Dragon Tamer

Zhu Minglang had been on alert the whole time, looking to see if a group of men would suddenly burst in and tie him up with his hands behind his back.

The bounty offered by Wen Lingfei must have reached Neon Sea as well, and it had even been raised to Four Million Jin.

If only he had known, he would have used an alias…

It was also bad luck that he had been recognized on the spot by a woman who had been to Miao Kingdom.

So much for blending in – that maid might already be gathering troops to capture him and deliver him to Miao Kingdom for the Four Million Jin bounty!

After a long while, Zhu Minglang saw no sign of movement.

The maid stood silently by the side of Queen of Xiayu Country, occasionally explaining things in a low, gentle voice to the guests.

By the third segment, Zhu Minglang was completely out of his depth.

However, not many people had made it into the third segment, only five or six.

One Hundred Thousand Jin, even though the people here were either rich or noble, was not a sum everyone was willing to part with.

Zhu Minglang did, however, see Young Master Han, who had upped the bid. He looked somewhat similar to Han Wen, and was likely her brother.

“Didn’t manage to scare everyone off,” Han Su remarked.

“To be frank with Young Master Han, even up to the touching phase, one can’t be certain about the egg. It might give off Spiritual Energy because of its location over the Eye of the Spiritual Spring, not because it has the ability to absorb energy on its own,” an elderly man with black and white hair beside Han Su said.

“So we give up?” Han Su asked.

“Let’s wait and see what others decide first. If this creature can absorb Spiritual Energy before even hatching, getting it for under Three Hundred Thousand Jin would be worth it,” the black and white-haired Dragon Tamer said.

…

It was Zhu Minglang and Luo Shaoyan’s turn.

The maid smiled, her bright cheeks revealing a hint of anticipation.

Zhu Minglang had no idea what the seemingly tender-looking young girl was plotting.

Luo Shaoyan reached out to touch it, not with his fingertips or palm, but with the back of his hand.

His hand gently glided over, as if searching for something.

Zhu Minglang didn’t speak, he just watched quietly.

If even Great Instructor Lin Zhao had praised Luo Mountain Sect’s Dragon recognizing techniques, Zhu Minglang saw no reason to question them.

“To tell you the truth, whether this Spirit egg will hatch a once-in-a-lifetime Dragon or a worthless Juvenile Spirit is still a fifty-fifty chance. I also know now why there is so much controversy surrounding it among the common folk. It is surrounded by Spiritual Energy, and one can feel that it’s absorbing it. Yet, the life energy it exudes isn’t as strong as imagined. Apparently, it hasn’t been able to turn that Spiritual Energy into its own life force. It’s like a sickly person who is taking supplements but can’t absorb any nutrients,” Luo Shaoyan said.

“It can draw Spiritual Energy into its body, but can’t use it to strengthen itself. Quite an awkward little creature,” Zhu Minglang said with a bitter smile.

It was like a shop.

Every day, it attracted many customers.

For the vast majority of businesspeople, having a good source of customers is extremely important, with plenty of foot traffic being half the battle won.

But what if none of the customers actually bought anything in your shop?

They just look around but never spend a dime!

Probably this unhatched little guy was in that kind of predicament.

“Yeah, but who knows, after it hatches, maybe it will be able to absorb, and these things are unpredictable. If this were the second round, I might have gone for it because the cost is roughly around One Hundred Thousand Jin. Even if it ends up useless, the loss would just be One Hundred Thousand. But in the third or fourth round, the risk of going further would be too great,” Luo Shaoyan said.

“You mean to give up following it?” Zhu Minglang asked.

“Might as well give up and save some funds for that Thunder Dragon Egg; after all, it hasn’t cost you a dime,” Luo Shaoyan said irritably.

The funds for the first two rounds had all come from Luo Shaoyan.

The third round, it was the little maid’s turn to host.

If he backed out now, Zhu Minglang wouldn’t lose a single penny.

“I lack a Juvenile Spirit, so I might as well follow once. If someone raises the bid again, I’ll give up,” Zhu Minglang said.

“That also works.”

Most Dragon Shepherds would stockpile many Juvenile Spirits. Even if some Juvenile Spirits could never transform into dragons, they would still keep them as pets.

The Thunder Dragon Egg was indeed the star of today, while this contentious Spirit Egg was merely a side dish.

If he could secure the Thunder Young Dragon, Zhu Minglang would naturally be overjoyed.

The Thunder Dragon was also a type of Purple Dragon.

But even if he managed to get the Thunder Dragon, it wouldn’t prevent him from raising an extra Juvenile Spirit as a reserve.

Zhu Minglang chose to follow.

This time the follow-up bid was also one hundred thousand jin. Each time one followed, the bid had to be no less than the last.

“Sir, will you forfeit or follow?” the maid asked with a smile.

“Follow. Is anyone raising the bid?”

“Not for the moment. But it’s hard to say about Young Master Han. Sir, do you wish to raise the bid? There aren’t many competitors left, and if you’re keen on winning, you might drive away the rest without having to go to the fifth round. This could very well be the final bid,” the maid explained, knowing that Zhu Minglang wasn’t very familiar with the rules.

“Fine, raise it to one hundred fifty thousand jin,” Zhu Minglang said.

“Alright then.” The maid made a record for Zhu Minglang.

…

The dispute over this controversial Spirit Egg reached its climax.

Zhu Minglang was waiting to enter the fourth round when suddenly the Queen of Xia Yu Country spoke up.

“In the fourth round, only Mr. Zhu chose to follow, totaling two hundred seventy-five thousand jin. He has won this Dragon Egg. We will invite a master to break its hatching seal for it. Let’s all wait and see,” said the Queen of Xia Yu Country.

“We’ve taken it down?” Luo Shaoyan said, astonished.

Zhu Minglang hadn’t expected that by raising his bid, everyone else would give up.

“Some fools really fell for it, huh? This egg is just hype created by unscrupulous Dragon Egg merchants. They intentionally hired some so-called experts to concoct a simple story that makes people believe a Divine Dragon egg has fallen into the hands of ordinary folk. I never believed it from the start!” a rich merchant with a large belly said.

“You never believed it from the start, yet you followed to the second round?” someone said, laughing.

“Because my shop also heavily promoted it back then. I tried selling it for ten thousand jin, but no one was interested; now it ends up here, and a bunch of people are following with bids of one hundred thousand. It’s hilarious,” the fat merchant said.

“Is that so? Then you might have missed out on a real Divine Dragon,” a Dragon Shepherd who had followed to the third round said with a sneer.

“Gentlemen, let’s not engage in this pointless argument. Let’s just wait for the result.”

Zhu Minglang also ignored the rich merchant’s sarcasm.

Luo Shaoyan, however, looked rather uneasy.

If what hatches is truly worthless, he would have caused Zhu Minglang to lose one hundred fifty thousand jin.

“You were the last one to raise the bid, heh. I must admit, this Dragon Egg did give off a mysterious air at first, which is why I placed the initial bid. But if you look closer, you’ll realize that its innate talents are actually very mediocre,” said Han Su, approaching Zhu Minglang.

“I’ve spent money and at least I’ve got it. You’ve spent money, and except for making cool remarks afterwards, it seems you haven’t gained anything,” Zhu Minglang replied.

“Oh come on, I’m cutting my losses. Can’t you see that? For me, this was all just a game. Seeing someone get over their head and fooled makes me particularly happy. I can hardly wait to see the look on your face when a piece of junk hatches,” Han Su said.

Zhu Minglang smiled and refused to continue speaking with this Yin-Yang man.

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(Four chapters for today~~ That’s the update finished~~)