Chapter 62

"Six billion"

The voice was young, filled with a lazy tone. Everyone looked up, turning their attention to one of the private rooms.

Some people recognized that the private room belonged to Long Chen, and then looked at the room where Ying Hou was. Many faces showed a hint of oddity.

Previously, when Long Chen was bidding on the Melting Star Grass, Ying Hou had tricked him, allowing Xia Baichi to seize the opportunity and make Long Chen suffer a significant setback. Now, the tone of Long Chen's voice clearly indicated that he was here to settle the score.

Many people secretly admired Long Chen for daring to challenge Ying Hou, as there were very few in the entire Phoenix Cry Empire who would dare to do so.

Inside the private room, Ying Hou's face darkened. He hadn't expected that the silent Long Chen would suddenly cause trouble for him at this moment.

"Seven billion"

However, at this point, he couldn't back down. He was determined to obtain this pill, no matter the cost.

Otherwise, with his status, he wouldn't have had to swallow his pride and plead with Wang Luyang. This pill was too important to him.

Long Chen's face showed a hint of satisfaction. At that time, Ying Hou had stabbed him with a soft knife, and now he finally had the chance to get revenge, which made him feel extremely pleased.

He had been using his divine sense to monitor the movements in Xia Changfeng's private room, knowing that Ying Hou was determined to get the Muscle Regeneration Pill. If he didn't take this opportunity to get revenge, he wouldn't be Long Chen.

Although he knew that offending Ying Hou now was unwise, Long Chen couldn't care less. He decided to let out his pent-up frustration first.

He didn't believe that Ying Hou would dare to do anything outrageous because of this, especially since he had the backing of the Alchemist Guild, giving him the confidence to act this way.

"Eight billion"

Seeing that Huayun Pavilion didn't issue any warnings for his bid, Ye Yang continued to call out the price loudly.

When Yao Nianqian saw Long Chen causing trouble, a hint of excitement appeared in her eyes, but she concealed her emotions very well.

"Alright, eight billion. Prince Long Chen has bid eight billion. Is there anyone willing to bid higher? If not, then this high-grade Muscle Regeneration Pill will belong to Prince Long Chen," Yao Nianqian's voice rang out again.

"Wait, I suspect that Long Chen is just shouting out a price. He doesn't have that much money."

Ying Hou's usually gentle voice now carried a hint of anger, though he tried to suppress it. It was clear that he was finally angry.

"Is Lord Ying Hou questioning our integrity?" Yao Nianqian's smile immediately vanished, and a hint of anger appeared on her face.

"Prince Long Chen is a student of Master Yun Qi, known throughout the Phoenix Cry Empire. Before the auction began, Master Yun Qi transferred his credit limit to Prince Long Chen.

With Master Yun Qi's credit limit, does Lord Ying Hou still think that Prince Long Chen is just shouting out a price?"

Yao Nianqian's words were not polite, clearly showing her strong dislike for Ying Hou's previous actions, as he had broken the rules.

Now, she finally had the chance to vent her frustration openly. As a woman, she was naturally very vengeful, and her words were not gentle.

Upon hearing Yao Nianqian's words, the crowd couldn't help but draw a sharp breath. They knew that Master Yun Qi had transferred his credit limit to Long Chen.

This meant that Long Chen had the entire Alchemist Guild as his backing. With this guarantee, Long Chen could practically monopolize the auction. Who would dare to say he didn't have the money?

Long Chen was also surprised. He didn't know about this. Then he realized that Ying Hou's actions had angered Huayun Pavilion, and they were supporting him to embarrass Ying Hou.

Ying Hou's face was extremely ugly. If what Yao Nianqian said was true, then he was no match for Long Chen in terms of financial resources.

"Ten billion"

Ying Hou suppressed his anger and raised the price by two billion gold coins in one go. Ten billion gold coins for a second-grade pill was unprecedented.

Even with Ying Hou's wealth, these ten billion gold coins were his accumulated savings over many years, and it would cause him significant pain.

"Brother Long, don't call out anymore. It's scary to hear," Monkey said, trembling.

Every time Long Chen called out a price, it made their hearts skip a beat. Each time he opened his mouth, it was a billion gold coins. Even though it wasn't their money, it was enough to make them forget to breathe.

Smiling slightly, Long Chen thought: This Ying Hou is likely the one who wronged him. Now he was just reclaiming some interest.

"Fifteen billion"

Just as Monkey had finished劝说, Long Chen called out this price, almost scaring Monkey to faint.

Ying Hou had just raised the price by two billion, but Long Chen was even more ruthless, raising it by five billion. This was clearly an attempt to use Master Yun Qi's money to crush Ying Hou.

The entire venue fell silent. Even Wang Luyang's face changed several times. This price was beyond his budget.

Moreover, he already had a mid-grade Muscle Regeneration Pill. Although it wasn't as good as the high-grade one, with careful study, he still had a good chance of deciphering the formula, so he ultimately chose to give up.

"Snap"

Ying Hou's teacup was crushed in his hand, and he didn't even notice the tea splashing onto his body.

The veins on his forehead bulged. If it weren't for the terrifying background of Huayun Pavilion, he would have rushed into the private room to kill Long Chen.

"Long Chen, do you really want this pill so much?" Ying Hou said coldly.

Long Chen smiled. He could tell that Ying Hou's voice was strained, indicating that he was very unhappy, even more so than when Long Chen was bidding on the Melting Star Grass.

"Not really, it's not very useful to me," Long Chen replied casually.

"Then you are deliberately opposing me?" Ying Hou took a deep breath and said angrily.

"Not exactly. I have a few reasons for bidding on this item: First, even if I bid a high price, I won't lose. If I give it to my teacher, he won't scold me; he might even praise me.

Second, you tricked me earlier, which made me very unhappy. I have a peculiar temper; I don't like to lose.

Third, as a pillar of the Phoenix Cry Empire, my father, Zhenyuan Marquis, guards the border and fights in battles, making great contributions to the empire. Yet, my family is extremely poor, barely able to support a few dozen servants.

You, Ying Hou, are as famous as my father, but you spend your days idly in the palace, making a lot of money.

So I'm curious about the gap between people. I wanted to test how wealthy you, Lord Ying Hou, are, and how many times richer you are compared to my family," Long Chen said with a smile.

More than half of the people present were from the Phoenix Cry Empire. Although Long Chen said this with a smile, everyone could hear the resentment in his voice.

Zhenyuan Marquis, one of the three great protectors of the Phoenix Cry Empire, had made the most contributions but received such unfair treatment, which indeed made people feel indignant.

"So, you are determined to compete with me to the death?" A hint of killing intent appeared in Ying Hou's eyes as he looked at the broken cup in his hand and said calmly.

"Not exactly. If you bid again, or if someone can express their apology tactfully, my family is upright and might consider withdrawing from the competition," Long Chen said.

"Ha ha ha, well said. Indeed, a tiger's cub is not a dog. I admit defeat today. I'll make one more bid—15.1 billion," Ying Hou laughed.

The entire venue was shocked. No one expected that Long Chen had actually forced Ying Hou to back down. Ying Hou's admission of defeat said it all.

Long Chen smiled. It seemed that this was Ying Hou's limit. By adding 10 million, he clearly meant that if Long Chen bid again, he would give up.

If he gave up, the consequences would be dire. Long Chen knew when to stop, so he didn't continue bidding.

Today, he had already won. He had outmaneuvered a powerful figure on par with his father, and in such a grand setting, which was a great relief.

Given his current strength, he didn't dare to push Ying Hou too far. If he pushed him to the limit, Ying Hou might eliminate him without leaving a trace, and even the Alchemist Guild wouldn't be able to investigate.

Even if they investigated afterward, he would already be dead, and there would be no point. Revenge had to be taken step by step.

Yao Nianqian finally regained her previous smile. Seeing no one else bidding, she began the countdown.

Finally, Ying Hou got the Muscle Regeneration Pill as he wished. Suddenly, confetti flew around the venue, and a dozen girls in colorful dresses danced to the melodious music.

With Yao Nianqian's graceful words of thanks, the Huayun auction came to a close, and the guests slowly left the auction hall.

Long Chen didn't rush to leave. He waited until everyone had gone before he led his group out of the private room.

However, as soon as they left the room, they encountered a few people. These people were none other than Xia Changfeng, Chu Yang, and Xia Baichi.

"Long Chen, don't be arrogant just because Master Yun Qi is backing you. The Empress has already decided to marry the Third Princess to my brother. She will be my brother's woman. Don't have delusions," Xia Baichi said coldly as Long Chen approached.

"Hey, aren't you the woman who slept with my teacher? Now that your teacher is gone, don't you need to serve him in bed?" Before Long Chen could respond, Monkey interjected.

After spending so much time with Long Chen, Monkey had gained more confidence. He felt that if he didn't cause some trouble while with Long Chen, he wouldn't feel at ease.

Xia Baichi's face changed. Monkey's words were like a slap in the face.

Many people had heard the words Xia Baichi had said in a daze that day, but no one dared to say them out loud. Xia Baichi had been deluding herself, thinking that others were too far away to hear clearly.

"You're asking for death."

Just as Xia Baichi was about to attack, she was held back by Xia Changfeng. This was Huayun Pavilion's territory, and they couldn't start a fight here.

"Long Chen, Chu Yao is destined to be my woman. Don't have delusions. I am a prince of the Xia Dynasty, and you are just a prince. Our statuses are too different," Xia Changfeng said coolly.

Long Chen seemed not to hear Xia Changfeng's words. He knew that their purpose was to provoke him.

He had already received the news, and this provocation wouldn't hurt him. Suddenly, Long Chen looked at a guard behind the First Prince and said, "I think I've seen you before."

The guard smiled faintly and said, "I am the First Prince's guard. It's normal to have seen me."

"I mean, in a special place, like—near the arena," Long Chen said, looking at him.

The guard didn't respond and didn't even look at Long Chen.

Long Chen smiled and said to Xia Changfeng, "Your face is turning black, a sign of impending disaster. Be careful."

After saying this, leaving Xia Changfeng and the others with a sour expression, Long Chen led his group out of Huayun Pavilion. As soon as they left the main gate, Fugui ran over:

"My master wants to see you."