Chapter 150: A High-Class Auction

After putting on a show, Wu Tian returned to the Sky-Swallowing Sect to turn in his quests. The sect's quests indeed offered a massive amount of experience points; a single minor task yielded tens of thousands of exp. There were twenty sect tasks available every day, and none of them were particularly difficult. By simply running a few errands, one could acquire a huge amount of experience. Naturally, Wu Tian was more than willing to do so. Thus, over the next few days, Wu Tian diligently completed all twenty sect tasks every day, reaping over a hundred thousand experience points daily.

In just four or five days, Wu Tian's experience points had surged to seventy or eighty thousand. Currently, his experience bar stood at 878,276 / 1,000,000. He was just a little over a hundred thousand experience points away from leveling up, which would probably take only another day or two of sect quests.

However, Wu Tian was in no rush to level up at the moment. The Grand Auction hosted by the Following Wind Chamber of Commerce was about to take place. This auction had captured the attention of the entire Fierce Martial Empire because it featured the participation of a Heaven-grade divine-quality medicinal pill—the "Life-Extension Pill."

Ordinary Heaven-grade pills were already extremely rare, and some were even considered supreme treasures guarded within major sects. One could only imagine how rare a Heaven-grade divine-quality pill must be. More importantly, the Life-Extension Pill possessed powerful life-prolonging properties. As long as a person still had a single breath left, it could extend their lifespan by twenty years, effectively acting as a resurrection from the dead. Anyone would desire such a miraculous medicine.

Consequently, the Following Wind Chamber of Commerce used the "Life-Extension Pill" as the focal point of their promotion, capturing the attention of all the major factions across the Fierce Martial Empire. Of course, the auction featured not only the Life-Extension Pill but also the Spirit-Enhancing Pill, which would likewise draw major factions into fierce competition.

On the day before the auction, Elder Hu specially delivered an invitation to Wu Tian. Although Wu Tian and the Following Wind Chamber of Commerce shared an unusual relationship, the chamber still treated Wu Tian as an honored guest. For this attitude alone, Wu Tian was more than willing to continue cooperating with them.

The Following Wind Chamber of Commerce owned a large auction venue in the imperial capital capable of seating a thousand people, complete with a general seating area and dozens of VIP compartments. On the day of the auction, the exterior of the venue was packed with people who had come to attend. The chamber had specially dispatched a security detail of several hundred guards to maintain order.

"A warm welcome to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

"A warm welcome to His Royal Highness the Third Prince!"

"A warm welcome to the representatives of the General's Manor!"

"A warm welcome to the representatives of the Sky-Swallowing Sect..."

When Wu Tian arrived, the greeters stationed at the magnificent gates of the Following Wind Chamber of Commerce's auction house continuously shouted out respectful announcements. Almost all the major factions of the imperial capital had arrived: the General's Manor, the Sky-Swallowing Sect, the Seven Stars Academy, the Divine Marquis Manor, the Shadowless Gate, and even the imperial family itself were no exception.

With the arrival of the five major factions of the imperial capital, the first-tier factions beneath them were by no means willing to lag behind. The Myriad Swords Sect, the Iron Fist Clan, the Skull Gang, and countless others all sent representatives. This auction had gathered the gazes of virtually every major faction in the Fierce Martial Empire. Anyone randomly picked out from the crowd was a prominent and influential figure. All in all, this auction exuded an exceptionally high-class atmosphere.

Upon arriving, Wu Tian intended to find Elder Hu, but it seemed Elder Hu was too busy to be seen anywhere. Wu Tian decided to head inside first anyway, since he had the invitation in his hand.

"What the heck! Why is it you again?!" Just as Wu Tian was about to enter the auction venue, a voice came from behind him.

Wu Tian turned around and looked, "What the heck! How the hell would I know?!"

The person who spoke was none other than Xu Jianren, the young master of the Myriad Swords Sect, whom Wu Tian had kicked just yesterday. As the old saying goes, enemies are bound to cross paths.

When Xu Jianren saw Wu Tian, the humiliation of yesterday came rushing back vividly. His eyes instantly blazed with fury as he roared, "I let you slip away yesterday, brat, but you won't have such good luck today. Prepare to meet your maker, bastard!"

With that, Xu Jianren moved to draw his sword and finish off Wu Tian.

However, an old man standing beside him pressed down on Xu Jianren's treasured sword, glanced at Wu Tian, and said, "Young Master, this is the territory of the Following Wind Chamber of Commerce, and today there are major figures all around. Do not provoke trouble here, or there will be endless future troubles."

Only then did Xu Jianren calm down slightly, though the heaving of his chest showed that his anger had not subsided in the slightest. He pointed at Wu Tian and said through clenched teeth, "Wu Tian, you just wait! I have important business to attend to at the auction today. Once the auction is over, I'll settle accounts with you!"

"If you still want to get kicked by me again, feel free to come at me," Wu Tian said with his usual arrogant demeanor.

"You just wait!" Xu Jianren fiercely pointed at Wu Tian as a warning.

With that, Xu Jianren aggressively prepared to enter the auction house. After taking just a few steps, however, he stopped, turned back to look at Wu Tian, and asked, "Brat, what are you here for today?"

"None of your business," Wu Tian replied with a dismissive curl of his lip.

A meaningful smile appeared on Xu Jianren's face as he said with utter contempt, "Oh, I get it now. You must be trying to get into the auction, but unfortunately, with your status, you're not qualified to enter. Only those who received invitations can get in. Tsk tsk... With your background, you must have been turned away at the door, right? Haha..."

"What a clown!" Wu Tian chuckled dismissively, then took out his invitation and handed it to the greeter.

"Respected Young Master Wu, you are an honored guest of our Following Wind Chamber of Commerce. Please this way through the VIP passage!" The greeter glanced at Wu Tian's invitation and said respectfully.

Wu Tian flashed a polite smile and walked into the VIP passage.

"What the hell! What kind of trickery is this? Why on earth can this bastard brat be an honored guest of the Following Wind Chamber of Commerce?" Xu Jianren said, looking utterly shocked and incredulous.

"I'm afraid this kid is not simple. Based on my observations, I cannot detect any true qi fluctuations from him at all. However, judging by what you said about his high cultivation level yesterday, there is only one possibility: he possesses equipment or cultivation techniques that can conceal his cultivation," the old man beside Xu Jianren said, narrowing his eyes.

"I don't care if he's simple or not! I'm going to teach him a harsh lesson anyway. Elder, you must help me get my revenge when the time comes!" Xu Jianren clenched his fists tightly, gnashing his teeth in hatred.

...

Wu Tian slowly walked into the VIP passage. People around him were constantly greeting each other, clearly acquainted, making Wu Tian feel slightly out of place here.

Just at that moment, Wu Tian caught a familiar fragrance. A young woman dressed in a pink long dress hurried past him. The woman glanced toward Wu Tian, and upon catching sight of his face, she let out an immediate gasp of astonishment.

"Wu Tian! You're Wu Tian!" Tong Yixin covered her mouth in disbelief and pointed a finger at Wu Tian as she cried out.

Upon seeing this woman, Wu Tian's eyes widened instantly, and a broad smile spread across his face. "Wife! I never expected to run into you here. We are truly destined for each other!"

That's right, this woman was none other than the gentle and lovely junior sister among the fellow sect members he had rescued back when he was leveling up in the Misty Forest—the very same junior sister who had promised to give herself to him in marriage after he saved her.

Hearing Wu Tian call her "wife," Tong Yixin's face instantly flushed red, but she still cried out excitedly toward someone behind Wu Tian, "Senior Sister! Senior Sister! It really is our great benefactor, Wu Tian! We didn't mistake him for someone else!"