All the auction items were wrapped up, and the auction itself had come to an end.

It was already time for dinner, but what Lin Tian needed to do now was to go to the backstage of the auction to pay and collect his items.

When Lin Tian and Chen Moxiang arrived at the backstage, they found the sixth elder standing at the entrance. Upon seeing them, he hurriedly came forward to greet them.

"Young brother, come, come, come, let me take you to get your things." The sixth elder said with unusual enthusiasm. In his view, Lin Tian was like a walking treasure trove, filled with valuable items.

For instance, the alchemy formula for forming a Golden Core could be sold for a staggering 1.5 billion at the auction, which was quite a bargain for them.

"You’re too kind, Sixth Elder." Lin Tian replied with a smile and followed him into a room.

At that moment, a disciple from the Alliance spotted the sixth elder and came forward to greet him respectfully.

The sixth elder nodded and said, "Go fetch the items from Room Three, and bring the Alchemy Furnace as well."

The disciple acknowledged respectfully and then withdrew directly.

The sixth elder led Lin Tian and Chen Moxiang to sit on a sofa and had a female disciple bring out a tea set. They drank tea while waiting.

"Young brother, it’s mealtime now, would you like to join me for a bite?" The sixth elder asked with a cheerful smile.

Lin Tian and Chen Moxiang exchanged glances, quite a natural way of getting acquainted, wasn’t it?

Actually, Lin Tian didn’t want too much contact with this old man. The more one talks, the more likely one is to slip; with his identity being so sensitive.

"Hehe, I don’t have any ulterior motives, just want to introduce someone to you." The sixth elder said, pouring tea into two cups and offering them with both hands.

For an elder from a family alliance to serve tea so humbly, it sounded unbelievable.

"Who?"

"You’ll find out when the time comes." The sixth elder said with a smile, keeping the suspense, while Lin Tian didn’t bother to inquire further.

Soon, the disciple returned with three others, carrying the items Lin Tian wanted and a card-swiping machine.

"Sir, you purchased the Spirit Bee Egg and Alchemy Furnace, totaling 600 million. After selling the Heart Method, it’s 80 million; after offsetting both sides, deducting the service fee, you need to pay 520 million. Do you prefer card or online payment?" The disciple asked politely.

Lin Tian glanced at the sixth elder with a wry smile and asked, "That discount coupon from earlier, is it valid?"

Without hesitation, the sixth elder nodded, "Of course!"

Lin Tian reached into his pocket, pulled out the crumpled discount coupon, and handed it to the disciple, saying, "Apply the fifty percent discount."

The disciple, stunned by the "50% off" on the coupon and the Alliance’s seal on it, was left bewildered.

This was something he had never heard of; what kind of play was this?

The disciple cautiously looked towards the sixth elder, who immediately gave him a stern scolding, "Can’t you see the seal on it? It’s real, give him the discount." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Yes!" The disciple responded quickly, recalculated, and said, "The total is 260.2 million."

The sixth elder was displeased again and gently patted the table, saying, "Who taught you math? Your calculation is way off! This discount applies to the amount he needs to pay, why are you discounting the amount he earns from selling? Redo it!"

"Yes!" The disciple shivered slightly out of fear, recalculated carefully, and said, "It’s 220.4 million you’ll need to pay."

Listening to this left Lin Tian with a headache. He didn’t bother checking, just wanted to verify the goods. The Spirit Bee Egg and the Alchemy Furnace seemed fine, but the Alchemy Furnace was yet to be seen.

The disciple explained that the buyer of the Heart Method was in the process of transporting the Alchemy Furnace, which would take some time.

The sixth elder confidently assured, "Rest easy, young brother. When the Alchemy Furnace arrives, I’ll inspect it first. If it doesn’t pass my check, no deal."

"Haha, thank you, elder." Lin Tian clasped his fists towards the sixth elder.

"Oh, don’t mention it. It’s the least I can do!"

Afterwards, Lin Tian proceeded with the payment.

"Sixth Elder, could you arrange for these items to be delivered to a place I specify?" Lin Tian asked.

"Certainly, it’s my duty. Just give me the address, and once the Alchemy Furnace arrives, everything will be sent there together."

"Thank you."

The disciple standing aside was having a hard time processing all this. The sixth elder’s behavior today was so bizarre. To show such courtesy to a young man implied he must have an extraordinary background.

After the procedures were completed, Lin Tian and Chen Moxiang were taken by the sixth elder to dinner. The sixth elder also promised Lin Tian a surprise.

The dining room was in the first room on the auction building’s third floor, similar in layout to where Lin Tian had been earlier.

Evidently, the place had been arranged, with the sofa moved to the corner and a large dining table set in the middle.

When Lin Tian arrived, two people were already seated inside. They only stood when they saw Lin Tian, which already showed considerable respect; had it been anyone else, they wouldn’t have been so polite.

These two people gave Lin Tian a rather unsettling feeling. One of them exuded a heavy air of hostility, as if he were cloaked in murderous intent, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

The other had a smiling demeanor that seemed easygoing. But Lin Tian felt this person was dangerous; his smiles were not genuine, offering no real friendliness.

"Let me introduce. This gentleman here is Mr. Cannon King from the Security Management Institute, whom I mentioned before. This beautiful lady is Mr. Chen from the Security Management Institute."

After introducing Lin Tian and his companion, the sixth elder continued, "This is our Alliance’s great elder. Don’t let his intimidating looks fool you, he won’t get angry if you don’t provoke him. And this is the second elder."

"Hello, seniors." Lin Tian greeted politely and nonchalantly. Chen Moxiang also just nodded slightly.

The sixth elder felt the atmosphere turn a bit awkward, and quickly tried to engage, "Come, come, everyone, don’t just stand there, have a seat."

The group sat around the round wooden table as the waitstaff, fully aware of their duties, quietly exited to prepare the dinner.

"Old Six, are these young guests from the Security Management Institute the distinguished guests you mentioned?" The second elder asked with a squinting smile.

He couldn’t quite see what made these two so ’distinguished.’ The Security Management Institute and their Luoyan Dock had an ordinary relationship, best described as ’minding their own business.’

The great elder raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing their faces for two seconds without uttering a word.

The sixth elder chuckled, tapping the table with his fingertips, and said, "Big brother, perhaps this young friend here might save your life."

At these words, the great elder immediately raised his head, eyes alight with a murderous glint, chillingly asking, "How so?"