Chen Chang'an was a man who believed in fairness—how others treated him, he would treat them the same in return. Since Elder Ma couldn’t speak politely, Chen Chang'an saw no reason to hold back. That simply wasn’t his style.
Chen Chang'an’s words instantly darkened Elder Ma’s expression. So, the rumors were true—this brat really was arrogant, thinking his potential gave him the right to act without restraint?
"Good, good, good."
"The rumors don’t lie. Chen Chang'an, you truly are as insolent as they say!"
"But do you even know where you are? You dare cause trouble here?" Elder Ma sneered.
"All I know is that this is an auction house—a place of business."
"Is this how you treat your guests?"
"Is this your so-called hospitality?" Chen Chang'an retorted with a cold laugh.
His words made Elder Ma frown. He couldn’t deny that he had been the one to provoke Chen Chang'an first.
He had simply taken a dislike to the young man’s attitude, but he hadn’t expected the other party to show no fear at all.
For a moment, Elder Ma was at a loss. After a brief pause, he spoke indifferently, "The item you want is here."
"However... the auction for it has likely already begun. Recently, this is the only one of its kind available."
"Whether you can secure it depends entirely on your own means."
"If there’s nothing else, you may leave."
The auction had already started?
Without hesitation, Chen Chang'an turned and strode straight toward the auction hall.
"Hmph, act all high and mighty now. The day will come when you’ll weep."
"If it weren’t for the uproar over the event three days from now, I’d have taught you a proper lesson today."
The matter of Chen Chang'an attempting to challenge for the Violet Gold Medal in three days had caused too much of a stir. At this moment, no one would dare lay a hand on him.
After all, everyone wanted to see whether Chen Chang'an would succeed—or how miserably he would fail. Acting now would only spoil the spectacle.
In the auction hall, the item Chen Chang'an sought—the Soul Restoration Herb—was currently being auctioned.
"Fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones! The current bid stands at fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones! Are there any higher offers?"
"Esteemed guests, while the Soul Restoration Herb may not be a supreme treasure, its effects on healing the soul are remarkably potent."
"As cultivators, we all know that a damaged soul can halt our progress for life."
"This item is far from useless. Our auction house currently has only this single herb in stock. A rare opportunity—once missed, who knows how long you’ll have to wait for another?"
"Sixty thousand! I bid sixty thousand mid-grade spirit stones!"
"Seventy thousand! Seventy thousand here!"
"Hmph, I offer one hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones!"
The auctioneer certainly knew how to stir the crowd. Though the Soul Restoration Herb was valuable, its price shouldn’t exceed one hundred fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones.
Yet, thanks to his persuasive words, the bids kept climbing, now reaching two hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones.
"Two hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones! Are there no further offers?"
"Truly, no one else wishes to bid?"
The auctioneer’s gaze swept across the room, gauging the reactions of the attendees.
Seeing no further interest, he decided not to drag it out.
"Two hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones—going once!"
"Two hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones—going twice!"
"Two hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones—"
"Ten thousand!"
Huh?
Ten thousand?
The bid left everyone stunned. Was this some kind of joke?
Causing trouble at this auction house? This was an establishment under the City Lord of No Return City. Did this person have a death wish?
All eyes turned toward the source of the voice—and then widened in shock.
A Platinum Medal holder… this young?
"Who is this guy? Such audacity!"
"Holy—Chen Chang'an?"
"Eh? That’s Chen Chang'an?"
"This kid’s getting more reckless by the day. He dares to disrupt things here?"
"Just a fool with no sense of self-preservation. Let’s see how he plans to get out of this mess."
Even the auctioneer turned to look, finally getting a glimpse of this infamous figure.
"Esteemed guest, the current bid for the Soul Restoration Herb stands at two hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones."
"Your offer of ten thousand… is insufficient."
"If you truly wish to purchase it, you may place a new bid," the auctioneer said with a polite smile.
"Ten thousand it is."
"However, I meant ten thousand high-grade spirit stones."
Hiss—
The second part of his statement sent a collective gasp through the crowd.
Ten thousand high-grade spirit stones? Had this kid lost his mind?
This was sheer extravagance! Ten thousand high-grade spirit stones equated to one million mid-grade spirit stones.
And he was spending that much on this overpriced herb?
"You… you’re certain about ten thousand high-grade spirit stones?" Even the auctioneer was taken aback by Chen Chang'an’s wealth.
"I’m certain," Chen Chang'an replied coolly.
"Very well!"
"Ten thousand high-grade spirit stones—going once!"
"Ten thousand premium spirit stones, going twice."
"Ten thousand premium spirit stones, going thrice."
"Sold!"
"This Spirit-Nourishing Herb now belongs to the esteemed guest."
"Please proceed with the payment."
"Very well."
"Ah, since you hold a Platinum Medal, you are entitled to a twenty percent discount. Thus, you only need to pay eight thousand premium spirit stones."
At this moment, even the auctioneer felt a pang of regret—two thousand premium spirit stones, equivalent to two hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones! The discount alone surpassed the highest bid before Chen Chang'an's appearance.
After paying the eight thousand premium spirit stones, Chen Chang'an took the Spirit-Nourishing Herb and left the auction house without delay.
It wasn’t until he had departed that the crowd finally snapped out of their daze.
"Damn, how does he have that much wealth?"
"Does this kid even know the meaning of discretion? 'A common man’s wealth is his own ruin'—isn’t he afraid of being targeted?"
"Hmph, riding high on recent fame, he’s grown reckless. Once he fails the Violet-Gold Medal challenge, plenty will come for him."
"Let him bask in his arrogance for now. Soon enough, he’ll learn the price of his recklessness."
No one expected that after leaving the auction, Chen Chang'an would immediately head straight for the city gates.
"Eh? Isn’t that Chen Chang'an? Where’s he going?"
"That looks like the direction to the city exit!"
"What? Chen Chang'an is leaving the city? Is he running scared?"
"Hard to say. Maybe he has urgent business."
His sudden departure puzzled many, yet no one could guess his intentions.
As a Platinum Medal holder, Chen Chang'an possessed the privilege of freely entering and exiting the City of No Return.
However, when he reached the gates, he encountered the same guards who had been on duty when he first arrived.
"Y-you… you’ve already attained the Platinum Medal?"
The lead guard stared at Chen Chang'an in shock. After all, this man had been in the City of No Return for less than three full days.
Could it be…?
"You wouldn’t happen to be the Chen Chang'an from the recent rumors, would you?" the guard stammered.
"Indeed, it’s me."
"I—by the heavens! Aren’t you about to compete for the Violet-Gold Medal? Why leave the city now?" the guard asked, bewildered.
"I have matters to attend to."
"Matters? May I ask… where exactly are you headed?"
"The Forest of Life and Death."
"What?! You’re going to the Forest of Life and Death?"
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
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."
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
