Yang Xizhi looked around and indeed there were only seats available next to the Four Great Merchant Associations. He knew that the Four Great Merchant Associations wanted to see An Yun Merchant Association of Commerce make a fool of itself, but after thinking about Su Chen's help today, he felt a little more at ease.
"Then I shall accept."
As he spoke, Yang Xizhi Past and sat down next to the Four Great Merchant Associations of commerce.
President Liu Heng frowned slightly. He hadn't expected Yang Xizhi to actually sit down. Shouldn't he have declined and found a corner to sit in by himself?
However, he didn't seem to mind and asked with a smile, "President Yang is so confident; it seems you're determined to take Sanyang Street today."
Yang Xizhi fell silent. He wasn't really confident either. When he heard Yang Lan say that Su Chen was willing to help them buy Sanyang Street, he was filled with disbelief.
The value of Sanyang Street is considerable; even Immortal King would likely have to empty their pockets to afford it.
Given how long their Trade Association has been operating, their wealth must surpass that of an ordinary Immortal King, yet even so, they still have to empty their coffers.
Will Su Chen really help?
It was just talk, or perhaps Su Chengqian simply didn't know the value of Sanyang Street and thought it was just some Ordinary thing, so he made a promise to Yang Lan at the time.
Seeing Yang Xizhi's demeanor, President Liu Heng immediately knew that he lacked confidence. He sneered inwardly, but his face remained smiling as he addressed the three President beside him:
"It seems that getting control of Sanyang Street today won't be so easy. President Yang is quite powerful; he's a formidable opponent for us."
The other three also smiled and nodded.
Business people are all shrewd old hands; even if they secretly despise Yang Xizhi, they would never show it on their faces.
President Liu Heng then suddenly said to the people next to Yang Xizhi, "What's wrong, President Yang? Why are you bringing your family along to this Auction?"
"That's true, such Auction are a rare sight. Bringing the younger generation to participate in such Auction is a good way to broaden their horizons."
He had barely finished speaking when the President Wangyue, one of the Four Great Merchant Associations, spoke up:
"It seems President Yang has never attended Auction of this scale before. It would be good for him to broaden his horizons. I've heard that your An Yun Merchant Association hasn't been doing well lately, so it seems you won't be getting any action at Sanyang Street this time."
"Pah, pah, pah! How could I say such things directly? There are so many people here. President Yang, you see, I just don't know how to speak properly and have embarrassed you."
President Wangyue immediately launched into a sarcastic remark, showing no respect whatsoever to Yang Xizhi.
The other two President sneered and remained silent.
In their eyes, the An Yun Merchant Association was not on the same level as the Four Great Merchant Associations, and they were too lazy to bother to make sarcastic remarks.
Time passed quickly, and the Auction began as scheduled. The Middle-aged Man on the stage slowly opened his eyes, and a terrifying pressure immediately swept out.
"I'm sure you've all heard about the items to be auctioned, and you all know my identity. Auction begin now."
He was Immortal King who oversaw commerce in the Imperial City, and almost everyone who ran Trade Association knew him.
"I don't need to elaborate on Sanyang Street, do I? You should understand its importance. It has a huge flow of people, and any Trade Association that takes over there will reap enormous profits."
"The Imperial Family will also protect the successful Trade Association in the competition. No matter what happens within ten thousand years, Sanyang Street will belong to the Trade Association that won the auction, and the Imperial Family will also bless that merchant for ten thousand years."
The Imperial Family uses the same methods for both the core and lower levels of the Imperial City.
This was mainly to reduce infighting between the Trade Association, so as to prevent the economy of the Imperial City from falling into turmoil and to stabilize development.
Upon hearing these words, everyone present showed a hint of excitement. This was Death-Exempting Token granted by the Imperial Family; if they could seize Sanyang Street, they could enjoy stable development for ten thousand years.
No one will dare to touch you for at least the next ten thousand years.
Starting bid: 100 million top-grade Immortal Crystal.
One hundred million top-grade Immortal Crystal!?
The starting price of the auction immediately silenced countless people; such an exorbitant price made it impossible for even those who wanted to participate to afford it.
It's way too expensive.
Yang Xizhi sighed helplessly. One hundred million top-grade Immortal Crystal was the limit he could afford; the actual auction price would be at least five times that.
Five hundred million top-grade Immortal Crystal —there's no way the An Yun Merchant Association could possibly come up with that amount.
President Liu Heng stated directly, "Two hundred million top-grade Immortal Crystal!"
With a smile on his face, he spoke casually, saying that the price of two hundred million top-grade Immortal Crystal excluded almost all Trade Association, including the An Yun Merchant Association.
The hall fell silent immediately as one hundred million top-grade Immortal Crystal were added in one go.
President Liu Heng turned his head and squinted at Yang Xizhi, then smiled faintly and said, "President Yang, aren't you going to bid?"
Yang Xizhi remained silent.
However, someone inside the hall spoke up.
"Two hundred and ten million top-grade Immortal Crystal."
Sanyang Street is of paramount importance. If we can take it over, even the Four Great Merchant Associations won't dare to do anything to us. Ten thousand years is enough time for many things to happen. With good luck, we might even be able to overthrow the Four Great Merchant Associations or become the fifth major Trade Association.
I heard that there were only two of the Four Great Merchant Associations at the beginning, and the others squeezed in later using similar methods.
President Liu Heng said casually, "Two hundred and fifty million top-grade Immortal Crystal!"
Two hundred and sixty million!
Three hundred million!
President Liu Heng spoke again, raising the price each time by a considerable margin. His sheer wealth and arrogance intimidated everyone else.
Three hundred and ten million!
Three hundred and fifty million!
President Liu Heng spoke again, his eyes calm, determined to acquire Sanyang Street.
On the other side, Yang Lan held Su Chen's hand tightly. Su Chen could feel that her palms were full of sweat and that she was gripping her hand tightly.
Yang Lan looked at Yang Xizhi: "Dad, can we bid against each other?"
Yang Xizhi sighed, said nothing, and simply shook his head silently.
He only brought 100 million top-grade Immortal Crystal with him; 300 million was far beyond his means. If he sold the An Yun Merchant Association to the Four Great Merchant Associations, it might still be worth 100 or 200 million top-grade Immortal Crystal.
Previously, the Four Great Merchant Associations had also expressed their desire to buy the An Yun Merchant Association, but he did not agree.
Even if he agreed now, he couldn't afford it, and besides, the Four Great Merchant Associations knew his intentions and certainly wouldn't buy it.
Yang Xizhi glanced at Su Chen and sighed inwardly.
So, hearing that the price is so high means they can't offer help?
Su Chen didn't look like he was going to make a bid.
However, the moment this thought crossed his mind, he saw Su Chen speak, his voice echoing throughout the entire Auction:
"Five hundred million top-grade Immortal Crystal!"