"There's a fluctuation of spiritual qi, but it's very faint—almost about to vanish any second."
Looking at the item the auctioneer presented, Evan Lin felt a slight hesitation in his heart.
If what the auctioneer said was true, then that black, peach-pit-like thing was probably a spiritual medicine with some age to it. But after being separated from its roots, it quickly withered, causing its spiritual qi to dissipate rapidly.
But just relying on eyesight, Evan still couldn't determine what exactly that thing was.
"Ahem, so, the starting price for this auction item is one hundred thousand. Please begin, everyone."
The auctioneer seemed to have expected these reactions from the crowd and looked a bit embarrassed, but the process had to go on.
"A hundred grand for this? Who'd be dumb enough to eat it—if you drop dead, who's gonna pay up?" A sharp-faced guy in the crowd couldn't help but mouth off.
"No kidding! Who knows where this sketchy stuff came from—looks shady as hell. Eat it? Bro, you gotta be kidding me." Someone called out from the side.
"Starting at a hundred grand... What, do they think we're made of money?" Someone below shook their head, clearly waiting for the item to go unsold.
"Doctor Wu, is this a divine medicine?" The middle-aged man beside Warren Wu asked quietly.
"Doesn't look like it." Warren Wu shook his head decisively—he prided himself on being a sharp judge of medicines.
Meanwhile, in Summer Mu's VIP room, Summer Mu looked respectfully at the elder beside him. "Master, is this the divine medicine you mentioned for tonight?"
"Not at all. This medicine has lost its spiritual qi—it's worthless now." The elder's face was rigid and his tone cold. Summer Mu nodded slightly, not daring to say more.
In the VIP room that just bid thirty million, there was complete silence.
The auctioneer coughed. "If no one wants it, then this item will go unsold..."
He hadn't even finished saying 'unsold.'
Evan Lin raised the bidding paddle in his VIP room.
"Uh, one hundred thousand—first call!"
Seeing Evan Lin raise his paddle, the auctioneer's eyes lit up and he quickly shouted out.
"Dude, is this guy nuts or what? Who the hell would buy that piece of junk?" As soon as Evan Lin raised his paddle, people on both floors whipped their heads around to gawk.
"Bet he's just some rich kid blowing his folks' cash—young, dumb, and totally useless." Someone snorted, dripping with contempt.
"Hey, but isn't that kid the one who just fought Drake Huang to a draw? Maybe he actually recognizes this thing as something valuable?" Someone glanced at Evan Lin, remembering what just happened, and couldn't help guessing.
"I think that whole scene earlier was probably staged by Drake Huang and him. Seriously, do you believe such a young guy could really go toe-to-toe with Drake Huang?" Someone in the crowd snorted.
"Yeah, I think so too. Drake Huang's been famous for years."
That opinion immediately got a lot of agreement from the crowd.
"One million."
Just as the auctioneer finished speaking, a cold voice came from the VIP room that had just bought the blood jade for thirty million.
"One million!"
That price startled quite a few people.
It wasn't an astronomical sum, but spending a million on trash was still a pretty bold move.
Evan Lin glanced toward that VIP room, his face unreadable as he called out, "Two million."
"Holy crap, this guy really is nuts."
Now, even more people looked at Evan Lin like he was an idiot.
"Two million!" Summer Mu couldn't help glancing at Evan Lin, noticing that Evan's gaze stayed locked on that other VIP room.
After Evan Lin called out two million, that VIP room went completely silent.
Obviously, that earlier one-million bid was just to drive up the price.
"Sold for two million!"
The auctioneer struck the gavel—Evan Lin had bought that pitch-black, peach-pit-like item.
Actually, when the other party called out one million, Evan Lin hadn't planned to keep bidding, but then a new possibility occurred to him.
Since the dragon in his left hand could absorb spiritual qi from Lily Zhong and nourish spiritual medicines, maybe it could work on this herb that had already lost its spiritual qi?
As for the dragon on his arm, Evan Lin only knew it could convert spiritual qi and, during Qi-Refining, supply some dragon qi to speed up his cultivation.
As for other abilities, Evan Lin hadn't figured those out yet.
So buying this medicinal item was just a way to experiment.
"Two million for this? Man, that's kinda nuts." Summer Mu frowned, shooting Evan Lin a confused look.
Evan Lin shook his head, offering no further explanation.
After a moment's hesitation, Summer Mu nodded. "Later, just use my card for the payment."
He figured Evan Lin might not be able to come up with two million on the spot, and that worry actually made Evan sigh.
Did he really look that rough—like he was dirt poor?
Well, he really had been pretty poor before.
Now, though, Evan Lin saw it all with detachment. All those grudges and dramas that others obsessed over—after a hundred years, they'd all be nothing but dust.
"That kid's auction item is definitely being paid for by Summer Mu. Rachel, looks like your classmate knows how to take advantage of the situation." Zuo Siwen glanced at Evan Lin and smiled.
"That kid's definitely making Summer Mu pay for his stuff. Rachel, your buddy knows how to mooch when the chance comes up." Zuo Siwen shot a sly grin at Evan Lin.
"That last auction item was clearly just a dead plant. Even if it was once a miracle herb, it's still a dead miracle herb. Spending two million on something like that? That's pretty poor judgment." Zhao Ru smiled gently. "But kids, after all, don't have much experience. Most likely he thinks he's got a unique eye for treasure—like he can spot what others can't."
"That last auction item was obviously just a dead plant. Even if it used to be some miracle herb, it's still a dead one. Blowing two million on that? Talk about zero judgment." Zhao Ru smirked. "But hey, kids always think they're geniuses—bet he thinks he's got some secret superpower for spotting treasure nobody else can see."
"Next up, our next auction item—the Thousand-Year Ginseng!"
This time, the auctioneer personally stepped offstage, carried a box up, and looked around mysteriously before announcing, "This item is the highlight of tonight's auction."
"I'm sure everyone came tonight for the miracle herbs. But what exactly is a miracle herb?"
The auctioneer swept his gaze across the room.
"Quit with the suspense!"
"Yeah! Hurry up and open it!"
Down below, someone couldn't help but call out impatiently.
"Don't be impatient, everyone. Most of the medicines we see are either wild herbs from the mountains or dried goods from the pharmacy. But the miracle herb up for auction tonight truly deserves the name!"
The auctioneer's voice grew steady, and then he suddenly threw open the box.