Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

"Jiang Chen, you broke through?"

The Black Emperor hopped onto Jiang Chen's shoulder and asked excitedly.

Jiang Chen nodded and smiled. "I've finally broken through to the Ninth Stage of the Human King Realm, and I've finished refining the Void Realm Heart. Not only has my strength fully recovered, but it's even reached a new level. I'm confident I could defeat Long Jingtian if I were to face him right now!"

"That's great! We had to put up with so much while you were weakened. Now we finally don't have to hold back anymore!" the Black Emperor said, nodding.

Jiang Chen patted its head and smiled. "That's all thanks to you for getting me so much Yin-Yang Fish Soup... By the way, how did you even get it?"

The Black Emperor chuckled slyly.

In a hushed, conspiratorial tone, it told Jiang Chen exactly how it had snuck into their meditation chambers, stolen the Yin-Yang Fish Soup, and even peed in the bowls belonging to Long Jingtian and the others.

To top it off,

the Black Emperor said with a look of regret, "My only tactical error was not going to Bing Qianchi's meditation chamber first. In the end, all I could leave him was a single bowl of pee before I was empty!"

Dark lines formed on Jiang Chen's forehead. '...'

'Holy shit!'

'Making a Ninth Stage Human Emperor Realm master drink piss?'

'Only you could come up with something like that!'

Jiang Chen shook his head, speechless. "You'd better be careful. Long Chan and his group have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves. I'm afraid they have a way to trace that... back to you. If you get caught, it's not going to be pretty."

"I already thought of that. Just hide me in the Celestial Demon Ancient Castle when you go out later. They'll never find me!" the Black Emperor said confidently.

Jiang Chen nodded.

He took a moment to compose himself, stored the Black Emperor in the Celestial Demon Ancient Castle, then left his meditation chamber and headed for the main cabin.

When Jiang Chen arrived at the main cabin, it was already filled with people.

Bing Qianchi, Long Chan, Yang Qiong, and Long Jingtian were the first to spot Jiang Chen, and they all shot him icy glares. Their expressions shifted when they saw that his hair was black again and felt the aura he was exuding.

'Ninth Stage of the Human King Realm?'

'The kid broke through again?'

They were all inwardly shocked.

Long Jingtian snorted coldly. His gaze on Jiang Chen was a complex mix of shock, gravity, and a hint of jealousy. A cold light glinted in his eyes. "So what if you're at the Ninth Stage of the Human King Realm? Killing you would still be as easy as crushing an ant!"

Bing Qianchi's expression was grim as he snapped, "Jiang Chen, what took you so long? Do you have any idea how much of everyone's time you've wasted?"

Jiang Chen glanced at him and said nonchalantly, "Had to take a leak. Got delayed. Master Wei is the host here and he hasn't said a word. What are you squawking about?"

Piss?

The moment Bing Qianchi and the others heard that word, they reacted like cats whose tails had been stepped on. Their expressions turned ghastly, and they felt their stomachs churn.

A smirk played on Jiang Chen's lips. 'Looks like Little Black's piss is pretty potent,' he thought. 'These guys still aren't over it.'

"Jiang Chen, come over here!"

"The auction is about to start!"

Gai Shi was already calling out to him. Jiang Chen nodded and walked over.

「A short while later...」

A powerhouse from the Celestial Secret Pavilion approached Wei Lihuang and whispered something in his ear. Wei Lihuang nodded and announced, "Now that everyone is here, let's begin the auction for this Celestial Secret Banquet. As with previous auctions, you may use Upper-Grade Spirit Crystals or barter with other items. If any of you have treasures you wish to auction, please press the button on your armrest, and a member of my Celestial Secret Pavilion will come to collect it."

Immediately, people began pressing their buttons one after another.

After a moment's thought, Jiang Chen pressed the button as well. A moment later, a Human King Realm powerhouse from the Celestial Secret Pavilion appeared at his side. "Master Jiang Chen, how may I be of service?"

Jiang Chen smiled. "I have a few treasures I'd like to auction off."

"Of course."

The powerhouse glanced with surprise at the Storage Ring in Jiang Chen's hand before accepting it and turning to leave.

Gai Shi asked curiously, "Jiang Chen, what treasures are you selling?"

Jiang Chen smiled. "Just a few Profound Weapons."

The Profound Weapons he spoke of were from the inventory of the Treasure Vault on the 1st Floor of the Celestial Demon Ancient Castle—items the Celestial Demon Emperor Venerable had casually forged and tossed aside like trash.

Gai Shi nodded. "Profound Weapons, huh? The minimum standard for this Celestial Secret Banquet is the Celestial Tier. Looks like you've got quite the stash, kid!"

"I've got a little something tucked away," Jiang Chen said with a smile.

The Celestial Secret Pavilion was highly efficient. The first auction item was brought out swiftly. Wei Lihuang announced, "The first item up for auction today is a set of the top three pills from the Alchemy Conference recently held by the Celestial Capital City's Celestial Secret Sub-Pavilion. They are the Fifth-Grade High-level Five Elements Spirit Pill, the Yellow Spring Rebirth Pill, and the Golden Scale Dragon Transformation Pill. The starting bid is one hundred thousand Upper-Grade Spirit Crystals, with minimum increments of ten thousand Upper-Grade Spirit Crystals!"

"One hundred thousand!"

"One hundred and ten thousand!"

"One hundred and twenty thousand..."

In the end, the three pills were bought by the Sovereign of an Upper Grade Dynasty for one hundred sixty thousand Upper-Grade Spirit Crystals.

The auction proceeded very smoothly.

Saint-Tier Martial Skills and even Sixth-grade Spirit Pills came and went, but nothing caught Jiang Chen's interest.

It wasn't until a piece of a True Dragon Bone was presented that Jiang Chen's attention was finally caught. 'A True Dragon Bone? That's the main ingredient for the Fifth-Revolution Tyrant Essence Pill! I was just wondering where I would ever find one. I have to get this!'

Wei Lihuang announced, "This piece of True Dragon Bone has been provided by the Dragon Emperor Ancient Country. The starting bid is five million Upper-Grade Spirit Crystals, with minimum increments of five hundred thousand."

"Ten million!" Bing Qianchi said with a smile. "Since it's from the Dragon Emperor Ancient Country, I must naturally show my support!"

"Then I'll join the fun as well. Fifteen million!" Yang Qiong chimed in with a laugh.

A smile appeared on Long Chan's face.

The higher the price for the treasure from the Dragon Emperor Ancient Country, the better he looked. He shot Gai Jinlong a provocative glance. "Gai Jinlong, the treasure from your Luotian Dynasty only fetched fourteen million Upper-Grade Spirit Crystals, but the item I've offered has already surpassed that!"

"Hmph!"

Gai Jinlong snorted, his expression souring.

He hadn't expected the Dragon Emperor Ancient Country to offer something like a True Dragon Bone.

"Sixteen million!"

"Sixteen million five hundred thousand..."

The price slowly crept up to twenty million Upper-Grade Spirit Crystals, and Jiang Chen's expression grew grim. 'Twenty million Upper-Grade Spirit Crystals... that's the equivalent of two hundred billion Lower-Grade Spirit Crystals! My entire fortune isn't even that much. It looks like I'll have to win the auction first and then barter with the Celestial Secret Pavilion to pay for it.'

With that thought, Jiang Chen called out, "Twenty-five million!"

GASP!

Everyone was stunned. They hadn't expected Jiang Chen to be so loaded!

'Twenty-five million? That's already the limit for this True Dragon Bone. Any higher wouldn't be worth it.'

'Besides, the kid is incredibly talented. It's not worth offending him over a piece of True Dragon Bone.'

One by one, the other bidders dropped out.

Jiang Chen breathed a sigh of relief. 'Looks like this True Dragon Bone is mine.'

But just as he thought no one else would bid, the corner of Long Jingtian's mouth curled into a mocking smile, and he slowly opened his mouth...

"Twenty-five million five hundred thousand!"