Just then, the Host made a sweeping motion with the gavel in his hand and announced loudly, "Distinguished guests, you may now begin your bidding."
"One hundred and eleven thousand gold coins!"
The moment the price was called, someone immediately added ten thousand gold coins.
"One hundred and twelve thousand!"
"One hundred and thirteen thousand!"
"One hundred and fourteen thousand!"
"One hundred and sixteen thousand!"
Soon, the bid had climbed to one hundred and sixteen thousand gold coins, and it still seemed to be rising.
Yu Xiaogang sighed, feeling a pang of regret. If the price had been lower, he would have considered bidding. But at the current price, he had no choice but to give up.
Suddenly, the Host spoke again, his voice tinged with excitement : "One hundred and seventeen thousand! A red distinguished guest has bid one hundred and seventeen thousand gold coins! Is there anyone else who wishes to raise the price?"
"One hundred and eighteen thousand! Excellent, a white one...!"
"It's actually a white distinguished guest who bid one hundred and eighteen thousand!" he exclaimed. He was surprised, not for the first time; white indicated the lowest-tier bidder. But ever since this auction began, a white bidder had been consistently participating. What was even stranger was that their account never showed any signs of an overdraft. This meant the bidder certainly had the financial means.
"Is there anyone else who wants to raise the price?" the Host asked.
This time, the room finally fell silent.
"One hundred and eighteen thousand gold coins, going once! One hundred and eighteen thousand gold coins, going twice! One hundred and eighteen thousand gold coins, going thrice!"
"Sold!"
"This Cat Girl belongs to a mysterious distinguished guest in the white distinguished guest area!"
The large iron cage holding the Cat Girl was rolled away. Soon after, an old man rushed onto the stage and whispered a few words to the Host. The Host nodded repeatedly, then offered a very pleasant smile to the audience.
"Next, we have the highlight of our evening!" he announced. "It is also the Heaven Dou Grand Auction House's grand finale item for this month!"
"I believe many friends and distinguished guests have already heard about it from the giant posters outside," he continued. "Now, let us unveil its mysterious veil!"
The moment the Host finished speaking, six beautifully dressed etiquette beauties, each holding a red gift box, walked onto the auction stage. At the Host's signal, all six simultaneously opened their gift boxes.
A flash of golden light actually flickered out from inside the boxes as they opened. Immediately afterward, six dark-gold pills were revealed.
"These pills are called Six-Position Earth Spirit Pills!" the Host proclaimed. "They were refined by a master alchemist over six years!"
"Although these elixirs have remarkable effects, they are only effective for Spirit Masters below Level 30 ." (A Level 30 Spirit Master is a Spirit Elder ). "After consumption, they can directly increase one's spirit power by two levels, and the side effects are negligible—basically ignorable!"
"Considering the interests of more distinguished guests, the Heaven Dou Grand Auction House has decided to auction the six elixirs one by one!"
"Each elixir has a starting bid of one hundred thousand gold coins!"
"Now, the bidding for the first one begins!"
The moment the Host finished speaking, someone immediately added ten thousand gold coins.
"One hundred and eleven thousand!"
Someone else followed closely.
"One hundred and twelve thousand!"
"One hundred and fifteen thousand!"
"Teacher, should we bid?" Tang San asked Yu Xiaogang at that moment.
Yu Xiaogang smiled, looking supremely confident. "No need to rush," he said. "This master has his own judgment."
His reasoning was that while this elixir was good, it had a condition: it only worked for Spirit Masters below Level 30. Since the starting price was already so expensive, he figured there wouldn't be many people who absolutely needed it. The price of the first elixir was bound to be very high, but later on, it might actually decrease. It wouldn't be too late for him to make his move then.
Indeed, the first elixir was sold for one hundred and seventeen thousand gold coins. The second one went for one hundred and eighteen thousand.
But by the third one, the price had dropped to one hundred and fifteen thousand. Yu Xiaogang's smile widened. He thought the sixth one would probably be taken away for just one hundred and eleven or twelve thousand gold coins. Wouldn't it be great for him to take Tang San out for a good meal and drinks with the remaining money?
The fourth one was still normal, selling for one hundred and fourteen thousand.
However, the fifth one unexpectedly rose to two hundred thousand gold coins before it was sold. Yu Xiaogang was flustered by this time, but he still tried to appear calm.
When the price of the sixth one was raised to two hundred and eleven thousand, he could no longer keep his composure. Gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, Yu Xiaogang directly bid two hundred and thirteen thousand gold coins.
Who would have thought that someone would still raise the bid, pushing the price to two hundred and fourteen thousand gold coins. He was completely stunned.
But since things had come to this, he had no choice but to gamble his last bit of savings. He shouted out two hundred and fifteen thousand gold coins.
Fortunately, this time no one else added any more. Yu Xiaogang successfully obtained the elixir. But when he considered that others bought the exact same elixir for one hundred and fourteen thousand gold coins, while he had paid two hundred and fifteen thousand, he almost broke down. He even began to suspect that someone was intentionally targeting him.
After getting the elixir, Yu Xiaogang immediately began special training for Tang San. Half a month passed, and Tang San finally succeeded in breaking through to Level 28.
On the night of the breakthrough, Yu Xiaogang gave Tang San the Six-Position Earth Spirit Pill to take. He had initially expected it to take several days for Tang San's spirit power to increase. However, early the next morning, Yu Xiaogang discovered that Tang San's spirit power had already increased to Level 30. (A Level 30 Spirit Master is a Spirit Elder ).
Three days later happened to be the day Flender had set to lead the Shrek students to hunt for Spirit Beasts. This was because all those who were previously at Level 29 had now advanced to Level 30. Even Huo Feng said he had advanced to Level 40. (A Level 40 Spirit Master is a Spirit Ancestor ).
On the morning three days later, the Shrek Group gathered. There were five teachers and seven students in total.
Flender stood in front of everyone and declared loudly, "We will set off immediately; our destination is Sunset Forest."
"Although we will be accompanying you this time, there is one thing I must make clear beforehand," Flender stated. "The third Spirit Ring plays a role in connecting the past and the future of a Spirit Master. In order for you to get better practical experience before the Advanced Spirit Master Tournament begins, Vice-Dean Zhao Wuji and I have discussed and decided something."
"The process of hunting the Spirit Beasts this time will be completed by yourselves," he continued. "Unless it is absolutely necessary, we will not easily intervene. Under normal circumstances, not only will we not protect you, but we will require your protection."
"This Spirit Beast hunting trip can also be considered the first stage of your graduation examination," Flender concluded. "And the second stage will be the upcoming Advanced Spirit Master Tournament! Do you understand?"
Ma Hongjun was the one least afraid of Flender and couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, what do we have to do to be considered passed?"
Just as Flender was about to answer, two people suddenly walked toward the group. The Shrek teachers and students looked over and saw that it was Tang San and Yu Xiaogang.
Most people subconsciously curled their lips in distaste.
"What are you two doing here?" Flender frowned. This trip was for hunting Spirit Rings, not for leisure.
Hearing Flender's question, Yu Xiaogang was unexpectedly excited. "Tang San's spirit power has also reached Level 30," he announced. "As a Shrek student, there's no problem with him coming along, is there?"
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