1193 The Gathering of Powerful Folks

The Northern Wilderness Chamber of Commerce was huge. The auction was set up on the third floor, with a capacity for a few hundred people.

By the time Chen Xiaobei arrived, that place was already buzzing with activity.

The Silver Plume were nobles dressed extravagantly in their best clothes, and all had come out of the inner city to join the auction.

There was another group of people there. They were the half-nobles from 1st Street.

It then dawned on Chen Xiaobei that this auction was not open to just anyone. Ordinary folks were not allowed to participate in this auction.

Chen Xiaobei did not want to cause any trouble so he stayed near the door and called.

Quickly, Gu Congwen came to invite him in, attracting the attention of a few guests.

Understandably, this young man must be someone of caliber, enough for the manager to welcome him personally.

...

Upon entering the auction hall, Gu Congwen took Chen Xiaobei to the seat in the second row.

As an outsider, bing given such an honorable seating must have meant that Gu Congwen looked up to Chen Xiaobei.

Of course, the more exclusive seats at the first row had been reserved for the Silver Plume nobles. No outsider can sit in the first row!

Chen Xiaobei, however did not care for these things.

Where they sat was just a matter of face and reputation. But he could get what he want today, Chen Xiaobei would not have minded it even if he sat in the corner at the very end.

After Chen Xiaobei was seated, Gu Congwen left to attend to other things. There was a lot to do backstage. He was, after all the manager of the auction.

The chamber was slowly filling up with people.

There were people sitting next to, in front and behind Chen Xiaobei.

Towards his left was a white-haired old man. He did not have silver feathers on his ears indicating that he was an outsider.

Judging by his clothes and his demeanor, the person looked like a saint. Based on his age, he must have obtained permanent residence in Silver Plume Planet, standard for half-nobles.

Outsiders who were able to become half-nobles in Silver Plume Planet shared one similar characteristic – they all had their own forte. A good example would be when Pi Xia could help his master solve difficult problems. That was how he acquired his half-noble status.

Seated on Chen Xiaobei's right was a very attractive young lady. She was at least a nine out of ten.

But she was already taken. Her boyfriend was seated right next to her.

Chen Xiaobei was a little surprised by the pairing. The woman was an outsider, but her beau was a Silver Plume noble!

If she married this man, then she would automatically become a noble! That would grant her a free ticket into the inner city!

Oh, what a superficial world!

Beauty was more sought after over talent!

"It's already 8 o'clock. Why hasn't the auction started yet?" The woman asked coyly.

The noble next to her replied affectionately, "Now my silly one, don't you see that the first row is still empty? The VIPs are not here yet. That's why the auction will start a little late!"

"Oh, which VIP will be here today?"

The woman's eyes lit up sounding hopeful.

This woman clearly had very high aspirations. Even though she already had a noble boyfriend, she still hoped for the wings to fly to higher branches.

Her boyfriend thought nothing much of it for she simply shrugged and innocently replied, "I'm not too sure. I guess they are just some random high-ranking nobles."

The avidity in the woman's eyes intensified.

Chen Xiaobei, too, was excited. But he was looking forward to finding out what kind of noble could be considered as high ranking?

Based on logical deductions, the Wenren Family must be considered high-ranking nobles.

As he was extrapolating, there was a commotion the entrance.

"Oh my god… That's… That's East Town, Qin Family's second young master… He's here…"

"Its the North Town Wei Family's seventh young master! He rarely comes to the outer city! Why would he come today? Could there be something very valuable up for auction today?"

"West Town, Miao Family is here too! That stunning man in the front must be the heartthrob Miao Yiyue! He really is as handsome as they say he is… Oh!"

"Three top-tier noble families from all four directions of Starfield's have come! There must be something extremely valuable on sale today! That's why all these big shots are here to fight for it!"

"Yeah! This will for sure be interesting! If the South Town Lu Family comes, that's when it will be even more interesting!"

"Ooh, makes me wonder… What is it that they are auctioning off tonight? Look at all this! It's a battle of giants!"

The crowd exploded into a loud chatter when the three families entered the scene. 

All of them were wondering what it was that brought all three of them here.

It was indeed a rare sight here in the outer city!

Chen Xiaobei's gaze was automatically drawn to Miao Yiyue who was surrounded by a group of people. He figured that it would be quite a chore to approach him, and so, decided against greeting him.

Miao Yiyue walked straight up to the first row, without so much as glancing at the second row.

"Wow! Master Miao is so hot! He really is the perfect dream guy!"

The beautiful woman next to Chen Xiaobei exclaimed like a fangirl. Her eyes were glued to Miao Yiyue, unwilling to tear her gaze away from the dashing young man.

Her boyfriend snapped, an obvious tinge of sourness in his tone, "The guy next to you is pretty good looking too. Why aren't you just as excited?"

"Him?"

The woman checked Chen Xiaobei out but said nothing. Her haughty look said it all.

Both were just as attractive but Chen Xiaobei was just another outsider. To the beautiful young lady, Chen Xiaobei was way beneath the likes of Miao Yiyue!

Chen Xiaobei though, was not concerned at all for this woman's attitude towards him.

He felt that talking to such a vainglorious woman with wandering eyes would be a terrible waste of his life.

On the other side, the old bloke who had been resting his eyes looked sideways at Chen Xiaobei. 

Seeing Chen Xiaobei's calm composure, the old bloke could not help but approve of Chen Xiaobei.

In such an impetuous world, a person who can remain unfazed by insults was definitely no commoner. On top of which, Chen Xiaobei was a young man who was only in his twenties.

"Why hasn't the auction started already?"

The beautiful woman sulked.

She was still ogling Miao Yiyue, wishing that the dashing young man would turn around to answer her question.

Her nobleman boyfriend was turning green with envy. "There's still an empty seat in the first row. It looks like there's still another important guest!"

"Another important guest?" The woman's eyes widened. "Who is it? It seems like this person is more powerful than three young masters of the three Star Temples!"

"My god! It's them…"

Suddenly, the excitement in the room grew in intensity.