In his past life, Yang Ming clearly remembered how the auction was conducted and what the rules were, for example, in order to participate one usually had to present a ticket or ID card, but the condition was always the same.
Early registration.
It was obligatory to register in advance before the auction took place, this was a standard no matter where or when one attended. Taking into account personalities of unimaginable status, whether due to amassed wealth or fighting capability, even just attending a meeting that hosted such personalities was considered a great favor and possibly a grand opportunity.
Yang Ming was not in the Higher Realm now so most likely there was no one who could recognise him, initially he thought he would have to pay for the passage, but he didn't expect things to go quite the other way.
In front of the entrance to the building where the auction was to take place was a large crowd, in the center of which stood a large stele with which one could measure their cultivation level.
[ Notice: Stele is a tablet with an inscription ]
Yang Ming was curious what was the meaning of placing it there, he tried to blend in with the crowd and find out the reason for their interest, but his plan failed miserably. It was his own fault, Yang Ming stood out too much, his attractive appearance combined with his fancy black clothes, made it feel as if the emperor was walking among the common people.
'What difference does it make whether he's handsome or not?' Yang Ming couldn't understand these people seeing the envious looks in the men while the women had a lustful look in their eyes. Sure, beauty is important when it comes to women, but men? He sincerely wanted to understand what was going on in their heads.
For Yang Ming, regardless of the world, the priority has always been not the beauty of the man but his strength, if possible he could have easily traded all that made his appearance attractive in exchange for strength, but alas it was not possible to do so.
"Why is there a stele to measure the cultivation level here?" - With curiosity, Yang Ming asked the man who appeared to be checking out the results.
Yang Ming saw that the man had a similar facial expression in his gaze, one of jealousy as clear as day, but to his surprise the man did not ignore Yang Ming or look for trouble but simply replied in a friendly way.
"Ahem, in order to keep all kinds of people who are unbefitting the standards of our auction, a special rule has been introduced whereby a bidder cannot be below the late stage of Earth Ascension(2)."
Yang Ming smiled slightly, while an approving glint flashed in his eyes, perhaps the strongest people from the eastern region and northern region were gathered here.
Just as he was about to touch the stele so he could pass, a woman's voice could be heard from afar:
"Yang Ming! What are you doing here?"
It was too sudden and the young girl's voice was too loud, it seemed the whole town heard what this lady said, both Yang Ming and Shui Wai Tian both tensed up, they felt as if caught in the act.
Yang Ming felt the voice quite familiar and for some reason his body trembled slightly, as if it was an instinctive reaction of the body, but Yang Ming did not know why his body trembled, because he himself was perfectly calm.
The attempt to sneak in unnoticed and redeem the item he wanted seemed to have failed, but Yang Ming wasn't about to leave here, he felt obligated to acquire this treasure, even if he had to get his hands dirty with blood.
With a slight sigh, Yang Ming turned around to find out who this woman was and tried to remember the woman's identity and what she meant to his past self.
When he turned around he was slightly stunned, she was quite an attractive girl, she was tall, had snow white hair and red eyes, which was quite unusual, as it was the first time he had seen such pupil color, her face and figure were akin to that of a succubus but what caught his eye the most were the two mountains that followed her. They were huge.
Yang Ming could not take his eyes off of her for a few seconds, slightly swallowing his saliva, she was too attractive. But when he remembered why he had come here, he furiously shook off all indecent thoughts.
'Get a grip, remember what happened in Yang Ming's past!' He repeated to himself, trying to banish the scene of Lilith killing him. And this experience helped him get rid of his headache.
"Long time no see Xue Yan" - Replied Yang Ming with a half-smile, trying to look her in the eyes and not at her chest, at least there was an attempt but with a rather poor execution.
Xue Yan seemed to notice the stare directed at her breasts, flashing a seductive smile, as if she even liked it, which made Yang Ming swallow harder, trying to keep himself in check.
"Why didn't you run away this time? That's what you usually do." - She asked curiously, looking intently into his eyes, which seemed to confuse Yang Ming.
'He… he was avoiding her?' With lightning speed, Yang Ming dug into his memory, wondering for himself what was the reason.
As Yang Ming assumed, Xue Yan was not an ordinary girl, and she was from a Higher Realm, but what was the main problem was her Xue clan.
Like the Yang clan, it was quite a prestigious and powerful clan. You could say that they were on the same level, but unlike the Yang clan that specialized in battles, the Xue clan devoted itself to the economic sphere. It was considered the richest clan in the Higher Realm, of course they weren't considered on the same level as the Yang clan only because of their wealth, their strength matched their status too.
Xue Yan from his memories was the only and favorite daughter of the patriarch of the Xue clan, Yang Ming and she were quite close since childhood as the patriarchs of the clans were almost like brothers.
Yet as Yang Ming grew older, he became increasingly distant from Xue Yan, trying to devote all his free time to cultivation or treasure hunting, meanwhile Xue Yan tried to spend all her time hanging around him. In the past, the old self eventually could not stand it anymore and simply decided to avoid her, finding her too clingy.
But this was only the beginning, then things got much worse, because the Yan clan patriarch knew about his daughter's feelings and as a result, as soon as she reached the age of eighteen, he immediately went to the Yang clan with a request for marriage.
But Yang Ming resolutely refused, citing that feelings interfere with cultivation, immediately leaving the Higher Realm and arriving in the Lower Realm. The patriarchs of both clans did not know what to do, but Xue Yan was quite stubborn as a result she followed after him in an attempt to either demand an explanation or to once again try and seduce him.
While Yang Ming was recollecting his memories of the past, he heard an alert from the system.
*Ding!*
[ You have met a heroine! User gets 200 points ]
*Ding!*
[ You receive a task: Seduce Xue Yan! Reward: 5000 points! ]
[ Do you accept the assignment? ]
Yang Ming thought for a long time, past experience told him that she may try to kill him, but he thought he was not as dumb as the past him, so after hesitating for a while he made his decision.
"I accept."
[ User accepted the mission. As a result of failure you will lose one of your combat skills. Reminder! Xue Yan must fall for you of her own volition, if you resort to violence or any other underhanded means, the mission will be counted as a failure! ]