Chapter 976: I Carry

A burst of laughter erupted in the hall, as it became clear that Sun Ji had once again been tricked by guest number 333.

Sun Ji's face burned with shame as he heard the mocking laughter and felt the pitying glances.

He was filled with rage, glaring fiercely at Zu An. "You brat, are you toying with me?"

Rage value from Sun Ji...

Facing Sun Ji's accusation, Zu An dropped his smile. "Yes, I am. What are you going to do about it?"

Hearing this, Sun Ji nearly fainted on the spot. Had they somehow swapped scripts? Usually, he was the one saying such things to others; today, it was being said to him.

The stout Venerable in the center of the hall couldn't help but glance at Zu An again, wondering where this formidable individual had come from, seeming even more arrogant and boorish than Sun Ji.

The beautiful hostess's eyes twinkled as she looked at Zu An, growing increasingly interested in such an arrogant and domineering man.

Unlike Sun Ji, who relied on family influence, Zu An was demonstrating that he could humiliate Sun Ji purely through his own capabilities.

At this moment, the stout Venerable stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Everyone, please maintain order in the hall!"

His voice, amplified by qi fluctuations, resonated through the hall, causing everyone's ears to ring. They were astonished, realizing the terrifying power of a ninth-rank cultivation.

Seeing the crowd's reaction, he nodded in satisfaction. Naturally, he didn't want a repeat of the recent farce to disrupt the auction. He gestured for the hostess to continue.

The beautiful hostess collected herself and, still using her sweet voice, announced, "Seven hundred and fifty thousand taels, once... seven hundred and fifty thousand taels, twice... seven hundred and fifty thousand taels, thrice! Sold! Congratulations, Young Master Sun!"

Sun Ji's eyelid twitched, but he could only swallow his bitterness. He forced a smile and nodded to the crowd. "It's just a small sum; worth buying a toy to play with."

Seeing him desperately try to save face, everyone secretly chuckled, not bothering to expose his pretense.

At this point, Yang Long approached him and said worriedly, "Young Master, the Paradise Pavilion's debts are not easily postponed. You'll have to pay for this purchase soon."

Sun Ji's heart bled internally. "It's fine. I brought enough money for now."

Rage value from Sun Ji...

"But spending so much on this, Master will likely blame you when you return," Yang Long said, feeling frustrated. Although it was Sun Ji's money, Yang Long would probably be accused of inadequate guardianship.

Sun Ji squinted, looking towards Zu An. "That fellow was willing to offer six hundred thousand taels for the flying dagger just now, which means he has at least that much, if not more. We can rob him later to recover our losses."

Yang Long nodded, realizing there was no other option. Besides, the guy was truly annoying. Recalling the humiliation of having to apologize to him earlier, a wave of murderous intent surged within him.

Rage value from Yang Long...

The auction continued with various weapons, rare treasures, and even demon slaves.

Watching people bid eagerly, Zu An frowned. He was truly unaccustomed to such practices. However, after the defeat of the demon race, it had become a prevailing trend for wealthy families in the Great Zhou Dynasty to keep demon slaves. He alone couldn't change anything.

"If Kong Nanwu were here, she would probably be furious enough to kill," Zu An sighed. He wasn't about to become a bleeding heart, though; after all, humans captured by the demon race would face an even worse fate.

During this time, Zu An continued to provoke Sun Ji. Every time Sun Ji wanted to buy something, Zu An would raise the bid, making Sun Ji gnash his teeth in frustration, yet powerless to do anything.

Unfortunately, Sun Ji had just spent a fortune and wasn't interested in many items. After Zu An harvested some rage value a few times, Sun Ji stopped bidding altogether.

Midway through, Zu An deliberately showed interest in several items and bid multiple times, but Sun Ji had been intimidated and dared not get involved.

With no other choice, he started raising prices for other bidders, taking the opportunity to collect a significant amount of rage value from the rest of the hall.

The others glared at Zu An. They had thoroughly enjoyed watching him torment Sun Ji earlier, but now the tables had turned, and they were the ones suffering.

"This guy is a troublemaker, isn't he!"

Sun Ji, on the other hand, was now smiling. He even found Zu An somewhat pleasing to look at, reasoning that he shouldn't be the only one suffering.

Zu An remained unfazed by their angry stares. After all, he was wearing a mask; they didn't know who he was, and earning rage value was what truly mattered.

After these maneuvers, he had earned over a hundred thousand rage points. Indeed, targeting one person was far less efficient than harvesting from a crowd.

Of course, he wasn't doing this merely to earn rage points; he had another objective.

As expected, the beautiful hostess then announced the next auction item: "Fangs of the Azure Wolf King."

"These ten fangs are the sharpest canines from an adult Azure Wolf King. They can be used to make arrowheads that can pierce cultivators' qi shields, and they also have medicinal properties... The starting bid is fifty thousand taels, with increments of no less than one thousand taels," the beautiful hostess introduced casually.

This item had limited use. While it possessed some medicinal value, it wasn't significant. Its primary function was to create demon-piercing arrows. However, archery cultivation wasn't mainstream, and most of the wealthy and noble guests in the hall likely had little interest in it.

Sure enough, after her introduction, only a few scattered bids were placed.

At this moment, Zu An's languid voice came again. "Fifty-five thousand taels."

Inside the private room, there was a small booklet. Except for the final mysterious item, all other auction items had detailed descriptions, serving as a kind of catalog.

Initially, Zu An hadn't noticed, but later he saw that some of the auction items were materials for Daji's breakthrough, so he paid close attention.

Fearing that Sun Ji or other guests might oppose him and force him to pay a higher price, he had deliberately raised bids on every item without actually buying them. His aim was to prevent others from guessing his true intentions.

The beautiful hostess's eyes immediately lit up. She was practically in love with this guy. Thanks to him raising bids, every item today had sold for at least twenty to thirty percent higher than the Pavilion's expected price, which meant her commission would also increase significantly.

Her beautiful eyes narrowed seductively, and she thought about going to his room later to properly thank him. As she imagined his young and upright figure, her body involuntarily became more sensitive.

However, the other people in the hall had entirely different thoughts, thinking, "This guy is raising the price again."

These wolf fangs weren't something they were particularly interested in anyway, and fearing falling into his trap, no one countered his bid. The item was ultimately sold for fifty-five thousand taels.

"Huh?" Hearing the hammer fall, Zu An's eyes and voice conveyed a sense of annoyance and surprise, which brought a wave of quiet satisfaction to everyone in the hall.

"That's what you get for raising bids; now you're stuck with it."

Sun Ji, in particular, felt a surge of delight, though he thought it was a pity that Zu An hadn't bled more, finding it somewhat unsatisfying.

However, a moment later, he reconsidered: the money on that person would soon be his anyway, so the less Zu An spent, the better.

With this thought, he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache. *That bastard is spending my money on these useless fangs!*

Rage value from Sun Ji...

Several more items were auctioned next, and Zu An, as usual, came forward to raise the bids, but his bids...