"Even Lord Jiujie is participating?" The others couldn't help but gasp in surprise. After all, the Mu Jiujie mentioned by Qin Wan'er was the publicly acknowledged number one genius among the younger generation of the Nine Nether Sparrow Clan. Her strength had already reached the peak of the Ninth Grade Sovereign Realm, and she was the captain of the First Squad of the Nine Nether Enforcement Team.
Moreover, she was Elder Tianling's designated successor. Once she broke through to the Earth Sovereign realm, she would officially take over the entire Enforcement Team. Within the Nine Nether Sparrow Clan, her prestige was already extremely high. For her to be dispatched for this mission made it clear how much importance the clan placed on the Dragon God Ruins.
"Alright, let's head out." Seeing that Xiao Yan had no further questions, Qin Wan'er waved her hand and led the group into the spatial transfer formation leading to the Divine Beast Continent. Xiao Yan glanced curiously at the array—it was far more convenient than the space wormholes of the Dou Qi Continent. 'Maybe I can set one up like this when I return to the Dou Qi Continent someday.'
"Xiao Yan, you ascended from a lower plane. You probably haven't experienced anything like these ancient ruins before, right?" Qin Wan'er asked when she noticed the curious look in his eyes, assuming it was his first time exploring such a site.
"Nope. Exploring ruins, ancient caves, treasure-hunting—I've done it at least hundreds of times. I know the whole process by heart." Xiao Yan shrugged.
"Oh?"
"First, once we arrive at the area where the Dragon God Ruins will appear, there's bound to be an auction. That auction's theme will definitely be related to the ruins. Then… we'll run into a young master from some major power. He'll be the lecherous type, and since there are beautiful women in our group, he'll try to flirt with one of you. He'll get slapped down and end up bearing a grudge."
"Keep going." Qin Wan'er exchanged a look with the other woman in the group and nodded.
"Next, during the auction, when we try to bid on something we really want, that young master—still salty about earlier—will start bidding against us on purpose, jacking up the price. And of course, the item is crucial for us, so we'll have to overpay."
"Sometimes we might not be richer than the other side, but someone in our group will turn out to be a rich lady—absolutely loaded—and she'll crush the enemy with her bids. The other side will still have money but will be forced to hold back because they want to save up for the final item." As Xiao Yan finished speaking, the woman beside Qin Wan'er unconsciously touched her storage artifact—clearly, she was the rich lady he'd just described.
"And when that happens, what should we do? Just let them trample over us?" Qin Wan'er couldn't help but ask. She had encountered this exact situation on a previous mission—unintentionally provoking someone and ending up wasting a pile of money. The sheer unfairness of it had left her frustrated.
"Well, if you want to retaliate, try bidding on something useless to you—and useless to them too—while pretending it's a must-have. If they try to raise the price to mess with you, raise your bid a few times and then let them win it. They'll be the ones taking the loss." Xiao Yan thought for a moment. "That's how you flip the situation."
"Right! Why didn't I think of that!" Qin Wan'er clapped her hands, eyes lighting up in admiration. "Do that a few times, and even when we go after something we really want, they'll hesitate. It'll also deal a psychological blow. Not a bad tactic at all."
"Well, of course, this means they'll hold an even bigger grudge and try to get back at us later. I'm not afraid of that, but it's still a hassle, so I usually don't bother with such low-level tricks anymore." Xiao Yan added with a smile. "I prefer having others spend their money for me."
"You're a freeloader?" the other woman blurted out instinctively. But before she could say more, Qin Wan'er raised a hand to stop her. Realizing her slip, she stuck out her tongue and said no more.
Another man in the team picked up on Xiao Yan's hidden meaning and asked curiously, "You're saying someone else buys the item you want? But… how do you get it back afterward? Are you some kind of peerless thief with legendary stealth techniques?"
"I'm no thief. I just kill and rob." Xiao Yan smiled faintly. "If someone's going to offend me, there's no need to leave room for reconciliation. Since they want to snatch things from us, then let them have it—for now. In the end, it'll still end up in my hands."
The whole team went silent, exchanging uneasy glances. They hadn't expected this seemingly easy-going guy to be so ruthless. Over a minor grudge, he was already thinking about killing someone. Qin Wan'er couldn't help but ask, "Isn't that… a bit too extreme?"
"Relax. I always prepare thoroughly before I act. I guarantee no one will find out who did it. And of course, if I'm accidentally exposed, I've got escape plans ready too." Xiao Yan chuckled. 'I haven't been hunted much in this life, but in my past life, I went through it tens of thousands of times. I'm used to it by now.'
Qin Wan'er was speechless. That wasn't what she meant at all...
Xiao Yan, of course, noticed the looks in their eyes and could guess what they were thinking. 'They probably think I'm too ruthless,' he thought. But he didn't bother to explain himself. In his view, these people had been coddled too much under the protection of the Nine Nether Sparrow Clan. Once they were bloodied a few times, they'd understand the value of what he'd said.
After that little episode, the rest of the journey continued in silence. Except for Qin Wan'er, the other team members now looked at Xiao Yan with a hint of distance in their eyes—clearly uneasy that his impulsive violence might drag them down later.
Xiao Yan didn't mind. In fact, he felt a bit relieved—this was exactly the outcome he wanted. He was interested in the Dragon God Ruins, but traveling in a group would limit his movements. And if they found something valuable, he'd likely have to split it.
That wasn't his style.
So from the beginning, Xiao Yan had planned to distance himself from the others. Once they entered the ruins, he would move alone. That way, everything he found would belong to him alone.
(End of Chapter)
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