Spirit Hall's Number One Shameless Kept Man!

Ever since the day he had taught Hu Liena a lesson, Sun Shan had found himself hounded by her.

This Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall seemed to have become hopelessly infatuated with him.

She had Sun Shan transferred from Nuoding City to Spirit Hall's branch in Suotuo City.

Every day, she neglected her proper duties and did nothing but trail after him, practically becoming his shadow.

The most frightening part was that Hu Liena was utterly impervious to pressure.

Once, Hu Liena annoyed Sun Shan to the point of a breakdown, and he slapped her left cheek, saying:

"What exactly are you following me around for?!"

Who could have imagined that not only would Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden not get angry, she would actually look thoroughly satisfied?

She immediately offered him her right cheek and said:

"You haven't hit this side yet?"

Hu Liena was just like a kitten.

She rubbed her flushed, pretty face against the palm Sun Shan had slapped her with and declared:

"Thanks for the effort. Thank you for the treat!"

Sun Shan did not understand, but he was deeply shaken.

"Did I hit her too hard that day and damage her brain?"

Upholding the principle that the happy should give way, Sun Shan yielded step by step.

Little did he expect Hu Liena to uphold the principle that the joyful should play around, pressing closer with every step.

One advanced while the other retreated-weren't they a pair of ill-fated lovebirds in their own way?

At first, Sun Shan resisted fiercely.

But under Hu Liena's Gold Soul Coin offensive, he gradually began to waver.

"Hu Liena, don't think I'm the sort you can buy with money. Do I look like a man who lives off a woman? Stop insulting me!"

Sun Shan had wanted to rebuke her loudly like that, but she simply offered too much.

"Oh my god, this is so good!"

Who could refuse a fragrant, soft, beautiful girl showering him with attention?

Soon, rumors spread throughout Spirit Hall, with everyone saying:

"Sun Shan is shameless. He has no backbone at all-he actually latched onto a little rich girl."

"Boohoo, why didn't she come to me? I'm going to throw a fit! I'm the Holy Maiden's dog!"

"If the Holy Maiden fancied me, I'd live off her too. If she fancied someone else, I'd enjoy spreading rumors too. My specialty is standing in the middle and stirring up both sides."

Sun Shan paid these rumors no mind, his heart perfectly calm:

"What can insults add to me?"

A good reputation or a bad reputation was still a reputation.

Sun Shan simply refined it all in one go, turning everything into nourishment for his growth.

Besides, he couldn't very well refuse benefits just to save face.

"Really, you're just jealous."

Before long, Suotuo City's annual auction began.

Sun Shan attended with his "supplementary gold card," Hu Liena.

He had intended to see whether he could find a suitable second Soul Ring.

Unexpectedly, he spotted two familiar figures among the auction attendees.

"Tang San and Xiao Wu!"

The boy had black hair and black eyes and wore a light blue fitted outfit, with a belt inlaid with twenty-four pearls around his waist.

His expression was gloomy, his eyes dark and deep, giving him the appearance of someone with deeply concealed thoughts.

The girl beside him was a stark contrast.

She chattered away, looking lively and adorable.

The girl's dark brown scorpion braid fell past her waist, and her pretty face resembled a not-quite-ripe honey peach, very enticing.

Her figure was superbly proportioned, a full nine heads tall, with particularly long legs.

Perhaps it was because Xiao Wu practiced the Eight-Stage Throw.

Her legs were not as thin and slender as those of ordinary girls.

Instead, they were slim where they should be slim and exceptionally well-endowed where they should have substance.

In a few more years, she would surely be another beauty capable of toppling cities and kingdoms.

Sun Shan could only marvel:

"They really are long, slender, and fair. I could play with them for a year!"

"But what is Tang San doing here?" Sun Shan pondered briefly.

"Could there be a bargain to pick up here?!"

At the auction, inside Yellow Room One.

Tang San explained to Xiao Wu:

"If my senses are right, the item in the third round should be Gold of Life!"

"Gold of Life? What's that?" Xiao Wu asked in confusion.

"Gold of Life is essentially a solid crystal formed from vast quantities of life force condensed over long ages."

"It offers enormous benefits for improving a Soul Master's cultivation, especially mental power. It's a rare treasure you can encounter only by chance, not seek out!"

Tang San spoke with great excitement.

"But a treasure like that must cost a lot of Gold Soul Coins, right? We don't have that much money."

Xiao Wu tilted her head, feeling a little regretful.

"Those fools clearly don't recognize a treasure like this." Tang San laughed smugly. "Otherwise, why would the starting price be a mere 100 Gold Soul Coins?"

Hearing this, the love in Xiao Wu's eyes grew even stronger. She threw herself toward him, hugging Tang San's arm as she said proudly:

"I knew you'd have a way, Third Brother! You're the best!"

Soon, the auction reached its third round.

The host onstage pulled away the red cloth, revealing this round's auction item.

It was a set of scales with an extremely peculiar design.

The left side was emerald green, lustrous as jade, while the right side was blood red, as though stained with some creature's blood.

The interwoven red and green looked distinctly eerie.

The host introduced it:

"This is a collectible an expedition team recovered from an ancient ruin. Based on the consignor's account and our experts' appraisal..."

"We unanimously believe this to be a decorative piece made in ancient times. As for its function, well, it feels very smooth to the touch."

"The starting price is 100 Gold Soul Coins!"

Boos immediately filled the auction hall.

"Who would spend 100 Gold Soul Coins on a toy?"

"Exactly! They'll auction off any old junk!"

Not a single Soul Master in the auction hall raised a bidding paddle.

It looked as though the item was about to go unsold.

"What a pack of rats!" Tang San smiled smugly at the sight and immediately raised his paddle.

"150 Gold Soul Coins!"

"150 Gold Soul Coins, going once! 150 Gold Soul Coins, going twice! 150..." the auction host called.

"In other words, I've won this round!"

Tang San was brimming with confidence.

"151 Gold Soul Coins."

Heaven Room One raised a paddle to increase the bid.

A wave of murmurs immediately swept through the auction hall.

Most bidders raised the price by at least fifty Gold Soul Coins each time.

Although this was not a mandatory rule, after so many auctions, everyone tacitly understood this unwritten convention.

"This person actually raised it by just one Gold Soul Coin. How strange."

"Call him stingy, yet he's willing to spend so much on something useless."

"Call him rich, yet he only raised the bid by one Gold Soul Coin."

Tang San frowned, inwardly sensing trouble.

Could someone else here recognize its value?

"200 Gold Soul Coins!" Tang San raised his paddle again.

"201 Gold Soul Coins."

"300 Gold Soul Coins!" Tang San was somewhat irritated.

"My friend over there, if you have no real intention of bidding, please don't toy with me like this."

Inside Heaven Room One, the voice fell silent for a moment.

Then the curtain obstructing the view was drawn aside, and a figure slowly came into view.

The person who had raised the bid was none other than Sun Shan.

He had no idea what this thing Tang San wanted was.

But he knew that buying it meant profiting. In any case, he couldn't let that brat Tang San get it.

"301 Gold Soul Coins." Sun Shan continued raising his paddle, looking at Tang San mockingly.

"No matter what number you call out, I'll add one to it."

"Don't pit your entire fortune against my pocket money!"

Tang San clenched his teeth and said nothing.

The 300 Gold Soul Coins he had just bid were already his entire fortune.

"Third Brother, what should we do now?" Xiao Wu asked worriedly.

Tang San took a deep breath and exhaled a breath of stale air.

Despite being deeply displeased, Tang San still pretended to have everything under control:

"It's fine. Let him win it. Your Third Brother has his own way."

Outwardly untroubled but already bursting with rage inside, Tang San's eyes flashed with ruthlessness as he thought:

"This brat has courted death!"

"Mm-hmm, I believe in you, Third Brother." Xiao Wu remained full of trust.

"My Third Brother can do anything!"

"301 Gold Soul Coins, going three times! Congratulations to the guest in Heaven Room One on winning this collectible!"

The auction ended.

His "supplementary gold card," Hu Liena, went to settle the bill.

Sun Shan stood at the entrance waiting for her.

Soon, two figures squeezed out of the departing crowd.

Tang San led Xiao Wu over to Sun Shan.

Tang San spoke quite amiably:

"My friend, I'm very fond of that auction item just now. Would you be willing to part with it? Consider it making a friend."

Hearing this, Sun Shan looked as though he had seen an idiot.

He wore an expression that said, Who the fuck are you? and said nothing.

It wasn't as though Tang San possessed the Face Fruit.

That expression alone greatly annoyed Tang San.

"How about this, then? Let's make a bet. Neither of us will use Soul Power, and we'll compete using physical strength alone. Whoever wins gets the item. What do you say?"

Yes, this was it! It had appeared!

Sun Shan's heart jolted.

Tang San's exclusive skill, the strategy of starting a wager when the odds were against him, had always proved unstoppable.

That brat Tang San was simply the scummiest creature on the face of the earth.

He competed in strength against centenarians and in technique against primitive humans.

Since his Soul Power cultivation couldn't match Sun Shan's, he would compete in physical strength.

Although Sun Shan had tempered his body with the Golden Sacred Dragon Dragon Core and naturally feared no one in a contest of physical strength without Soul Power.

But thinking that way would be a huge problem.

He would fall into the trap of the Tang-style will of tyranny.

That brat Tang San had a whole repertoire of Tang Sect Secret Arts, along with all sorts of hidden weapons.

If Tang San fell behind, who knew whether he would pull out some hidden weapon?

Then shout, "This nifty little tool's effect is..."

If that hidden weapon's effect happened to counter him perfectly, wouldn't he be finished?

What difference was there between recklessly making a move without a 99 percent chance of victory and surrendering?

That wasn't Sun Shan's style.

Every time Tang San made a bet, he dragged others into the field he excelled at most, then defeated them with his wealth of experience.

He used his own strengths to overcome his opponent's weaknesses.

Tang San was like a wild boar, proposing a contest with a human to see who was best at rolling around in the mud.

How could a human win against a pig at rolling around in the mud?

After all, that was a pig!

Sun Shan gave the most direct, straightforward reply:

"No bet!"

His answer was simple and decisive. Sun Shan was no idiot; the thing was already his.

Why go to the needless trouble of making a bet with him?

That infuriated Tang San.

Sun Shan was feeling particularly playful now, too.

"Next, it's my turn!"

"What would it feel like to flirt with Xiao Wu right in front of Tang San?"

Sun Shan brushed the storage ring on his right ring finger.

The ring was a gift Hu Liena had given him a few days earlier. It seemed to be part of a matching couple's set, too.

He took out a pink plush doll that looked like a bear, yet not quite a bear, and like a rabbit, yet not quite a rabbit.

He stuffed it into Xiao Wu's arms.

This doll was called a Rabbit Bear.

It was an item that had recently become wildly popular among female Soul Masters.

Its cute, adorably goofy appearance and extremely limited release had made it a favorite among female Soul Masters.

For female Soul Masters, a gift like this was hard to resist.

After all, owning a Rabbit Bear was something well worth showing off among one's girlfriends.

It thoroughly satisfied young girls' desire to outdo one another.

The moment the Rabbit Bear doll appeared, it drew the gazes of countless girls nearby.

A large group of young, girlish cuties in pink tiered dresses gathered around, all chattering at once:

"Wow, it's a Rabbit Bear plush shoulder bag! That must cost several thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

"More than that! If I'm not mistaken, this is the collector's edition!"

"From now on, my future boyfriend owes me a Rabbit Bear."

"I'm jealous, I'm angry, and I don't want to talk. I'm going home to make my boyfriend guess why I'm upset!"

As a young girl herself, Xiao Wu naturally found it hard to resist something so cute.

She accepted Sun Shan's gift without thinking.

Xiao Wu smiled sweetly and said with a hint of shyness, "Thank you... you really shouldn't have spent so much."

She was completely oblivious to Tang San's nearly murderous gaze beside her.

Tang San was filled with humiliation and anger.

This bastard actually flirted with my woman right in front of me, and Xiao Wu actually accepted his gift!

Sun Shan, you have a path to death ×2!

The surrounding girls immediately began cheering and shipping them:

"Wow, what a loving couple! Wishing you two a long, long time together!"

Xiao Wu instantly blushed scarlet and hurriedly waved her hands to explain:

"No, we only just met! This is the person I like."

As Xiao Wu explained to everyone, she took the initiative to link her arm through Tang San's.

"Huh? No way! Someone you just met gave you such an expensive gift?"

"Then your boyfriend must treat you even better. He must have given you something even more precious!"

"Let us see!"

The girls clustered together, chirping away as they stared with burning gazes.

For a moment, Xiao Wu found herself unable to back down gracefully:

"Third Brother?"

Xiao Wu looked at Tang San, fluttering her large eyes, which were filled with deep affection and an emotion called anticipation.

In Xiao Wu's mind, her Third Brother could do anything.

As long as Third Brother steps in, everything will be all right!

Yet as time quietly slipped by, Tang San remained uncharacteristically unresponsive.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you can't produce anything."

"He can't even match a gift from some random stranger. What a failure of a boyfriend."

Tang San's expression grew colder and colder.

Because these people had indeed struck him where it hurt.

He really could not produce any expensive gift for Xiao Wu.

Tang San could only curse inwardly:

These vulgar, painted women have a path to death too ×3!

"Come on, let's ignore these materialistic philistines. My Xiao Wu isn't that shallow."

Tang San tugged and dragged Xiao Wu away, fleeing the girls' encirclement.

But Tang San completely failed to notice that Xiao Wu was clutching the Rabbit Bear in her hands even tighter.

Those bright eyes of hers had suddenly dimmed a little.

There was no telling what was going through the girl's mind at that moment.

Sun Shan naturally felt thoroughly pleased at the sight.

"Flirting with Xiao Wu right in front of Tang San really is a wonderful thing."

With the excitement over, the onlookers dispersed.

Sun Shan turned his head and saw Hu Liena.

He had no idea how long she had been standing behind him, nor what she had seen.

At that moment, those beautiful eyes were filled with towering fury.

A White Album-style Asura field was on the verge of erupting!