The Auction Begins

"Why are they walking so fast..." Gu Qingzhou muttered as he watched the two leave.

"Come on. Let's head over and attend the auction first."

Without wasting any more time, the four of them followed the guide into a private room.

The room was spacious and elegant, with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the auction stage and offering an unobstructed view. Fine tea and delicate pastries had been laid out on the table.

They didn't have to wait long before a lovely-looking host walked slowly onto the stage. Her clear voice rang through the hall over the sound system:

"Welcome, everyone, to today's auction. I won't waste time with unnecessary words. Let's begin with the first item up for auction—"

As the host's voice faded, a woman came onstage carrying a tray covered with red cloth and set it on the table.

"Our first item is a sixth-grade spirit weapon, the Clear Wind Sword. The starting price is ten million spirit stones."

The host spoke again. At the same time, she reached out with her jade-like hand, pinched a corner of the red cloth, and slowly pulled it away. A long, green sword came into view.

Spiritual light flowed across the blade, and it emanated wisps of keen, cutting energy. Even from far away, everyone could sense the power it contained.

As soon as the first item appeared, the hall erupted. Gasps of surprise and calls of competing bids rose one after another...

"A sixth-grade spirit weapon! They're starting with something this big?"

"Hiss, the first item's already a sixth-grade spirit weapon. What kind of treasures will the rest be?"

"Eleven million! Nobody try to outbid this old man!"

"That's a narrow way of looking at it. Treasures naturally belong to those with the means to claim them. Fifteen million!"

Compared with the commotion downstairs, the private room where Mo Shang and the others sat was rather quiet. They showed little interest and hardly reacted at all...

Gu Qingzhou was a Reborn, Jiang Shuyu was the Female Emperor Reincarnation, and Liu Ruyan was a rich heiress. They had all seen plenty, so none of them felt particularly impressed.

Mo Shang had no reaction simply because he couldn't afford to buy it. There was no point wasting his expression...

It didn't take long for the first item to sell for the high price of thirty million. The second item was brought out right after.

Several burly men strained to carry a huge object covered in red cloth onto the stage.

"The second item is a giant Heavenly Meteorite, with a starting price of one million. Anyone interested is welcome to bid."

As the red cloth was removed, a meteorite as tall as a person appeared before the crowd, twinkling with specks of starlight.

"What rich Star Power. What a pity..." Mo Shang couldn't help feeling tempted as he looked at the Heavenly Meteorite below.

Of course, he didn't want to use it for weapon forging. He planned to cultivate with it. If he absorbed all the Star Power it contained, his cultivation could rise by at least one small realm.

But Mo Shang could only dream about it. Given his current finances, he couldn't afford a million spirit stones—he couldn't even come up with a hundred thousand.

"One and a half million."

"One point seven million!"

"Two million!"

"Two point three million!"

"Two and a half million."

As the bids continued to climb, the Meteorite Iron's price soared from its starting point of one million to two and a half million. Yet even at more than two million, plenty of people were still bidding.

However, just then, a slightly hoarse voice rang out once more.

"Three million. Everyone, do me a favor and let this old man have it, will you?"

The speaker was an old man. Killing Intent radiated from him as his gloomy gaze swept across the hall. The bids, which had been rising one after another, abruptly fell silent, replaced by a flurry of whispers.

"Old Man Yinming. I didn't expect him to be here too."

"That fellow's notorious for his vicious ways. Better not offend him..."

"Forget it, let him have it. It's not that important anyway..."

Seeing that no one else was bidding, Old Man Yinming couldn't help showing a satisfied smile.

"Heh heh. This gentleman has bid three million spirit stones for the Meteorite Iron. Would anyone like to raise the bid?"

The auctioneer asked with a beaming smile. When no one answered, he prepared to bring down the gavel.

But just as everyone thought the Heavenly Meteorite would be sold to Old Man Yinming for three million, a cool voice came from one of the private rooms. The host's hand stopped in midair.

"Four million."

As soon as the voice rang out, the hall fell deathly silent.

Old Man Yinming's expression stiffened. He looked up toward the private room, a trace of murderous intent entering his gloomy eyes.

"Good. Very good..."

But Old Man Yinming didn't bid again. He repeated the word "good" several times, then left.

In the end, the Meteorite Iron was sold for four million.

At that moment, in Mo Shang's private room, he and the others looked at Jiang Shuyu in surprise.

The person who had just bid four million was none other than Jiang Shuyu.

"Shuyu, why did you spend four million spirit stones on this?" Mo Shang asked.

"To give it to you." Jiang Shuyu turned to him and said with a smile.

"Huh? I do want it, but this thing isn't worth four million spirit stones. There was no need to spend that much..."

Mo Shang was stunned. Although he'd had a feeling, he hadn't expected her to really buy it for him. The Heavenly Meteorite was certainly good, but it was nowhere near worth four million.

"If you like it, then it's worth it. Besides, this Heavenly Meteorite is no ordinary one..." Jiang Shuyu smiled and spoke again.

"You're making it so I don't even know what to give you in return..." Mo Shang said with a helpless laugh, at a loss for words.

At that moment, Jiang Shuyu gave off the impression of a domineering female CEO from her past life, as if she'd spend her entire fortune just to win a smile from the one she loved...

"You're the best gift I could ever have..." Jiang Shuyu said again.

Mo Shang was stunned. He'd been single his whole life in both lifetimes, and this was the first time he'd ever encountered a situation like this...

But just then, Gu Qingzhou, who had been force-fed affection for ages, couldn't take it anymore and protested.

"Hey, hey, there are other people here! You two are flaunting your love—have you considered how the rest of us single dogs feel?" Gu Qingzhou said helplessly.

"Though we've secured the Heavenly Meteorite, I'm afraid it'll bring us plenty of trouble later. Old Man Yinming is at the Return to Origin Realm, and his methods are quite vicious. He's no pushover..." Liu Ruyan wasn't particularly bothered. Instead, she brought up something else.

They had all noticed Old Man Yinming's gloomy, murderous gaze just now.

"Forget it. It's not like we can die..." Mo Shang wasn't too concerned about it.

Never mind the effect of his Death Immunity trait. Their side had two Children of Fortune. If the old man dared come looking for trouble, they could take him down in no time and grind him like a wild monster...