Auction Begins
The Or Auction House finally opened as scheduled on the fourth day after the Oul Ruins closed.
This year's Auction House was unprecedentedly grand, simply because the overall quality of the items Auction House was higher than in previous years.
The five-star divine armor set consigned by Gu Ding goes without saying, but what's even more noteworthy is the sheer number of Four-Star Divine Object —a whopping twelve! This is unprecedented; previously, three Four-Star Divine Object appearing at once was considered quite remarkable. In addition, there are numerous other auction items of various good quality.
This situation is naturally related to the Insect Tide at the Oul Ruins. If it weren't for the Insect Tide, almost everyone's Merit Points, including those of the Gu Ding Team, would have been significantly reduced.
Gu Ding and his group arrived at the Auction House after having breakfast; most of the others had already entered.
When they entered the venue, not many people noticed them at first. However, because the numbers on their e-tickets from Lilo were for the first row, and they had to walk through the entire auction area to get there, their movement attracted a lot of attention, and many people in the venue recognized them.
"Is that the Gu Ding Team? Didn't they already leave Ju Fu Star?" someone in the hall couldn't help but ask, and many people had the same question.
"It's possible that he had something urgent to attend to and only just returned to participate in the Auction House," someone suggested.
Many people were surprised because no one knew where the Gu Ding Team had been these past few days, and now they suddenly appeared at the Auction House.
Ignoring the stares of outsiders, Gu Ding and his group sat comfortably in the front row of the auction area.
However, someone immediately raised another question.
"Wasn't Gu Ding the one who consigned that five-star divine artifact? Why didn't they go to the VIP section? Could it be that he wasn't the one who consigned that five-star divine artifact?"
"I heard that a lot of big shots came to this Auction House, so it's probably not going to be Gu Ding's turn. Even if Gu Ding is the consignor, he's just an Interstellar Pirate after all. And this Auction House hosted by the Fei Me Universe Country. The VIP area is probably reserved for the people from the Federal Government Headquarters." Someone explained it this way, although this explanation had nothing to do with the truth, it did sound somewhat reasonable.
About half an hour after Gu Ding and his group took their seats, the Auction House finally began.
The auctioneer was a woman who looked somewhat like Medea, but seemed to be a little Medea and her expression was quite different.
When Gu Ding saw her, he initially thought it was Medea in disguise, but then he realized it was probably just a resemblance. After all, Medea should have already entered the Universe Sea, and given her personality, it was unlikely she would turn back.
"This girl is named Caroline, Medea's cousin. She used to be Medea's assistant, and after Medea left, she took over most of Medea's work. The host of this Auction House should have been Medea's originally." Gu Ding heard the Sea Emperor's voice, and only then did Gu Ding realize.
"Is Elizabeth here this time too?" Gu Ding suddenly asked.
"She's here because she's already handed over most of her work and doesn't have much to do. Moreover, this Auction House unprecedentedly grand due to the appearance of a five-star divine artifact, and many powerful figures will participate. It's essential for the King and the high-ranking members of Congress to appear at this time and cultivate good relations with those powerful individuals."
The Sea Emperor not only knew Elizabeth had arrived, but also that Elizabeth was in the VIP room. His gaze, through the Night Curtain Crystal, fell upon Gu Ding in the auction hall below.
"He's here too." Elizabeth said with some emotion. She was the one who told Guding about the ruins and auction in the Or Star Region. She originally thought that with the strength of Guding's team, they would be lucky to get a few two- or three-star divine artifacts in the Or Star Ruins, because there were simply too many powerful individuals returning from the Great Boundary River. But she never expected that Guding's team would become the most prominent figures in the ruins this time.
Elizabeth had also heard about Gu Ding's activities at the Oul Ruins, and her information wasn't just hearsay. She had received concrete details from her own informants. She knew that six of the top ten Merit Points in Gu Ding Team within the ruins were occupied by members of his team, and that Gu Ding himself had accumulated nearly 100 billion Merit Points, plus the others. The team's total Merit Points 270 billion.
She also knew that although the Gu Ding Team was now enjoying a rising reputation, they were actually in great danger. This was because someone had deliberately leaked the final results of the Oul Ruins and secretly fueled the flames, spreading information about the Gu Ding Team's vast wealth far and wide.
Although Gu Ding Team has not yet entered the Great Boundary River, Gu Ding's name has already spread Great Boundary River. His Gu Ding Team has also attracted the attention of many powerful individuals, becoming their prey.
Becoming famous is certainly a good thing, but if one only has a hollow reputation without sufficient strength, being eliminated is inevitable. In the world of Interstellar Pirate, fame is more valuable than bounty money. A well-known Pirate Crew will attract many Interstellar Pirate Crew, leading to its increasing power. Being able to climb the ladder by stepping on famous figures naturally benefits one's own reputation, which is why many people tirelessly engage in this activity.
Gu Ding knew about the leaked rankings of the Oul Ruins. He understood that such leaks were almost inevitable, given that nearly nine thousand people survived to the end of the ruins, and anyone could have done it. He also knew the consequences of so many people knowing about his team's vast wealth. He wasn't afraid of those consequences, which is why he dared to bring his team to the Auction House.
In other rooms in the VIP section, just like Elizabeth, Gu Ding also attracted attention.
"I heard that the little boy named Gu Ding is the one who consigned the five-star divine item for auction?" An Old Woman with a hunched back sat cross-legged on the sofa, leaning on a wooden cane in her right hand, and asked Gu Ding through the Night Curtain Crystal with the tip of the cane.
"That's what the rumor says, and I think it's probably true." Standing next to the Granny was a boy who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, slightly older than Gu Ding.
"This little fellow named Gu Ding is quite something," the Old Woman remarked after carefully observing Gu Ding from a distance.
"Why do you say that, teacher? I only see that the swordsman Bigge in their team is very strong." The boy's gaze was fixed on Bigge.
"He has concealed his aura, so it's normal that you can't tell," the Old Woman nodded and smiled after listening. You could clearly see that most of her teeth had fallen out, leaving only a few scattered ones. "He is only Thirteenth-Order Gene Body, but his physical strength is comparable to One-Star Low-rank God. Moreover, the depth of his divine source is no less than that of an ordinary Mid-rank God."
The boy immediately fell silent. When he was still Thirteenth-Order Gene Body, he was definitely not this powerful.
"After today's Auction House, come with me to take on an apprentice," the Old Woman suddenly said.
"Teacher, you want to take Gu Ding?" the boy asked in surprise.
"It's not Gu Ding, I can't teach Gu Ding." The Old Woman shook her head. "It's a little girl, she lives in the house next door."
"The next room?" The young man probed outwards with his spiritual sense, wanting to know who the Granny was referring to, but found that every room in the VIP area was protected by powerful shielding barriers, making it impossible to investigate. He could only give up and withdraw his spiritual sense, but he knew that with the Granny's strength, such barriers were simply no match for her.
In another VIP room, a Middle-Aged Man frowned slightly. "I didn't expect that old hag to come too. It's going to be difficult to bid for that five-star divine armor now, and forcibly taking it is out of the question..."
Sitting in the front row of the auction area, Gu Ding had no idea how many powerful figures had come this time, nor did he care. His gaze fell on the auction stage with great interest.
On the auction stage, the first item was finally displayed.
"The first item we're showcasing today is a bottle of elixirs left over from Near Ancient Era cultivation civilization." Caroline was holding a palm-sized blue bottle, which was actually one of the elixirs that Gu Ding had consigned for auction.
"This kind of pill is called the Qing Xu Pill. It contains a large amount of energy and was taken by powerful individuals in Near Ancient Era when they were trying to advance to a higher rank. As for the effects of the pill, we have also conducted corresponding tests. It is enough to raise a High-rank God by one rank. Moreover, the energy contained in the pill is extremely gentle and completely compatible with the divine source. It can be quickly digested and converted, and there are no side effects from taking a small amount."
"This bottle originally contained twelve pills, but we consumed two during testing, leaving only ten. Therefore, it will not be sold as a bottle, but auctioned individually. According to Master Lilo's appraisal, these pills are classified as Three-Star Divine Object. The starting price for each pill is eight hundred million Universe Crystal, and each bid must be at least ten million Universe Crystal..."
Listening to Caroline's words on stage, Gu Ding was speechless, thinking to himself that the Auction House was indeed very sophisticated.
This bottle of pills, which Gu Ding exchanged entirely from the Oul Ruins, contains twelve pills. It cost the price of a Three-Star Divine Object, 30 million Merit Points, which translates to 3 billion Universe Crystal. That's about 250 million Universe Crystal per pill. The starting bid was already 1 billion, more than tripling the price. After the bidding, the price will only go higher.
"850 million!" The first bid in the room was 50 million higher, but this price was quickly overtaken.
"Eight hundred and eighty million!"
"Nine hundred million!" someone else quickly shouted.
Listening to the bidding from the crowd, Gu Ding grinned with a hint of pleasure.
~~~
[Gu Ding is in a great mood, but I'm not so great~~ I'm so sleepy while writing this chapter, it's taking so long, I almost fell asleep... I had no choice but to put on my headphones and listen to Sao Dang's Animal on repeat to stay awake. Every time I hear that "howl" of the wolf, I'm wide awake. The result of listening to it on repeat hundreds of times is that I can't fall asleep... Damn it!] (To be continued...)