When Yi Yang heard the news from Xu Min, he merely tapped his fingers twice against the table in a steady rhythm and asked:
"Experts on the Hidden Dragon Ranking?"
"Yes, sir!"
Shock and wonder showed on Xu Min's face as he said, "One is an elder of the Heavenly Heart Sect's Enforcement Hall. His name is... oh, right, Chu Tiankuo! He's ranked two hundred and sixty-third on the Hidden Dragon Ranking! The other is a sword cultivator from Ten Thousand Swords Valley, Bai Yuchen. He's ranked even higher, at two hundred and fifty-ninth!"
"Both arrived on mutant beast mounts. When Bai Yuchen from Ten Thousand Swords Valley flew over the city gates on his bird, everyone in the city came out to watch! What a spectacle, tsk, tsk!"
Xu Min gestured as though he had seen it himself. "I heard that even Deputy Garrison Commissioner Jiang Zhongtian ranks a little lower than those two on the Hidden Dragon Ranking."
Yi Yang said nothing. His fingertips tapped lightly against the table twice, his gaze calm as he considered the matter.
Xu Min stood to one side, not daring to disturb him.
The room was utterly quiet, save for the sound of fingertips tapping against the tabletop.
Yi Yang thought, The Hidden Dragon Ranking gathers the Great Yu Dynasty's finest Profound Connection Realm experts. It records the strength of every Profound Connection Realm expert within the dynasty's borders, and the Imperial City's Secret Investigations Office updates it once every three years. Every person on it could make an entire prefectural city tremble three times with a single stamp of their foot.
Would experts of that caliber lower themselves to attend an auction in a regional stronghold?
Impossible.
No matter how prestigious an auction was, it should not have prompted figures of