Before he killed the young man, Duan Ling Tian knew he would not succeed if the Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestials from the Fleeting Time Inn did not allow it. However, since the powerhouses from the Fleeting Time Inn did not intervene, he took the powerhouses' silence as a tacit agreement to his action. For this reason, he knew he did not have to worry about the consequences of killing that young man. Just as he had expected, the powerhouses from the inn stepped forward to protect him as soon as the two Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestials from the Nian clan's auction house made a move.
Duan Ling Tian thought to himself, 'To make the powerhouses from the Nian clan's auction house retreat, the powerhouses from the inn must have mentioned the fourth prince.' It was not difficult for him to come to this conclusion. Five days ago, the innkeeper of the Fleeting Time Inn had personally witnessed his interaction with the Fourth Prince of the Soaring Dragon Celestial Kingdom. Since even the fourth prince was being courteous to him, the innkeeper would, naturally, think he had a formidable background. As long as this was made known to the powerhouses from the Nian clan's auction house, they would definitely not make a move. How could they offend someone whom even the fourth prince was wary of?
During the journey, Duan Ling Tian could feel the fearful and wary gazes from the guests of Fleeting Time Inn. He did not find it surprising. After all, he had just killed a guest of the inn without any consequences. Moreover, the Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestials from the inn were clearly protecting him.
Fifteen minutes later, one of the Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestials from the auction house loudly said, "We've arrived!"
Duan Ling Tian and the others looked ahead.
An ornate building that occupied a vast piece of land stood before them. The decorations on the buildings were so detailed and enchanting that it was clear they were carefully selected.
Duan Ling Tian thought to himself, 'So this is the Nian Clan's auction house? It looks impressive.' A slight frown appeared on his face as he continued thinking to himself, 'However, this doesn't seem like the main entrance of the auction house.'
"Welcome, and please enter."
After the two Overarching Heaven Supreme Celestials from the Nian Clan's auction house entered the building, a few servants came forward to welcome Duan Ling Tian's group into the auction house. Each of them was led to a room.
There were three types of rooms in the Nian clan's auction house. Duan Ling Tian and the others were brought to the second type of room.
It was unknown if it was a coincidence, but Duan Ling Tian was brought to the First Earth Room, which was also one of the rooms with the best view and location among the second type of rooms. The window of his room directly faced the stage where the auction would take place.
Seated in front of the window, Duan Ling Tian surveyed his surroundings and saw the rows and rows of seats in the main hall. He exclaimed inwardly, 'The Nian clan's auction house is really big! It's bigger than any auction house I've been to!'
A fancy table stood before Duan Ling Tian's seat. A set of teacups and a teapot was placed on top of the table.
At this moment, a pretty servant girl was pouring him tea. She smiled sweetly as she asked, "How should I address you, young sir?"
"My last name is Duan." Duan Ling Tian sipped on the tea the servant girl served. Then, his eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "This is good tea!"
As soon as Duan Ling Tian drank the tea, he could feel a gentle energy flowing through his 99 Heavenly Veins. Although it did not do much to improve his cultivation base, it gave him a warm and comfortable feeling.
"Young Master Duan, the tea leaves were created and cultivated by our Nian clan's Third Master when he was young. It's called the Warm Spring Tea. Although it's not like Celestial Tea that's able to improve one's cultivation base, it makes the drinkers feel comfortable and puts them at ease," the servant girl explained.
"Warm Spring Tea? That's a good name, and it suits the tea as well." Duan Ling Tian nodded. After that, he continued chatting with the servant girl and learned that there were three types of rooms in the Nian clan's auction house; they were Human Rooms, Earth Rooms, and Heaven Rooms. The Heaven Rooms were usually reserved for the Imperial family. This included Imperial families from other high-rank Celestial Kingdoms.
'Apart from the Heaven Rooms reserved for the Imperial families of high-rank Celestial Kingdoms, the First Earth Room is the best room. An emperor of an intermediate-rank Celestial Kingdom would be given a First Earth Room if they attend the auction in the Nian clan's auction house. I didn't expect the Nian clan's auction house would give me this room,' Duan Ling Tian thought to himself. He was certain the person in charge of the Nian clan's auction house must have known even the fourth prince was wary of him. Otherwise, he was certain he would not be given the First Earth Room. He mocked himself inwardly, 'If the person in charge finds out that I'm not from a formidable sect, he'd definitely be angered and chase me out of this First Earth Room!'
Duan Ling Tian truly did not expect to receive such a benefit just from putting a front before the Fourth Prince of the Soaring Dragon Celestial Kingdom. Nevertheless, he enjoyed the benefits it brought.
Shortly after, the auction started.
An auctioneer appeared on the stage. It was an elegant and curvaceous lady. Not only was her voice pleasant, but it was enchanting as well. As soon as she spoke, one after another, auction items were brought on the stage and auctioned off.
An hour passed, and Duan Ling Tian had yet to make a bid. This was because he had not seen anything that caught his attention. He kept drinking the tea as the servant girl kept serving him tea.
…
The First Heaven Room was resplendent and luxuriously decorated. It was far superior to the First Earth Room in terms of size and decorations. The room was reserved for the Imperial family of the Soaring Dragon Celestial Kingdom. If there were members of Imperial families from high-rank Celestial Kingdoms who chose to come here, they would be given this room as well. However, up until now, there were no such visitors in the auction house.
Currently, a handsome young man was seated before a jade table in the room. He wore a white robe with golden trimmings. His complexion was so fair and rosy that it would make women jealous. However, his features were masculine. The contrast made him even more attractive.
The two servants girls that waited by the jade tables kept stealing looks at the young man, causing their cheeks to redden.
The person in charge of the Nian clan's auction house, an old man, said respectfully to the young man, "Your Royal Highness, the Thirteenth Prince, I'm sure there's nothing that will interest you in this small-scale auction. Do you want to come again when there's a large-scale auction?"
"I only came to see the fun. I have no intention of bidding on anything," the handsome young man replied indifferently. From the beginning until the end, he did not spare the old man a glance at all.
It should be noted that the person in charge of the Nian clan's auction house was a profound-rank Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial. Profound-stage Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestials were far stronger than the yellow-rank Overarching Heaven Supreme Celestials who were tasked with guarding the guests of Fleeting Time Inn. Even so, he did not seem angered by the handsome young man's disregard for him.
"But…" the old man in charge of the Nian clan's auction house began to say, but he swallowed his words immediately when he saw the middle-aged man who stood behind the handsome young man suddenly opened his eyes and looked at him pointedly. He felt chills running up his spine when he met the middle-aged man's gaze. In the end, he only said, "Your highness, if there's anything else you need, please send a servant girl to get me." He feared the handsome young man due to his status, but he feared the middle-aged man due to his strength. 'I didn't expect the man waiting on the thirteenth prince is a heaven-rank Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial! I've only felt such an aura from the old ancestor…' He was drenched in cold sweat as he exited the First Heaven Room.