Hearing the voices coming from VIP Room Four, Gavin Wei snapped back to his senses and nervously asked Evan Chu, "Brother Evan, did I mess up?"
Evan Chu stood up and said, "You did great. This martial arts manual is mine no matter what. Let them talk all they want—I'm not the type to be scared off. Whatever they do, I'll handle it."
Gavin could only feel cold sweat breaking out on his back. He'd just raised the bid by two hundred thousand in one go—he could hardly believe this was real.
Evan Chu's price was simply too much; those who wanted to buy could only give up. In the end, he got it for a sky-high two million Starstones.
It took a long while for the crowd to quiet down. Everyone was filled with curiosity about the owner of VIP Room Three.
At this moment, the elder on the auction stage spoke: "Next up, we have an item from Valorcrest Auctions—the final lot of today's auction: the Iceflame Crystal."
Many people might not know what the Iceflame Crystal is, so let me explain. The Iceflame Crystal is an extremely rare type of crystal, and its formation conditions are incredibly harsh—it can only form where earth-fire and cold pools coexist.
The energy inside is extremely violent—if you're not careful, you'll get hurt by it. The crystal contains both ice and fire energies, making absorption quite difficult; you have to harmonize them first. If you can absorb the neutralized energy, an Earth Martial cultivator could break through three minor realms, and even a Heaven Martial expert could advance by one realm.
Its effects speak for themselves. For any VIP looking to boost their power, this is a rare opportunity—the Iceflame Crystal might be the best item we've auctioned in years.
The starting bid is six hundred thousand Starstones, with each raise no less than one hundred fifty thousand. The auction begins now!"
The elder's long explanation instantly drew everyone's attention. Not many people knew about the Iceflame Crystal before, but now, hearing its value, they couldn't help showing envy.
Being able to boost one's strength is every cultivator's dream—especially if it means jumping several levels at once. For a while, the whole auction hall was abuzz with discussion.
"Brother Evan, you're not planning to bid on the Iceflame Crystal too, are you?" Gavin Wei asked in shock.
"I'm sitting this one out. The Iceflame Crystal may be miraculous, but harmonizing its energies is a huge hassle—I don't have time for that. Let those who need it fight over it. Still, I wouldn't mind stirring things up a bit when the time comes," Evan Chu said with a grin.
Gavin glanced at Evan and said, "Brother Evan, you really are sly. So when do you plan to add some fuel to the fire?"
"I'll let you know when. What's the rush? Are you getting hooked on this game?" Evan Chu teased.
By now, bidding had already begun. VIP Room Four was the most aggressive, while everyone else had stopped paying attention to Room Three—after all, Room Three had already spent a fortune. No one believed they could bring five million Starstones at once, so all eyes shifted to VIP Rooms One, Four, and Five.
Room Four immediately called out eight hundred thousand Starstones, sounding extremely arrogant, but was quickly outbid by Room Five.
Time ticked by, and every new bid sent a wave of noise through the auction hall, only for everyone to quiet down again, waiting for the next raise.
By now, the price had climbed to one million eight hundred thousand, but VIP Room One still hadn't bid. Instead, Room Two joined the fight with Rooms Four and Five.