Conversation

Beside the young man stood a middle-aged man with a commanding bearing, a dignified appearance, and exceptionally luxurious clothes.

"This is Shi Ziteng, father of Shi Yi, the Double Pupils bearer," the young man said, pointing at the middle-aged man and introducing him with a smug look.

Besides those two factions, several others also spoke up, stating outright or hinting that they wanted the Void Beast Hide.

"Sorry, I don't want to trade." Lei Chong turned them all down.

"Young man, this Void Beast Hide is an inauspicious object. Carrying it could easily bring disaster upon you," said the old man from Rain King Mansion.

As he spoke, the old man looked him up and down, a chilling light flickering in his eyes. He made no attempt to conceal the threat in his words.

"That's right. If you hand over the hide, we're willing to avert the disaster for you," said the young man from Martial King Manor.

Lei Chong had humiliated him earlier, so he no longer held back.

Lei Chong looked at the other factions. "Is that what you mean too?"

Some factions hurriedly stepped back, indicating that they had no intention of snatching it.

The remaining factions wore cold expressions, making no effort to hide the greed in their eyes. "We only want to trade with you for the Void Beast Hide."

Just then, Shi Hao also walked out of his private room.

"What thick skin! What are you offering in exchange? If you could really afford to trade for it, you would have won it at the auction already." Shi Hao couldn't stand watching either.

"Heh, what the hell is it to you?" the young man from Martial King Manor cursed.

"You dare meddle in Rain King Mansion's affairs? You really don't know whether to live or die," said the old man from Rain King Mansion, wisps of killing intent pouring out of him.

"How ridiculous. Seems to me your mouth is the only thing you're good with. When Rain King Mansion was nearly torn down the other day, where were you?" Shi Hao shot back, refusing to give an inch.

"You... you..." The old man's face turned bright red with anger.

"You look rather familiar, young brother," Shi Ziteng said with a faint smile.

"And who are you?" Shi Hao eyed him warily.

"Shi Ziteng, disciple of Demon Spirit Lake," Shi Ziteng said. Though he clearly stood right there, he seemed insubstantial and elusive, as though he had merged with heaven, earth, and nature.

Shi Hao kept his expression unchanged and studied Shi Ziteng carefully.

"You bought quite a few precious artifacts yourselves. Every one of them is fiercely ominous. Hand them over, and I'll suppress them for you." Shi Hao examined the group, his gaze burning.

To these people, it seemed as though they were the ones being robbed.

"Young man, don't you know that what is too rigid breaks easily? Amid all these disputes over right and wrong, a person must know how to choose and leave some lines uncrossed. Otherwise, even the Heavens will grow tired of you. Far too many geniuses have died young," the old man from Rain King Mansion said coldly.

"Plenty of old men have fallen too," Shi Hao said with a cold laugh. He didn't have the slightest fondness for the people from Rain King Mansion.

The old man's expression changed, and killing intent erupted from his eyes.

Slap!

Lei Chong struck without hesitation, sending the old man flying with a slap. The old man slammed hard into the raised platform, half his face mangled by the blow.

"Young man, you're very confident. I'm curious which sect you come from. Tell us, and perhaps we have a close connection," Shi Ziteng finally spoke again, raising a hand to stop the others from charging forward to fight for their lives.

They certainly did have a close connection. Lei Chong had killed one of his sect's elders not long ago; it could be called an enormous connection.

Lei Chong kept his cold gaze fixed on them and didn't waste a single word.

Only Shi Ziteng remained silent, his expression shifting between light and shadow.

Lei Chong quickly glanced at Shi Ziteng, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. It was just as he had guessed: Shi Ziteng had indeed begun to suspect.

"Young man, you've got some nerve, haven't you?" Several people nearby pressed forward.

"You're shameless," Shi Hao said, his expression darkening.

"Heh, we're very interested in the battle puppet in your hands. We'd like to borrow it for a few days and study it." A man from Rain King Mansion pressed forward.

"I'm rather fond of that Heavenly Bone too," said the young man from Martial King Manor.

"Scram." Shi Hao shouted coldly, the fury in his heart flaring up at once.

Rumble!

Lei Chong struck with another slap, sending all of them flying. They flew backward with screams, blood pouring endlessly from their mouths.

Meanwhile, Shi Hao had already pulled out Ghost Master's broken sword.

Clearly, both of them were bold enough that they didn't mind causing a huge uproar here. They weren't afraid of the forces behind these people and were confident they could suppress everything.

Buzz!

Several terrifying presences appeared as a group of old men approached from deeper inside.

"Everyone, this is the Gu Bone Auction House. No matter which faction you belong to, while you're here in my Stone Kingdom Imperial Capital, you'd best put those thoughts away. Otherwise, you'll be making an enemy of the Stone Emperor," the old man in the lead said coldly, his gaze sweeping over the people on the ground.

The people on the ground were wailing. When they saw the people from the Gu Bone Auction House, they knew they had taken that beating for nothing and could only settle the score another day.

"Scram," Lei Chong cursed at the factions again.

"You..." The people from the factions were furious, but with the Gu Bone Auction House's people present, they didn't dare make a move to snatch anything.

In the end, the factions left, but as those people departed, they made no attempt to hide the venom and greed in their eyes from him.

"Why let them go? We might as well wipe them all out in one pot," Shi Hao muttered.

"There's no hurry. Killing them all here wouldn't solve the trouble. The forces behind these people would send others over again and again. Rather than wait for them to keep bothering us, we might as well deal with them all at once," Lei Chong said with a cold laugh.

Shi Hao's eyes went wide. He felt that the man before him was even more of a schemer than he was.

At that thought, he grew wary and began wondering how to guard against him.

Seeing Shi Hao standing there in a daze, Lei Chong thought he had gained some insight. He didn't disturb him and stayed where he was, waiting for him.

Shi Hao soon came to his senses and found Lei Chong staring at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Never seen someone as handsome as me?" Shi Hao muttered through gritted teeth, seemingly venting his displeasure.

Lei Chong rolled his eyes helplessly. This Bear Child really did have thick skin.

Lei Chong still wanted to befriend the protagonist of the original work, the future Desolate Heaven Emperor who would stand alone across the ages. It would count as forging a good connection.

"Nothing. It's just that I saw a wanted notice a few days ago. There was an old man on it whose brows looked a little like yours," Lei Chong said with a smile.

Whoosh!

Shi Hao's expression changed instantly. His body turned into a streak of light and rapidly appeared before Lei Chong as he pressed him for where he had seen it.

"This isn't the place to talk. Let's go somewhere else," Lei Chong said, looking around.

Shi Hao nodded, clearly unafraid that Lei Chong was lying to him. After all, Little Pagoda was still at his side, which gave him a measure of confidence.

The two quickly caught up with the Witch and asked her to arrange a secluded place.

The Witch first studied Yue Chan carefully. Knowing she couldn't gain an advantage today, she could only put those thoughts aside for now and make plans another day.

Lei Chong found it somewhat amusing, but he also felt helpless about the Witch.

If the Witch hadn't meddled, it would have been difficult for Yue Chan and Shi Hao's marriage to come about.

In the Witch's palace, Lei Chong and Shi Hao sat facing each other.

"Where was the wanted notice you mentioned?" Shi Hao was the first to speak.

"Medicine Capital. About a month ago, a venerable from Demon Spirit Lake arrived there and issued the wanted notice," Lei Chong said without concealing anything.