(A/N: I won't make excuses, I was super busy IRL and didn't have time to write, so I hope you guys and gals can understand. Join our discord to talk with fellow readers and complain about my release schedule.
Link: discord.gg/SC9HNKVj5e
P.S.: Happy new year, wish you all the best from the darkest depths of my heart.
)
"Young master Li, we warmly welcome you to the [Golden phoenix auction]!" As Li Huang approached the entrance to the auction house, he was met by one of the workers who was standing there. A few more workers offered a warm welcome to other Li family members as well as disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect. They tried to approach the sect's elders in a more cordial manner so as not to offend anyone.
The Feng family had a sufficient number of personnel present in this building to meet and greet each and every guest who came. When considering the potential short-term and long-term gains, the expense wasn't nearly as significant as one might think it would be. If a low-level member of the auction house were to make a mistake when addressing someone, all of the dissatisfaction would reflect directly on the auction house and the Feng family. Therefore it was a little price to pay when you can stop these kinds of issues from arising in the first place.
Li Huang gave a slight nod before glancing around the room. The younger members of the Li family, including Li Wanrou, had also been warmly welcomed and were on their way to the balcony designated exclusively for the Li family. Elder Zhong Zedong and the other elders were waiting patiently for Li Huang and the other disciples to approach the balcony of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Given their status as great powers on the divine central continent, it was not surprising in the least that an auction of this magnitude would provide them with a balcony that was exclusively reserved for their use.
Not long after that, Li Huang came across Cai ZhenKang, whom the auction house employees were also greeting at that moment. Cai ZhenKang's fellow sect members were nearby to greet him, as they had not seen him in the Five Rivers city for some time.
"There is one thing I need." Li Huang turned his gaze to the employee at the auction and stated.
"Please, young master Li." The worker then bowed and continued. Requests from individuals who had been invited to the [Golden Phoenix auction] were something they encountered regularly. Therefore, he didn't have to spend more than a split-second processing the question before giving a polished and competent response.
"I have asked a core disciple of the Blue Bulls Sect, Cai ZhenKang, to enjoy the auction from our Heavenly Sword Sect's balcony. I hope it's not an issue. " Li Huang inquired. He was aware that the auction house would permit such a thing, but due to the fact that Cai ZhenKang was a high-ranking disciple of one of the seven holy lands, he thought it would be best to announce it first.
At that very moment, the worker heard the confirmation of this request from the higher-ups in his organization. During the [Golden Phoenix auction], they kept close tabs on all of the workers so that they could deal with things of this nature in a more efficient and timely manner. One more motivation for this form of monitoring was to minimize the risk of misunderstandings and confrontations that may arise. Disputes and misunderstandings could have severe consequences for the golden phoenix auction house and the Feng family, so they keep a close eye on the goings-on in the organization.
"Of course. Please allow me to escort you to the balcony of the Heavenly Sword Sect when you wish to go there." The employee smiled and spoke courteously before taking a few steps backward to allow Li Huang and the others a semblance of privacy.
At the same time, Li Huang was flattered by the act, and he couldn't help but smile at it. In a world in which cultivators can hear sounds from hundreds of meters away, what could the addition of only one meter do to guarantee any level of privacy?
"Well, if he stayed close to us, that wouldn't be good either, so this is the best thing they could do..." The thought caused Li Huang to shrug mentally.
Li Huang glanced at Elder Zhong Zedong, and the two of them then gave each other a nod to indicate that they were prepared to go. He motioned to the auction house employee, and they began to move.
~'Be careful. ~ As they began to move, Li Huang heard this sound transmission and turned to face the source.
~'You too,'~ Li Huang replied, and Li Wanrou nodded in agreement. They were aware that it was pretty unlikely for members of the Xu family to accomplish any success in the auction house. Still, they also recognized that unlikely does not equate to impossible, which is why it made perfect sense for them to be prepared for anything.
As the group representing the Li family and the group representing the Heavenly sword sect proceeded toward the balcony assigned to them, another group entered the auction house building.
The members of Hao Huizheng's party were the ones who went into the auction house. As soon as he stepped through the door, he noticed Li Huang walking away from the reception area while being led by one of the auction house employees.
Hao Huizheng wanted to get close to Li Huang and drop a few snarly remarks just to annoy him, but he huffed as it was late to do so when Li Huang and the other Heavenly Sword Sect disciples were almost outside of the reception area.
"Welcome you to the [Golden phoenix auction], please let me see your invitation letter and I'll guide you to your seats." Just as Hao Huizheng was in his own world, an auction house employee came and greeted them while asking for their invitation letter.
This was nothing out of the ordinary as each guest here should really be a 'guest'. Aside from that, they have to think about the enmity or closeness of the two parties when they are seated close to each other, to do that they have done their best with the placement of the guests beforehand, so they won't be sitting arbitrarily.
Hao Huizheng couldn't help but become a little displeased and huff at hearing this inquiry. He couldn't believe he received this kind of treatment every time he traveled from people who weren't even qualified to speak to him.
He pulled out a token from his storage pouch and sluggishly tossed it to the employee's hands.
"Is this all there is?" Before the employee could get over his initial shock, he said with a smile and continued.
"… Or should I ask the person who owns this token for the invitation letter instead?" His face was not smiling this time.
Soon after, the employee managed to gather himself and bowed.
"Please pardon me; that's unnecessary. Let me show you where your seats are." The employee of the auction house said courteously.
"I'll make sure to inform young miss of your presence as well." To ease the tension that was about to arise, he said and bowed again.
"Hahaha, then let's stop wasting time." Hao Huizheng said while laughing. Although he was able to make sense of the token's value, he didn't anticipate it to be this significant.
'*hmph* So she wasn't all talk when she said it would be useful for me and I should keep it…' As he made his way to the area where they would be seated, Hao Huizheng mused to himself. He had entirely forgotten how angry he had been to see Li Huang and others here at this point.
The token he showed here was the token he got from a local auctioneer back when he was a young cub in the way of cultivation. In order to pay for his training expenditures at the time, he was selling potions and artifacts. As he became more and more involved with the auction house, he was able to get to know the young woman who was in charge of it. At some point, he was able to provide the auction house with an item that helped them build a huge event around it that made them a lot of money. Of course, Hao Huizheng got his fair share of the profit but to show her goodwill to him, she gave this token and told him if he were to ever travel to the Heavenly Central Continent, it would be of use to him.
Hao Huizheng initially accepted it without giving it much thought in order to win the favor of a beautiful woman, but now he realized its true worth.
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