Evan Chu and Gavin Wei sat quietly in their VIP room, waiting patiently. Evan wasn’t particularly interested in today’s auction—he knew the lots up for bid were just ordinary items. What he truly needed would only appear in tomorrow’s session.
Most of the regular seats in the auction hall were nearly full now. Evan glanced around and estimated that there were at least ten thousand people attending, which honestly startled him.
He couldn’t shake a nagging question: if the auction was held here, why had that girl taken him to Lyric Hall Auctions yesterday? Was it intentional, or did she expect him to come back? He’d have to ask Selena about it.
Just then, Evan spotted the girl from earlier—now dressed in a pink outfit—walking up to the front of the auction hall.
At the very front was the auction platform, a huge round stage covered with all sorts of items up for bid.
She’d clearly put some effort into her appearance; she was actually quite pretty. While she couldn’t quite match beauties like Jenny Sima, she wasn’t far behind, and the crowd below couldn’t help but murmur their admiration.
After scanning the crowd, she cleared her throat and said, “Welcome, honored guests, to Xuanwu City’s grand auction, held once every three years. Today’s session is hosted by Valorcrest Auctions, and I’m your auctioneer, Lynn. I hope everyone finds something they love—and consignors get the prices they deserve!”
As soon as Lynn finished speaking, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause, showing just how popular she was.
Lynn continued, “Alright, everyone, please quiet down. I now declare the auction officially open!”
She immediately picked up a red bottle from the platform and shook it for all to see. “Our first item up for auction,” she announced, “is what’s inside this bottle—Great Return Pills, a fifth-tier healing pill.”
I’m sure many of you already know—Great Return Pills are considered a holy medicine for healing. Their restorative power is incredible, and having them means your chances of survival go way up.
Now that I’ve introduced the item, let’s talk about the price. Fifth-tier pills are extremely rare. There are ten Great Return Pills in this bottle. Starting bid is five hundred Starstones, with each increase no less than fifty Starstones. The auction begins now!
As soon as Lynn finished speaking, the crowd started buzzing with conversation.
“Valorcrest Auctions really knows how to put on a show! The very first item is a fifth-tier pill. No wonder they have such a reputation. I bet the stuff coming up next will be even better.”
“Of course! I heard there are items worth tens of thousands of Starstones up for grabs this time, though those should be tomorrow. I just wonder if Lyric Hall’s treasures will be rarer, or if Valorcrest’s will be even more amazing—I can’t wait to see.”
Just then, a middle-aged man called out, “Six hundred Starstones for the Great Return Pills!”
Once the first bidder made his offer, others who wanted the pills quickly joined in.
“Six hundred and fifty Starstones!”
“Seven hundred Starstones!”
“Eight hundred Starstones!”
The price kept climbing, and Evan just sat there, quietly watching the bidders fighting over the Great Return Pills, a faintly scornful smile on his face.
Great Return Pills might be useful for others, but to him, they were nearly pointless—his Third-Layer Starforge Body could recover far faster than any medicine.
Gavin, seeing how fierce the competition was, couldn’t help feeling tempted. “Boss, these Great Return Pills are miracle healers—I never thought someone would actually auction them off.”
“Really? You want them?” Evan said, unimpressed. “Just bid for them. What’s the big deal?”
“You’re joking, right? The bidding’s already at fifteen hundred Starstones. I don’t have the cash for that—I’ll just watch,” Gavin said helplessly.
“How about I buy them for you, so you can stop complaining?” Evan offered.
“Better not,” Gavin replied nervously. “You don’t have that many Starstones either. If you win and can’t pay, the consequences will be serious.”
He knew full well that Evan only had a little over a hundred Starstones left—all squeezed out of Harold Yule. They hadn’t even dealt with the last round of trouble, so getting mixed up in another mess would be asking for disaster.
Evan glanced at Gavin’s worried face and laughed. “Relax. Don’t be such a coward. If you’re going to follow me, you’ll have to toughen up.”
Then he calmly pressed the button for a thousand-Starstone increase five times in a row.
As soon as Evan pressed the button, a beam of light flashed across the auction platform.
Lynn immediately announced, “The guest in VIP Room Three has bid five thousand Starstones for the Great Return Pills. Does anyone wish to offer more?”
Evan’s move nearly scared Gavin to death—five thousand Starstones was a ridiculous sum! The guy had just slammed the button five times in a row; wasn’t that suicidal? Gavin felt like death was looming closer, his face turning ghostly pale.
Evan, on the other hand, found it all pretty amusing. He’d stunned the entire hall in one shot. Glancing back at Gavin’s pale face, he laughed, “Brother Wei, don’t get so worked up that you go white in the face. No need to thank me—it’s just five thousand Starstones.”
Gavin exploded, “You’re really going to get me killed this time! Five thousand Starstones—how am I supposed to pay that? If we can’t cough it up, we’re dead meat!”
Evan grinned. “Oh, you’re worried about that? Don’t sweat it—let them come after me. I’m the buyer, not you. Just relax!”
For the crowd below, five thousand Starstones wasn’t an impossible sum, but it was still enough to shock them. The price had jumped by thirty-five hundred Starstones in an instant, and now everyone was guessing who the mysterious guest in Room Three could be.
After about three minutes, no one else raised the bid. Lynn announced from the stage, “The final winner of the Great Return Pills is the guest in VIP Room Three—congratulations on getting what you wanted!”
The second item went up for auction right after, but Evan didn’t care about any of it. He actually wished he could take a nap in the VIP room—too bad there was no bed.
Gavin didn’t dare say a word now—if he did, Evan might just buy something for him again.
As more items were auctioned off, Evan grew impatient. “Brother Wei, if you spot any good weapons or gear, let me know. I’ll cultivate for a bit—this waiting is killing me.”
Gavin nodded, and Evan immediately pulled out two high-grade Starstones and began absorbing their energy, leaving Gavin nearly speechless with shock.
High-grade Starstones were rare, and here Evan was casually absorbing them. Even a fool could see what that meant.
Turns out this guy was loaded—Gavin had worried about the five thousand Starstones for nothing. Thinking it over, he realized how silly it was; anyone in a VIP room had to have plenty of Starstones.
Time ticked by as the auction continued, tense and exciting. Suddenly, Lynn picked up a blazing red longsword and announced, “The Blaze-Fire Sword is the final item of today’s auction.”
This sword is fire-attribute, a top-tier spiritual weapon. For any fire-element cultivator, winning it could mean a full-level power boost.
The bidding starts at ten thousand Starstones, with each increase no less than one thousand.
Seeing the sword, Gavin immediately remembered Evan’s words and shouted, “Boss, your sword—your sword!”
Hearing Gavin, Evan stopped cultivating and walked straight over to the bidding console...