Applause broke out, sounding a bit abrupt.
The crowd parted, and from the deepest corner stepped out a middle-aged man in a yellow mandarin jacket.
"Victor Qian!"
Seeing who it was, someone gasped in surprise.
Victor Qian is the real boss behind Jared Qian International, and also the one in charge of today’s auction.
He didn’t look old—maybe in his early forties. On his right thumb he wore a jade ring, giving him a distinctly refined, old-money vibe.
“A hero rises young. I guess we’ve gotten to know each other through a bit of friendly sparring.”
Victor Qian wore a genial smile as he walked over. When he reached Drake Huang’s side, he glanced at him and gave a slight bow. “We really have to thank Master Huang for holding back just now and not letting the auction see blood. Otherwise, that’d be a terrible omen for today, haha.”
Victor Qian laughed heartily. As soon as he spoke, everyone around instantly understood.
“Exactly, that must be it. Even though that kid looks insanely strong, how could he possibly withstand so many attacks from Master Huang? I bet Master Huang was just making sure there wasn’t any blood at the auction, so he went easy.” Hearing Victor Qian’s words, people nearby started speculating.
"I think so too. But even if that's the case, the fact that this kid could take a few moves from Master Huang in front of everyone already makes him a rare genius. I doubt there's another young fighter like him in all of River City." Many people looked at Lin Yi, their eyes full of admiration.
Lin Yi raised his eyebrows, his gaze playful.
After Victor Qian stepped out, he dissolved the tension with just a few words. Lin Yi’s last punch had sent Drake Huang flying—smacking him in the face in public—but with Victor’s intervention, everyone now felt like Huang had gone easy on him, saving face.
Drake Huang’s eyes were still sharp and dangerous as he looked at Lin Yi, but he didn’t step forward again—clearly because of Victor Qian’s presence.
"What do you think, young man?" Victor Qian looked at Lin Yi and spoke slowly, smiling.
"What if I say no?" Lin Yi smiled, his voice loud enough to make everyone’s heart skip a beat.
He’d just beaten up their guy on their turf, and now Victor Qian was clearly here to smooth things over—yet Lin Yi actually refused?
"If that's the case, I can understand. You martial artists probably enjoy testing your skills, but I imagine you didn’t come here just to show off, did you?" After a brief pause, Victor Qian’s smile returned as he looked at Lin Yi, clearly hitting the mark: "There’s less than two minutes until the auction starts. If you insist on a duel with Master Huang, you can always do it later. For now, why not join the auction? After all, we’re all here to find something good, right?"
"I think everyone here would support that idea, right?" Victor Qian glanced around at the crowd.
"Yeah, we’re here for the auction. Kid, you can challenge Master Huang in private later. I’m sure he’d be happy to give you some pointers."
"Boss Qian’s got a point. The auction’s the main event—it’s about to start."
For a moment, everyone was talking at once.
Obviously, they were all siding with Victor Qian.
At that moment, Summer Mu stepped forward: "Let’s go to the auction first."
Lin Yi glanced at him, thought for a moment, then nodded: "Alright. Master Huang, next time, I’ll be sure to pay you a visit."
Lin Yi’s real reason for coming was the auction—he wanted to find spiritual herbs to quickly restore his strength.
He’d just run into Warren Wu and, on a whim, slapped him to the ground—mainly to draw out Drake Huang. After all, a place this grand had to have a top expert in charge.
And sure enough, things went just as Lin Yi expected.
In those few moments of fighting, Lin Yi actually gained a bit of respect for Drake Huang—at least his skills and cultivation were enough to catch half an eye from Lin Yi.
But if anyone knew that, in Lin Yi’s eyes, Drake Huang only rated half a glance, they’d probably be speechless.
"There’s a VIP room on the third floor—I’ve asked the staff to prepare it for you. Please follow them upstairs, the auction’s about to begin." Victor Qian nodded to Lin Yi. Behind him, two curvy women in pink cheongsams stepped forward, bowed slightly, and smiled: "This way, sir."
Lin Yi cast one last glance at the disheveled Warren Wu in the crowd, then followed the two cheongsam-clad women up the stairs.
All eyes were on him.
"Hey! Summer! Wait for me!"
Keaton Wang hurried after Summer Mu, tailing him eagerly.
Rachel Liu still hadn’t recovered from everything that just happened, staring in surprise as Lin Yi headed for the VIP area.
"Sis, your classmate is awesome." Megan Liu whispered to Rachel, "With those moves, if he fought Keaton Wang, he could probably take on fifty or sixty of him by himself."
Thinking about it, Megan Liu’s eyes sparkled with longing.
Julia Du frowned, still processing everything that happened, her gaze flickering as she watched Lin Yi walk away—no telling what she was thinking.
"Let’s go upstairs." Linda Zhao spoke calmly, not even glancing at Lin Yi or calling Keaton Wang back. Instead, she headed for another staircase.
"This way." Simon Zuo’s smile was awkward; everything that just happened had thrown him off. He glanced at Rachel Liu, and when he saw her calm, unreadable face, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Doctor Wu!"
Finally, someone remembered Warren Wu and helped him up from the floor.
Warren Wu dusted off his clothes and coughed: "An elder does not fight the young. I spared him because he’s just a junior—otherwise, I could’ve dealt with him with a single needle."
Trying to comfort himself, Warren Wu looked a mess, but soon he regained his immortal-doctor aura. Adjusting his mindset, he put on his fairy-like demeanor again.
Once he finished speaking, Warren Wu strode toward another VIP staircase, heading to a different third-floor room. But anyone could see his white robe was now covered in dust.
Victor Qian turned away, his smile fading bit by bit.
Drake Huang watched Lin Yi go upstairs, then slowly withdrew the hand he’d kept behind his back, hiding it inside his sleeve.
But if you looked closely, you’d see Drake Huang’s palm was already dripping with blood.