The Jia Lie Family

After Xiao Yi Xian finished calling out her bid, the hall fell somewhat silent. A long moment later, curious gazes turned toward the Heavenly Character No. 1 Private Room.

"Tsk, tsk. Five hundred thousand gold coins for a Beast Flame... whoever's in the Heavenly Character No. 1 Private Room probably isn't from Wutan City." Beneath his cloak, Jia Lie Bi's eyes were cold, yet filled with apprehension.

"Anyone who can produce five hundred thousand gold coins at once is either one of the nobles from Capital City or an expert from the Misty Cloud Sect. A Beast Flame is valuable, but the price is too steep. There's no need to offend an expert over it," the Jia Lie Family Elder warned.

"Yes, I know what I'm doing." Jia Lie Bi put away his cold gaze. The saying that even a mighty dragon could not overpower a local snake clearly did not hold true in a world of cultivation. Even an ordinary Dou Ling, given sufficient preparation, could wipe out all three major families of Wutan City in one fell swoop. Although the Jia Lie Family could still afford to raise the bid, making an enemy of an unknown expert would be decidedly unwise.

Unfortunately, while Jia Lie Bi thought that way, someone was clearly unhappy.

"Patriarch Jia Lie, without that Beast Flame, I won't be able to become a Second-Rank Alchemist, much less refine Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid for you in bulk." Liu Xi's sinister voice rang out. He sat beside Jia Lie Bi with one leg crossed over the other, the single eye visible beneath his mask dark and brooding.

Liu Xi was a First-Rank Alchemist whom the Jia Lie Family had paid a hefty sum to bring in from elsewhere to refine pills. He was currently the only publicly known alchemist in Wutan City.

"Five hundred thousand gold coins is no small sum, and we don't know the identity of the mysterious person in the Heavenly Character No. 1 Private Room. If he's some powerful expert, offending him would cost us more than we gain," Jia Lie Bi explained patiently.

"Then wouldn't all your efforts have gone to waste?" Mockery gleamed in Liu Xi's eye. Leaning back in his chair, he continued casually, "It makes no difference to me. With the gold we save, I can enjoy a few more women. But your Jia Lie Family seems to have sold off quite a few assets in a package deal to the Nalan Family in Capital City to raise the funds for this, haven't you? Buying them back now probably won't be easy."

Jia Lie Bi fell silent. Their purpose in coming here was to secure this Beast Flame for Liu Xi, help him become a Second-Rank Alchemist, and then have him refine large quantities of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid to greatly enhance the Jia Lie Family's strength. To raise the funds, he had sold off practically all the Jia Lie Family's assets outside Wutan City in one package. The price they had paid was enormous.

"Patriarch, you mustn't. We can find another way to obtain a Beast Flame. There's absolutely no need to provoke the mysterious person in that Heavenly Character No. 1 Private Room," the Jia Lie Family Elder interjected.

"I don't understand what you're so worried about. Even the Misty Cloud Sect treats my teacher with respect. Who in the Jia Ma Empire would dare deny my teacher face?" Liu Xi sneered again.

"Patriarch!"

"Six hundred thousand!" Jia Lie Bi raised his bidding paddle again.

An uproar swept through the auction hall. Everyone turned toward the raised paddle, eager to see who dared bid against that mysterious expert.

"You lot, get ready. Once we secure the Beast Flame, we'll leave together, then split up. Remember, don't return to the family. Run toward the Xiao Clan and the Ao Ba Family. After a night has passed, we'll gather outside the city and return through the secret passage." Jia Lie Bi made thorough preparations. With this plan in place, even the elder could no longer object.

"That's more like it. No matter how strong that person is, could he really ambush and kill us on our own turf? What a joke." Seeing that Jia Lie Bi had made up his mind, Liu Xi smiled in satisfaction.

"You'd better give me a satisfactory return. Otherwise, not even that teacher of yours will be able to save you." Suddenly, Jia Lie Bi turned to Liu Xi with a vicious look.

"I know. Don't you trust me?" Liu Xi's flippant tone infuriated the elder beside him. For today's auction, the Jia Lie Family had spent nearly a quarter of its wealth, severely sapping its vitality, all for the sake of obtaining enough Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid to increase its strength and establish an absolute advantage over the other two major families.

Lost money could be earned again, and greater strength meant earning even more! This was the Jia Lie Family's shared conviction.

"They raised the bid." Xiao Yi Xian was about to bid again, but Xiao Yan stopped her, his eyes filled with disgust.

"I think I know who those people are." Xiao Yan silently called to Yao Lao. A moment later, a translucent soul emerged from the Black Ring and looked at Xiao Yan helplessly.

"Yao Lao, are they from the Jia Lie Family?" Xiao Yan asked Yao Chen to use his soul power to investigate the faces of the people below.

Yao Chen nodded and extended his soul power out of the private room, sending it straight toward the Jia Lie Family's group.

"It is indeed Jia Lie Bi and the others from the Jia Lie Family. There's also a man sitting beside him with slightly stronger soul power. He should be an alchemist too."

Xiao Yan understood. If anything significant had happened in Wutan City during his year of diligent cultivation, it had to be the Jia Lie Family bringing in a First-Rank Alchemist from elsewhere.

That had upset the balance within Wutan City almost instantly. During his several conversations with Xiao Zhan over the past year, Xiao Yan had felt his father's deep concern over the matter.

To relieve Xiao Zhan's worries, and also to find an opponent at his own level, Xiao Yan had long since set his sights on the Jia Lie Family, ready to find a pretext to stir up trouble at any time.

"Yao Lao, could you place a soul imprint on each of them, especially that First-Rank Alchemist? I'm planning to find an opportunity to test my skills," Xiao Yan requested again.

"Killing people for their treasures? You have a taste for that too?" Xiao Yi Xian eyed her junior brother warily. Casually killing people and seizing their treasures-this young junior brother of hers had quite a murderous streak.

"Senior sister, you've misunderstood." Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and gave a wry smile.

"The Jia Lie Family and my Xiao Clan are enemies. Both sides would love to see the other dead. It's perfectly normal. If they caught me alone, they'd most likely kill me too."

"A blood feud?" Xiao Yi Xian relaxed. Killings between hereditary enemies were quite common on the Dou Qi Continent, so most people did not see them as much of a problem.

"Then do you need my help?" she continued.

"No need. The Jia Lie Family is probably buying the Beast Flame for Liu Xi. I don't need to be able to defeat a Da Dou Shi. I just need to seize an opportunity to kill him," Xiao Yan analyzed calmly.

If he had Xiao Yi Xian win the Beast Flame for him now, the Jia Lie Family would certainly give up and most likely return together. Striking then would be harder than scaling a thousand mountains.

But if the Jia Lie Family succeeded, he could have Xiao Yi Xian put on a show of furious anger, making them think retaliation was coming and forcing them to split up as they left. That way, even if Liu Xi was not alone, he would certainly have few protectors beside him.

As long as Xiao Yan struck at the right moment, killing him with a single blow was entirely possible.

"Six hundred thousand, going once!" Ya Fei's voice echoed through the auction hall.

"Six hundred thousand, going twice!" Everyone looked toward the Heavenly Character No. 1 Private Room, hoping that the expert would bid again.

Unfortunately, they were disappointed. There was no response from the private room.

"Six hundred thousand, going three times!" Even Ya Fei could not help casting a puzzled glance toward the Heavenly Character No. 1 Private Room. Given the wealth of the honored guest inside, buying the entire Mittel Auction House would have been effortless. Why had the bidding stopped at a mere six hundred thousand?

"Sold!" Ya Fei brought down her little gavel, marking the Jia Lie Family as the new owner of the Beast Flame.

But before Jia Lie Bi and Liu Xi could savor their joy for long, the oppressive aura of a Dou Ling surged skyward from the Heavenly Character No. 1 Private Room.

The members of the Jia Lie Family exchanged glances.

Split up!