"Ten million Starstones, first call!" "Ten million Starstones, second call!" "Ten million Starstones, third call—sold! Congratulations to our friend in Standard VIP Room Three for winning this Soul‑Mending Herb!" The Freewind Palace Grand Elder announced with visible excitement.
"Is that guy crazy or something? That Soul-Mending Herb's worth at most two million Starstones, and he spent ten million on it. Must be that he's got more Starstones than he knows what to do with," someone in the auction hall muttered.
"Maybe he just likes showing off. Rich people do whatever they want. From the way he talked earlier, he might be from some hidden family. Daring to go head-to-head with White Sun Sect—looks like things are going to get interesting after this auction," another person said.
"No kidding. Even the Nine Great Sects have to give White Sun Sect some face, but this guy in Room Three doesn't care at all. Either he's a total idiot, or he really does have that kind of power."
...
For a while, the auction hall was abuzz with speculation. This was the first time in so many years that such frenzied bidding had erupted in the Azure Tide Ruins, and everyone was guessing just who the mysterious guest in Standard VIP Room Three really was.
Evan Chu, meanwhile, sat calmly in his chair. A single Star Crystal was worth a hundred million Starstones, so even after splurging, he still had ninety million left. This time, he was absolutely loaded compared to everyone else.
The auction continued, with lots being snapped up one after another. After buying the Soul-Mending Herb, Evan didn't place another bid, leaving many people puzzled.
"Did the guy in Room Three run out of Starstones? Is that why he's not bidding anymore?" someone speculated, since Standard VIP Room Three had been quiet for several hours straight.
"Maybe he's just waiting for something he really wants. Anyway, Room Three's no ordinary customer—I'm sure there'll be fireworks when the finale lots come up."
For two days straight, Evan barely made a move. Whenever any soul-related medicine appeared, he bought it without hesitation; everything else, he ignored completely. In total, he spent nearly another ten million Starstones.
Evan was waiting for the Moonshadow Stone to show up, but there was no sign of it, leaving him a bit disappointed. He couldn't help but ask the attendant, "I heard the Moonshadow Stone was supposed to be auctioned this time. Why hasn't it appeared yet?"
"You may not know, Young Lord, but the Moonshadow Stone was indeed scheduled for auction. For some reason, the seller was killed the day before the auction started, so the Moonshadow Stone lot had to be canceled," the girl explained.
"Friends, we now come to the grand finale items of this auction! There are three: a Heaven‑rank high‑grade martial technique manual, a pill that can revive the dead, and a divine medicine that grants an instant breakthrough to a higher realm. I know you've all been waiting for this moment, so let's begin with the Heaven‑rank martial manual—Nebula Chains!" announced the Grand Elder.
The auction hall erupted in applause. This was truly the moment everyone had been waiting for—even those without enough Starstones were excited, at least to witness the auction of these three grand finale treasures.
"Nebula Chains—this martial manual was the ancient sect treasure of Nebula Sect. In the Divine Battlefield war, all their top figures fell, and a thousand years ago Nebula Sect was wiped out. But the power of this technique is legendary. I won't waste words; starting price is two million Starstones, minimum bid increment is five hundred thousand. The auction begins now!"
As soon as the Grand Elder finished speaking, dozens of voices called out bids. In just a few minutes, Nebula Chains had already reached seven million Starstones.
"Young Lord, do you want to buy this martial manual? They say mastering it lets you create invisible chains from Stellar Power, able to bind people even better than Spatial Lockdown," the attendant asked.
"I don't need it. My own martial skills are stronger than this. I'm waiting for the other two items," Evan replied.
In the end, the martial manual was bought by someone in a standard VIP room for a sky-high price of sixteen and a half million Starstones. It was expensive, but worth every penny—unlike the time Room Three paid ten million for the Soul-Mending Herb, which couldn't even compare.
Next up was the auction for the resurrection pill. Evan barely paid attention to it; as long as he obtained the Gold Spirit Pearl and mastered the Five Elements Transformation, he'd basically be immortal. The pill didn't mean much to him—what he really cared about was the final treasure, the Purple Jade Spirit‑King Fruit.
The resurrection pill was bought by one of the Nine Great Sects for a sky-high price of twenty-eight million Starstones. Everyone wondered why the guest in Room Three hadn't bid on either of the last two finale items—most guessed he'd run out of Starstones.
"The last item is called Purple Jade Spirit‑King Fruit. Eating this fruit grants an instant breakthrough of one major strength realm. I'm sure you all know its effects quite well.
Starting price is five million Starstones, and each bid must be at least one million higher. Let's see who will win this final treasure—bidding begins now!" the Grand Elder announced, his voice booming so everyone in the hall heard clearly, hearts pounding with excitement.
"I bid ten million Starstones! Black Hawk Sect desperately needs this Purple Jade Spirit‑King Fruit. I hope everyone here will give Black Hawk Sect some face," a middle-aged man called out.
"I bid fifteen million Starstones! Blood Spirit Cult also urgently needs the Purple Jade Spirit‑King Fruit. I hope everyone can give us a little leeway," an elder added.
Suddenly, all the sects started fighting over it—the bids weren't going up by just one million, but by five million at a time. In no time, the price had soared to forty million Starstones.
At this amount, most sects couldn't keep up. Only the Nine Great Sects and a few standard VIP rooms continued bidding, and now the increments had dropped back to one million each.
Evan turned to the attendant and asked, "If I run out of Starstones, can I use items to trade instead?"
"That's allowed. Every VIP room guest has that right, and we can immediately appraise the items for you. It saves a lot of unnecessary trouble," the girl replied.
Evan figured there was no way this last item would go for less than a hundred million, so he immediately pulled out several Ice Crystals and Fire Crystals from his storage ring and said, "See how many Starstones these are worth."
The girl glanced over Evan's items and said, "At most, they're worth five million Starstones."
"That's it?" Evan was clearly surprised by the result, so he took out a few pieces of Life Essence and asked, "How about these?"
"Young Lord, is this Life Essence?" the girl exclaimed in shock.
Seeing her reaction, Evan felt reassured—these must be worth a lot. He smiled and said, "You've got a good eye. That's right, it's Life Essence."
"These pieces of Life Essence should be worth about twenty million Starstones. I didn't expect you to be such a big spender, Young Lord," the girl said with a smile.
With that, Evan felt confident. He told the girl, "Bid sixty million Starstones for me. I want to see how many people dare to compete with me..."