Just as he was about to stand, a crisp female voice suddenly rang out—and the price instantly doubled.
A young girl in a violet robe stood up from the crowd.
A light purple veil covered her face, and her slender waist looked as if it couldn’t withstand a single grip.
Although her full features were hidden, the eyes visible above the veil shone with unwavering determination and stubborn resolve.
From the moment the item appeared, she had sensed a strange stirring in her inner qi.
She had a gut feeling—this item was of critical importance to her!
Originally, she had planned to act only at the last moment, just before the item went unsold.
But someone had beaten her to it.
Standing in the crowd, she seemed small and delicate, yet her posture was perfectly upright.
Lin Tianyou turned back to glare at her, anger written across his face.
He Jieyu met her gaze without backing down.
Their eyes clashed like sparks striking flint.
“Seven thousand!”
“Eight thousand!”
“You—!”
Lin Tianyou saw that He Jieyu wasn’t giving an inch.
His voice was already tinged with barely suppressed fury.
At this point, everyone in the hall, including Liu Ruoxi beside him, had turned to look at the two of them.
A surge of rage, born of humiliation, rushed straight to her head!
Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she stared at He Jieyu.
“Do you know I am a disciple of Dao Martial Sacred Mountain? Are you sure you want to make an enemy of me over a piece of ancient wood with an unknown purpose?”
He Jieyu was slightly taken aback.
‘Dao Martial Sacred Mountain?’
She bit her lower lip, but her instincts screamed at her—if she let this auction slip through her fingers, she would regret it for the rest of her life!
Locking eyes with Lin Tianyou, her voice rang out firm and sharp.
“Auction house rules—highest bidder wins! Or is Dao Martial Sacred Mountain in the habit of bullying others with its reputation? If that’s the case, why bother with auctions at all? Why not just rob people instead? Far more efficient.”
The girl’s quick tongue and sharp retort left no room for argument.
“You—!”
Seeing that even the name of Dao Martial Sacred Mountain couldn’t intimidate her, the two continued bidding for several more rounds.
The price had already risen to ten thousand spirit stones!
An elderly man beside Lin Tianyou tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to stop.
They were here on an important mission.
There were items later in the auction they absolutely had to acquire.
Wasting spirit stones on a seemingly useless piece of wood would only hurt their chances later.
***
Meanwhile, on the second floor, Li Huaixian’s eyes were locked onto the veiled girl below.
Because the moment He Jieyu had spoken—
[Gentle reminder: High Destiny Value detected!]
[Suspected Destiny Female Lead identified.]
Li Huaixian opened his system interface at once, and to his shock, discovered that his destiny compatibility rate with the veiled girl below was an astonishing 99.9%!
In other words, this girl was his fated female lead in this world!
Although surprised, he quickly calmed down.
Tanfei, sitting beside him, noticed Lin Tianyou’s rage and turned to Li Huaixian with a playful smile.
“Huaixian, why don’t we make a bet—do you think those two will come into conflict?”
“They will,” Li Huaixian replied immediately, not missing a beat.
Tanfei pouted, acting as if she’d suffered the greatest injustice, and gave him an aggrieved look.
“Huaixian’s mouth really is the quickest… Fine, I think so too. Bet’s off.”
Li Huaixian only raised his hand to tap her lightly on the head, saying nothing more.
His gaze remained fixed on the floor below.
It seemed conflict was inevitable.
‘Well, speak of the devil—just when I needed something to happen, something did.’
***
Elsewhere, Lin Tianyou had stopped bidding under the old man’s advice, but the curious gazes and murmurs from those around them turned his face red with frustration.
That suppressed fury refused to settle.
He could only watch as He Jieyu walked back to her seat, now cradling the charred ancient wood in her arms.
Lin Tianyou stepped forward to block her path, towering over her.
“Give me the item, and I’ll let you live.”
Unfortunately for him, He Jieyu didn’t even acknowledge him.
She simply stepped around and continued on her way.
Lin Tianyou’s expression turned cold.
“You won’t drink the wine of respect? Then prepare for the punishment wine!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he ignored the rules of Langya Platform and raised his hand, ready to teach the other party a lesson they would never forget.
However—
He Jieyu had been on guard the whole time and gave him no chance at all.
His first strike missed, and Lin Tianyou’s pride took yet another hit.
This time, he erupted with his full power, his aura brimming with killing intent.
“You court death!”
Facing such a reckless and arrogant opponent, He Jieyu frowned deeply.
She hadn’t expected Lin Tianyou to truly go this far.
Within just a few moves, she was already struggling to keep up.
She was clearly no match for him.
It was at this moment that the Langya guards finally arrived, stepping in front of Lin Tianyou.
“Sir, please restrain yourself!”
But Lin Tianyou had already lost control in his fury.
“Fools! I am a prodigy of Dao Martial Holy Mountain! And you dare stand in my way?!”
As he shouted, he struck again, ignoring the guards entirely.
The guards rushed to intercept the blow.
He Jieyu, shielded behind them, remained unharmed—but the veil covering her face was blasted away.
A slightly youthful face was revealed to the crowd.
Her features were fresh and elegant, like a lotus rising from water—gentle, pure, and striking.
The moment her veil fell, several people in the crowd recognized her.
“Am I seeing things? Isn’t she that useless girl from the Human King clan? The one who’s been mocked for a century?”
“You’re not seeing things. That’s her!”
Lin Tianyou listened to the murmurs around him and quickly pieced things together.
He looked at He Jieyu with utter disdain, his face full of arrogance.
He Jieyu heard every word of the crowd’s gossip, a faint bitterness rising in her heart.
‘Resentment? Frustration? What use were those?’
She bit her lip tightly, her expression stubborn and unyielding.
Just then—
“Look! Look! Consort Tan is here!”
A voice suddenly shouted from the crowd.
Everyone’s attention immediately shifted.
And then they saw—standing beside the enchantingly beautiful Consort Tan—was a breathtakingly elegant young woman.
Lin Tianyou stared at Li Huaixian, a sudden sense of shame welling up inside him.
He watched as Consort Tan stood respectfully by Li Huaixian’s side.
She even stepped forward to move a chair out of his way.
The entire crowd’s eyes went wide with disbelief!
This was Consort Tan!
The woman famed across the world for her stunning beauty!
How many men had fought each other bloody just to earn a smile from her?
And yet now, she was showing such gentle deference to a young man.
This—this was—
***
Liu Ruoxi, seeing Li Huaixian, widened her eyes in shock.
She hurried over to Lin Tianyou’s side.
In a pitiful tone, she complained, “Tianyou-ge, that’s the one who hurt me this morning!”
“Oh? It was him?”
Lin Tianyou narrowed his eyes and looked toward Li Huaixian with hostility.
He sneered and said threateningly, “Who are you, to dare interfere in the matters of Dao Martial Holy Mountain?”
Bang!
Before he could even finish his sentence, a tremendous force slammed into him, sending him flying!
His body crashed into a stone pillar in the auction hall before collapsing to the ground.
Li Huaixian looked calmly at the disheveled Lin Tianyou and said indifferently,
“You’re not even qualified to know who I am.”
His serene, unfathomable eyes swept over the crowd as he spoke in a chilling voice, “First of all, the rules of Langya Platform are not to be broken. I hope everyone here keeps that in mind. I won’t tolerate seeing something like this happen again.”
Though the boy’s tone was light, a chill crept into everyone’s hearts.
The elder accompanying Lin Tianyou could no longer stay silent after seeing his young master in such a state.
He was just about to rise when Steward Fu beside him shook his head.
Remembering what Fu and Liu Ruoxi had said earlier, the elder decided that Fu was simply too cowardly.
‘Just a sixteen-or seventeen-year-old boy. How strong could he be?’
He suddenly shoved Fu’s hand away and snorted coldly.
“Hmph! The dignity of Dao Martial Holy Mountain is not to be trampled either! If you won’t stand up, then sit back and watch!”
As soon as the words fell, he leapt forward and shouted harshly, “Insolent brat! You dare raise your hand against the people of Dao Martial Holy Mountain again and again? You must have a death wish!”