2729 The Guest in the First Earth Room

'I know the fourth prince and the seventh prince each have a heaven-rank Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial as their personal guards. I didn't expect the thirteenth prince to have a heaven-rank Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial as a guard as well. Logically speaking, that should be impossible…' The person in charge of the Nian clan's auction house was lost in his thoughts after exiting the First Heaven Room. He was puzzled.

Although the thirteenth prince was as remarkable as the fourth prince and the seventh prince and was in the running to succeed the throne, many people, including the person in charge of the Nian clan's auction house, did not really think he had a chance to succeed. After all, the thirteenth prince was not favored, and the emperor had always suspected his birth, wondering if the thirteenth prince was his biological son. He only doted on the fourth and seventh princes, assigning them a heaven-rank Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial to guard them. As for the thirteenth prince, only an earth-rank Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial was assigned to guard him.

In the past, whenever the person in charge of the Nian clan met the thirteenth prince, the thirteenth prince had always been accompanied by the earth-rank Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial. He was surprised to find the earth-rank Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial missing today and was replaced by a new face instead. 'The man next to the thirteenth prince isn't among the other seven heaven-rank Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestials in the Soaring Dragon Celestial Kingdom's Imperial family.'

The person in charge of the Nian clan's auction house was also an elder of the Nian clan. Through the Nian clan, he possessed certain knowledge and understanding of the heaven-rank Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestials in the Soaring Dragon Celestial Kingdom's Imperial family. Based on his knowledge, he was certain the man following the thirteenth prince was not one of them.

'This man… The thirteenth prince must have recruited him from outside.' In the end, this was the conclusion the person in charge of the Nian clan's auction house arrived at. He was stunned by this discovery. After all, heaven-rank Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestials were not ordinary people. In the Soaring Dragon Celestial Kingdom, a heaven-rank Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial could do almost whatever they liked as long as they did not offend the Imperial family.

All of a sudden, the person in charge of the Nian clan's auction house felt that he had underestimated the thirteenth prince. 'All along, I've always felt the thirteenth prince is a remarkable man. In certain aspects, it has to be said that he's much more competent compared to the fourth and seventh princes. I finally witnessed it with my own eyes. Put everything else aside, just the fact that he managed to make a heaven-rank Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial submit to him is more than enough to show his competence. The fourth and seventh princes would never be able to achieve such a feat.'

'I must report this to the clan and ask the clan leader to inform the seventh prince about this… The fact that the thirteenth prince has a heaven-rank Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial next to him who's not assigned by His Majesty is definitely worth the seventh prince's attention,' the person in charge of the Nian clan's auction house continued thinking to himself. Then, he took out a Communication Celestial Talisman and sent word back to the Nian clan.

Similar to how the fourth prince had a close relationship with the Zhou clan, the Nian clan had a close relationship with the seventh prince as well. The seventh prince's biological mother was the sister of the current Clan Leader of the Nian clan. If the fourth prince's path to the throne was paved by the Zhou clan as his support, then, the seventh prince's path was paved by the Nian clan as his support. As for the thirteenth prince, his mother was an outsider who was brought back to the Soaring Dragon Celestial Kingdom, she was not from any top clans in the kingdom. For this reason, the thirteenth prince had no support from any of the major clans and could only rely on himself.

Since the Emperor of the Soaring Dragon Celestial Kingdom questioned if the thirteenth prince was his biological son, he had always treated the thirteenth prince coldly. This was a huge obstacle in the path of the thirteenth prince to the throne.

…

Meanwhile, the auction continued in the Nian clan's auction house.

After some time had passed, the moment that Duan Ling Tian had been waiting for finally arrived. The auction house was finally putting up profound-grade cultivation methods for auction!

On the stage, the elegant and beautiful lady's captivating voice rang out. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a profound-grade cultivation method known as the Cloudy Dream Celestial Technique…" Her voice resounded through every room in the auction house. After giving a brief introduction of the Cloudy Dream Celestial Technique, she raised her voice and said, "The starting price of the Cloudy Dream Celestial Technique is 10,000 supreme Celestial Stones. Every bid increment must be 5,000 supreme Celestial Stones at least!"

Duan Ling Tian who was seated near the window in the First Earth Room refrained from bidding. He watched as the price of the profound-grade cultivation method, the Cloudy Dream Celestial Technique, rose as a few others engaged in a bidding war. Eventually, the profound-grade cultivation method was won by someone in one of the Earth Rooms at the price of 90,000 supreme Celestial Stones.

"Congratulations to the guest in the Sixth Earth Room for obtaining the profound-grade cultivation method, the Cloudy Dream Celestial Technique… Next, we will proceed with the auction of the second profound-grade cultivation method," the beautiful lady said.

In just a moment, the second profound-grade cultivation method was introduced to everyone in the auction house. In the end, the profound-grade cultivation method was also sold for 90,000 supreme Celestial Stones.

In the First Earth Room, after watching the auction for the first two profound-grade cultivation methods, Duan Ling Tian remained unconcerned. He looked so calm that it was as though he would not bat an eyelid even if Mount Tai were to collapse in front of him. "90,000 supreme Celestial Stones for a profound-grade cultivation method isn't too expensive..."

Duan Ling Tian had not made a bid because there were five profound-grade cultivation methods up for auction altogether. Moreover, he was not particularly interested in the first two profound-grade cultivation methods. Although profound-grade cultivation methods were largely the same, they had minor differences. For instance, the first profound-grade cultivation method that had been auctioned off would subtly change one's Celestial Origin Energy to be more gentle. It was suited for those who cultivated a more gentle Dao. The second profound-grade cultivation was on the other end of the spectrum, it was more suited to those who cultivated a tougher Dao. Both were not suited to Duan Ling Tian. He preferred a cultivation method that was a balance between the gentle and the tough.

Two more profound-grade cultivation methods were sold before the fifth profound-grade cultivation method, which was also the one that caught Duan Ling Tian's interest, was presented. Then, he began to make a bid for it. In fact, he was the first one to bid for it.

"10,000 supreme Celestial Stones!"

Duan Ling Tian waited for the others to bid as well before he increased his bid. After all, among the previous profound-grade cultivation methods that had been sold, the first two were sold for 90,000 supreme Celestial Stones while the third and fourth were sold at 80,000 supreme Celestial Stones each. Therefore, he knew he would not be able to acquire the profound-grade cultivation method with just 10,000 supreme Celestial Stones.

After a few moments, someone in the main hall bid for the profound-grade cultivation method. "15,000 supreme Celestial Stones!"

…

Meanwhile, all the guests from the Fleeting Time Inn who were seated in the Earth Rooms shuddered when they heard Duan Ling Tian bidding for the fifth profound-grade cultivation method.

"That voice… The person in the First Earth Room seems to be the person who killed that guest from the inn during our journey here."

"The Fleeting Time Inn continued to protect him even after he killed a guest of the inn… He must have an extraordinary background. Otherwise, the inn wouldn't risk their reputation and protect him."

"We can't afford to offend him."

"This is someone we can't provoke!"

Since the guests of the Fleeting Time Inn had witnessed Duan Ling Tian killing a fellow guest of the inn and continued to receive protection from the inn, all of them concluded that Duan Ling Tian was not someone they could afford to offend. For this reason, none of them engaged in a bidding war for the profound-grade cultivation method that Duan Ling Tian was bidding for.

…

"30,000 supreme grade celestial stones!" After Duan Ling Tian's third bid, no one else spoke up. After all, the people in the main hall were not as wealthy and could not afford to raise the price.

Most of the people in the main hall looked at the Earth Rooms, waiting for the people in the rooms to bid for the profound-grade cultivation method. However, even after a while, no one bid for the profound-grade cultivation method. It was as though everyone in the Earth Rooms had left.

"What's going on? Why isn't anyone from the Earth Rooms bidding for it?"

"This is a profound-grade cultivation method… The black market price for this is about 60,000 to 70,000 supreme Celestial Stones. Those in the Earth Rooms can buy this and make a profit in the black market."

"That's right… However, no one seems to be bidding for it? It is free money!"

The main hall was filled with furtive whispers. Most of them were confused as to why no one from the Earth Rooms was making a bid for the profound-grade cultivation method.

Soon after, word began circulating that the person in the First Earth Room must be an important personage. At the very least, he scared the others so much that they did not even dare to engage in a bidding war with him.

"It seems like the person in the First Earth Room is not simple."

"That's obvious. If the person in the First Earth Room is ordinary, the others in the Earth Room would have made a bid for the profound-grade cultivation method. It should be noted that as soon as the person from the First Earth Room made a bid, no one in the Earth Rooms made a bid for it."

Upon hearing this, the two people in the main hall who had bid for the profound-grade cultivation method regretted their actions immediately. Their faces turned pale from fear as they listened to conversations in their surroundings.