Chapter 225: One Sentence Made a Man Spend 190,000 for Me

An Miaoli’s heart churned with frustration, but An Yuyi was all smiles, replying to the transmission talisman with a quick message before eagerly tugging her aunt back to the sect. Her plan had worked perfectly—Ye Chen was coming to her of his own accord. That Li Feng didn’t stand a chance against her now.

Still, the thought of Li Feng brought a twinge of regret. Without the Thunderbane Bamboo Core, An Yuyi would have to delay forming her Golden Core by a few years. Defeating Li Feihuang was going to be a steep challenge.

An Miaoli, meanwhile, was less than thrilled. Seeing her niece’s excitement, though, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything. With a quiet sigh, she let An Yuyi pull her along, hurrying back to the sect’s gates.

“Ye Chen, is this your first time at the Divine Will Sect?” An Yuyi’s voice was bright as she greeted him. “This is my aunt’s Quiet Wonder Peak. It soars 70,000 meters high, and at dusk, the sea of clouds turns golden—it’s breathtaking. The most magical part? There’s a school of cloud fish living in the clouds, swimming through them like they’re water. It’s unique to our Divine Will Sect. Aunt loves fishing for them, but she’s never actually caught one.”

After meeting Ye Chen, An Yuyi eagerly pointed out the wonders of the Divine Will Sect. Ye Chen took it all in, noting how the sect far surpassed his own Green Cloud Sect. The Divine Will Sect teemed with exotic birds and beasts, almost like a paradise on earth. The spiritual energy here was several times denser than at the Green Cloud Sect. Truly, this was the mark of a great sect.

Once they settled at Quiet Wonder Peak, An Miaoli spoke, her tone calm but measured. “We were at the auction earlier. When Yuyi received your message, she insisted on rushing back. Apologies for the slight delay and any inconvenience.”

Though she disapproved of Ye Chen’s manipulative tactics—look at what he’s done to my niece—he had helped them significantly in the past. So, An Miaoli kept her demeanor polite.

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow at her words. “Senior An, you were at Heavenly Evolution Pavilion’s auction as well?”

Realization dawned on him. So, the one fiercely bidding against him had been the very person he intended to gift the item to? No matter. Even if he’d known, he would’ve still fought to win it. Besides, this little competition might not be such a bad thing after all.

…

“Also?” An Miaoli raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued.

Before she could say more, An Yuyi huffed, her voice brimming with frustration. “Yeah, Aunt and I were trying to bid on the Thunderbane Bamboo Core. It’s only worth about 50,000 high-grade spirit stones, but someone kept competing with us! We pushed the bid all the way to 180,000—more than triple its value—and they still wouldn’t back down. I’m starting to think they were deliberately driving up the price. When they hit 190,000, we gave up. If they were just inflating the bid, let it rot in their hands! Good luck finding another buyer willing to pay 180,000!”

Ye Chen’s lips twitched. With a subtle movement, he reached into his storage pouch and pulled out a jade box. He opened it, revealing the vibrant, emerald-green Thunderbane Bamboo Core, pulsing with lively spiritual energy, now sitting before the two women.

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An Yuyi’s words cut off abruptly. Her youthful face froze, her pupils contracting sharply. Even An Miaoli, who had been keeping her distance from Ye Chen, parted her lips in quiet shock.

This… Ye Chen was the one bidding against them?

The room fell silent, the atmosphere tinged with awkwardness.

An Yuyi pressed her lips together tightly. She hadn’t expected Ye Chen to be their opponent. Had she just caused him to spend an extra 100,000 high-grade spirit stones?