"Your Highness, this is only the first hall of Misty Rain Pavilion."
"Misty Rain Pavilion has four great halls. The second hall hosts auctions, while the third is the duel arena," Luo Feng said.
"Then let's head over."
Chu Yun then followed Luo Feng toward the other halls.
At the same time, in the distance, a young woman dressed in dance attire was performing. When she spotted Chu Yun, a trace of playful amusement curled across her lips.
The three of them entered the second hall.
They found five auctions being held one after another. Looking across the guest seats at each auction, there were at least several hundred people.
The items being auctioned at the various events were also entirely different.
Some auctioned pills, artifacts, and all manner of heavenly and earthly treasures.
Some specialized in formations, while others specialized in spirit beasts.
Some even auctioned intelligence, as well as slaves and death warriors.
Everything imaginable was available.
"Auctioning intelligence... that's worth paying attention to."
"Come on, let's go take a look."
The three of them immediately walked over.
They took seats nearby.
To avoid exposing his identity, Luo Feng had put on a mask before coming.
As for Chu Yun, although he was now the Ninth Prince,
he had only returned today, and not many people had seen him, so he was not afraid of being recognized.
"The third intelligence item of this auction!"
"What is being auctioned is the defensive strength of the Ninth Prince's Residence in the Great Xia Dynasty."
"The starting price is three hundred thousand spirit stones. Each bid must increase by no less than fifty thousand."
Chu Yun: ???
Chu Yun had barely sat down when he heard what intelligence was being auctioned, and his mind went blank.
So the gossip had landed right on his own head?
"Three hundred and fifty thousand."
Yet in the next moment, someone immediately placed a bid.
It was a man seated in the first row. He too wore a mask, making his identity impossible to discern.
"Damn!"
"Someone's actually buying it!"
Chu Yun immediately became wary.
Today, he was going to see exactly who was so interested in him!
"Four hundred thousand."
"Four hundred and fifty thousand."
"Six hundred thousand."
"Seven hundred thousand."
"One million."
Things developed far beyond Chu Yun's expectations. At least nearly ten people took part in the bidding.
In the end, an elderly man at the front, dressed in a plain gray robe with a face full of wrinkles, secured the intelligence for one million spirit stones!
"Commander Luo, do you know who these people are?" Chu Yun cautiously asked through voice transmission.
"Your Highness, the elder who bought the intelligence is named Tang Xiang. He is at the Shattering Realm Peak, the Third Prince's formation mentor, and a renowned formation master as well."
"As for the others, aside from the masked man who bid first, their cultivation is too low. I do not recognize any of them," Luo Feng said.
"Oh?!"
"You can identify that masked man?!" Chu Yun was delighted.
"He likes to rub his thumb against his other fingers. That is one of his habitual movements. Together with his voice, I can be completely certain of his identity."
"He is Teng Yin, a retainer of the Eighth Prince. He is at the early Shattering Realm and specializes in curses," Luo Feng said with certainty.
Hearing this, Chu Yun was secretly shaken.
After the auction for his intelligence ended, these people left directly.
Clearly, they had all come for intelligence about him.
Chu Yun was not particularly surprised that the Third Prince had set his sights on him.
The Third Prince and the Crown Prince were full brothers, both born of the Empress.
As for the Eighth Prince, he was born of the Imperial Consort.
That he would send someone to bid on the defenses within Chu Yun's residence was truly unexpected.
But what Chu Yun found hardest to understand was just how omnipotent Misty Rain Pavilion was.
He had only returned on his first day, yet the guards at his residence had already been thoroughly investigated and put up for auction?!
"No!"
"Tomorrow, I'll mention it to Imperial Father and have him send me more people. If you have the ability, auction it again!"
Chu Yun's guiding principle was simple: never let others figure him out.
Fortunately, no one knew of Venerable Wan Lei's existence.
With an intelligence discrepancy involving a Venerable Realm expert, he would be able to slap Misty Rain Pavilion hard across the face in the future!
"Come on, let's go take a look at the duel arena."
At this point, Chu Yun rose and led the other two toward the third hall.
The third hall was an enormous circular duel arena.
Disciples of Misty Rain Pavilion stood guard all around it, and there were multiple trading counters as well.
Below, there were dozens of duel rings. Each had formations inscribed within it, capable of channeling the spreading force underground and ensuring it would not spill into the surroundings.
There were also many spectators at the duel arena. Like people gambling on cockfights, they shouted and cheered for the contestants they had chosen.
"What do people mainly play in this duel arena?" Chu Yun asked.
"Your Highness, there are two ways to play in this duel arena."
"The first is beast fighting. The beasts here actually refer to fighters raised by Misty Rain Pavilion itself."
"Two duelists fight. Whoever survives wins, and we can place bets on them. The profits are ultimately divided according to the odds."
"As for the second way, you fight yourself. You can challenge duelists of the same realm or a higher realm to earn rewards from Misty Rain Pavilion."
Luo Feng explained it very clearly, and Chu Yun roughly understood the rules as he listened.
He slowly walked to a trading counter and raised his head to examine the listed rewards.
He looked from top to bottom.
He discovered one particularly good reward.
An Evil Infant at the Nirvana Realm Peak!
An Evil Infant was an evil consciousness born from the yin and malevolence gathered under heaven. It fed specifically on the souls of living beings, fierce and savage beyond measure. No soul mark could be imprinted upon it; it could only be sealed, never controlled.
However, although it could not be controlled with a soul mark,
Chu Yun's Netherworld Divine Eyes could control every evil entity in the world, naturally including an Evil Infant.
In other words, as long as Chu Yun obtained it, he could completely bring it under his control and turn it into a powerful trump card!
"I have to get that Evil Infant!"
Chu Yun looked at the conditions listed above.
He needed to defeat a duelist three minor realms above him before he could qualify to claim the reward.
In other words, given Chu Yun's current cultivation, he needed to defeat a duelist at the Golden Core Realm Peak to obtain that Evil Infant.
After thinking for a moment, he directly took a mask from his storage pouch and put it on.
Since he was going to show off, with his enemies still hidden while he stood in the open, it was better not to use his real identity for now.
If he exposed his brilliance too early and someone killed him at all costs, he truly would have nowhere to cry.
After putting on the mask, Chu Yun walked up to an elder at one of the counters. "I want to challenge a duelist."
"Young master, would you like to challenge a duelist at your own realm, or one with higher cultivation?" the elder asked with a smiling face.
"I want to challenge a duelist three minor realms above me, at the Golden Core Realm Peak," Chu Yun answered calmly.
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