The two days passed in the blink of an eye. The day of auction came. Meanwhile, I observed no progress with the skill combination. I could feel that it was possible but there was some kind of barrier blocking me from successfully combining them.

It is just a few days. With this thought in my head, I persevered. There were characters in xianxia who spent thousands and thousands of years to simply create a skill. They would observe their surroundings for years until they gained insight. I couldn’t give up just because I tasted failure for a few days. It would be ridiculous to do so. If someone found out about it, I would have no face to show.

Xue’er, on other hand, was increasing her stats steadily. She had even comprehended some skills but I didn’t let her learn and put them in the skill slots. They were rare ranked at best, which in my eyes was pretty low. I handed her one of the two leftover Clear Spirit Fruits to increase her comprehension. With that, she should be able to comprehend epic-ranked skills.

As for Byakko and Ling, well, they were doing stuff they did, namely, create ruckus everywhere. Lately, I was starting to feel that the bookstore was a little small for us. I played around with the idea of purchasing a bigger and wider house but dismissed it in the end. We were not planning to stay in this city for long.

“Ready?” Sister Yu asked.

I nodded. “Xue’er, Byakko, Ling! I will be taking my leave,” I said.

“Have a safe trip, young master.” Xue’er lightly waved.

“Don’t forget your promise to get me some good stuff from the Auction, Father~” Byakko had insisted on following me. He threw a huge tantrum when I refused him. He only relented when I promised to get him a lot of good things, albeit reluctantly.

“Ling! Ling also want some good things!” The little butterfly fluttered in the air.

I could only sigh. “I will.” Giving them a final wave, I went with Sister Yu Chen’er, making small talks on the way.

The Auction House was a huge building, located near the outskirt of the city, which was a little unexpected. I expected it to be at the center of the city that observed the highest traffic of people. But in a way, it was understandable. The massive building would take too much space. From what I could conjecture, it could easily fit more than ten thousand people.

People were slowly filing in. There were attendants who were guiding the guests from the many entrances of the House while at the same time, collecting entrance fee and deposit. Every person was required to pay ten gold coins and three silver coins. The ten gold coins would be returned after the Auction if said person didn’t buy anything.

“Let’s go!” Sister Yu said without bothering to pay any attention to the attendants. The attendants, for their part, didn’t say anything when Sister Yu directly bypassed them.

I followed her without saying anything. Nobody stopped me.

Inside the Auction House, there were two entrances. Sister Yu directly took the one that led upstairs.

At the top of the stairs, a gorgeous woman dressed in a pure white silk robe greeted us. “Young mistress of Yu Clan, Young Master, please follow me.”

Sister Yu Chen’er gave her a brusque nod and followed the woman with me trailing behind her. She was quite different from how she normally behaved. She put on an imposing and dignified façade.

I had to try my best not to laugh. It didn’t fit her at all. Knowing her boorish personality, it was quite amusing to see her act all serious.

The woman led us to a small cabin. “Please let me know if there is anything you want,” she said and took her leave.

“Finally, I can breathe.” Sister Yu Chen’er sat carelessly on one of the couches in the room.

I sat on another one of them. Since it was just the two of us in the cabin, there was plenty of space. “You sure have it tough,” I told her.

“I know,” she said. “As a scion of Yu Clan, I have to put on a dignified appearance at all times. It can get really stifling. I wish I could skip all these formal gatherings.” She started complaining how she suffered from all sorts of injustice at social gatherings. Although she said injustice, it was nothing more than having to wear pretty dresses and putting on a well-behaved front.

I put on a sympathetic expression and nodded at her from time to time, while I examined the interior of the Auction House.

From the cabin on the balcony, I could make out the whole of the Auction House. There was a stage at the very front. Apart from it, seats filled the entire hall. People were slowly filling them. There were other cabins on the balcony but I was not able to make out the occupants. The cabins had absolute privacy.

After everyone had settled in, which took a few hours, an old man entered the stage. “Welcome to Red Dawn City Auction!” he said. Although his voice could not be considered loud, it could be heard everywhere in the hall. It didn’t take a genius to guess that he was using some kind of skill or an item to boost his voice. “My name is Li Jun. I am an elder in this Auction House. I will be acting as the Auctioneer for all of you today. Before I begin, let me warn you. Do not threaten others. Do not use your influence to get an item. Do not bid if you are unable to make the payment. Remember, the Law is always watching us.” He paused to let his words sink in. “Then, without further ado, let the Auction begin!”

A beautiful lady entered the stage carrying something covered in red silk clothes.

Elder Li Jun removed the cloth piece and revealed a golden sword. Its sheath, which was also golden, was lying next to it. “For the first item, we have the rare-ranked sword crafted by a dwarven blacksmith. It…” He started to explain all the features of the sword. I was disinterested so I ignored it.

People started to bid, fighting over the right to own the sword. Finally, a young cultivator, who was sitting in the hall, won the bid. He had a proud smile plastered on his face. None of the guests in the cabins on the balcony bid. The sword didn’t seem to catch their interest.

Elder Li auctioned off one item off one item after another.

“The next item we have is a Clear Spirit Fruit!”

I perked up. I also had one of them in my spatial ring.

“I don’t have to elaborate much on it!” Elder Li’s voice continued. “It is the key ingredient to produce Clear Spirit Pills that can increase one’s comprehension by two points. The starting bid will be hundred gold.”

Expensive. I couldn’t help but think. I had lost all valuation of money by the sudden windfall the demon’s spatial ring gave me. I only paid eleven gold coins to buy the store that I was living in. If I were to compare the two, the Clear Spirit Fruit was a lot more expensive.

There was another thing that puzzled me. I turned to Sister Yu. “Can’t we eat that fruit?” I asked. The auctioneer had not mentioned it.

“Are you courting death?” Sister Yu’s eyes became stern. “Don’t eat that fruit, no matter what. Many people thought they would gain a lot of comprehension points after eating it. Do you know what happened to them? They all died, unable to bear the energy. The only way to safely ingest it is to take it in the form of pills.

I put on an obedient front and nodded at her words. No wonder the beasts in the magical forest avoided the bunch of fruits like plague. How would she react if I told her that I already ate four of them?

My mind briefly went to Xue’er. I had given her one of the fruits yesterday. Then, I shook my head. She should be fine. [Heart’s Yearning] should enable her to safely consume the fruit if it was taken in small amounts.

“One hundred and twenty-one Gold!”

“One hundred and twenty-three Gold!”

“One hundred and twenty-four Gold!”

The auction was in full swing. People were yelling out their bids.

I hesitated a bit. I was not accustomed to doing stuff like this, especially in front of a large crowd. I cleared my throat and yelled, “Two hundred Gold!”

The Auction House descended into silence. To have the price hiked up suddenly to double the starting bid must have been a surprise to them.

Elder Li regained his calm. “The guest from Cabin Six has bid two hundred Gold. Two hundred Gold, going once. Two hundred Gold, going twice. Two hundred Gold, going thrice! The Clear Spirit Fruit goes to the guest in Cabin Six. Congratulations!”

Sister Yu Chen’er eyed me with a suspicious look. “You aren’t planning to eat it, right?”

“No way!” I waved my hand. “I love my life. Why should I risk it for something stupid like this?”

That explanation seemed to be have satisfied her. She withdrew her looks. “Yeah. No one would be stupid enough to eat it,” she muttered.

I didn’t say anything.

There was a knock on the door. A young lady, after Yu Chen’er gave her permission, entered the room. “Esteemed guest, I have brought your Clear Spirit Fruit,” she said, holding out a plate on which the fruit was lying.

I took out two hundred gold from the spatial ring and gave her, while storing the Clear Spirit Fruit into it.

“Thank you for your purchase, esteemed guest,” the young lady said and left the room.

The auction resumed. After the Clear Spirit Fruit, many interesting things came out. The auction became more heated. Even the guests in the cabins competed fiercely. That said I purchased all the items I was even slightly interested in. It wasn’t that difficult with the amount of wealth in my position.

There was a strange stone that emitted chaotic energy. Strange metals. Rare spices and condiments. All kinds of fruits. Any food item. Meats of creatures I had never seen. There was also a miniature garden where you could cultivate herbs. I was planning to give it to Xue’er so that she could grow vegetables, spices and condiments there.

Sister Yu Chen’er gave me a weird look. “You sure bought a lot,” she said.

I could only laugh.

The auction finally ended after several hours. I was glad I came. I found many things, which I would otherwise have no access to. Heck! I wouldn’t even have known that they existed!

Together with Yu Chen’er, I left the Auction House.

As soon as I stepped out, a beautiful and graceful young lady approached me. I had the vague feeling that I had seen her somewhere. “Young master Su Ren, I am Mu Lanran. We ran briefly into each other in the magical forest. I was awed by your presence as soon as I saw you but didn’t have the opportunity to greet you. Now that, an opportunity had presented itself, can I borrow a few moment of your time? There’s some business I wanted to discuss with young master Su Ren.”

When she mentioned the incident in the magical forest, I was able to figure out that she was one of the young ladies present there. No wonder I felt like I had seen her somewhere.

Mu Lanran turned to Yu Chen’er. “Young lady Yu, can I borrow young master Su Ren for a few moments?”

I could see Sister Yu’s face cramping. I had to control my urge to laugh. There was a huge difference between the two. Mu Lanran was everything a young lady from a good family should be while Sister Yu was someone who barely made the mark with her façade.

“Sure,” she said to Mu Lanran. She turned towards me and said, “I will wait for you to return.” She turned and walked to a nearby restaurant.

Mu Lanran led me to a teahouse.

After the tea was served, she began, “Young master Su Ren must have heard a lot about me from Yu Chen’er, right?”

“I did.” And it was all bad things.

“From young master Su Ren’s expression, they should not be the flattering kind, right?” she sighed. “I would like to be friends with her. However, with the way our families are at each other at every little opportunity, it will always remain an impossible dream. As heirs, it is especially so. As a result, we have developed some sort of rivalry with each other. I hope you won’t take those words spoken due to circumstances to heart.”

I nodded. It was not that difficult to understand.

We sipped our tea quietly for a few moments.

Putting the teacup on the table, I broached the topic, “Young lady Mu said that there was some important business you wanted to talk to me.”

She put her cup down. “Young master Su Ren must be aware of my background,” she said, not getting into the main topic.

How could I not know? This city was practically owned by them. Even though I had only met her as the daughter of City Lord today, I had already heard a lot about her. There was also Sister Yu who would badmouth her all the time. I gave her nod.

“Then, I will be direct with you. Young master Su Ren, please join my Mu Clan!”

I raised my brow in surprise. I didn’t expect this invitation.

“I know I came off a bit abrupt but I want young master Su Ren to think over it carefully. The Mu Clan promises to treat you with absolute care. We will provide all the resources you require to cultivate to a powerful cultivator. We will even provide an opportunity for young master Su Ren to enter a sect. Young master Su Ren might not be aware but the world out there is huge. Red Dawn City is just tiny speck in the whole picture.”

What she said made sense. There was a bigger world out there. “Can I have a few days to think it over?” I asked.

“Of course.” Mu Lanran beamed at me.

After a few more pleasantries, we parted our ways.

Naturally, I had no intention of joining Mu Clan. It would just restrict me. However, if I rejected her offer outright, she might get offended and it would create unnecessary troubles. I wasn’t planning to stay in this city for long, so I would just draw out the deadline until I left.

Sister Yu Chen’er was waiting for me. “What did that conniving wench say to you?”

I repeated what Mu Lanran told me. I didn’t feel the need to keep it a secret.

“You absolutely must not join a sect!” she said, her voice more severe than it had ever been. “They are not good people!”

It was a surprise. I thought she would tell me to stay far away from Mu Clan and Mu Lanran but she picked an unexpected thing. “Why?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Come with me,” she said. “I will take you to a place.”