"No way! What a soap-opera twist!"
Looking at the beautiful woman onstage, Ling Feng felt both surprise and delight.
For a moment, his mind filled with images of the beauty by the lake whom he had seen completely naked. He had never expected such a fateful connection with Ya Fei.
"Now this is getting interesting."
Ling Feng grinned as he watched the woman in red at center stage, his face taking on a devilish look beneath his mask.
Meanwhile, with Ya Fei's clear, sultry voice ringing out, the atmosphere in the auction hall was rapidly heating up.
Even Ling Feng could not help clicking his tongue in admiration. She truly deserved to be called the empress of commerce.
Ya Fei was a beauty known to practically everyone in Wutan City. Her mature, seductive charm made countless men willing to bow beneath her skirts.
Unfortunately for them, although Ya Fei appeared uninhibited, she was deeply conservative at heart and always stopped just short.
In plain terms, she only lit fires; she never put them out.
Ya Fei understood her own allure perfectly, but she never cheapened or sacrificed herself. Instead, she knew how to turn her strengths to her advantage. She was exceptionally shrewd and well versed in business.
To sum her up in a sentence, Ya Fei was the sort of woman who could easily have lived off her looks but insisted on relying on talent instead.
"What a temptress."
Watching the alluring, voluptuous curves of the red-dressed woman on the platform, Ling Feng could not help muttering under his breath.
"Hehe... everyone, Ya Fei has just received a new item on consignment. I believe you'll all find it very interesting."
After selling the item in her hands, Ya Fei suddenly spoke with a smile. At a wave of her delicate hand, an attendant hurried forward with a jade tray bearing a small white jade bottle.
"This is a second-grade medicinal preparation called Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. It only works on those below Dou Zhe. Soaking in this liquid while cultivating can increase your cultivation speed..."
Carefully lifting the small white jade bottle with her slender hand, Ya Fei introduced it in a seductive voice that briefly quieted the auction hall.
A moment later, the hall erupted into chatter. On the Dou Qi Continent, the most sought-after goods were the various medicinal preparations produced by alchemists.
However, they had never heard of a second-grade preparation intended for those below Dou Zhe. Excitement surged through the hall, and even the heads of Wutan City's three great clans could no longer remain composed.
Only Ling Feng narrowed his eyes sharply upon hearing the name Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid.
"Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid?"
Murmuring the name, Ling Feng immediately turned to scan the seats behind him. But with so many people in the hall and his view obstructed, he could not find the person he wanted to see.
Still, Ling Feng knew perfectly well who had consigned this Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid.
Xiao Yan, you came after all!
Turning back toward the platform, Ling Feng stared at the small white jade bottle in Ya Fei's hand, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes. You stole my opportunity and bullied me because I had no backing. This time, I'll show you the price of crossing me!
With that thought, Ling Feng suddenly rose, excused himself to Jia Lie Bi, and slipped into a dark corner of the auction hall.
Xiao Yan, I won't let your auction go as planned!
Ling Feng knew perfectly well that Xiao Yan had consigned the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid because he lacked the money to buy cultivation resources. He wanted to sell even the lowest-quality Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid for whatever price he could get, but Ling Feng would not let him have his way.
Although Ling Feng knew this would do little real harm to Xiao Yan, he simply wanted to trip him up and disgust him.
As the saying went, little damage, tremendous humiliation.
If Xiao Yan suffered, Ling Feng was happy.
"Creation God Pen, copy and create..."
Taking out the Creation God Pen, Ling Feng got straight to work, using heaven and earth as his canvas to begin copying and creating.
"Hey... brother, what are you doing?"
Just as Ling Feng began drawing, a sleazy young man suddenly slung an arm around his shoulders as though they were old friends.
"Hm?"
Ling Feng frowned, only to see the young man waggle his eyebrows lewdly at him. "Hehe... you don't have to tell me. I already know. You're jerking off to Ya Fei, aren't you...? Hehe... we're brothers of the same persuasion. I was just looking for a good spot to let off some steam myself. Didn't expect you to beat me to it. You sure know how to pick a place."
As he spoke, the young man looked back at Ya Fei on the platform and gave a shudder, as though his weak kidneys had left him unable to finish pissing. More filthy words spilled from his mouth toward Ling Feng. "Ya Fei is just too irresistible. I can't take it anymore. Brother, move over a little. Let's jerk off together..."
Before Ling Feng had even finished processing his words, the young man reached down and whipped out his equipment. His eyes burned as he stared at Ya Fei onstage, both hands pumping beneath him as her rosy, cherry-red lips gently opened and closed...
"Holy shit!"
The sight nearly blinded Ling Feng. He could only marvel that such an outrageous maneuver even existed.
But once he recovered, his face darkened, and he knocked the sleazy fellow unconscious with a single strike.
Although he had used his own five-fingered companion while watching Japanese porn in his previous life, he had never done anything so sleazy toward a real person.
Ling Feng could never pull off something this brazen. If the target had been anyone else, he might have stood aside and enjoyed the spectacle. But not when it was Ya Fei.
Ya Fei was the woman he had his eye on. How could he allow another man to fantasize about her? Even the thought felt like a loss. So Ling Feng directly ordered the shadow operative Seven to take the sleazy young man away. He also instructed Seven to perform a sausage-slicing, egg-smashing castration on the fellow, letting him experience firsthand the sorrow of eggs and bananas.
Afterward, Ling Feng resumed copying and creating, continuing his plan to sabotage Xiao Yan's consignment auction.
"Hehe, everyone, I now announce that the starting price for the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid is eight thousand gold coins. The floor is yours. Please place your bids!"
Having finished introducing the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, Ya Fei immediately opened the bidding. Her enticing red lips parted slightly, and the sweet, sultry voice that emerged made everyone in the hall feel a tingle in their bones.
It had to be said that Ya Fei was a master at stirring up a crowd. Every smile and frown kept the atmosphere at fever pitch.
"Eight thousand five hundred!"
Moments after Ya Fei finished speaking, someone called out a bid.
"Nine thousand gold coins!" Another bid followed immediately, making the hall lively indeed.
The price kept climbing, reaching ten thousand gold coins in mere moments.
Ya Fei maintained her smile throughout, sweeping her gaze around the hall before finally settling on the three clan heads seated right at the front.
She knew that those three were the real contenders.
Good grief, it's already shot up to thirteen thousand gold coins!
Among the crowd, Xiao Yan sat draped in a black robe. Watching the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid set the entire hall ablaze with excitement, he too wore an expression of thrilled surprise.
Calm down, calm down. This little bit of gold has you acting like that? What a hopeless boy.
At the voice ringing out in his mind, Xiao Yan felt no annoyance. Instead, he scratched his head with a goofy grin and replied inwardly, You're right to reprimand me, Teacher.
Your composure still needs work. You must be like your teacher: calm in all things, unmoving as a mountain. Cultivate diligently under me from now on, and gold coins and Dou Techniques will be nothing to worry about.
Faced with Yao Chen's somewhat pretentious tone, Xiao Yan merely smiled. Yes, yes, yes. You're absolutely right, venerable sir.
After that perfunctory response, Xiao Yan returned his attention to the auction, inwardly shouting along with the rising bids, Eighteen thousand! Higher! Higher!
Yet just as Xiao Yan was putting on this dramatic performance inside his head, a voice suddenly broke through the clamor and rang across the entire hall.
"Is this garbage really worth fighting over?"