Why is the starting bid this low? I nearly did not notice it.
That does not matter. For such items, even if the starting bid were zero, it would soon climb to more than ten million Black Astral Coins. I was just curious how come such an item would appear at this auction. How could someone with the ability to obtain this sell it?
Then, a thought struck Xiao Chen. He asked, Little Ao Jiao, should we bid for this Heptagold Origin? If I succeed in breaking through to Martial Emperor, the Lunar Shadow Saber will need to be advanced to a Divine Weapon.
Ao Jiao thought for a while in the Immortal Spirit Ring. Then, she shook her head. There’s no need. I know where to find Heptagold Origin. When you advance to Consummation quasi-Emperor, I will bring you over. There is no need to rush the Lunar Shadow Saber. It is not just becoming a Divine Weapon. Once it does, it must make it onto the Divine Weapon Ranking.
Xiao Chen rejoiced in his heart. He smiled and said, There is really such a place? How come you never told me?
Ao Jiao smiled and did not reply. It looks like I am going to have to tell Xiao Chen where Sang Mu’s inheritance is.
As for Sang Mu’s dying wish, she would leave it to Xiao Chen to decide. The most important thing now is to help Xiao Chen advance to Martial Emperor. Otherwise, everything will be for naught.
Sang Mu probably would not want to see Xiao Chen become like a meteor at his young age, disappearing in a flash.
Suddenly, Xiao Chen thought of something. Given the Heptagold Origin here, Fei Lengyi, the Jadeite Mountain Manor’s Manor Lord, would definitely show up. If he could win this Heptagold Origin, then there would be a seventy or eighty percent chance of the Heavenly Cloud Jadeite Sword becoming a Transcendent Divine Weapon.
Xiao Chen frowned and felt an extremely strong aura. He raised his head and looked around, then saw an impressive-looking, middle-aged man radiating pride walk out with a retinue.
This arrival instantly set the hall abuzz. Several Small Perfection quasi-Emperors stood up and went over to greet him.
When Xiao Chen heard how the others addressed this middle-aged man, he put down the manifest in his hand and revealed a faint smile. “What a coincidence! I was just thinking about this Fei Lengyi, and he immediately appears.”
With this person around, Xiao Chen had a feeling that the Heptagold Origin would reach a sky-high price. Fortunately, Ao Jiao knew a place where he could find Heptagold Origin. Otherwise, if he had to compete with this person, he would end up spending a lot of Black Astral Coins.
As more quasi-Emperors entered, the atmosphere in the hall became increasingly lively.
Then, Xiao Chen saw a familiar figure at the doors. An attendant led Yue Bingyun over to a private room on the fifth floor.
Xiao Chen entered deep thought at this. He wondered what expression Yue Bingyun would show at the sight of the Heptagold Origin on the manifest.
If Fei Lengyi managed to obtain this item and make the Heavenly Cloud Jadeite Sword break through to Transcendent Divine Weapon, Yue Bingyun’s mission would fail.
Wait a minute. Why does this feel somewhat off?
If Ao Jiao did not know that there was Heptagold Origin somewhere else, he would definitely end up in a bidding war for this Heptagold Origin, trying to obtain it at all costs. In that case, he would end up helping Yue Bingyun.
Furthermore, it was Yue Bingyun who recommended that he come to this auction. Could this be a coincidence?
That should not be right. Yue Bingyun did not know that Xiao Chen obtained the treasures in the Dragon’s Gate Treasure Trove. Hence, she would not expect his wealth to surpa.s.s Fei Lengyi’s. Given her cautious nature, she would not place all her hopes on him.
At this moment, Yue Bingyun sat in her private room and looked at the manifest, smiling faintly when she saw the Heptagold Origin.
No matter what Xiao Chen thought, he would never guess what Yue Bingyun’s plan was.
Since Yue Bingyun personally made a move, how could she let Fei Lengyi have any chance of prevailing?
---
When the full moon hung high in the sky, the Heavenly Cauldron Pavilion’s quasi-Emperor-level auction started.
The Heavenly Cauldron Pavilion staff who had been standing outside earlier walked onto the stage. After performing a cupped-fist salute to everyone in greeting, he went straight to the topic of the night.
“This old man’s name is Yang Yunfan. I will not bother to introduce myself any further. In the future, if everyone has anything they want to put up for auction, you may come and look for me. Without further ado, I will begin the auction. The first treasure is a pair of King Grade gloves known as Fleeting Shadow.”
Yang Yunfan spoke frankly with a.s.surance, going straight to the key points without belaboring them. He continued, “Friends familiar with Emperor Grade Secret Treasures would know that even the most ordinary Emperor Grade Secret Treasure requires a Minor Heavenly Martial Emperor to bring out its full power.
“The Secret Treasures most suitable for quasi-Emperors are still the peak King Grade Secret Treasures, also known as peak-quality King Grade Secret Treasures.
“Aside from the basic function of raising attack speed, the Fleeting Shadow Gloves can also neutralize a portion of the opponent’s attack. The starting bid is one million Black Astral Coins with increments of at least one hundred thousand Black Astral Coins.”
After Xiao Chen heard the introduction, his eyes lit up. This pair of gloves was simply made for him.
By increasing his attack speed, Xiao Chen could swing his saber even faster. The function to dissipate force would also boost his combat prowess when countering Fist Techniques and Palm Techniques.
There was probably no one present who was like Xiao Chen, equally proficient at close combat techniques despite being a bladesman.
“One million five hundred thousand Black Astral Coins!”
“One million six hundred thousand Black Astral Coins!”
“One million seven hundred thousand Black Astral Coins!”
“Two million Black Astral Coins!”
There was no need to fear no one bidding on something good. The moment the bidding for this pair of Fleeting Shadow Gloves commenced, everyone fought hard in a bidding war, quickly raising the bid to two million Black Astral Coins—twice the starting bid.
This development flabbergasted Xiao Chen. There were really a lot of rich people. In just mere moments, the starting bid doubled.
In fact, what Xiao Chen did not know was that such an auction rarely took place. Before this auction was even announced, many quasi-Emperors had started saving up for it already. Some also borrowed Black Astral Coins from their friends in advance.
This was because raising one’s cultivation became increasingly harder once one reached quasi-Emperor. With everyone unable to improve, external items had a greater impact on combat prowess.
If one managed to find a compatible treasure, one’s combat prowess could increase by ten or twenty percent—equivalent to decades of cultivation. Hence, it would be strange if the bidding war was not intense.
Xiao Chen did not rush to call out a bid. He had attended auctions of various sizes before and already grasped some technique.
When one saw an item of interest, there was no need to rush to bid. One should carefully observe who all were bidding, to figure out what price they were prepared to pay.
Of course, this was in a situation where no one was messing around. If someone was rigging the bid, all techniques would be useless. In the end, one would have to rely on wealth.
After he observed for some time, the price of the Fleeting Shadow Gloves reached three million Black Astral Coins. Only then did he call out a bid for four million Black Astral Coins.
By raising the bid by one million Black Astral Coins in one go, he immediately deterred several people. The mentality of keeping up with the bid shattered, causing the place to fall temporarily silent.
If Xiao Chen observed correctly, the people truly interested in the Fleeting Shadow Gloves would not increase the bid further. He would successfully buy this pair of gloves for four million Black Astral Coins.
“Five million Black Astral Coins!”
After everyone turned silent, a cold voice called out a bid. Xiao Chen sensed a murderous intent and looked over. Then, he saw Jiang Feng in the private room right across.
“Who is that rich? This is not worth it. The value of this pair of gloves is three million at most. Quadrupling the starting bid is already buying it at a loss. Five million Black Astral Coins, he really has no other better place to spend his money.”
“It’s Jiang Feng. He is competing with that white-robed bladesman!”
“No wonder. After losing face to that white-robed bladesman outside, he intends to gain it back here.”
“This is not going to be easy to deal with. The white-robed bladesman probably will not be able to buy anything good. The wealth of Jiang Heng, a great bandit of the Black Sea, is astonis.h.i.+ng. As Jiang Heng’s grandson, Jiang Feng would have at least twenty to thirty million Black Astral Coins, a wealth comparable to that of a Consummation quasi-Emperor.”
Noisy discussions broke out. Gazes filled with pity focused on Xiao Chen.
“Dang!”
Jiang Feng heavily slammed the wine cup in his hand on the table. Then, he wiped off the wine on his lips with a handkerchief. Looking challengingly at Xiao Chen, he said coldly, “Let’s see what you have to compete with me!”
“Ten million Black Astral Coins.”
Xiao Chen simply ignored Jiang Feng’s gaze and slowly called out a price that no one dared to believe.
“Pu ci!”
Before Jiang Feng could swallow the wine in his mouth, he spat it back out in shock. Horror showed on his face, disbelief in his eyes, as the words “ten million Black Astral Coins” echoed in his ears.
“d.a.m.n! Is he crazy? Heavens! Ten million Black Astral Coins. Do you know how much that is? That could buy an ordinary Emperor Grade Secret Treasure. However, even if a quasi-Emperor bought one, he would not be able to bring out its full power.”
“I’m speechless. It sure isn’t good to try and compare with others.”
“Does he really have that much money?”
“He should have. He should be clear that there would be repercussions to raising the bid to cause trouble in the Heavenly Cauldron Pavilion.”
“I guess that Jiang Feng is going to cry because of this. He wanted to use his money to slap the other person but ended up getting slapped instead. Furthermore, this slap is rather heavy.”
“Haha! This is rather interesting. The outstanding young talent of the Dark Sea gets his face repeatedly slapped in our Black Water Sea. He is going to feel very aggrieved.”
“Bang!”
Jiang Feng slammed his hand on the solid wood table and crushed it into powder. He clenched his teeth tightly, aching to call out a bid of twenty million Black Astral Coins in his rashness.
However, the twenty million Black Astral Coins on Jiang Feng were meant for buying a treasure that had long interested him. He truly did not dare to call out this bid.
“Ten million Black Astral Coins, going once! Going twice! Going thrice! Good! There are no more bids! Deal!” Yang Yunfan called out in a rhythmic patter. Then, he smashed the mallet down to close the bidding. A sky-high price, a good beginning.
Yang Yunfan smiled happily. He thought to himself, After this auction is over, I must make sure to go and befriend that white-robed youth. He definitely does not have a simple background.
Inside his private room, Xiao Chen slowly put down his wine cup, continuing to ignore Jiang Feng’s murderous gaze, entirely uninterested in him.
There was no need to speak much with such people. The more one tried to talk reason with them, the more unreasonable they became. Jiang Feng wanted to overwhelm people with force; this was clear from how he shouted for people to scram at the stone testing monument.
Then, during the auction, this Jiang Feng unreasonably tried to use his wealth to humiliate Xiao Chen.
In that case, Xiao Chen did not need to take Ba Tu’s face into consideration anymore. Since you want to fight, I’ll give you a fight. Let’s see who will have the last laugh. I have hundreds of millions of Black Astral Coins on me.
Aside from the Jadeite Mountain Manor’s Manor Lord and a few of the older generation, there were not many people in the entire auction hall who could compete with Xiao Chen in wealth.
In the private room on the seventh floor, Fei Lengyi looked at the commotion below. Doubt flashed on his extremely proud face. Then, he waved his hand and instructed a subordinate, “Investigate this person, see where he came from, and evaluate whether he will be a threat to my purchase of the Heptagold Origin.”
After a pause, he continued, “Go and greet him in advance. Get him to wise up and not mess around. This Heptagold Origin is extremely important. Nothing can go wrong.”
Two old men in the private room immediately went to obey the orders, disappearing quickly.