Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“The Storage Ring has finally appeared.”
The lady in red’s voice subsided, and within his room, Luo Feng’s attention was wholly focused on the jade tray beside the lady.
The entire auction hall was eerily silent as most had their eyes excitedly trained on the auction stage.
This was the real grand merchandise!
“The Storage Ring is one of the soul artifacts of legend! This will be the first time I’ve ever laid eyes on it. I wonder what it looks like.” A martial artist licked his lips excitedly.
“So what if you’ll get a look at it? The Storage Ring’s price is bound to be higher than the Stacking Wave Palm’s. There’s no chance of us obtaining it.”
A martial artist standing beside the prior one shook his head.
“I’m aware that there’s no chance for me, but still, it’s worth taking a look at. After all, most people have never even seen a soul artifact in their entire lives.”
“True. The auction this time will most likely be even more competitive than the Stacking Wave Palm. Who knows who’ll be the one to end up with the Storage Ring…”
“It’ll definitely be someone from the four great families. After all, who in the right mind would relinquish such a valuable item that easily? From the way Li Tianyang had acted earlier, I’m sure he’s come prepared, so my bet’s on Li Family.”
“Li Tianyang had just been toyed with by Luo Feng. Not only did he purchase the Stacking Wave Palm at the expensive price of 1.5 million taels, but he was also forced to compensate 150 thousand taels to Luo Feng. I doubt he has much silver left on him. On the other hand, I feel like Luo Family stands a decent chance at getting the ring. After all, Luo Feng’s performance earlier was amazing.”
“Quick, look! The auction’s about to begin!”
Upon the stage, the lady in red personally held out a purplish-gold jade tray forward. In one swift motion, she removed the red veil covering the tray and revealed an antique-looking ring underneath it.
“This is the Golem Ring. It is a Grade One spirit artifact, and it has a dimensional storage 7 feet in width. You can freely extract items from it, and as such, it is a must-have for aspiring martial artists.”
With that, the lady in red then placed the ring onto the snow-white index finger of her right hand.
Woosh!
She pulled out the sword at her attendant’s waist, and with a stroke of her fingers, the three-feet-long sword vanished without a trace. It was as if it had never existed!
“So this is a Soul Artifact?! Isn’t it too convenient?”
As the masses observed the ring on the lady’s finger, a wave of gulping noises could be heard.
Upon seeing the surprised expressions of the martial artists as they stared at the ring, the lady in red could not help but grin in satisfaction.
“The starting price for the Storage Ring is 800 thousand taels! Each bid must be at least 50 thousand more than the previous one!”
“900 thousand taels!”
An old, skinny martial artist cried out.
Luo Feng knew who the person was. He was one of the famed weapon sellers within Panlong City, and although he did not have as much influence as the four great families, he was still considered one of Panlong City’s top few personalities.
“950 thousand taels!” Not long after the old man shouted, another young martial artist stood up and placed a bid as well.
“A million taels!” The shriveled old man glared viciously at the young martial artist before raising his bid again.
Nevertheless, the bids were not as competitive as expected. Compared to the previous auctions, the auction this time was relatively quiet, and only those with influence within Panlong City were participating in it.
After all, the price of a million taels itself had already stopped plenty of people in their tracks.
Once the bids exceeded the price of 1.1 million taels, the auction became noticeably slower. Even the first few people that placed their bids had become hesitant. From the looks of it, they were reaching their limit soon.
Nevertheless, the crowd seemed unfazed by the bids. All of them had understood that the initial bids were only the appetizer, and the true show lied in the later half. After all, no one from the four great families had uttered a single word yet.
“1.3 million taels!”
Suddenly, a cheerful tone rang out from within a room. The person had raised the bid by 200 thousand taels!
“It’s Han Ji from Han Family! The four great families are finally showing their hand!”
Upon hearing the price offered, the crowd regained their attention.
The moment Han Ji placed his bid, the few bidders earlier had immediately gone silent. With dissatisfied looks on their faces, they returned to their seats.
“1.4 million taels!”
From another room, fluttered out a melodious voice of Feng Lingyue.
“1.5 million taels!” Li Tianyang shouted his bid with a solemn expression.
After being played by Luo Feng earlier, Li Tianyang was playing it safe. He dared not raise his prices whimsically.
“Woah! Three out of the four great families have joined the fray! The soul artifact is that attractive, huh? I wonder, would Luo Family participate as well?”
The crowd stared at Luo Feng’s room with great anticipation, but not a single voice could be heard coming from it.
“It seems that 1.3 million taels is the highest Luo Family can go.”
Seeing that Luo Feng remained silent, many people were feeling let down. Luo Feng’s rematch with Li Tianyang was much anticipated.
“Young master, we didn’t bring much silver with us this time. Do you still wish to increase your bid?” Within a room, a servant with a white beard asked Han Ji.
Han Ji’s gaze turned cold, and with a snap, he folded back his fan and shook his head. “There will be no need for that.”
His sharp gaze was directed to the other rooms, and the corner of Han Ji’s mouth had twisted into an ominous smile.
“Hehe, the four great families, huh… You’ll all soon become the property of the Han Family. I’ll just leave my Storage Ring in your care for a few days, then!”
“I can’t believe the Han Family has given up this early…”
The fact that the Han Family had given up before placing a second bid had shocked many.
After all, as the current number one family, be it in terms of wealth or influence, they were capable of squashing all opposition.
It was now the Feng Family’s turn to bid.
“My Lady, do you still wish to bid?” The twin-tailed Ling Que looked towards Feng Lingyue and asked.
After giving it some thought, Feng Lingyue gently shook her head. “That won’t be necessary.”
While the Storage Ring was a valuable item, it did not interest Feng Lingyue much.
Compared to the other three great institutions, having the Storage Ring was not a big deal as a student of the Sky Mist Institution.
After all, as an Inner Institution student of the Sky Mist Institution, all she needed to do was gain more power, and with it, the path to more Storage Rings would be opened up for her.
Several whispers began to spread throughout the auction hall.
Many had thought that the auction would develop into a full-fledged bloodbath, but they did not expect for it to end so abruptly.
“Hahaha… The Storage Ring is mine!”
Li Tianyang had been expecting a vicious battle, but contrary to his expectations, it was as easy as cake. He leaped with joy and turned towards the lady in red, declaring, “Since there’s no one else making a bid, I’d think it best to end the auction now.”
“Who says that there’s no one else? You speak too soon Li Tianyang.”
Li Tianyang’s voice had just subsided when it was immediately followed by another’s voice/
Luo Feng walked out of his room and narrowed his eyes at Li Tianyang while declaring, “1.6 million taels!”
“It’s Luo Feng again!”
Upon realizing that it was Luo Feng who placed the bid, the whole crowd went wild, as this was an unexpected turn of events.
Even Li Tianyang had not expected Luo Feng to place such a huge bid. Like a furious lion, Li Tianyang glowered at Luo Feng and asked, “Are you purposely making me mad today, Luo Feng?”
Ignoring Li Tianyang’s glare, Luo Feng rubbed his nose and nonchalantly answered, “Li Tianyang, this is an auction. Do you think that no one else is allowed to make a bid once you’ve placed one yourself? Please, stop being so childish, alright?”
The crowd burst with snickers.
Li Tianyang felt as if his head was about to explode upon sensing the scornful gazes directed at him. He then pointed at Luo Feng and shouted, “Fine, you forced my hand. Let’s just see how much silver you have on you! 1.7 million taels!”
“1.8 million taels.”
Luo Feng’s tone was just like before. There was not an ounce of agitation to it.
However back in their room, Luo Xiao was sweating buckets over Luo Feng. He was actually quite impressed by how relaxed Luo Feng was.
Coupled with the compensation given by Li Tianyang, Luo Feng had possessed around 1.8 million taels of silver on him at that time.
In other words, the 1.8 million taels he bid was the absolute maximum he could go!
Despite that, Luo Feng was able to calmly place his bid without revealing his limits.
Had it been himself, Luo Xiao would never be able to do such a thing.
“Dammit!”
Li Tianyang glared at Luo Feng once again with clenched fists and bloodshot eyes.
As Li Tianyang had only brought around 3.7 million taels of silver, he was now left with only around 1.9 million taels.
However, upon noticing Luo Feng’s calm expression, Li Tianyang was made to believe that Luo Feng’s limit was over 1.9 million taels.
Luo Feng picked up the dejection within Li Tianyang’s expression and mentally celebrated.
‘Thank god this punk has reached his limit as well. Otherwise, I’ll definitely lose if he places another bid.’
The atmosphere within the room froze, and upon realizing how hesitant Li Tianyang looked, she readied the jade hammer beside her.
“1.8 million taels going once! Is there anyone else who wishes to place a bid?”
Li Tianyang’s expression contorted as he turned to look at Li Tianyao and asked, “Big brother, do you have any silver on you?”
Li Tianyao shook his head.
“1.8 million taels going twice…”
The lady in red took another glance at Li Tianyang. While shaking her head, she lifted the jade hammer.
“Hold it!”
Li Tianyang gritted his teeth and thrust out his hand to halt the lady in red. He then took out a glowing jade rock.
“This is a scorching jade. Just by carrying it, the holder’s physique would drastically improve! Its effects are akin to a Grade Two spirit medicine, and it’s worth at least 800 thousand taels! Combined with the 1.9 million taels I have on hand, I bid both my money and this item together for a grand total of 2.7 million taels!”
After sweeping his gaze at Luo Feng, Li Tianyang maliciously declared, “Luo Feng, if you’re able to bid any higher than this, I’ll leave here immediately!”
“Li Tianyang’s gone mad! This isn’t an auction! It feels more like they’re battling one another!”
The surrounding martial artists noticed the mad look in Li Tianyang’s eyes and yelled out in shock.
“Hehe, a man values his dignity. After taking such a huge loss due to Luo Feng, I bet he’s trying to take revenge on Luo Feng by taking away this Storage Ring Luo Feng seems to be keen on.”
“2.7 million taels. That’s a rich kid for you. He didn’t even bat his eyes when he placed his bid. I believe this is as far as Luo Feng can go…”
“No matter how it ends, I’m glad that I attended today’s auction. To think that I could bear witness to such an interesting rivalry.”
The surrounding martial artists began gossiping again, and they were all waiting with much anticipation for the next turn of events.
The lady in red took a glance at the red jade in Li Tianyang’s hands, and with a nod of her lower chin, her attendant walked forward to retrieve the jade.
“Not bad, this really is an Upper Class Scorching Jade.”
The lady in red carefully inspected the jade in her hand. A moment later, she nodded her head with an excited look in her eyes.
This was not her first time auctioning a Storage Ring, but throughout her history of auctioning it, her highest bid was only 2.7 million taels. As such, she was beyond excited to know whether she’ll finally break her personal record.
The lady in red gave a pleading look to Luo Feng, and once again, her alluring voice rang out within the auction area.
“2.7 million taels! Is there a higher bid?”