Chapter 1861 - Bidding
Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain &Dhael Ligerkeys
Li Nuo turned a deaf ear to the shouts of the cultivators in the audience and simply gestured sideways, summoning a maidservant to immediately present the auction item.
This time, there was no red cloth to conceal the item, so everyone was able to see that it was actually some kind of ore.
This ore was about the size of a small melon, its whole-body round and radiant, exuding a light blue colour.
Judging from the posture of the maidservant holding it, this item was not heavy.
The noise in the audience gradually subsided as everyone’s eyes were attracted to this ore, many staring curiously while Divine Senses were also being extended from the private rooms, constantly scanning this unknown item.
However, no one was able to see any clues.
Even Yang Kai frowned with a suspicious look on his face.
One had to know that there were few things in this world he could not see through with his current Divine Sense, but this ore was one of them. From this fact alone, even if this last auction item was not a priceless supreme treasure, it was still a rare and valuable item.
Yang Kai’s interest was thus stimulated.
On the central platform, Li Nuo lightly curled her red lips and said softly, “This item was something my Clear Sky Auction House coincidentally obtained, and ever since we did, we have been studying it; unfortunately, no one from Clear Sky Auction House has been able to identify its use as of yet and we were only able to conclude that it is a good Artifact Refining material. Today, with so many powerful masters present, perhaps there is a Sir who will be able to identify this bead and knows its true purpose. This Mistress hopes that if any Sir is able to do so, please enlighten me to dispel this Mistress’ doubts.”
“What nonsense are you spouting? How could you bring something like this out to auction?” Someone immediately yelled impatiently.
Li Nuo just smiled lightly however and declared, “The final auction item, the unknown Artifact Refining material, base price…30 million!”
In the hall, many cultivators burst into laughter after experiencing a brief silence. Obviously, they all felt that Li Nuo’s reserve price was ridiculous.
Li Nuo did not care though, and just stood atop the stage with a smile on her face.
As she had said, this item had been studied by Clear Sky Auction House for many years, but nothing was ever discovered about it. Even Aunt Chun was unable to judge what it was for, but that did not hinder its value.
Li Nuo had compared it with some Origin King Grade Artifact Refining materials already but discovered that no matter which Origin King Grade material it was, it was not as firm as this.
In other words, this ore was at least Artifact Refining material at the Origin King Grade.
It would be best if this thing could be sold, but it also did not matter if it couldn’t be. It would be perfectly acceptable for this auction to fail.
After a long time, with no one bidding, it seemed this last auction item was destined to not be sold. Li Nuo glanced around with her beautiful eyes, and couldn’t help showing a look of disappointment realizing this.
“Lady Li, could you allow this King to investigate that item?” Suddenly, a calm voice spoke from one of the private rooms.
Li Nuo followed the voice to its source and discovered it belonged to the occupant of Room A5. Smiling lightly, she nodded and said, “Naturally that is not a problem. Please wait a moment, Sir.”
Saying so, she gestured to the maidservant and had her quickly walk towards the room where Yang Kai was.
In Room A5, Yang Kai frowned as a solemn look appeared on his face.
Hua You Meng asked in surprise, “Sir, do you recognize this thing?”
Yang Kai shook his head slowly, “I’m not sure, that’s why I want to take a closer look.”
Hua You Meng nodded.
Nearby, in Room A1, Jiang Chang Feng’s face changed slightly as his expression turned sullen, “Great Elder, the one who spoke just now is ‘that’ man.”
Gong Sun Liang raised his brow before narrowing his eyes, “My Purple Star’s Third Venerable?”
“Indeed!” Jiang Chang Feng nodded sincerely, “Just a few days ago, this Jiang was ordered by you to invite this person to the Inner City, but he rudely refused. This Jiang specifically explained that Great Elder had requested to meet with him, but he refused to give any face. This man is simply too arrogant.”
Gong Sun Liang stroked his beard and snickered, “Anyone who has the ability can be arrogant. This old master wanted to find a chance to meet this person another day, but I didn’t expect to meet him here today. Since that’s the case… we can talk now. This old master wants to see if this Venerable’s strength is real or if he is just a fraud!”
Jiang Chang Feng was surprised when he heard these words as a grin appeared on his face just imagining Yang Kai’s coming misfortune. He knew that, while Gong Sun Liang acted as if he did not care on the surface, in truth, he was very upset about not being given any face.
Inside Room A5, Yang Kai held the unknown auction item and observed it solemnly, probing it with his Divine Sense.
Hua You Meng and the maidservant did not dare to bother him.
At first, nothing unusual stood out, but at a certain moment, Yang Kai’s complexion could not help changing and a piercing light flashed across his eyes, as if he had been attacked by someone and he pushed his Divine Sense madly to condense a barrier around him.
*Pa…*
A faint sound rang out as Yang Kai’s Divine Sense defense was broken in an instant, but just as he was about to resist again, suddenly, everything subsided.
The entire auction house was now silent, with ninety-nine percent of the cultivators present pale and trembling.
The moment when Yang Kai Divine Sense broke out, it was as if a dormant dragon had stuck its head out from its cave, causing everyone to cower in fear.
Fortunately, this ominous pressure disappeared as quickly as it appeared, otherwise, many in the audience would have had their minds crushed.
Inside the private room, a light of pleasant surprise flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes, and immediately after, he returned the auction item to the maidservant with a calm expression and said lightly, “That will be all. You can return.”
“Yes!” The maidservant took the auction item and hurriedly left, not daring to even breathe heavily.
“This old master would also like to observe the item, I wonder if Lady Li Nuo can be accommodating?” Gong Sun Liang’s voice came from Room A1.
He was also quite curious. He did not know why Yang Kai suddenly released such a powerful Divine Sense fluctuation, but whether it was because of something Yang Kai did himself or because of this final auction item, Gong Sun Liang was determined to find out.
“Naturally, there is no problem if Great Elder wants to look,” Li Nuo pursed her lips and smiled.
The maidservant quickly turned around and brought the last auction item to Gong Sun Liang.
Gong Sun Liang observed it for much longer than Yang Kai, but he did not cause a sensation like the latter did. The entire audience remained on edge, but they began to breathe a sigh of relief after a while, thinking that the Great Elder was truly the Great Elder; how could some outside powerhouse be comparable to him?
With Yang Kai and Gong Sun Liang taking the lead, the masters in the private rooms all put forward similar requests.
The last auction item was passed between the hands of many masters and did not return to the auction stage until after a stick of incense worth of time.
Li Nuo smiled and said, “Now that so many Sirs have seen, I wonder if there is anyone who can tell this Mistress what material this is? If anyone is willing to inform this Mistress, if that Sir is able to obtain it in the coming auction, this Mistress can offer that Sir a ten percent discount.”
“Lady Li Nuo, this old master is not talented and can only tell that this material is extremely hard, Origin King Grade at the least,” From one of the B Block private rooms, an old voice sounded immediately.
“What point is there in saying that? This old master can also tell that this is a piece of Origin King Grade material, but what it is exactly is unknown.”
“Could this be a piece of Phoenix Star Silver? It is rumoured that Phoenix Star Silver is formed when an Ancient Divine Spirit True Phoenix releases its fire breath to smelt together extremely hard ores, sealing some of its Fire Attribute essence into it. This old master can sense a hint of heat overflowing from this object which is remarkably similar to the rumoured Phoenix Star Silver.”
“Old Xu, are you blind? Phoenix Star Silver should be a fiery red colour, this thing is a pale blue. Obviously, it’s something else!”
“This…” The person who had spoken before was speechless, apparently feeling that his guess was too arbitrary.
“Hehe,” Li Nuo stood on the stage and smiled slightly, “Sirs, please calm yourselves, let us auction this thing first and then discuss it, shall we?”
She could also see that this group of people did not recognize what this last auction item was and therefore wasn’t prepared to waste any more time.
“It is as Lady Li Nuo says.”
“Good, this old master bids 30 million!” From a B Block private room, the old man who just hypothesized the item was Phoenix Star Silver called out.
Regardless of this thing’s true identity, there was no doubt that it was a piece of Origin King Grade material, and a very large piece at that. If this item could be brought back and refined into an artifact, it would definitely be worth spending some Saint Crystals on.
An Origin King Grade artifact could become a family heirloom. Many Sects didn’t even have a single Origin King Grade artifact.
“31 million!”
“33 million!”
After being investigated by the various masters, this last auction item suddenly became a popular one, and although its price did not rise very high, it at least avoided the fate of being unsold.
Soon, the price rose to 42 million.
By this time, many people had gradually withdrawn.
Perhaps in the hearts of these people, it was not cost-efficient to spend so many Saint Crystals on an unknown item. Only three or five people were still bidding. If no one else stepped in now, this item would likely be sold for around 50 million.
This was indeed the case as, after another round of price-raising, the bids finally came to a halt at 51 million. At this time, no one tried to increase the price further.
A hint of disappointment flashed across Li Nuo’s eyes seeing this, but just as she was about to ask if there were no other bidders, a voice from Room A5 spoke, “60 million!”
Yang Kai had made a bid.
Li Nuo raised her eyes towards Room A5 as a trace of shock flashed across them.
Yang Kai had remained silent until just now, so she thought he had no interest in this item. Now, she knew he did not want to waste his time bidding against these people and simply wanted to swoop in at the end and have the last word.
This was a tactic used by powerful cultivators and was tried and tested.
Was he able to identify this material? Li Nuo was suspicious; after all, Yang Kai was the first to check the auction item just now and he had also made a stir while doing so.
If someone told her that Yang Kai paid such a high price without knowing anything, Li Nuo would not believe it.
However, she knew better than to ask anything and simply waited for the final price to be called.
Yang Kai making a bid here caused others to suddenly become dumbfounded.
Without even mentioning that this price had exceeded everyone’s bottom line, just Yang Kai’s immense strength was enough for them to not dare challenge him.
As such, after the price of 60 million was called, no one tried to enter another bid.
Li Nuo also spoke very quickly, “This Sir has bid 60 million, is there any higher offer? If not, this Mistress will begin the count…”
