Chapter 4848 — Bao Zuoliang

"Indeed, the Morning Star Grand Auction is a rare and momentous occasion, and the Academy has gone to great lengths to make it a success. I hear this particular rule was proposed by Chancellor Ling himself," Chai Laoshi said with a grin, dishing out the gossip.

"Is that so?" Wei Zhao thought to himself that this was indeed an old hand—rich in worldly experience, able to breathe life into an auction with a single remark. Then he asked, "But in that case, doesn't that mean I have to put something up for consignment as well?"

"No need for that. The auction has an extra provision: each merchant house participating in the first session gets two slots. I have my hands full with the trading company's affairs anyway, so I'll leave both slots entirely to your discretion," Chai Laoshi said with a smile.

"Very well, then." Wei Zhao nodded. Two slots were far too few—after all, even counting only himself, Wang Xinyan, and Huang Xiaotao, that already made three people. But it was a minor problem; he would simply put up any one item.

Wei Zhao did not linger long at the trading company. By his reckoning, he made it back to the East Sea Pavilion just before the two women's morning lessons were likely to end. Over the next several days, the three of them could be seen everywhere within Morning Star Academy—having come all this way, they naturally had to enjoy themselves properly.

The sight nearly shattered the hearts of every male disciple in the Academy. The looks they cast at Wei Zhao were a brew of envy, jealousy, and hatred—if glares could kill, Wei Zhao would have died ten thousand times over.

After all, whether Wang Xinyan or Huang Xiaotao, both were goddesses in the eyes of every male disciple—especially Wang Xinyan, one of the Three Fairies of the Eastern Continent's Gaolin Sea Region, a being long confined to the realm of male disciples' dreams.

This was no cheap, commonplace title. The Gaolin Sea Region was part of the Eastern Continent's Yellow-Rank Sea Region—and a vast part at that, containing no fewer than a dozen Yellow-Rank academies within its waters. One can well imagine just how much substance there was behind Wang Xinyan's title of Fairy.

By comparison, Huang Xiaotao's popularity, though slightly lesser, was purely because she habitually wore a veil—to this day, only a handful of disciples at Morning Star Academy had ever glimpsed her face. Otherwise, the title might well have been changed to Four Fairies long ago.

Even so, on the strength of her graceful figure and ethereal bearing alone, Huang Xiaotao remained highly popular, almost rivaling Wang Xinyan.

And now, these two goddesses of the masses were actually in the company of a young man—laughing and chatting, with intimate, unreserved physical gestures every so often, day after day on end. The male disciples of Morning Star Academy were practically going mad.

Had Wei Zhao not made a resounding name for himself at the earlier auction—above all, had the Academy's chief alchemist Qing Xuanzi not become his disciple—making his origins terrifyingly formidable, he would likely have been challenged to duels by a whole parade of male disciples long ago.

But now no one dared cross Wei Zhao. Even Chancellor Ling Yuanqing treated him with great courtesy. If they dared show him the slightest disrespect, they would not need Wei Zhao to lift a finger—the Academy itself would be the first to come down on them. So they seethed in silence, able only to watch from afar while secretly cursing him, all the while forcing their faces into an appearance of utmost reverence.

Yet among the Academy's disciples, talents and hidden dragons inevitably lurked. Not everyone dared only swallow their anger—there was no shortage of those who wanted to make a move against Wei Zhao. Bao Zuoliang, for one.

Others might be cowed by Wei Zhao's formidable background, but Bao Zuoliang was absolutely not among them—because his own background was considerable indeed, and in Morning Star City he was one of the foremost figures. His father, Bao Fala, had him as his only son, and there was no one in Morning Star City who did not know Bao Fala—after all, he was the one and only City Lord!

Across all the academy main cities of the Eastern Continent, besides the academies known to all the world, there existed another major power: the City Lord's Manor.

The Eastern Continent's academies were naturally the core power of these academy main cities, but the City Lord's Manor and the academies were not in a subordinate relationship—they were parallel.

Take Morning Star City, for instance. In theory, City Lord Bao Fala and Chancellor Ling Yuanqing were transcendent beings of equal standing. In truth, both men were core members of the Academy Elders' Council, both wielded enormous say, and both were top-tier figures without peer in Morning Star City.

It was just that, by convention, the two sides kept to their own wells and did not encroach on each other's waters. Ling Yuanqing would not take part in Morning Star City's governance, and Bao Fala would not take part in the Academy's administration.

Only when major events arose would the two sit down together to deliberate; otherwise, they ordinarily kept apart like two kings who never met. Just as with this auction grand ceremony hosted by the Academy, with Ling Yuanqing presiding, Bao Fala would not attend of his own accord—a most delicate balance.

Within the same academy main city, the Academy and the City Lord's Manor each governed their own domain—a peculiar structure unique to the Eastern Continent. After all, the larger the city, the more affairs there were; someone of great stature had to personally take charge, or it would descend into chaos like the Southern Continent. An academy chancellor like Ling Yuanqing had no time for such things, so the emergence of the City Lord's Manor was inevitable.

With a backer as massive as Bao Fala, if one were to name the most formidable of Morning Star City's second-generation heirs, Bao Zuoliang would certainly be on the list. Even within Morning Star Academy he was a figure of towering arrogance. And for years, Bao Zuoliang had been infatuated with one woman—Wang Xinyan, one of the Three Fairies!

Had she been an ordinary female disciple of modest background, Bao Zuoliang would have had his way with her the moment he took a fancy; but Wang Xinyan was different. She was not only the cherished personal disciple of the Eastern Sea Divine Nun—because of her extraordinary talent, even Ling Yuanqing and Wei Hebei regarded her as the Academy's hope and had always valued her highly. However bold Bao Zuoliang might be, he did not dare force himself on Wang Xinyan.

Of course, not daring to force her did not mean he would give up. In truth, for all these years Bao Zuoliang had been scheming every possible way to strike up conversation with Wang Xinyan—wherever Wang Xinyan appeared, there would be Bao Zuoliang.

It was a pity that Wang Xinyan had never shown the slightest interest in him; when they met, she could not even be bothered to say one extra word. If he pestered her too much, she would have Deaf Granny come chase him off. That old woman cared nothing for background or station—anyone who dared harass Wang Xinyan or Huang Xiaotao got beaten without fail, even a formidable second-generation heir like Bao Zuoliang, and her hand was utterly ruthless and vicious. Bao Zuoliang had already been cowed by her beatings.

With no way through on Wang Xinyan's side, Bao Zuoliang could only settle for the next best thing and try to find a breakthrough with the Eastern Sea Divine Nun. In his thinking, so long as the Divine Nun nodded, then under the compulsion of a master's command, Wang Xinyan would have no choice but to comply obediently, however unwilling. (To be continued...)