Though spoken calmly, Li Yang’s words made the entire area fall silent.

Many people turned to look, their eyes filled with surprise.

After all, they knew who Zhao Kun was—the head of the Zhao Group!

The Zhao Group was one of the nation’s corporate giants, its influence permeating every aspect of daily life.

"Who is this young man? How dare he speak to Zhao Kun like that?"

"Impressive. This kid has no idea who he’s talking to, does he?"

"I overheard them earlier. I think the young man is Zhao Kun’s nephew."

The gazes came from everyone, both those who knew of Li Yang’s relationship with Zhao Kun and those who didn’t.

But for the most part, everyone looked like they were just there to enjoy the show.

Many in the crowd were influential figures. The auction of thirteen large Bluefin Tuna had drawn a significant number of affluent individuals.

A lot of them were also well-acquainted with Zhao Kun, so they found it amusing to see him put in his place.

Beside Li Yang, Zhou Xiaoyun stared at him, a shocked expression on her face.

She had just figured out who Li Yang was, but she never imagined he would actually talk to Zhao Kun that way.

Who was Zhao Kun? Not even a member of her own Zhou family would dare to speak to him like that.

Next to Zhou Xiaoyun was Zhou Yao, whose expression also changed. Her eyes immediately filled with anxiety and worry.

She knew who Zhao Kun was, and Li Yang was being so disrespectful. It wasn’t that she blamed him; she was just worried Zhao Kun would retaliate against him.

People that rich had all sorts of methods. Dealing with an ordinary person would be a piece of cake.

"Li Yang..."

Not far away, another girl was looking over. It was Qin Yue, and her eyes were filled with disbelief.

Though she had only known Li Yang for a short time, she had a good sense of the kind of person he was: calm, steady, and seemingly unflappable.

As her father, Qin Shanchuan, had put it, Li Yang was far more mature and composed than others his age.

And now, Li Yang was actually being this rude?

This completely shattered her impression of him.

That single, short sentence sent ripples through the crowd. Zhao Kun himself was stunned for a moment, as if he had misheard. Then, his face darkened. "What did you say?" he growled.

His eyes, full of suppressed fury, were locked on Li Yang.

Who did he think he was? In his eyes, Li Guohai was a good-for-nothing. If he really wanted to, he could crush the man with ease.

Given his opinion of Li Guohai, one could imagine what he thought of his son, Li Yang. ’Just the son of a good-for-nothing,’ he thought. ’Utterly insignificant.’

And yet, this insignificant boy actually dared to speak to him like that?

Li Yang’s expression, however, remained calm. He looked Zhao Kun straight in the eye and said, "I said, this is my seat. You tell me to get out of the way, and I’m supposed to just get out of the way? Who do you think you are?"

He wasn’t the least bit intimidated by the fury in Zhao Kun’s eyes.

According to his father, the Zhao family had no powerful Cultivators. As for money...

’With my octopus avatar,’ he thought, ’the ocean is my personal ATM. Given enough time, it’s entirely possible for me to amass a fortune greater than the Zhao family’s.’

’Right now, in the ocean, my octopus avatar is practically invincible!’

’And my own strength has reached Earth-Level. All things considered, I have absolutely no reason to fear the Zhao family.’

The crucial point was that Zhao Kun had almost caused his father’s death. That was enough to make them enemies. Li Yang felt nothing but disgust for the man standing before him.

If he weren’t actively holding himself back, he might have already taught Zhao Kun a lesson.

Hearing such blatant disrespect again, Zhao Kun could no longer hide his fury. His expression was so dark it looked like it could drip water. "Have you no mann... Is this how Li Guohai and Zhao Rou taught you?" he roared.

A man of his status! How long had it been since anyone had dared to speak to him like that?

He’d wanted to say Li Yang had no breeding, but he swallowed the words when he remembered Zhao Rou was his own sister.

"Zhao Rou? Li Guohai? Those names sound kind of familiar."

"That’s right, isn’t Zhao Rou Zhao Kun’s sister? I know who this young man is now."

"Me too. The Zhao family was a huge laughingstock back in the day. Zhao Qianxing’s daughter chose some commoner over a Cultivator from the Zheng family. The whole thing caused a massive scandal."

"The young man is Zhao Kun’s nephew. A nephew chewing out his own uncle—now that’s a rare sight."

Zhao Kun’s words sparked a new wave of discussion from the onlookers, who watched the unfolding scene with even greater interest.

Meanwhile, Qin Yue, who had been watching from a distance, was also shocked.

’Could Zhao Kun and Li Yang be related somehow?’

She knew who Zhao Kun was—one of the country’s top tycoons, a man she often saw on TV.

As for Li Yang, all she knew was that his father and her own father had been college roommates and were very close. Beyond that, she knew nothing. It seemed now that there was a part of Li Yang’s background she was completely unaware of.

Hearing Zhao Kun’s words, Li Yang replied nonchalantly, "How my parents raised me is none of your business, is it?"

He remained completely unfazed, even in the face of Zhao Kun’s thunderous expression.

This only made Zhao Kun even more furious.

"Fine. Very good," Zhao Kun seethed, truly incensed by Li Yang. "The next time I see Li Guohai and Zhao Rou, I’ll be sure to have a good, long talk with them!"

His expression was livid, but with so many people watching, he couldn’t resort to physical violence.

Suddenly, Zhao Kun turned to a nearby auction house employee. "Everyone here bought a ticket to get in," he said in a low, dangerous voice. "I suggest you investigate how this person, Li Yang, managed to get a seat here, especially since he’s being so insolent to one of the auction house’s guests!"

He was fully aware of Li Yang’s circumstances. Li Guohai was a failure who, after decades of work, had assets of barely ten million, most of which was sunk into his house.

In terms of status, it was impossible for Li Yang to be sitting here. He had seen Qin Shanchuan with Li Yang earlier and had subconsciously assumed Qin Shanchuan had brought him in. He was probably just hanging around because of his connection to Qin Shanchuan, maybe he was even just an intern here.

And so, Zhao Kun decided to attack Li Yang based on his perceived lack of status.

The auction house employee didn’t recognize Li Yang and hesitated, unsure of how to respond.

Just then, an elderly man approached from a distance, with Qin Shanchuan following close behind.

"Director."

Seeing the elderly man, the employee let out a sigh of relief and quickly greeted him.

The director, Zhu Tianfu, walked over with a smile. "Chairman Zhao, Li Yang," he said, "let’s try to keep things civil."

He had only just learned of the situation between Zhao Kun and Li Yang, and a flicker of surprise was visible deep in his eyes.

"Mr. Zhu," Zhao Kun asked grimly, "is this Li Yang one of your auction house’s employees?"

Hearing this, Zhu Tianfu smiled and shook his head. "Chairman Zhao, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. Mr. Li Yang is an honored guest of our Xuan City Auction House. In fact, the thirteen Bluefin Tuna up for auction today were consigned to us by Mr. Li Yang himself."