The auction continued. This time, the item up for bid was a saber martial technique—a peak Post-natal level skill.
For martial artists, three things matter most.
First is the cultivation method. Without one, it’s nearly impossible to develop inner strength—unless you’re some kind of supreme genius who can create your own technique.
Second is martial technique. If you think of inner strength as ammunition, then martial techniques are the guns—they’re what let you unleash the full destructive power.
Third is cultivation resources, mainly herbs and various supporting equipment.
If you lack resources, you can still become a strong martial artist through sheer hard work.
But without a cultivation method, how do you train? Without martial techniques, how do you use your strength?
That’s why a powerful martial technique is enough to make fighters battle fiercely over it. It’s also why clans and sects guard their own methods and techniques so jealously, refusing to make them public.
This peak Post-natal saber technique is called Chaotic Wind Slash.
The auctioneer made it clear: after buying this technique, only one person may cultivate it. If anyone secretly spreads the manual, the Fu Family will hunt them down with full force.
"The base price for this gem is fifty million, with each bid needing to increase by at least five million!"
A gem this size was unheard of, so nearly all the tycoons got excited, and naturally, the price skyrocketed.
In less than a minute, the price reached 160 million.
Ian held back from bidding for now, knowing that if he joined, Nathan Nangong would likely jump in just to drive up the price.
Although he controlled tens of billions in assets, he couldn't just throw money around.
Suddenly, he had an idea—why not turn Nathan Nangong into his puppet too?
With that thought, he sent a telepathic order to the second and third elders to control Nathan Nangong.
The two elders followed his command without hesitation.
Under Nathan's incredulous gaze, he collapsed onto the sofa.
Ian greeted Daniel Zhang and his son, then got up and left the box.
The staffer added, “Mr. Fu also said that if you insist on paying, just transfer ten million.”
Ian looked at the staffer with a hint of amusement. “Anything else Mr. Fu wants to tell me?”
“That’s all.”
So the staffer gave Ian an account number, and Ian made the transfer by phone—ten million yuan.
“Boss, let me see what a ten-million-yuan ring looks like!” Zach Zhang stared at the black box, full of curiosity.
“Go ahead, take a look.”
Zach took out the ring and examined it, but didn’t spot anything special. He couldn’t help but pout. “Boss, you’re really throwing money away—spending ten million on a ring like this.”
Ian just smiled and didn’t explain. Even if he did, Zach wouldn’t get it.
In the end, Chaotic Wind Slash was sold for sixty million.
“The next item is the last lot of tonight’s auction—a giant ruby.”
Suddenly, Ian sensed something and his gaze locked onto the pigeon-egg-sized ruby in the auctioneer’s hand.
Even from dozens of meters away, he could feel the pure energy contained within that ruby.
It’s a spirit crystal!
Ian almost blurted it out loud.
What’s a spirit crystal?
Simply put, it’s a crystal that stores energy. According to the Origin-Nurturing Scripture, immortal cultivators usually absorb the aura inside spirit crystals to train, which makes their progress much faster.
In other words, spirit crystals are essential resources for immortal cultivators.
Originally, Ian thought there were no immortal cultivators on this planet, but after attending this auction, he changed his mind.
First came the Ancient Bronze Ring, which might be a magic artifact, then a spirit crystal appeared.
Magic artifacts are forged by immortal cultivators. Just from that, it’s clear that immortal cultivators either exist on this planet—or at least, they once did.
He arrived at the neighboring private box.
Nathan Nangong was immobilized—he couldn’t move or speak, but that was all.
When he saw Ian walk in, Nathan's eyes narrowed sharply.
"Greetings, Master!"
The second and third elders both bowed to Ian.
Seeing this, Nathan's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"No need for formalities."
Ian said calmly, then walked up to Nathan. "Strange, isn’t it? Want to know why they call me Master?"
Nathan blinked.
"Curious? Don’t worry, you’ll understand soon!" Ian smiled playfully, pressed a finger to Nathan’s forehead, and activated Puppet Mastery.
Soon, Nathan's gaze changed—he now looked at Ian with deep respect.
"Release him!" Ian ordered.
The two elders nodded and restored Nathan's freedom.
"Your subordinate greets you, Master!" As soon as he regained his freedom, Nathan quickly got up from the sofa and saluted Ian respectfully.
Now that Nathan was 'dealt with,' Ian had no reason to linger. When he returned to his box, the struggle for the spirit crystal was at its peak.
The price had soared to five hundred million.
Only three people were still bidding—two men and one woman.
"Five hundred and ten million!"
"Five hundred and twenty million!"
Before the third person could bid, Ian jumped in: "One billion!"
The price jumped by 480 million in one go, instantly stunning the other three bidders.
Maybe their companies had assets worth hundreds of billions, but that was just assets—not cash.
Even a CEO with a net worth of fifty billion would have a hard time producing one billion in cash.
After a brief silence, the three bidders gave up competing with Ian.
Soon, the same staffer arrived again and delivered the ruby to him.
After transferring the money, the ruby became Ian's private property.
Daniel Zhang and his son were completely shocked by Ian's extravagance—spending one billion in a single stroke. How rich was he?
At the same time, Fiona Xiang in the second-floor box was also stunned.
She knew Ian's family situation very well, so she was extremely curious—how did he suddenly become so rich?