Chapter 240: An Eye for an Eye

After speaking, Lin Qian put on his water-breathing apparatus, and, taking Ye Xin with him, turned to leave.

"Haha, Clan Leader Zhang really has deep pockets. I apologize for calling you by name earlier—I wouldn't want you to feel bad and end up crying," Zhang Zide said with a laugh before departing.

Li Yunfeng also sneered and followed suit, leaving Zhang Keren trembling with anger where he stood.

1.05 million top-grade soul crystals! Even if he could recover the money from Bloodthirsty Hall later, he'd still lose the 100,000 top-grade soul crystals in fees, which amounted to 1 million mid-grade soul crystals!

Moreover, he had come here to irritate Lin Qian, expecting to enjoy the sight of Lin Qian's helpless fury. Instead, he was the one left fuming and without recourse.

What could he do about it? Just as humans couldn't attack the Eight-Armed Sea Clan, the Sea Clan couldn't harm humans either.

Even if he waited for Lin Qian to leave the Sea Clan's territory, Zhang Nianxin from the Eastern Branch would surely protect him. The two branches' powers were closely matched, so what could he do against that?

"This feels so satisfying—Zhang Keren's expression was like he swallowed something foul!" Zhang Zide laughed as they walked away.

Li Yunfeng chuckled too, glancing at Lin Qian. "So, Lin, you saw through their scheme all along. Turns out the one who got played was that Northern Branch leader."

"Actually, I noticed Bloodthirsty Hall people hanging around Zhang Keren when we first arrived. When I saw the Refining Body text was fake, I grew suspicious."

"And when Zhang Keren started bidding, I understood," Lin Qian said with a smile. "They must've teamed up to set me up!"

"Lin Emperor's eye for detail is really impressive, being able to tell it was a fake," Zhang Qi added with admiration.

Lin Qian just chuckled, waving off the compliment. It wasn't his eyesight but the help of Zhuge Ming that had detected the altered inscriptions on the text.

"In hindsight, there were many suspicious points," Ye Xin chimed in. "If someone really had a Refining Body text, they would've sold it to Lin Qian for a much higher price."

"And to make it seem genuine, they even lowered the price. But it still fell through."

"It seems finding the real Refining Body text won't be easy," Lin Qian sighed but then quickly shook it off, smiling. "Let's not dwell on it—let's go make some money."

Zhang Zide and Li Yunfeng exchanged grins. They knew how sharp Lin Qian's eye was, having seen him clean out the best items on Rear Sea Street in a single day.

For Lin Qian, the Treasure-Betting Event was like a gold mine.

"Lin, let's sweep the whole event clean," Zhang Zide exclaimed excitedly, throwing an arm around Lin Qian's shoulder.

Lin Qian looked at Zhang Zide with mock exasperation. "Your appetite is too big, Brother Zhang. Even with 100 million top-grade soul crystals, it's still not enough for all the treasures here."

Bang! Li Yunfeng stepped up, laughing. "Only an idiot like you would suggest something so brainless."

"What do you know? Haven't you heard of buying the treasure, repairing it, and then reselling it for a profit?" Zhang Zide retorted, unwilling to back down.

It turned out that the Eight-Armed Sea Clan, the hosts of the Treasure-Betting Event, offered a service in the central counter area.

After purchasing a treasure, buyers could pay a fee to have it repaired by a skilled artisan.

These ancient relics, unlike the items on Rear Sea Street, were often too old and damaged to identify clearly. Repairing them, even partially, could reveal their true value.

Once identified, the buyer could choose to keep it, have it fully restored, or sell it on the spot. If they didn't want to sell to the Eight-Armed Sea Clan, they could auction it off directly.

"So in the coming days, many people will be hanging around the central counter, waiting to see if any good stuff shows up for auction," Zhang Zide explained further.

Although he had never participated in the event before, his grandfather, Zhang Tianxin, had shared many insights.

Before they knew it, Lin Qian and the others had circled back to where they had started.

Without hesitation, Lin Qian approached a counter and used his token to place a bid.

This time, no one contested him, so after the three-second window passed, the item was his for 1 million mid-grade soul crystals.

"Xiao Qian, is this item really worth it?" Ye Xin asked, surprised by Lin Qian's purchase.

Lin Qian smiled and shook his head. "After repair, it'll be worth around 1.5 million mid-grade soul crystals—not much profit, but it's not a loss either."

"Then why..."

"You seemed to like it earlier, so I bought it for you. Once it's fixed up, it'll be a nice soul tool," Lin Qian replied, ruffling Ye Xin's hair with a grin.

Ye Xin blinked in surprise before her eyes curved into joyful crescents.

What Lin Qian had purchased was the jade hairpin Ye Xin had admired earlier!

The group continued wandering around the event, and soon, they noticed a crowd gathering up ahead. Curious, they moved closer and saw a display case containing a broken sword.

The sword was severely damaged, with half the blade missing and the remaining half riddled with cracks.

Only the hilt remained relatively intact, though a semi-transparent crystal at its base was coated in grime.

At that moment, several people were engaged in a bidding war, driving the price up to 20 million top-grade soul crystals and still climbing.

Among the bidders was none other than Zhang Keren.

"23 million top-grade soul crystals!" Zhang Keren called out, raising his token once more.

Seeing this, Lin Qian couldn't help but smirk and stepped forward. "Clan Leader Zhang, we meet again."

With that, Lin Qian activated his token, raising the bid to 23.05 million top-grade soul crystals.

"An eye for an eye," Lin Qian said with a mischievous grin.

"If anyone's playing tit for tat, it should be me," Zhang Keren responded with a triumphant smile.