Ancient Sun Technique, Girl in the White Dress

A moment later, a servant brought up a brocade box.

Zhao Yu opened the box and displayed it to the crowd; inside was a pair of crystal-clear jade horses.

"Ooh!"

Gasps of amazement instantly erupted from the audience.

Clearly, this pair of jade horses was worth a fortune.

"Everyone, you have all heard the story of the jade horses, haven't you? This treasure was obtained by our Stone Snake Chamber of Commerce after many twists and turns, and it serves perfectly as an appetizer for tonight!"

Zhao Yu's voice was high-pitched, and he wore a smile on his face.

Those in the audience who knew their goods began to whisper among themselves. Although Shen Han was not interested in the jade horses, he had heard some secret rumors about them.

Legend had it that the jade horses were a tribute to the Imperial Court.

Decades ago, the then-Crown Princess lost them during an excursion. The Imperial Court searched for a long time but could not find them, eventually having to announce that they were relinquishing their claim of ownership.

"Who would have thought the jade horses would end up with the Stone Snake Chamber of Commerce!"

"The Chamber of Commerce is truly not simple!"

"In my opinion, the asking price will definitely not be low."

On the stage, Zhao Yu observed the crowd's reactions, waving his folding fan as he smiled: "Let's not delay any longer. The starting price for this pair of jade horses is six hundred taels of silver. Let the bidding begin!"

Six hundred taels... Shen Han had nothing to say.

"I bid six hundred and fifty taels!"

"Six hundred and eighty!"

"Seven hundred and twenty taels!"

For a moment, the sound of bidding rose and fell throughout the hall.

Of course, those who wanted to buy the jade horses were almost all wealthy merchants and gentry; not a single martial artist placed a bid.

After a round of bidding, the jade horses were sold to guest number eleven for eight hundred taels.

Next, Zhao Yu brought out several more items.

Including calligraphy, paintings, antiques, and the like, they were all sold for similar prices.

In the blink of an eye, the auction had been going on for half an hour.

More than half of the twenty-nine items had been successfully sold.

The atmosphere in the venue grew increasingly heated, and Zhao Yu said: "Alright, the next item is a martial arts manual."

As soon as these words were spoken, the martial artists in the audience immediately began to stir.

Zhao Yu gestured to the servant, who understood and handed a small booklet into Zhao Yu's hands.

It's here!

Shen Han stared intently.

Zhao Yu held up the booklet and introduced it: "This is a movement technique called Wind-Thunder Steps, which my Stone Snake Chamber of Commerce obtained by chance.

Those who practice martial arts understand that the importance of movement techniques goes without saying.

Once you master these Wind-Thunder Steps, you will be as free as a fish in the sea or a bird in the sky; you could say you will be invincible."

"Vice President Zhao, enough with the small talk, what is the starting price?"

A martial artist was already impatient.

Zhao Yu smiled and said: "The starting price is nine hundred taels of silver."

"Fine, nine hundred and fifty taels!"

That martial artist immediately added fifty taels.

"I'll add another forty!"

"One thousand taels!"

"I bid one thousand one hundred taels of silver."

For the sake of this movement technique, the bidding grew wave after wave, pushing the auction to an absolute climax.

Zhao Yu was naturally quite satisfied.

As the organizer, he naturally hoped the price would be as high as possible.

It seems those guests at the tavern were indeed well-informed; there really was a movement technique manual being auctioned... Shen Han thought to himself.

He did not place a bid.

For one, the silver he had on him wasn't even enough for the starting price, so he didn't have the qualifications to bid.

For another, his goal was internal cultivation methods, and movement techniques were not currently in his consideration.

"One thousand two hundred taels!"

Just then, Daoist Xuanyang, who had not spoken until now, stood up.

He patted the scimitar at his waist and swept his tiger-like eyes across the guests in the hall: "I am Daoist Xuanyang, and I am determined to obtain the Wind-Thunder Steps. I ask that you all show me some respect!"

Swish!

As soon as these words were spoken, no one dared to bid further.

"Congratulations to Daoist Xuanyang for winning the Wind-Thunder Steps manual for the price of twelve hundred taels."

Zhao Yu said quickly.

Daoist Xuanyang paid with silver notes, took the manual from Zhao Yu's hand, flipped through it a few times, and left the Spirit Snake Pavilion immediately.

Soon, another half an hour passed.

Items were sold one by one, with only the last three yet to be revealed. Many people had purchased items they desired, but more were well aware that they would be returning empty-handed from this trip.

"Next, another manual."

A small booklet appeared in Zhao Yu's hand once again.

Compared to the Wind-Thunder Steps from earlier, this booklet was much more worn and clearly showed significant damage.

Zhao Yu said: "This is a cultivation manual called the Ancient Sun Technique. Practicing this technique allows one to refine Pure Yang True Qi.

The auction starts now, with a starting bid of two hundred and fifty taels."

A martial artist immediately raised a question: "Vice President Zhao, why is the price so low?"

Two hundred and fifty taels was the lowest price for any item tonight.

Zhao Yu showed the manual to the crowd again: "Our Stone Snake Chamber of Commerce never deceives our customers. Please look, everyone; this manual is incomplete. I have checked it, and nearly thirty percent of the content is missing, so the Chamber of Commerce cannot ask for an exorbitant price."

"Incomplete?"

"Then how is one supposed to practice it?"

"Exactly..."

Several interested martial artists immediately lost interest.

Seeing this, Zhao Yu hurriedly said: "Although it is an incomplete copy, it is not impossible to gain some insight from it."

Despite his repeated explanations, it was difficult to get anyone to bid on an incomplete manual.

Zhao Yu felt helpless and could only bite the bullet: "Does any guest need this Ancient Sun Technique?"

He called out twice, but no one responded.

Could it be that it would fail to sell... Zhao Yu's expression did not look good.

"I bid two hundred and fifty taels."

At the critical moment, Shen Han raised his hand and stated the price.

This was his entire net worth.

If anyone were to bid against him, he would have no bargaining chips left.

The reason he chose to bid was simple: for his clone, an incomplete manual was not an issue at all!

That Angry Dragon Divine Fist manual had been missing three full fist techniques, yet his clone had still been able to automatically fill in the gaps, practice it to perfection, and grind it to the consummate realm in a short time. The Ancient Sun Technique before him would surely not stump his clone either.

"Are there any other bids?"

Zhao Yu breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"No more, then? Congratulations to guest number thirty-two for winning this Ancient Sun Technique manual!"

He immediately confirmed the sale with a gavel, seemingly afraid that Shen Han might change his mind.

Shen Han went up to the stage, paid Zhao Yu the two hundred and fifty taels of silver, and took the manual.

As he sat back down in his seat.

Suddenly, two young girls walked gracefully into the entrance of the hall. One of them wore a white dress, her figure slender and curvaceous, her appearance bright and moving; the other was carefully attending to her side, likely a maid.

They also had a number plate, which was seat number one hundred and nine.

By this time, the auction was drawing to a close.

Through Zhao Yu's efforts, the last two items were also sold, and the auction was declared over. All in all, the Stone Snake Chamber of Commerce had made a fortune.

The crowd stood up and left.

The two girls had arrived late and were also the last to leave.

"Miss, the item we wanted to buy seems to have been bought by someone else in advance..."

"Hmm, but I am determined to have it!"

"What should we do now?"

The girl in the white dress smiled faintly: "I have my own plans. Yang Liu, go and rent a carriage first."

"Yes, Miss!"

"Just one step too late; the ways of the world are truly unpredictable!"

The next moment, a thought-provoking, shallow smile appeared on the lips of the girl in the white dress.