Chapter 789: Beginning Of The Banquet
Yuehua Mavis didn’t have an overwhelming number of rune lines, but the people from the Mavis family could not be judged by conventional methods.
Yuehua Mavis’s appearance caused even Hoffman to stand up while Lu Yin, Starfox and the others rose from their seats. This was a sign of their respect towards the Mavis family.
Yuehua Mavis silently sat down and closed her eyes, showing no response to anyone.
Lu Yin’s brow rose. He had had a considerable amount of interactions with the Mavis family before, and this Yuehua Mavis was rather detached from everything.
After that, people constantly arrived at the banquet, and the ambient noise grew louder.
Lu Yin and Starfox did not interact with each other any further.
Qiong Xi"er then personally welcomed another person to the banquet. This time, it was a short old man who was not even a full meter in height. The man had thick gla.s.ses, but the strangest thing about him was that he was actually carrying a screwdriver with him, and he seemed like a skilled laborer.
This person was not dressed like the others at the banquet. If not for Qiong Xi"er personally escorting him inside, many people would have thought that the man was a plumber.
“Aurora Enterprises’ Outerverse Engineer, who doesn’t have a given name. Everyone calls him the Blaze Engineer,” Starfox introduced.
Lu Yin frowned, as yet another Enlighter had shown up, and the person was actually from Aurora Enterprises this time. His manner of dressing seemed to match his job well.
Blaze Engineer sat down and began downing drinks in huge gulps. He then set his screwdriver on the banquet table and surveyed his surroundings. “Good wine, very refreshing, hahaha.”
Across from him, Hoffman said, “Blaze Engineer, I heard that you arrived on an Eonlight-grade Aurora. Are there any more? I want to buy one.”
The Blaze Engineer let out a breath that reeked of liquor. “Not selling.”
Hoffman frowned. “Price is no issue.”
“I only deal with repairing, not selling. Go look for someone else,” the Blaze Engineer replied.
Hoffman’s expression remained calm, and he did not take any offense.
Villa Mistress Lian soon arrived as well, and Qiong Xi"er also escorted her in, and this time, Lu Yin immediately moved to greet her.
Villa Mistress Lian smiled at Lu Yin and then sat down near Yuehua Mavis.
More and more Enlighters were gathering at the banquet, and as their numbers increased, the conversations dwindled. Not everyone dared to chat and joke around these big shots.
Wei Rong soon arrived as well, and he brought Angie to sit near Lu Yin, behaving in a very humble and low-profile manner.
Soon after, Qiong Xi"er escorted another two people in, and their presence astonished quite a few guests, as these people were from the Dark Phoenix family.
There were three powers in the Outerverse that everyone knew were not to be provoked, and two of them had already gathered in this place. Neo-Vestige Sect had always remained isolated and aloof; otherwise, all three of the Outerverse’s great powers might have gathered in this place.
The Dark Phoenix family had sent an Enlighter named Sall Phoenix and a youth, Taylor Phoenix. Lu Yin had heard of this Taylor Phoenix before, as he was ranked fourteenth on the Top 100 Rankings, and he was an absolute expert within the younger generation who was ranked just below Moore and Puyu.
In the Innerverse, Lu Yin had also interacted with the Dark Phoenix family, and he had also learned a bit about the animosity between the Dark Phoenix family and Phoenix family. This Dark Phoenix family was clearly extremely powerful since they were able to survive as an enemy of the Phoenix family. After all, the Phoenix family had given birth to one of the Ten Arbiters, and not even the Daynight clan dared to provoke them.
“Are you that Lu Yin?” A frivolous voice was heard from beside Lu Yin.
Lu Yin turned around to look, and he saw that someone had suddenly appeared in the previously empty chair beside him: Zhu San. Lu Yin had never thought that it would be this person.
“You’re Zhu San from the Zhu family?” Lu Yin asked.
Zhu San looked pleased. “It seems like you’ve heard of me.”
Lu Yin smiled. “We crossed paths in the Riverside Hotel yesterday.”
Zhu San’s face turned ugly upon mention of this incident, and he snorted. “Young Master’s stomach was hurting at that time. Otherwise, that kid would have had his just desserts.”
He suddenly looked past Lu Yin and exchanged glances with Starfox, and his expression suddenly became incredibly interesting to look at. “Why are you here as well?”
Starfox smiled. “Young Master Zhu, we offended you yesterday.”
Zhu San gritted his teeth. “Stupid old man!”
Starfox was stumped, and stopped speaking to the youth any further. This kid was very vulgar, as Starfox hadn’t even been the one to move against this brat.
Lu Yin was amused, and he asked Zhu San, “I was wondering, what is the battle technique that Brother Zhu San displayed yesterday? I’m very curious about it.”
Zhu San blinked. “Battle technique? What battle technique? Did I display one? Hahaha, I’m a genius, so I’ve just casually fiddled and played with everything however I want. Thus, there’s no reason to give the techniques any names.”
Lu Yin smiled and did not ask any further questions.
When the night sky’s silvery radiance fell down, everyone finally arrived. Qiong Xi"er was naturally standing in the center of the banquet, and even though she was dressed as a boy, her facial features were exquisitely beautiful.
Before long, Millions City Master Qiong Shanhai appeared. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Millions City. Qiong Shanhai greets you.”
He then bowed in each direction, and all the guests stood up to return his greetings.
Qiong Shanhai smiled. “Millions City is located in Tyrannical Weave, and despite the vicissitudes of many ages, it still has not fallen. The city has only been able to do this through all of your support and forgiveness. Millions City has its own rules, and the Qiong family humbly requests that no one use force in Millions City. If there’s any conflict, you can resolve it here tonight during the Qiong"s Banquet. After this, please show me some face. Thank you.
“I trust that everyone has heard of our Qiong Family"s Banquet. Before we formally convene the banquet, we will host a mini-auction, and all proceeds from this auction will go towards the upkeep of Millions City, and it will also be treated as everyone’s contributions towards Millions City. I would like to express my grat.i.tude in advance.”
He then waved a hand towards Qiong Xi’er before taking an empty seat near Yuehua Mavis and the other Enlighters.
Qiong Xi"er walked to the center of the stage and made some courteous remarks.
Zhu San looked on, clearly entranced as he practically started drooling.
Lu Yin was astonished. “Brother Zhu likes her?”
Zhu San muttered, “I don’t.”
“Then why would you-”
But before Lu Yin could finish asking his question, Zhu San said, “It’s infatuation.”
“Seventh Bro, this fellow is pretty disgusting,” the Ghost Monkey commented.
Lu Yin felt a bit uncomfortable as this Zhu San’s taste was rather odd. Few men would be attracted to someone like Qiong Xi"er, and for that matter, did Qiong Xi"er even like men? It was rumored that she liked to tease girls and that she even brought some back to the Qiong family’s estate every night.
Zhu San cleaned the corner of his mouth. “None of you understand Xi’er. I’ve grown up with her and known her since we were little, and we were even childhood sweethearts. Thus, I understand her all too well. She’s the kindest and most beautiful woman in the entire universe.”
Beautiful was an acceptable description, as even if she was dressed like a boy, there was no way she could hide her pretty face. But kind? “She’s kind?”
Zhu San nodded, but he only continued to stare blankly at Qiong Xi"er. “She’s very kind, but none of you can understand her. To prevent humans from becoming slaves to money, Xi’er thought of many methods to line her own pockets with the money of others, all so that they would not be dazzled by money. To prevent certain ingrates from prevailing, she also took quite a few girls back to the city master’s residence to educate them, often for an entire night. To make me understand the principle of learning to take punches before fighting, Xi"er has always personally beaten me from when we first met. She is the kindest person I know.”
Lu Yin silently stared at Qiong Xi"er in the center of the stage. It was obvious that Zhu San had gone crazy.
Suddenly, Zhu San glared fiercely over at Lu Yin. “After telling you so much, you won’t think of s.n.a.t.c.hing Xi"er from me, right?”
Lu Yin shook his head. “Relax. I absolutely will not.”
Zhu San nodded in satisfaction, revealing an expression that he had recognized Lu Yin’s tactfulness.
“The first item to be auctioned: fire fungus.” At that moment, the maid, Nana, brought out a box and opened it up. A fiery-red plant shot into the sky and tried to flee into the distance, but it was pulled back by an invisible strength.
“It’s actually a danger-evading natural treasure!” someone cried out.
Lu Yin was stunned, as he had not thought that they would even sell natural treasures during this banquet.
Qiong Xi"er smiled. “This fire fungus has been in my Qiong family for many years, but tonight, it will seek out its destined owner. The starting price is one star essence, and everyone can start bidding now.”
Someone immediately placed a bid the moment that Qiong Xi’er finished speaking, and the initial bid was 3,000 star essence.
“The ten natural treasures auctioned by the Lu"s Grand Auction were sold at an average price of 3,000 star essence, but none of those can survive for more than a year. For this one, I’ll bid 4,000,” someone else in the distance mentioned.
“4,500.”
“4,800.”
“6,000,” Starfox called out. Danger-evading natural treasures had become very popular recently, and it was mostly because of what had happened to Aegis. Starfox glanced over at Lu Yin and was determined to buy this natural treasure.
Lu Yin did not bother placing any bids, as n.o.body knew how many of these danger-evading natural treasures he had in his possession.
Qiong Xi"er beamed as she glanced past Lu Yin. “Mr. Starfox has bid 6,000 star essence. Are there any other offers? If not, this fire fungus will go to Mr. Starfox.”
“7,000,” Hoffman offered. Although this price surpa.s.sed the fire fungus’ intrinsic value, every natural treasure was a money making tool for Shamrock Enterprises. It was just 7,000 star essence anyway, and that amount could easily be earned back.
Starfox did not continue after seeing Hoffman bid. The Outerverse’s four great corporations could not compare to a colossal financial giant like Shamrock Enterprises. Even if the Outerverse was isolated from the Innerverse, he had no desire to go head-to-head against such behemoths.
Lu Yin was envious, as this natural treasure was actually able to sell for 7,000 star essence, which was double the price that his Lu"s Grand Auction had reached. Even if there hadn’t been any sort of time restriction, the Lu"s Grand Auction’s natural treasures would at most fetch a price of 4,000 star essence, and they would never reach 5,000 star essence. There were too many wealthy people at this banquet. Perhaps the Lu"s Grand Auction should open a branch in Millions City.
“The next item for tonight is a technique: Induction Burst.” Qiong Xi’er opened the screen and displayed an introduction of the technique. It was a technique that allowed cultivators to absorb star energy at a rate five times faster than ordinary cultivators.
A fivefold absorption rate was pretty decent, and before Lu Yin had been given a more complete version of the Cosmic Art by Mister Mu, his own technique had only been ninefold.
“The Induction Burst’s starting price is one star essence. The bidding may begin.”
This Induction Burst Technique caused many to suddenly compete for it. All of the powers represented by the individuals attending the Qiong"s Banquet had their own powerful battle techniques, and they naturally surpa.s.sed the slow absorption speed of an ordinary cultivator. Still, n.o.body would object to obtaining another technique.
Those who contested over this technique were mostly aristocratic children like Zhu San, and in the end, Zhu San bought it for 8,000 star essence.
Lu Yin grew more and more envious. In the past, the Jade Meditation Technique that he had sold to the Nalan family was able to a.s.sist a person in comprehending a domain, but he had only received 100 star essence for it. Even though its value could not compare to this Induction Burst, it should not be too far off. Sure enough, one had to visit Millions City if they wanted to sell something valuable, as the prices there could reach levels that greatly surpa.s.sed the value of the goods themselves.
It was not unreasonable for Deng Pu to risk his life to travel to Millions City.
“Xi"er, this is for you!” Zhu San then shamelessly ran over to Qiong Xi"er and tried to pa.s.s the Induction Burst Technique over to her.
Qiong Xi"er smiled slightly before very naturally lashing out with a kick that sent Zhu San sprawling away. It seemed like she had not held back, and the fierce kick looked like it had hurt.
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