These simple words made the Peacock Great Demon King shiver slightly, and the many Peacock Demons present looked at their young princess of human blood with a mix of astonishment and fear.
"Return." The Peacock Great Demon King suddenly stood up, and in the next instant, with a flicker of silver-blue light, he vanished into thin air.
Mei Gongzi also stood up as if the astonishing words spoken earlier were not her own. She then leisurely walked out.
Wang Yan was utterly bewildered. He did not understand the meaning of those words, and his gaze clearly showed that he was lost. He had to go back and ask his mother. In such public gatherings, according to the customs of the Peacock Demons, females would not be present—which said something about Mei Gongzi being there.
Meanwhile, the auction outside had reached a fever pitch.
Three parties participated in the auction, each from a private room.
"Five million! Five million empyrean coins!" The voice of the young girl from the Crimson Fox clan, Yuan Yinxin, was trembling.
Five million empyrean coins... This sum was equivalent to the yearly revenue of a major city. Not every major city could even afford spending this amount all at once.
A deep voice emanated from one of the rooms. "Five million and one hundred thousand!"
"Five hundred..." Just as another room was about to bid, the voice suddenly halted.
"Guests in Room Six, what is your bid?" Yuan Yinxin quickly asked.
The hoarse voice paused for a moment, then slowly announced,"We... withdraw..."
Inside room 6, at that moment, several elderly figures with horns on their heads stood respectfully, and in front of them, there was a man who looked very much like a regular human male.
The man's gaze swept over them. He nodded silently, and the next moment, with a flicker of blue-silver light, he appeared in another room.
In this room, a similar group of horned men—although their horns were tinged with a faint golden hue—were looking at each other, hesitant on whether to keep bidding.
The leader, an elder of the Golden Deer clan, suddenly had an image flash through his mind. The next moment, the flush of excitement on his face gradually faded, and he silently nodded, loudly announcing to the outside, "We also withdraw."
The blue-silver figure flickered, then disappeared without a trace.
"Five million and one hundred thousand. Is there a higher bid?" Yuan Yinxin said, somewhat surprised.
The three competing rooms had been numbers 3, 6, and 8. The sudden withdrawal of rooms 6 and 8 left only room 3, which had just bid 5.1 million.
Yuan Yinxin's mind went blank, and she blurted out subconsciously, "This is the last bloodline sample of the Rainbow Deer Demon Emperor. There is nothing more precious than this!"
At that instant, her eyes with vertical pupils seemed soulless.
However, there was still no sound from rooms 6 and 8.
The whole place was silent. Not a sound was heard as everyone awaited the final moment.
"If you miss this opportunity, the bloodline of the Rainbow Deer Demon Emperor will no longer exist. Please make your choice carefully," Yuan Yinxin said again.
However, no response echoed from either room 6 or room 8, and no new bid was made.
As the painful silence continued, the price of 5.1 million empyrean coins seemed to be slowly carved into eternity by an invisible hand.
In the stands, Zhang Haoxuan couldn't help but be surprised. The bidding just now could be described as fierce, with each party refusing to yield, causing the price to soar. The sudden cessation of bidding at this moment was indeed strange.
"Little Tang, what do you think? Why did those two suddenly stop bidding?" Zhang Haoxuan asked Tang San.
Tang San frowned slightly, also puzzled. "It seems like a plot against room three."
At first glance, it appeared that the bloodline of the Rainbow Deer Demon Emperor was a must-win for all three rooms. There had to be representatives of the Deer Demons among them. But could there be so many Deer Demon clans capable of producing this ridiculous amount of money?
A thought flashed through his mind; among the three, someone was deliberately raising the price. He didn't know if it was room 3, 6, or 8, but it was definitely one of them. The simultaneous cessation of bidding by rooms 6 and 8 seemed like a trap for room 3.
In which room were the Deer Demons, then?
The auction came to a standstill, and Yuan Yinxin didn't continue, just standing there dumbfounded.
Just then, another cold snort echoed.
Yuan Yinxin shivered as if coming back to her senses and said subconsciously, "Five million and one hundred thousand once, five million and one hundred thousand twice, five million and one hundred thousand thrice... Sold!"
With a final gavel strike, the auction was concluded. Instantly, the entire venue erupted in excitement.
Five million and one hundred thousand empyrean coins...that had to be the highest price ever fetched by an auctioned item not just in Kali City this year, but in the entire history of the entire Daemon Continent. And this record might not be broken for a long time.
Tang San and Zhang Haoxuan stood up together. Their objective for the day was essentially achieved, especially for Tang San. It was time to retrieve the auctioned items.
However, Tang San had an odd feeling in his heart. There was clearly more to the auction of the Rainbow Deer Demon Emperor's blood than met the eye. The strange atmosphere at the last moment made the entire grand arena feel oppressive.
The blood of the Rainbow Deer Demon Emperor was escorted away, and Tang San glanced in that direction. Honestly, he was very interested in this bloodline. After all, it was a top-tier bloodline that controlled the seven elements. If it were to come into his possession, with the bloodline of a Demon Emperor, he could achieve immense heights.
Of course, this was not something he could covet now, with who-knew-how-many god-level experts eyeing this bloodline.
It was a pity; if he had already recovered his cultivation up to the god level, he could have actually tried to get his hands on this blood.
The handover went smoothly, but among the items they auctioned this time, there was a troublesome set: the eighteen human vassals of the Crimson Fox clan. How could Tang San parade these eighteen people through the streets? That would be too conspicuous.
After placing the other auctioned items into the storage pouch and paying, they were left with over two hundred naturae coins.
"You go back now. I'll take care of these girls and settle them down. Return to the academy and wait for me," Zhang Haoxuan said to Tang San.
In his mind, Tang San's safety was paramount, so having him return first by himself was the safest option.
"Okay." Tang San very much agreed. He did not stick around anymore and quickly left the grand arena with his mask on.
The oppressive atmosphere in the grand arena had made him uncomfortable; it was a confrontation between god-level experts. He did not want to be involved in such matters; safety was indeed his priority as well.
After leaving the grand arena, the feeling of oppression lessened significantly, and Tang San breathed a sigh of relief. The Discerning Eye of Heaven did not give him any sense of danger, so he hurried through the streets and alleys, speeding back to the Redemption Academy.
Just as he arrived near Kali Academy and was about to ascend the hill, a figure not far ahead caught his attention.
Tang San had already removed his mask and changed back into the uniform of a Kali Academy staff member, and was now looking utterly ordinary.
However, when he saw this familiar figure, he had no choice but to stop.
"Is it really you!" A pleasant voice sounded, and the person turned around to look at him. It was none other than Mei Gongzi, whom he had not seen much recently.
Tang San was taken aback. "What are you talking about?"
Mei Gongzi said calmly, "I've been following you back. There's no need to play dumb."