"You like..." At these words, Nie Yun stumbled and nearly fell.
'Why does that sound so awkward...?' A chill ran down Nie Yun's spine as he recalled what he had done to Nie Liu.
'Bro, I'm a guy, and I'm straight...'
While the two were talking, the auction below resumed. The original auctioneer stepped down, and Chen Xing strode onto the stage.
"I am Chen Xing, the first heir of the Chen Family and the Young Master of this auction house." Chen Xing introduced himself upon taking the stage. "As for the doubts raised by Mr. Yangg Jun in private room number four of the first row, I have already completed an asset verification!"
"What? The investigation is already complete? Did the people in private room seventeen of the second row confess? Where are they? I'll deal with them for you!"
Yangg Jun had assumed from the start that the people in private room seventeen of the second row were broke. Upon hearing that the verification was complete, he let out a sharp cry, ready to leap from his room.
"Brother Yangg, this is the Luoshui Auction House, not your Yangg Family's racecourse!" Chen Xing and Yangg Jun were both first heirs of their respective clans among the Four Great Families and held equal status. Chen Xing's expression soured at being interrupted so rudely.
The Yangg Family, one of the Four Great Families, had gotten its start raising horses and owned seventeen massive racecourses. Chen Xing's words were a direct slap to Yangg Jun's face.
"Chen Xing, you..."
Yangg Jun was already seething, and these words made him even more incensed. However, Chen Xing's status was equal to his own. No matter how arrogant he was, he didn't dare clash head-on with the Chen Family. He could only let out a cold snort and redirect his fury at the occupants of private room seventeen. "You'd better hand over that broke bastard who made a reckless bid! Otherwise, the Yangg Family will not let this matter rest!"
"A reckless bid? Not let it rest? I'll tell you right now: the distinguished guests in private room seventeen of the second row are fully qualified to purchase the Fiery Flame Axe. The axe is now theirs!" Chen Xing declared with a flick of his hand.
"What? They're qualified? You mean the people in that room can actually come up with one million?"
"One million... How could they possibly be that rich..."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I don't believe anyone can come up with one million!" Hearing Chen Xing's definitive statement, Yangg Jun's eyes went bloodshot. He lost all his previous composure, looking as if he were about to go mad.
"Alright, the Fiery Flame Axe may have been sold, but don't be concerned. I will now personally host the next auction segment for this event's most precious item!" Chen Xing continued, ignoring the uproar in the auction house.
"The most precious item? Wasn't the Fiery Flame Axe the final item for auction? How can there be more?"
"Who knows? Maybe it was just added? That seems impossible. I'd like to see what could be more valuable than the Fiery Flame Axe!"
The crowd fell silent once more, eager to see what this so-called "most precious item" actually was.
"This final item for auction is a Martial Art called Yangtze River Triple Wave. It is of the Noble Top Grade. When executed with full power, it unleashes three stacking waves of force, with immense might comparable to that of a Marquis Clan Low-Grade technique..."
Chen Xing held up the jade tablet in his hand, explaining in detail.
Before he even finished his explanation, the entire auction house had fallen deathly silent. The final item was actually a Noble Top-Grade Martial Art... This was beyond anyone's imagination and difficult to believe!
"...Very well. The starting bid for this Martial Art is 400,000 taels of silver. I know many of you may not have brought enough money, so we will wait for one hour. The auction will resume in one hour!" Chen Xing announced calmly.
"One hour? That's enough time! Quick, inform the family! See how much money the clan can put up!"
"A Noble Top-Grade technique, at its peak comparable to a Marquis Clan Low-Grade one! Even our family's best Martial Art is inferior to this. If we obtain it, our family's overall combat power will rise by a whole level... We have to buy it, no matter the cost!"
"Quick, have the Clan Leader come in person! We can't make the call on a Martial Art of this caliber..."
Once they understood what the final auction item was, none of the people with status and identity in the private rooms could remain seated. They all used their Communication Tokens to notify their Clan Leaders, hoping they would come in person to participate in the bidding for this Martial Art!
A Martial Art was more valuable than a weapon. No matter how high-grade a weapon, it could only be used by one person at most. But a Martial Art was different. Once obtained, it could raise the strength of an entire family by a notch!
'It's a good thing I didn't win the Fiery Flame Axe. With this, won't I be even stronger than with the axe? It has to be mine!' In first-row private room number four, Yangg Jun was buzzing with excitement again.
'Our family must obtain this!' the occupants of first-row room number eleven resolved privately.
In short, the moment the Yangtze River Triple Wave Martial Art appeared, the three other great families, excluding the Chen Family, became consumed with envy. It seemed they would stop at nothing to acquire this technique!
'It looks like the great conflict between the Four Great Families of Luoshui City is going to happen ahead of schedule.'
Nie Yun sighed, seeing the chaos he had caused just by casually tossing out a single Martial Art.
He knew at least several hundred Martial Arts of this level; to him, they were nothing. He could toss one out without a second thought. Besides, when he had recorded it earlier, he had deliberately modified the most crucial part, leaving a hidden method—a flaw.
A Martial Art he considered commonplace and didn't value in the slightest was an absolute trigger for war in a small place like Luoshui City. Whichever family obtained it would likely become the target of the other families' combined forces.
Nie Yun had already predicted this outcome. It was the main reason he had previously preferred to cheat people out of their money rather than sell a Martial Art.
After all, his current strength was still rather low. If turmoil broke out, he would be completely unable to cope. However, his thinking had changed after unexpectedly winning the auction for the Stem Lotus.
With the Stem Lotus, he could quickly cultivate the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique to its first layer, giving him the means to protect himself. Without that safeguard, using a Martial Art to stir up turmoil for money could easily backfire, and it would be too late for regrets.
'The Demon Race invasion is just over a year away. It's definitely better for the Four Great Families to fall into conflict now rather than a year from now.'
Taking a deep breath, Nie Yun nodded.
According to his memories from his past life, the conflict among the Four Great Families was inevitable. That being the case, starting sooner was definitely better than starting later.
If the conflict began early, the elite disciples of the Four Great Families would be tempered by the flames of war, rapidly improving their combat prowess. That would give them a better chance against the Demon Race invasion in a year's time.
As for the fact that people would die in the fighting—those who could be killed were the weak. The strong would only grow stronger. It was better to be honed now than to be killed by the Demon Race later.
Lost in his thoughts, he didn't know how much time had passed. By the time Nie Yun snapped out of it, the auction outside was almost over.
In the end, the Yangtze River Triple Wave Martial Art was not bought by Yangg Jun. Instead, it was purchased by the occupants of first-row private room number eleven for 1,300,000 taels of silver.
This outcome nearly made Yangg Jun die of anger all over again.
"Sir, I am Chen Tongsheng, Patriarch of the Chen Family. It is our honor that you chose to auction your item with us. Here is the payment for the Yangtze River Triple Wave Martial Art, with the cost of the Fiery Flame Axe and our commission already deducted. Also, this is our auction house's highest-level VIP medallion. As long as you carry this, sir, you will receive the utmost respect from our auction house and the entire Chen Family."
Walking down the street with Yangg Yan, Nie Yun couldn't help but smile as he recalled how Chen Tongsheng, the Chen Family Patriarch, had personally come to see him after the auction to give him a VIP medallion.
'To be honest, the Chen Family's actions were quite clever. They seemed to have realized I was in a disguise, and since they couldn't ascertain my true background, they did their best to befriend me.'
'After all, how could someone who can casually put a Noble Top-Grade Martial Art up for auction be an ordinary person?'
'Of course, if they knew my true identity, they would probably die from shock. I actually am an ordinary person; I only possess Advanced Skills and Martial Arts because of the memories from two lifetimes!'
"Nie Yun, I followed the method you gave me and successfully refined the Fiery Flame Axe! I thought it would take at least three days, but I never imagined it would take less time than it takes for a stick of incense to burn!"
With a flick of his wrist, the Fiery Flame Axe in his palm glinted with a cold light. Yangg Yan's eyes were bloodshot with excitement.
For a weapon on the level of the Fiery Flame Axe, it would have been impossible for someone with Yangg Yan's current Cultivation to refine it in less than three or four days. Nie Yun had no choice but to teach him a Demon Race method for making a weapon recognize its master. With this method, he succeeded in no time at all and was beyond excited.
"Heh, don't celebrate too soon. We're being followed. They won't make a move while we're in the city, but I'm afraid they'll rush us the moment we leave."
Nie Yun smiled and shook his head at Yangg Yan's reaction.
Nie Yun had sensed they were being followed the moment he left the auction house. His private room had drawn far too much attention. Anyone would be curious about someone who could casually spend over a million taels of silver and would send people to investigate.
"Hmph! They dare to follow us? I'll make sure it's a one-way trip for them!"
Having just refined the Fiery Flame Axe, Yangg Yan's combat power had greatly increased and his confidence was soaring. He let out an excited, cold snort.
"A one-way trip? Let's hope you have the stomach for it. In a moment, just listen to my instructions. Let's go, quickly."
Nie Yun gave a faint, knowing smile. With a flicker of movement, he disappeared into the crowd.