Chapter 4858 — Those Are Seven Words

"Sister Xinyan is right—this Bao Wuliang is no good. He harasses the academy's female disciples all the time. I heard he pushed one so far she had nowhere left to turn and finally took her own life. It's just that his father's backing runs too deep; everyone's furious but no one dares speak up," Huang Xiaotao said, equally indignant.

"There's really such a thing? No wonder you all call him Bao Wuliang—couldn't be more fitting. Serves him right." Wei Zhao frowned. An ordinary wastrel he could have ignored, but a piece of human scum who treated lives so lightly—especially one with designs on Wang Xinyan—was not something he could simply leave alone.

Still, this was Morning Star City after all, and the man was City Lord Bao Fala's son. Even if Wei Zhao wanted to take him down a peg, it would not be easy; he would need the right opportunity.

"Actually, there's something odd about today's business," Wang Xinyan said thoughtfully. "Bao Wuliang has no shortage of spirit jade. The Nurturing Essence Magic Gold Grass is an incredibly rare natural treasure—even if he had no use for it himself, surely he wouldn't just casually put it up for auction?"

"Exactly. Last time he tried to use it to trick Sister Xinyan into becoming his cultivation partner. He got thrown out on the spot, sure, but that doesn't mean he'd just sell it off," Huang Xiaotao agreed, shaking her head.

For any Nascent Soul stage expert, this thing was a fatal temptation. With a philandering nature like Bao Zuoliang's, even if he had been rebuffed by Wang Xinyan, he would surely have used it on some other female disciple—and it would have worked every time. Why would he bear to put it up for auction? Was it really for spirit jade?

The son of the Morning Star City lord, selling such a treasure over a bit of spirit jade—was that even plausible?

At this, Wei Zhao caught on as well. He recalled how this thing seemed to have been watching his side the entire auction—strange behavior, to say the least. It made him feel this was not so simple. If the thing had been watching Wang Xinyan, that would have been understandable, but it had been fixed on him the whole time. That meant there was a real problem.

Could this thing be aimed at him? The thought flashed through Wei Zhao's mind. They had never met, true, but because of Wang Xinyan he was naturally on the opposite side—it was not impossible. Especially with Lu Dachang, an Opening-Mountain-stage titan, suddenly appearing in the middle of the auction. To say there was nothing fishy behind it all would be hard to swallow.

Looks like I'll have to keep a close eye on this thing from now on! Wei Zhao gave Bao Zuoliang a meaningful glance. It was only a guess, but the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed—and his intuition had always been sharp.

After the farce with Lu Dachang blew over, the rest of the auction was much quieter. Though the others bid with no less enthusiasm, without Wei Zhao in the fray and without Lu Dachang, that top-tier troublemaker, everyone felt somewhat deflated.

Wei Zhao did not place another bid for the rest of the auction. It was not that there were no good items—there were plenty of treasures and tools suited to Nascent Soul stage experts—but he never took a liking to any of them. For him, if he was going to get a support item, it had to at least be something that could deal with Mystic Ascension stage experts; the rest were not even worth a second glance.

So from beginning to end, Wei Zhao bid only once, at the very start, for a pair of Ghost-Eye Carved King Wings. After that, apart from the Nurturing Essence Magic Gold Grass ruckus, he just sat back and watched. Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao were even more straightforward—they spent the entire auction twiddling their thumbs, having come purely for the spectacle.

Which was only natural. All their cultivation resources were personally prepared by the East Sea Divine Nun; they never had to worry about such things themselves. Moreover, the East Sea Divine Nun's school emphasized cultivating the heart, self-transcendence and self-breakthrough, so apart from the necessary breakthrough aids, they rarely relied on external items.

Once the auction ended, Wei Zhao did not go to the Hong Merchant Guild; instead he accompanied Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao back to Morning Star Academy. He now lived at the East Sea Pavilion—the East Sea Divine Nun herself had made the offer, and of course he had jumped at it.

But before they could leave Morning Star Tower No. 1, Lu Dachang came scurrying up behind them, wagging like a happy dog. He could not wait to hand the Nurturing Essence Magic Gold Grass to Wei Zhao, then showered him with one "Grandmaster" after another, a whole string of flattery, before finally departing with great, satisfied guffaws.

"The man's conduct is outrageous and rascally—an Opening-Mountain-stage titan who carries himself with the manner and cunning of a small-time operator. Still, you have to admit he's quite a character," Wei Zhao said with an involuntary smile, watching Lu Dachang's receding back.

Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao covered their mouths and laughed. Only Wei Zhao could handle such a rascally titan with a few words; anyone else would have been nursing a headache—Bao Wuliang was a case in point.

The three returned to the East Sea Pavilion. After dinner together, the two women went off to join the East Sea Divine Nun for evening lessons—morning and evening lessons were an unbreakable rule. Wei Zhao went back to his own room as well, but instead of cultivating, he took out the Ghost-Eye Carved King Wings he had won at auction that day.

"Senior, what exactly am I supposed to do with this thing you had me bid on?" Wei Zhao had thought it over for ages and still had not the faintest clue, so he had no choice but to consult Gui Dongxi.

"Heh heh, aren't you the sharp-eyed one, kid? Even you can't figure it out?" Gui Dongxi began to play coy.

"I really can't. Alchemy is definitely out, and I doubt it's any use for artifact forging either. Looks like it can only be an exhibit," Wei Zhao said, shaking his head.

"An exhibit? Heh heh, the Ghost-Eye Carved King is, after all, the top-tier enhanced form of the Ghost-Eye Golden Carved. Even a Ghost-Eye Golden Carved is a treasure from head to tail—you really think a pair of Ghost-Eye Carved King wings is good for nothing but display? I can only give you four words: you're blind as a bat!" Gui Dongxi jeered without the slightest tact.

"That's seven words..." Wei Zhao was speechless.

"Kid, do you even know what sort of being the Ghost-Eye Carved King is?" Gui Dongxi changed tack.

"Could it be the king of the Ghost-Eye Golden Carved?" Wei Zhao guessed from the name—after all, Gui Dongxi had just said it was the top-tier enhanced form of the Ghost-Eye Golden Carved.

"Wrong. The Ghost-Eye Carved King is not merely the king of the Ghost-Eye Golden Carved—it is the king of all carved-type spirit beasts. And the carved has always been the king of a hundred birds, so calling it the king of flying spirit beasts would not be an exaggeration," Gui Dongxi explained.

"That ferocious? Then what does the Vermilion Bird count as?" Wei Zhao could not help but exclaim. He had always assumed that if one were to name a king of flying spirit beasts, the Vermilion Bird would win without question.

"In terms of raw power, the Vermilion Bird could indeed trample every flying spirit beast underfoot, but it is not a true flying spirit beast. If you really trace it back to its roots, its ancestor should be fire, not a bird," Gui Dongxi said with a curl of his lip.