Chapter 26: The First Genius of Yan City

  "Four hundred crystal stones." Wang Ling's clear and crisp voice sounded again, as she glanced at the red-dressed girl with a hint of disdain. As the daughter of the Wang family head, she had been pampered since childhood, and now seeing someone dare to compete with her for something she had set her eyes on, a sense of hostility suddenly arose in her heart.

  "Ling Qing's sister is indeed wealthy and arrogant, every time she raises the price it's almost a hundred crystal stones. Unfortunately, I also like this Spirit Snake Sword Technique very much, otherwise I would have let my sister have it." The woman in red smiled cleverly, her voice sweet to the point of being cloying, smoothed out her hair, and continued bidding: "I'll offer 420 crystal stones."

  "Hmph, what's with the 'sister' this and that? I'm not familiar with you, no need to be so affectionate." Wang Lingqing furrowed her brow, even more displeased with the woman in red.

  The woman in red didn't get angry, still with a smile on her face, "That's right, sister and I haven't seen each other for a few times, it's normal to forget, but your second brother once begged me to marry him after he almost died, does sister remember this?"

  "'Hongfen Sword' Wei Yurou, it's actually you, this fox spirit!" Wang Lingqing suddenly stood up, his eyes narrowing, and the already heroic face added a few more hints of coldness, angrily staring at the red-clad woman who was still smiling lightly.

  The woman in red didn't think much of it and seeing Wang Ling's annoyed expression only made her feel more relieved.

  "Red Brocade Sword!" As soon as Wang Lingqing's words came out, the auction scene suddenly erupted into a commotion, with many people turning their heads to look at the woman in red, each revealing a look of astonishment.

  Fang Li was also somewhat surprised, as a member of the four major families in Yan City, he was still familiar with the title "Red Powder Sword". This person was a member of the Wei family, one of the four major families, not only was his appearance unparalleled, but he had also broken through to the seventh level of Qi Refining at an early age, and his swordsmanship was exquisite, known as the number one genius in Yan City. However, she rarely showed her face in public, and unexpectedly appeared here now.

  "This is the 'Red Brocade Sword', the number one prodigy of Yan City." Fang Li muttered to himself, his eyes fixed intently on the woman in red, a gleam of eagerness flashing in his eyes. But he shook his head and sighed, "If I were to challenge her now, it would only be humiliating myself. Not to mention her cultivation and swordsmanship, just that strange charm alone is something my current self can't handle."

  Thinking of this, Fang Li's eyebrows furrowed tightly. Two months later, at the Four Clans' Conquest, she should also participate, if she can't defeat her, then first place is hopeless.

  "Five Hundred Crystal Stones!"

  Just as Fang Li was deep in thought, Wang Lingqing's face turned red with anger and she raised her price again. Looking at her momentum, if she didn't get the Spirit Snake Sword Technique today, she wouldn't give up easily.

  "Red Brocade Sword" Wei Yu Ruo smiled repeatedly, her beautiful eyes filled with autumn waves, as if gazing at Wang Ling Qing provocatively, stubbornly saying: "Five hundred and twenty crystal stones."

  "Six hundred crystal stones!" Wang Lingqing stood up again, seemingly having a disagreement with Wei Yurou.

  Fang Limo remained silent, his mouth twitching slightly, and his face gradually darkened. Let these two men compete if they want to; why must they show off at the auction? Can't they spend their excess money elsewhere?

  Fang Li pinched the cloud smoke and handed it over to his own fragrance bag, adding the two instruments of water and fire swords, which was only about 700 crystal stones. Now the price of Ling She Swordsmanship has been raised to 600 crystal stones, and it's about to exceed the total value on him. Fang Li gritted his teeth, but he didn't even dare to shout a price.

  The value of the Ling Snake Technique is only between 300 to 500 crystal stones, but now that the two women are competing fiercely, they're driving up the price one after another. Fang Li feels like he's suffered an unexpected disaster, the technique he had high hopes of buying has slipped away from him, and he didn't even get a chance to make a single bid.

  "No way, I promised my sister that I would give her a cultivation method tonight." Fang Li suddenly raised his head, his eyes fixed intently on the crystal-clear jade plaque of the cultivation method being auctioned. Thinking about his sister's delighted expression when she found out he was going to give her a cultivation method, Fang Li felt as if his heart had been ruthlessly twisted, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

  "Liuer must be sitting at the door of our house now, waiting for the surprise I promised as her brother." Fang Li muttered to himself, scratching his hair fiercely with his hand, a feeling of anxiety spreading in his heart.

  "Six hundred and twenty crystals." Wei Yurou gritted her teeth again.

  "Seven hundred crystal stones." Wang Lingqing followed up with a bid, but at this time, her face also showed a hint of abnormality, as if she was in pain.

  As soon as the price was announced, the auction scene erupted in a commotion once again. At this point, even an idiot could sense the tension between the two women. Seven hundred crystal stones for a single jade plaque? Even if you had the money to spare, it wasn't something to be squandered like that! Those who hadn't left the auction scene yet all started shaking their heads. Why bother competing with crystal stones?

  Fang Li's heart suddenly turned cold when he heard the 700 crystal stones, this also indicated that this jade token was beyond his reach, today he could only leave in disappointment.

  Fang Li closed his eyes, his hands still clutching his hair. He had promised his sister that morning, but now he was going to disappoint her and make her happy for nothing. Fang Li hung his head low, the anxious emotions in his heart growing stronger and stronger.

  Muyunyan stood behind the auction stage, closely watching the situation in the auction hall. Through the curtain, Muyunyan's gaze fell on Fang Li, seeing his abnormal expression, and couldn't help but frown slightly.

  Fang Li seemed to have sensed something, looked up and also found the figure of Mu Yunyan. His originally low mood rose again. Without caring whether Mu Yunyan understood or not, Fang Li pointed at the auction stage's Gong Fa Yu Pai, then pointed at himself, and finally nodded vigorously.

  Muyun Yan was a bit dazed at first, but immediately reacted and nodded towards Fang Li.

  At this time, Wei Yurou and Wang Lingqing were still competing with each other.

  "Seven hundred and twenty crystals."

  "Eight Hundred Crystal Stones."

  Just as it seemed the auction was about to become a duel between two people, Fang Li finally couldn't bear it anymore and suddenly stood up, shouting: "I bid 1,000 crystal stones!"

  Fang Li's sudden shout caused the entire auction hall to fall silent, and it was unclear whether they were stunned by his voice or his bid, as the bidding seats fell eerily quiet.

  "Who are you, daring to argue with me?" Wang Ling's clear eyebrows furrowed, breaking the silence first. With one hand grasping her treasured sword and the other pointing at Fang Li, she said this. At this moment, she was extremely angry. It was fine that Wei Yu Ruo had argued with her, but what status did this little brat have to also intervene?

  Fang Li rubbed his eyes, he just wanted to buy the Ling Snake Sword Technique for his sister, didn't want to cause trouble, but being pointed at by someone's finger made him feel very uncomfortable.

  "Compared to the Wang family's young mistress, I'm just a nobody, but in this auction house, you and I are equal, we're both customers." Fang Li said calmly.

  "Guests also have their own high and low, noble and humble distinctions. With your shabby appearance, you think you can receive the same treatment as me? What a joke." Wang Ling's beauty was indeed beautiful, but her words were sharp and bitter, not likable to others.

  Fang Li frowned, feeling disgusted. This woman had just fought with Wei Yu Rong and was now looking to vent her anger on him. However, Fang Li still spoke humbly: "Miss Wang doesn't need to be so angry, I'm just interested in this skill, if I've offended you, please forgive me."

  "Hmph, Hai Han? If you leave now, I'll pretend nothing ever happened. Otherwise, Miss Wang won't let you off easy." Wang Lingqing's threat was clear, wanting Fang Li to give up the auction.

  Fang Li rubbed his forehead, rarely tolerating himself, but others didn't appreciate it, instead they kept pressing him, it seemed this trouble couldn't be avoided. Fang Li sighed and looked at Wang Lingqing again, his eyes involuntarily turned cold, his aura changed, like the edge of a sword.

  "It's impossible for me to leave, I'm going to master this spiritual snake sword technique today. I'll start the bidding at 1,000 crystal stones. If Miss Wang doesn't dare to continue bidding, then she should just wait quietly on the side. This is the Mu family auction house, not the Wang family mansion." Fang Li's voice was cold and detached, but he had also lost his temper.

  "You... how dare you speak to me like that, do you know who I am?" Wang Ling's face turned bright red with anger, when had anyone ever dared to speak to her like this in Yan City, it was infuriating!

  Fang Li's expression didn't change, and he sneered, "If I hadn't known who you were, I would have slapped you a long time ago. Why would I bother arguing with you?"

  "Bastard, you have a big nerve!" Wang Lingqing's face turned bright red with rage, wanting to curse loudly, but couldn't find the words, and in his indignation, he actually thrust the long sword in his hand at Fang Li.

  "Halt!" Just then, a worried voice came over and Moyun Yan surprisingly appeared beside him, blocking his path.

  Wang Lingqing took a clear look at the newcomer's appearance, and was suddenly shocked, stopping his sword movement. If he hadn't reacted quickly enough, this sword would have probably pierced through Mu Yunyan.

  Muyun Yan patted her chest, somewhat startled, but still stared at Wang Lingqing and said: "The Muyun Auction House does not allow fighting, Miss Wang is the thousand gold of the Wang family head, I suppose you've also heard of it."

  Muyun's heart was filled with anger, and she had originally intended to warn him, but the words that came out of her mouth were unexpectedly gentle, with a soft tone that didn't sound stern at all, and instead sounded like advice.

  Fang Li did not expect Wang Lingqing to suddenly draw his sword. At this moment, he reacted and looked at Wang Lingqing with an even colder gaze.

  "Thank you." Fang Li nodded his hands and thanked Mu Yunyan.

  "Young master, no need to be polite. No one is allowed to fight in the Mu's auction house. Stopping you is what I should do." Mu Yunyan nodded slightly and then looked at Wang Lingqing, continuing: "Miss Wang, the rules of the auction house are that the highest bidder wins, and it's not allowed to intimidate or coerce other bidders. I hope you can follow this rule."

  Although Mu Yunyan's cultivation was not high, her identity as a member of the Mu family was solid, and Wang Lingqing, no matter how arrogant she was, did not dare to touch her at all, and could only glare at Fang Li with hatred.

  At this time, a silvery laughter sounded, and Wei Yurou, who had been playing the role of an onlooker, also joined in. She was dressed in red, smiling sweetly, and said: "Ling Qing, sister, if you can't offer a higher price than others, then just give up the Ling Snake Sword Technique. Why draw your sword? Not to mention it's you, even if it were your father, he wouldn't dare cause trouble at the Mu family auction house."

  "Shut up, Fox Spirit, what does this have to do with you?" Wang Lingqing was still fuming and didn't bother to pay attention to Wei Yurou. Her pair of eyes, which were quite spirited, glared at Fang Li and shouted: "Fine, if you want a fair auction, I'll give you a fair auction! I don't believe that Miss will be suppressed by a poor boy like you!"