"Room A-1, bidding one hundred and fifty million!"
"Room A-2, bidding one hundred and sixty million!"
"VIP Seat 3, bidding two hundred million!"
"..."
The auction was in full swing, and the bids from the big shots grew increasingly outrageous.
It made everyone listening green with envy.
How could anyone be this rich?
Countless watching martial artists wore envious looks.
For them, the money earned from striking it rich in the Wilderness was barely enough to guarantee their own cultivation—and that was already impressive.
Sometimes, they could not even spare enough for their own cultivation. Supporting their families was difficult enough. That was precisely why so few ordinary martial artists could break through to the Martial Master realm.
Those Martial Masters who had broken through the shackles despite coming from commoner backgrounds—
Every one of them had obtained their resources through killing and robbing.
Like the Ghost Face Martial Artist.
But very few people were willing to risk their lives snatching other people's resources.
Still, one could stand firm no matter which way the wind blew.
Lu Xuan did not rush to put the Nine Tribulations Thunder Bamboo into the Bronze Gourd and try it out.
If this thing could be ripened by the Bronze Gourd, the finished product would have to undergo tribulation lightning again and again. By then, tribulation lightning would cover the entire Satellite City No. 2, and he would truly cause a disaster.
For now, all he needed to do was quietly wait for Lot 13 to appear.
As long as he obtained the Qi and Blood Golden Elixir, he might be able to climb another level.
Of course,
During that time, he did not forget to bid on some miscellaneous martial art manuals.
The Federation Martial Artist Association allowed martial art manuals to be auctioned, but almost all of them were incomplete, or had been unearthed from some ruin. No one dared cultivate them.
The people who ultimately bought them either trained themselves insane or trained themselves to death.
Then the Federation would take the martial art manuals back.
If someone was lucky enough to master one, the Federation would extend an olive branch to them.
In short, it was a guaranteed-profit business.
Those who bought the martial art manuals were basically walking test subjects.
But Lu Xuan had no such concerns. He could use the Bronze Gourd to complete the manuals.
As for where the manuals would ultimately go—
Didn't he have a faction called the Great Wilderness Hall in the Wilderness?
They were perfect for it.
It would also demonstrate the Great Wilderness Hall's legitimacy, lest anyone develop thoughts of betrayal.
"Lot 13, the auction begins now!"
The auctioneer shouted, pulling Lu Xuan's thoughts back to reality.
Here it comes!
Lu Xuan sat up straight. Seeing his posture, several people glanced sideways at him.
"Xuan, are you going to bid?"
Scarhead asked.
"Huh?" Lu Xuan, who had only been paying attention to the auction items, was stunned for a moment before nodding repeatedly. "I'm a little interested. It seems like everyone likes it."
After Lot 13 appeared, he noticed it.
The atmosphere in the venue was especially gloomy.
There were even sounds of derision.
"I saw this item on the official website long ago. It seems to have failed to sell at more than a dozen auctions. I didn't expect it to end up at the Satellite City No. 2 auction. If it fails to sell again, it'll probably be put up for direct sale on the official website."
"It's no wonder everyone doesn't want it. The key is that it's a dead egg. Really, not many people are willing to waste money on it!"
"The dead egg would be one thing, but the most ridiculous part is that they actually dare to set the starting price at ten million. They don't even know what kind of monster egg it is, yet they dare to start at ten million. That's pretty damn abstract, bro."
"..."
Inside the private room.
Lu Xuan had not activated his Psychic Power, so he could not hear everything the people below were saying.
Scarhead sat down beside him, swirling his wineglass as he explained, "This auction item is famous. Anyone in Jinling City who has paid attention to auctions basically knows about it. Its value doesn't match its price."
"Just because it's a dead egg?"
Lu Xuan leaned back on the sofa.
He opened the Martial Artist System and entered the Martial Artist Association's auction hall for a look.
It stated that the egg was dead and that its species was unknown.
"No, no!"
Ma Tao sat beside Lu Xuan, poured him a glass of wine, and leaned teasingly close to his Martial Artist panel as she explained:
"I heard that this egg was left behind after a Martial Dao Grandmaster killed a Skyfire Chicken in battle. In other words, this is the egg of a Beast Lord level monster. Its value goes without saying. But unfortunately, this monster egg is dead..."
"Actually, no one would care if it were simply a dead egg."
"The strange thing is that there is a layer of membrane around the core of this dead egg that blocks all instruments from detecting anything. That Martial Dao Grandmaster felt there had to be something inside, so he insisted on selling it for ten million Federal Coins."
"If it hadn't been put up for auction by a Martial Dao Grandmaster, it would have failed to sell long ago."
After she finished,
Ma Tao downed the red wine in her hand and leaned forward, wanting to kiss Lu Xuan.
"Blocking all instrument detection..."
Lu Xuan dodged her and hurriedly activated his Psychic Power to probe it.
The monster egg on the auction stage instantly became visible frame by frame in his sight.
Suddenly,
A heartbeat thudded in his mental sea, accompanied by a surging force of qi and blood.
"It has life force?!"
Lu Xuan's pupils contracted sharply. "No, that's not right! This force of qi and blood can't belong to an unborn monster. And what kind of monster would be born at the Beast Lord level?"
His Psychic Power focused.
An even clearer energy fluctuation entered Lu Xuan's consciousness.
A huge heavenly bird appeared before his eyes. Flames covered its entire body, its sharp beak and eyes blazing. With a flap of its wings, it conjured an endless sea of fire.
The surrounding temperature grew scorching hot.
The firebird let out a long cry and shot into the sky, transforming into a blazing sun. In the void, it gathered into a second searing sun.
Lu Xuan stared at it without blinking.
Almost simultaneously,
The firebird seemed to sense his presence. It turned its head and looked over. After locking onto Lu Xuan, it spread its wings and transformed into a meteor, crashing toward him.
"Damn it!"
Lu Xuan swiftly withdrew his Psychic Power.
The surrounding sea of fire vanished. He was still inside the private room.
Nothing had changed.
Yet this power gave him a strangely familiar feeling.
"What exactly... Wait, isn't that the Big Eyeball that appeared in my mind?"
Lu Xuan remembered.
Whenever his Mental Power reached its limit, he would see a Big Eyeball.
And now,
He had actually seen the image of a firebird emerge from inside that egg.
"Could it be..."
In an instant,
Lu Xuan understood something, and his breathing began to quicken.
"That Skyfire Bird isn't dead?!"
It was possible.
He could even be one hundred percent certain that the Skyfire Bird was not dead at all. It had merely become an egg again for some reason.
"Rebirth through fire?"
As the thought arose, Lu Xuan subconsciously blurted out the phrase.
Yes, that had to be it!
Lu Xuan's breathing quickened further, and his eyes burned as he stared at the monster egg.
Of all creatures capable of rebirth through fire, he had only heard of one—the legendary phoenix.
He could not determine whether the monster egg possessed phoenix bloodline.
But the fact that it could be reborn through fire was enough to show how extraordinary this egg was.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Xuan made a bid.
"Ten million!"
The originally clamorous auction hall suddenly fell silent.
Even the people in the private room looked at Lu Xuan in shock and disbelief.
Ah, Zhen, are you actually serious?
"Xuan, have you gone crazy?"
Several people hurried over to dissuade him. "That's a dead egg. It has no value whatsoever. Hurry and retract the bid. Just say you pressed the wrong button."
Ten million could buy a thousand beautiful women with COS bird eggs.
And he was buying one dead bird egg?
It was not just the few of them. Everyone in the venue was whispering and scoffing.
"Damn, which young master's willing to spend that much money?"
"Ten million could buy a living Skyfire Chicken. Even if this egg is at the Beast Lord level, it's not worth that price!"
Murmurs rippled through the venue.
Lu Xuan paid them no heed. He clenched his fist and stared at the auctioneer as the man brought down the transaction hammer.
"Ten million, once!"
"Ten million, twice!"
Just as he raised the hammer in his hand—
"Twenty million!"
Whoosh!
Another wave of shocked cries swept through the venue.
Lu Xuan's expression changed. His Mental Power probed toward a private room on the third floor.
Several auras were inside, their qi and blood soaring to the heavens, not the least bit weaker than a Martial Master.
A powerhouse!
"Damn it, there's a Martial Master powerhouse."
Lu Xuan's expression grew solemn. "No, no one could see that there's something hidden inside this egg. Could the person bidding have been sent by the seller?"
At that thought, his expression relaxed somewhat. "Looks like they just want to squeeze out more money!"
"Then I'll satisfy you!"
"Thirty million!"
"Xuan!"
Scarhead and the others cried out in alarm, trying to rush over and hold Lu Xuan down.
However...
"Forty million!"
That private room called out again.
Lu Xuan's expression did not change. "Fifty million!"
"He's gone crazy! He's gone crazy!"
Scarhead and the others clutched their heads.
Fifty million was enough to buy a Skyfire Bird at the Awakened Level!
But it was not over yet.
The people in that private room continued, "Sixty million!"
Boom—!
The entire venue erupted.
Lu Xuan's expression turned completely gloomy.
If it had happened once or twice, he might have thought the seller was trying to raise the price. But after repeated bids, it was obvious that the other party had come looking for trouble.
Immediately,
He turned to Scarhead and asked, "Uncle, do you know who is in that private room?"
Seeing how stubborn he was, Scarhead finally gritted his teeth and called his boss.
A few seconds later,
Scarhead passed the information to Lu Xuan.
"The person in that private room is the founder of the Monster Potion Company. His name is Gong Yubai."
The founder of the Monster Potion Company?
No wonder... Lu Xuan understood, sighing inwardly, The Monster Potion Company specializes in researching these strange Heaven and Earth Spiritual Items. This egg must be extremely valuable to them...
"Call it one last time."
He looked up and pondered for a moment.
"I bid one hundred million Federal Coins!"
Before you continue