You Dare Challenge Me in Public?!

Before long.

Ye Lingling returned with a gold card containing a full million Gold Soul Coins.

That was more than enough to bid on a fifty-thousand-year Ice-Type Herbs.

According to past auction records.

A fifty-thousand-year Ice-Type Herbs usually sold for around three hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.

That was partly because it was ice-aligned.

Ice-Type Herbs were unlike herbs of other attributes.

If a Soul Master without an ice attribute forced one down to raise their cultivation, there was a strong chance it would freeze their meridians.

"Well done, Lingling..." Lin Ye praised her.

Ye Lingling gave him a sweet smile.

To her, nothing made her happier than being able to help Lin Ye.

The three arrived at the Auction House.

The assets in Ye Lingling's hands got them through security without a hitch.

Just then.

Lin Ye saw Tang San and Xiao Wu coming down from the Auction House's upper floor.

Hmm...

If his guess was right.

Tang San had probably brought his handmade Hidden Weapons here to sell.

Tang San and Xiao Wu had been chatting and laughing.

But...

The moment they saw Lin Ye, their smiles vanished.

Of all the people to run into!

They had never expected to meet Lin Ye at the Auction House.

Bad memories assailed Tang San as images of Lin Ye beating him senseless flashed through his mind.

"What are you looking at?"

"Have I found myself a path to death or something?"

Xiao Wu was about to step forward and argue.

But Tang San caught her and held her back.

Now was not the time to let their tempers rule them.

As much as he hated to admit it, they really could not beat Lin Ye.

"Hmph—"

Xiao Wu shook her fist at him from a distance.

Her provocation displeased Ye Lingling, and Shui Bing'er frowned deeply.

Lin Ye, meanwhile, watched the two of them leave without a word.

More precisely...

His gaze was fixed entirely on Xiao Wu.

She was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

In Lin Ye's eyes, she was a walking Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.

No!

He had to find a chance to take a shot at that rabbit.

"Lin Ye."

"Let's go in."

Shui Bing'er's voice brought Lin Ye back to himself.

Lin Ye entered the Auction House.

The enormous Auction House was already packed.

He could not help thinking...

Heaven Dou City really was full of rich people.

The auction entered its third hour.

A leopard woman was sold for a hundred and fifty thousand.

Then the circular auction platform at the center slowly rose once more.

A piercing chill spread from the box of profound ice, instantly silencing the murmurs throughout the hall.

The auctioneer lifted the lid.

Inside lay a snow lotus, gleaming white as jade.

"I'm sure most of our distinguished guests heard about this lot before the auction."

"This is a fifty-thousand-year Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus!"

"A top-grade ice-aligned medicinal herb."

"The opening bid is one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. Each raise must be at least ten thousand."

The auctioneer said nothing more about the Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus.

A treasure like this needed no introduction!

"One hundred and ten thousand."

"One hundred and twenty thousand."

"I bid one hundred and fifty thousand!"

"..."

The bidding turned fierce in no time.

Lin Ye and the two women were in no hurry.

He and Ye Lingling had visited Auction Houses more than once.

Shui Bing'er, for her part, was steady by nature.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand!"

A wealthy merchant pushed the price up again.

He looked around smugly, convinced no one would bid higher.

"Two hundred and sixty thousand."

Just then.

A commanding voice rang out from the front row.

The merchant's face filled with indignation.

He was about to stand and see who had dared oppose him.

But the next moment.

He sank back into his seat in terror.

The bidder had been Prince Xue Xing.

That old bastard threw his weight around at the Auction House, relying on his status to get away with it.

Everyone knew.

Once Prince Xue Xing placed a bid, the auction was as good as over.

No one in Heaven Dou City dared oppose him.

"Two hundred and sixty thousand, once."

"Two hundred and sixty thousand, twice."

The auctioneer's face betrayed nothing, but fury seethed inside him.

The Auction House had gone to great lengths to obtain a fifty-thousand-year Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus, only to see it about to sell for a paltry two hundred and sixty thousand.

Worse still...

Even the "distinguished guests" the Auction House had planted in advance dared not raise a bid in the face of Prince Xue Xing's power.

"Two hundred and sixty thousand..."

The auctioneer was just about to bring down the hammer.

"Two hundred and seventy thousand!"

The bid from the VIP seats overturned everyone's expectations.

Someone actually dared challenge Prince Xue Xing in public?

Who was reckless enough to do that?

Everyone turned toward the voice.

There...

Lin Ye sat in the last row of the VIP seats, his number paddle still raised.

"Where did this greenhorn come from?"

"He doesn't know his place!"

"That brat's a newborn calf with no fear of tigers."

"If he knew who Prince Xue Xing was, he'd never have raised that paddle."

"..."

The crowd settled in to watch the spectacle.

After all...

Every one of them had suffered under Prince Xue Xing's thumb at the Auction House.

At last, someone had stepped forward to challenge him openly.

They wanted to see how that old bastard would respond.

"Two hundred and eighty thousand."

What else could Prince Xue Xing do?

Keep bidding, of course.

He could hardly order someone to go up and punch Lin Ye.

That would break the auction rules and disgrace the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.

"Two hundred and ninety thousand."

Lin Ye raised the bid again.

Only...

He was starting to feel a little nervous.

If he kept competing with Prince Xue Xing's wealth, even the entire Ye Family could not match him.

He could not make sense of it.

The Heaven Dou Imperial Family's Martial Soul was the Swan.

What the hell did that old man need Ice-Type Herbs for?

"Three hundred thousand."

Prince Xue Xing's face was just as dark.

Never before had anyone continued bidding after he placed a bid at this Auction House.

And this brat had done it again and again.

The boy surely had no idea who he was.

With that thought, Prince Xue Xing quietly sent a subordinate to tell Lin Ye his identity.

But...

What he got in return was another bid from Lin Ye.

Prince Xue Xing was so furious he nearly coughed up blood.

He had no choice.

He could only raise his bid as well.

If he failed to put this damned brat in his place today, how could he ever show his face at the Auction House again?

"Three hundred and fifty thousand."

"Three hundred and sixty thousand."

"Three hundred and seventy thousand."

"..."

The Auction House's VIPs clicked their tongues in amazement.

Their mockery of Lin Ye had turned to admiration.

He had guts!

Even after learning Prince Xue Xing's identity, he still chose to challenge him openly.

That kind of nerve put them all to shame.

"Four hundred thousand."

"Four hundred and fifty thousand."

"Five hundred thousand!"

"..."

Once the price reached that figure, Lin Ye stopped bidding.

Because five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins was already more than the Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus was worth.

Prince Xue Xing had won.

But...

The old man wasn't happy at all.

Lin Ye had trampled his authority underfoot.

"What a shame."

Ye Lingling let out a long sigh.

If she had brought more money, would things have turned out differently?

"Nothing to be sorry about," Lin Ye joked. "We can use the money we saved to get a room."

His remark left Shui Bing'er and Ye Lingling equally embarrassed.

A million Gold Soul Coins to get a room?

Tsk, tsk—

Wouldn't they be sleeping until the end of the world?

"Five hundred and fifty thousand!"

Just when everyone thought this farce had finally settled...

Another voice came from the corner...

"Qian Renxue?"