Chapter 1172: A Stormy Ataraxia City
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
As Zhou Ji announced the start of the auction fair, the attention of all the customers in Zhou Clan's Auction Square had also shifted from Duan Ling Tian and Feng Tian Wu to the auction stage.
Soon after, someone brought out the first auction item that attracted everyone's attention, including Duan Ling Tian.
However, Duan Ling Tian's interest vanished after just a glance at the item.
The first auction item was a bottle of grade one pill. Although the pill was contained in a pill bottle, Duan Ling Tian's Spiritual Energy easily detected the pill's attributes.
It was a grade one pill with less than 70% Purity.
In Duan Ling Tian's eyes, this was basically trash.
However, what Duan Ling Tian perceived as trash might not be perceived as trash by the others. Moreover, in the eyes of the people, it was a treasure they could only obtain by spending a lot of high-grade Origin Stones.
"I'll offer twenty high-grade Origin Stones!"
"Thirty!"
"Fifty!"
…
That bottle of grade one pill that Duan Ling Tian regarded as trash was successfully sold to someone at the cost of 120 high-grade Origin Stones. It caused Duan Ling Tian to sigh a little.
Let alone 120 high-grade Origin Stones, he was not even willing to spend one high-grade Origin Stone on a trash like that.
Pills were different from Spirit Weapons. A low-grade Spirit Weapon could still be refined in the furnace, but it was not the case for pills.
The auction fair continued to go on like a raging fire.
However, it was not tranquil at all in the Zhou Clan's mansion in Ataraxia City.
The entire Zhou Clan was in an uproar from the body that was sent into the Zhou Clan's mansion. All of the senior officials of Zhou Clan, who were at home at the moment and not in closed-door cultivation, had gathered together.
An old man wearing a green robe inlaid with gold sat on the highest seat in the Zhou Clan's main hall. The old man appeared to be in good shape, and the prestige that came from the calmness in his eyes subtly revealed an aura of supremacy.
This old man was none other than the current Clan Leader of Ataraxia City's Zhou Clan — Zhou Zheng.
The people sitting below were a group of people who had gathered there. Among them were old and middle-aged men. All of them were the Zhou Clan's elders.
At this moment, they were gathered around a body lying on the ground.
They were no stranger to the body at all.
Zhou Li was a Zhou Clan's elder and also the son of the Zhou Clan's grand elder.
One of the middle-aged elders of the Zhou Clan looked at Zhou Zheng sitting on the highest seat with a pair of huge eyes as he asked in disbelief, "Clan Leader, who did this?"
It was very hard for him to imagine someone who had the balls to do something like that.
How dare he killed the only son of their Zhou Clan's grand elder.
For a moment, all of the Zhou Clan's elders looked at Zhou Zheng, they were curious about this as well.
Their Zhou Clan's grand elder was a powerhouse who was well-known in Ataraxia City and its surrounding region.
In their opinion, being so bold as to slaughter the only son of their Zhou Clan's grand elder was just bringing about one's own destruction.
Under the curious eyes of the Zhou Clan's elders, Zhou Zhang shook his head instead. "I have no idea yet."
"No idea?" Zhou Zheng's words left the Zhou Clan's elders completely bewildered.
"Clan Leader… W-What do you mean by this? C-Could it be that we don't even know who killed Zhou Li?" One of the Zhou Clan's elders asked with a frown.
"In that case, doesn't this mean grand elder won't be able to find the killer if he wants to avenge Zhou Li?"
"If the grand elder comes out of his closed-door cultivation, he definitely won't be able to accept this."
…
Before Zhou Zheng could reply, the rest of the Zhou Clan's elders already fell into a discussion among themselves.
"The killer's still in our Zhou Clan's Auction Square." With this one remark from Zhou Zheng, the entire scene fell silent.
In the next second, a Zhou Clan's elder regained his senses first. His eyes gleamed coldly. "Clan Leader, the grand elder has sacrificed his entire life for the sake of our Zhou Clan. Right now, his only son was killed while he's in the midst of closed-door cultivation to make a breakthrough. We should capture the killer now and deal with him later when the grand elder finally comes out."
This suggestion from the Zhou Clan's elder was supported by the other Zhou Clan's elders.
"If this issue is as simple as that… Do you think I'll still ask all of you to come?" Zhou Zheng asked as he swept an indifferent glance at the Zhou Clan's elders.
For a moment, the Zhou Clan' elders were rendered speechless.
"Clan Leader, don't tell me there's a problem?" An astute Zhou Clan's elder asked.
"That's right." Zhou Zheng nodded before he continued to say, "Zhou Li is killed at the backstage of our Zhou Clan's Auction Square. When he died, Zhou Ji was present at the scene too."
Zhou Ji!
The manager of the Zhou Clan's Auction Square! He was also a Zhou Clan's elder that possessed great strength.
This was a matter of course. If his strength was not powerful, how could he possibly assume the post of manager at the Zhou Clan's Auction Square that was greatly important to the Zhou Clan?
"Elder Zhou Ji was at the scene too? Yet, the killer was still able to kill Zhou Li?" Many Zhou Clan's elders gasped. Their eyes narrowed instantly.
Zhou Ji was a Seventh Level Martial Monarch. His strength was among the top ten in Zhou Clan.
"According to Zhou Ji's words, he could not even react in time when that guy made his move. His strength is in no way inferior to Zhou Ji. In fact, it must be a lot stronger too," Zhou Zheng replied in a deep voice.
"Our Zhou Clan, including the Clan Leader and the grand elder, still has another three supreme elders who are stronger than Elder Zhou Ji. Won't it be easy for us to fight him?" Many Zhou Clan elders asked confidently.
"Of course, I know this," Zhou Zheng replied," However, the identity of the person who killed Zhou Li is not simple as well."
"Oh?" The moment Zhou Zheng's words left his mouth, it undoubtedly caught the Zhou Clan's elders' attention. "His identity is not simple?"
"According to the clan's disciple who sent Zhou Li's body back, the person who killed Zhou Li is a customer who has entrusted items to be auctioned off in our Zhou Clan's Auction Square…" Zhou Zheng replied slowly. He stopped when he reached this part of his sentence.
"Customer?"
"Since he's a customer, why would he kill Zhou Li?"
"Or could it be Zhou Li was the one who provoked him first?"
The group of Zhou Clan elders asked curiously.
...
"Today, there are two customers who came to put items up for auction in our Zhou Clan's Auction Square…" In the face of the Zhou Clan elders' doubts, Zhou Zheng told them the ins and outs of the story, including the fact that the customer who had killed Zhou Li actually entrusted a grade one Spirit Weapon that gave a 90% boost in strength and grade one pill that had more than 90% Purity.
Naturally, he did not leave out the story of how Zhou Li, consumed by greed, decided to pocket the items that the customer entrusted to be auction off for himself.
The moment Zhou Zheng finished his story, a commotion broke out in the Zhou Clan's main hall.
Many of the Zhou Clan elders' faces turned grave instantly. Some even became flushed as though they were embarrassed.
"What a shame! What a shame!"
"Not only was Zhou Li utterly shameless, he even brought disgrace to our Zhou Clan! If that customer spreads this story, who would dare to put their items up for auction at our Zhou Clan's Auction Square?"
"Although I respect the grand elder a lot, I must say that Zhou Li's death is not enough to atone for his crime!"
"That's right! Even his death could not atone for his crime!"
…
After the Zhou Clan elders learned about the ins and outs of the matter, many of them cast the blame on the dead Zhou Li and were filled with righteous indignation.
"Silence!" Zhou Zheng's cold voice returned the tranquility to the Zhou Clan's main hall again.
"Although Zhou Li was the one at fault, he had already paid for it with his life… Due to this reason, I hope that nobody will blame him anymore," Zhou Zheng said as he cast a glance at his surroundings.
For a moment, the group of Zhou Clan's elders fell silent.
"Clan Leader, earlier you said that this customer has… has entrusted us with a grade one Spirit Weapon that could give a 90% boost in strength. I-Is it refined by a grade one weapon craftsman from his sect?" One of the Zhou Clan's elder asked as he looked at Zhou Zheng.
"That's right!" Zhou Zheng nodded. "The clan's disciple that Zhou Ji sent back said so… On top of that, Zhou Ji suspects the grade one Life Recovery Pill that has more than 91% Purity also came from a grade one alchemist in his sect."
The moment these words left Zhou Zheng's mouth, it was like a stone had set off a thousand ripples. It caused the expressions of the Zhou Clan's elders to change drastically.
"If that's true… T-Then, doesn't this mean there are one extraordinary weapon craftsman and alchemist in the sect that he belongs to?! Goodness! How powerful is this sect?!" Many Zhou Clan's elders exclaimed.
"Due to this reason, before we discover his identity, the Zhou Clan cannot offend him. Even if the grand elder comes out of his closed-door cultivation, we must not let him look for trouble with that guy at all." Dread could be seen on Zheng Zhou's face when he reached the end of his sentence.
The group of Zhou Clan's elders agreed with him wholeheartedly.
"Clan Leader! Clan Leader!" At this moment, a hurried voice rang from outside, gasping heavily for breath. It was obvious this man had rushed his way back to the Zhou Clan.
"Huh?" Zhou Zheng raised his brows and responded, "Come in."
In the next moment, a Zhou Clan's disciple hurried into the hall. When he saw the group of Zhou Clan's elders present on the scene, it was inevitable that his expression became a little uncomfortable.
Zhou Zheng recognized this person as the clan's disciple who was in charge at the Zhou Clan's Auction Square so he asked, "Look at you in hurry to find me. Has something happened at the Auction Square?"
Auction Square?
The moment Zhou Zheng opened his mouth, all of the Zhou Clan's elders looked at the newcomer with curiosity in their eyes. They wondered why he rushed back in a hurry to look for the Clan Leader.
"Yes." The Zhou Clan's disciple who rushed back hastily nodded.
"Tell me!" Zhou Zheng ordered.
"Clan Leader, the customer and the woman beside him who killed Elder Zhou Li also killed the Young Sect Leader of True Martial Sect and his follower in our Zhou Clan's Auction Square!" The Zhou Clan disciple finished his sentence in a go. The reason he came back was to report this news.
The moment the words left his mouth, the entire scene fell silent.
The Young Sect Leader of True Martial Sect?
As the Clan Leader of Zhou Clan, Zhou Zheng was one of the top powerhouses in Zhou Clan. He regained his senses immediately and asked, "Which Young Sect Leader? Is it Wu Jian, the Young Sect Leader who's responsible for the True Martial Sect's industrial property in our Ataraxia City?"
Wu Jian was the eldest son of the Sect Leader of True Martial Sect.
He was usually in Ataraxia City handling the True Martial Sect's industrial matter. He was quite powerful and was not inferior to Zhou Ji, the manager of Zhou Clan's Auction Square.
"No." The Zhou Clan's disciple shook his head and smiled wryly.
"It's Wu Jie! The youngest son of the Sect Leader of True Martial Sect! Manager Zhou Ji has already asked someone to send Wu Jie's body to the True Martial Sect's industrial property in Ataraxia City. I think Wu Jian must have seen his brother's body by now," the Zhou Clan's disciple added.
"Wu Jie?" Zhou Zheng's eyes gleamed as he muttered, "Looks like it's destined to be stormy in our Ataraxia City today."