Not far away, in another top-class private room, a young man dressed in luxurious attire frowned slightly and said, "The lady who ranks second on the Celestial Ladder is currently in the room next to mine?"

"Yes."

A man in a suit knelt on one knee, slightly bowed his head, and continued, "This is important intelligence I just acquired. There’s another young man beside her, seemingly just an ordinary student by his attire, with no particularly distinctive aura. Perhaps, this is an opportunity."

"An opportunity?"

The young man smiled, looking playfully at the man before him, propping his chin with one hand, he asked, "Then I’d like to hear, what kind of opportunity do you think this is? How should it be executed?"

"Young Master Lu, with your striking appearance and unique aura, you could easily strike up a connection during the auction..." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Snap!"

The young man suddenly slapped the table, his previously playful gaze turning sharp instantly, a terrifying oppressive force erupted like a beast awakening from slumber, baring its fangs, staring at the prey before it.

He spoke slowly, his voice carrying an undeniable overbearingness: "Get out."

"...Yes."

The man lowered his head and left.

Behind him, the young man in the room slowly withdrew his aura, murmuring softly, "I despise these self-righteous fools, who, upon seeing a mere glimpse of the truth, believe they’ve found an opportunity and desperately try to seize it to ascend."

"But little do they know, the seemingly wonderful opportunity is actually a dead end."

"According to classified intelligence, there is only one man who can stay beside Broken Star, and that is the Divine Monarch who ranks first on the Celestial Ladder. It’s laughable to think of offending the ladder’s top rank just to connect with the one in second place."

Young Master Lu narrowed his eyes slightly, turning to his servant behind him, saying, "Prepare more treasures, and if we can’t succeed in the competition, then bribe from behind the scenes. Hopefully, we can succeed."

"Yes."

....

Time passed slowly, and Ye Mingqiu and Tang Ruobing stayed close together in the auction room, chatting intimately on the surface, but in reality, discussing cultivation and improvement matters quite seriously.

If someone else were doing such a thing, it would likely create an eerie sense of dissonance, but for them, it seemed exceedingly natural and harmonious.

"Ding~"

Accompanied by a gentle musical sound, their attention was gradually drawn to the single-sided floor-to-ceiling window, where the people from the Floating World Commerce Association’s auction had quietly prepared the stage. A voluptuous and beautiful auctioneer smiled and delivered her speech, her vaguely seductive charm captivating the crowd below.

It’s a combination of charm and allure, precisely balanced to not trigger a judgment of abnormal status resistance, yet it still makes one feel very fond of her, even to the point of feeling an urge to give everything for her.

Tang Ruobing frowned slightly, clinging tightly to Ye Mingqiu’s arm, saying, "Be careful, people like this are dangerous outside. Although you can ignore such temptations, others may not be able to, and if trouble arises from it, that would be bad, so I suggest you just cut down such people when you see them."

"Oh."

Ye Mingqiu responded softly, the soft touch on his arm making him feel very comfortable, and he smiled, saying, "If you’re worried, you can directly change the floor-to-ceiling window to two-way, I don’t mind."

The floor-to-ceiling window in the Floating World Commerce Association’s private room can be switched between one-way and two-way; inside, one can always see outside, but whether the outside can see in depends on the internal host’s adjustment.

"...."

Tang Ruobing fell into a brief silence, finally sighing deeply with resignation, saying, "Though I would like to, if I really did that, I’d probably get my legs broken when I get home."

"What a pity."

"Sigh!"

Tang Ruobing sighed again.

In truth, she used to have a great spirit of adventure, daring to do all sorts of dangerous things, like sneaking into the house to steal the household registration book.

But the beating she received last time hurt too much, making her now cautious despite having ideas, fearing the consequences upon returning home if she acted recklessly; life is precious, after all.

...

"Today’s first auction item is a rare material from the Spirit Realm, a Tier One True Dragon’s Reversed Scale from a Dominator Level entity."

The auctioneer waved with a smile, and the staff behind her opened a magnificent treasure box, revealing an ancient and mysterious scale to everyone present.

Numerous bidders’ eyes lit up, immediately displaying expressions of surprise on their faces, knowing that this was just the first product of the auction; if the first item was a Dominator Level material, the subsequent items would likely be even more valuable.

"The starting bid for this True Dragon Reversed Scale is ten thousand Spiritual Points," the auctioneer said with a smile.

"Ten thousand!"

"Ten thousand one!"

"Ten thousand two!"

...

Inside the private room, Ye Mingqiu watched the auction atmosphere, frowning slightly, and said, "Is a Dominator’s material worth this much? Are they seriously going to spend twenty to thirty thousand to buy it?"

"In a sense, it is worth it because they have no other channels to acquire such things. Only those with strong enough power or connections wouldn’t need them; these dragon scales are meant for poor people," Tang Ruobing explained.

"Tsk.... The premium is really steep."

"They have no choice. A Dominator Level may not be strong to us, and its materials hold little value, but for ordinary people, being able to use these materials to craft powerful equipment is quite a profit."

"Hard to say."

Ye Mingqiu shook his head slightly.