Adding 1 Black Sea coin was not the problem. Tang Ling would increase by half a coin if it was useful.
He had totally forgotten that he was a ‘wealthy noble’, so all he did was bid again and again with every bid being only 1 coin higher than the last bid. It felt dull and boring after a while.
Tang Ling did not care about the floor price in his heart because he knew he had to buy the vial of black blood no matter what. After all, he was the little seed’s father, and as a father, while he could fail, he could not do something half-heartedly.
Draconic Twelve’s floor price was 20,000 Black Sea coins on the dot. Anything more than that and he would give up.
Tang Long was having a hard time watching the bidding war. What was wrong with the guy on the first floor?
He wanted to tell Draconic Twelve to continue bidding, but the latter shook his head and thanked Tang Long for his kindness.
Draconic Twelve had always been a rational person. In fact, he only had a vague guess about that vial of black blood and was unsure of the outcome. Had he been sure, he would not have been this rational and might probably cross the line, but only by a little.
In the end, Tang Ling got the strange black blood with 20,001 Black Sea coins, marking the end of the black market auction.
Nothing much happened after the auction. Everyone was invited to the office behind the hall to complete the necessary procedures and receive their items.
One had to give it to the black market for handling the privacy and safety of the guests so outstandingly. The whole process was organized and quiet.
After the guests collected their items, secret passages were prepared for the guests to take their leave.
Tang Ling got quite the harvest from the auction. He gained 30,000 Black Sea coins and more in the blink of an eye, but it also came and went like the wind. It felt like a dream to him.
…
“You just had to meddle with it, didn’t you?” After the auction ended, the copper-faced man did not leave right away. Instead, he turned to Jian Fei and stared into his eyes.
“No! Be fair to me, please. I didn’t meddle with anything after your warning, but I did do a little something to the vial of blood beforehand.” Jian Fei shrugged.
In fact, he did do something to the vial of blood before the auction even started. The original color of the black blood should have been a beautiful and fascinating sky blue color, but he used a little trick to turn it black.
His little trick covered up the biggest feature of the blood because he could not guarantee that the old foxes on the third floor would turn a blind eye to the blood. The hidden experts of Darkness Port should never be underestimated.
“Fine. If you insist…” The copper-faced man still sounded as strange as ever.
“No. Please! This might be the life-saving straw for Tang Ling.” Jian Fei’s expression suddenly looked grave.
The copper-faced man was quelled. A while later, he said, “Aren’t you neutral?”
Jian Fei looked out of the window. The auction had gone on for a whole day and the Purple Moon was already hanging in the sky. His eyes landed on the moon and he said, “I am neutral. I’m ready to sway wherever the wind blows, but if I don’t hold on to something, it gives me the creeps. It’s not good for one to know too much.”
…
After the auction ended, Tang Ling went back to Dvesha Moha.
After all, he still needed Boss Huang to have a look at the strange things he had bought at the auction.
Following a little play session with the two balls and some chit-chat with Han Xing, Tang Ling went straight to the study room to look for Boss Huang.
However, when he took the vial of blood out, he was awestruck. The black blood in the vial had suddenly turned into a glistening sky blue.
As a matter of fact, Boss Huang had also been at the auction and knew that Tang Ling had gotten himself a vial of black blood, but even he was clueless about what it was. However, when he saw the blood turned sky blue, he was flabbergasted as well and his face twitched uncontrollably.
This whole auction reeked of conspiracy! He knew what this vial of sky blue blood was!
Did the black market do this on purpose?
Boss Huang was pondering about the question with tightly locked brows. In the next moment, he snatched the vial of sky blue blood at a speed so quickly that Tang Ling could not even see it. Then, he pinched Tang Ling’s chin and poured the sky blue blood into his mouth without a second thought.
No matter what the black market was thinking or what the person behind all this was trying to achieve, Boss Huang was delighted to become someone who pushed things to fruition.
Now, it was too late to change anything. Tang Ling had drunk the blood. Was it the most desired outcome? Or the most unpredictable one?
Cough! Cough, cough!
Tang Ling widened his eyes at Boss Huang as he choked. The blood smelled weird, and when poured into his mouth, it was not only pungent but tasted horrible as well.
He wanted to yell ‘What the f*ck did you do?’ at the boss, but before he could, he felt a powerful suction force at his heart as all the blood he drank was sucked into it, fusing with the little seed instantly.
Then, the little seed woke up. Tang Ling’s consciousness started to fade away while a strange explosive feeling filled his chest. His eyes started to feel heavy and his vision began to become blurry. He could barely see his surroundings as if he was behind a veil of thick mist.
What was that feeling in his chest? Tang Ling suddenly picked up a familiar scent. It was the feeling when the little seed first had appeared!
What happened? Tang Ling could not think straight at the moment, but he felt a powerful force binding him, pressuring him, and controlling him. There was also his spirit consoling him ceaselessly.
He did not and could not compute how long the condition lasted.
When he woke up, he found himself in front of the boss who was looking at him with a calm and confident gaze.
The first thing Tang Ling did was not to argue with the boss. Instead, he looked at the clock on the wall. It had only been three minutes.
“What did you do to me?” He bolted up and looked furious.
“I did a careful experiment. Even I don’t know what that was, so I tested it on you,” said the boss.
Tang Ling’s veins were popping.
Which part of that is being careful to you?!
Boss Huang ignored his reaction and said with an innocent look, “And then I found out that it’s just a stimulant which will make one extremely powerful and furious. If I hadn’t hold you down, you might have already gone mad.”
Tang Ling blinked helplessly as he really felt as the boss described.
I spent 20,000 Black Sea coins on a stimulant? No, it’s 20,001 Black Sea coins! I cannot accept it! I must…
With that in mind, the expression on Tang Ling’s face changed. He yelled at the boss, “I don’t care! I don’t freaking care! You tricked me! I spent 20,001 Black Sea coins on this baby and you wasted it! Give me back the money!”
“Give you back the money? How much?” An evil smile curled up at the boss’s mouth.
“Erm…Half?” Tang Ling believed he was being a saint to the boss.
Three seconds later, he was kicked out with 1 Black Sea coin in his hand as the boss’s compensation.
…
After the auction, Darkness Port returned to its peaceful state once more.
With the arrival of spring, the weather got warmer. The sea in March and April was the most charming, and even the aquatic produce was plentiful, so the people in the city got busy again.
Whilst being carried away by work, everyone seemed to have forgotten about the Hell Ledge Challenge that stirred up quite the commotion a few months ago. It had also been a while since any of the young geniuses challenged the Hell Ledge.
As for the two most high-profiled teenagers, Tang Ling and Tang Long, they were gone, as if they disappeared into thin air.
Phew!
Tang Ling put down the carving knife and exercised his stiff neck. He smiled as he happily checked the umbrella in his hand.
It should be April, isn’t it? What’s the date today?
Tang Ling was clueless about the date and day. After the auction, his life became simpler. He only cultivated, smithed, and practiced combat arts everyday. He would also squeeze some time out to continue making the present for Higan.
That day, all four umbrellas of the quad-colored dandelion that demanded his patience and care were finally completed. Every umbrella of a different color was kept away carefully. His crafting skills experienced a huge improvement ever since he started on it, so he was able to carve the fluffiness on every single umbrella.
Only the stem was left. He would have to use the Polymerized Conch Mud that he bought the last time combined with a formation. Tang Ling also got more familiar with the drawing of formations.
He started to look forward to the final outcome as he wondered if Higan would be happy after she received it.
If Higan’s spirit was powerful enough, the quad-colored dandelion could really serve as a little protective weapon by her side. Even if it was not that useful, would she understand his feelings?
What kind of feelings would that be?
The feelings to protect her, of course!
*Hmm, but it seems like she’s a lot stronger than me…*Tang Ling mocked himself with a chuckle.
He kept the last umbrella away. Even if Higan was really a lot stronger than him, it did not matter. Whoever said that someone powerful would not need protection?
“Tang Ling, are you coming or not?” Han Xing’s impatient voice came from outside the room.
At this time every day, Han Xing would cultivate with Tang Ling in the cabin area.
Of course, Han Xing was not as rich as Tang Ling, so he could not afford luxurious cultivation, but he was still a genius and had his own way around things such as fighting in the arena to earn some cultivation money.
“I’m coming.” Tang Ling kept the umbrellas away and made sure the two little balls were not hiding in some corner to steal his umbrellas before he happily joined Han Xing.
His cultivation was not as extravagant when he got his money, but he still managed to maintain two to three hours of cultivation per day. As for the remaining time, he would rent the training room in the cabin area to practice his combat arts.
The more he practiced, the more he realized what the benefits of the combat arts were. Tang Ling regretted he did not have enough money to buy a few more combat art manuals.
Tang Ling had already mastered the nameless author’s combat arts manual that only had the basics and no ultimate. Other than the methods of exerting strength and the combat steps from the manual, he also mastered the other five basic techniques and could even perform it better now.
That was the intensity of Tang Ling’s comprehension!
However, Lucar’s combat arts disappointed Tang Ling a little. Given his comprehensive study of the translated version that he got from the auction, he was able to utilize the techniques very quickly, but after that, he finally realized why the old man back in the Floating Ice Black Market had warned him that it was as strong as a cat’s fart.
Indeed, Tang Ling could use the technique, but it barely had any power.
Nevertheless, it did not stop him from admiring Lucar. Even though it was just an ultimate without any power, the bizarre thoughts that surfaced in the manual inspired him and increased his understanding of how he should perfect his combat arts.
As for the other manual, Tang Ling found it strange.
