Free Web NovelChapter 96: CH. 96 | VIP Token
"A High-Grade Earth Flame? That’d definitely be useful for Luo Mei," Cao Ying said.
Lin Tian went quiet and nodded. To fix his relationship with Luo Mei, the only real option was to give her a gift.
The best gift Luo Mei needed right now was either an Earth Flame or a Heavenly Flame. But since he’d stumbled onto the chance to get an Earth Flame, he was going to make the most of it.
"I’ll go to their auction to get that Earth Flame. After we shop around here, we’ll head over there to register."
An Yue and Cao Ying nodded in unison. The three of them walked in and met the shop owner, an old man making his way over with the help of a wooden cane.
"Welcome."
"Is there anything you need, Master Immortal?"
Lin Tian told him he needed one profound-grade technique, one profound-grade array, and one level-two pill recipe.
The old man nodded, then shuffled over to his counter and pulled out all three items. Lin Tian held them and looked them over through his soul essence consciousness.
These’ll work for them.
"How much?"
"The total comes to 90 low-grade spirit stones," the man answered.
Lin Tian nodded, handed over the money, received the items, and passed them to An Yue. An Yue’s disciple task required her to study two profound-grade techniques.
"Now you’ve got two profound-grade techniques to study, Yue’er."
"Pass the array technique to Ya Fei and the pill recipe to Luo Mei," Lin Tian said.
An Yue took all three items and tucked them into her bag of holding, then clasped both hands together and bowed to Lin Tian in thanks.
With their shopping done, Lin Tian and the others stepped out and left the shop. Along the city’s main road, he could see the bustle of other cultivators moving back and forth in their robes —some in sect uniforms, others in the plain robes of wandering cultivators.
The city felt alive with their presence. The economy was moving, order was kept. The three of them rather liked the feel of it. Not too dangerous.
Their destination now was the Zhu Family Auction House. After asking around with a few mortals, they finally tracked down its location.
The auction grounds sat inside the largest residential complex in the city, guarded by armored soldiers. The front gate stood wide open, and plenty of cultivators were streaming inside.
Lin Tian and the others joined the flow and walked in. Inside the complex, Lin Tian noticed a second gate, closed off. People weren’t heading there because they all knew it was the entrance to the Zhu Family’s private residence.
Using his qi aura vision, Lin Tian looked through the buildings beyond the second gate. He could see them in the form of their qi auras —many clan members at the Foundation Establishment level, but only two Nascent Soul cultivators.
It seemed the Zhu Family was prosperous enough to have a good number of talented cultivators living under their roof.
The Zhu Family’s foundation isn’t simple... I’ll need to be careful.
While Lin Tian was watching them, a sharp gust of wind came from behind him. The blast was strong and carried with it the momentum of a powerful qi aura.
He turned around and saw a group of cultivators in light blue robes arriving. Lin Tian recognized who they were — especially the woman flying alongside them.
Li Qingxue?
Is she planning to take part in this auction?
Before they got any closer, Lin Tian raised his hand and brought up his spiritual qi. Not just to mask his aura, but also to activate an effective disguise technique.
Lin Tian’s face shifted into an unfamiliar one for the time being, while Cao Ying and An Yue stood still and didn’t do a thing.
The Yunlan Sect group arrived and made their way toward the second gate. It opened and welcomed Li Qingxue inside.
Every cultivator bowed their head and clasped their hands, paying their respects to Li Qingxue, who held a cultivation base at the Perfect Nascent Soul level.
They passed right by Lin Tian, and not one of them recognized him. Once they’d all gone in, things gradually settled back to normal.
"Wasn’t that Yunlan Sect?" An Yue asked.
"It was. Makes sense they’d be taking part in this auction," Lin Tian replied.
Lin Tian turned to Cao Ying and An Yue. "The situation’s changed and this could get dangerous. I’m staying here. You two head back to the sect."
"But what about you? Are you going to be okay?" An Yue asked, her voice edged with worry.
He gave a short nod, easing their concern. Cao Ying produced a teleportation token and handed it to Lin Tian.
"If something comes up that’s beyond you, crush that token and I’ll come."
"Thank you, Cao Ying."
He tucked the teleportation token into his bag of holding. With that, Cao Ying and An Yue hurried off and left the residential complex.
Now Lin Tian was on his own. He made his way toward the auction pagoda, but his steps were stopped by one of the auction staff —a member of the Zhu Family.
"Hold on! What do you think you’re doing?"
"I’d like to register as an auction participant," Lin Tian explained.
"Ordinary cultivators are only eligible to join as regular participants. Nothing more."
"Regular participants aren’t allowed to bid on the featured items," the man said.
That’s meant to keep wandering cultivators away from the main items. A preventive measure to keep the VIP participants satisfied and drive up the value of the goods.
Lin Tian clasped both hands together and lowered his head respectfully. "Senior, could you please tell me what the requirements are to become a VIP participant?"
The man in front of Lin Tian smiled slyly, then laid out the requirements for him.
"There are three ways for you to join as a VIP participant."
"First, you’d need to be a sect representative, at minimum an Elder."
I can’t reveal my identity.
"Second, you’d have to go to the Zhu Family’s main building and get permission from one of our elders."
That’s bad. Li Qingxue’s in there. She could figure out who I am. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
"Third, you’d need to pay 500 low-grade spirit stones to obtain VIP status."
"I’ll take the third option," Lin Tian said.
The man smiled when Lin Tian agreed. He stretched out his hand and accepted a black pouch holding 500 low-grade spirit stones from Lin Tian.
"Thank you, Junior. I’ve got your name. You’re free to go."
"But what about the VIP participant token?" Lin Tian asked.
"Don’t worry, you’ll get it tomorrow. Now go!"
Something’s off about him.
Lin Tian had no choice but to turn and walk away, crossing the paved courtyard in front of the Zhu Family complex.
His attention shifted when he spotted two people stepping out of the auction pagoda, each holding a VIP participant token.
He immediately fixed his gaze back on the staff member from before —the Zhu Family member with a cultivation base at Perfect Foundation Establishment.
The man was just standing there with a smug grin, tossing the black pouch of low-grade spirit stones up and down in his hand, as if he was mocking Lin Tian.
There was never a third option. VIP participants are only those who are sect representatives or have gotten approval from a clan elder.
He actually had the nerve to scam me?
Lin Tian smiled faintly, both eyes radiating a strong white spiritual qi as he kept his gaze locked on the man.
Whatever happened next, he was going to get that VIP token —even if he had to make an example of the scammer to do it.
