Bidding

"Does it consume a little too much qi and blood?"

The crowd exchanged glances. They were not so easily fooled.

If that were truly all there was to it, why hide it away?

"President Ge, just how high is this 'a little too much' you speak of?"

Old Bloodrot stroked his beard, his tone somewhat unfriendly.

After all, he was currently the highest bidder. If something truly went wrong, he would likely become the laughingstock of all Cloud City.

Though the others said nothing, the meaning in their eyes was already clear. He had to give them an explanation today.

Faced with the crowd's pressure, Ge Xu knew he could not hide it any longer and simply came clean.

"It's nothing much. If activated at the minimum level, judging by the qi and blood of a Spirit Conduit Realm martial artist, it can probably be maintained for around five minutes."

"After that, every additional Spirit Inscription activated will increase the consumption of qi and blood by another level."

Hearing Ge Xu's words, the crowd immediately erupted into an uproar.

Good heavens, this was what he called a little too high?

This restriction alone had practically eliminated every martial artist below the Spirit Conduit Realm.

Even Spirit Conduit Realm martial artists had to weigh whether their qi and blood could sustain the drain.

"Heh heh, President Ge Xu certainly made it sound easy."

Facing the crowd's hostile gazes, Ge Xu was straightforward as ever. He spread his hands and said,

"Compared with its uniqueness, what is so strange about having a few minor flaws?"

"Even if you went to the Demon Suppression Division to have one forged, leaving aside whether those people would even bother with you, wouldn't a casually forged spirit artifact still cost several thousand taels?"

"As for why I put it up for auction, that was merely the owner's request."

Having said that, he looked toward Old Bloodrot.

"Of course, if you truly believe I deceived you, then at the current highest price, I will pay for it and buy it myself. How about that?"

Though they still felt that something was not quite right, after hearing those words, the crowd had no rebuttal for the moment.

After all, he had already said it: if they did not want it, he would purchase it himself.

Under everyone's gaze, Old Bloodrot's expression shifted unpredictably. After calculating in secret for a moment, he bared his teeth in a grin and said,

"Heh heh, President Ge Xu, why take it to heart? We were merely a little worried before."

"Besides, now that the item has been brought out, how could it be taken back? I say we should continue the auction."

His completely different attitude before and after immediately drew contemptuous looks from the crowd.

However, Old Bloodrot merely swept his gaze around coldly. The owners of those looks were instantly frightened stiff, like cicadas in winter. Only then did they remember that this old man was no easy target.

Not only was he vindictive over the slightest grievance, but if someone displeased him, he would wipe out their entire family.

His Bloodrot Saber Technique was even more masterful, reaching the pinnacle of perfection. Even among all the martial artists in Cloud City, his strength ranked near the very top.

And so, the auction resumed.

Yet compared to the earlier frenzy, everyone's bids were noticeably more restrained.

After several minutes of back-and-forth shouting, the price had only barely broken through six thousand taels.

This made Ge Xu's old face turn so gloomy it seemed capable of dripping water.

His eyes swept around, trying to find those detestable fellows from earlier.

"Heh heh, Master Ling, look at that old fellow's expression. He must be furious, haha."

Zhang Mu and the others wore excited expressions. Under ordinary circumstances, how would they have dared offend people like these?

"Good work."

Ling Yun watched the auction return to normal and nodded in satisfaction.

The method truly was not very honorable, but it was highly effective.

Besides, he was not some rigid old-fashioned man. If they really pushed him too far, choosing to take it for free was not out of the question.

By this point, the auction price had gradually slowed. When it finally reached eight thousand taels, only the last two parties remained in competition.

Besides Old Bloodrot, the other was an acquaintance—the master of Black Tiger Martial Hall, Xu Hu.

"Eight thousand four hundred taels!" Old Bloodrot's facial muscles twitched as he painfully announced the figure.

This price was already close to his psychological limit. After all, even having the Demon Suppression Division forge a new spirit artifact would only cost four or five thousand taels of silver.

"Eight thousand fi..." Xu Hu hesitated for a moment, his face struggling, but in the end he let out a long sigh and slowly lowered his raised hand.

After all, he still had a martial hall to support. He was not like Old Bloodrot, alone in the world, with no one to feed but himself.

For a flawed special spirit artifact, it was not worth paying such a great price.

The other factions largely shared the same thinking.

Seeing this, Old Bloodrot inwardly relaxed, then laughed loudly as he looked at Ge Xu.

"Haha, Ge Xu, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and announce it!"

"Could it be that you think anyone still dares compete with me?"

As he spoke, his chilly gaze swept the room, his manner utterly arrogant.

Though the masters of those martial halls disliked his overbearing demeanor, their purses were empty, so they could only endure it one by one.

Ge Xu remained silent, his expression cold, but his heart was bleeding.

It was all because of those damned fellows!

Just as everyone believed the dust had settled, a calm voice shattered the silence of the hall.

"Nine thousand taels."

As the words fell, everyone's eyes almost simultaneously turned toward a corner of the venue, wanting to know who dared pull a tooth from a tiger's mouth at such a moment.

Faced with countless complicated gazes, Ling Yun remained calm, as though he had not been the one to speak.

Old Bloodrot's expression also darkened. Looking in Ling Yun's direction, he said in a grim voice, "Boy... do you know what you are doing?"

Seeing Old Bloodrot angered, the crowd could not help casting sympathetic looks toward Ling Yun.

In their view, offending the vicious Old Bloodrot over a spirit artifact was truly an unwise choice.

Yet faced with Old Bloodrot's threat, Ling Yun did not even glance at him. He merely looked calmly at Ge Xu.

"What? Am I not allowed to bid?"

Unlike Old Bloodrot's fury, though Ge Xu showed nothing on his face, inwardly he burst into laughter.

After secretly praising Ling Yun, he coughed and said,

"Of course you may. Anyone may bid freely at this auction."

After saying that, he tapped the bronze hammer in his hand.

"Then the current highest bid is nine thousand taels. Is there anyone higher?"

Though he said so, his eyes remained fixed on Old Bloodrot.

The masters of the other martial halls were also eager to stir up trouble, their voices dripping with sarcasm.

"Tsk tsk, some people were just boasting that no one dared compete with them. Who would have thought the slap in the face would come so quickly?"

"Heh heh, if it were me, I would have already found a hole in the ground to crawl into."

"You are being rather cruel with those words! Who is he? A mere nine thousand taels of silver would naturally be beneath his notice."

"..."

Old Bloodrot's face turned ashen, his icy gaze fixed on Ling Yun as if he wanted to carve Ling Yun's appearance deep into his mind.

Then he closed his eyes and, gritting out each word through clenched teeth, said,

"Nine! Thousand! One! Hundred! Taels!"

"Nine thousand five hundred taels." Ling Yun was expressionless.

Whoosh! Ignoring everyone's taunts completely, Old Bloodrot flashed and vanished from where he stood, choosing to leave directly.

Ge Xu was somewhat disappointed at the sight. He asked the hall several times in succession, but seeing that no one else responded, he could only helplessly announce the end of the auction.

Very soon, Ling Yun stepped onto the stage.

Money in one hand, goods in the other.

Then, without looking back, he led Zhang Mu and the others straight out of the auction house.

Watching his departing back, then looking at the strange gazes around him, Ge Xu shook his head regretfully.

"A fine young talent, but unfortunately, his edge is too sharp."