Chapter 366: Chapter 366: Is That All You’ve Got?
Ye Xuan sneered internally. ’An ordinary person would have been intimidated by her, but who am I?’ His personal wealth was on par with that of some mid-sized families; how could he possibly lose to Zhou Qingwei?
Zhou Qingwei was rich, but could she compare to an elder from the Profound Mystery Sect? Or a family from Black Stone City? Or the entire treasure hoard of the Floating Light Secret Realm?
Competing with him in terms of financial power? Zhou Qingwei was just embarrassing herself.
If the Clan Leader of the Zhou family had come, he might have been able to suppress him with wealth. But for a mere Zhou family disciple like her to think she could pressure him, Ye Xuan? It was laughable.
Since his opponent wanted to show off, he would just have to be even more impressive.
"Eighty mid-grade Profound Stones." Ye Xuan’s expression remained impassive, but he had just doubled Zhou Qingwei’s bid.
And that was just the face value. Everyone knew that mid-grade Profound Stones were far more precious than lower-grade ones. Eighty mid-grade Profound Stones were worth nearly ten thousand lower-grade Profound Stones.
"What?" Zhou Qingwei was stunned. ’Is this guy crazy?’ Eighty mid-grade Profound Stones was the equivalent of over a hundred million Profound Coins, several times the value of the Qingyu Profound Armor itself.
It wasn’t just Zhou Qingwei who was dumbfounded; everyone present, including the Artifact Refiners, stared at Ye Xuan in shock.
Even Master Li Xu looked at Ye Xuan in surprise, sizing him up carefully for the first time.
After a moment, Qin Yu was the first to react, sneering loudly at Ye Xuan. "Where did some clueless guy like you come from? Do you know the rules of the Artifact Refining Workshop? If you can’t produce eighty mid-grade Profound Stones here today, then don’t even think about walking out of here alive."
Ye Xuan’s expression was placid. He glanced casually at Li Xu and, seeing that the master hadn’t spoken, said coldly, "Master Li Xu, is it? Though this is my first time at the Artifact Refining Workshop and I’m not familiar with the regulations, is it customary for others to shout and scream while a guest is bidding, disrupting the order?"
Li Xu shot a cold glare at Qin Yu, who immediately shut his mouth, not daring to speak again.
Only then did Li Xu say faintly, "We have no such rule at the Artifact Refining Workshop. However, what Qin Yu said just now is correct. Making reckless bids can get you killed."
Ye Xuan nodded but showed no reaction to Li Xu’s words. Instead, he turned to the Artifact Refiner who was selling the Qingyu Profound Armor. "No one has outbid me. Shouldn’t you be selling the Qingyu Profound Armor to me now?"
The Artifact Refiner glanced at Zhou Qingwei again.
Besides the unwillingness on her face, there was nothing Zhou Qingwei could do. Eighty mid-grade Profound Stones would probably require her to liquidate everything in her Storage Ring. She would have to be insane to spend so much just to buy a piece of fifth-level inner armor.
She truly didn’t understand. If Ye Xuan wasn’t bluffing, how could he possibly have so many mid-grade Profound Stones?
Seeing that Zhou Qingwei remained silent, the Artifact Refiner knew she wasn’t going to bid. He turned to Ye Xuan and said, "Produce eighty mid-grade Profound Stones, and this Qingyu Profound Armor is yours."
Ye Xuan nonchalantly tossed a small box to the Artifact Refiner. All eyes focused on it. The Artifact Refiner opened it under the watchful gaze of the crowd, and in an instant, an aura of Profound Power far denser than that from Zhou Qingwei’s lower-grade stones billowed out.
Inside the box, pieces of mid-grade Profound Stone were arranged neatly. There were exactly eighty, no more, no less.
"Here." The Artifact Refiner was overjoyed. He collected the Profound Stones and tossed the Qingyu Profound Armor to Ye Xuan.
The crowd’s eyes all shifted inconspicuously toward Murong Yunxiao.
In their view, after spending so much to win the Qingyu Profound Armor, Ye Xuan would surely give it to Murong Yunxiao. Even Murong Yunxiao herself, though she showed no emotion on the surface, felt a faint flicker of anticipation.
But to everyone’s utter surprise, after Ye Xuan received the Qingyu Profound Armor, he put it directly into his own Storage Ring.
’This guy...’
Everyone was stunned. ’Were our guesses wrong? Did Ye Xuan buy the Qingyu Profound Armor for himself?’
Never mind that the Qingyu Profound Armor was extremely delicate, like a woman’s clothing, and completely unsuitable for a man to wear.
Just the act of spending eighty mid-grade Profound Stones to buy a single piece of Fifth-level Armor was far too prodigal.
"Young Master Ye, you bought this Qingyu Profound Armor... but you’re not giving it to Miss Murong Yunxiao?"
Luo Cheng, standing nearby, was so shocked that he couldn’t help but blurt out the question.
"Give it to her? Why would I give it to her?"
Ye Xuan frowned, completely baffled.
If Luo Cheng hadn’t asked, things would have been fine. But now that he had, the scene immediately became incredibly awkward.
Murong Yunxiao bit her lip, her expression unsightly.
Luo Cheng seemed to realize he had misspoken and clamped his mouth shut, saying no more.
"Alright, let’s begin the bidding for the next item."
Fortunately, Master Li Xu spoke up just in time, allowing everyone to shift their attention.
However, after Ye Xuan’s spectacle, the subsequent bidding became lukewarm, rarely reaching the heated intensity seen during the bidding for the Qingyu Profound Armor.
「A quarter of an hour later.」
The bidding for the dozens of items prepared for this open house had all concluded.
The few Artifact Refiners present had all earned a hefty sum.
"Alright, today’s open house is now over. I hope you will all be able to purchase items to your satisfaction at next month’s open house." Master Li Xu announced the end of the bidding event.
"It’s over already? Master Lu Li doesn’t seem to have appeared, has he? Are there no better Profound Soldiers?"
Ye Xuan couldn’t help but speak up. He had come specifically for Lu Li, but Lu Li hadn’t shown up, and the Profound Soldiers sold were all around the fifth-level. For it to end so quickly caught Ye Xuan completely off guard.
The moment Ye Xuan’s words came out, many in the crowd burst into laughter as if they had heard the funniest joke.
"Master Lu Li’s items are priceless treasures. You can’t get them at an open house. If you want to buy one, you’ll have to wait for the Imperial Capital’s auction. That’s the only place where Profound Soldiers crafted by Master Lu Li appear."
"That’s right. Not only Master Lu Li’s creations, but you can’t even buy Master Li Xu’s Profound Soldiers here. Young man, if you want to buy them, you have to go to the auction house."
In light of Ye Xuan’s earlier豪气 in producing eighty mid-grade Profound Stones, many people offered him this advice after their laughter subsided.
"The young man is right. As far as I know, a Profound Soldier forged by my master will be for sale at next month’s auction in the Imperial Capital. If you need it, you can go there," Master Li Xu also advised.
Off to the side, Qin Yu stared at Ye Xuan as if he were a dead man. A cold smirk touched his lips. ’Now that the open house is over, let’s see where this kid can run.’
Ye Xuan’s expression immediately turned sour. He shook his head and said coldly, "So this is what the so-called ’open house’ is all about. What a bitter disappointment. Did I really come all this way just to witness this pile of garbage?"
The moment he said this, the entire hall fell silent.
Every single gaze was fixed on Ye Xuan.
’What is this guy saying? Did we hear him wrong, or did he misspeak? He actually dared to call the items in the Artifact Refining Workshop garbage?’
"What did you say?" a young Artifact Refiner couldn’t hold back and roared in anger.
The other Artifact Refiners from the workshop also looked furious, their eyes practically spitting fire. Even Master Li Xu’s face instantly turned grim.
"Am I wrong? The quality of the Profound Soldiers just auctioned was average at best. So this is the standard of the so-called Artifact Refining Workshop. How utterly unimpressive." Ye Xuan shook his head faintly, his brows furrowed in disappointment.
’He’s lost his mind. This guy is completely insane.’
Everyone stared at Ye Xuan as if he were an idiot. At this point, even Qin Yu wasn’t talking, just staring at Ye Xuan like he was an imbecile. He even lost the will to mock him, merely muttering, "Turns out he was just an idiot all along. And here I was, wasting my anger on an idiot."
He wasn’t the only one; Zhou Qingwei and Murong Yunxiao shared the same thought and expression.
"You have a lot of nerve. This is the first time I’ve ever heard someone dare to call the items of my Artifact Refining Workshop garbage."
Li Xu’s gaze instantly turned glacial. A terrifying pressure descended upon the hall, its frightening aura making it difficult for everyone to breathe.
He stared at Ye Xuan indifferently, his voice icy. "If you can’t give a proper explanation today, then it doesn’t matter which faction you come from. You won’t be leaving here alive."
"Master Li Xu, Young Master Ye just doesn’t know the rules! Please, be the bigger person and don’t stoop to his level." Only Luo Cheng hurried to explain on Ye Xuan’s behalf. He then turned to Ye Xuan anxiously, "Young Master Ye, hurry up and apologize to Master Li Xu! The Artifact Refining Workshop is a sacred place for Artifact Refining in our Sky Empire, and even across the Dream Realm Plain! Master Lu Li is the number one Artifact Refiner in the Empire! Even the higher-ups from the ten great factions must be respectful when they come here..."
Luo Cheng’s expression was frantic as he covertly reminded Ye Xuan that even if he were a top genius from one of the ten great factions, that status was useless here.
"Isn’t that Luo Cheng from the Luo family? Could that guy have been brought in by the Murong family?"
Someone recognized Luo Cheng and asked doubtfully.
Li Xu immediately looked toward Murong Yunyi.
Murong Yunyi, however, looked completely baffled before his expression darkened as he turned to his third sister, Murong Yunxiao.
Before Murong Yunyi could speak, Murong Yunxiao shook her head and explained, "Second Brother, this person does know Luo Cheng, but I am not the one who brought him here."
Only then did Murong Yunyi breathe a sigh of relief. He then glared sharply at Luo Cheng and shouted coldly, "Luo Cheng, get back here right now! Are you trying to bring a catastrophe upon your Luo family?"
"Young Master Yunyi, Young Master Ye is my friend. He just misspoke a moment ago..."
