The Sovereign's Ascension

Under countless gazes, Qing Ruoyou was led by Xiang Tianhe to a high stage. The stage was gloriously decorated and everyone could tell that it was specially prepared for Qing Ruoyou. There was no doubt that Qing Ruoyou was beautiful and had an attractive temperament.

Someone like her would be the center of attention wherever she went. The two cultivators that were next to Lin Yun were also staring at Qing Ruoyou. Like everyone else, their eyes were blazing and their souls were captivated.

Everyone loved beauty. There were some who couldn’t contain the desire in their hearts, some who managed to compose themselves quickly, and some who only looked at Qing Ruoyou in admiration. Clearly, Lin Yun definitely belonged to the latter group as he had only taken a glance at Qing Ruoyou.

But Qing Ruoyou’s gaze paused on Lin Yun briefly. He was donned in azure colored clothes and was carrying a sword box. He wasn’t especially charming, but he had well defined features and a clear temperament that separated him from the geniuses present.

If anyone noticed Lin Yun, they would definitely have a deep impression of Lin Yun. As for Qing Ruoyou, she had an unpleasant impression of him from their meeting seven days ago. She noticed  that the mark on his forehead was especially striking today, so she averted her gaze and her eyes flashed coldly.

Lin Yun didn’t notice Qing Ruoyou’s gaze because he stopped looking at her a long time ago. It didn’t take long for him to find Yang Fan and Guo Xu and give them a nod.

After greeting them, Lin Yun turned to look at the pavilion. Almost everyone in the pavilion was young and they were at least in the pinnacle Yang stage. Many of them were actually in the lesser Yin-Yang stage.

Aside from focusing on those inside the pavilion near Qing Ruoyou, Lin Yun also noticed that the pavilions were rather peculiar. There were many people that were gathered from the same force.

On the far left pavilion, sat a youth with cultivation in the lesser Yin-Yang stage with an extraordinary temperament. But there was an uncomfortable eerie aura coming from him. With just a glance, Lin Yun could tell that this person wasn’t simple and it was more than just being aloof and having a ruthless personality.

These people’s identities had already been discussed by everyone many times. Skymound City had four major clans, the Jin, Qin, Chen, and Gu Clans that had heritages that spanned a millennia. Lin Yun heard that those four clans were just branch clans and that the main clans were located in Thunder Prefectural City. But even so, the foundation of every branch clan was stronger than a quasi-overlord force like the Heavenly Province Academy. But they weren’t that eye-catching because they were in the Thunder Prefecture.

The one who attracted Lin Yun’s attention was Skymound City Chen Clan’s genius, Chen Xiong. He was only twenty-three years old and he had reached the Yin-Yang stage half a year ago. He was one of the strongest disciples of the Chen Clan.

In addition to the four major clans, the Skymound City also had many sects with foundations comparable to quasi-overlord forces. One of those forces was in the second pavilion on the right side. That group was known as the Skycloud Pavilion and each of their disciples wielded spears. It was the strongest sect in Skymound City. They might seem calm right now, but they would unleash unbelievable power the moment they started fighting.

There were also many other disciples that were from the Jin, Qin, and Gu Clans. Lin Yun could sense all of them were aloof. It made sense since they belonged to the seven other cities of the Thunder Prefecture that were comparable to other prefectural cities.

Seeing that there was still time before the auction started, everyone calmly spoke among themselves. Soon, the sun reached the highest point in the sky and Skymound City shined like a bright white jade.

Aside from those in the plaza, there were still many people in the Skymound City who were trying to get the best positions near the plaza.

Suddenly, a figure descended from the sky. This person was donned in white with a veil covering her face and only her eyes could be seen. When she appeared, it looked as if the entire sky had lost its color.

Her pupils were bright like stars as she looked at Skymound City. It was as though something here had attracted her attention. Simultaneously, another figure appeared beside her. He was bald like a monk whose head shined brightly under the sunlight.

“This is Skymound City? The last fifteen days were really tiring, but we made it.” The monk grinned as he looked at the sun before sitting on the roof and taking out a jar of wine to drink. Looking at the stage where the lady was gazing, the monk’s eyes flashed with interest, “Hmmm? Isn’t this the famous Death Auction? Looks like it’s going to start soon.”

Right at this moment, a middle-aged man with an extraordinary temperament came onto the stage and smiled as he spread his hands apart, “My name is Luo Yu and I am the host of this auction. I bet all of you have been waiting for a long time. I’ll cut the crap and start the auction. Bring out the first item!”

When he opened his palm and revealed the item, dazzling lightning flickered as lightning shined from the item.

“Five Acute Lightning Crystals!” Someone quickly recognized the item and exclaimed with excited eyes. The Five Acute Lightning Crystals was a bizarre stone. The stone had five sides and each side had a different color. This item was made up of pure lightning crystals that were created naturally.

Not only did it have a gorgeous appearance,but it could also be used to refine artifacts. It could merge with cosmic artifacts to strengthen them. In the eyes of an alchemist, even a smidge of power was extremely precious. Cultivators could also refine the lightning energy that was contained in it.

“Ordinary Five Acute Lightning Crystals are only at the size of a fingernail. It’s rare to see one so big.”

“It looks like a high ranked crystal with little impurities.” Many people discussed things while the lightning attributed cultivators and alchemists had fire blazing in their pupils.

Looking at the many heated gazes, Luo Yu smiled before clenching his hand and crushing the Five Acute Lightning Crystals. Many people felt heartache from watching such a precious treasure get reduced to powder.

Lin Yun had disappointment in his eyes and his mouth was open in shock. The Five Acute Lightning Crystals might not be comparable to the Profound Lightning Bead, but it contained pure lightning energy that had even attracted his attention. But in the end, it was actually crushed…

Luo Yu chuckled before he shook his hand and the five-colored powder drifted away. When the powder drifted out in the plaza, everyone could see dazzling lightning in the air as if they were thousands of lightning serpents shuttling around.

But everything ended quickly as the powder disappeared, leaving everyone shocked from the majestic scene.

“Hehe, our first item is indeed the Five Acute Lightning Crystal, but it’s not this one.” Luo Yu was satisfied when he looked at all the shocked faces.Then, he retrieved a case and opened it. Immediately, a dazzling radiance burst out and enveloped the entire plaza. There were a total of ten Five Acute Lightning Crystals the size of a baby’s fist. This made many people get up on their feet as they stretched their necks to look.

Luo Yu closed the case and smiled, “Ten Five Acute Lightning Crystals of the highest grade. The starting bid is 10,000 third grade spiritual jades, and each bid increases by 10,000. The limit is 300,000, so let’s begin.”

An ordinary treasure could hardly reach ten times the starting bid, but this one actually had a limit of thirty times. Anyone could tell that the owner was confident in the crystals being sold.

But the plaza fell silent as everyone was still shocked by the appearance of the ten crystals.

“20,000!”

“30,000!”

“50,000!”

“150,000!”

“200,000!”

In the blink of an eye, the price skyrocketed as the atmosphere ignited like gunpowder. Everyone had to admit that Luo Yu’s means were rather great as the bid rose quickly. But when the bid reached 250,000, the bidding gradually came to a stop.

At a price of 200,000 third grade spiritual jades, the bid was already sky-high. With the pricing getting closer to the limit, the crowd became extremely careful.

As the bid slowly reached 300,000, the plaza suddenly fell silent. This was a sky-high price that not even the geniuses of the various clans might be able to take out. Even if those geniuses called out a bid, they would probably be bidding on someone’s behalf.

But it was clear that the crowd was more interested in seeing if someone would break the limit.

“310,000!” While everyone was waiting, a voice broke the silence. The crowd instantly turned their heads to find the source of the bid.