Of course Evan Lin heard Lena Zhong’s words. He glanced over and saw a middle-aged man and a young man slowly making their way through the crowd, followed by several others—clearly elites from the Azure Moon City Lord’s Mansion.
"We’ve both disguised ourselves now, so even if Bai Dong is that formidable, there’s no way he could recognize us. This time, everyone coming from Rainbow Court is someone important, so we’d better keep a low profile. All Ten Great Powers will be here." Lena whispered to Evan Lin.
Evan Lin smiled faintly and said, "It’s really an honor to stumble into such a grand auction. Your Stormtower’s intelligence network is the best—do you know if there’s any headline treasure at this auction?"
"There isn’t really a headline treasure this time, just a bunch of items with sky-high prices—way beyond what ordinary people can afford. This isn’t the place to talk; let’s wait until we’re inside the city." Lena glanced around and said.
The two followed the flow of people along the main road to the gates of Rainbow City. On the city gate, the same characters were inscribed. Evan Lin glanced up and saw ‘Rainbow City’ written there, which surprised him for a moment, but then he understood—Rainbow Court probably got its name from this city.
The city walls were dozens of meters high, packed with guards, all looking spirited and imposing. Even the weakest were at God-Lord level; several God-Kings stood among them, likely captains, while the wall commander was probably a God-Emperor. Evan Lin couldn’t help but marvel at Rainbow City’s strength.
More people were entering Rainbow City than leaving. The city gate was about dozens of meters wide, with a checkpoint set up at the entrance—everyone had to pay an entry fee to get in.
The soldiers collecting the entry fee were split into three teams, each with ten members. Besides paying the fee, everyone entering the city had to register their identity. It was the first time Evan Lin had seen this kind of system.
The entry fee was five mid-grade Violet Cloud Crystals. With tens of thousands entering Rainbow City every day, it added up to a considerable income.
After paying the entry fee, Evan Lin and Lena Zhong made up a fake name and entered the city. The prosperity of Rainbow City far surpassed Azure Moon City—it was one of the God Realm’s Ten Great Cities, with streets hundreds of meters wide.
Of course, there were street vendors hawking their wares on both sides of the road, but Evan Lin wasn’t much interested anymore. Still, with so many people entering the city, plenty stopped to buy things—the business was booming.
"Where exactly is Rainbow Court? And where’s the auction being held?" Evan Lin asked in a low voice.
"Rainbow Court is an independent estate—even though it’s inside Rainbow City, there’s a strict forbidden line. If you’re not part of Rainbow Court, you can’t cross that line; otherwise, you’ll be treated as a traitor and attacked. If you need to enter, you have to submit a formal visiting post. Rainbow Court is like a fortress—absolutely impregnable." Lena explained.
Evan Lin glanced at the crowd on the street and asked, "Didn’t you say Rainbow Court is almost all women? Lots of people come here to seek a match—so how do they get inside?"
"Every year, Rainbow Court selects dozens of female disciples for the marriage selection. During that time, they leave Rainbow Court and come into Rainbow City. Whether someone finds a match is up to fate—some win beauties, some go home empty-handed." Lena replied.
Evan Lin didn’t say much more. Every sect had its own way of managing things, and the stronger the sect, the stricter its rules. He noticed that many people on the street were at least God-Lord level, and occasionally he even spotted God-Emperors.
"Lin Feng, now that we’re in Rainbow City, the first thing we need to do is get Admission Tokens. Without one, you can’t enter the auction venue, and you won’t be allowed to bid on anything." Lena said.
"Let’s hurry, then. I bet loads of people want Admission Tokens—it could take ages to get through the line. Better to go early." Evan Lin said. He’d already been through two auctions before, and each time he’d made a killing. He was sure this time wouldn’t be any different.
The buildings lining Rainbow City’s streets were all towering, with every kind of shop imaginable. But now wasn’t the time to sightsee; Evan Lin and Lena Zhong followed the crowd straight to the place where Admission Tokens were being handed out.
Three long lines had already formed here, each like a giant dragon, with nearly a thousand people in total. Guards were stationed all around to keep order, and everyone took their turn to get an Admission Token.
Evan Lin and Lena Zhong waited in line with the crowd, and during that time he learned how the Admission Token system worked. It was actually one of Rainbow City’s major money-makers—a place where the city raked in huge profits.
This time, the auction was set up on the enormous central plaza of Rainbow City. The auction venue had been built months in advance, split into ordinary seating and VIP areas—pretty much the same as auctions in the lower realms and Immortal Realm.
There were ten VIP rooms that were free—reserved for the Ten Great Powers. All other rooms required payment: ordinary seats cost one thousand mid-grade Violet Cloud Crystals, VIP rooms cost one thousand high-grade Violet Cloud Crystals. The VIP rooms were split into first, second, and third class; the first-class ones were those Ten Great Powers’ exclusive rooms, and even with Violet Cloud Crystals, you couldn’t buy your way in.
The key was the second- and third-class rooms: there were fifty second-class rooms and two hundred third-class ones. One thousand high-grade Violet Cloud Crystals only got you a third-class room; second-class required three thousand. No one really knew what the differences were.
Most people in line chose ordinary seats. Some weren’t there to bid at all—just to watch the spectacle. After all, everyone here was either rich or powerful, and without at least ten thousand Violet Cloud Crystals, it was hard to buy anything you really wanted.
Even if you did manage to buy something, it wasn’t necessarily safe—once you left the auction, you might get chopped to pieces. Rainbow City had a special place called the Duel Platform, a giant arena hundreds of meters across. If a dispute came up, you could settle it there—life and death both allowed.
Every city had rules against causing trouble inside its walls, but conflicts were bound to happen, so places like this were set up. Every day, plenty of people died or got hurt here—it was a truly bloody ground.
"Ling’er, what kind of Admission Token should we get—a VIP one or just an ordinary one?" Evan Lin whispered to Lena Zhong.
"VIP, of course. But third-class is fine—I don’t want to see everyone’s shocked faces when I’m bidding." Lena replied.
"So, should we get one room or two?" Evan Lin asked again.
"What do you think?" Lena countered.
"Let’s do two. How about we see who ends up with the most valuable loot this time?" Evan Lin grinned…