88: Chapter 88 The Whale Dragon Clan, Han Jinglong

"One hundred million."

The moment these three words fell, the entire auction hall plunged into dead silence.

On the auction stage, President Ximen He's hand holding the auction gavel froze in mid-air, the smile on his face frozen solid.

His eyes stared fixedly in the direction the voice came from—the private room on the far left.

The spiritual light screen of that private room had been lit since the auction began, yet no one had ever placed a bid.

But now, the person inside had spoken.

President Ximen He had hosted hundreds of auctions; what kind of storms and waves had he not seen? Yet at this moment, his hand was trembling.

Not out of fear, but out of excitement.

One hundred million Spirit Stones; since Xihai Auction House began, there had never been such an astronomical price.

In the private room in the very center of the second floor, that low voice fell silent.

It wasn't that they didn't want to compete, but that they simply couldn't.

One hundred million; even for the wealthiest Zhao family in Xihai City, it was an unreachable number.

In the hall, someone finally snapped out of their shock and whispered in astonishment, "One hundred million! Are they crazy?"

"Who is so extravagant? Spending one hundred million to buy a single token?"

The murmurs grew louder, and the hall was like a pot that had boiled over.

On the auction stage, President Ximen He finally collected himself.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent waves in his heart, scanned the entire audience, and his voice trembled slightly, "One hundred million, is there anyone higher?"

No one responded.

One hundred million; who could afford to compete? And who would dare to?

Someone who could casually throw out one hundred million was not someone they were qualified to provoke.

President Ximen He waited for a moment, then finally brought down the gavel.

"Dong—!"

The crisp sound of the gavel echoed through the hall.

"Sold!"

President Ximen He's voice carried irrepressible excitement.

"Congratulations to this honored guest for winning this token!"

A round of complex applause rang out in the hall.

In the corner, Lu Jinghan's gaze landed on the private room on the far left.

Spending one hundred million to buy a hanhai token; it seems there are still people in this Xihai City who know their worth.

Qin Muchuan's eyes were full of curiosity as he transmitted his voice, "Senior Brother, who do you think is in there?"

Su Fuguang did not speak; his gaze also landed on that private room, his expression thoughtful.

Lu Jinghan shook his head, "I don't know, but someone who can take out one hundred million is certainly no ordinary person."

On the auction stage, President Ximen He held the jade box containing the token with both hands, preparing to walk personally to the private room on the far left.

This was the rule, and also a sign of respect.

An honored guest capable of bidding an astronomical price of one hundred million deserved his personal service.

However, he had only taken a few steps when the spiritual light screen of the private room suddenly dissipated.

Two figures walked out from the private room.

The person in the lead was a young man in a white robe, with a face like jade and clear, bright features.

A faint scholarly air lingered around him, as if he were not a cultivator, but rather a scholar from the secular world who had read many books.

His pace was composed, a smile on his face, and his gaze remained fixed on the jade box in President Ximen He's hands.

Behind him followed an old man, who looked no different from an elderly man in an ordinary household.

But the moment he appeared in the hall, everyone's breathing stalled for an instant.

No pressure was released, no aura fluctuated; he simply stood there plainly and calmly.

Yet everyone present, including those in the second-floor private rooms, felt a tremor from the depths of their Soul.

It was the instinctive fear of an ant looking up at a vast Dragon.

This old man was a powerhouse Undergoing Tribulation.

In the hall, there was a deathly silence.

Those who had been secretly plotting to "kill and seize the treasure" just moments ago were now as pale as paper, wishing they could bury their heads in the ground.

Competing for items with a powerhouse Undergoing Tribulation? If that wasn't courting death, what was?

Lu Jinghan carefully examined the young man before him, not expecting to encounter him here.

The Young Clan Chief of the Whale Dragon Clan, Han Jinglong!

The East Sea respected the Dragon Clan and several top Human Race factions, followed by the Eight Great Royal Clans, among which the Whale Dragon Clan ranked second!

In his previous life, Lu Jinghan had clashed with Han Jinglong several times, but after Han Jinglong returned to inherit the position of Clan Chief, the two had never met again.

"This Han Jinglong must have received news of the hanhai token to appear in Xihai City," Lu Jinghan thought to himself.

Han Jinglong walked up to President Ximen He and reached out to take the jade box.

He opened the jade box, took out the dark golden token, and carefully examined it in his palm.

Under the light outside the private room, the character "Tian" on the token faintly shimmered with a golden glow.

The smile at the corner of his mouth deepened, and he nodded slightly, seemingly quite satisfied with this token.

He closed the jade box, casually tucked it into his sleeve, and nodded slightly toward President Ximen He, his tone plain yet carrying a touch of courtesy, "President Ximen He, farewell."

President Ximen He hurriedly bowed, his voice slightly trembling, "Go carefully, honored guest; until we meet again."

Han Jinglong said no more, nodded to the old man beside him, and the two vanished from the spot, not even leaving a trace of spatial fluctuation.

As if they had never appeared at all.

However, before Han Jinglong left, he cast his gaze toward where Lu Jinghan was, seemingly having sensed something, yet he made no move.

In the hall, silence reigned for a long time before someone finally let out a long sigh, slumped into their chair, and muttered to themselves.

"A powerhouse Undergoing Tribulation... Just who is that young man? To be able to have a powerhouse Undergoing Tribulation act as a follower?"

"Are you blind? That's not a follower, that's a Guardian! To be able to invite a powerhouse Undergoing Tribulation to act as a Guardian, one must at least be a core figure of a top-tier faction."

"Central Plains? Or the East Sea? Western Regions? Northern Territory?"

"All are possible, but it is definitely not the Southern Wilderness. The Southern Wilderness has no such figure among its powerhouses Undergoing Tribulation."

The murmurs grew, but they were kept very low, fearing that those two had not gone far.

With the hanhai token auctioned off, the crowd dispersed one after another, and the three of Lu Jinghan returned to the inn.

Qin Muchuan and the other learned from Lu Jinghan that the young man was the Young Clan Chief of the Whale Dragon Clan of the East Sea, which was how he could recognize the hanhai token.

However, none of this had anything to do with them; calculating the time, that ancient Immortal Cave would soon open, and they needed to prepare.

As for Xiao Yuan and Bai Yue, Lu Jinghan sensed that they had not made any moves, so he could only continue to wait.

——

Zhouwu Dynasty, Cangwu City.

In an inconspicuous restaurant in the south of the city, a private room on the third floor.

The door was tightly closed, and a sound-insulating Talisman was pasted on the window lattice, a faint spiritual light circulating on the paper, isolating everything inside the room from the outside world.

Three people sat around a table in the room.

The person in the lead was named Yin Bu'er, an Inner Sect Elder of the Liuli Sect, with a Body Integration Late Stage cultivation base, and was Yin Tianzheng's clansman brother.

Sitting on his left was a burly, bald man, Li Tianxiong, at Body Integration Middle Stage.

On his right was a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar, holding a jade-boned folding fan in his hand, with a landscape ink painting drawn on the fan surface, looking quite like an immortal with refined features.

Zhuge Yun, Body Integration Early Stage; his cultivation was the weakest of the three, but he was the shrewdest of them all.

Meticulous and skilled in strategy, he was the brains of this trip.