Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao

Students at the Scarlet Heaven Academy had to complete a set number of missions each year.

Of course, one could also complete a large number of missions in a single year, then complete no mission at all for the following several years. This was because cultivators would cultivate in seclusion for months on end after reaching the Immortal level. In fact, some would even cultivate for a few years.

The Academy couldn’t expel students for such a reason, right?

The mission that Shui Yanyu accepted wasn’t too difficult. Although it required them to exterminate pirates, it didn’t require them to exterminate the entire pirate fleet. They only needed to kill a certain number of pirates. Moreover, this mission could be completed over and over again. As a result, the power of the pirates would be gradually weakened until they were eventually completely destroyed.

However, these pirates were based quite far from the Imperial Capital, and even for cultivators at the Mountain River Tier, it would take around 10 days to get there on foot.

Theoretically speaking, Ling Han would be in grave danger if he left the Imperial Capital—or even the Academy, for that matter. After all, he had offended many people, and was more so a thorn in the sides of the two other Majestic Empires. It was truly a bad idea for him to travel so far away.

However, Shui Yanyi knew that he possessed a Spatial God Tool, meaning he would be able to easily escape even if others tried to assassinate him. Ling Han couldn’t refuse to eat for fear of choking and hide in the Imperial Capital forever, right? If he did, he would truly become a wasted talent. If he hid in the Imperial Capital, reaching the consummate level of the Mountain River Tier would be his absolute limit. He wouldn’t be able to reach the Sun Moon Tier, much less the Heavenly Body Tier.

Ling Han fully agreed with Shui Yanyu’s suggestion. He agreed to complete the mission with her after participating in the auction that was to be held three days from now.

“Oh, that’s right. You also bet on me to win, am I correct?” Ling Han asked.

A smile blossomed across Shui Yanyu’s face as she nodded.

“How much did you bet?”

“10,000 True Origin Stones.”

Ling Han smiled in surprise, and said, “So it became 1,000,000! Haha, you won quite a large sum.”

Even the Left Minister would frown in thought if he had to spend 1,000,000, much less a fifth-rate force like the Shui Clan.

“It was all thanks to you,” Shui Yanyu said as she smiled beautifully.

***

Not only was Zhao Lun defeated, but he also had his face slapped in public—with a shoe, no less. This was naturally huge news that quickly spread throughout the entire Imperial Capital. Everyone was discussing this matter and speculating how Great General Zhao would react.

To the surprise of everyone, however, Great General Zhao released a statement and harshly scolded Zhao Lun. He strongly condemned his son’s behavior, and nowhere in his statement did he even mention Ling Han.

This astonished everyone in the Imperial Capital. Great General Zhao was known for being domineering, and Zhao Lun was more so his only child. He was actually willing to swallow such a great shame?

However, a wary expression appeared on Ling Han’s face when he learned of this.

Great General Zhao’s harsh scolding of Zhao Lun looked to be extremely righteous, yet he didn’t mention Ling Han’s name even once. This was clearly a kind of statement—my son acted out of line, so I scolded him. However, was my son someone who could be humiliated by anyone?

By refusing to mention Ling Han, was he insinuating that Ling Han was bound to become a dead person?

Ling Han mulled over this in his mind. ‘If Hu Feiyun hadn’t interfered in the matter, would Great General Zhao still have issued this statement?

‘I’ll counter soldiers with arms, and water with an earth weir!’

He had initially wanted to stay low-key and only display his abilities when his cultivation level reached a suitable height. However, who told him to have a halo of trouble that always attracted problems hovering above his head?

After three days, Ling Han headed to the auction.

This auction was hosted by the Imperial Family, and thus no one dared to put fakes up for auction. Similarly, no one dared to raise bids maliciously, nor did anyone dare to refuse to pay for their purchases.

The auction house was gigantic, and its interior design was very similar to that of a battle arena. The auction stage sat in the center, and the prospective buyers were seated along its four sides. The bottommost seats were for ordinary buyers, while level two and upwards were all VIP boxes. In total, there were five levels.

Ling Han displayed his invitation slip and was led into a private box on the fourth level. Li Weiwei and Ji Yun’er were already sitting inside.

This private box belonged to the Left Minister—only the empress and the Nine Kings had the right to enter the fifth level. Meanwhile, the fourth level belonged to the Left and Right Ministers, as well as the Seven Generals and so on.

“You’re late!” Li Weiwei said with a smirk. “Drink three glasses as punishment!”

Ling Han sat down and took a small sip of the wine. It was extremely rich and aromatic. However, he naturally ignored Li Weiwei’s call for him to down three glasses as punishment.

“Stupid blockhead! Putting on airs is all you do,” Li Weiwei said unhappily.

This auction was especially grand and high in grade as it was the first auction held after the opening of the Heavenly Sea Mystery Realm. It was clear that Mountain River Stones would be auctioned today, and perhaps even ones with special attributes would be sold among them. It was just that the latter would be much rarer than the former.

Ling Han scanned the auction catalog, and found that there were 12 ordinary Mountain River Stones to be auctioned. Meanwhile, there were only two special attribute Mountain River Stones: one of the metal element, and one of the water element.

What piqued his interest was that there was a Flight God Tool to be auctioned as well. It was called “Cloud Piercing Shuttle”, and it could be activated using True Origin Stones. At its peak, its speed was four times that of a cultivator at the consummate level of the Sun Moon Tier.

He was going to embark on a journey far away soon, and if he obtained this Flight God Tool, he wouldn’t need to worry about others trying to assassinate him anymore—unless his enemies sent a cultivator at the Heavenly Body Tier after him.

However, how many cultivators at the Heavenly Body Tier did the entire Joint Peace Planet have?

The circumstances surrounding the Heavenly Sea Mystery Realm were special. Otherwise, how could there have been so many Heavenly Body Tier elites pursuing a small cultivator at the Mountain River Tier?

He was determined to obtain this Cloud Piercing Shuttle.

He continued to scan through the catalog, only to discover that a few items were merely labeled as extremely valuable. Apart from that, there was no other description. Ling Han found this especially odd.

‘Is it really okay to intrigue people like this?’

He raised his query with Li Weiwei. She had been to numerous auctions, so it was likely that she was relatively more experienced.

“Generally speaking, items without specific descriptions are all extremely valuable.” Li Weiwei nodded, and continued, “However, that isn’t always the case. Some items might be incredibly rare, yet of no major use to anyone. Thus, it’s not surprising for some of these items to attract no bidders.”

By the looks of it, he had to put some money aside. What if some of those items were useful to him?

It was hard to determine others’ identities as most people were seated in private boxes. However, the top two levels were reserved for a select few great elites, so it was still relatively easy to deduce who was seated in which private box.

“Zhao Lun has also come.” Li Weiwei looked around, and humphed. “This shameless person still has the face to meet others!”

Ling Han was also extremely surprised. ‘He’s just been slapped around in public, yet he’s willing to show his face again so soon?’

Ling Han’s opinion of Zhao Lun became even higher. The fact that he didn’t take others’ views of him to heart proved that he truly possessed the domineering aura of a King tier cultivator! A true King tier cultivator wouldn’t care what others thought about them, and their mindset wouldn’t waver no matter the circumstances.

Zhao Lun arrived, and Sha Yuan also arrived. The descendants of the Seven Generals and the Right Minister all arrived as well.

“There’s destined to be a ‘bloody battle’ today.” Li Weiwei chuckled, and said, “However, no one can defeat me!” She had a whopping 3,000,000 True Origin Stones now.

The auction started soon after.

Ling Han was determined to obtain the Cloud Piercing Shuttle, so he had to use his money carefully. Although Mountain River Stones were desirable, Li Weiwei and Ji Yun’er would both be fighting for them. He planned to leave these to them.

“Sorry for the long wait. Now, let the auction begin!” An elder walked onto the stage with a cheery smile.

The arena instantly fell silent.