?

Bai Lu, Third Heaven of the Great Saint realm, Elder of the Divine Flame Emperor Palace.

Due to his advanced age, his cultivation could hardly achieve any further breakthroughs, but he was shrewd and quick-witted, thus tasked with the daily management of the Shenhuo City Auction House.

He had held this position for ten years.

This was no secret.

Virtually everyone within the Divine Flame Emperor Palace, and even Shenhuo City, knew of Elder Bai Lu.

Therefore, even though Yu Youwei was merely a servant, she had heard Elder Bai Lu's name within the Divine Flame Emperor Palace. She had even been fortunate enough to attend an auction with her previous master and had once shared a brief encounter with him.

Of course, it was impossible for Elder Bai Lu to remember a mere servant like Yu Youwei.

"Elder Bai?"

Zhang Ke'er froze, then pointed at the black-clad figure, her face filled with sheer disbelief:

"Bai... Bai Lu???"

"Chu Chen, you've been in our Divine Flame Emperor Palace for less than a month. How could you possibly command Elder Bai Lu?"

In truth, let alone Chu Chen, even she, the Saintess of the Divine Flame Emperor Palace, had no authority to command Bai Lu.

Because Bai Lu had managed the Shenhuo City Auction House so flawlessly over the years, the Empress had personally decreed that he was solely responsible for its daily operations and would accept orders from no one but her-not even the Masters of the five sub-palaces.

Yet... yet Chu Chen, who had only met him once, had actually...

Zhong Sheng also widened his eyes, glancing back and forth between Bai Lu and Chu Chen with deep bewilderment. He felt a sudden wave of panic in his heart~

As a fellow Great Saint, had his job as a Dao Protector just been usurped by this bastard Bai Lu?

When on earth did these two strike a deal?

It made no sense!

From the moment they entered the Shenhuo City Auction House until now, he hadn't left Chu Chen's side for a single breath. Even if the two had wanted to conspire, there simply hadn't been an opportunity.

He, Zhong Sheng, was a Great Saint powerhouse. No matter how monstrous Chu Chen's talent was, he was currently only at the Ninth Heaven of the Essence Condensation Realm. How could he possibly communicate secretly right under his nose?!

Damn it, were Great Saints this weak nowadays, and little Essence Condensation Realm ants this heaven-defying?!

The mysterious figure smiled faintly, no longer keeping them in suspense, and slowly peeled off his mask in front of everyone.

"Bai Lu pays his respects to Young Master Chu, to Her Highness the Saintess, and to Elder Zhong."

After removing his mask, Bai Lu offered a bow to each of the three, then turned around, casting a rather surprised look at Yu Youwei:

"Miss possesses a heart of exquisite clarity. Truly remarkable!"

Being publicly praised by a Great Saint powerhouse, Yu Youwei's face instantly flushed crimson. She hurriedly bowed in a fluster, keeping her head lowered, not daring to utter a word.

For a mere servant, stealing the spotlight was never a good thing.

Had it not been for Chu Chen's explicit command, she... she, Yu Youwei, absolutely would never have exposed Bai Lu's identity and stolen Zhang Ke'er's thunder.

"Elder Bai Lu, it really is you!!"

Zhang Ke'er was stunned. She stared at Bai Lu, then stared at Yu Youwei, her beautiful large eyes brimming with confusion as her twin-tails bounced incessantly:

"But why is it you? Elder Bai Lu, could it be you are also a member of the Red King Palace, taking orders from Qi Lao'er?"

"You've got some nerve, Bai Lu! Do you know your crimes? The Empress decreed long ago that you are solely responsible for managing the Shenhuo City Auction House and must not take orders from anyone except Master! Yet today, you dare..."

Before Zhang Ke'er could finish her accusation, Bai Lu was already frightened into a cold sweat. His weathered face turned deathly pale as he frantically waved his hands in defense:

"A misunderstanding! Your Highness, you misunderstand!"

"The Empress has shown this old man profound grace and recognition. I would absolutely never act behind the Empress's back..."

Before Bai Lu could finish his desperate explanation, Chu Chen waved a hand, forcefully interrupting:

"Enough, Elder Bai Lu, there's no need to panic. Ke'er is merely joking with you."

Saying this, Chu Chen shifted his gaze to Yu Youwei:

"Yu Youwei, you explain it. I want to see exactly how much of this scheme you managed to deduce."

"Yes... Master!"

Given Yu Youwei's disposition, she despised standing out, as it was far too easy to offend Zhang Ke'er.

But Chu Chen's commands stood above all else, including her very life. She immediately cast aside her hesitation and smoothly detailed her thoughts:

"This servant never attended the auction, but from listening to the esteemed lords discuss the matter just now, I deduced that after Elder Zhong Sheng... utilized spatial laws to imprison the Ye sisters, Her Highness the Saintess originally intended to execute a lethal strike. Master did not stop her at first, but ultimately spoke up to dissuade her..."

"At that moment, it must have been Elder Bai Lu who sent a voice transmission to Master, hoping... hoping that Master would spare them?"

Yu Youwei was slightly uncertain, but under Chu Chen's encouraging gaze, she gathered her courage and pressed on:

"As for why Elder Bai Lu wished for Master to spare the Ye sisters, that is quite easy to guess!"

Hearing this, Zhang Ke'er blinked her large eyes, growing more thoroughly bewildered by the second.

It was easy to guess?

Then why couldn't she guess it???

No!

Even if she couldn't guess it, she absolutely could not ask.

With so many people remaining silent, if she was the only one to ask~

Wouldn't... wouldn't that make her look far too dim, foolish, and uncultured?

"Elder Bai Lu has overseen all matters, great and small, at the Shenhuo City Auction House for ten years. Naturally, he must place the auction's interests above all else. Although the Ye sisters were overbearing, they had ultimately won numerous supreme treasures at the auction. Furthermore, Her Highness's identity as the Saintess had already been exposed."

"Regardless of the underlying reasons, if the Saintess were to attack them at the auction house entrance-or anywhere within Shenhuo City-the thousands of cultivators attending the event would assume our Divine Flame Emperor Palace was acting out of greed, intending to kill to seize treasures. If that happened, who would ever dare attend the Shenhuo City Auction House again? It would inflict catastrophic damage upon the reputation of our Divine Flame Emperor Palace."

"Thus, this servant deduced that Elder Bai Lu negotiated with Master to preserve the auction's reputation, while Master seized the opportunity... seized the opportunity to demand that Elder Bai Lu help him reclaim... reclaim these treasures."

Having finished, Yu Youwei knelt before Chu Chen, speaking with deep trepidation:

"Master, please forgive me. The above was merely this servant's blind speculation. It cannot be taken as truth!"

Clap! Clap! Clap!!

Before Chu Chen could even speak, Bai Lu was already looking at Yu Youwei with profound admiration, openly applauding her:

"Remarkable! Truly remarkable!"

"Without having witnessed the events firsthand, you have deduced eighty to ninety percent of the truth. Miss is genuinely brilliant and unparalleled in wit."

Yu Youwei remained filled with trepidation and had not yet spoken.

Off to the side, Zhang Ke'er's face had long since darkened. She glared at Bai Lu with wide eyes, issuing a soul-piercing interrogation:

"Are you implying, Elder Bai Lu, that I, Zhang Ke'er, am neither brilliant nor witty? That I am just slow and foolish?!"

Yu Youwei hadn't even been there, yet she could piece together the entire sequence of events flawlessly.

But... but she, Zhang Ke'er, had stuck to Chu Chen's side from the moment they left the Divine Flame Emperor Palace's gates, all the way until they returned to Chaos Peak, yet...

Yet, aside from eating two sticks of candied hawthorns, she hadn't managed to figure out a single thing.

Wah wah wah~

Compared like this, if she, Zhang Ke'er, wasn't a fool, what was she???

"..."

Elder Bai Lu was momentarily struck dumb. Only then did he remember the Saintess was standing right there, and he frantically waved his hands in denial.

"Alright, Ke'er, stop teasing Elder Bai Lu."

Seeing this, Chu Chen shook his head helplessly, though he was clearly struggling to suppress a smirk.

However, Chu Chen knew that while Zhang Ke'er was somewhat willful and haughty, she was absolutely not malicious or vindictive.

"Yu Youwei, well done! You shall be rewarded!"

"Just not right now. First, serve tea to Elder Bai Lu."

Hearing this, Yu Youwei secretly let out a sigh of relief. She hurriedly rose to boil water and brew tea for Elder Bai Lu.

"Young Master Chu, I have delivered on my promise."

As he spoke, Bai Lu gave another sweep of his sleeve, and a second Storage Ring flew toward Chu Chen:

"Thanks to Young Master Chu's blessing, the profits from our auction this time increased nearly fivefold. This Storage Ring contains fifty percent of the total profits from this event. I only hope Young Master Chu will not refuse..."

Before Bai Lu could even finish his polite formalities, the Storage Ring stuffed with Spirit Stones had already vanished into Chu Chen's possession.

What?

Refuse out of politeness?

Polite my ass!

If he, Chu Chen, hadn't commanded Zhong Sheng to ruthlessly drive up the bids during the auction, would that foolish woman Ye Han have ever paid such astronomical prices?

These were entirely what he, Chu Chen, rightfully deserved~

"Haha, Young Master Chu's character is... exceptionally straightforward and candid. This old man genuinely enjoys dealing with people like you-direct and without beating around the bush."

Bai Lu sipped the hot tea Yu Youwei had brewed while forcefully laying on the flattery:

"I merely hope that regarding this matter, Young Master Chu, Her Highness the Saintess, Elder Zhong Sheng, and this young miss will not... will not spread word of it, lest it tarnish the sterling reputation of my Shenhuo City Auction House."

For him, the presiding Elder of the Shenhuo City Auction House, to actively rob his own guests of their legitimately won treasures immediately after the event ended-no matter what righteous excuse or justification he presented, it simply could not be defended.

"But of course!"

"Elder Bai need not worry."

"This lady is the Saintess of the Divine Flame Emperor Palace! Would I ever do something detrimental to my own sect???"

...

Having received affirmative guarantees from the group, Elder Bai Lu finally breathed a complete sigh of relief.

"Young Master Chu, you truly possess the foresight of a god!"

"When this old man was preparing to annihilate those two from the Ye family, I even unleashed the [Spatial Detonation] art, yet at the critical juncture..."

"A Protective Dao Seal unexpectedly manifested upon that woman named Ye Han, erupting with an absolute power this old man simply could not contest, tearing through the void and whisking the two of them away."

Recalling that terrifying force, Bai Lu still felt lingering dread:

"This old man originally intended to forcefully intercept them, but that Dao Seal seemed to harbor a trace of Saint King realm Pressure. Since the task you entrusted to me was already complete, Young Master Chu, I reconsidered and refrained from acting further, allowing them to escape."

Hearing that the Ye sisters had departed safely, Zhang Ke'er stomped her feet in sheer fury, silently cursing Bai Lu for being a useless, incompetent coward.

Yet, only Chu Chen fully understood that these old foxes were truly unparalleled in their shrewdness.

Had Bai Lu launched another assault, attempting to forcefully slaughter Ye Han and Ye Lingyue, the one to die would undoubtedly have been Bai Lu himself.

After all, that Protective Dao Seal harbored not only the divine power of Ye Shanhe, the Ye family's Saint King realm Ancestor, but also concealed a wisp of Extreme Dao power from the Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon, the Heaven-Reaching Mirror...

After exchanging a few more polite pleasantries, Bai Lu rose and took his leave.

The moment Bai Lu vanished, Chu Chen widened his eyes, staring fixedly at Zhong Sheng, who was still leisurely sipping tea.

That piercing gaze made Zhong Sheng's heart crawl with unease. He thought to himself that he hadn't offended this little ancestor.

Could it be that his secret identity as an mole had been exposed?

That shouldn't be the case; he had obviously concealed himself perfectly.

But when Zhong Sheng realized that not only Chu Chen was staring at him, but Her Highness the Saintess, Zhang Ke'er, was boring holes into him as well, it finally clicked.

"This old man... this old man's water at home has just boiled. I need to make a quick trip back. You two chat! You two chat~"

Saying this, Zhong Sheng tore through the void with his bare hands, fleeing back to his dojo to "boil water."

A dignified Great Saint needing to boil his own water? Would anyone believe that?

However, whether anyone believed it or not was no longer important. As long as this old geezer Zhong Sheng was gone, it was time to divide the spoils.

Chu Chen waved his hand. The Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill, Wind Spirit Grass, Zixia Bixian Fruit, the Slaying Heaven Sword Canon, and even mountainous piles of Spirit Stones-all of these supreme treasures manifested in the grand hall.

Looking at Zhang Ke'er, who was practically drooling, and Yu Youwei, who kept her head respectfully bowed, not daring to overstep in the slightest, Chu Chen smiled:

"Ladies, help yourselves~"

Faced with Chu Chen's invitation to split the loot, Zhang Ke'er acted with absolute naturalness. Yu Youwei, however, was instantly shocked stiff, her words devolving into an anxious stammer:

"Master, does... does this servant get one too?"

...