Of course, at most she could only complain under her breath. Facing the domineering Peerless Emperor, even the hall master of the Pure Burn Hall had to show deference, let alone a lowly auctioneer like her.
Seeing the Peerless Emperor's expressionless face, Madam Man offered a coquettish smile. "This humble one congratulates the Peerless Emperor first and foremost. A fifteen-billion bid—winning Master Mu is most fitting for your reputation! Everyone, please give the Peerless Emperor a round of applause!"
The woman was quite adept at reading the wind. Noticing the Peerless Emperor's indifferent expression, she clearly realized her earlier grumbling might have displeased him, so she immediately shifted her tone to one of flattery.
No one could afford to disregard the Peerless Emperor's face. Thunderous applause erupted throughout the venue.
The great emperors of Pill Fire City would normally instruct their subordinates that when venturing out into the world, there were certain people you'd best not provoke—and others you absolutely could not provoke.
The Peerless Emperor ranked among the very top of the latter category.
So a round of applause cost nothing. Naturally, everyone was more than willing to oblige. The applause roared like thunder.
The Peerless Emperor waved his hand in acknowledgment.
Learning that it was the Peerless Emperor who had won Master Mu, Gai Zonglin, the leader of the Star Plucking Society, was overjoyed. No outcome could have been more perfect.
With the Peerless Emperor's decisive bid, the other factions had nothing left to say.
If any of them later tried to take their frustration out on the Star Plucking Society, the Society would have ample justification. After all, losing to the Peerless Emperor was no disgrace. Even if the other factions were disgruntled, there was nothing they could do about it.
So Gai Zonglin scurried up in high spirits, personally presenting Master Mu's slave jade slip to the Peerless Emperor with the utmost reverence.
The slave jade slip was the key to controlling a slave. With this slip, one could at any time release the slave from bondage and restore their freedom.
Jiang Chen watched as Mu Gaoqi stood before him with a vacant expression, not recognizing him at all, and felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. Over the years, Mu Gaoqi's alchemy skills had continued to improve, but in the end he was nothing more than a walking corpse used by others.
Seeing Gai Zonglin's gleeful expression, Jiang Chen felt a surge of disgust, though he couldn't bring himself to truly hate the man.
At least Mu Gaoqi hadn't suffered too much at the Star Plucking Society's hands—at least he was still alive. As for Elder Yun Nie, he was surely still in the Society's custody.
Now that Mu Gaoqi was secured, dealing with Elder Yun Nie shouldn't be too difficult.
Jiang Chen had already decided to visit the Star Plucking Society afterward.
One hand delivers the person, the other delivers the money.
After receiving the payment, Gai Zonglin expressed his profuse thanks and left with a beaming smile.
Seeing Mu Gaoqi safely secured, Jiang Chen felt greatly relieved. This auction had gone much more smoothly than he'd anticipated. But he knew that if he'd been the one bidding, fifteen billion probably wouldn't have been nearly enough.
It seemed the Peerless Emperor's name was far more useful in the end.
The subsequent lots, while still quite interesting, failed to capture much interest from either Jiang Chen or the Peerless Emperor.
However, Green Phoenix Pill King was quite intrigued by a particular pill cauldron and entered the bidding. In the end, he won it at a sky-high price.
Jiang Chen already had plenty of pill cauldrons in his possession. He had collected all five of Dan Qian Palace's great treasure cauldrons, plus the Heaven Pilfering Cauldron he'd won at auction in the Glazed Royal City.
While Green Phoenix Pill King's cauldron was of a higher grade, Jiang Chen wasn't particularly interested.
With his depth of alchemy knowledge, he no longer needed to fuss over pill cauldrons. Even for refining Heaven-grade pills, his current Heaven Pilfering Cauldron was more than sufficient.
This grand feast of an auction, amid the frenzied competition among the wealthy, finally drew to a close.
After the auction ended, both Green Phoenix Pill King and Grandmaster Wang Xuetong were loath to leave, inviting Jiang Chen to visit their respective territories as a guest.
Jiang Chen politely declined before taking his leave.
Green Phoenix Pill King and Grandmaster Wang Xuetong could see that the Peerless Emperor and Jiang Chen were inseparable. Since they couldn't invite the Peerless Emperor, they certainly wouldn't be able to invite this young man.
They had a bellyful of questions—why did the Peerless Emperor look upon this young man so favorably?—but they wouldn't dare pry into the Peerless Emperor's affairs.
After seeing off Green Phoenix Pill King and Grandmaster Wang Xuetong, Jiang Chen laughed. "Brother Mo, it seems like they're all a bit afraid of you."
The Peerless Emperor smiled but said nothing.
As an emperor, it was only natural that these people should feel some apprehension toward him.
"Little brother, where are you staying?" the Peerless Emperor asked.
"No rush to return to the inn," Jiang Chen replied with a smile. "Brother Mo, let's make another trip to the Star Plucking Society."