Liu Jie, Mo Qing, and the others exchanged glances, seeming never to have expected Zhang Hao to be so good to a maid. On the True Martial Continent, the hierarchy between maids and masters is actually very strict. Although they, as Martial Warriors, had straightforward personalities, this kind of hierarchical relationship still existed invisibly. It was just that due to their personalities, it wasn't outwardly displayed.
Of course, Liu Jie, Mo Qing, and the others naturally wouldn't know that Zhang Hao was from China on Earth. In his era, equality between superiors and subordinates was advocated. It was common for employees to quit on their bosses. What's more, this was such a beautiful maid.
Liu Jie also said with a smile, "Haha, if I had such a beautiful maid, I would also cherish and protect her."
"Haha, alright, with a repressed guy like you, Liu Jie, even if you had such a beautiful maid, she'd be scared away by you," Chu Wei teased Liu Jie.
Liu Jie gave a wry smile and said nothing.
The group arrived at the auction house. This time, the joint auction held by the major merchant associations was at Tianwei Tower. At this moment, although it wasn't auction time yet, Tianwei Tower was already bustling with activity outside, and guests were arriving in an endless stream.
From a distance, Zhang Hao saw an acquaintance, it was Wen Tailai. He was a little surprised, seemingly not having expected Wen Tailai to also come to the auction. It seemed this auction had indeed attracted quite a few people.
Wen Tailai's status was clearly very high; the guards warmly welcomed him inside.
However, Zhang Hao did not hesitate because of Wen Tailai's arrival.
As soon as Zhang Hao and the others reached the entrance of Tianwei Tower, they were stopped by several guards. Those guards were surprisingly all Half-Step Martial Ancestor Martial Warriors.
Seeing this, Zhang Hao's heart sank slightly. These were Half-Step Martial Ancestors, yet unexpectedly, they were just ordinary guards here.
"Are you Registered Disciples of the Hao Xian Sect?" The leading thin-faced Martial Warrior frowned.
Liu Jie was also angered by the other party's tone and said unhappily, "What, looking down on the Outer Sect Disciples of the Hao Xian Sect?"
The thin-faced Martial Warrior shook his head and said seriously, "Sorry, our merchant association rules state that Martial Warriors without a certain status cannot enter!"
The thin-faced Martial Warrior's expression was disdainful, clearly seen by Liu Jie and the others. The few of them immediately felt a bit stifled. To think they were proud talents from Tianwu Academy, yet unexpectedly, they were looked down upon by a guard here. But there was nothing they could do; these guards were Martial Grandmasters. They simply didn't dare to act rashly.
Only Zhang Hao's expression remained calm and indifferent as he said to the thin-faced Martial Warrior, "But I just saw Wen Tailai go in, and he is also from the Hao Xian Sect, so why can't we?"
"How can that be the same? Wen Tailai is an Inner Disciple of the Hao Xian Sect, and furthermore, he is the Young Master of the Deputy Sect Leader. With this, our merchant association naturally has to give him some Face!" The guard said indifferently.
Zhang Hao frowned. It seemed this guard wasn't very reverent towards Wen Tailai either. It appeared the forces behind these merchant associations far exceeded his imagination. Otherwise, these merchant associations wouldn't be so arrogant on the Hao Xian Sect's territory, Haoxian City.
Zhang Hao naturally didn't know that the vast majority of these merchant associations were behemoths spanning several major regions. Their strength was naturally not something ordinary people could imagine. In the eyes of these merchant association Martial Warriors, the Northern Region was just a barren land. Naturally, they had this sense of superiority.
Zhang Hao stopped talking nonsense, took out a token, and handed it to the General of the guards. He said, "Is an Outer Sect Disciple of the Hao Xian Sect acceptable?"
"Oh, an Outer Sect Disciple?"
The General of the guards was slightly surprised. He had originally thought that since Zhang Hao was with Liu Jie and the others, he should also be a Registered Disciple of the Hao Xian Sect. After all, birds of a feather flock together. An Outer Sect Disciple would have his own circle and wouldn't be with so many Registered Disciples.
"Yes, but only you can enter alone."
As an Outer Sect Disciple of the Hao Xian Sect, he could still be given a slight bit of attention. Of course, it was only a slight bit of attention.
"Just me?" Zhang Hao frowned.
"Zhang Hao, you go in by yourself. We don't have many spirit stones on us, so there's not much point in going in," Liu Jie said with a relaxed smile, seeing the troubled look on Zhang Hao's Face.
"That's right, Zhang Hao, we just wanted to see it, we don't have any other intentions. There's not much use in going in, and since we can't, you just go in by yourself," Mo Qing also quickly said.
Although Shi Lei, Chu Wei, Fu Qingchen, and the others were a bit disappointed, they could only give up at this moment.
Zhang Hao shook his head and said, "No. Since we came, we go in together. What's the point of me going in alone?"
Zhang Hao was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something. He took out a token, handed it to the guard, and said to him, "Can I enter with this token?"
"Oh, this is a Silver VIP Card? How do you have a Haitian Merchant Association Silver VIP Card?" The guard looked at Zhang Hao with some disbelief.
"Miss Meng Qi gave it to me," Zhang Hao said calmly.
"Ah, so that's how it is."
The guard was immediately relieved. Although this was just a Silver VIP Card issued by the Haitian Merchant Association, it was important to know that this time it was an auction jointly held by numerous merchant associations. Moreover, the Haitian Merchant Association was the leading one among them. Miss Meng Qi was even one of the ten directors of the Northern Region Merchant Association Alliance. Her status was crucial. Her VIPs were naturally also VIPs of all the merchant associations.
"Young Master, please enter!"
The General of the guards' attitude did a complete one-eighty.
"What about my friends?" Zhang Hao glanced at Liu Jie and the others behind him.
"Since they are the Young Master's friends, they are naturally our distinguished guests as well," the guard said respectfully.
Zhang Hao hadn't expected that a single token could make the guard do a complete one-eighty. He couldn't help but secretly sigh at the wonder of power. In this strictly hierarchical auction house, he, as an Outer Sect Disciple of the Hao Xian Sect, couldn't even bring people in. But this small, inanimate object could actually make the other party bow and scrape to him. This further fueled Zhang Hao's motivation to pursue the Peak of martial arts.
The guard led Zhang Hao and the others into the auction house, asked them to wait a moment, and then went to report to the Deacon. Afterwards, a Deacon personally arranged a VIP box for Zhang Hao.
Zhang Hao's box was number ten. Clearly, among the many Martial Warriors present, he was the tenth VIP to get a box. Looking at the thousands of guests below, only ten were qualified to enter a box. It seemed this auction house had quite a high status.
Out of the thousands of guests, over ninety percent only had a single chair; it was very simple, yet no one had any objections. They had clearly become accustomed to it. After all, being able to enter this place represented status.
"Oh, is that Wen Tailai?"