When Zhao Xiaotian stood up and boldly announced his bid, a hush instantly fell over the auction hall. For a moment, it seemed as if no one dared to challenge his claim to the Dark Light Sword.
But that wasn't entirely the truth.
A high-grade Mortal-rank weapon like the Dark Light Sword typically sold for around 15,000 gold coins. Occasionally, it could fetch 16,000 or 17,000, but that was generally the ceiling. The price rarely soared beyond that.
Several attendees had the financial means to continue bidding. However, as soon as Lan Yueli revealed that excellent-grade Marrow Cleansing Potions would be auctioned later, many of them chose to hold back. They decided it was wiser to conserve their gold coins for the far more valuable potions.
Seeing no further bids, Zhao Xiaotian raised his chin, smugness written all over his face. His gaze shifted confidently toward Lan Yueli.
"Director Lan, it seems this sword is mine after all."
"Young Master Zhao is truly generous," Lan Yueli replied with a graceful smile. She then turned her eyes to the rest of the room. "Is there anyone willing to offer a higher bid?"
"Twenty thousand gold coins!"
The words hit the air like a thunderclap.
Gasps echoed across the hall.
Every eye turned toward the source of the voice. It was Li Yun.
He had just increased the bid by a staggering five thousand gold coins, a bold leap. For most, especially even someone like Zhao Xiaotian, 5,000 gold coins was no trivial amount. If not for his status as the heir to the Zhao family, Zhao Xiaotian wouldn't have been able to throw around such sums either.
No one had expected it. After Zhao Xiaotian's confident bid, most thought the auction for the sword was over. Yet now, Li Yun had stepped in and shattered expectations.
"I use a sword too, you know," Li Yun said with a faint smile, voice calm but sharp.
He narrowed his eyes and glanced sideways at Zhao Xiaotian. "Fifteen thousand gold coins? You thought you could win with that? Don't kid yourself."
Zhao Xiaotian froze for a second. His expression twisted the moment he realized who had dared to oppose him. His eyes flared with suppressed fury.
"You? A good-for-nothing like you wants to wield a high-grade Mortal-rank weapon?" Zhao Xiaotian spat, his tone dripping with disdain. "You don't even have the qualifications to touch it."
Li Yun simply flicked his wrist dismissively. "That's not for you to decide, Zhao Xiaotian."
At that moment, Lan Yueli chimed in once more. "Young Master Zhao, will you be raising your bid? If not, the Dark Light Sword will go to Young Master Li."
Zhao Xiaotian's face turned even darker.
He knew full well that 20,000 gold coins was already above the sword's market value. The Dark Light Sword, even with its high-grade classification, wasn't worth more than that. And if he wanted to win now, he'd have to raise the bid even higher. That was a hard pill to swallow.
Even Zhao Xiaotian, arrogant as he was, wasn't foolish enough to throw away money on pride alone.
Zhao Xiaotian's rational mind told him to let go of the Dark Light Sword, but his pride refused. If he backed out now, it would be the same as admitting defeat to Li Yun, and losing to anyone else was fine, but to Li Yun? Absolutely not.
The thought made his chest burn even hotter, especially when he caught the looks people around him were giving. Their eyes seemed to mock him, as if waiting to see him bow his head to someone they all considered a nobody. No, he couldn't let that happen. He had to win this sword.
Taking a deep breath, Zhao Xiaotian called out, "Twenty-one thousand gold coins!"
Li Yun, however, only shook his head with a calm smile. "Zhao Xiaotian, you are indeed daring, but that price is still too low. Twenty-one thousand gold coins can't scare me."
Without hesitation, he raised his own voice. "Twenty-five thousand gold coins."
The room stirred, and Zhao Xiaotian's eyes widened. "What? You… you bastard! Do you even have twenty-five thousand gold coins?" He couldn't believe it, he was sure Li Yun didn't have such funds. Even Li Hua, who came from the same family, might not be able to gather that much at once.
"You don't need to worry about that," Li Yun replied lightly.
Beside him, Li Hua drew in a sharp breath, her heartbeat quickening. The bid was outrageous. If she hadn't known that Li Yun was a pharmacist, she would have stopped him the moment he spoke. In an auction like this, reckless bids could ruin a person's life, if the winner couldn't pay, the consequences would be disastrous.
Li Yun's eyes gleamed as he turned toward Zhao Xiaotian. "What's wrong? Giving up? Haha… if you can't even beat me, a so-called waste of the Li Family, then once this auction ends, everyone in Azure Wind City will know about it."
"Damn it!" Zhao Xiaotian's fists tightened until his knuckles turned white. Gritting his teeth, he spat, "Twenty-six thousand gold coins!"
Li Yun's lips curved into a small, satisfied smile. He spread his hands casually. "Congratulations, Zhao Xiaotian. You win. The Dark Light Sword is yours."
The crowd murmured. The sword was worth about fifteen thousand gold coins at most.
Li Yun had driven the bidding up to twenty thousand, which would still be acceptable if he won it. But once the price reached twenty-five thousand, he had no intention of buying it. He knew Zhao Xiaotian's pride wouldn't let him quit, so he deliberately set the trap and waited for him to step into it.
As realization hit, Zhao Xiaotian froze. His face darkened instantly. He had fallen right into Li Yun's scheme. Now, with no one else bidding, the sword was his, at twenty-six thousand gold coins. That meant he had just thrown away at least ten thousand for nothing.
When he returned home, how was he supposed to explain this to his family?
He had planned to keep pushing Li Yun until thirty thousand before pulling out himself, but instead, Li Yun had been the one to bow out first, leaving him to choke on his own stubbornness.
"Mr. Zhao, congratulations, the Dark Light Sword now belongs to you." Lan Yueli, always quick to seize the moment, announced the result without hesitation, her voice carrying clearly across the auction hall.
At her signal, a staff member stepped forward, holding the cold, gleaming sword with both hands as he approached Zhao Xiaotian.
Around him, voices immediately rose in a flurry of congratulations, though the tone carried an edge that made Zhao Xiaotian's face tighten.
"Xiaotian, that's quite a bold move!" one person said.
"Haha, truly generous! Not many would dare spend that much. If it were me, I'd never put down twenty-six thousand gold coins for an ordinary high-grade mortal rank weapon," another remarked, his laugh just a little too sharp.
"Brother Zhao, congratulations! Your first win of the day. Looks like you're going to make a big splash today," someone else added.
Zhao Xiaotian's lungs felt as though they might burst. He heard the hidden mockery in every word. Spending twenty-six thousand gold coins on what everyone knew was just a low grade mortal rank weapon was hardly an achievement.
To them, it was something only a fool would do. Regret was already gnawing at him, but the deal was sealed, there was no way to take it back now.
At least it was still a high-grade mortal rank sword; for most people, that was not easy to acquire. But the price he had paid for it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
After handing over the painful sum of twenty-six thousand gold coins, Zhao Xiaotian signaled his guard to take the sword. All the while, his eyes, dark and hostile, kept flicking toward Li Yun, like knives silently thrown.
Li Yun, however, appeared entirely unbothered. He had called Zhao Xiaotian a mad dog at the very start; at this point, there was no chance of reconciliation. Even if he extended an olive branch now, Zhao Xiaotian would spit on it.
Lan Yueli smoothly moved the auction forward. The next item brought out was of much lower quality, selling for only a few hundred gold coins.
This was a small auction, after all, aside from Chen Xiao, there were no other Body Tempering Realm cultivators present, and most items were aimed at those below that realm. High-priced treasures were few and far between. In fact, if not for Zhen Mayo's influence, even Chen Xiao probably wouldn't have bothered showing up.
One after another, the items were sold. After more than ten had gone by, Li Yun sat quietly, not lifting a finger to bid. None of these lesser goods caught his interest. His mind was fixed on one prize, the purple fruit, a rare elixir he absolutely had to secure.
As the lower-value items kept coming, the air in the hall grew calmer. Many attendees leaned back and closed their eyes, conserving their energy, while most of the bidding came from younger family members eager for minor acquisitions.
"Everyone," Lan Yueli's clear, confident voice rose slightly above the murmur of the crowd, drawing all attention to her. "The next item is no ordinary good. Ladies and gentlemen, I suggest you pay close attention." Her tone carried a subtle weight, instantly sparking curiosity among the bidders.
From a side door, a staff member stepped out briskly, something small cradled carefully in his palm. Because of Lan Yueli's pointed reminder, every gaze in the hall shifted toward his hands. At first glance, the item was so small it could barely be seen unless one looked closely.
"It's a ring!" someone called out after finally catching sight of it.
"Yes, a ring," another voice chimed in, suspicion sharpening their tone. "Could it be… a Storage Ring?"
Lan Yueli's lips curved into a knowing smile as she confirmed their guess. "You are correct. This is a low grade mortal rank Storage Ring with an internal space of roughly one hundred cubic meters, enough to store a considerable number of items."
The moment her words fell, the atmosphere shifted. Eyes lit up, and the faint hum of excitement rippled through the room. Storage Rings were rare treasures; even among the well-off cultivators here, few could claim ownership of one.
A low grade mortal rank Storage Ring was still an extravagant luxury, far beyond what most could afford. For the average cultivator, simply having enough resources to sustain their training was already difficult, buying high-end items like this required both wealth and status.
"The starting bid for this low grade mortal rank Storage Ring is eight thousand gold coins," Lan Yueli continued smoothly. "Each increase must be no less than one hundred gold coins. Bidding begins now." She held the ring aloft for all to see, her gaze sweeping slowly across the crowd, as if daring someone to make the first move.
Gasps and low exclamations followed immediately.
"Eight thousand gold coins? That's the starting price?!"
"That's way too expensive. To get this, you'd probably have to pay over ten thousand gold coins at least."
"I'll just wait until I reach the Xiantian Realm. Then I can buy one for myself."
A laugh rang out from somewhere in the crowd. "Xiantian Realm? Do you think breaking through is as easy as picking cabbage in a field?"
The remark struck a chord. Everyone knew the truth, becoming a Xiantian Realm cultivator was anything but simple. Even among the more than one hundred talented individuals here, perhaps fewer than five would ever reach that height.
As Lan Yueli's words settled, the initial spark of interest began to fade for most of the attendees. The Storage Ring was valuable, yes, but unlike the Dark Light Sword, it couldn't enhance one's combat power. To a cultivator, a powerful weapon or martial art held far greater appeal than something that merely stored items.
Li Yun's eyes lingered on the ring for a moment, his mind briefly stirred. It was indeed a fine treasure. But he already possessed two Storage Rings, one gifted by his grandfather, and another he had recently received from the Treasure Pavilion.
For him, there was no need to compete for this one.
'But…' Li Yun thought a subtle smile appeared on his face.