Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

The Martial Artists still in the Elemental Realm were especially ecstatic.

The Harmonization Pill was clearly made for them.

And that included Jin Bufan.

His cultivation was currently at the Peak of the Elemental Realm.

"I’ll bid one hundred thousand gold!"

In his excitement, he forgot to even raise his bidding paddle. He just leaped to his feet and roared.

"Haha, one hundred thousand gold? You’ve got some nerve. The Mixed Element Pill just went for that much! And they haven’t even started the bidding."

Someone from behind him jeered.

"Yeah, get lost."

"Just a moment ago, you were calling the Harmonization Pill dogshit, and now you’re bidding faster than anyone. Your skill at slapping your own face is truly beyond compare."

The moment the Harmonization Pill appeared, the crowd grew so frenzied that they completely ignored Jin Bufan’s status with the Proud Moon Divine Sect.

The venue descended into chaos, and it was impossible to tell who had said what.

Jin Bufan’s face flushed red, then went pale with rage.

But one look at the Harmonization Pill on the Wind and Cloud Platform, and he gritted his teeth. "Master, you may begin," he said.

It was clear he was willing to abandon all dignity for this Harmonization Pill.

On the Wind and Cloud Platform, Shan Dan smiled and said, "The Harmonization Pill, with a starting bid of one hundred gold. As always, if you lack sufficient gold, you may substitute with other valuables. I must specify that this year, Cultivation Techniques, martial skills, and Spirit Grass are not our top choice. We prefer various Crystal Stones and refined metals."

At this point, nobody cared what the Danling Sect needed; their eyes were only for the Harmonization Pill.

"Let the bidding begin."

The instant Shan Dan’s voice faded, Jin Bufan was already raising his paddle, yelling, "Five million gold!"

With his first bid, he pushed the price to a staggering height.

A smirk played on Lin Hao’s lips.

’I was going to have to put on an act with the Danling Sect,’ Lin Hao thought, ’but it looks like that won’t be necessary.’

But five million wasn’t enough to scare off the other factions. The moment his bid was out, someone else raised their paddle, adding another five hundred thousand.

Still, it failed to stop the other factions; bidding paddles rose and fell in waves.

The Harmonization Pill pushed the atmosphere of the Danling Sect’s auction to a fever pitch.

In the blink of an eye, the price had already skyrocketed to ten million.

The bid came from a middle-aged man in the second row.

Many fell silent after this price was announced. Ten million gold was not a sum an ordinary faction could produce.

"The Zhengyang Sect now bids ten mil—"

Before Shan Dan could finish, someone else in the second row raised a paddle.

"The Sanqing Sect bids ten million, one hundred thousand."

"Mingjian Manor bids ten million, five hundred thousand..."

At that moment, Jin Bufan’s roar rang out again. "Eleven million."

Meanwhile, the representative from the Zhengyang Sect in the second row raised his paddle again, bidding thirteen million.

"Do you even have that much money?" Jin Bufan spun around, eyes spitting fire.

Before the middle-aged man could reply, Shan Dan spoke from the stage. "You needn’t trouble yourself, Hall Master Jin. The Zhengyang Sect’s assets were registered yesterday. Their sect possesses Crystal Stones and refined metals."

"Fourteen million!" Jin Bufan declared.

Just as the Zhengyang Sect representative was about to raise his paddle, Jin Bufan turned, and a flicker of killing intent flashed through his eyes.

The middle-aged man from the Zhengyang Sect quietly lowered his paddle. He glanced at the Harmonization Pill on the stage, a strange smile touching his lips.

Seeing his opponent back down in the face of difficulty, Jin Bufan’s face broke into a smile.

Fourteen million for a single Harmonization Pill. While a bit over budget, it was still within a manageable range.

’If the Misty Palace doesn’t make a move, this Harmonization Pill is mine.’

With that thought, Jin Bufan looked toward the Misty Palace disciple behind Su Molixi.

He then relaxed.

The paddle in the disciple’s hand hadn’t moved at all.

"Master, there are no more bids!" Jin Bufan called out toward the Wind and Cloud Platform, his face alight with excitement.

’The Harmonization Pill is almost mine.’

But at that very moment, he heard a voice.

"Hey, pretty lady, do you have a bidding paddle?"

He turned and saw that kid from the VIP section staring intently at the Palace Master of the Misty Palace, talking to her.

Many people heard Lin Hao’s words and turned to look at him, their faces showing odd expressions.

The Palace Master of the Misty Palace was said to wear a white veil year-round precisely because she hated the way men looked at her. For this kid to dare stare so brazenly—wasn’t he courting death?

On top of that, he wanted to borrow her paddle and addressed her so flippantly. The boy clearly had a death wish.

However, what happened next stunned everyone.

The female disciple from the Misty Palace in the second row, the one holding the bidding paddle, glanced at the Palace Master in front of her, then respectfully handed the paddle to Lin Hao.

It went without saying that this was clearly on the Palace Master’s orders.

"Thanks."

Lin Hao accepted the paddle with a word of thanks and was about to raise it, but Jin Bufan grabbed his wrist.

"Kid, the bidding’s in the tens of millions. You got that kind of money?"

Lin Hao shrugged, and there was a RIIIP.

A strip of cloth that was still hanging on his shoulder finally tore, exposing the skin underneath.

"Kid, here’s some silver. Go buy yourself a new shirt." Jin Bufan took out a silver ingot and tossed it over.

Lin Hao caught it, his face lighting up with joy. "You’re giving this to me?" he asked.

"Of course."

"Thank you! I was broke a moment ago, but now I’m rich! Master, I bid one silver ingot!" Lin Hao cheered, holding the silver ingot high in the air.

Jin Bufan flew into a rage. "I bid fourteen million gold, and you bid one ingot of silver? Are you fucking kidding me! You’re just here to cause trouble. Sect Leader Mo, throw him out!"

Lin Hao’s expression turned cold.

At that moment, Sect Leader Mo spoke up.

"Hall Master Jin, this is a Danling Sect assembly. All decisions here are made by the Danling Sect. It’s not a place for an outsider to come and point fingers."

Sect Leader Mo’s attitude was surprisingly firm.

Jin Bufan was taken aback. A sect leader from the Southern Border Prefecture dared to act so defiantly in front of one of the five great divine sects? ’Had the sun risen in the west?!’

But what happened next was even more shocking.

From the Wind and Cloud Platform, Shan Dan’s voice rang out: "This round, this young friend is the winner."

As he spoke, he pointed a hand at Lin Hao.

No one knew the origin of this pill better than Shan Dan. Now that Jin Bufan had managed to provoke Lin Hao, he naturally knew what to do.

"What?!" Jin Bufan couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

A hush fell over the crowd.

One ingot of silver had beaten fourteen million in gold. The outcome completely shattered their understanding of reality.

"You are a guest on the Danling Sect’s Wind and Cloud Platform, so you will abide by the platform’s rules," Shan Dan’s voice rang out coolly.

Jin Bufan was furious. "There’s a rule like that?!"

"No," Shan Dan’s voice was still ice-cold. "We made it just for you."

His words were not only cold, but they carried to every corner of the venue.

The venue was utterly silent. All eyes were fixed on Lin Hao.

They all wondered just who this person was that the Danling Sect would risk offending the Proud Moon Divine Sect for his sake.

The middle-aged man from the Zhengyang Sect stared at Lin Hao, and for a fleeting moment, killing intent flashed in his eyes before disappearing.

*PTUI...*

Upon hearing those words, Jin Bufan violently spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

He had actually lost to some wet-behind-the-ears kid. And most importantly, he was the one who had given him that damned silver ingot.

Talk about hoisting yourself by your own petard. This was the perfect example.

He was seething with hatred.

But Lin Hao had no intention of letting the matter drop. This guy had provoked him time and time again, and besides, Lin Hao hadn’t accomplished his goal yet.

"Master, is that pill really mine?" Lin Hao asked, looking toward the Wind and Cloud Platform with a ’who, me?’ expression of disbelief.

Since Lin Hao was putting on a show, Shan Dan naturally had to play his part.

He smiled and nodded. "Of course. If you need it now, I can have it sent down."

"No, that’s not what I mean. What I want to know is, can I sell this pill?"

"But of course."

Upon hearing this, many of the factions grew restless.

However, a smirk played on Lin Hao’s lips as he said, "I think I’d better sell it back to you guys. They’re all looking at me like a pack of hungry wolves. I’m sooooo scared."

"Very well. And for what price does our young friend intend to sell?"

"One silver ingot," Lin Hao replied with a perfectly straight face. "I’m a fair man. I don’t like to take advantage of people."

Shan Dan nodded.

And the rest of the crowd looked on in sudden realization.

By now, Lin Hao’s performance had made it perfectly clear: he didn’t care about the Harmonization Pill in the slightest. All of this was just because of Jin Bufan.

"Alright, let’s continue. To save everyone’s time, the bidding for the Harmonization Pill will restart at ten million gold. You are all welcome to bid," Shan Dan announced, restarting the auction for the Harmonization Pill.

"Eleven million." Gritting his teeth, Jin Bufan once again joined the bidding.

As a Hall Master of one of the five great divine sects, he had been sent here with high hopes from his sect.

And he desperately needed this Harmonization Pill. Even with a one-in-a-hundred-thousand chance of success, he wanted to take that gamble.

No one bid against him.

But now, Jin Bufan felt not a shred of excitement. His heart was trembling in fear.

And just as he feared, it happened.

Lin Hao casually raised his paddle. "Eleven million and ten thousand."

The corner of Jin Bufan’s mouth twitched, but he no longer dared to antagonize Lin Hao. He could only participate in the bidding obediently.

"Twelve million!"

"Twelve million and ten thousand."

"Thirteen million!"

"Thirteen million and ten thousand."

Unhurried, Lin Hao kept up the pressure on Jin Bufan. Every time Jin Bufan made a bid, Lin Hao would raise it by ten thousand.

Jin Bufan’s face was a ferocious mask as he bit out each word, unwilling to give up.

’You’ve offended the Proud Moon Divine Sect, so you can just wait for death! And as for the Danling Sect, I’ll make sure you learn the might of the five great divine sects!’ Staring at Lin Hao, Jin Bufan’s heart surged with killing intent.

By this point, his bid had reached seventeen million.

This was also his absolute limit.

’Hmph! You want this pill, don’t you? Bid again, and I’ll let you have it. That’ll be my revenge for what happened earlier. As for the Harmonization Pill...’ Killing intent flared in Jin Bufan’s heart.

But once again, Lin Hao drove him to the brink of insanity.

"Pretty lady, thanks for the paddle." Just as Jin Bufan was waiting with bated breath, Lin Hao handed the paddle back.

"Why did you stop bidding?" the junior sister, who bore a slight resemblance to Meng Qing, asked Lin Hao out of curiosity.

She’d always thought her own methods for messing with people were quite brilliant, but now she realized that compared to Lin Hao, she was an absolute amateur.

Hoping to learn from a master, she asked for his guidance.

"I’ll tell you later," Lin Hao replied with a cryptic smile.

The junior sister pouted and shot Lin Hao a look.

In the end, Jin Bufan won a year’s procurement rights for the Harmonization Pill at a price of seventeen million, but he felt as sick as if he had swallowed a fly.

"So calculating at such a young age. I’m impressed, truly," Jin Bufan said, his face grim as he questioned Lin Hao. "May I ask who you are?"

Countless people wanted to know the answer to that question, and every one of them perked up their ears to listen.