"Five hundred billion! These three jade slips must hide earth-shattering secrets. Now, this friend has bid five hundred billion. If no one raises the bid, then the secret will belong to this friend." Diana Hurst shouted with all her might, which made Joe Di understand why someone earlier told her to shut up—this woman was truly annoying.
What puzzled Joe Di was that the person who had been aggressively raising the bid before suddenly stopped at this moment. This made Joe suspect that the one who kept increasing the price might be a shill sent by the auction house.
"Five hundred billion, once..." Diana Hurst called out for a long time, but since no one continued to bid, she could only begin the countdown.
After three calls, Joe Di won the Three Jade Slips for five hundred billion Union Credit.
It was only a short while before the doorbell in his private box rang. Joe Di opened the door and saw a young woman holding a box standing at his doorway, with two guards behind her.
"Sir, your items have arrived. Please pay according to the auction price." The young woman entered Joe Di's room, placed the box in front of him, and took a card reader from the burly man behind her.
The card reader already displayed the exact amount: five hundred billion Union Credit.
Joe Di silently thanked the Celestial Casino once again. Without the Celestial Casino, he wouldn't have been qualified to purchase the Three Jade Slips.
After checking the contents of the box, Joe Di immediately completed the card transaction. Once the young woman left, he locked the door and promptly took out the Three Jade Slips.
Before Joe Di could examine the Three Jade Slips, Diana Hurst, standing on the auction stage, shouted again, "Just now, the three mysterious jade slips from Celestia were auctioned off for five hundred billion. This shows that many guests here know things we do not. Next, we will auction an item from the same source as those three jade slips—a ring."
Joe Di had intended to continue examining the jade slips, but upon hearing that the ring shared the same origin, he instinctively paid attention.
Diana Hurst continued, "Those three jade slips from Celestia were discovered in a cave mansion, where there was also a skeleton of unknown age. The Celestia Ring was found on that skeleton. Strangely, as soon as the ring was taken, the skeleton turned to dust, yet the ring remained perfectly intact."
I don't know what kind of treasure this ring is. But just the fact that it has remained intact through countless years proves that it is extraordinary. Now, the starting price for the Celestia Ring is fifty billion, with each raise no less than five hundred million. The auction begins now!
Originally, the starting price for the Celestia Ring was fifteen billion, with each bid no less than ten million. Because the three jade slips fetched such a sky-high price, Diana Hurst decided on the spot to triple the ring's auction price.
As the chief auctioneer, she had the authority to raise the price of auction items.
Joe Di wasn't interested in the Celestia Ring, even though he still had plenty of money. He didn't want to buy things he wouldn't use. The ring looked unremarkable on the surface—dull gray, even somewhat ugly.
Just because it came from Celestia, it demanded fifty billion Union Credit. That was outrageous. If he wanted a ring, he could have one custom-made with either of the two large diamonds he carried, and it would be infinitely more beautiful than this one.
"Fifty-one billion." As soon as Diana Hurst finished speaking, someone placed a bid. Joe Di checked the bidder's number and immediately knew it was the same person who had competed with him for the jade slips earlier.
This time, Joe Di didn't raise the bid. Originally, he wanted to annoy that guy by driving the price up. But now he was eager to study the Three Jade Slips, so he let the guy off the hook.
"One hundred billion." To Joe Di's surprise, even though he didn't bid, someone else raised the price even more aggressively. On the second bid, the ring's price soared to one hundred billion.
"Two hundred billion!" The first bidder raised the price again, this time by another hundred billion, showing a determined attitude to win.
Joe Di stopped studying the jade slips. It seemed this ring was no ordinary item. But after all, wasn't a ring just a piece of jewelry, no matter how special?
"Three hundred billion!" The price kept climbing.
Some potential bidders, seeing this trend, quickly abandoned any thoughts of continuing. The entire auction was stunned by the rapid price increases. There are countless auctions held worldwide every year, and even on Celestia, this is not the first.
But bidding in hundred-billion increments was extremely rare, and today, people saw it happen again and again.
The bidding for the Three Jade Slips had already felt unreal, but now, seeing these price jumps, it was as if Union Credit was everywhere—just step outside and pick up a few hundred billion.
Joe Di increasingly felt that the Celestia Ring must hide some secret he didn't know. He decisively raised the bid by another five hundred billion.
For Joe Di, his money was meant for bidding. Otherwise, keeping it served no purpose.
Boom! The entire auction erupted in chaos. Raising the bid by one hundred billion each time was already astonishing—something never seen before. Now, a new bidder joined in and directly raised the price by two hundred billion, bringing it to five hundred billion.
Such a bidding frenzy could not be suppressed, no matter how much Diana Hurst tried to control the auction hall.
In fact, Diana Hurst had no idea how to control the situation anymore. She hadn't even had a chance to speak—the price had jumped straight from fifty billion to five hundred billion, a tenfold increase. What need was there for her to stir things up?
"Five hundred billion! The price for this ring has reached five hundred..."
Before Diana Hurst could finish her sentence, the price leaped to six hundred billion.
Joe Di saw clearly that the six hundred billion bid came from the same person who had competed with him for the Three Jade Slips. This person had more than five hundred billion, yet didn't continue bidding for the jade slips, which meant that, in his eyes, the ring was more valuable than the jade slips.
Joe Di decided to continue bidding, but this time he didn't get the chance. On the huge bidding screen, the price shot up from six hundred billion to one trillion.
This price was two hundred billion higher than the eight hundred billion Joe Di had planned to bid. He couldn't help but gasp—this new competitor for the ring was formidable, raising the price by four hundred billion without hesitation.
Not far from Joe Di's box, in another private room, a man wearing a Daoist crown frowned deeply. Beside him was a young man, who said cautiously, "Master, I estimate that it will be hard to get this ring for less than two trillion. So far, that side hasn't made a move. The two bidders are both mysterious: one is a bearded man occupying a box that shouldn't be his, definitely not a fake. The other wears a cloak, and his face can't be seen at all. The newcomer who bid a trillion—we still don't know his background."
The Daoist-crowned man waved his hand, "Forget about the fake. He doesn't qualify to bid for treasures of this caliber. As for the others, they can't make it either. They entrusted the Celestial Casino to bid for the ring, but the casino was wiped out on the way. The bearded man occupying the fake's box is likely the one who took down the casino—I suspect he's in disguise."
"Master, that man spent hundreds of billions to buy three blank jade slips. Should we pay attention to him?" the young man asked excitedly.
The Daoist master understood what his disciple meant. He glanced at the young man and sighed, "Xavier Ping, I was raised by my master and have cultivated at Yangping Monastery for sixty years. My master taught me to stand upright and walk straight. If not for Celestia, I'd still be at Yangping Monastery, not here. You and I are alike—both orphans since childhood, but your temperament is more impulsive. Yangping Monastery has always been sustained by the incense and support of those around us. I hope you learn to be grateful, not to be consumed by resentment and seize what isn't yours."
"Yes, Master. Your disciple understands." The young man quickly bowed, his expression clearly anxious.
The Daoist master nodded, then after a moment said, "Bid all our money. If we can't win the auction, then this item simply isn't meant for us. Daoism teaches that what isn't ours shouldn't be forced."
"Yes." Xue Ping responded, then entered a bid of one trillion eight hundred billion on the screen—the entirety of their funds for the auction.
Not winning the ring didn't bother Xue Ping. His master didn't know what the ring was for either, but his divination indicated that it would be the most valuable item in this auction.
After all, divination is somewhat nebulous and unreliable. What really bothered him was the Three Jade Slips that Joe Di had won.