Chapter 2: I want this cat!

Northern region of the Xianling Continent.
Qingyang City.

“Come take a look, come take a look!”

“Don’t miss out as you pass by!”

“Newly arrived cultivation technique manuals, only three hundred Mystic Stones each~”

“Ancient spiritual artifacts on clearance!”

“Slices through Golden Cores above, shatters Nascent Souls below!”

“Original price one thousand Mystic Stones, now only nine hundred and ninety-eight~”

On the bustling street, the cries of various vendors were endless.

Lin Fan glanced briefly at the items displayed on the street stalls, his eyes filled with disdain.

‘What is all this trash…’

“This way, customer, come have a look.”
“A new White-rank intermediate-level cultivation technique, only sold here, no other branches!” a stall owner called out to Lin Fan, confidently patting his chest to recommend his wares.

“White-rank intermediate-level…”
Lin Fan clicked his tongue.

“Even a dog wouldn’t want it!”

In the world of cultivation, cultivation techniques were divided into eight ranks from low to high.

They were:

White→Yellow→Green→Blue→Purple→Black→Red→Gold.

Each rank was further divided into low, intermediate, and high levels.

For a bottom-tier cultivator, obtaining a White-rank intermediate-level cultivation technique was already quite good.

But for Lin Fan, it was truly an eyesore.

“Hey—what’s wrong with you?”

“If you’re not buying, then don’t buy.”

“Why must you slander my goods?!”

Hearing Lin Fan’s words, the stall owner was instantly displeased.

He immediately rushed forward, blocking Lin Fan’s path.

“Move!”

Seeing his path blocked, Lin Fan’s expression soured.

“I won’t move!”

“Not unless you make yourself clear!”

…

Lin Fan hadn’t wanted to pay him any mind, but the stall owner’s insistent attitude started to irritate him.

After several warnings proved fruitless, Lin Fan’s expression gradually darkened, and his gaze turned icy.

“Forget it, sir, it’s not a big deal.”

Just as they were at a stalemate, a silver-haired youth squeezed out from the crowd.
The youth wore a longsword at his waist, with sharp brows and starry eyes, exuding the air of an unfettered sword immortal.

“How about this, I’ll apologize to you on his behalf.”

“Take these spirit stones as compensation.”

“That’s more like it.”

After weighing the cloth pouch, the stall owner slowly moved away from Lin Fan.
“Kid, watch your mouth next time.”

Seeing the matter resolved so quickly, the surrounding onlookers felt bored and soon dispersed.

“Many thanks,” Lin Fan said, his face expressionless.

“Don’t mention it, brother.”

“It was just a small effort,” the silver-haired youth said with a wave of his hand.

“I wonder, brother… where are you headed?”

“Where is the auction house?” Lin Fan asked, getting straight to the point.

“Uh… there are three auction houses in Qingyang City.”

“I wonder which one brother is going to…”

“The largest one,” Lin Fan interrupted.

“Follow this street north for about four hundred and fifty steps.”

“Look to your right, and you’ll see it,” the silver-haired youth said, pointing in the general direction.

“Mm, thank you for the trouble.”

Lin Fan nodded and proceeded to walk north on his own.

After Lin Fan left, a girl with silver hair and purple eyes walked to the youth’s side.

Gazing at Lin Fan’s departing figure, the girl’s eyes shimmered with light.

“Brother, aren’t you the most helpful person?”

“Why didn’t you just take him there directly?”

“I haven’t had enough of looking at such a handsome young master,” the girl asked, her face full of infatuation.

“Sigh…”

The silver-haired youth sighed.

“Qing’er, when on earth… will you get over this infatuation of yours?”

“Do you know that if I hadn’t stepped in just now, that stall owner might have been killed.”

“How could that be?!” the girl exclaimed in shock.

“Could it be that such a handsome young master is a homicidal maniac?”

“A homicidal maniac?”

“Heh…” the silver-haired youth gave a bitter smile.

“Far more terrifying than a homicidal maniac!”

[TL Note: Homicidal maniac – A dangerously insane person who kills others. Used here to express fear, but the character implies he’s even more terrifying—calm, powerful, and deadlier than someone who kills out of madness.]

“Did you not notice… that man’s eyes?”

“His eyes… what about his eyes?” the girl was completely baffled.

“A person’s strength can be hidden, but their eyes cannot.”

The silver-haired youth’s expression was grave.

“Just one glance from him, and my soul felt as if it had suffered a heavy blow, an unbearable pain.”

“How is that possible?!”

The girl covered her mouth, her face full of disbelief.

“Brother, you’re a late-stage Golden Core genius!”

A late-stage Golden Core expert could be considered one of the top powerhouses in all of Qingyang City.

After all, even the patriarchs of Qingyang City’s four great families were only at the Nascent Soul Realm.

“Although I don’t want to believe it, that is the truth.”

The silver-haired youth’s expression was complicated.

“If he doesn’t have at least ten thousand lives on his hands, he would never have such a terrifying killing intent.”

“So—”

The youth patted the girl’s forehead.
“When you look at a person, you absolutely cannot just look at the surface.”“Do you… understand?”

“I understand, brother.”

Following the silver-haired youth’s directions, Lin Fan soon arrived at his destination.

“So this is the largest auction house in Qingyang City… It looks quite impressive…”

Looking at the magnificent palace before him, Lin Fan couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

“Good day, sir.”

“Please present your invitation,” a gentle and courteous hostess at the entrance of the grand hall said, bowing to the approaching Lin Fan.

“Invitation?”

“I don’t have one.”

Lin Fan spread his hands and shook his head.

“My apologies, sir.”

“Entry is forbidden without an invitation.”
The hostess maintained a professional smile on her face.

“Do I need an invitation… to sell things as well?” Lin Fan asked with a frown.

“That’s not necessary,” the hostess quickly waved her hands.

“May I ask what sir wishes to auction?”

“Here, these, and these.”

“Auction all of them!” Lin Fan dumped a pile of miscellaneous items from his storage ring.

“This… This is?!”

The moment she saw the items for auction, the hostess’s expression instantly faltered.

“Please… Please wait a moment!”

“I’ll go report to the boss!”

[Huh? Host, aren’t you a demonic cultivator? Where did you get so many cultivation techniques and pills?]

Seeing the items Lin Fan had dumped out, the system asked in surprise.

‘I don’t have them myself, but can’t I just rob them?’

Lin Fan was momentarily speechless.
‘Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten—what I did in my past life?’

[Oh my, I almost forgot about the Host’s identity in his past life. Speaking of which… feels like a bit of a loss. If I had known the Host had so many treasures, I should have just snatched them back then~]

“You dare!”

Lin Fan was furious.

“Believe it or not, I’ll skin you alive!”

[Wuwuwu~ Brother, don’t be so fierce, okay? I’m scared…]

Just as Lin Fan was bickering with the system, a portly man wearing gold-rimmed glasses came rushing out from the hall.

“Where is the esteemed guest?!”

“Boss, over there,” the hostess behind him said, pointing to where Lin Fan was standing.

“Good day, sir.”

“Welcome to the Nebula Auction House.”

“I am the president of the auction, Gu Chi.”

“May I ask for sir’s esteemed surname?”

“My humble surname is Lin.”

Lin Fan narrowed his eyes and replied faintly.

“Very well, Mr. Lin, please follow me!”

President Gu respectfully made a “please” gesture toward Lin Fan.

Due to the large number of items to be auctioned, the staff inside the hall spent a full fifteen minutes just to finish inventorying them.

“Mr. Lin, are you sure… you want to auction all of them?!”

President Gu stared at the items on the table, his eyes blazing with fervor.

“I’m sure.”

Lin Fan nodded with a determined look in his eyes.

“Excellent!”

Receiving Lin Fan’s affirmative reply,

President Gu beamed with joy.

“Xin’er, quickly take Mr. Lin to be seated in the VIP room on the second floor!”

“Yes, boss.”

A woman in a red qipao walked up to Lin Fan and bowed respectfully.

“Sir, this way, please.”

“Boss, are these really…” one of the staff members asked, his face full of shock.

“Remember this, this person—must not be offended!”

“Even if we can’t befriend him, we must do our utmost to leave a good impression on him.”

“Otherwise… I fear that not only our Nebula Auction House but the entire Qingyang City will face a devastating disaster!” President Gu instructed his subordinate with a solemn expression.

“As you command, boss!”

In the VIP room on the second floor, Lin Fan stared intently at the auction stage below.

“A fire-attribute Green-rank low-level cultivation technique, the Blazing Sun Palm.”

“This technique can provide a 10% strength boost to fire-attribute cultivators.”

“Starting price, three hundred Spirit Stones.”

“Please begin bidding!”

On the auction stage, a voluptuous woman was giving a detailed introduction of the item being auctioned.

“I bid four hundred Spirit Stones!”
As soon as the white-robed woman on the stage finished speaking, someone in the audience impatiently started raising the price.

“I bid five hundred Spirit Stones!”

“Six hundred Spirit Stones!”

…

Half an hour passed, and the atmosphere in the auction house remained high, but Lin Fan’s mood showed no fluctuation whatsoever.

“My apologies, we just received a notice from the President: due to a sudden addition of several heavyweight auction items, the duration of this auction may be extended,” the white-robed woman explained apologetically.

“Heavyweight items?”

“Really?”

“Then this young master will have to take a good look.”

“What?”

“President Gu, you’re not playing fair!”

“This old man has almost spent all his money, and now you tell me this?”

“Old man, if you don’t have money, don’t make a fool of yourself.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to go home and drink health-preserving tea?”

“Let’s get started quickly!”

“Even though I know I can’t afford it, it’s still good to broaden one’s horizons.”

Upon hearing that there were more heavyweight treasures, everyone’s spirits were instantly lifted.

“Very well, after we auction the last item on the original schedule, we will get straight to the main event.”

The white-robed woman brought out a rectangular object covered with a red cloth.
The red cloth was unveiled, and a spirit cat, completely snow-white, appeared before everyone.

“A spirit cat captured from the Ten Thousand Year Snow Mountain, attribute unknown.”

“Starting price, fifty thousand Spirit Stones!”

As soon as the white-robed woman finished her introduction, an uproar instantly erupted from the audience.

“I say, President Gu, are you crazy or am I?”

“An unknown-attribute spirit cat, and you dare to ask for fifty thousand Spirit Stones?”

One Spirit Stone equals one thousand Mystic Stones.

Fifty thousand Spirit Stones was equivalent to half a year’s income for the four great families.

“Exactly, President Gu.”

“You’re clearly treating us as suckers~”

“Hurry up and auction the next item, don’t waste everyone’s time…”

Seeing this situation, President Gu’s expression beside the stage became somewhat awkward.

After a long moment, he cleared his throat and gestured for everyone to quiet down.

“Since no one likes it, let’s just move on to the next segment…”

“Wait a moment!”

Although he was a little unsure, seeing the Guiding Stone in his hand glowing brightly, Lin Fan stood up without hesitation.

“Fifty thousand Spirit Stones!”

“This cat, I’ll take it!”