The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

As the entire auction hall listened, a woman's voice cut in. "All I hear are a bunch of old men bidding on a red umbrella. If you win it, will you even have the nerve to use it in public? Don't any of you stop to think if it even matches your style?"

The auction hall fell silent for a moment, as if everyone was actually considering her question.

Then, her voice turned cold and imperious. "I, Cai Feiyu, bid ten billion. Who dares to add to that!"

A voice came from the old man in VIP Room Two. "Young lady, it's not that I'm afraid of you, it's just that this Divine Artifact truly isn't suitable for an old man like me. You can have it for ten billion!"

Another snort came from VIP Room Five, but the occupant remained silent.

On stage, Yunxing was inwardly furious. 'It's this Cai Feiyu again! She caused a scene with the first item, and now she's doing it again.' But as an auctioneer, she had to abide by the rules. Just as she was about to repeat the offer, another melodious female voice spoke up.

"Hold on!"

Yunxing was secretly pleased. 'It seems there's more profit to be made from this Divine Artifact after all.'

"Miss Cai, I'll concede the Divine Artifact to you. But after the auction, I'd like to invite you for a cup of tea. Would you do me the honor?"

Li Huiran made the invitation publicly rather than trying to make contact in private because she was afraid of being rejected, and also feared Cai Feiyu might leave before the auction ended. After a moment's thought, she decided against revealing the truth about the Immortal Cloud Soul Refining Umbrella. If she spoke up, whether she could even win the Immortal Umbrella would become a question, but she would have certainly offended the Yun Family and attracted the unwanted attention of countless others.

There was a moment of silence from VIP Room Eight after the invitation, then a reply came. "With a voice as lovely as yours, you must be a great beauty. When a beauty invites me, of course I'll say yes!"

Yunxing's mood soured. She struck the gavel and called out, "Guest in room eight bids ten billion! Going once!"

"Guest in room eight bids ten billion, going twice!"

"Guest in room eight bids ten billion, going three times! Sold! Congratulations to the guest in room eight for winning the Divine Artifact, the Floating Cloud Umbrella!"

This Divine Artifact's selling price set a new record, though it was a modest one, primarily because Yunxing hadn't demonstrated the item's divine aura.

The auction then proceeded in an orderly manner, with a continuous stream of novelties taking the stage: Spirit Fruits with unknown effects, accessories suspected of being treasures, Cultivation Techniques not found on the official Martial Dao website, Spirit Grass, medicinal pills, Spirit Beast Eggs, and more.

Amidst the bidding, Li Huiran spent eight million on two palm-sized fruits and also had Xiaoyu go to VIP Room Eight to get Cai Feiyu's contact information.

As the auction slowly drew to a close, a bunny girl walked onto the stage carrying a small tray. On it lay the Black Feather, sealed within an exquisite, transparent case.

Over eighty percent of the people in the hall sat up straighter. Their main reason for attending was this mysterious Black Feather.

Yunxing announced in a formal tone, "I need not elaborate on the effects of the Black Feather. The great families are constantly collecting them, making the number in circulation extremely low. Those that find their way to the Tianjiang River Basin are rarer still. Very well, we will now auction one Black Feather. The starting bid is one hundred million, with minimum increments of ten million!"

The moment Yunxing finished speaking, countless bids erupted. Over twenty different voices called out the price of one hundred ten million alone.

The entire auction hall devolved into a chaotic scene, sounding more like a fish market.

In VIP Room Seventy-Two, Li Huiran frowned. She hadn't expected so many people to be after the Black Feather. But having already lost the Immortal Cloud Soul Refining Umbrella, she could not let the Black Feather slip away. She spoke a cold command into the bidding terminal: "One billion!"

The auction hall instantly erupted in an uproar.

"There she goes again! That woman in VIP Room Seventy-Two is filthy rich!"

"Exactly! I haven't seen her buy much, but when she does bid, the sheer audacity of it is enough to intimidate anyone!"

"Damn it! Fucking rich people! I saved up eight hundred million for this Black Feather, and I didn't even get a chance to open my mouth!"

From VIP Room Seven, which had long been silent, a voice called out, "One point two billion!"

Li Huiran clenched her fist. 'Damn that Luo Hua. I should have had Murong Qing beat the hell out of him back then.' Facing the bidding terminal, she spoke again: "One point five billion!"

Luo Hua's voice rang out again. "One point eight billion!"

But his nemesis, Cai Feiyu, wasn't about to pass up such an opportunity. She taunted him in a cold voice, "So the whimpering dog finally dares to bid? If you have the guts to keep bidding, then Big Sis here will play with you. Three billion!"

The auction hall was once again thrown into an uproar.

"Holy shit! That woman from Qianzhou throws money around like it's water!"

"Three billion for a single Black Feather... For that price, you could go up north and people would be lining up to sell you one!"

"What are you talking about? All the Black Feathers are in the hands of the great clans now. You can't necessarily buy one even for three billion. I don't have the money, but if I did, I'd definitely bid higher than her!"

A defiant glint appeared in Li Huiran's eyes. She reached for the bidding terminal to raise the price, but Murong Qing snatched it out of her hand.

"Huiran, my dearest sister, if you want a Black Feather, I can give you one. Three billion... you might as well just give that money to me instead!"

Li Huiran was dumbfounded. She never expected this from Murong Qing. Back at the Li Family estate, Murong Qing had an air about her of someone who wouldn't bat an eye at any amount of money, which had clearly given Li Huiran the wrong impression.

Murong Qing said wistfully, "Three billion! Do you know how many wanted criminals this young lady would have to catch to earn that much? It's just too, too much!"

The sight of Murong Qing acting this way reminded Li Huiran of Chen Dong, and a pang of pain shot through her heart.

In that brief moment of hesitation, the Black Feather was won by Cai Feiyu for three billion.

Li Huiran gave a faint smile. 'I'll just use Murong Qing's, then. Perhaps I'll be able to give it back to her in three years.'

On the stage, the final item of the auction was brought out. Yunxing lifted an ancient sword from a long box and announced in a clear voice, "You have all heard its legend. It set the all-time record for a Divine Artifact's price: twenty-three billion! Today's final, grand-finale item is that very treasure. Because it contains a divine aura of life, I call it the Divine Artifact of Life!"