Chapter 57: Jinpeng Auction House

Yu Qianqian was dressed in a moon-white robe with rings. Her long eyelashes fluttered elegantly and her lips were like red crystals. Her eyes were bright and pure, and her body was as slim as a new moon.

She smiled at Ning Xiaochuan apologetically. “I’m so sorry. I’ll definitely let all my subordinates know that Ning Xiaochuan is my friend. They’ll never dare to lay their hands on you in the future.”

“Hey! Are all the guards of Great King Jinpeng’s Residence crazy? Attacking people without any warning, how arrogant, how very arrogant. Next time, remember to let them know that Murong Wushuang is also your friend so they better treat me with some respect.” Murong Wushuang rubbed the dried blood at the edge of his lips, complaining as he bared his teeth at Cheng Lin in the distance.

“You’re Xiaochuan’s friend so, naturally, that makes you my friend. I’ll definitely let them know not to ever lay a hand on you too!” said Yu Qianqian with a kind smile.

Her smile was enough to collapse a city and she was as beautiful as a goddess.

As soon as he saw her smile, Murong Wushuang immediately started bleeding from his nose, even his mouth was full of blood!

Yu Qianqian had already spread the news that there would be Blood-toad Pills on auction at Jinpeng Auction House. Many young martial artists had heard about this specific mid-grade Pill, and they were looking forward to it like crazy.

There were people waiting outside the auction house almost every day out of fear of missing out on the auction of the Blood-toad Pills.

Yu Qianqian knew that Ning Xiaochuan was going to sell the Blood-toad Pills tonight so she immediately ordered thirty-two servants to send out invitations unrelentingly.

With her bright eyes and bright teeth, which gave her absolutely moving beauty, Yu Qianqian said with a smile, “The demand for Blood-toad Pills is higher than you think. A few days ago, right after I announced the news, many Elders from different Nobles’ mansions requested that I notify them promptly about the auction. There was Marquis Qitian’s Residence, Marquis Tianxiang’s Residence, the Six Mystics Martial Art Sect, the Sword’s Fire Martial Art Sect…etc. In order to ensure their younger geniuses will be able to enter the Heavenly Emperor Academy, these powerful old men just might lay down their hard-earned money. Oh right, how many Blood-toad Pills have you produced?”

“I’ve produced forty-eight pills but I’m only going to be selling forty of them. Out of the remaining eight pills, I’ll be giving one to Gousheng and keeping the rest for myself,” replied Ning Xiaochuan.

Blood-toad Pills were the most useful for Diamond Divine Body warriors since it allowed them to break through into the next smaller realm.

However, Blood-toad Pills could also rapidly recover Blood Qi. For example, if Ning Xiaochuan were injured, he could use Blood-toad Pills to fully recover his Blood Qi. Therefore, keeping seven pills for himself was a smart decision.

Yu Qianqian clenched her first tightly. ‘How detestable, he produced forty-eight mid-grade Pills over the span of only ten days. This fellow really is a Pill mass-production machine, he’ll definitely infuriate the other Heart-nourishing Masters to death.’

Many martial artists were gathered outside Jinpeng Auction House, making the place ten times more busy than Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall.

After all, Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall could only be regarded as a sacred place of gathering for Heart-nourishing Masters so there were not many who visited the place to buy Mystical Medicine.

Jinpeng Auction House, on the other hand, was a true hypermarket.

It was not just a simple auction house and more closely resembled a large manor; it had one large auction hall, four medium auction halls, and seventeen small auction halls.

All seventeen small auction halls were open-air venues, each with their own small plaza. Every single hall was filled to the brim with people; from martial artists carrying greatswords and powerhouses dressed in full armor, to beautiful and elegant women from influential families, they were all in the auction house naming their best offers.

Stalls were set up along all three main streets outside Jinpeng Auction House; some sold Mystical Medicine, some sold weapons, some sold Mystical Beasts, and there was even one stall that was selling stark naked slave girls locked in cages.

Murong Wushuang and Ning Xiaochuan were seeing this grand scene for the very first time.

“My god, how much money does such a big auction house earn in a day? Your Highness, your family truly is too rich.” Murong Wushuang was like a bumpkin entering the city for the first time. He was in awe at everything, especially the stall selling slave girls, which prompted him to squat by the cages to observe the slave girls.

The slave girl that he was observing was completely naked; her skin was as pale as snow and she was quite a beauty as well.

Ning Xiaochuan asked, “What are you looking at?”

Murong Wushuang stared intently at the timid slave girl, nodding his head continuously. Suddenly, he leaped up, grabbed Ning Xiaochuan’s shoulders and shook him vigorously as he exclaimed joyously, “Brother Chuan, I’ve discovered a grand phenomenon. She’s different from us! It looks like two big gourds are growing from her chest. That’s awesome, so awesome, do all women look like that?”

Ning Xiaochuan was instantly stunned.

Yu Qianqian sat in her beautiful antique carriage and as soon as she heard Murong Wushuang’s statement, two black lines emerged on her face1.

Murong Wushuang was as excited as someone that had found a new land as he continued, “How has no one discovered this problem before? Oh right, Her Highness the Princess is also a female, so does she also have two big gourds… hmph hmph…growing…”

Ning Xiaochuan had covered Murong Wushuang’s mouth out of fear that what he was going to say would be heard by Yu Qianqian. If he were to anger Princess Qianqian, his head would definitely fall to the ground with a single command.

Yu Qianqian, who was still in the beautiful antique carriage, had already heard Murong Wushuang’s words and was beside herself in anger. She blushed in embarrassment and continuously tugged at the corner of her robe.

If it was not for the fact that Murong Wushuang was Ning Xiaochuan’s friend, she just might have beheaded him already.

Murong Wushuang said, “Hehe! I always thought that girls had bulging chests. At first, I thought they were merely hiding their money there so I once tried to touch them. However, after only a light touch, I was scolded like crazy.”

“Then did you touch the chest that bulged the most?” asked Ning Xiaochuan.

“Of course. Stealing money from the richest person is my principle.” Murong Wushuang continued, “Back then, I wondered why these girls called me a hoodlum because, whenever I was caught stealing money, I would be called a thief. Today, I’ve finally understood the reason.”

Ning Xiaochuan sighed and replied, “Since you understand it now, don’t go around grabbing people next time.”

Murong Wushuang nodded his head solemnly and said, “Of course! I expect if I simply grab girls, it’ll definitely hurt them a lot. People are always learning so I’ve clarified some doubts about life again today.”

Many Martial Monks had gathered at Jinpeng Auction House today. Most of them were younger generation martial artists, so there was also no shortage of young powerhouses.

Most of them had gathered in the Imperial City because of the Heavenly Emperor Academy and each of them was Heaven’s Favored Child, so they wanted to create a name for themselves in the Imperial City.

“Huh!” As soon as Ning Xiaochuan laid eyes on a group of people up front, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Murong Wushuang followed Ning Xiaochuan’s gaze and saw about a dozen men and women in embroidered gowns. They all seemed to be between fourteen to twenty years old and some of the young men looked handsome and smart. On the other hand, some of the young women were beautiful beyond compare, they all carried themselves with a bit of unique spirituality.

One of the young women was especially graceful. She carried a cyan ancient sword and her beauty was moving and enchanting.

“Who are they? Do you know them?” asked Murong Wushuang.

Ning Xiaochuan nodded his head and replied, “Of course I do. They’re the Heaven’s Favored Sons and Heaven’s Favored Daughters of Marquis Jiange’s Residence.”

Genius descendants of Marquis Jiange’s Residence would return to the Imperial City after spending three months training in barren hills along the border. A dozen of these descendants were now in Jinpeng Auction House to buy the Blood-toad Pills for their final sprint.

Among them was Ning Hengqing, who had been cursed out by Ning Xiaochuan. His Cultivation was already at Stage Nine Qi and when he walked among the crowd, he looked like an arrogant crane in a flock of chickens.

The second Heaven’s Favored Daughter of Marquis Jiange’s Residence, Ning Meier, was only second to Ning Xiner. She was already at Stage Nine Qi before the training, so her Cultivation was now inches away from breaking through to the Divine Body Realm.

Her body exuded arrogance since she was evidently the strongest among the group of youths. Everybody was busy trying to get on her good side, which made her feel quite superior.

When Ning Xiaochuan saw them, someone had also seen Ning Xiaochuan.

“Hehe. Everyone, look, that’s Sicken Ning. Who would’ve thought we would meet him here,” said one of the Stage Eight Qi geniuses from Marquis Jiange’s Residence with a snide laugh.

“Wasn’t he dismissed to guard Begonia Manor, why is he running around in the Imperial City?”

Ning Meier glanced at Ning Xiaochuan before she said, “He’s nothing more than an invalid that can’t cultivate Qi while we’re all geniuses with a high chance of becoming students of the Heavenly Emperor Academy. The difference between our statuses is destined to be as different as heaven and earth. Saying even one word to people like him is a waste of time.”

Ning Meier had always looked down on people like Ning Xiaochuan, who she saw as useless. She was in Jinpeng Auction House today to buy Blood-toad Pills so that she could finally break through to the Divine Body Realm. Once that was achieved, she would no longer lose to Ning Xiner and would become the most famous Heaven’s Favored Daughter in Marquis Jiange’s Residence.

Ning Hengqing had been cursed out by Ning Xiaochuan before, so he harbored a deep resentment for Ning Xiaochuan. He strode up to Ning Xiaochaun and smiled at him mockingly. “Sicken Ning, it really is you. We always inevitably end up clashing!”

Ning Hengqing had been cursed out by Ning Xiaochuan after he had insulted Ning Xiaochuan.

In reality, the two held no grudges against the other person, so it was nothing more than a quarrel. Ning Xiaochuan saw the incident as a trivial matter and had never taken it to heart, so he exclaimed benevolently, “Ning Hengqing, I’ve already forgiven you! It’s better to squash enmity than to keep it alive so why don’t we both shake hands in agreement of writing off all our previous grudges!”

“You’ve forgiven me?” Ning Hengqing was furious and his fists cracked menacingly. With a cold laugh, he said, “Do you think a lowly person like you deserves to shake hands with me?”

Ning Xiaochuan had already stretched his hand out, intending to make peace with Ning Hengqing but as soon as he heard these words, he retracted his hand.

Ning Hengqing mockingly said, “After this time’s training, I’m already a martial art powerhouse with Stage Nine Qi. I’ve become a key nurturing target for the Marquis’ Residence. I’m going to enter the Heavenly Emperor Academy and become a respected powerhouse with countless admirers. You, on the other hand… Hehe, you’re worse than a slave to me.”

Footnotes:

Ch $57 Footnote $1
This figuratively happened because the author is describing the text version of the cold sweat emoji.