Chapter 363 A Grand Performance (Part 2)
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Seeing the Spirit Stone gleaming brilliantly on the case, Xiao Guizi felt not joy but alarm.
He blurted out, "Superior, you really don't need to bid with Spirit Stones, Lian, Lian doesn't need them either."
The teenager was speaking so incoherently.
What he feared the most was Wang Chen mistaking his relationship with Lian, which was why he had emphatically clarified earlier that Lian stood no chance of winning the Oiran crown tonight, hence there was no need to spend Spirit Stones.
It should be known that for every copper flower priced at one Spirit Stone, the organizers would take a forty percent cut first, then the songstress would take another forty percent.
In the end, only twenty percent would actually reach the songstress.
Only the Oiran would receive all the Spirit Stones.
Under such circumstances, Wang Chen's act of bidding with flowers was less beneficial than simply giving the Spirit Stones directly to Lian!Nôv(el)B\\jnn
At the moment, Xiao Guizi felt an impulse to kneel before Wang Chen and plead with him to take back the Spirit Stones.
Wang Chen chuckled: "I know, you just do as I said."
He was, of course, well aware that bidding with flowers was less effective than giving Spirit Stones.
The problem was that since Lian had gone on stage till now after one song was played, she hadn't received even one flower hairpin.
Her Yingluan Bird was ranked the lowest!
Clearly, the guests present were all too aware of Lian's true appearance, so no matter how well she sang, she couldn't spark their interest.
Wang Chen felt sympathy for her struggle and therefore lent his support.
All for that one song.
"Hehe."
Right at that moment, an odd, mocking voice sounded from a private room on the fourth floor: "The Red Sleeve Fang really has fallen, even a ghastly freak with a scarred face can take the stage now. Are they trying to make us vomit?"
A burst of laughter suddenly rang out through the hall.
Hearing these words, Lian, who was about to sing on stage, turned pale instantly and couldn't help but tear up.
The scar on her face was a lifelong agony.
Being cruelly and publicly exposed like this, it naturally hurt her deeply.
Xiao Guizi's face changed color as well.
The young man clenched his fists, struggling to resist the impulse to confront the speaker.
He knew that any impulse on his part would only bring disaster upon Lian.
More importantly, the opponent could crush him with just the flick of a finger!
Lian opened her mouth to find that she couldn't sing at all, feeling icy cold and utterly despondent.
"If you find it disgusting, just leave."
Wang Chen suddenly spoke out: "Don't disturb my listening to the music."
As soon as this was said, the room fell into dead silence.
Everyone couldn't help but exchange glances.
Xiao Guizi, shocked and trembling, said: "Superior, this, this is Lu Pengze from the Lu Family, he's, he's not someone who reasons. You'd better leave quickly!"
Although Lu Pengze wasn't comparable to the First Master of Wang Family or Fifth Master of Wang Family, he was not someone who could be offended easily.
This man was narrow-minded and vengeful; he truly could not be provoked!
"Good courage!"
That voice sounded again: "It's no problem if Lu Pengze were to leave, but may I ask the honored name of Sir?"
Lu Pengze's tone turned chilling: "I'm very eager to see for myself!"
No sooner had his words fallen than the temperature in the entire hall seemed to drop, and everyone felt a chill.
Many eyes turned to Wang Chen's private room.
Some with pity, some with sympathy, some with schadenfreude, and some with sighs of regret.
Setting aside Lu Pengze's reaction, how could someone in a third-floor private room possibly contend with those on the fourth floor and come out unscathed?
The higher-ups are revered. Lichun Courtyard has five floors in the main building, with the higher status occupying higher seats; an empty box would remain unoccupied rather than be given to a guest who lacked the status.
This was a rule of the Red Sleeve Fang, and one of the rules of Lotus City as well!
Wang Chen sitting on the third floor indicated that his status surely couldn't match Lu Pengze's, apart from clueless youngsters who else would do such a foolish act.
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Everyone could foresee that Wang Chen was about to face misfortune!
Xiao Guizi was almost crying, desperately lowering his voice, "Superior, let's leave now."
If we don't leave now, it will be too late!
"Thinking of leaving?"
Unfortunately, Lu Pengze heard it; he scoffed, "This Superior, how do you plan to leave? Crawling out through the dog hole of Lichun Courtyard?"
Once Lu Pengze said this, everyone had a clear picture in their minds.
Being able to sit on the third floor meant one's status was not low, and the Purple Mansion Superior completely fit the bill.
However, if he were a Superior with a strong background, he definitely would have been seated on the fourth or even the fifth floor—Golden Core cultivators would not come to such a place.
In other words, the Superior who was butting heads with Lu Pengze had no significant origins or backing.
Otherwise, Lichun Courtyard wouldn't dare to slight him in the slightest.
A mere common Superior like him, Lu Pengze truly had the right to look down upon and insult!
Even though what Lu Pengze said wasn't funny, some of the bystanders still laughed out loud.
Interesting!
Wang Chen stood up and walked to the railing, looking up at the fourth floor.
He met a pair of cold and fierce eyes!
The other party had about a dozen people, packing a private room to its full capacity.
Most of them had Purple Mansion cultivation level!
Lu Pengze looked down from above at Wang Chen with a sneer, "This Superior, have you gone mute?"
He emphasized the word "Superior" heavily, saturating it with an even stronger tone of mockery.
The laughter from the spectators grew louder.
Just when everyone thought Wang Chen was about to face major misfortune, he flicked out a Jade Token.
The Jade Token, not even half a foot long, flew to suspend above the stage, instantly casting a clear and bright light, conjuring the large, ethereal characters "West Sea."
The laughter stopped abruptly!
Someone said with a trembling voice, "West, West Sea Jade Insignia!"
The West Sea Spirit Domain was the territory of the West Sea Sect.
The people living on this land, whether they were commoners or cultivators, couldn't escape the influence of the West Sea Sect in their lifetimes.
Wang Chen had just displayed his Identity Plaque, and there was almost no one present who didn't recognize it!
The West Sea Jade Insignia, that was the identity marker of an Inner Sect Disciple of the West Sea Sect!
As for the authenticity of the Identity Plaque—who would dare to impersonate a member of the West Sea Sect in Lotus City with the audacity of a bear's heart and a leopard's gall?
Thud!
Someone fell to the ground.
And Lu Pengze, who had been looking down on Wang Chen, saw his mockery transform into panic.
He instinctively retreated two steps, as if by doing so, he could avoid the retaliation coming from Wang Chen.
Wang Chen smiled, "Lu Pengze, you insult a disciple of the West Sea Sect; today, only one of us can leave the Lichun Courtyard alive, you guess whether it will be you or me!"
These words stunned the entire audience.
Who would have thought that such a trivial quarrel would escalate to a life-or-death duel?
But Wang Chen wasn't overreacting at all. As an Inner Sect Disciple of the West Sea Sect, if he allowed Lu Pengze to insult him without fighting back, what would be lost wouldn't just be his own face once word got out!
It was entirely reasonable for Wang Chen to declare a life-or-death duel with Lu Pengze under the pretext of defending his sect's honor.
People even felt that this was the proper response!
However, Lu Pengze thought differently. When he realized that he had accidentally struck a hard nail and was likely to shatter utterly, he immediately squeezed out a fawning smile, "Fellow Senior Brother, this, this is all a misunderstanding!"
Lu Pengze had once practiced in the Outer Sect of the West Sea Sect, and now, as a Purple Mansion cultivator, addressing Wang Chen as Senior Brother was already conceding defeat.
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The second update is served.