"It has been a month since we last parted."
"And seeing you now..."
On the second floor of the Star City Auction House, Qian Jiang beckoned a maid to pour two cups of clear tea. He looked Ye Shu up and down, taking in his rough linen clothes, and teased, "Brother Ye, are you dressing up like a beggar to join my Wordless Pavilion and scrounge for a meal?"
"Get out of here."
Ye Shu cursed with a laugh, "If I joined your Wordless Pavilion, you'd have to give up your seat for me."
"It's a deal!"
Qian Jiang's eyes lit up. "Then you can manage the Wordless Pavilion, and I'll run the auction house to make money."
"In your dreams. I don't have the energy to manage that many people."
Ye Shu rolled his eyes at him.
The two of them chatted and laughed, the atmosphere relaxed.
Xiaobai, however, was completely lost. Her head turned back and forth, unable to understand what this Wordless Pavilion they were talking about meant.
"Hey! What are you guys talking about?" Xiaobai couldn't help but nudge Ye Shu with her elbow. "What Wordless Pavilion? I don't recall any such faction existing in this world."
"Of course you don't know," Ye Shu replied telepathically.
"The Wordless Pavilion is actually an intelligence organization Qian Jiang casually established after we met five years ago. It's made up of beggars. Just think of it as a Beggars' Sect."
"A Beggars' Sect?" Xiaobai nodded, half-understanding. "But what kind of intelligence can beggars collect..."
Ye Shu smiled mysteriously and didn't answer.
Because it would be too tedious to explain, and business took priority right now. "Just treat it as a joke, no need to pay it any mind."
With that said.
He took out a pill swirling with purple qi from his storage ring and placed it on the table, looking at Qian Jiang. "I came this time, besides seeing you, mainly to ask for your help with two things."
Qian Jiang smiled and took a sip of tea. "I knew you wouldn't come looking for me unless you needed something."
"Tell me, what two things."
Ye Shu didn't beat around the bush. He took out the Foundation Establishment Pill from his robes. "The first thing is to see how much this pill can sell for."
"Hmm... a flawless Foundation Establishment Pill. This is good stuff."
"If it were in the Central State, it could probably sell for a hundred thousand spirit stones. But here in Star City, the price will have to drop. After all, there aren't many big shots here who need it."
"A conservative estimate would be around ten thousand spirit stones."
Qian Jiang thought for a moment and gave a quote.
"Ten thousand spirit stones..." Ye Shu pondered for a long time, then nodded.
It was about what he expected. Although the Purple Qi Foundation Establishment Pill was known as a rank-one golden pill that could allow someone to establish their foundation on the spot, major families didn't need it to help their disciples establish their foundations. For rogue cultivators, it was too expensive and unnecessary.
It was stuck in an awkward middle ground.
That was why few alchemists refined it; it had a price but no market.
"Alright, it doesn't matter how much it sells for."
Ye Shu nodded and handed the Purple Qi Foundation Establishment Pill to Qian Jiang.
He had picked it up anyway, so as long as it sold for money, it was fine.
"It just so happens there's an auction today. Why don't you come take a look, Brother Ye?" Qian Jiang took the pill and invited him with a smile. "You might come across something good."
Ye Shu thought for a moment and nodded.
"Might as well."
Qian Jiang stood up and personally led him toward the auction hall.
Inside the Heaven Number One VIP room, through the transparent glass window, they could clearly see the auction stage below.
On the stage stood a woman with a fiery figure. Her cheongsam, slit up to her upper thigh, and her deep neckline that revealed her cleavage, drew every man's gaze.
She was smilingly introducing the auction items, her voice charming to the bone. "Respected guests, this auction also features a mysterious pill, with a starting price of five thousand spirit stones!"
Saying that, she brought out a pill from the backstage.
"A Purple Qi Foundation Establishment Pill?!"
"Holy crap, it really is a rank-one golden pill. This is something only a sixth-tier alchemist can refine. We rarely even see third-tier alchemists around here, how could there be one?!"
The crowd below was in an uproar.
The auctioneer on stage curled her lips slightly.
Auctioning off a Purple Qi Foundation Establishment Pill, even if it was practically as tasteless as chicken ribs in reality, was still not something that should appear here.
The reputation of their Star City Auction House was now well established.
Ye Shu raised an eyebrow.
This guy Haji Qian actually put it up for auction right away. So efficient, what a true brother.
"Five thousand five hundred!"
"Six thousand!"
"Seven thousand!"
"Eight thousand!"
The price climbed steadily, quickly reaching the ten thousand mark.
But at this point, the price began to rise very, very slowly, because going any higher meant nobody would really want it.
Just when Ye Shu thought the price would settle there.
"Twenty thousand! I bid twenty thousand spirit stones!"
In the Earth-grade Alpha VIP room, a middle-aged man in a green robe suddenly stood up and shouted loudly, "This item is destined for my son. I ask everyone to reluctantly part with it!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue was in an uproar.
"Twenty thousand spirit stones? Oh my goodness..."
"Twenty thousand spirit stones is enough to raise ten Foundation Establishment cultivators, right? What is the meaning behind such a grand gesture?"
The other bidders clicked their tongues in astonishment and cupped their hands in concession.
After all, since the man had put out such a price, there was no point in fighting him for it. It wasn't an absolute necessity anyway.
Ye Shu was also a bit surprised.
Even Danxia was somewhat surprised and couldn't help but say, "Shu'er, could this be a shill planted by your friend? Don't let him outsmart himself."
"No." Ye Shu shook his head.
Based on his understanding of Qian Jiang, this guy wouldn't do something like that.
"His son is truly fortunate..."
Ye Shu looked at that VIP room with some emotion. If the auction house didn't keep the buyers' identities strictly confidential, he would really want to meet this generous individual.
How envious. This is what you call someone else's dad.
His own deadbeat dad, ever since his dantian was crippled, rarely saw him throughout the year. He was always running around outside, who knew what he was busy with.
The last time they met was when he left the Ye family.
He had coldly handed him a protective jade pendant.
"Comparing dads is just asking to be angered to death," Ye Shu sighed, then focused his attention back on the auction.
Meanwhile, in the Earth-grade Alpha VIP room.
"Patriarch, you are being foolish!" an old servant said to the middle-aged man in bitter distress. "Twenty thousand spirit stones is enough to raise ten Foundation Establishment cultivators! Can you even justify this calculation?"
"Who says I can't justify it?"
The middle-aged man snorted coldly.
"This money isn't coming from the clan. What's wrong with me using my own private savings to buy a pill for my son?"
"Shu'er has been stuck at the third layer of Qi Condensation for so many years. It's a good thing I happened to come take a look today, otherwise who knows when we'd come across such good stuff again!"
Happened to? Was it really just a coincidence?
The master never missed a single auction in the vicinity of Moon City. How could it be a coincidence?
Even the dogs on the street knew what his intentions were.
The old servant had a complex expression but didn't expose him.
Ye Zhan leaned back in his chair and rambled on, his eyes full of starlight. "With this, Shu'er should be able to reach Foundation Establishment. Then we'll let those old fogeys in the clan see what right they still have to call him trash! Let's see who dares to look down on him then!"
The old man opened his mouth, but could only sigh.
A doting father often ruins the son...
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
