21: Chapter 21 Auction

"Does Senior have any other instructions?" Lin Bei turned around and looked at Manager Shi, who had called out to him.

He was already on high alert, secretly wondering if he could rely on Divine Stealth to escape from the man's hands.

The middle-aged man tossed two tokens, one black and one white, toward Lin Bei.

"The black one is my personal token. If you encounter some minor trouble in Shi City, it might be of some use."

"In three days, the Shi Family Auction House will hold an auction. The white token is the entry permit for the auction."

"Most of the items at the auction are from my Shi Family, but there are also items entrusted to us by outside Cultivators. You can go and take a look; perhaps there will be an unexpected pleasant surprise."

"However, let me remind you: besides the token, entry to the auction requires a small proof of strength. If you cannot get in, then so be it!"

Looking at the two tokens before him and hearing the middle-aged man's series of remarks, Lin Bei was stunned.

After a long moment, he finally tucked the two tokens away and gave a deep bow. "Thank you, Senior!"

After Lin Bei left, the woman standing nearby who had witnessed everything couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Shi, why did you do that?"

In this chamber of commerce, only a few people knew the middle-aged man's true identity, and she was one of them.

Manager Shi waved his hand. "Hahaha, it's nothing. I just felt that the kid was likable! I don't need to live as exhaustingly as my eldest and second brothers; isn't it better to just follow my whims?"

Once Lin Bei was far from the Shi Family Chamber of Commerce, he found a deserted spot and took out the black token.

The token was made of a special metal. One side was engraved with a large character for 'Shi', and the other side was engraved with the character 'Feng'.

"It seems this Manager Shi's status in the Shi Family is quite extraordinary..."

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

The Shi Family Auction House.

Groups of people arrived in an endless stream at the auction house entrance, entering after their tickets were checked.

Here, no one dared to break the rules. Even powerful Dragon Transformation Cultivators had to keep their heads down and behave.

"Oh? Head of the Chen Family, you came as well?"

"Humph! Only your Zhao Family is allowed to come? Everyone knows the Shi Family Auction House doesn't hold auctions easily. Whenever they do, the good items are countless. How could I not come?"

"There are indeed many good items, but I wonder how many Spirit Stones your Chen Family can produce for the bidding. Don't tell me you can't even get through the front door... I heard that worthless son of yours recently lost so much at the gambling den that his pants were nearly stripped off!"

"You!" The Head of the Chen Family was clearly poked in a sore spot. His face turned red with anger, yet he couldn't find any words to retort.

Lin Bei watched this scene from behind with great interest.

"Eh?" Suddenly, he noticed a young woman behind the Head of the Zhao Family. "Damn, isn't that the one from the attic a few days ago..."

Holy crap, the world is way too small!

Just as he finished lamenting, another group of people arrived nearby.

"Haha, how lively! Head of the Chen Family, Head of the Zhao Family, why haven't you gone in? Could it be you didn't receive tickets and can't enter?"

"Pah! You with the surname Wu, who are you looking down on? We are all subordinate families of the Shi Family; what do you have to be so arrogant about?" The Head of the Chen Family was in a fit of rage, snapping at anyone who crossed him.

The Head of the Zhao Family glanced behind the Head of the Wu Family with a hint of mockery. "Heh, isn't this the famous Wu Xiaokun?"

He placed extra emphasis on the word 'Xiao', then said in a meaningful tone, "Old Wu, your son's reputation in Shi City hasn't been small lately; he's already overshadowing you, his father! You really need to step it up..."

Only Lin Bei noticed that when Wu Xiaokun appeared, the Miss Zhao behind the Head of the Zhao Family made eye contact with him for a brief moment before looking away as if nothing had happened.

Recalling the encounter at the restaurant a few days ago, Lin Bei suddenly understood.

It seemed these two had hooked up long ago!

The meeting at the restaurant before was also an appointment they made to satisfy some peculiar fetishes.

"No wonder after the incident with Wu Xiaokun, I went back to that restaurant for several days and saw nothing!" he muttered indignantly.

Looking at the still-smiling Head of the Zhao Family, Lin Bei shook his head helplessly.

This old guy—his own Family's cabbage has already been thoroughly plowed, yet he's still standing there looking all smug.

No longer paying attention to the schemes of these three groups, Lin Bei walked straight toward the auction house entrance.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Before he could even get close to the door, someone blocked him. "Whose kid are you? Where are your elders? Do you know what kind of occasion this is?"

Lin Bei was taken aback, then realized.

The young Foundation Establishment and Void Soaring Cultivators he had seen earlier were indeed all following elders from their Families or Sects; none had come to the auction alone.

After all, the Shi Family Auction was different from ordinary auctions. Any single item could be considered astronomical in price; they wouldn't let a junior from a Family act recklessly.

Thinking of this, Lin Bei took out a white token.

"I am here to attend the auction."

Upon seeing the token, the guard's expression clearly softened, and his attitude became more respectful.

"May I ask which Family's Young Master you are? Why didn't you come with your Family elders?"

Lin Bei shook his head. "I am a Loose Cultivator; I have no Family elders."

Unexpectedly, as soon as he said this, the guard's face instantly darkened. He shouted to a row of guards behind him, "Men, seize him!"

Immediately, five people flew through the air—they were all remarkably Void Soaring Cultivators.

Lin Bei didn't understand why, but he couldn't just sit and wait for death.

With a casual flick of his five fingers, the five Void Soaring Cultivators fell to the ground, unable to get up.

The initial guard was also a Void Soaring Cultivator. His pupils constricted, but then he sneered.

"So you're a Genius capable of fighting above your level. However, if you think you can run wild in the Shi Family just because of that, you're being too naive!"

Lin Bei didn't want to engage in a pointless battle. He looked at the guard.

"Is there some misunderstanding here? Is my token fake?"

"Humph, the token is naturally real, but you are a fake!"

Even though he was no match himself, the guard didn't care at all and still had the leisure to explain to him.

"For every Shi Family Auction, participation tokens are only issued to various Families and Sect forces, as well as a few powerful Loose Cultivator Seniors. Not one of those Seniors is anything less than a titan at the Mid-stage Dragon Transformation or higher!"

"A Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivator like you? Tell me, where did you steal that token from?!"

As expected, without strength, one would be marginalized everywhere.

Lin Bei gave a bitter smile. "Tell me, is there a possibility that my token was given to me by one of those titan big-shots you mentioned?"

The guard was stunned for a moment, then shook his head repeatedly. "Impossible, absolutely impossible! Even if those Seniors didn't come themselves, they would never give a token to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. That would be equivalent to lowering the class of the auction!"

Holy shit!

Lin Bei almost wanted to smash a brick directly over his head!

Me going in would lower the class of the auction?

"What's going on?!" Just then, a deep, powerful voice came through.

The guard quickly stepped to the side. "Captain, there's a Loose Cultivator of unknown origin here holding an attendance token, and he even injured several of our brothers."

Walking over was a burly man. He coldly scanned the guard, then looked at the guards lying on the ground.

Seeing that their cultivation had merely been sealed and they were unable to move, his expression softened slightly.

"I am Shi Yong. I don't care where your token came from, Fellow Daoist, but it is the rule of the auction that besides the token, you also need to prove your strength slightly. If you can pass, you may enter!"

"Ha! No wonder you're the captain!"

Lin Bei's single sentence made Shi Yong's cheek twitch.

"How do I prove it?"

Before Shi Yong could answer, a vicious exclamation came from nearby.

"It's you!?"