A blind date?

"Hiss..."

Sharp intakes of breath rose and fell through the air.

Amid the crowd, gazes filled with fervor and awe locked firmly onto Ling Shanhai.

No one could believe their eyes!

Those were three peerless Nascent Soul Realm experts!

Yet one simple punch from Ling Shanhai had left them with their lives hanging in the balance!

Had they not seen it themselves, they would never have believed it, even if beaten to death!

After today.

The mighty name of Ling Shanhai, head of the Ling Household in Sea Heart City, would surely resound throughout the empire's eastern region!

Yet at that moment, surrounded by those fervent gazes, Ling Shanhai belatedly broke into a cold sweat.

As the strange power in his fists slowly faded, Ling Shanhai secretly glanced at Lin Yu beside him, whose eyes were closed as though he was about to fall asleep. Towering waves already surged in his heart.

Without a doubt, his punch had possessed such power because of this mysterious expert!

Not only that, but that pure power had even made him feel a faint loosening in the cultivation bottleneck that had held him without the slightest progress for years!

Ling Shanhai could barely contain his excitement.

Had there not been so many bystanders around, he would probably already have been unable to stop tears from streaming down his aged face!

At Ling Shanhai's level of cultivation, every advance in rank was as difficult as ascending to heaven!

Today, Lin Yu had first casually produced several eighth-tier treasures, then helped him deal with the Blazing Flame Sect's three experts with a turn of his hand.

And now, he might even fulfill his long-cherished wish of breaking through!

How could Ling Shanhai not be overwhelmed with excitement!

For a moment, Ling Shanhai stood rooted to the spot, completely forgetting that he should charge over and cut down the Blazing Flame Sect's three men, pulling up the weeds by their roots.

"Huh? Who's that young man beside Ling Shanhai?"

"Could he be a junior from the Ling Household?"

"No, I don't think I've ever seen him before."

At that moment, some sharp-eyed onlookers finally noticed Lin Yu, who had been standing a short distance from Ling Shanhai all along.

Although Lin Yu had been there the entire time, very few people had paid him any attention.

After all, Lin Yu looked far too young and seemingly had never made a move throughout the encounter.

Although someone who could stand suspended in midair had to be at least a Golden Core expert.

Before Nascent Soul experts, that still seemed far too fragile.

"That young man was actually standing there all along?"

"That shouldn't be possible. I can't seem to sense any spiritual power fluctuations from him at all!"

At that moment, some astute experts hidden in the crowd had already realized something was amiss!

Although Lin Yu had never revealed any strength.

How could someone who emerged unscathed from the clash between those four Nascent Soul experts be ordinary?

"This young man is definitely no simple figure!"

In the crowd, a white-haired old man stared fixedly at Lin Yu, his pupils contracting.

The power surrounding him, who had originally been preparing to seize the treasures, actually subsided somewhat.

Everyone who had made it to the Nascent Soul Realm was shrewd.

In just one short minute, this old man had already sensed the danger Lin Yu posed!

Before he got to the bottom of this strange young man's background.

He absolutely could not act rashly!

"Household head! Is everything all right over here?"

At that moment, just as undercurrents stirred among the various factions and tension quietly flowed through the air.

Several deafening aged voices tore through the air from afar, resounding between heaven and earth!

"Household head, we're late!"

"Forgive us, household head! We encountered a powerful enemy in the rear mountains and only managed to drive them back after a fierce battle!"

As their voices fell, several aged figures streaked across the sky like lightning and appeared beside Ling Shanhai!

"This is bad. It seems several elders of the Ling Household have returned!"

"Alas, it seems this seventh-tier pill was never meant to be ours!"

"Retreat! We shouldn't linger here!"

Seeing their arrival, some of the surrounding factions that had been itching to act immediately reined themselves in considerably.

These newly arrived elders were all genuine Nascent Soul experts as well!

If Ling Shanhai had been the only one present, they would still have considered taking a gamble.

But with these elders of the Ling Household added to the equation, they would undoubtedly be mantises trying to stop a chariot!

For a time, many factions quietly backed away. Once they passed a certain boundary, they swiftly raced off and disappeared.

"Elders, you're finally here! How did things go?"

Seeing the elders return, Ling Shanhai was overjoyed.

He had no time to concern himself with those retreating factions. His immediate priority was to stabilize the situation!

"Reporting to the household head, when we sensed that something had happened on your side earlier, we immediately prepared to come over."

"But we were ambushed in the rear mountains. The enemy seemed to have come prepared!"

An old man said, still shaken:

"We're still unsure of the enemy's strength, but at the very least, they were no weaker than us!"

"Can you confirm their identity?"

Hearing this, Ling Shanhai knitted his brows tightly, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.

Their side had three Nascent Soul Realm elders, along with two Nascent Soul experts from the Sun Radiance Palace who had come to help-a full five Nascent Soul experts!

In his view, even if the enemy was of a higher rank, two fists could not contend against four hands, and they could only retreat!

Yet he had never expected his own side to be completely suppressed!

Just where had this enemy come from?

"We couldn't confirm it. We could only make a few guesses from the enemy's cultivation method."

The old man shook his head. "That person seemed to be using an extremely rare darkness-attribute cultivation method. Even we had never seen it before!"

"Darkness attribute?"

Ling Shanhai raised an eyebrow. Even with his broad experience, this seemed to be his first encounter with such a rare attribute.

"Heh, darkness attribute. Your Sea Heart Auction House isn't large, but the people you've attracted have quite the backgrounds."

"If my guess is right, they should be from the Dark Nether Divine Hall."

Lin Yu, who had remained silent all along, suddenly spoke.

"The Dark Nether Divine Hall? How could the Blazing Flame Sect possibly have attached themselves to them?"

Hearing this, Ling Shanhai was greatly shocked, for the name of the Dark Nether Divine Hall rang like thunder in the empire's eastern region!

But the Dark Nether Divine Hall held a transcendent status and rarely involved itself in worldly disputes.

Thus, its appearance here at this moment left Ling Shanhai doubly astonished.

"Heh, they probably just paid a hefty price."

"I'm guessing that person wasn't trying to kill you during your fight, only keeping you occupied, right?"

Lin Yu turned and asked the old man.

"Ah... yes, that's indeed the case. Household head, who is this...?"

The old man looked at Lin Yu in some confusion. This young man seemed very familiar with Ling Shanhai?

But he clearly seemed never to have met him before...

"Ahem, this... senior will be the new owner of our Sea Heart Auction House from now on."

Ling Shanhai cleared his throat and said somewhat awkwardly.

Lin Yu's strength was too bizarre, and his origins far too mysterious. Even if he wanted to introduce him, he had no idea where to begin.

After hearing Ling Shanhai's words, the elders all looked as though they had seen a ghost, staring at Lin Yu in disbelief.

They all knew Ling Shanhai very well and knew he would never joke about something like this!

Then what exactly did this mean?

They had only gone off for a fight, and the auction house had somehow changed hands just like that?

What was going on!

And a senior, at that?

This person was clearly a kid in his twenties!

For a moment, the elders all felt as though they were being blown into disarray by the wind.

"What new owner? What new owner? Grandpa, have you retired?"

Just as the elders exchanged bewildered looks, a clear, sweet voice suddenly rang out.

A young woman who looked eighteen or nineteen abruptly appeared before them, her silver hair falling to her shoulders, her large eyes looking curiously at Lin Yu.

"Grandpa, who's this? A new blind date? Not bad, not bad. He's pretty handsome."

The girl's words, seemingly determined to shock everyone speechless, instantly left Ling Shanhai and the others with black lines across their faces.