Chapter 3 Why use a butcher knife to kill a chicken?

Lin Fan’s shout quickly drew everyone’s attention.

The crowd turned to look at the second floor, their eyes filled with deep envy.

“Who is that person?”

“To bid so extravagantly!”

“Never seen him before, seems like a new face.”

“But he certainly doesn’t look like an ordinary person!”

“Isn’t that just stating the obvious?”

“Someone who can sit in the top VIP section, how could their status be ordinary?!”

…

The crowd chattered away, a cacophony of voices rising and falling.

[TL Note: Cacophony – A harsh, chaotic mixture of sounds; like many people talking loudly at the same time.]

“Quiet!”

President Gu, looking at the chaotic scene in the auction hall, felt a headache coming on and raised his hand in a gesture for silence.

“Fifty thousand Spirit Stones going once, fifty thousand Spirit Stones going twice, fifty thousand Spirit Stones going three times, sold!”

“Congratulations to this gentleman for successfully bidding for this spirit cat!”

With the fall of the gavel, the auction for the last item on the original schedule concluded successfully.

“And now—for the most explosive part of this auction.”

The white-robed woman took a wooden black box from a guard at her side and carefully placed it on the auction stage.

“Is it finally starting?”

The crowd in the hall was already impatient, all eager to witness this legendary heavyweight treasure.

“Click~”

As the box opened, a smooth, round, cyan-colored pill was revealed to everyone.

“A sixth-grade pill, the Spirit

Transformation Pill.”

“Cultivators at late-stage Nascent Soul and above can directly break through to the Great Ascension Realm after consuming it.”

“Starting price, five hundred thousand Spirit Stones!”

As soon as the white-robed woman’s voice fell, the audience below instantly erupted.

“A sixth-grade pill?”

“How is that possible?!”

“The highest-grade pill I’ve ever seen in Qingyang City was only fifth-grade!”

“It’s real, it’s real!”

“The appearance of a pill can be faked, but this rich medicinal aroma is real!”

“To think I could see a sixth-grade pill in my lifetime, the Nebula Auction House truly lives up to its name!”

At this moment, the representatives of the four great families were also stunned, their four pairs of eyes fixed on the pill on the stage.

The representatives from the Lin and Li families, in particular, began rubbing their hands together, looking eager to try.

“Six hundred thousand!”

“The Li family is determined to have this pill!”

“Let’s see who dares to compete with me!”

A white-bearded old man stood up directly from his seat.

“Pah!”

“Old geezer, big talk for someone with little skill!”

“You’re already halfway in the grave, yet you shamelessly vie for such a treasure.”

“I bid seven hundred thousand!” a black-robed man holding a feather fan said sarcastically.

“You, surnamed Lin, don’t think I don’t know you’re no good either!”

“If my guess is correct—your father’s death last month was definitely related to you!” the white-haired old man retorted, not to be outdone, his chest filled with rage.

“You…”

Within the vast auction hall, one old and one young man argued relentlessly.

On the other side of the hall, two middle-aged men had grave expressions.

Although they were also aware of the pill’s value, they just watched quietly without participating in the bidding.

“Patriarch Zhou, what… is your take on this matter?” a scruffy-bearded middle-aged man asked in a low voice, bowing his head toward the person beside him.

“Patriarch Wang, stop playing dumb.”

“We’ve been friends for so many years, don’t you know what I’m thinking?” the middle-aged man beside him said with a slight smile, lightly patting Patriarch Wang’s thigh.

“Hahaha—”

Hearing this, Patriarch Wang laughed in relief and then pointed at Patriarch Zhou.

“You, you, you’re still the same old fox you were back then…”

“Patriarch Wang overpraises me.”

“Likewise, likewise.”

A sixth-grade pill was certainly rare, but one had to have the ability to afford it.
Five hundred thousand Spirit Stones was already nearly one-tenth of the four great families’ total assets.

Furthermore, both the Zhou and Wang families knew very well: no matter how many heavyweight treasures there were, given the Nebula Auction House’s auction style, this was definitely just an appetizer.

“Two million five hundred thousand!”

“Let’s see who dares to compete with me!” the black-robed man shouted, the veins on his forehead bulging.

“What?”

“Two and a half million?!”

“That seems to be half of the Lin family’s assets, doesn’t it?”

“Has the young master of the Lin family gone mad?!”

Even though everyone knew that the final price of this sixth-grade pill would not be low, they were still shocked when they heard the price the black-robed man called out.

“Heh~”

Hearing this number, Patriarch Wang showed no particular surprise, merely sneering with a playful expression on his face.

‘This Lin Hao is preparing to send the entire Lin family to its grave…’

In the VIP section on the second floor, Lin Fan watched the commotion below with a bored expression.

“Boring…”

Lin Fan stretched and stood up to head downstairs.

“Mr. Lin, why have you come down?”

“Was our staff’s hospitality not to your satisfaction?” Boss Gu asked nervously as he saw Lin Fan descending the stairs.

“It’s nothing.”

“I just grew a bit weary and came down to take a look at the item I won,” Lin Fan replied faintly.

“So that’s how it is…”

Boss Gu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

“Xin’er, take Mr. Lin to the transaction room.”

Watching Lin Fan’s back, Boss Gu secretly rejoiced: ‘Thank goodness, thank goodness, at least I didn’t offend this great Buddha.’

“Is this the spirit cat captured from the Ten Thousand Year Snow Mountain?”

Lin Fan curiously sized up the little creature in the cage.

“It doesn’t look like anything special~”

“Be careful, sir.”

“This spirit cat has a peculiar temperament; I’m afraid it might injure you by mistake,”

Xin’er reminded him from the side.

“It’s fine.”

Lin Fan deftly took the spirit cat out of the cage.

“You can leave first.”

“Yes, sir,” Xin’er responded and then withdrew from the room.

Lin Fan carefully lifted the spirit cat and inspected it closely.

“No way?”

“It really is a female.”

“Could it be that…”

[Oh my~ What’s wrong with the Host? You look like you’ve never seen the world~]

Just as Lin Fan was hesitating, the system’s cheeky voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

“Cut the crap.”

“Let me ask you—is it possible for a reincarnated person’s species to be changed?” Lin Fan asked impatiently.

[Well~ Although the probability is less than one in ten thousand, it’s hard to say for sure~]

“What?!”

“So by your meaning, this spirit cat…”

[I say, Host, do you know all the information about those ten fairies from a thousand years ago?]

The system suddenly interrupted Lin Fan.

“Know what?”

“Weren’t they all… female?” Lin Fan scratched his head in confusion.

[…]

Lin Fan’s straight-man-like answer left the system speechless.

[Well~ Seeing as the Host’s brain isn’t too bright, I’ll reluctantly tell you~]

[In fact, according to the system’s records, the original form of one of the fairies was indeed a Nine-Revolving Spirit Cat~]

“I see…”

Lin Fan looked at the spirit cat trembling in his arms, and after a long moment, he sighed.

He then tossed the cage aside and walked out, holding the spirit cat.

“Eh? Sir, what are you…”

Xin’er, who was waiting at the door, was somewhat stunned to see Lin Fan carrying the cat out directly.

“Your name is Xin’er, right?”

“I want to ask you a few questions,” Lin Fan inquired while stroking the spirit cat’s smooth back.

“Please ask, guest.”

“If I wanted to commission you to build a courtyard of about three thousand square meters… how much would it cost, approximately?” Lin Fan asked in a calm tone.

“Three thousand square meters?!”

Xin’er cried out in alarm.

“Sir, this doesn’t seem to be a matter of money.”

“In the entire Qingyang City, it seems impossible to find such a large piece of land…”

“Did I say I wanted it built in the city?” Lin Fan asked with a frown.

Lin Fan had always preferred peace and quiet.

He had no desire to spend a thousand years in this noisy, rundown city.

“Then sir, you mean…”

“You’re a smart person, so I don’t need to say more, do I?”

Lin Fan gently scratched the spirit cat’s chin.

Seemingly finding it comfortable, the spirit cat in his arms couldn’t help but let out a purr.

“Understood, sir.”

Just then, Boss Gu respectfully walked over and handed Lin Fan a storage ring.

“Good day, sir.”

“All of your items have been auctioned, totaling eighteen million Spirit Stones.”

“After deducting the three percent service fee, the remainder is seventeen million four hundred and sixty thousand Spirit Stones.”

“Please confirm.”

“No need.”

Lin Fan took the storage ring and, with a flick of his wrist, tossed it to Xin’er who was standing beside him.

“Complete the task I’ve given you well.”

“Don’t disappoint me.”

“Yes, sir,” Xin’er nodded in agreement.

As the auction ended, the guests began to leave the hall one after another.

“Hm?”

Lin Hao caught a glimpse of Lin Fan talking with Boss Gu.

Combined with the scene from the auction and Boss Gu’s respectful attitude toward Lin Fan, Lin Hao’s suspicions grew more certain.

“This young master, were the items just auctioned from your hand?”

Lin Hao walked up to Lin Fan and asked with a smile.

Lin Fan shot him a cold glance but didn’t reply.

Although Lin Fan didn’t know much about this young master of the Lin family, just based on his performance at the auction, it was easy to conclude that this person was no good.

Seeing himself being ignored, Lin Hao couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger.
But to save face, he suppressed the fury in his heart.

“Your Excellency, since we are all adults, I’ll be direct.”

“I’d like to ask—how many more treasures do you have?”

“You can sell them all to me.”

“As for the price, I will definitely satisfy you.”

Hearing Lin Hao’s words, the patriarchs of the Zhou and Wang families were momentarily stunned.

Patriarch Wang, in particular, looked at Lin Hao as if he were an idiot.

‘Heh~ Looks like the Lin family is about to cease to exist…’

“Since when… did an ant like you have the right to tell me what to do?” Lin Fan’s tone was low.

“Kid, don’t refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!”

Seeing Lin Fan being so disrespectful, Lin Hao could no longer hold back and started cursing.

“Today, you’ll sell whether you want to or not!”

“Otherwise… my Lin family will make sure you don’t walk out of this Qingyang City!”

“The Lin family, is it?”

Lin Fan’s gaze hardened.

He then turned and handed the spirit cat in his arms to Xin’er.

“Please help me look after her for a moment, thank you.”

“Ah? Oh, okay!”

Although she didn’t know what Lin Fan was about to do, Xin’er obediently took the spirit cat.

[Hm? Host, what are you going to do? I must remind you, any demonic energy involving offensive means… you cannot use it.]

“Heh…”

Lin Fan gave a bitter laugh.

‘Do I need to use demonic energy to deal with an ant like this?’

In an instant, a terrifying pressure swept across the entire auction house.

Feeling this horrifying pressure, everyone present turned pale.

“Ah…”

At the same time, the previously arrogant and domineering Lin Hao’s face gradually became twisted.

After struggling for a dozen seconds while clutching his head, he finally rolled his eyes back and fell straight to the ground.

“From today onward, the Lin family… is no more!”