After entering the private room, Jiang Li brazenly acted as though he owned the place, then stepped forward and pressed the bidding button.
Only then did he turn to look at everyone in the room.
"Who are you? You suddenly barged into my private room-what about the Auction's rules?"
At the sight of Jiang Li's sudden arrival, Lin Xin's expression darkened.
Success had been within reach, only for someone to charge in midway and upset his plans.
"Brother Lin Xin, I'm sorry, but I can't agree to your conditions."
"This is my senior brother. He came looking for me. We'd been away for so long that he got a little anxious."
Seeing his senior brother arrive and act like this, Long Haochen quickly realized that there might be more to this than met the eye.
Given his senior brother's character, he would never do something so pointless.
"Insight Technique..."
Faced with Long Haochen's domineering senior brother, Lin Xin instinctively cast the Insight Technique, wanting to probe his background.
Then he failed again.
"Did I just poke a whole nest of monsters?"
Lin Xin's expression turned exceedingly strange.
Jiang Li had not sensed the Insight Technique the other party had cast, but Qian Renxue noticed something amiss thanks to her higher-level spiritual power and the properties of the Angel Head Soul Bone. Sensing fluctuations in the other party's thoughts, she informed Jiang Li.
"Casting the Insight Technique on others without asking isn't a very good habit, is it?"
Jiang Li's expression darkened, and a powerful aura surged from his body.
It was not merely the suppression of his cultivation level, but also the Sword Intent Embryo he had comprehended.
"F-fifth order..."
Sensing that crushing pressure and lethal threat, Lin Xin's expression finally changed.
The baleful aura and killing intent this man possessed were incredibly dense. He was definitely someone who had walked out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
He would not be as easy to fool as Long Haochen, a youth who had clearly only just ventured out into the world.
"I'm sorry. I was in the wrong."
"I admit I had ulterior motives, but I also have difficulties I have no choice but to face."
"I'll pay for these pills and the Stone Ball at auction. Consider it my apology."
Facing Jiang Li, Lin Xin dared not try any tricks. He simply lowered his head and backed down.
Only then did Li Xin and Lin Jialu belatedly realize that this man seemed to be plotting something.
They simply still did not understand what, exactly, he was plotting.
Jiang Li did not respond. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Long Haochen, his meaning clear: Long Haochen would decide.
He knew his junior brother's character well. He would not pursue the matter too far.
That was precisely why he let his junior brother decide.
The reason was simple. Lin Xin had high-ranking members of the Magic Hall behind him, people Jiang Li could not afford to provoke at present.
He only needed to go with the flow and let the matter pass.
Besides, what could he do to Lin Xin at this stage?
The Temple Alliance at this point in time stood united against outside enemies. If he slaughtered a human prodigy over such a minor matter, he, with no backing, could not bear the consequences.
After all, not everyone was like Cai'er, with the Assassin Temple behind her, going off to assassinate someone merely because they had injured Long Haochen.
"Senior brother, let it go. Brother Lin hasn't actually managed to scheme against me. All he did was conceal a few things."
Long Haochen spoke up to offer Lin Xin an excuse, settling the nature of the matter once and for all.
Only then did Jiang Li withdraw his dense killing intent.
The Auction continued, and during it, Jiang Li had Qian Renxue bid on a few things as well.
Only afterward did he leave with Long Haochen and the others.
Throughout all this, Lin Xin made no further moves.
"Senior brother, what is the Insight Technique...?"
It was not until they were on their way back that Long Haochen voiced the question troubling him.
"The Insight Technique is a spell that lets its user examine professionals of any class, as well as magical beasts, provided the target's cultivation is no more than one major realm above the user's."
"Lin Xin failed when he used the Insight Technique and realized you were no ordinary person, junior brother. That was why he wanted to make arrangements in advance."
"He's a genius himself, and there was nothing wrong with doing that. His mistake was concealing things."
Jiang Li gave a rough explanation of the Insight Technique.
"Damn it, that despicable bastard! How dare he scheme against little brother Haochen!"
Once she fully understood the reason behind it all, Li Xin immediately grew furious.
Scheming like that truly was disgusting.
Jiang Li said nothing more on the matter.
After all, according to the original course of the story, Lin Xin and Li Xin had ended up together.
Lin Xin's transformation had only begun after Li Xin lost her arm.
"Junior brother, there's nothing wrong with staying true to yourself, but you also need to be more vigilant."
"Only then will you be able to deal with other people's schemes."
As Jiang Li spoke, his expression was solemn, much like their teacher Ye Hua when he lectured Long Haochen.
Qian Renxue, standing beside him, seemed to have understood something instead.
Through this hint of unnaturalness, and thinking of Long Haochen's talent and the Retainer Knight Contract, Qian Renxue belatedly began to realize that Jiang Li might not be as perfect as she had thought.
Rather than making her feel there was anything wrong, this imperfection gave him a sense of authenticity.
Especially after learning what Jiang Li had endured in childhood, Qian Renxue increasingly felt that this Jiang Li, though he had his own schemes, was more real, and better.
Was it any wonder that a love-addled mind was the most serious illness in the world?
No matter how outrageous something was, as long as she was willing, she could explain it away for him.
She could always find a reasonable excuse for him.
"Don't be angry. Lin Xin's talent is far from poor. He ranks among the best of the Magic Hall's younger generation."
"The fact that he did this can only mean he has an enormous flaw. Otherwise, with his talent, he wouldn't do something like this."
Jiang Li did not reveal exactly what that flaw was. They would learn about that later.
Just then, Jiang Li felt someone nudging his leg from behind. At first, he thought Qian Renxue was up to some little trick.
Only when he turned around did he discover that it was actually Haoyue.
That behavior was clearly urging them to return sooner.
Clearly, Haoyue could no longer wait for that Dragon Pearl.
Worthy of the future God of Damnation...
After noticing this peculiarity, Jiang Li could not help marveling inwardly.
He was someone who felt deeply insecure and remained tense at all times.
Never mind a knight whose combat strength rivaled the fourth order-even a fifth-order or sixth-order being approaching him would trigger his sense of danger.
Only Qian Renxue, because of the blood pact, could approach without Jiang Li noticing anything amiss.
He had never expected Haoyue to be capable of this too.
"Don't worry. I'll give you the Stone Ball once we get back."
"I just wonder whether you'd rather eat the delicious roast meat I make myself first, or the Stone Ball?"
For once, Jiang Li felt like teasing Haoyue a little.
Before you continue