Volume 2: Shenzhou Academy & The Battle of Venice
Chapter 132
Seizing the Scarlet Flowing Flame
The air inside the Golden Grand Hall of the Jinghai Auction House froze solid the moment the twenty-five-million gold coin bid thundered from VIP Box 8.
Thousands of eyes snapped upward toward the obsidian, one-way enchanted glass window on the third tier. Beneath the radiant glow of the suspended mana crystals, the crystalline containment vessel housing the Scarlet Flowing Flame drifted within its spatial barrier cage. Inside, ribbons of orange-red magma fire churned with violent fury, radiating waves of blistering heat that visibly warped the ambient space around it.
Over in VIP Box 1, the smug, triumphant sneer that had plastered Zhao Jingshan’s face moments prior vanished without a trace, replaced by a grotesque, twitching grimace. The crystal wine goblet in his grip trembled uncontrollably. Crimson liquid sloshed violently against the glass, spilling over the brim and splashing onto the hem of his tailored brocade robes embroidered with golden flame motifs.
A resounding, humiliating slap across the face!
He had barely finished bellowing that the Zhao Clan had claimed this treasure, threatening anyone who dared stick a hand into the fray—and in the very next breath, VIP Box 8 had hurled three million gold coins directly into his teeth!
“Damn it all! What dog dares stroke the tiger’s whiskers?!”
Zhao Jingshan roared in fury, hurling his crystal goblet to the floor. It shattered into a thousand glittering shards, spraying red wine across the plush beast-fur carpet. His eyes bloodshot, he stormed to the edge of the gilded balcony, his trembling finger pointing accusingly straight at VIP Box 8 across the void.
Snatching the arcane microphone mounted on the gilded balustrade, he slammed his palm onto the activation rune. His guttural voice, dripping with murderous venom, boomed across all four tiers of the auditorium:
“Twenty-eight million gold coins!”
TING!
The colossal mana-light projection floating in midair flickered erratically before surging up to an incandescent, blazing figure: 28,000,000 gold coins.
Zhao Jingshan gnashed his teeth until they creaked, the muscles across his jaw twitching violently as he bellowed a venomous threat:
“Twenty-eight million! This young master raises it by another three million! Who in this damn Magic Capital has the gall to stand against my Zhao Clan?!”
His belligerent declaration plunged the entire amphitheater into a stifling, oppressive silence. Twenty-eight million gold coins was an astronomical sum, enough to buy an entire mercenary magic brigade outright. Several clan patriarchs down in the main stalls shook their heads and sighed; no one was foolish enough to squander an entire family fortune just to provoke a ruthless mining and mineral powerhouse like the Zhao Clan.
A suffocating, helpless tension smothered the grand hall. Zhao Jingshan braced both hands against the gilded railing, his chest heaving as he panted raggedly, his feral, menacing glare locked onto the heavy, drawn curtains of VIP Box 8.
Yet within VIP Box 8, the atmosphere was serenely, almost unnervingly tranquil.
A delicate wisp of soothing agarwood incense drifted through the dark ebony-paneled chamber. Ye Qingwan sat gracefully in a plush leather armchair, her slender, porcelain hands cradling a cup of arcane black tea that curled with faint wisps of fragrant steam. Glancing at the newly updated price board, her willow-leaf brows knitted slightly:
“Twenty-eight million gold coins. Zhao Jingshan is already losing his composure. He’s resorting to the weight of his clan to browbeat anyone who opposes him.”
Beside her, Xie Zhaoyuan was far from maintaining her serene composure. The chubby youth was so enraged that his plump cheeks trembled with indignation. Vaulting up from the leather sofa, he slammed his fist onto the nephrite table with a loud thud:
“Motherfucker! That bastard Zhao Jingshan can’t open his filthy mouth without barking about the Zhao Clan this, the Zhao Clan that! Does he think the entire Magic Capital is his family’s private pigsty?!”
The more he ranted, the hotter the blood rushed to Xie Zhaoyuan’s head. He knew Lin Feng’s financial reserves intimately: pooling the Bo’an frontier defense bounty, military hunting commissions, and academy contribution points together barely totaled a little over twelve million gold coins. How could Lin Feng possibly stand against that insane bid of twenty-eight million?
The mere thought of his sworn brother being forced to watch an invaluable Spirit Seed slip into the clutches of their mortal enemy simply due to a lack of coin made Xie Zhaoyuan gnash his teeth in agonizing frustration. Thrusting his hand into his inner coat pocket, he whipped out a sleek, obsidian metallic card bordered with intricate golden filigree depicting an auspicious qilin treading upon storm clouds.
CLACK!
Xie Zhaoyuan slammed the card down squarely before Lin Feng, his barrel chest heaving, his voice firm and unwavering:
“Lin Feng! Take this!”
Looking away from the one-way observation glass, Lin Feng tilted his head slightly: “Is this... the Xie Corporation’s Black Card?”
“Damn right! The Golden Black Card of my Xie Clan Financial Conglomerate!” Xie Zhaoyuan thumped his chest with a heavy thud, sneering with swaggering pride: “This is the supreme personal credit card the old man issued to me for emergencies—pre-loaded with a ten-million gold coin overdraft line, zero authorization needed! Brother, I’m loaning you the whole ten million, zero interest! Take it and smash it right into that punk Zhao Jingshan’s ugly face! Jack up the price and shut his dog mouth for good!”
Xie Zhaoyuan’s decisive, unhesitating loyalty brought a faint, appreciative smile to Ye Qingwan’s lips. In the calculating, cutthroat circles of the magical aristocracy, finding a true friend willing to fling down ten million gold coins without asking for a promissory note was truly as rare as phoenix feathers.
Looking at the gold-rimmed black card, a surge of warmth welled within Lin Feng’s chest. He reached out and patted his chubby friend on the shoulder:
“Zhaoyuan, I appreciate the thought. Truly. But there’s no need to dip into your family’s vaults just yet.”
“Are you running a fever or something, Lin Feng?!” Xie Zhaoyuan stomped his foot in sheer exasperation. “You’ve only got twelve million on you, and that bastard is already shouting twenty-eight million! If you don’t borrow my coin, where the hell are you going to dig up another dozen million in three seconds?!”
Just as Xie Zhaoyuan’s foot hit the floor—
TING TING TING!
The arcane communication compass resting in the center of the tea table suddenly chimed with a rapid, crystal-clear sequence of alerts.
A plume of deep azure arcane luminescence shot toward the ceiling, condensing into the image of a sealed dispatch bearing the vermilion wax crest of the Chief Appraisal Board of the Jinghai Auction House. Simultaneously, the deep, profoundly reverent voice of a senior executive resonated from the internal acoustic array:
“Honored and distinguished guests of VIP Box 8! We have the great pleasure to inform you that your special private consignment on the auxiliary floor has officially concluded with spectacular success!”
The optical arcane display mounted on the wall instantly refreshed, illuminating an itemized transaction ledger:
— Twelve Flawless Servant-class Soul Essences: Liquidated in bulk to the Imperial Military Arsenal, fetching: 7,800,000 gold coins.
— Three Primordial Raw Dark Mana Stones: Successfully sold via private placement to elite hunter channels, fetching: 3,200,000 gold coins.
— Headline Consignment: Commander-tier Soul Essence (Taotie Demon Crab Leader — 100% Absolute Purity)!
The very next line caused Xie Zhaoyuan’s pupils to dilate to their absolute limit:
“Owing to its flawless, pristine soul matrix, this Commander-tier Soul Essence incited an unprecedented bidding frenzy among several high-ranking military aristocratic houses. The representative of the Divine Province Coastal Military District has secured ownership with a record-shattering valuation: 22,000,000 GOLD COINS!”
“Total proceeds after deducting the standard two-percent auction transaction fee: 32,340,000 gold coins!”
“Combined with your initial accessible balance, the current total liquid capital available in your arcane ledger stands at: 44,640,000 GOLD COINS!”
An absolute, pin-drop silence descended upon VIP Box 8.
Xie Zhaoyuan stood frozen like a petrified wooden statue. His jaw dropped slack, his eyes bulging as he stared dumbfoundedly at the glowing figure of over forty-four million gold coins flashing upon the screen.
“M-Mother of god...” Xie Zhaoyuan gulped audibly, his voice trembling as though he were on the verge of fainting. “Twenty-two million for a single Commander-tier Soul Essence?! Your net worth... surged past thirty-six million in raw cash, with a total ledger over forty-four million?! Lin Feng... did you... did you just go and rob the royal imperial treasury?!”
Beside them, Ye Qingwan could not mask her astonishment either. Her clear, phoenix-like eyes locked onto the youth’s face. She knew full well that this Commander-tier essence was the hard-won spoils of their life-and-death struggle upon the jagged shores of Huanglu Island. Not only was this youth ferocious and peerless in combat, but his strategic foresight and meticulous calculations were unfathomably deep.
Lin Feng curled his lips into a faint smile, glancing casually at Xie Zhaoyuan:
“Told you. Put your black card back.”
With that, he strode calmly over to the nephrite control console by the viewing window.
Over forty-four million gold coins.
More than enough to crush anyone who dared try to humiliate him with mere wealth!
Down upon the auction stage, the chief auctioneer, Gu Wanru, raised her jade gavel high. Surveying the silent, intimidated hall, she let out a quiet sigh:
“Twenty-eight million gold coins, going once!”
Standing on the balcony of VIP Box 1, Zhao Jingshan threw his head back and laughed uproariously with unrestrained hubris: “Miss Gu, don’t waste your breath! Strike the gavel! In this Magic Capital, who possesses the guts to contest an item with my Zhao Clan?!”
Gu Wanru raised the hammer a second time: “Twenty-eight million gold coins, going twi—”
The word “twice” had not even fully left her lips!
BONG!
A resonant, brass chime echoed with pristine clarity, deep and booming like a thunderclap ripping through a cloudless sky, exploding abruptly through the acoustic array of VIP Box 8!
Across the colossal floating mana-light board in the center of the hall, the Zhao Clan’s twenty-eight-million bid was violently obliterated, replaced by a radiant tier of blazing golden glyphs:
32,000,000 GOLD COINS!
Accompanying that staggering figure was a youth’s calm, indifferent voice, devoid of the slightest ripple, reverberating through every corner of the auditorium:
“Thirty-two million gold coins.”
A four-million raise in a single heartbeat!
The entire Jinghai Grand Hall seemed to halt its breath!
The arrogant smirk on Zhao Jingshan’s face froze and shattered in an instant. His expression petrified, his eyes widening in horror as he stared fixedly at the number thirty-two million.
Down in the main stalls, thousands of spectators sat paralyzed for a single stunned second—and then, a torrential wave of uproar erupted like a collapsed dam!
“Heavens above! Thirty-two million gold coins!”
“A direct four-million jump in one go! Just which sacred deity is residing in VIP Box 8?!”
“A face-slap! That is an unadulterated, vicious slap right across the jaw! Zhao Jingshan just proclaimed no one dared contest him, and someone immediately hurled four million gold coins to crush him underfoot!”
“Serves him right! How exhilarating! That’s what you get for being an arrogant, overbearing tyrant!”
Whispers, mocking sneers, and derisive snickers from every tier of the stands converged like lances, striking squarely at VIP Box 1. Zhao Jingshan’s visage twisted from pale white to a mottled, purplish liver hue, the blue veins on his temples throbbing spasmodically. An all-consuming, humiliating rage choked his throat.
Half-leaning over the balustrade, his eyes bloodshot and crisscrossed with feral, crimson veins, he screamed like a rabid hound:
“Bastard! Who the hell are you?! If you’ve got the guts, show yourself! You dare toy with the Zhao Clan?!”
The only answer to his frantic shrieks was absolute, deafening silence from VIP Box 8. Not a single word of justification, not a hint of an argument. That nonchalant disregard was like an invisible palm slamming directly against his sky-high arrogance!
“Arghhh!” Zhao Jingshan bellowed in fury, his white-knuckled grip on the metal railing groaning as the alloy squealed under his strength.
Before departing for the auction, his clan elders had set his maximum spending allowance at thirty-five million, expressly forbidding him from exceeding thirty million without emergency authorization. Spending beyond that would severely destabilize his succession standing within the family.
Yet under the watchful eyes of thousands, if he retreated today, the name Zhao Jingshan would become the laughingstock of the city forever!
Fury incinerated his remaining rationality! Gritting his teeth until blood seeped from his gums, Zhao Jingshan smashed his palm down onto the bidding rune, his hoarse voice cracking in desperation:
“Thirty-three million! The Zhao Clan bids thirty-three million gold coins! Match it if you dare, you dog!”
TING!
The glowing board refreshed: 33,000,000 gold coins.
The entire auditorium held its breath. Anyone could discern the tremor, the sheer impotence, and the reckless desperation straining Zhao Jingshan’s voice. This was blatantly his final, exhausted gamble.
On the auction stage, Gu Wanru drew in a deep breath. Her hand trembling slightly, she raised the jade gavel: “Thirty-three million gold coins from VIP Box 1! Thirty-three million, going once...”
Before she could finish her cadence.
Not even half a breath had elapsed!
Inside VIP Box 8, Lin Feng leaned casually against the window frame, a frosty sneer curving at the corner of his lips. His hand calmly depressed the button upon the nephrite console.
BONG!
The arcane chime chimed crisp and clear once more.
The number on the floating display did not deign to creep upward by meager single millions. It surged in a magnificent, haughty leap, hammering itself irrevocably into the auction archives of Jinghai:
35,000,000 GOLD COINS!
Following it was Lin Feng’s steady, unhurried voice, tranquil as flowing water and drifting clouds, rolling over the grand hall:
“Thirty-five million gold coins.”
A lethal, merciless, and decisive checkmate!
Thirty-five million gold coins!
The entire Jinghai Auction House sank into an absolute, petrified silence!
In VIP Box 1, the moment Zhao Jingshan heard that number, his knees gave out beneath him. He stumbled back two paces, his back crashing hard against the wall.
Panting heavily in ragged gasps, his trembling hand slick with cold sweat reached for the console, intending to shriek thirty-six million. But the moment his finger grazed the rune interface, a glaring red warning glyph flared to life alongside a shrill, piercing beep:
[WARNING: Account credit ceiling reached. Available balance insufficient for subsequent bid increment. Additional collateral deposit required!]
Out of money!
The credit limit had been breached!
Jinghai’s arcane financial warding system enforced draconian fiscal compliance, strictly prohibiting anyone from placing empty, unsubstantiated bids. Had he attempted to force it, the auction house’s arcane enforcers would have dragged him straight to the dungeon without hesitation.
“No... Impossible...” Zhao Jingshan muttered in utter panic, his eyes glazed with despair.
On the podium, Gu Wanru gathered her wits. Channeling her mana, she brought the jade gavel down firmly upon the stone sounding block:
CLACK!
“Thirty-five million gold coins, going once!”
CLACK!
“Thirty-five million gold coins, going twice!”
CLACK!
“Thirty-five million gold coins, going thrice! SOLD!”
“Our warmest congratulations to the distinguished guest of VIP Box 8 for officially claiming the peerless, superior-grade Fire Spirit Seed: the Scarlet Flowing Flame!”
The gavel struck with finality, and in that very instant, the entire Jinghai Grand Hall erupted into an earth-shattering roar of cheers like rolling thunder! Thousands of hunters, mages, and merchants stood up in unison, breaking into thunderous applause. This merciless financial counterattack had thoroughly crushed the overbearing arrogance of the Zhao Clan!
Inside VIP Box 1, the air was suffocatingly bleak and bone-chillingly cold.
CRACK!
A crisp snap rang out.
The second crystal goblet on the table was crushed into hundreds of sparkling fragments under Zhao Jingshan’s manic grip. Razor-sharp glass shards bit deep into his palm, crimson blood welling out and mingling with the red wine, dripping steadily onto the pristine white marble tiles.
Yet, he seemed entirely numb to the pain.
Zhao Jingshan’s eyes were bloodshot and rolling with savage, murderous malice. Peering through the slit in the velvet drapes, his venomous gaze fixated upon the third-tier corridor opposite him.
The double doors of VIP Box 8 swung open.
Under the deferential escort of the Jinghai Auction House’s Chief Manager himself, three figures strode leisurely out toward the private high-security handover vault.
Walking at the center was a tall, poised youth clad in a hooded black mantle. The gentle mana draft drifting through the corridor lightly ruffled the brim of his hood, unveiling a sharp, handsome countenance, deep obsidian eyes, and a cool, tranquil smile playing at the corners of his lips. Flanking him were the beaming, ecstatic fat youth Xie Zhaoyuan and the poised, noble maiden in azure, Ye Qingwan.
The instant Zhao Jingshan caught sight of that youth’s face, his pupils contracted violently, his teeth grinding together with such force they threatened to shatter:
“Lin Feng... It’s that brat Lin Feng from Shenzhou Archmage Academy?!”
A penniless commoner with zero backing from the impoverished borderlands!
It was this very insect who had dared snatch away the Spirit Seed he had coveted for half a year, and had delivered a humiliating, agonizing slap across his face in front of the entire high society of the Magic Capital!
Jealousy, humiliation, and unhinged bloodlust flared up, incinerating whatever sliver of reason remained in his mind.
With trembling, bloodstained fingers, Zhao Jingshan reached into his breast pocket and drew out a crimson jade transmission talisman carved with the feral visage of a snarling wolf head. Crushing the talisman between his fingers, his voice hissed through gritted teeth, drenched in vile venom:
“Old Hei! Immediately mobilize every elite hunter in the Blood Wolf Hall to seal off every single exit of the Jinghai Auction House! Prepare the mana-nullifying barrier and three unmarked arcane vehicles...”
Glaring viciously at Lin Feng’s retreating silhouette as the youth entered the handover sanctum to claim the Scarlet Flowing Flame, Zhao Jingshan’s lips twisted into a cruel, bloodthirsty sneer:
“You dare rob what belongs to Zhao Jingshan... Don’t you dare dream of leaving the Magic Capital alive with that Spirit Seed!”