A Gift for You

"Lexuan, you need to take a bite of meat first, then chew it together with the garlic clove. Who eats raw garlic cloves directly like you do? Of course it's spicy."

Seeing Zhang Lexuan cough until tears came to her eyes, Lin Ming thoughtfully handed her a drink.

Following Lin Ming's instructions, Zhang Lexuan first bit off a piece of meat, then took a small bite of garlic before cautiously chewing them together.

A few seconds later, the meat-and-garlic clan successfully gained another member.

"Lin Ming, you really know how to eat!"

Zhang Lexuan gave Lin Ming a thumbs-up, her face filled with bliss.

Three days later, the auction was held as scheduled.

"Lin Ming, for an auction of this scale, they should verify your assets, right? Do you have that much money on you?"

In response to Zhang Lexuan's concern, Lin Ming merely raised his right hand.

A black-and-gold card was pinched between his index and middle fingers.

A balance of one million—one million Gold Soul Coins!

"Damn, Lin Ming, where did you get so much money?"

Lin Ming put away the Gold Soul Card, a wicked smile appearing on his face.

"Of course, I got it from Lao Deng and that old Xuan fellow."

Every so often, Lin Ming went to Lin Feng to cry poverty, and each time he could get several thousand, even ten thousand Gold Soul Coins.

But the most profitable thing was still cooking for Xuan Zi.

Although Lin Ming never openly set prices for the food he made, every time he cooked for Xuan Zi, he would cry poverty in Xuan Zi's ear.

Once Xuan Zi had eaten to his satisfaction, he would toss down a hundred thousand or eighty thousand Gold Soul Coins and let Lin Ming spend them as he pleased.

To a powerhouse at Xuan Zi's level, money was merely a number.

When they arrived at the entrance of the auction house, Lin Ming took out his Gold Soul Card, successfully passed the asset verification, and entered the Star Luo Auction House.

A million Gold Soul Coins did not make one particularly wealthy in the Star Luo Auction House, so the two were not assigned a private room and simply found two seats in the hall.

There was still some time before the auction began, so Lin Ming closed his eyes to rest and began cultivating.

At his current pace, he would break through to Soul King before reaching the third year.

A Soul King before the age of fourteen—after breaking through, such talent would allow him to enter the Inner Court ahead of schedule.

Meanwhile, poor Lao Bei was still struggling at the Soul Elder rank.

Still, this was better than in the original story. At least he would not still be a Soul Elder when advancing from the third year to the fourth.

At his current leisurely pace, breaking through to Soul Ancestor in the second year would likely be difficult, but he could definitely do so in the third year.

Two hours passed quickly, and nearly all the seats in the auction house had been filled.

Normally, an auction of this scale would not draw such a full crowd, but today's auctioneer was Xu Jiujiu.

As early as three days ago, once Xu Jiujiu had confirmed that she would host this auction, the Star Luo Auction House had begun promoting it extensively.

Xu Jiujiu's star appeal was indeed considerable.

As the lights in the hall went out, the auction officially began.

With a ding, the spotlights came on again, all of them focused on the auction platform in the center.

A woman dressed in magnificent purple-and-gold robes walked forward gracefully.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Star Luo Auction House for tonight's auction. I am tonight's auctioneer, Jiujiu!"

Xu Jiujiu was only fifteen or sixteen, yet she had already grown into a graceful young woman.

The material of her splendid robes had been chosen perfectly, displaying her figure to its fullest.

"Jiujiu!!!"

"Jiujiu!!!"

"Jiujiu!!!"

Without needing many words, she had successfully stirred up the atmosphere.

Seeing that the crowd's mood had been roused, Xu Jiujiu did not waste any more words. "Without further ado, let us begin tonight's auction!"

She waved her hand, and a maid brought up a tray made of nanmu wood. Resting atop it was an ancient, elegant wooden box.

Xu Jiujiu took the wooden box and opened it.

A pinkish-purple pill appeared within.

A rich medicinal fragrance, refreshing to the heart and mind, drifted out and nearly spread throughout the entire auction house.

"Appearance has always been one of the things women value most. There is no woman who does not wish to have a beautiful face. Today's first auction item has an effect related to beauty!"

At an auction, the first item was generally something fairly good, meant to build the atmosphere and ignite enthusiasm.

The pill in Xu Jiujiu's hand served exactly that purpose.

She raised the wooden box in her hand and continued, "The ingredients used in this pill are exceptionally precious, all of them beneficial for enhancing one's appearance. Thus, it is called the Beauty Pill. As its name suggests, it beautifies and preserves one's looks, and its effects are permanent. While it cannot restore an elderly person to youth, making someone look ten years younger is no problem at all!"

Most of the women who came to the auction house were wealthy ladies from major noble families. Hearing the effects of the Beauty Pill, their eyes went wide.

Did they not usually buy all kinds of jewelry and accessories precisely to make themselves look more beautiful?

Now, the effects of this Beauty Pill were far more useful than those ornaments.

"Lexuan, I'm going to bid on this." Lin Ming poked Zhang Lexuan beside him as he spoke.

"What do you want that for? You're already handsome enough, aren't you?"

Lin Ming shook his head. "It's not for me. It's a gift for you."

Hearing this, Zhang Lexuan was stunned for a moment, a flash of emotion passing through her eyes. Then she laughed and scolded him, "Well, well, Lin Ming. Are you saying I'm ugly?"

"I swear to heaven and earth!"

After their playful banter ended, Lin Ming watched Xu Jiujiu and waited for the Beauty Pill's starting price.

"The starting bid is twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins. Each increase must be no less than one thousand Gold Soul Coins. The auction begins!"

For a one-time consumable, a starting price of twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins was already quite high.

Yet the steep price still could not stop the wealthy ladies' determination to become more beautiful.

"Twenty-three thousand Gold Soul Coins!!!"

"Twenty-four thousand Gold Soul Coins!!!"

"Twenty-six thousand Gold Soul Coins!!!"

The price rose steadily, easily surpassing thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins.

As the price continued climbing, Zhang Lexuan lost the delight she had felt earlier.

She tugged at Lin Ming's sleeve. "Lin Ming, maybe we should forget it? It's too expensive..."

Lin Ming smiled and stroked Zhang Lexuan's cheek. "Lexuan, remember this: once I promise you something, even if it costs millions or tens of millions, I will not go back on my word."

What he saw in Zhang Lexuan's eyes was clearly desire.

He raised his bidding paddle and shouted, "One hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

One hundred thousand. This price had already far exceeded the Beauty Pill's true value, and the entire hall instantly fell silent because of Lin Ming's bid.

"Guest number eighteen has bid one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. Is anyone willing to bid higher?"

Xu Jiujiu was quite satisfied with this price.

After all, it had exceeded the Star Luo Auction House's estimated value for this item by a considerable margin.

Selling it for one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins made for a fine opening.

Sure enough, those in the hall who had still wanted to compete were discouraged by the figure of one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.

After all, it was only a one-time item. There was no need to spend that much money bidding on it.