Chapter 5: A Life-or-Death Auction

Lin Yaoyao could see clearly that the so-called Treasure Appraisal Assembly was just an auction.

The person hosting this assembly was Lin Zhiping, the grand elder of the Lin family. Several Earth-grade techniques were up for auction, including the Seven Mysteries Sword Manual and the Thunderclap Palm.

The Earth-grade techniques drew fierce bidding. Every round grew more intense than the last.

Lin Yaoyao wasn’t interested in any of it. She dozed off in her seat.

[Master, the system is issuing a quest. You must acquire a treasure at this appraisal assembly. The more valuable the treasure, the more points you’ll earn.]

‘So annoying! I can’t even sleep in peace, you stupid system!’

“Stupid system, I have no money. I refuse to do this quest!” Lin Yaoyao spoke to the system directly with her mind.

[Friendly reminder: If the host refuses the quest, the Lin family’s misfortune index will increase by 5. When the misfortune index reaches 100, the entire Lin family will be wiped out within three days.]

‘What the heck? The system was even tied to the Lin family’s fortune.’

Lin Yaoyao was furious. The system was using the lives of the whole Lin family to force her into doing the quest.

“Stupid system, what’s the Lin family’s misfortune index right now?”

She calculated that refusing the quest would add 5 points to the misfortune index. Since annihilation kicked in at 100, she still had twenty chances. She might as well slack off once.

[Master, the Lin family’s misfortune index is currently 98.]

‘What?!’ Lin Yaoyao shot to her feet. Lin Feiyuan, sitting beside her, was startled.

‘This stupid system is trying to kill me! If I can’t win a treasure at this assembly, the entire Lin clan will die.’

Lin Yaoyao pulled Lin Feiyuan aside and asked about the final prices of the previous lots.

Even the cheapest one had gone for five hundred thousand spirit stones!

She could scrape together at most one hundred fifty thousand. How was she supposed to compete with these people?

‘The lives of the whole clan are hanging by a thread. Every member of the Lin family should do their part!’

Lin Yaoyao quietly asked Lin Feiyuan how many spirit stones he had. The guy spent money like water day to day, so he only had fifty thousand left.

Without a word, she took his storage pouch for herself.

“Yaoyao, that’s mine!” he protested.

Lin Yaoyao glared at him. “If you don’t want anything to happen to the Lin family, you have to give me these spirit stones!”

She was even acting righteous after robbing him. Lin Feiyuan was angry but didn’t dare say anything. For some reason, he was a little afraid of this younger sister.

Lin Yaoyao sighed. With his fifty thousand, she only had two hundred thousand in total. She had no idea if she could win anything.

She could only hope to pick up something no one else wanted.

The assembly was already drawing to a close, with only three lots left. Lin Yaoyao perked up immediately. She couldn’t afford to miss a single one now.

The lot on stage now was the Nine-Color Spirit Flower. The starting bid was fifty thousand spirit stones, and each increment had to be at least one thousand.

If placed in a room, the flower would boost spiritual energy. But the effect only lasted three months. Two hundred thousand ought to be more than enough to secure it.

“A hundred thousand spirit stones!” Lin Yaoyao raised her paddle and called out the price directly.

“A hundred ten thousand!” someone added ten thousand.

“A hundred fifty thousand!”

Buying a Nine-Color Spirit Flower for a hundred fifty thousand? Lin Feiyuan’s eyes went wide. Lin Yaoyao was even more wasteful than he was.

When the price hit a hundred fifty thousand, the room fell silent. Lin Yaoyao silently let out a breath.

“Going once at a hundred fifty thousand!”

“Going twice at a hundred fifty thousand!”

‘Yes! The clan is saved!’ The stone in Lin Yaoyao’s heart slowly settled.

“A hundred eighty thousand!”

‘What?! Someone raised the bid!’

‘That damned bastard! Spending a hundred eighty thousand on a potted flower? Did a donkey kick his head?’

Lin Yaoyao looked at the person raising the paddle. She never expected it to be Murong Tian.

“A hundred ninety thousand!” Lin Yaoyao bid again. By its actual value, the flower was worth at most a hundred thousand.

“Two hundred thousand!”

‘Damn Murong Tian! He raised it again!’ Lin Yaoyao was furious. ‘Does he have so much money he doesn’t know what to do with it?’

She had to complete the system’s quest, or her own neck was on the line. Gritting her teeth, she called out harshly, “Two hundred fifty thousand!”

“Yaoyao, are you crazy?! The Nine-Color Spirit Flower isn’t worth that!” Lin Feiyuan pressed her hand down, stopping her from raising the paddle again.

Lin Yaoyao couldn’t speak her pain. Of course she knew the flower wasn’t worth it. But the lives of the entire Lin family were.

She prayed Murong Tian would stop bidding.

“Three hundred thousand!”

Lin Yaoyao glared viciously at Murong Tian. For a second, she wanted to rush up and beat him senseless.

He really was a ‘King of Hell.’ Murong Tian wasn’t buying the flower; he was buying the Lin family’s lives!

The price had been driven so high that everyone was murmuring.

Some wondered if the Nine-Color Spirit Flower had some other use, why else would the Lin girl and the Murong young master be fighting over it like this?

“Three hundred fifty thousand!” Lin Yaoyao went all in. If worst came to worst, she could go ask the old man for money later.

“Heavenly Lantern!”

‘Is Murong Tian insane? It’s just a lousy spirit flower. Why is he fighting so hard for it?’

The Murong family’s strength was far beyond the Lin family’s. Lin Yaoyao conceded and quietly put down her paddle.

Lin Feiyuan patted her shoulder. “Yaoyao, at least we didn’t get the flower. If Father knew we’d spent that many spirit stones on this junk, he’d probably break both our legs.”

‘Silly third brother, would you rather have a broken leg or no life?’ Lin Yaoyao wanted to cry but couldn’t.

No matter what, the assembly wasn’t over. There were still two treasures left. Even if she had to empty the Lin family’s coffers, she had to win at least one lot.

The current lot was the Ice Soul Sword, a divine-grade weapon. But it was only useful to people with a water-element spirit root.

Most water-element cultivators came from the Eastern Continent. Tian Du Kingdom belonged to the Central Continent, and most people present were from Tian Du.

This time, Lin Yaoyao behaved herself. She held back and watched the others bid.

After several rounds, the Ice Soul Sword was at one million spirit stones.

“Going once at one million!”

“Going twice at one million!”

If she didn’t bid now, the sword would go to someone else. Lin Yaoyao decisively raised her paddle.

“One million five hundred thousand!”

The moment she named that price, the other side backed off.

Lin Feiyuan was shocked. “Yaoyao, do you have one million five hundred thousand spirit stones?!”

“No, but our father does!”

Lin Yaoyao stood up to go on stage. She would pay two hundred thousand as a deposit and then find the old man to cover the rest.

A familiar voice rang out again.

“Heavenly Lantern!”

Lin Yaoyao clenched her fists and forced herself to stay calm.

Against Murong Tian, she couldn’t win in a fight, she had less money, and her family’s status was lower. She had no choice but to bow out.

‘Don’t get angry, don’t get angry. If I die of rage, no one will be there to replace me.’

There was still the last lot. If it came to it, she would imitate Murong Tian and go straight for a Heavenly Lantern bid. She wouldn’t give anyone a chance this time. She had to win and finish the system’s quest.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t that Lin Yaoyao wouldn’t give others a chance. It was that she no longer had a chance herself.

The host announced the final lot. It had already been reserved by Murong Tian in advance and would not be put up for auction.

‘It’s over! The Lin family and all its nine branches are wiped out!’

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Cultivation and Destiny, All Because of You

Angstcultivationfluff

Read Now →
Not interested