The couple quickly arrived in front of the Hong Yue Family's auction hall. The building stood majestically, its ornate columns and sparkling windows drawing the attention of every passerby. It took them a moment to make their way to the counter, where a graceful hostess welcomed them and directed them to the VIP section, recognizing the token provided by Chan Wei's father.
Inside, the auction hall was even more impressive. Glittering chandeliers hung from the ceiling, illuminating the space and highlighting the rich decorations and luxurious carpets. The hum of animated conversations filled the air as guests moved about, examining the various items to be auctioned.
Chan Wei and Xiao Ning'er quickly spotted Nie Li at the center of the room. He was accompanied by two individuals: an old man with a frail frame whose presence seemed almost unnoticeable, and a middle-aged, burly man who exuded a warrior's aura.
"Nie Li, are you okay?" Xiao Ning'er asked first, completely forgetting the rules of etiquette.
Nie Li didn't respond immediately, surprised to see them both here.
"Greetings, elders," said Chan Wei to the two men with Nie Li, trying to divert their attention from his fiancée's behavior. "My name is Chan Wei, and I am a friend of Nie Li," he added with a respectful bow.
"Greetings, elder. I am Xiao Ning'er, also a friend of Nie Li," she said with a polite salute.
"Hello, children. I am the Patriarch of the Heavenly Marks Family, my name is Nie Hai," said the old man with a radiant smile, which caused Nie Li to grimace.
"I am Nie En, an elder of the Heavenly Marks Family," greeted the warrior respectfully.
"Brother, no need to bother with the formalities," said Nie Li. He still respected Nie En but clearly didn't like Nie Hai.
"Wait—Chan Wei? The famous genius recognized by the Inscriptionist Association?" asked Nie Hai in surprise.
"Yes, that's him, and no, he doesn't have any scrolls for you," replied Nie Li, dragging Chan Wei and Xiao Ning'er away under the stunned gaze of Nie Hai and Nie En, while others looked on with mocking expressions.
The three of them arrived at the area reserved for the Huyan Family, but there were only three seats available. Nie Li noticed the couple's confused expressions and burst out laughing. He quickly explained that he had a personal disagreement with Nie Hai, which explained his cold attitude toward the family patriarch.
Unlike Chan Wei, Nie Li had not openly revealed his involvement with the Alchemist Association.
"If you've got issues with him, you're welcome to stay here. You can bid using this token," offered Chan Wei, to which Nie Li responded with a mischievous grin.
"I think I'll leave the two of you alone in this booth, safe from prying eyes," he said with a voice full of innuendo, disappearing quickly before either of them could stop him. The couple turned beet red as their imaginations took over.
Xiao Ning'er coughed lightly to break the awkward silence. "Um… Chan Wei, maybe we should just focus on the auction, hm?" she suggested, trying to defuse the embarrassment.
Seeing this new side of his fiancée, Chan Wei gulped, a playful smile curving his lips. "Nie Li's suggestion doesn't sound so bad," he said in a slightly lower voice, emphasizing the double meaning, which scandalized the young woman. But she quickly realized he was teasing her.
She gave him a gentle slap on the back, smiling. "You flirt," she murmured with an amused look as they settled into two chairs near the edge of the booth. A shared glance between them was all it took to dispel any lingering awkwardness, strengthening their already deep bond.
From their position, they had a clear view of where Nie Li was sitting, along with the sour expressions of Patriarch Nie Hai at whatever Nie Li was telling him—but they were too far to hear and instead focused on the auction.
"Esteemed guests, our Hong Yue Auction Hall has prepared many treasures for today's auction, many of which were obtained from ancient ruins. We hope you will enjoy them!" The hostess's voice rang out, as charming as a fairy's song.
"The first item up for auction comes from the ruins of Clear River Village. It is a broken piece of jade. Upon inspection, we discovered that it contains traces of an extremely rich aura. The starting price is 300 demon spirit coins!"
No sooner had the young lady's voice faded than someone had already raised their paddle.
"Sold! Congratulations to the Heavenly Marks Family for successfully bidding on the jade piece."
Chan Wei and Xiao Ning'er could see Nie Li bidding several times on items most people would consider useless—but knowing their friend's personality, he likely had a purpose in mind.
"The next item is a rather rare baby demon beast—a demon tiger with a dual attribute of fire and lightning. The bidding starts at 1,000,000 demon spirit coins."
The baby demon tiger lay peacefully within the soundproof enchantment, its delicate features highlighted by the gentle glow of fire and lightning aura emanating from its fur. Its coat was a deep crimson, radiating a comforting warmth, while arcs of electric-blue lightning danced lightly along its paws, creating a stunning contrast. Though its eyes were still closed, even in sleep one could feel the intensity of its energy, a clear sign of its future potential. Its serene and peaceful expression calmed the surrounding atmosphere, drawing awed gazes from the bidders.
The bids gradually climbed, but Chan Wei had become interested in the cub, especially thinking about Nyx's development.
"Ning'er, don't you think this tiger would be a great match for Brother Du Ze? Maybe I could feed it my energy like I did with little Kyu, Bai, and Nyx," he said, never taking his eyes off the cub.
"Go ahead, it's so adorable. If someone else buys it, they might kill it just to extract its demon spirit."
Chan Wei shouted, "50,000,000!" instantly raising the current bid by more than 20 million.
"50 million demon spirit coins for the Huyan Family. Anyone else wish to bid?" the charming hostess announced, as a heavy silence filled the hall.
A baby of this type would usually be worth at most 30 million, considering the cost of raising it to a high enough grade to harvest its demon spirit.
"Once, twice, three times—sold to the Huyan Family," declared the hostess, before sending the cub directly to the private booth where Chan Wei completed the payment.
Realizing his funds had dwindled—since unlike Nie Li, he didn't receive frequent gains from the alchemists—he asked a staff member to auction off his first Black Gold-ranked defensive scroll, providing a short explanation of its function.
Through a subtle blend of shadow abilities, the scroll can substitute the user with a person within two meters, burying them a few meters underground. The scroll absorbs one ton of earth before swapping positions with the user, offering a life-saving escape even in the face of a Legend-rank attack, as the attack misses entirely.
It took three earth elementals and a Spark Mouse to achieve the desired effect, but thanks to this, the scroll had the potential to save a life in a critical moment.
"Ning'er, you can keep watching the auction while I take care of little Senko," Chan Wei said as the cub continued to sleep peacefully curled up on his lap.
"Leave it to me. If I see anything useful, I'll let you know," replied the young woman, though her gaze lingered on the tiger, reluctant to take her eyes off him.
Chan Wei smiled as he began cultivating, gently channeling a steady stream of his energy to little Senko, who let out a contented mewl and snuggled even closer against him.
The process took about an hour, during which many small lots and various pills were auctioned off.
"Your scroll is up for auction," said Xiao Ning'er. "Strangely enough, it was the Inscriptionist Institute that bought it for 30 million," she added, turning back—only to notice that the little tiger now looked slightly different.
The demon tiger cub was still resting on her fiancé's lap, but something about it had changed. Its previously bright red fur had darkened to a nearly crimson hue, reminiscent of a phoenix's flames. Faint black lightning now coursed along its paws with gentle intensity.
But the most eye-catching feature was the azure blue patterns that now adorned its body, like celestial constellations captured in its dark coat. These winding marks shimmered slowly across its fur, evoking the image of glowing embers in a raging fire.
The cub slowly opened its eyes, revealing brilliant azure pupils that seemed to reflect the vastness of the night sky. Its gaze fell gently on Chan Wei, as if it immediately recognized the one responsible for triggering its transformation.
Without hesitation, the little tiger approached Chan Wei and gently placed its paws on his chest. Then, with an affectionate gesture, it licked his face softly, expressing gratitude and budding affection.
Chan Wei responded by softly stroking the cub's head, feeling a special connection beginning to form between them. In that moment, amidst the crowd and the auction, they had found a unique and undeniable bond, sealed by trust and mutual respect.
Xiao Ning'er immediately abandoned her observation post to pet the animal, and Senko didn't move away, allowing her to indulge in her desire.
The little tiger playfully darted between Xiao Ning'er's legs while she was squatting, causing her to lose her balance and fall toward her fiancé. Chan Wei caught her easily—only to be thrown off balance himself as Senko leapt onto him.
That exact moment was when Nie Li walked in, catching them in a rather compromising position. "Sorry to interrupt," he said before quickly shutting the door.
"Wait, Nie Li, it's not what you think!" Chan Wei exclaimed as he scrambled to his feet, trying to prevent his brother from jumping to the wrong conclusion.
Xiao Ning'er's heart was pounding. She scooped little Senko into her arms to calm herself down, but the cub squirmed, trying to get back to Chan Wei. "Calm down, he'll come back," she whispered to the little one, who eventually relented and purred under her gentle strokes.
Meanwhile, Chan Wei was being mercilessly teased by his brother, his face turning nearly as red as Senko's fur. "Big bro got engaged this morning and already can't wait, huh?" Nie Li joked as the two walked down a hallway.
"Please, brother," Chan Wei pleaded. "I had just finished preparing little Senko to give to Du Ze, but the little rascal caused that scene you saw." He sighed, knowing full well that Nie Li would likely tease him about it for days to come.
"Oh, actually, I came to talk to you about the scroll. I knew it was yours—no one else has one like it. If you need money, you can just ask me, you know?" said Nie Li, concerned that his brother was hiding financial trouble.
"It's not that I've run out of money... It seems I underestimated my needs a bit. I have a deal with the blacksmith, so most of my loot goes through him in exchange for custom equipment," Chan Wei admitted, slightly embarrassed. "Also, most of the scroll production profits go to the Institute to help train more people. After my engagement gift and buying Senko, I hit a small liquidity issue."
Nie Li simply handed him a container filled with pills to use for bartering. Unlike money, cultivation pills were something everyone desired. A jar of this size was already worth several hundred million demon spirit coins.
"Gift""That's too much, brother," said the young man as he looked at the jar overflowing with pills."If you don't want to accept them, you could always give me that monkey you left hiding in my shadow," Nie Li replied with a laugh."I'll do even better. I'll give you a Black Gold-ranked one once I reach that level," the young man vowed with conviction.
"OOOOHHHH!"The commotion in the auction hall caught both of their attention."You'd better head back, Nie Li. Something good must've just appeared," said Chan Wei before hurrying back to his booth.
Nie Li smiled as he watched his friend run off. "You really are my lucky star, Chan Wei," he thought. His current strength had already reached 2-star Silver rank thanks to the shadow companion and the cultivation plate Chan Wei had given him.
Author's Note: That's it for this week! Go check out my YouTube channel—I just uploaded a few songs based on my TDG fanfic.