriend?"
No one knew why this was happening.
Only after Lu Xuan swallowed the red wine in his hand and revealed a faint smile did he say:
"Not bad."
"As long as you're satisfied."
The woman crossed her legs and waved her hand.
Everyone withdrew to the doorway, leaving the space to the two of them.
"My name is Xiao Yu'er," the woman introduced herself.
Lu Xuan put down his wineglass, sat up straight, and replied, "Xuan Lu."
The two looked at each other.
Xiao Yu'er turned her head toward the dead egg that the host had bought for six hundred million with one decisive strike and asked:
"Tell me, what's inside the dead egg?"
Lu Xuan nodded. "Why don't we open it and see right now?"
He had originally planned to secretly take it for himself and find somewhere to refine it.
He hadn't expected Xiao Yu'er to come looking for him so soon, forcing him to steel himself and make a decision.
After all, she had paid for it and helped him.
Fortunately, he possessed the Holy Cult's token.
At the very least, this woman wouldn't harbor any ulterior motives toward him. The Holy Cult might be evil, but it absolutely restrained its followers from killing one another.
Therefore,
Lu Xuan wasn't worried that she would kill him and seize the treasure after the secret of the dead egg was exposed.
"...Fine!"
She waved her hand.
Her subordinates immediately took action.
The auction organizers, who had been preparing to put away the dead egg, placed the bird egg back instead.
Under everyone's confused gazes,
the host raised both hands and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure everyone here wants to know what exactly is inside this dead egg that has repeatedly gone unsold, right?"
"At the buyer's request, we will crack open this dead egg on the spot!"
Whoosh!
The cheers at the scene surged like waves, rolling on without end.
"Great! I've wanted to see what's inside this dead egg for ages. The instruments couldn't see the whole thing, yet it was directly auctioned for the sky-high price of six hundred million. I want to see what kind of medicine it's selling in that gourd!"
"Damn, it drove two major companies into a mad bidding war. If it turns out to be a puddle of dead water today, I'll be able to laugh about it for the rest of my life!"
"..."
The venue erupted into an uproar.
People from all the major forces craned their necks, wanting to see what was inside the dead egg.
Inside the Monster Potion Company's private room,
Gong Yubai picked up another glass of red wine and sneered, "Ridiculous. It's just a dead egg. If I hadn't suddenly taken an interest, would I have offered such a high price?"
"Zero Martial Arts Company, since you want to make fools of yourselves all the way, don't blame anyone else. Start a livestream through the official account at once!"
"Yes!"
Six hundred million.
For forces like Zero Martial Arts Company and the Monster Potion Company, it wasn't enough to cripple them, but it was at least like losing a fingernail—painful enough to last a long time.
Spending six hundred million on a dead egg was already ridiculous enough.
And now they were going to open it in public.
Were they trying to make clowns of themselves?
Interesting.
He wasn't the only one thinking this way. Nearly everyone present thought the same.
In fact,
someone at the venue had already started a livestream, putting on an absurd broadcast for the entire internet.
"Everyone, behold!"
Just then,
the host shouted. Blood qi condensed at his fingertips into a grinding wheel, which he aimed at the dead egg.
At that moment, everyone held their breath and stared unblinkingly at the six-hundred-million dead egg. Some prayed inwardly, while others cursed it... Under the interweaving of all kinds of emotions,
in the blink of an eye,
clang!
The eggshell shattered!
The foul, rotten stench of dead water from inside the dead egg that everyone had imagined did not appear.
Not even the slightest odor wafted out.
The crowd was stunned and suspicious. They all craned their necks to look.
Buzz--!
Suddenly,
a formidable force rippled out from inside the broken egg, striking the entire venue like waves on water.
Standing before the broken egg, the host—a Qi and Blood Martial Artist—was driven back several steps by the impact before he managed to steady himself.
He stared at the egg in disbelief.
His lips trembled. "This... this isn't a dead egg!"
The others felt that force as well. Tens of thousands of people rose to their feet in an instant, leaning forward as they looked over.
At the center of the egg,
a miniature Skyfire Chicken slowly spread its wings. Beside it, a Golden Elixir of Qi and Blood wreathed in flames trembled, radiating a dazzling halo of light.
"T-this is... a Qi and Blood Golden Elixir!?"
"There's a Qi and Blood Golden Elixir inside this egg! H-how is that possible!?"
"My heavens, wasn't this supposed to be a dead egg? No, it isn't dead at all! Look, that bird is still alive!"
Countless people cried out. The entire venue was shocked.
Bang!
Inside the private room, Gong Yubai crushed the wineglass in his hand and muttered in disbelief:
"How is this possible? How is this possible?!"
"Wasn't that a dead egg? A Qi and Blood Golden Elixir..."
A Qi and Blood Golden Elixir wasn't considered precious.
But this was a Qi and Blood Golden Elixir condensed by a human Martial Dao Grandmaster. A Qi and Blood Golden Elixir condensed by a monster was completely different.
It possessed an attribute!
As long as one swallowed it, they were guaranteed to obtain a special attribute ability.
Among Beast Lord level monsters, the chance of leaving behind a special attribute ability was one in ten thousand.
One in ten thousand!
It was something money couldn't buy!
"Damn it!"
Gong Yubai cursed, but he didn't lose control. His face twisted viciously:
"That should have been mine!"
His heart ached as if it were being cut by a knife.
He was consumed by regret. If only he had raised his bid a little more.
What made him even more ashamed was...
"Boss, our livestream is still running."
Gong Yubai's expression instantly returned to normal. Only his eyes, seeming ready to burst from their sockets, remained fixed on the Qi and Blood Golden Elixir inside the dead egg.
Swish!
A Martial Master from Zero Martial Arts Company appeared on the high platform and shielded the bird egg.
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