Strongest War Emperor

When it came to the Howling Moon Celestial Wolf’s third eye, the item’s value was actually far greater than five hundred thousand Gold Coins.

After all, such items were incredibly rare and offered extraordinary advantages for exploring Secret Realms.

It was just a shame that it was being sold in the wrong place. Celestial Phoenix City was no match for a metropolis like the Imperial Capital.

Here, a year of painstaking work for one of the four great families would only yield about a million Gold Coins in profit. Most families would be unwilling to spend five hundred thousand on a single item like this.

Moreover, that five hundred thousand was just the starting price. If they weren’t careful, it could easily climb to seven or eight hundred thousand, or even higher.

So, when the item was presented, a brief silence fell over the entire auction hall for the first time.

”Six hundred thousand Gold Coins.” A voice drifted from the Holy Light Sect’s private room.

It seemed only Profound Iron Level Influences like them could compete for such an item. Unless they had a desperate need, smaller families wouldn’t dare to get involved.

”Are there any other bids?” Lian Ruoshui asked with a smile, her gaze sweeping across the crowd.

A sneer echoed from the Holy Light Sect’s private room. ”TCH! This item isn’t half bad. To think none of the powers here in Celestial Phoenix City want it... Hmm, I suppose the price is too steep. Can’t afford it, can you?”

The hall was instantly plunged into silence. The expressions on everyone’s faces turned ugly...

But even though the people of Celestial Phoenix City were furious, there was nothing they could do. The speaker was from a Profound Iron Level Influence, someone ordinary people didn’t dare to provoke.

Besides, the City Lord’s Mansion was a Cyan Wood Level Influence affiliated with Evil Wind Valley. Since even the people from Evil Wind Valley hadn’t said a word, who else would dare to make a peep?

”Well? What are you gawking at? Just bring the item up to me,” the somewhat effeminate voice from the Holy Light Sect spoke again.

Lian Ruoshui’s smile faltered for a moment before she quickly recovered and turned around.

Just as she was about to instruct a nearby attendant, another voice spoke up.

”One million Gold Coins.” The voice was one that everyone was now familiar with—slightly juvenile, yet exceptionally calm.

Lian Ruoshui and the crowd below gasped, looking up at the second floor in stunned disbelief.

Their gazes fell upon the most watched spot of the day—the private room occupied by Shen Lang!

”One million one hundred thousand Gold Coins!” The man from the Holy Light Sect was furious.

They never imagined someone in a place like this would dare to challenge them, and that it wasn’t even one of the other Profound Iron Level Influences!

”Two million Gold Coins.” Shen Lang’s next bid reeked of new money.

”WOW!” The entire auction hall erupted.

Countless powerful streams of Divine Thought shot through the air, all trying to see just what kind of lunatic would name such an insane price.

’Are you kidding me? It’s just the eye of a Howling Moon Celestial Wolf. It wasn’t even worth a million, yet he bid two million Gold Coins?’

’And he jumped directly from one point one million to two million?’

’Was he doing this just to spite the Profound Iron Level Influence, the Holy Light Sect? Was it really necessary?’

’So what if the guy from the Holy Light Sect was a bit rude? There was no need to go this far, was there?’

’They bid six hundred thousand Gold Coins. You could have just bid seven hundred thousand to one-up him. That would have been enough, right?’

’But no, you jumped straight to one million!’

’Even if you were really rich, bidding a million would have been enough to show your resolve and prove that the people of Celestial Phoenix City weren’t to be looked down on. That would have accomplished your goal, right?’

’So how could you just throw out a price like two million Gold Coins?’

’Picking a fight with a Profound Iron Level Influence... isn’t that just idiotic?’

In an instant, the auction hall erupted in a storm of heated discussion.

”Do... do you have that much money?” Shui Qingwu asked in a hushed voice.

She remembered clearly that just this morning, Shen Lang had borrowed a few hundred Spirit Stones from her.

”I don’t,” Shen Lang replied bluntly.

Shui Qingwu and Xue Dangdang both rolled their eyes at the same time.

’You don’t have the money, but you’re still acting so high and mighty? What happens if they don’t raise the bid?’

’You’re digging your own grave!’

Shen Lang chuckled and pointed at the wide-eyed Lanlos. ”I may not have the money, but the Treasure Pavilion does. Those two old geezers set me up, so I’ll make them bleed a little. I doubt they’ll have any complaints.”

Although the formula for the Giant Potion could fetch a heavenly price, Shen Lang hadn’t been joking.

He was dead set on fleecing those two old men from the Treasure Pavilion.

This was tit for tat, a fair trade, an exchange of pleasantries.

Of course, more importantly, he was determined to get that Howling Moon Celestial Wolf’s eye.

At this point, the Holy Light Sect’s room went completely silent. It was hard to tell if they had fainted from rage or something else entirely.

”Young man, it’s not good to be so aggressive...” A deep, powerful voice drifted from the Evil Wind Valley private room. ”The eye of a Howling Moon Celestial Wolf isn’t worth this much, and it’s certainly not worth offending the Holy Light Sect over.”

”Heh...” Shen Lang just chuckled and ignored him.

Shen Lang might not have cared, but Shen Haoxuan, who was down below, certainly did. The words from Evil Wind Valley were dripping with threat... The meaning was crystal clear: if Shen Lang insisted on this course of action, he would not only offend the Holy Light Sect but Evil Wind Valley as well!

Shen Haoxuan truly didn’t care if Shen Lang lived or died, but the Shen Family couldn’t bear the consequences!

A single word from an influence of that caliber could doom the Shen Family to eternal damnation!

”Shen Lang, you are too insolent! A venerable senior from Evil Wind Valley is speaking to you, yet you dare to show such disrespect!”

Shen Haoxuan’s voice was sharp and his expression severe.

Before Shen Lang could speak, he quickly turned toward the Evil Wind Valley’s room, bowed respectfully, and said, ”My lord, please forgive him. I am Shen Haoxuan, Patriarch of the Shen Family. This Shen Lang is merely the adopted son of my second brother. Our Shen Family does not acknowledge him. Perhaps because he is unable to practice Cultivation, his mind has become twisted, causing him to act erratically. I hope Your Lordship will not take it to heart.”

The moment he finished, an old man beside him immediately stood and announced in a loud voice, ”That’s right. I am the Third Elder of the Shen Family, and I can attest to the Clan Leader’s words. This Shen Lang does not have a drop of our Shen Family’s blood in him. He’s nothing but a bastard! Nothing he says represents the position of our Shen Family! We would never dare to offend any of you esteemed lords.”

In front of everyone, the two of them had immediately drawn a clear line in the sand, pushing all the blame onto Shen Lang!

And their words were utterly vile!

”Old man, who are you calling a bastard!” With a sharp cry, Xue Dangdang shot to her feet, ready to charge out of the room.

Shen Lang’s hand shot out, grabbing her by the wrist.

”Brother Lang!” Xue Dangdang cried out, her eyes misting over.

Only she knew how much suffering Shen Lang had endured over the years... Every time she had tried to help him deal with those people, Shen Lang had stopped her.

He wasn’t doing it for himself, nor was he afraid of anyone.

All these years, he had done it all for the sake of his parents.

Shen Lang may not have had Shen Family blood flowing through his veins, but his father, Shen Haotian, did.

For his father’s sake, and because of his own inability to practice Cultivation, he had never used Xue Dangdang’s power to deal with them.

It was the same now.

Shui Qingwu watched everything with a strange expression. Her gaze fell on Shen Lang’s left hand, where his five fingers had sunk deep into the tabletop...

A stifling atmosphere spread from the private room and through the entire auction hall.

After a long moment, Shen Lang suddenly released Xue Dangdang’s hand. His entire body seemed to relax, and his former confident, sunny disposition returned.

”Dingdang, I know your family background is mysterious and powerful, but... these are my problems to solve. Please, sit down...”

His voice was as gentle as water, yet it seemed to carry a magical charm that left both Xue Dangdang and Shui Qingwu momentarily stunned.

Xue Dangdang opened her mouth to speak, but then, surprisingly, sat back down obediently.

At that moment, Drunken Thousand Cups’s voice drifted out from the Evil Wind Valley’s private room once more. ”So that’s how it is... It seems the young man was just acting on a whim. How about this? As for that two-million bid you just made, do me a favor and let’s just pretend it never happened. What do you say?”

”You seem to be overstepping your bounds,” Shen Lang replied, his voice as calm and steady as ever.

Drunken Thousand Cups snorted. ”Is that so? Heh, I never would have thought... To think a character like this could emerge from Celestial Phoenix City. I, Drunken Thousand Cups, have truly had my horizons broadened today.”

Just then, the melodious voice of a woman emanated from the Profound Dao Sect’s private room:

”What a fine Patriarch Shen you are, and what a fine Drunken Thousand Cups... One throws his own junior into the fire pit to save his own skin; the other uses his power and status to bully a junior. Aren’t you afraid you’ll become a laughingstock if word of this gets out?”

Drunken Thousand Cups snorted. ”Sister Leng Hui, you’re as sharp-tongued as ever. You’ve branded me with such a terrible label with just a single sentence. Heh heh, I was merely explaining the stakes to the young man. To call it ’bullying’ seems a bit of an exaggeration. With my personality, if I truly wanted to bully someone, I wouldn’t waste so many words, and I certainly wouldn’t be speaking to him so calmly.”

”Heh, how impressive of the Profound Dao Sect, playing the hero even here. Are you truly certain this brat can produce that much money? If he’s just fooling around and wasting our time, how do you propose we settle this?” a strange, passive-aggressive voice called out from the Golden Embryo Sect’s room.

Before the Profound Dao Sect could respond, someone from the White Rainbow Sect spoke up. ”Auctions are fair by nature. The highest bidder within the allotted time always wins. As we see it, the young man has done nothing wrong. If he can’t produce the money, the Treasure Pavilion will deal with him. It’s none of your concern. The one who interrupted his bid was Drunken Thousand Cups of Evil Wind Valley. The one who threatened him was also Drunken Thousand Cups. So how, in the eyes of your Golden Embryo Sect, did the young man become the one wasting your time? Shouldn’t you be blaming Drunken Thousand Cups for that?”

The person from the Golden Embryo Sect snorted and said nothing more.

Anyone with eyes could see what was happening. It’s just that these major powers didn’t give a damn about the lesser factions on the floor below.

But to be questioned like this by a power of the same level... any answer they gave would be a loss of face.

With several major powers now involved, the auction hall instantly descended into chaos.

At first, it was just a matter of Shen Lang offending the Holy Light Sect and Evil Wind Valley. The worst-case scenario was that the kid would be the unlucky one, eventually eliminated by those two powers.

But now, all the Profound Iron Level Influences present had been dragged into the fray.

The Holy Light Sect, Evil Wind Valley, and Golden Embryo Sect formed one side, while the Profound Dao Sect and White Rainbow Sect formed another.

If these two factions came to blows, it would be no small matter!

So the rumors were true...

It was said that among the Sect Influences present, all but the Profound Dao Sect were subordinate to the Imperial Dragon Sect. However, the White Rainbow Sect had an unusually good relationship with the Profound Dao Sect, and so often came to their aid.

Even so, the Profound Dao Sect was frequently pushed around by other sects within the Purple Chu Country.

Furthermore, it was rumored that their elevation from a Spirit Copper Level Influence to a Profound Iron Level Influence was mainly due to the intervention of experts from the Purple Chu Country’s three major sects: the Imperial Dragon Sect, the Flower Sect, and the Li Hen Sect...

Shen Lang’s affair was now merely the fuse that had ignited the escalating conflict between the two sides.

At that moment, Yao Chengjie’s voice finally rang out from the Holy Light Sect’s room again. ”A fool who doesn’t know the difference between life and death. So he’s just an outcast from some minor family, someone even his own clan can’t stand. And yet he comes here to stir up trouble. How pitiful, pathetic, and deplorable...”

”Fuck your ’pathetic,’ and fuck your ’deplorable.’”

Shen Lang said it with a smile, as casually as if he were greeting an old friend on the street with a simple ’hello.’

The entire hall fell silent. A dead silence!