Feng Yi took Jiang Liu to another restaurant for brunch, since it was a bit early for lunch. They couldn't very well sit in a teahouse drinking tea, could they? Besides, Jiang Liu Feng Yi weren't very familiar with each other.
After a leisurely lunch, when they arrived at Ascension Tower, many of the people participating in the auction had already arrived. Feng Yi led Jiang Liu straight into the first-class private room, and then took out the gold Ascension Tower token and handed it to the waitress.
Jiang Liu could tell from his familiarity with the process that he was quite a participant.
Feng Yi chatted with Jiang Liu a while, mainly talking about his sister, showing that he still hadn't given up.
Finally, the auction was about to begin, and Jiang Liu was sweating profusely. Good heavens, this guy was incredibly eloquent! Looking at him from all angles, it was completely out of character for him!
Before the auction began, a waitress standing guard at the door knocked and came in to ask if they wanted the curtain to be raised.
It turns out that each private room has a double-layered screen. By raising the screen, you can see and hear the items to be auctioned.
Feng Yi looked at Jiang Liu, Jiang Liu nodded. Then the waitress went to prepare.
A short while later, the view from the private room opened up, allowing a glimpse into the auction hall. The outer hall was packed with people; Jiang Liu glanced around and counted at least a thousand or two.
Luckily we arrived early, otherwise there wouldn't be enough room in the private room, and we would have had to sit in the main hall. Jiang Liu was clearly overthinking it; the Feng Family does have private rooms, but Feng Yi only came to this one to win Jiang Liu over.
Not long after, a tall, slender woman, dressed in a white palace-style gauze dress, with her hair styled in a palace-style flowing cloud bun, bright and charming eyes, a nose like a hanging gall, lips like painted vermilion, teeth like scallops, and skin like solidified cream, walked to the center of the circular auction stage. (I feel like throwing up writing this part. What should I do? Is she really that beautiful?)
The moment she appeared, everyone's emotions were ignited. Jiang Liu glanced around and realized that everyone in the room was a man. Sure enough, gentlemen are everywhere! No wonder the emotions were so easily heightened.
She raised her hands, waved them down, and immediately fell silent. When she spoke, even Jiang Liu was surprised; her voice was truly beautiful. Now he knew what it meant to have a voice as melodious as a nightingale's.
Not to mention Jiang Liu, even Feng Yi, who had heard it many times, had a lecherous look on his face, staring intently at the beautiful woman as if he wanted to get his money's worth.
"Welcome everyone to this auction. I am Murong Yin, and I am in charge of this auction. I hope you will all abide by the rules of this building. Otherwise, don't blame me for not reminding you if you cause any bad consequences!" After saying that, he covered his mouth with his hand and chuckled.
As soon as Murong Yin finished speaking, a powerful aura descended from the fifth floor. The entire hall fell silent. Jiang Liu was also startled. A Grandmaster! This Ascension Tower was indeed extraordinary; he hadn't heard of any Grandmasters in Wind City before!
"Next, we will begin the auction of the first item: a low- Earth Grade, Low Rank technique. The starting price is 100,000 taels of silver, and each bid must be at least 1,000 taels of silver. Please place your bids!"
As expected, this monthly auction actually offered a high-level cultivation technique. Jiang Liu's interest in the Ascension Tower intensified. However, upon hearing the price, Jiang Liu's face darkened. He realized how poor he truly was and decided to just get it for free.
As soon as Murong Yin finished speaking, a chorus of voices erupted in the room, as if the item would be his if he had just set a price.
"110,000!"
"120,000!"
"Poor people, go home! What are you robbing here for? Two hundred thousand!" A boastful voice suddenly rang out. Everyone turned around and saw that it was Jia Caibao, the simple-minded son of Jia Dafu from West City. Jia Dafu was known as the richest man in West City. He had his son late in life and doted on Jia Caibao. Whatever Jia Caibao wanted, Jia Dafu would find a way to buy it for him.
A waitress immediately approached, intending to lead Jia Caibao to a private room, but Jia Caibao completely ignored her offer and insisted on sitting in the main hall. The waitress had no choice but to let him have his way. However, seeing the way he kept swallowing his saliva as he looked at Murong Yin, she knew exactly why he wanted to sit in the main hall.
"Young Master Jia has offered 200,000 taels of silver. Is there anyone else who wants to raise the price?"
No sooner Murong Yin finished speaking than a lazy voice came from the private room on the fourth floor, "Two hundred and fifty thousand taels, Fatty Jia, if you don't have the money, go ask your father for it. Stop embarrassing yourself here."
Whoosh! The hall erupted in an uproar. How dare they mock Jia Caibao? Looking up, they saw that it was the Pang Family's private room on the fourth floor, and immediately knew that Pang Chunlong, the eldest son of the Pang Family, had arrived.
Immediately, everyone fell silent. Jiang Liu glanced at Feng Yi beside him, and seeing that he was still staring at Murong Yin without saying a word, he shook his head.
"Young Master Pang has offered 250,000 taels of silver. Is there anyone else bidding?" Everyone was marveling at this, but Murong Yin wasn't going to stand there dumbfounded.
"Two hundred and eighty thousand taels!" Wow! Everyone saw Jia Caibao bid again.
"Three hundred thousand taels, Fatty Jia, if you're so capable, bid again and I'll let you have it!"
"Three hundred thousand taels, for the first time."
"Three hundred thousand taels. Second time. If no one bids again, this local-level secret manual will belong to Young Master Pang!" Murong Yin was stalling for time, looking at the crowd with a pitiful expression, as if he had been bought by Young Master Pang.
"Three hundred thousand taels... the third time!" Finally, this Earth-grade cultivation technique was bought by Young Master Pang, that sucker. Feng Yi saw that Jiang Liu seemed to be unfamiliar with the price of cultivation manuals, so he explained the price to him. It turned out that a typical low-grade Earth Grade, Low Rank technique of the Five Elements would not exceed two hundred thousand taels.
So this young master Pang has definitely become the sucker, who would want to compete with him for it!
Next, the auction proceeded according to the normal auction process. Seeing that the items being auctioned were mostly items used by low- to mid-level martial artists, Jiang Liu had no interest in even looking at them.
Young Master Pang, the unfortunate victim, seemed to know he had gotten himself into trouble, so he rarely intervened afterward.
"These are the last three items for this auction. The first item is a young Iron Beak Eagles. An adult Iron Beak Eagles has a minimum strength of Rank 6 and a maximum of Rank 9. With the right circumstances, it could even become Lesser Beast King. The starting price is three thousand taels. Each bid must be at least one hundred taels higher." Murong Yin introduced the item enthusiastically.
On the auction floor was an iron cage containing a baby Iron Beak Eagles.
Jiang Liu stared speechlessly at Murong Yin. She could supposedly rise to the level of Lesser Beast King? If he hadn't encountered the Iron Beak Eagles flock before, he might have actually believed her nonsense. Master Lu was right, the prettier the woman, the more likely she is to lie.
Sure enough, as soon as Murong Yin finished speaking, the bidding in the room rose and fell, soaring all the way to 50,000 taels before finally falling into Jia Caibao's hands.
Looking at Jia Caibao's fat and bloated appearance, Jiang Liu couldn't help but sigh, "Indeed, people are foolish and rich. The ancients were right! A mere cub that could only reach the eighth rank at most was sold for the price of Lesser Beast King."
"The second item is a low-grade top-quality longsword produced by the Weapon Forging Sect. This is quite rare. The starting price is 100,000 taels of silver, and each bid must be at least 1,000 taels of silver higher," Murong Yin introduced, pointing to the longsword on the tray held by the waitress beside him.
Immediately, the bidding grew louder and louder. Although ninth-grade weapons were rare, they could be obtained if one was willing to wait. But this top-grade weapon was a different story.
Sometimes there might be a few pieces a year, sometimes only one every few years; it's not something you can just create whenever you want. In the end, it was that rich scoundrel Jia Caibao who bought it for 150,000 taels of silver.
Immediately, several people stared intently at Jia Caibao, especially Young Master Pang.