Lin Ye had never cared about titles like "Young Master of the Murong Clan" or "Heir of the Number One Family in Golden Dragon City."
When he tore off Murong Xuan'ang's ear in front of everyone, the entire auction house felt as if disaster had descended.
Murong Xuan'ang had long since been hollowed out by indulgence—he barely had any real ability.Yet his entourage was enormous, as if he were a petty emperor.
After all, he carried the identity of the Murong Clan's only heir.
Even if he walked into the Wind-Thunder Sect, people would still retreat and bow. Nobody would dare touch him.
Because provoking him meant provoking the entire Murong Clan.
But would Lin Ye ever take the Murong Clan seriously?
Even if his cultivation had not fully recovered, he still wouldn't.
"If you won't sell it," Lin Ye said flatly, "then I'll take it myself."
Then he snapped Murong Xuan'ang's finger—the one wearing the storage ring—clean off.
Crack.
The sharp sound echoed.
Murong Xuan'ang screamed in agony again.
"I'll kill you!"
"I'll make you die!"
Murong Xuan'ang roared.
Lin Ye answered with a single punch to his face.
Blood sprayed across Murong Xuan'ang's cheeks.
He collapsed unconscious instantly.
Thump.
Lin Ye tossed him onto the floor like garbage and calmly took the storage ring.
The ring was a high-grade one—its storage space was massive.
Lin Ye swept his gaze across the stunned crowd.
"What are you all staring at? You want to die too?"
"Carry him out."
Lin Ye didn't kill Murong Xuan'ang.
This confrontation had been started by him, and he was giving them a chance to live.
But if Murong Xuan'ang ever returned with more stupidity, Lin Ye wouldn't hesitate to wipe out the Murong Clan entirely.
"Take the young master!"
The old man who had been blasted away by the Heaven-Piercing Finger finally struggled to stand and issued the order.
His eyes were filled with fear when he looked at Lin Ye.
He was an Earth Transformation Third Realm cultivator.
Yet in that exchange, he couldn't even judge Lin Ye's depth before being crippled by a single finger.
If Lin Ye had wanted him dead, it would have been effortless.
So the old man didn't dare challenge him.
For now, losing an ear and a finger was nothing—Murong Xuan'ang was still alive.
That was already a blessing.
Murong Xuan'ang's servants and guards hurried out, carrying him away.
Inside the auction house, Xia Wei, Xia Lianzhou, Xia Hui, and the others were still frozen in disbelief.
"Lin Ye… you… you're the one being hunted by the Wind-Thunder Sect…"
Xia Hui's body trembled as he finally connected the dots.
Xia Lianzhou's stomach dropped.
Not only was this man wanted by the sect, he was strutting openly inside one of the sect's vassal cities.
It was blatant contempt for the Wind-Thunder Sect itself.
Lin Ye didn't care about their shock.
He tossed out a porcelain bottle.
"These five pills—how many spirit stones will you pay?"
Xia Wei was still processing what had just happened.
She caught the bottle automatically.
Inside were five third-grade pills—Earth Spirit Pills.
"Third-grade pills!" Xia Wei gasped.
Xia Hui rushed over and took one look.
"Earth Spirit Pills!"
He sucked in a breath.
"This scent… this luster… these are top-tier Earth Spirit Pills!"
"They're even better than what the Fire Cauldron Sect produces!"
In the entire Wind-Thunder Riverlands, only the Fire Cauldron Sect could refine third-grade pills—especially Earth Spirit Pills.
And even they produced very few.
They released at most one pill to the outside world every half year.
That was why nobody wanted to offend the Fire Cauldron Sect:It was for the allocation quota.
Three pills a year.
Those three pills were used as prestige bait.
Auction one, and a flood of customers would come.
Without something like that, nobody cared about ordinary items.
But now Xia Hui was staring at five Earth Spirit Pills.
His soul almost trembled.
No wonder this young man was so arrogant.
No wonder he tore off Murong Xuan'ang's ear and slapped Xia Lianzhou's face without hesitation.
It wasn't just because of strength—
Behind Lin Ye stood an alchemist of terrifying ability.
And an alchemist's power to rally allies was frightening.
Especially one capable of refining top-grade third-grade Earth Spirit Pills.
"They're real," Xia Wei said quietly, still shaken. "Xia Hui, appraise them."
Xia Hui wasn't just well-connected—he was also an elite evaluator, a master in treasure and pill appraisal.
He glanced at them and spoke decisively.
"Ordinary third-grade Earth Spirit Pills are worth between 2.8 million and 3.6 million spirit stones each."
"But these… their quality is exceptional."
"The Grand Prosperity Auction House is willing to pay 5.5 million spirit stones per pill for this batch."
"And if Young Master Lin is willing to become our exclusive supplier, we'll add another 100,000 per pill."
That meant 5.6 million each.
Lin Ye had five.
That was 28 million spirit stones in a single deal.
Xia Lianzhou stood completely dazed.
He unconsciously touched his cheek—the cheek Lin Ye had slapped earlier.
Strangely, he almost felt a faint sense of pride.
"Fine," Lin Ye said. "Keep the spirit stones here for now."
He pulled out a new list.
"These are the materials I want. Deduct the cost from the payment."
"If it isn't enough, I'll make up the difference later."
This new list was far more advanced than the one he had given Lei Yongbiao earlier.
Lei Yongbiao's network simply couldn't reliably access this tier of materials, and Lin Ye didn't waste time forcing it.
Xia Hui scanned the list.
"These are… fourth-grade materials, and quite a few fifth-grade ones as well."
"No problem. Within one day, we guarantee we'll gather everything."
He made the decision instantly.
Resentments were resentments.
Murong Xuan'ang versus Lin Ye was their business.
The auction house was in the business of profit.
And besides—Xia Hui had a far sharper eye than most.
Lin Ye didn't look like someone who was desperate or doomed.
He wasn't afraid at all.
What Xia Hui saw instead was calm calculation, planned moves, and absolute certainty.
There was a possibility.
A turning point.
Lin Ye had someone behind him—someone even more terrifying.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be acting this boldly.
Xia Hui had seen countless people.
He might not be right every time, but he was convinced about this one:
Lin Ye was not ordinary.
Lin Ye tossed another object onto the floor.
Clang!
It was the Five Tigers Cloud-Suppressing Cauldron.
"This is yours," Lin Ye said. "I don't need it for now. Take it back."
Since Murong Xuan'ang possessed the Heavenfall Flame-Suppressing Cauldron, Lin Ye no longer needed this one.
Xia Wei froze.
Because Lin Ye returning it instantly solved her greatest crisis.
She had gifted that cauldron to Lin Ye without payment—worth over seven million spirit stones.
If the relationship became a long-term business, that would be an investment.
If Lin Ye died, it would become a devastating loss.
And beyond that, she still needed to find an even better cauldron to satisfy the Fire Cauldron Sect's Master Three Flames.
But now—
The Five Tigers Cauldron returned.
Her problem dissolved instantly.
Not only that—
These five Earth Spirit Pills could bring the auction house massive profit.
With this quality, even a single pill could be auctioned at six million starting price—or even higher.
The prestige, the customer rush, the reputation expansion—
The value was immeasurable.
This "investment" in Lin Ye…
Had become a spectacular win.
They had profited beyond imagination.