Conflict

The Hook-nosed Man's gaze sharpened. He slowly turned to look at the attendant behind him, a sinister smile curling across his lips.

Though he was smiling, the attendant felt a chill run down his spine and cursed inwardly, Damn it, every single one of them is hard to serve. Fail the mission and the family head will have me executed; remind him once and he threatens me. Is being a servant really this hard these days?!

"I wouldn't dare!"

"If there is a next time, I won't mind replacing you!"

The Hook-nosed Man snorted coldly. If not for the attendant's decent strength, he would have kicked him out long ago.

Hearing the neighboring room raise the bid again, Yao Feng's expression changed as he hesitated.

"Two hundred and twenty thousand gold coins!"

Yao Ling stood up and called out the bid, then flashed Yao Feng a bright smile.

"Brother Feng, you didn't forget about me, did you?"

"Two hundred and twenty thousand gold coins, going once."

"Two hundred and twenty thousand gold coins, going twice."

"Two hundred and twenty thousand gold coins, going three times."

"Congratulations to the distinguished guest upstairs for winning the item. Next, we will begin the auction for the following item."

Old Mo's hammer came down sharply, his eyes narrowing into slits with delight. The Demonic Flame Greedy Wolf had sold for several tens of thousands of gold coins more than they had anticipated, so naturally, his commission had increased as well.

"Hehe, young man, you certainly have deep pockets. I, Li, concede defeat!"

The Hook-nosed Man's voice came from the room. Yao Feng frowned slightly. He did not seem to know this fellow before. Could he really be targeting him over that trivial incident at the city gate?

Somewhat puzzled, Yao Feng looked at the standing Yao Ling and smiled.

"You little girl are pretty rich, huh? Once I have money in the future, I'll pay you back double."

"Hehe, of course. I'll remember that, Brother Feng. Don't go back on your word later!" Yao Ling said with a grin as she sat down beside Yao Feng.

"What kind of joke is that? Do I look like that sort of person?!"

With the Beast Flame in hand, Yao Feng no longer paid attention to the auction items onstage and began chatting and laughing with Yao Ling instead.

A little while later, there came a knock at the door. A maid entered carrying a silver tray, upon which sat the crystal sealing the Demonic Flame.

"Young master, this is the Demonic Flame Greedy Wolf's Origin Flame that you purchased. You need to pay two hundred and twenty thousand gold coins."

The maid gave a slight curtsy and spoke with a professional smile.

Yao Feng nodded and directly placed the Five-patterned Purple Gold Card onto the silver tray. At the same time, Yao Ling took out a Three-patterned Purple Gold Card and placed it there as well.

Purple Gold Cards were issued by Heaven and Earth Bank, a transcendent power of the Central Continent. Heaven and Earth Bank's business spread across the entire continent, and it could be called the wealthiest power on the continent. Though it was not particularly famous, few forces dared provoke it. Once, a transcendent power had tried to set its sights on Heaven and Earth Bank. In the end, that transcendent power, along with its Dou Sheng ancestor, vanished overnight, leaving behind only the ruins after a great battle.

Yao Feng only had two hundred thousand on his card, not enough to buy this Beast Flame. Fortunately, Yao Ling had lent him a hand at the crucial moment. Otherwise, Yao Feng truly would not have known what to do.

The maid took out a black crystal, pressed the Purple Gold Cards against it, and performed a simple operation before handing the Purple Gold Cards to Yao Feng along with the Demonic Flame.

"Ding. Detected that the host has obtained the Demonic Flame Greedy Wolf's Origin Flame. Devour it immediately?"

A familiar mechanical voice sounded. Yao Feng could not help smiling. It seemed the system was still somewhat useful.

"Devour!"

Yao Feng shouted inwardly. The Demonic Flame in his hand abruptly transformed into a streak of fire and rushed into his body. The Dou Qi within Yao Feng began circulating on its own along the path of the Flame Mantra. After entering his body, the Demonic Flame headed straight for his Dantian. Its scorching heat continuously refined the Dou Qi inside him. Moments later, black Demonic Flame seemed to burn fiercely in Yao Feng's eyes before vanishing again.

Feeling the abundant Dou Qi within his body, Yao Feng extended his right hand and circulated his Dou Qi. A cluster of Demonic Flame abruptly rose from his palm. Within the flames was the phantom of a Demonic Flame Greedy Wolf roaring, exuding an imposing aura.

"Brother Feng, you..."

Yao Ling's little mouth fell open in surprise.

"Relax, it's only a fourth-tier Beast Flame. There's no need to make such a fuss."

Yao Feng waved his hand and spoke as though it were nothing. However, although he had devoured the Beast Flame, the Flame Mantra had not evolved in rank. This was within Yao Feng's expectations. After all, Xiao Yan's Flame Mantra had only advanced after devouring the Green Lotus Core Flame.

"But don't people normally make every possible preparation before devouring a Beast Flame? Brother Feng, you did it way too fast?!"

"Uh... well, you know my bloodline concentration is extremely high. Maybe that's why. My affinity with flames is exceptionally high, so it was easy for me to devour the Demonic Flame."

"Oh, I see."

Though Yao Ling was somewhat doubtful of this explanation, she could not think of any reasonable alternative and could only choose to believe Yao Feng.

Yao Feng secretly wiped away a cold sweat, thinking that he absolutely could not use the system's functions in front of others in the future, or it would be hard to explain.

"Next is the final item of this auction: a Phoenix Blood Essence Stone obtained from the Blood Abyss. It is said to contain a trace of the essence blood of an ancient divine beast, the Phoenix. Whether used in alchemy or consumed directly, it is immensely beneficial. The starting bid is five hundred thousand gold coins, and each bid increase must be no less than ten thousand gold coins."

"Ancient divine beasts? Do such things really exist?"

"Isn't that obvious? They say this thing is an exceptional ingredient for refining pills. I never expected the Ten Thousand Miles Auction House to have the nerve to put such a treasure up for auction, and at such a low starting price too!"

"..."

"Five hundred and fifty thousand gold coins!"

"Five hundred and seventy thousand gold coins!"

"Six hundred thousand gold coins!"

"Six hundred and fifty thousand gold coins!"

As the auction hall gradually became livelier, the crowd's enthusiasm for bidding grew ever fiercer.

The price of the Phoenix Blood Essence Stone rose steadily, quickly breaking past one million gold coins.

Such a lively scene naturally caught Yao Feng's attention. Moreover, in just that short time, the fellow in the neighboring room had already bid three times. Unfortunately, they were clearly not the only ones interested in this item.

"This old man offers three Three-patterned Green Spirit Pills. Would that be enough to exchange for the Phoenix Blood Essence Stone?"

"Three-patterned Green Spirit Pills? Which big shot is that? Three-patterned pills are not commonly seen."

"One Three-patterned Green Spirit Pill is worth about six hundred thousand gold coins. Three of them make one million eight hundred thousand gold coins. How extravagant."

"Two million gold coins. The Li Family of the Beast Region wants this item. Old sir, why not give me some face? There will surely be a generous reward in the future." The Hook-nosed Man spoke with rare politeness, though his voice could not conceal its arrogance.

"Hehe!" The elderly voice chuckled, but did not bid again.

"The Li Family of the Beast Region? Could they be from the Heavenly Eagle Clan? I heard their clan leader, Li Cang, is already an eight-star Dou Zun. I never expected them to come to Yaotian City as well."

Some of the more knowledgeable people quietly explained it to those beside them.

"Two million, going once!"

"Two million, going twice!"

"Two million..."

"Two million and ten thousand!"

"Who cares what Li Family of the Beast Region you are? Since you disgusted me, you should be prepared for me to disgust you back!" Yao Feng chuckled and immediately raised the bid by ten thousand gold coins.

"Damn it!" Thinking the item was already his, the Hook-nosed Man heard Yao Feng's voice and clenched his hand into a fist before slamming it viciously onto the table.