Urban: It turns out this is a comprehensive world

In the past, the martial arts world believed that "life and death are predestined, and wealth and honor are determined by fate." If someone came to challenge you, even if you knew you couldn't win, you had to bite the bullet and accept the challenge.

Winning is fine; you can hold your head high and feel proud. Losing, on the other hand, can result in disgrace, serious injury, or even death. In severe cases, it can lead to the destruction of your family and the extinction of your lineage.

Now it's different. Even if you fail to accept the challenge, or even if you don't accept it, you'll only lose face at most, but it won't jeopardize the foundation of your lineage.

For those forces that only seek to continue their lineage, this price is nothing.

In today's era of rapid technological development, such forces make up the vast majority. After all, no matter how high your martial arts skills are, you can't stop a whistling bullet; even if you can barely stop a bullet, you can't withstand a more powerful artillery shell; even if you can withstand artillery shells, how many cannonballs can you withstand?

Moreover, there are precision-strike missiles and various more destructive advanced weapons waiting in the wings.

Faced with absolute technological power, the so-called "number one in the world" is nothing but a joke and is utterly meaningless.

Therefore, the purpose of these forces that are frantically bidding for the Dragon Tiger Pill is very clear: they want to pave a shortcut to the Innate Realm for their outstanding descendants in their families or sects who are stuck at the peak of the first-class level.

In this era, having one more innate expert might not change anything, since it's no longer an era of seizing territory by force. However, it has extraordinary significance for the succession of power.

It should be known that a powerful expert at the Innate Realm can live for a full 150 years, barring any unforeseen circumstances! This is not a vague theory, but a fact. Innate Realm experts, nourished by their abundant true qi, can indeed live to be 150 years old, or even longer.

Having a long-lived, innate-level expert in charge is enough to ensure the survival of a force for a hundred years, which is the core reason for their crazy bidding.

"150 million!"

As the price continued to climb, fewer and fewer bidders appeared in the room. Just when the price was stuck at 14 billion, a slightly weak but undeniably firm and determined voice suddenly came from a private room, raising the price to 15 billion!

A brief silence fell over the entire room. Everyone was stunned, then lowered their heads in deep thought. Was it still worthwhile to continue investing more money to compete for this Dragon Tiger Pill, whose effects had diminished? 15 billion was already far beyond the expectations of most forces.

"Hmm? That voice... it's that little brat!"

Inside Luo Lingtian's private room, Mo Yu, who had been watching the bidding with great interest, suddenly changed his expression upon hearing the voice. He abruptly sat up straight, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes, and a chilling killing intent emanating from his body.

"Who?"

After spending this time together, the atmosphere in the private room had become relaxed and harmonious.

Qin Qingcheng, Dongfang Mingyue, and Song Xinyan no longer lingered around Luo Lingtian. Instead, they huddled together with Wenren Yajing and Lin Ruoxue, chatting quietly and sharing their experiences. Luo Lingtian, Mo Yu, and Luo Yuntian sat on the other side, occasionally exchanging a few words.

Hearing the murderous intent in Mo Yu's tone and seeing his unusual behavior, Luo Yuntian became interested and asked curiously.

"Who else could it be? That little brat from the Dragon King's Palace, Xiao Chen!" Mo Yu sneered, a playful smile on his face. "I didn't expect him to be so badly injured, yet he still dared to come to the auction with half his life on the line. It seems he wants to bid for this Dragon Tiger Pill to heal his injuries and improve his strength, and then seek revenge on me."

"Oh? So you've made an enemy of him?"

Luo Yuntian's interest grew even stronger. Some time ago, he took Lin Ruoxue to another city to handle company affairs and paid little attention to the situation in Haishi.

I just returned to Hai City today and haven't had time to catch up on recent developments before Luo Lingtian dragged me to the auction. Naturally, I don't know about the conflict between Mo Yu and Xiao Chen, let alone that Mo Yu almost killed the new Dragon King of the Dragon King Palace.

"..." Mo Yu's smile faded slightly, somewhat reluctant to mention the matter, but he also knew that this matter would eventually reach Luo Yuntian's ears, so rather than having others relay it, he would rather explain it briefly himself.

Then, Mo Yu succinctly recounted the grudges and entanglements between herself and Xiao Chen, from Xiao Chen harassing Wenren Yajing at the police station to her later attempt to eliminate him, and the subsequent severe injury she suffered at his hands.

"As expected of the 'Dragon King'." After listening to Mo Yu's story, Luo Yuntian's eyes narrowed slightly, and his tone was somewhat wistful. He had truly witnessed the absurdity of people like the "Dragon King".

In the past, he had read many urban fantasy novels in Luo Lingtian's study, and he always felt that the arrogant, lustful, and brainless dragon king protagonists in the novels were too exaggerated and that such people could not possibly exist in reality.

Until recently, when he learned that Xiao Chen, the new Dragon King of the Dragon King Palace, had come to Haishi, he secretly thought that the real "Dragon King" might be a bit flamboyant, but he was still the leader of a force and shouldn't be as outrageous as those in novels.

But now it seems he was too conservative.

While imprisoned in the police station with a criminal record, he still dared to openly flirt with a policewoman? This isn't just arrogance; he's practically asking for trouble!

Luo Yuntian shook his head, secretly thinking: It's a miracle that such a brainless guy could sit in the position of leader of the Dragon King's Palace.

"So what do you plan to do?"

Luo Lingtian asked curiously, his gaze sweeping across the private rooms on the second floor of the auction house through the one-way floor-to-ceiling window, finally locking onto Xiao Chen's private room as he spoke.

He knew perfectly well that although the higher-ups had loosened some policy restrictions on Shanghai and its surrounding cities for some unknown reason, openly taking action would be a foolish act that crossed the red line.

Therefore, even knowing that Xiao Chen was in the auction hall, Mo Yu could only suppress his killing intent and dared not make any rash moves.

Even after the auction ends, we can't make trouble in public. The only way is to keep a close eye on Xiao Chen's whereabouts and find a secluded place to take action.

"Hmph, after suffering such serious injuries, instead of hiding and barely surviving, you dare to come out and cause trouble? You're practically asking for death!"

Mo Yu's lips curled into a sinister smile, his tone icy and chilling, "Have someone keep a close eye on him the whole time. Make sure they find out where he's recuperating. Then go straight there and make him disappear completely!"

As expected, Mo Yu's thoughts were exactly as Luo Lingtian had predicted.

"That voice...it's Xiao Chen!"

In another luxurious private room, Yu Bingyu heard that slightly weak but still somewhat arrogant voice. She suddenly sat up straight from her seat, her beautiful eyes narrowed sharply, and a sharp, cold aura instantly spread around her.

"That's right, it's that bastard Xiao Chen."

Zhao Hao's face also darkened instantly, his eyes so sinister they could drip water. Xiao Chen was a mortal enemy he had to eliminate. Although the two hadn't had much contact, as a martial arts expert, he had a far more acute sense of the enemy's voice and aura than ordinary people, and he recognized him accurately as soon as he heard it.

He cursed himself inwardly for his negligence. Too many powerful people had come to this auction, a mixed bag. In addition, he had heard that Xiao Chen had been seriously injured by Mo Yu and was almost on the verge of death. He had assumed that Xiao Chen had neither the courage nor the strength to attend the auction. Otherwise, given his vigilance, he should have discovered Xiao Chen long ago.

"Judging from the sound, his injuries have probably only recently stabilized."

Zhao Hao tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, his eyes flashing coldly. "So you're here for that Dragon-Tiger Pill, hoping to use it to quickly recover from your injuries, or even increase your strength? What wishful thinking! I won't give you that chance!"

He had originally planned to bid later, but Xiao Chen's bid immediately plunged the entire auction hall into a brief silence. Many forces that had originally intended to bid were now backing down.

Since that's the case, let's add fuel to the fire!

"200 million!"

Zhao Hao spoke without hesitation, his voice resounding throughout the auction hall through the sound transmission device in the private room. The domineering and confident tone of his voice silenced the entire hall once again.

In retrospect, he only just realized his oversight; the plot of the Dragon King novels he had read in his previous life had completely deviated from the original story.

In the novels of my previous life, it was just a pure Dragon King fantasy, without so many intricate forces, and the auction was not held by a behemoth like the Li family.

Even the Dragon Tiger Pill went undiscovered; it was hidden in the scroll of an ancient painting and was discovered by Xiao Chen after he auctioned the painting.

If this auction follows the novel's plot as it does, with the Dragon Tiger Pill still hidden in the ancient painting scroll and yet to be discovered, it's indeed impossible for Xiao Chen, in his current critically injured state, to risk his life to participate.

However, the Li family in this world is completely different from the auction house with a mediocre reputation in the novel.

Or, to put it another way, in this world, the person who auctioned that ancient painting discovered the Dragon-Tiger Pill inside the scroll, which is why the Dragon-Tiger Pill became a separate auction item.

Although the auction promotional materials did not specify what kind of pill it was, pills themselves are a scarce resource in the martial arts world and are priceless.

It was understandable that Xiao Chen, having received the news, rushed to participate despite his serious injuries.

As for what the commentator just said, that the pill was unearthed by the auction house's archaeological team? Zhao Hao scoffed, knowing perfectly well that this was just an excuse from the auction house. Nine times out of ten, the auctioneer didn't want to reveal his identity, so he said that.

Otherwise, if it were discovered by auction house people, the Li family would never have put it up for auction.

Although the Li family is not a martial arts family, they have connections with some families in the martial arts world. Such pills can be traded directly with familiar martial arts families or sects, and the benefits would be greater.

At the very least, the Dragon Tiger Pills auctioned off wouldn't be bid on with money; they could be exchanged for rare medicinal herbs, metals, or other special requirements.

Using money to bid is clearly not the style of a family like the Li family, so it can only be the request of the owner of the Dragon Tiger Pill.