Chapter 140: Tricking Tang San Again
Ning Fengzhi truly was a shrewd businessman. The moment he received the Hundred Solutions to Hidden Weapons, he wasted no time turning its contents into merchandise for sale.
Clearly, his goal was to make the name of hidden weapons echo across the continent, leveraging the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's vast influence to expand production and reap massive profits.
Onstage, the bidding for the Shadow Sand Shooter had already climbed to three thousand gold soul coins.
It was a lethal weapon—powerful enough to kill a Spirit Grandmaster or even threaten a Spirit Elder—and more importantly, even ordinary people could use it.
Naturally, the major powers seated below were highly interested.
"Three thousand five hundred gold soul coins!" a clear voice called out suddenly.
Luo Ling turned his gaze toward the white VIP section where the bidder sat—it was Tang San.
A faintly amused smile curved his lips as he pressed his bidding token.
"Three thousand six hundred gold soul coins." Luo Ling's voice was calm but carried easily across the room.
"Our distinguished guest in VIP Room 2 bids three thousand six hundred gold soul coins. Any higher offers?" the auctioneer shouted.
"Three thousand seven hundred!" Tang San countered almost instantly.
"Three thousand eight hundred!" Luo Ling followed smoothly.
"Xiao San, is that dark weapon really worth so much?" Yu Xiaogang frowned.
In his opinion, a mere tool capable of harming low-rank spirit masters wasn't worth thousands of gold soul coins.
Tang San's face darkened. The cost to make one set of Shadow Sand Shooters was barely over a hundred coins, yet here he was already bidding into the thousands—and someone was clearly raising the price just to provoke him.
In the VIP box above, Ning Fengzhi looked puzzled when he noticed Luo Ling participating in the bidding.
The Shadow Sand Shooter was far inferior to the Mother and Child Chasing Soul Pierce that Luo Ling had once demonstrated at the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. Moreover, the entire Hundred Solutions manual had come from him in the first place. Why compete for his own creation?
Then Luo Ling caught Ning Fengzhi's curious glance and simply pointed toward the lower seats, where Tang San and Yu Xiaogang were sitting.
Realization dawned at once.
Right—Luo Ling had told him before that the Hundred Solutions had originally come from Tang San.
He wasn't bidding for the weapon. He was bidding to provoke Tang San.
Ning Fengzhi shook his head slightly. Whatever history these two shared, Tang San was clearly out of his league.
In status, talent, and sheer strength, the gap between them was immeasurable.
"Four thousand five hundred gold soul coins!"
The bidding continued, each time Tang San raised the amount, Luo Ling casually added another hundred on top.
For Luo Ling, such sums meant nothing. For Tang San, however, his funds were nearly gone.
Gritting his teeth, Tang San clenched his fists. Years of savings had left him with little to spare. The money from the spirit bone sale didn't belong to him, and he couldn't bring himself to borrow from Yu Xiaogang.
"Five thousand gold soul coins!" he shouted finally, his voice laced with desperation.
"The bidder offers five thousand gold soul coins! Any higher?" the auctioneer called out.
Luo Ling didn't continue this time. Instead, he leaned back, amusement gleaming in his crimson eyes.
"You're stopping there?" Ning Fengzhi asked casually.
"There's no need. He's out of money," Luo Ling replied with a faint smile.
Ning Fengzhi looked slightly confused—he didn't know that Luo Ling could read emotional energy.
Since the auction had begun, Luo Ling had quietly activated his Mind Domain. Through it, he could sense Tang San's emotions shifting from anger to anxiety.
The boy was afraid, afraid someone would outbid him—because he literally couldn't afford to go any higher.
From the other side of the room, Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged curious glances.
They had always thought of Luo Ling as nonchalant and indifferent to everything. But seeing him now, deliberately driving up the price just to make Tang San suffer, they finally realized he had a sharp, merciless side as well.
In the end, Tang San successfully secured the Shadow Sand Shooter. The moment the item was confirmed, he rushed backstage to retrieve it.
Holding the metallic device in his hands, he immediately took it apart, piece by piece.
Every component—every intricate mechanism—was exactly as described in the Hundred Solutions to Hidden Weapons.
His face darkened until it was almost black with rage.
Then, without warning, a crow swooped into the room and landed on the table before him, its blood-red eyes gleaming wickedly.
"Thank you for your Hundred Solutions," the crow said in a low, mocking voice.
Tang San froze. Then fury surged to his head, turning his face crimson.
With a roar, he unleashed his martial soul and hurled several hidden weapons straight at the bird.
A deafening bang shook the room. The door blew open, and cracks spread across the walls where the toxins from his weapons had corroded the surface.
The blast drew the attention of the auction staff, who rushed in immediately. Witnessing the destruction, their expressions turned cold.
"Sir, you've damaged the auction property. Compensation must be paid before you leave," one of them declared icily.
Tang San seethed, but there was nothing he could do. The crow had vanished completely—mocking him with its disappearance.
Of course he knew who was behind it now.
Once again, he'd been toyed with by the Evil Master.
Moments later, Yu Xiaogang and the others arrived. After hearing what had happened, they sighed helplessly and paid for the damages before leaving.
…
Outside the auction house, Luo Ling was smiling as he walked away, thoroughly satisfied with his little game.
On his way out, he handed the two cultivation-enhancing herbs Chrysanthemum Douluo had delivered to Ning Rongrong.
Those herbs would allow Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing to advance by five or six levels—plenty to close the gap caused by the Blood Demon Ritual.
After that, Luo Ling set off for Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. The Continental Spirit Master Tournament was still half a year away, and Dugu Yan had mentioned there had been some changes there.
Arriving at the academic committee office, he found Dugu Yan with the Emperor Team members and a few unfamiliar faces.
When he entered, their reactions were mixed—some cautious, some curious. Dugu Yan, however, greeted him with delight. Luo Ling nodded in return.
"Luo Ling, the committee decided to dissolve the Second Team and make them substitutes for the main team. We'll all appear together during the preliminaries," Dugu Yan explained.
Luo Ling raised an eyebrow—an unexpected deviation from the original course of events.
"Ahem." Dean Meng Shenji cleared his throat. "Yes, that's correct. It's a royal decree. However, during the preliminary and advancement rounds, only two members of the main team may participate in any given match. The second team's results won't affect the selection quota. The main aim is to display our academy's strength. In total, the Heaven Dou division—including both teams—will have six qualification slots."
Luo Ling nodded. The meaning was clear: the Emperor Team's main lineup would only appear briefly, mainly to showcase their superiority.
And only two of them could fight per match.
"No problem," Luo Ling said with a shrug. He was only here for entertainment, after all.
"Good. In that case, both teams can start exchanging techniques and measuring each other's strength," Meng Shenji said.
But before anyone could react, Luo Ling had already turned to leave.
As far as he was concerned, he didn't need to test anyone.
One person—himself—was enough to crush an entire team.
(END CHAPTER)
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