Auction House

The next day's match concluded smoothly. Gu Yuena stood beside Lin Chen, quietly discussing the details of the match with him.

Xie Xie, meanwhile, grumbled about how troublesome their opponents had been.

After hesitating for a while, Tang Wulin asked Lin Chen, "Brother Lin Chen, do you know where Eastsea City's auction house is? I want to bid on a few things."

Lin Chen turned his head at that, a trace of understanding flashing through his glassy eyes. "I'm still not too familiar with Eastsea City. Ask Xie Xie—he knows this place much better than we do."

"Leave it to me." Xie Xie patted his chest and said with practiced ease, "It's at the Eastsea Museum. Our Eastsea City auction house is jointly run with the museum. There's a dedicated auction exhibition area inside, and auctions are held regularly."

Xie Xie curiously leaned closer, blinking as he asked, "Wulin, what are you trying to buy? Why are you being so mysterious?"

Tang Wulin vaguely replied, "Just... some cultivation resources. Nothing special."

As he spoke, he shot Lin Chen a look, afraid that if Xie Xie kept asking, Lin Chen would reveal what had happened the previous night.

Naturally, Lin Chen caught his meaning. He patted Xie Xie on the shoulder. "Everyone has their own cultivation methods. If Wulin doesn't find it convenient to say, don't keep pressing him."

Xie Xie curled his lips and scratched his head. He did not ask further, only muttering, "Fine, don't say it. Why make it so mysterious?"

After asking Xie Xie about the prices of spirit items, Tang Wulin left Lin Chen and the others where they were and returned to the dormitory first.

Lin Chen turned to Gu Yuena beside him and softly said, "Wulin might be having some trouble. Tomorrow's a rest day, so let's go with him."

Gu Yuena nodded lightly. "Anything is fine."

Early the next morning, Tang Wulin had originally planned to go alone, but he could not withstand Xie Xie's persistent pestering. In the end, the four of them went to the auction house together.

Eastsea City Museum stood in the city center. It was an ancient-looking building made up of one main structure and two side buildings.

Xie Xie expertly led the three of them to the auction exhibit area. The cheapest items here started at one hundred thousand Federation Credits. Stopping outside a rectangular room, he said, "This is the spirit item section. Take a look and see whether there's anything you need."

Within the spirit item section, Tang Wulin quickly scanned rows of display cases. Yet his brows only furrowed more deeply. He shook his head. "These spirit items are a little too low-grade. Are there any that are over a hundred years old?"

Xie Xie froze for a moment, then patted him on the shoulder. "You should've said so earlier. The high-year spirit items are all on the second floor. Come on, I'll take you up."

The group soon arrived on the second floor. Just as they rounded the corner, Tang Wulin's gaze was drawn to a display case ahead of them. It contained exactly what he needed.

Tang Wulin moved closer to Lin Chen and lowered his voice, looking somewhat embarrassed. There was no helping it—money could stump even a hero. "Brother Lin Chen, could you lend me some? What I have on hand doesn't seem to be enough."

Lin Chen nodded to show it was no problem and took out a savings card. "There are two million Federation Credits on this. Take it for now. If it's not enough, we'll talk later."

Tang Wulin accepted the heavy savings card, his fingertips trembling slightly. His eyes were full of gratitude, and for a moment, he did not know what to say.

Xie Xie, standing nearby, was completely dumbfounded. He froze in place, his face instantly going blank.

Several seconds later, he finally came back to himself. He immediately leaned forward, wiggling his brows at Lin Chen with a fawning expression. "Brother Lin Chen, you're actually a hidden tycoon? You can just pull out two million Federation Credits like that?"

Yun Linchen raised a hand with a look of disgust and unceremoniously shoved the approaching Xie Xie aside. "Go away, go away. Get to the side."

He turned to Tang Wulin and said, "Wulin, you and Xie Xie look around here. Na'er and I will go browse for a while, then come find you."

"Alright, Brother Lin Chen, thank you!" Tang Wulin hurriedly nodded. His grip around the savings card tightened, and warmth filled his heart.

Lin Chen and Gu Yuena browsed the jewelry section side by side. Most of the display cases contained ordinary accessories. There were neither rare treasures nor anything that suited their tastes. The two did not linger and headed back toward Tang Wulin.

As soon as they rounded the corner, they heard Xie Xie's angry voice from ahead. The two exchanged a glance and quickly walked over, just in time to see Xie Xie frowning as he confronted a middle-parted-haired youth.

"So what if you're Class One? After tomorrow, you'll be Class Two."

Lin Chen grabbed Xie Xie by the wrist and said, "Xie Xie, don't you think we already have enough trouble?"

His gaze casually swept over the people opposite them. His tone was as light as idle conversation, yet every word was clear. "Tsk, what decent person walks a dog without a leash? It's biting people at random."

The other side was still somewhat confused at first, but once they understood, they were like cats whose tails had been stepped on, hissing in fury.

He glared at Lin Chen for a long while without recognizing him. Gritting his teeth, he said "good" three times in a row. "Words are useless. If you've got the guts, we'll settle this in tomorrow's match. Remember my name: Wei Xiaofeng. I'll make you regret it tomorrow!"

After throwing out that threat, he shot Xie Xie a vicious glare, then led two others away without looking back.

Once Wei Xiaofeng and the others disappeared around the end of the corridor, Xie Xie turned to Lin Chen, his eyes full of admiration. "Brother Lin Chen, you're amazing. One sentence and you made him blow up."

He paused before adding, "But he said his name is Wei Xiaofeng. He's a two-ring soul master from Class One and has always been pretty arrogant at the academy."

Gu Yuena gave him an indifferent glance. "Xie Xie, don't tell me you're scared?"

Sensing that the atmosphere was turning strange and seeing that the two were about to start bickering, Lin Chen hurriedly signaled Tang Wulin to pull Xie Xie aside.

Just then, Tang Wulin's phone rang. He apologetically glanced at the others and walked aside to answer it.

After hanging up, he quickly returned and said to them, "Sorry, Brother Lin Chen, Na'er, Xie Xie. My teacher called and told me to go to the Blacksmith's Association. I have to leave first."

Xie Xie froze. "Huh? Then what about your spirit items?"

"I might not make it to the auction," Tang Wulin said, biting his lip, his tone full of urgency and apology. "I can only ask you to bid on these things for me. Please!"

Lin Chen patted him on the shoulder. "Go. The Blacksmith's Association is more important. With us here, nothing will go wrong."

Tang Wulin gratefully looked at them. After hurriedly saying "thank you" once more, he turned and quickly left the auction house.

Watching Tang Wulin's departing figure, Xie Xie helplessly spread his hands. "Sigh, now there are only three of us left. The auction's about to start."

Lin Chen turned to Gu Yuena beside him and naturally said, "Come on, Na'er. Let's help Wulin bid on those spirit items."

Gu Yuena softly acknowledged him and followed in his footsteps.

Xie Xie followed behind the two, watching their shoulder-to-shoulder figures. He scratched his head and sighed. "This time, I can only be the third wheel by myself."

By the time the auction ended, it was already night. When Tang Wulin returned to the dormitory, he found a storage ring on his bed, containing the three spirit items he needed.

Tang Wulin glanced at Lin Chen, who was meditating and cultivating, and recalled those words from before: "Be careful of Yun Lin... he is already doomed to die."

He shook away his irritated thoughts and treated that golden voice as utter nonsense. Brother Lin Chen treated him so well—how could he possibly be doomed to die?