Princess's Jewelry and the Frost Breath Method (Please Follow Along)

"Next up is the ninth lot: a manuscript from a Kingdom Temple Knight. It holds considerable collectible value. Starting bid: 2,000 Gold Coins!"

On the auction stage, the auctioneer introduced the item before him.

"2,200 Gold Coins!"

"2,500 Gold Coins!"

"..."

There was no noisy clamor, and the bids were called out in an orderly fashion.

Chen Mu had to admit that the Auction atmosphere was quite good, and the nobles attending were enthusiastic as well.

Seated in a private room on the second floor, Chen Mu could take in the entire scene.

There were only four private rooms on the second floor in total.

They had been prepared for nobles of greater importance, and bids could also be made from the second-floor rooms.

In fact, from the very beginning of the auction, Chen Mu had been observing the first floor, looking for anyone who might belong to the Black Robe Pathseekers Society.

Fortunately, only one of the nobles attending the auction wore black robes.

Chen Mu easily locked onto the person who was suspected of belonging to the Black Robe Pathseekers Society.

From the start of the auction until now, that person had not made a single bid.

He had remained sitting there stiffly, giving off an air that warned strangers to stay away.

"William, do you know that noble dressed in black?"

Chen Mu casually asked William, who stood guard beside him.

William heard Chen Mu's question.

He raised his head and glanced at the black-clad man seated on the first floor, then thought for a moment.

"That is Viscount Russell. His territory is also in East River Province. Is something wrong, Young Master?"

William answered, then asked Chen Mu a question in return.

"Nothing. I was just curious since he's the only one here wearing black, so I asked."

Chen Mu gave a casual explanation, but his heart was far less calm than he appeared.

He had not expected there to be nobles among the Black Robe Pathseekers Society.

Chen Mu had assumed that the members of the Black Robe Pathseekers Society all hid in the shadows. He had not expected them to have people among the nobles out in the open as well.

Time slowly passed, and countless nobles purchased item after item.

The Golden Lion Family's large-scale auction would sell a total of one hundred lots.

The first ninety were arranged at random, with varying values.

The final ten lots were the auction's grand finale, becoming more precious the further they went.

Chen Mu had seen the list, so he naturally knew what the finale items would be. Even he had been somewhat surprised by some of them.

"The ninety-first lot: Master Maupassant's painting—Princess's Jewelry.

This painting was created when Master Maupassant was thirty years old and has existed for more than two hundred years.

It has been perfectly preserved and holds extremely high collectible value. Starting bid: 10,000 Gold Coins."

As the auctioneer finished speaking, the Maid beside him lifted the red cloth covering the painting.

A framed painting was revealed before everyone.

The painting was not large and was rectangular in shape. It depicted a young girl dressed as a Princess, playing with the jewelry in her hands.

The moment the painting appeared, the first floor of the auction house became somewhat noisy as several nobles began whispering among themselves.

Even from the second floor, Chen Mu could hear their hushed discussions.

"It's actually an authentic work by Master Maupassant! Very few of Master Maupassant's paintings remain in circulation within the kingdom now. What a grand display!"

"I didn't expect such an unexpected gain. I can try bidding for it."

The nobles reacted very positively to the painting. Master Maupassant was extremely famous within the kingdom; Chen Mu even had that name in his memories.

Maupassant's status in the Winter Kingdom was somewhat like Van Gogh's in Chen Mu's previous life.

However, Chen Mu had little interest in the painting. He did not have much artistic sense, after all.

The only thing he could feel was that the painting looked beautiful. That was all.

Besides, as a veteran internet user in his previous life, what great works had he not seen? He had no particular reaction to it.

"15,000 Gold Coins!"

"20,000 Gold Coins!"

"..."

A string of bids followed, one after another. The frequency of the bidding was clearly much higher than before.

As expected of a finale item. The very first finale lot had already raised the atmosphere of the auction to another level.

Chen Mu also noticed that Viscount Russell's eyes had lit up and that he seemed tempted, but he ultimately did not place a bid.

"80,000 Gold Coins!"

A decisive voice rang out, and the entire auction hall fell somewhat silent.

Chen Mu also revealed a trace of surprise, for a simple reason.

That voice had come from beside him; the bidder was also in a private room on the second floor.

Several hours had passed since the auction began, yet this was the first time Chen Mu had heard anyone on the second floor make a bid.

Moreover, he could tell that the voice was very young and did not sound like that of an old-established noble. He turned to William, a questioning look in his eyes.

"The one bidding now is from the Rose Family, the Rose Earl's Only Son. He also received an invitation to attend this auction."

William explained. Chen Mu nodded after hearing him.

No wonder the voice had sounded somewhat familiar. Chen Mu had actually met this person before, during the Hunting Day he attended several months ago.

However, they had only met a few times and exchanged a few words. They were not familiar with each other.

The painting was ultimately bought by the Rose Earl's Only Son. After all, that price had already exceeded its value by quite a bit.

The estimate on the list Chen Mu had seen was 60,000 to 75,000.

Chen Mu was not particularly interested in the next several lots, but they still sparked fierce competition among countless nobles.

"The ninety-eighth lot: a Knight Breathing Technique—the Frost Breath Method.

An ordinary-level Breathing Technique, missing its Secret Medicine formula.

It can be cultivated to the Knight Peak at most. There is no starting bid. Highest bidder wins!"

As the third-to-last item was displayed, an uproar instantly broke out on the first floor of the auction house, and countless people's eyes lit up.

Although some great families possessed Breathing Techniques, who would ever complain about having too few of them?

Moreover, some smaller families did not have Breathing Techniques. Not every family was the Golden Lion Family.

Naturally, there were people from such families present. When they saw this item, their eyes turned red.

After all, they could buy it and use it as the foundation of their family.

Chen Mu also felt somewhat emotional when this lot appeared.

Although he had learned about it in advance, seeing it truly appear on the auction stage still made him marvel at the Golden Lion Family's immense wealth.

Breathing Techniques were also divided into ranks: ordinary level, Excellent Level, and Perfect Level, from lowest to highest.

A Breathing Technique that could only reach the Formal Knight realm was ordinary level, while one that could be cultivated to the Grand Knight realm was Excellent Level.

As for Perfect Level Breathing Techniques, they could be cultivated to the highest realm, that of an Epic Knight.

The Golden Lion Breathing Method passed down by the Golden Lion Family was a Perfect Level Breathing Technique with a complete Secret Medicine formula.

A Knight Breathing Technique was a type of Secret Record, and each Breathing Technique had only one original copy.

Other than true Wizards, no one could duplicate a Breathing Technique. Of course, someone who had learned one could teach it directly to others.

In other words, unless some Wizard had been bored enough to duplicate several copies of the Frost Breath Method, this Frost Breath Method was the only one in existence. Its value was self-evident.

Moreover, Breathing Techniques were truly things that money could not buy.

Gold Coins were merely worldly possessions, while a Breathing Technique that led directly onto the path of transcendence was something countless people dreamed of.

Even an ordinary-level Breathing Technique missing its Secret Medicine formula was an unreachable dream for countless people throughout their lives.

Please Follow Along~