The restriction arrays inside Room Thirteen remained intact, so everyone's divine senses were blocked on the outside, unable to probe what was happening within. But every line of dialogue that drifted out was crystal clear to every ear in the hall.
They heard the Emperor Realm cultivator inside Room Thirteen pleading for mercy and, when that failed, apparently attempting a desperate final stand. But before any sounds of a struggle could even be heard, he was subdued. Then came a series of muffled whimpering noises, followed by several grotesque gurgling sounds, as though something were being swallowed in great gulps…
Though they couldn't see a thing, everyone could vividly imagine what the Emperor Realm cultivator inside that room had just been put through.
"Bleh…"
In the main hall, a woman was the first to lose control, doubling over and vomiting.
That sound proved to be a trigger — one spark setting the whole prairie ablaze. Those martial artists who had been desperately holding it together could endure no longer. Every last one of them turned their heads away and retched in spectacular fashion. In an instant, the entire hall reeked of filth, drawing deep frowns from those who had managed to keep their composure.
The Emperor Realm cultivators in the other private rooms wore expressions of utter bewilderment. The Seven Radiance Trading Company was, after all, one of the two top trading companies in the Southern Domain. For something like this to happen under their roof and for no one to come forward and put a stop to it — that was deeply strange. A vague sense began to stir among many of them: this auction was not what it seemed. They had stumbled into a quagmire without realizing it.
A good while later, Yang Kai finally emerged from Room Thirteen, dusting off his hands. "Lived this long and never once encountered a request that bizarre. That was truly an eye-opener."
From behind him came wave after wave of wretched retching sounds, giving one the impression that death would be preferable.
"Continue!" Yang Kai raised his eyes to look at Hua Qingsi on the elevated platform.
Hua Qingsi gave a slight nod, well aware that Yang Kai had probably been provoked by her master and was now a cauldron of rage with nowhere to vent. Rooms Seven and Thirteen had walked right into it, and he wasn't about to go easy on them.
Room Thirteen had been lucky to escape with their lives, but given what they had been through, that treatment was arguably worse than a quick death.
Hua Qingsi swept her gaze across the hall and announced, "Room One has bid one hundred million high-grade Source Crystals. Will anyone raise the bid?"
Silence. Everyone thought: He's already offering a hundred million. What's the bloody point of bidding against that?
Hua Qingsi nodded. "Since there are no further bids, the third auction item goes to Room One."
She gestured, and the servant girl immediately carried the tray toward Room One, her small face chalk-white. Her legs trembled beneath her, as though the destination were not Room One but some purgatory of tormented souls.
Yang Kai returned to his own room and secured the third Heaven Puppet.
On the platform, Hua Qingsi spoke again. "The fourth auction item. The Thousand Leaves Sect's Heaven Puppet—"
"One hundred million!" Yang Kai called out loudly.
Hua Qingsi pressed her lips together in a smile and addressed the hall. "No one wishes to bid?"
Having said that, she gave a wink to the servant girl who had just emerged from backstage, and this time she didn't even bother with the usual pleasantries.
What followed was practically a duet between Yang Kai and Hua Qingsi. Every time a new item was presented, Yang Kai would quote one hundred million without a moment's hesitation, and Hua Qingsi would just as decisively instruct the servant to deliver the Heaven Puppet to Room One.
In the various private rooms, the expressions of the assembled Emperor Realm cultivators were a mixture of helplessness and bitter displeasure. They had traveled thousands of kilometers to attend this auction, and yet every last one of them had been reduced to mere spectators — forget about winning an auction item, they didn't even have the right to compete. The man opened his mouth and threw out a hundred million. Who could match that? And it didn't take a blind man to notice that something was off about Yang Kai. He wasn't here to bid at the auction; he was here deliberately to ruin it.
Setting aside the fact that he had just killed the people in Room Seven and humiliated the people in Room Thirteen, his bidding alone was enough to set tongues wagging.
He certainly had the funds — several hundred million high-grade Source Crystals in hand. But even so, there was no reason to bid like that. Those Source Crystals didn't grow on trees. The only explanation was that Yang Kai had never intended to pay in the first place.
None of the Emperor Realm cultivators who had come here were fools. After watching this for so long, they could taste the shape of what was happening. Deep in their hearts, a thread of unease began to coil around their minds like invisible shackles, setting their nerves on edge.
And the auctioneer on the platform was cooperating to an absurd degree, which made the whole thing feel exceedingly strange.
In a mere quarter of an hour, all nine of the Thousand Leaves Sect's Heaven Puppets had been auctioned off — and just as everyone expected, every single one ended up in Yang Kai's hands before being transferred to Ye Hen.
Ye Hen was so moved he could barely contain himself. He had never imagined that these Heaven Puppets could be recovered. When the Thousand Leaves Sect had been destroyed, he had been certain that the sect's legacy would truly die in his hands. For days he had been crushed by guilt, feeling he had failed every ancestor of the Thousand Leaves Sect, his heart as cold as ash. Even after Li Qingyun had returned him whole and unharmed, Ye Hen still couldn't muster any spirit.
But now, with the nine Heaven Puppets restored to him, a surge of fighting will rose once more within him.
The Thousand Leaves Sect had fallen under his watch, and it would be rebuilt under his watch as well — its former glory restored. The five hundred disciples he had arranged to enter the Imperial Heaven Valley were one hope. The secret arts and scriptures, still preserved intact, were another. And these nine Heaven Puppets were yet another.
In that instant, Ye Hen's spirits soared, as though he had become an entirely different person.
Ye Jinghan and Du Xian witnessed all of this and were secretly moved as well, their gratitude toward Yang Kai deepening by another measure. Heaven Puppets were, after all, extraordinary things — each one equivalent to an Emperor Realm cultivator. Anyone else who had won them at auction would likely have kept them for personal use. Yet Yang Kai had returned every single one to Ye Hen. It was a gesture of remarkable integrity, and it was difficult not to feel grateful.
"Yang Shao, they seem to be stalling for time," Ying Fei suddenly spoke up.
Yang Kai nodded. "I know."