Attack (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

"One hundred and ten taels!"

The burly, bearded man suddenly raised his placard, as if he had been waiting for this very moment.

One had to understand that although this Snake-kin demi-human was difficult to tame, she was a genuine expert at the peak of Bright Force.

If one were to use methods like chronic poisons as leverage, combined with a mix of favors and threats, achieving a delicate relationship of obedience would be quite easy.

"One hundred and twenty taels!"

Someone immediately raised the bid; this time, it was a heroic-looking woman.

She swept her gaze over the men casting strange looks her way and said with disdain, "What? Can't this lady use a demi-human guard for her own household?"

The others stopped speaking and simply raised their placards in silence.

"One hundred and thirty taels."

"One hundred and forty taels."

"One hundred and sixty taels..."

The price of the Snake-kin demi-human quickly reached two hundred and fifty taels, with even Chen Jingping placing two bids, appearing quite interested.

As for Zhou Yun, he had completely abandoned the idea of acquiring the Snake-kin through the auction.

He believed that if he troubled Senior Brother Chen again and invoked the name of the Xiang City Chen Clan, the chances of securing the Snake-kin would be very high.

But in exchange, he would effectively be tied to the Chen Clan's ship forever.

Although Chen Jingping had always treated him well, Zhou Yun had no intention of binding himself to any family just yet.

"Three hundred and twenty taels!"

Suddenly, a man in a green shirt raised his placard and coldly announced the price.

The crowd was stunned; exceeding three hundred taels of silver made many hesitate.

If this were truly a Snake-kin demi-human at the peak of Bright Force who could be tamed—or even one who might later break through to Dark Force or become a Transformation Force grandmaster—three hundred taels would be a pittance.

But if this Snake-kin could not be tamed and could only be kept in check through threats, the cost of investment would be far too high.

Not to mention that chronic poisons would damage the demi-human's potential, making it uncertain whether she could ever reach such high levels.

Three hundred taels of silver alone was a lifetime's worth of savings for some Dark Force martial artists; it simply wasn't worth it for a demi-human that couldn't be fully tamed.

Even Chen Jingping, upon hearing this price, retreated, seemingly unwilling to involve himself in this karma.

It stood to reason that even for him, the methods to force the Snake-kin into total submission would come at a cost, and that cost was certainly not worth three hundred taels.

"Congratulations to this young master for winning the bid for this peak Bright Force Snake-kin demi-human."

The beautiful auctioneer smiled gently and clapped her hands, signaling two Bright Force martial artists to lead the Snake-kin out from the side.

Two chains bound her hands and feet, and an iron collar was locked around her neck; as long as one had not broken through to Dark Force, it was absolutely impossible to break free.

"Please take care of her, young master."

The Bright Force martial artist handed the end of the chains to the man in the green shirt as if delivering a piece of merchandise.

The man in the green shirt took the chains, his expression icy, and without a word, he turned to walk out of the hall.

His gait was somewhat strange; his legs seemed uncoordinated, not at all like a martial artist, but rather like an elderly man with a faltering step.

"This person... does anyone here know which noble family this young master belongs to?"

At this moment, the heroic-looking woman asked with a frown.

The surrounding guests looked at one another, seeing only confusion in each other's eyes.

To be able to produce three hundred taels of silver in one go, and to be such a young man—even if those present were not deeply involved in worldly affairs, they should have had some impression of him.

But not only did no one recognize this man in the green shirt, even Lu Tianxiong was filled with doubt, wondering when he had invited such a wealthy young master.

"Wait, look at his palms!"

Just then, the burly, bearded man pointed sharply at the man's palms, where a few faint green scales were visible.

Everyone present had seen these green scales before; they were the exact same snake scales found on the face of the Snake-kin demi-human!

"This person isn't a human martial artist, he's a Snake-kin!"

Someone shouted, and the hair on the necks of every martial artist present stood on end. Lu Tianxiong took a few rapid strides to stand before the man in the green shirt.

"Brother, I wonder if you would allow this humble one to take a look at your arm..."

Lu Tianxiong saw the man's face, which was dark enough to drip water, perfectly matching the characteristics of the Snake-kin.

In an instant, he searched his memory for this face, confirming that it did not match any young master from any noble family.

Lu Tianxiong slowly shifted his stance, preparing to take the man down in one move.

Seeing this, the Sea Whale Gang martial artists turned hostile, gradually forming a perimeter around the man in the green shirt.

"Is this how your Sea Whale Gang treats its guests?"

The man in the green shirt tried to explain, but the green scales on his palms suddenly began to multiply.

Swish!

The three iron chains on the snake-woman's body were severed in an instant, and the man in the green shirt suddenly roared, "Saintess, go! I will hold them off!"

In a flash, the snake-woman's green pupils swept across the nearest martial artist, and she broke through toward the weakest gap.

Several martial artists tried to intercept her, but several unfamiliar martial artists suddenly appeared beside them and engaged them in combat.

These martial artists all had green scales on their bodies and moved with strange footwork, yet their strength was astonishingly great.

"The Snake-Person Race is attacking! Snake-People are attacking!"

A martial artist shouted at the top of his lungs, but he was immediately entangled by a Snake-Person and found himself unable to break away.

"The Snake-Person Race... raiding a human auction?"

Zhou Yun frowned, his palm gathering Dark Force as he struck a Snake-Person in the back, only to find his Dark Force felt as if it had slammed into a thick wall, causing only a slight crack on the surface.

One must know that if this palm strike had landed on a human martial artist without Dark Force protection, it would have resulted in death or severe injury.

The Snake-Person let out a cry of pain, its venomous green pupils fixed on Zhou Yun as if it wanted to tear him to pieces.

But in front of it, two martial artists seized the opportunity, picking up the long swords in their hands and stabbing them into its abdomen.

"For now, there are still more human martial artists; the situation will be under control soon."

Zhou Yun scanned the surrounding environment; Chen Jingping was facing two Snake-People alone and was not at a disadvantage, even appearing close to ending the fight.

Liang Chengshi, upon seeing these Snake-People, acted as if he had encountered some rare curiosity, his eyes revealing an excited expression... as if he grew more valiant the longer he fought.

"A good opportunity..."

Seeing that no one was watching him, Zhou Yun turned and disappeared into the crowd, sprinting in the direction the snake-tribe enchantress had fled.

On the streets, the moon was dark and the wind was high.

Bai Qingzhi gritted her teeth, running desperately through the night toward the county checkpoint.

She knew deep down that this was the best opportunity her tribe had created for her; otherwise, she would be completely imprisoned by those humans, turned into a plaything or even a loyal dog.

She had originally come to the outskirts of the Black Profound Mountain Range out of curiosity to find interesting things, never expecting that humans would have discovered her patterns, laid an ambush, and captured her for the auction.

Bai Qingzhi swore that if she could make it back to Luoqiu Slope this time, she would listen to her great-grandmother and never appear on the borders of the human race again until she had completed her third molting.

"Hiss, a young lady leaving the city in the middle of the night..."

The guard watching the gate saw this and, seemingly harboring some ulterior motive, chuckled and blocked Bai Qingzhi's path.

"Stop right there, which family are you from?"

The guard still wanted to take advantage of the situation, but he suddenly felt a chill at his neck, and a thin line of blood appeared across his throat.

"You, you..."

The guard clutched his neck and collapsed to the ground; his companion had just reacted when he suddenly felt the world go black.

Bai Qingzhi hurried out of the city gate, identified the direction, and ran toward the deep mountains.

Just as she was about to step into the dense forest, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

"This young lady, killing our human kin and then leaving—isn't that a bit against the rules?"

Zhou Yun's gaze was calm as he stood before Bai Qingzhi.