“Young Eric, you really are easygoing. If you ask me, at least another twenty thousand Qin coins should be added!” The Bamboo Pole on Eric Bolton's right side said with some dissatisfaction. His real name was Mark Sullivan, and he used to be Eric Bolton's neighbor when they were kids. After a recent chance encounter, he started hanging out with Eric Bolton. Because he was willing to flatter and was skilled in all sorts of shady tricks, he had gained Eric Bolton's trust. But because of his tall and skinny build, like a bamboo pole, he got stuck with this unpleasant nickname.

“Yeah, a second-tier broken pearl for a hundred thousand? That’s way too much! Little Helen, are you sure about your judgment? Don’t let this guy fool you…” Another one, named Olivia Bolton, chimed in. Olivia Bolton's father was the deputy commander of the Tianlin City Garrison Division.

In the empire, where the military and government were separate, the military had its own system. Although they didn’t interfere in local government affairs, the government departments absolutely didn’t dare offend them. With such a powerful family background, Olivia Bolton’s tone was naturally a bit arrogant.

After hanging out together for so long, this group had all become cunning. Even though they knew Little Helen wouldn’t side with the other party, they still joined forces to try to drive down the price.

“Well, I’ll have to take a closer look at it anyway…” The shifty-eyed Emily Thompson said as he reached out to grab the Jinhua Pearl.

Brian Grant pulled his hand back, gripping the Jinhua Pearl tightly and said unhappily, “What are you looking at? If you want to compete, then compete. If not, forget it.” This Jinhua Pearl was just a damaged bead that Brian Grant had picked up at the black market. He had micro-carved a few glowing and water-condensing arrays inside it, and only with his own true energy supporting it could it shine so beautifully.

Once it left his hand and lost the support of spiritual energy, the bead’s true form would be revealed. There was no way Brian Grant would let Eric Bolton and his gang examine it closely.

Not getting the bead, Emily Thompson lost face in front of his companions. His thin, sallow face turned bright red with anger as he cursed, “You f***ing looking for death, huh? Dare to disrespect me? I’ll beat you to death, you idiot!”

Cursing, Emily Thompson raised his hand, about to slap Brian Grant, but Brian Grant grabbed his wrist in a flash. Emily Thompson struck suddenly, but Brian Grant was even faster. Emily Thompson didn’t even see Brian Grant’s movement—he just felt his wrist tighten, as if caught in iron pincers, and it seemed his wrist bone would be crushed.

The excruciating pain went deep to the bone, but Brian Grant also suppressed the reaction of Emily Thompson’s internal true energy. His true energy boiled inside, his mouth wide open, but he couldn’t make a sound, not even breathe. Emily Thompson’s face, which had been red with anger, quickly turned purple, and his tiny, bean-like eyes bulged out like a toad’s, making his expression look ferocious and terrifying.

When Emily Thompson raised his hand, he had completely exposed his chest and abdomen, leaving his vital points wide open. If Brian Grant wanted to kill him, it would be as easy as lifting a finger. But now wasn’t the time to fall out with them, so Brian Grant simply grabbed Emily Thompson’s wrist, suppressing all his true energy reactions, to prevent him from going berserk and using some magic weapon that might hurt him.

With the Vajra Divine Power Art refined with divine script arrays, Brian Grant’s bones and muscles were like tempered steel. Just with physical strength alone, he was no weaker than an average Foundation Establishment expert. His soul power was even as high as one thousand standard units—normally, only Foundation Establishment experts could reach that level.

With such a powerful soul, Brian Grant’s spiritual sense was extremely sharp. Although Emily Thompson cultivated the family’s third-tier high-grade technique “Heavenly Pivot Heart Method,” he himself was only at the second level of Qi Training, and relied on being ruthless and fierce in fights. As for close combat skills, he was nothing special. Besides, in both physical strength and soul power, the gap between them was huge. If it came to a fight, there was no suspense at all.

“What the hell are you doing…?” “Let go of him…” “Beat him up…” Seeing Emily Thompson subdued, the others started cursing and wanted to jump in.

“Hey, hey…” Little Helen hurriedly called out twice, but no one paid her any attention, which made her so angry she roared, “Are you all looking to die? Stop right now!”

The others paused at her words. Olivia Bolton turned to Little Helen and said, “Stay out of this. Bullying Second Emily in front of us is just too much. Today we’re going to cripple this guy!” Olivia Bolton was used to being domineering, and Brian Grant’s provocative behavior had completely enraged them.

Little Helen wasn’t really trying to plead for Brian Grant, she was just afraid they’d break the Jinhua Pearl in the fight. Seeing no one listened, she could only lower her voice to Eric Bolton: “We can’t fight now—don’t break the bead.”

Brian Grant’s intense reaction made Eric Bolton secretly angry but also a bit suspicious, and he glanced hesitantly at Little Helen. Little Helen curled her dark purple lips and whispered in Eric Bolton’s ear, “Don’t you trust me? This bead is so round, its luster so pure, and the mist inside never disperses—it’s definitely a top-grade Jinhua Pearl. Besides, would he really dare to trick us?”

Eric Bolton nodded. He didn’t believe Brian Grant would dare pull a fast one. Even if he did, it didn’t matter—at worst, they’d castrate the kid and sell him to the underground casino, where plenty of burly men liked this kind of effeminate guy.

“Wait, everyone, don’t do anything yet. We’re here for a sword match. If we just beat him up, he won’t accept it.” Eric Bolton’s words made the others, who were about to attack, quiet down. Eric Bolton was ruthless by nature; although the others were close to him, they were all a bit afraid of him deep down.