The hubbub in the auction house came to an abrupt halt.
A bright beam of light fell from the ceiling, landing precisely on the rosewood platform at the center.
Below the stage, everyone held their breath without realizing it.
The earlier auction items, whether sharp weapons or rare medicinal ingredients, had all been mere appetizers for this feast.
Now the main course was about to be served.
A faint, fragrant breeze arrived before the woman herself.
Ya Fei walked into the beam of light, clad in a figure-hugging, fiery red qipao, her steps light and graceful.
She wore no unnecessary jewelry, yet the moment she appeared, the entire resplendent auction house seemed to become the backdrop for her alone.
A perfectly measured professional smile graced her peerlessly beautiful face, captivating all who saw her.
"Sorry for the wait."
Her voice, carried by a special amplification magic stone, rang clearly through every corner of the hall. It held a peculiar magic that easily soothed the restless crowd.
A maid walked onto the stage with a silver tray and respectfully set it on the display stand before Ya Fei.
A small, ordinary-looking green jade bottle rested quietly on the tray.
Hundreds of eyes throughout the hall instantly focused on it.
"I imagine many of you came here for this."
Ya Fei lightly picked up the jade bottle with her slender fingers, her movements elegant, as if she were displaying a priceless work of art.
"It is called the 'Rock Fire Seed.'"
"A flame... unlike anything ever heard of before."
As soon as she finished speaking, a wave of hushed discussion broke out below the stage.
"Rock Fire Seed? Never heard of it."
"Hmph, the Miteer Auction House loves making a mystery out of things. This is probably just another gimmick."
In the front rows, several first-tier alchemists who had been invited wore appraising, dismissive expressions.
They had spent their lives working with flames and considered themselves widely experienced, yet they had never heard of anything by that name.
Ya Fei paid no heed to the crowd's reaction.
She simply smiled, then gently pulled out the stopper beneath everyone's gaze.
There was no billowing black smoke, as they had expected.
Nor was there the sulfurous stench and wild, violent aura characteristic of inferior Beast Flame.
A flame rose from the mouth of the bottle.
It was only the size of a fist, a pure, gentle orange-red. It hovered quietly above Ya Fei's pale palm without the slightest flicker.
It was far too steady.
So steady that it hardly seemed like a living flame at all. It looked more like a luminous, top-quality amber, meticulously carved by a master artisan.
For a moment, the entire auction house sank into an eerie silence.
"This... this is..."
An elderly alchemist with grizzled hair leaned sharply forward. His cloudy old eyes were now wide, fixed on the flame, and his lips trembled, yet he could not utter a single word.
"Such pure fire-attribute energy!"
Another master blacksmith's eyes lit up, and his breathing grew heavier.
They might not have recognized the flame's origins, but they could clearly sense just how pure and gentle the energy it contained was!
"You are all connoisseurs. I imagine you've already seen how extraordinary it is."
Ya Fei's voice rang out again, breaking the silence.
"Its purity means that when refining pills, it can keep medicinal power from being contaminated by impurities to the greatest extent."
"Its stability means alchemists will no longer have to expend vast amounts of mental energy suppressing the flame's violent nature."
"I think the masters here understand better than I do what that means."
Her words struck every alchemist and blacksmith like a heavy hammer.
A higher success rate in pill refinement!
More perfect weapons!
For those who regarded their craft as their very lives, what could be more irresistible?
Inside the Purple Gold Private Room on the third floor.
Su Chen lounged against the soft sofa, taking in everything below through the crystal wall in front of him.
He watched the undisguised greed and longing on the alchemists' faces, and the sudden sharpness in Jialie Bi and Aoba Pa's gazes.
He knew the fish had taken the bait.
"The Rock Fire Seed has a starting price of fifty gold coins."
Ya Fei's voice carried a hint of temptation.
"Each bid must be at least five gold coins higher."
"The bidding starts now!"
Her words had barely left her lips when—
"Sixty gold coins!"
A wealthy merchant in the back row was the first to raise his bidding paddle, his voice warped with excitement.
"Seventy gold coins!"
Another mercenary leader immediately followed, refusing to be outdone.
"Eighty!"
"I bid one hundred gold coins!"
In just a dozen or so breaths, the price had doubled.
The atmosphere below the stage ignited in an instant.
However, the true power players in the front rows remained still.
Neither Jialie Bi nor Aoba Pa made a move. They merely watched coldly, as if observing a pack of wild dogs squabbling over scraps.
Soon, the price climbed to one hundred and fifty gold coins.
That figure had already exceeded what most small factions could afford, and the bids gradually grew sparse.
Just then—
A detached voice rang out from the front row.
"Three hundred gold coins."
The speaker was Aoba Pa, head of the Aoba Clan.
He did not raise his paddle. Leaning back in his chair, he casually named a figure that instantly silenced the hall.
He had doubled the price outright!
Everyone's gaze fell on him in unison.
"Chief Aoba has made his move!"
"Three hundred gold coins... for a flame of unknown origin? What a fortune..."
Aoba Pa paid no attention to the astonishment around him. His gaze passed over the crowd and settled on another figure nearby.
Jialie Bi.
Jialie Bi's face revealed no hint of his feelings.
He simply picked up the teacup beside him, blew on the steam, and acted as if Aoba Pa's provocation meant nothing to him.
Only when the auctioneer was about to bring down the hammer did he leisurely set down his teacup.
"Three hundred and fifty gold coins."
His voice was not loud, but it carried an unmistakable pressure.
The smell of gunpowder began to spread through the air.
Everyone understood that the real showdown had only just begun.
"Four hundred!"
Aoba Pa's expression darkened as he immediately raised the bid.
"Four hundred and fifty!"
Jialie Bi's voice remained calm.
"Five hundred!"
A vein twitched at Aoba Pa's temple.
The price surged like a runaway horse, climbing at a pace that made hearts pound.
The entire auction house was so quiet that a pin could have been heard dropping.
Everyone was stunned by the bare-knuckle clash of wealth between these two giants.
This was no longer just about a bottle of flame.
It was also about the face of their two clans in Wutan City!
"Six hundred gold coins!"
Jialie Bi slowly rose to his feet and looked down at Aoba Pa. A bone-chilling note entered his voice.
The price had already far exceeded the flame's actual value.
Aoba Pa's breathing grew heavy.
Several clan elders beside him had begun speaking urgently into his ear.
Six hundred gold coins was no small sum, even for the Aoba Clan.
Aoba Pa's expression shifted between dark and troubled.
He stared at the orange-red flame burning quietly onstage, then at Jialie Bi's confident face.
At last, he slammed his fist hard against the armrest.
"Hmph!"
He let out a heavy snort and sank back into his seat, giving up without another word.
He had conceded.
The whole hall erupted in an uproar.
At last, a cruel victor's smile appeared on Jialie Bi's face.
He looked around, savoring the reverent gazes of the crowd, as though declaring who the true overlord of Wutan City was.
"Six hundred gold coins, once!"
"Six hundred gold coins, twice!"
The auctioneer's high-pitched voice echoed through the hall.
Ya Fei still wore her alluring smile, as if she had expected this outcome all along.
"Does anyone have a higher bid?"
"Six hundred gold coins..."
Just as the auctioneer's small hammer was about to fall—
A clear voice came calmly from a VIP room on the second floor.
"One thousand gold coins."
Boom—!!!
If the earlier bidding had been a surging river, then this voice was a meteor crashing down from beyond the heavens, slamming into everyone's heart and stirring up a monstrous wave!
One thousand!
The bid had leapt straight from six hundred to one thousand!
What madness! What sheer contempt!
Everyone's head rang with a collective buzz as they looked up in unison.
That room was made entirely of black crystal, and nothing inside could be seen.
But everyone knew what sort of exalted figure could occupy such a room.
The smile on Jialie Bi's face froze completely.
His face first flushed red, then turned deathly pale. His body trembled with utter fury.
He had never imagined that anyone in Wutan City would dare snatch food from a tiger's mouth!
"Who are you, sir?"
Suppressing his rage, Jialie Bi called hoarsely toward the upper floor.
"Could you give us your name, so the Jialie Clan may have the honor of knowing you?"
The room fell silent.
No one answered him.
That soundless contempt stung more deeply than any verbal insult.
"You!"
Jialie Bi trembled with rage. His chest tightened so badly that he nearly spat blood on the spot.
"Chief, calm down! We don't know who they are. Don't act rashly!"
Liu Xi hurriedly held him back.
Ya Fei stood on the stage, smiling as she watched, then spoke at just the right moment.
"Our honored guest has bid one thousand gold coins. Does anyone have a higher offer?"
Her gaze fell meaningfully on Jialie Bi.
Jialie Bi's chest heaved, and his fists clenched with a crackle.
He glared at the mysterious room upstairs, his eyes full of venom and unwillingness.
But in the end, he said nothing more.
One thousand gold coins already exceeded the funds he could use for this auction.
"One thousand gold coins, going once!"
"One thousand gold coins, going twice!"
"One thousand gold coins... going three times!"
Clang—!
The crisp sound of the gavel rang through the entire hall.
Going once, going twice, sold!
"Congratulations to the distinguished guest on the second floor for successfully winning this bottle of 'Rock Fire Seed'!"
Ya Fei's voice carried just the right touch of delight.
The crowd below instantly erupted.
"My heavens! One thousand gold coins! Who on earth is this?"
"How terrifying! The Jialie Clan has really kicked a steel plate this time!"
"Wutan City is going to be lively now..."
Amid the uproar, Jialie Bi abruptly flung his sleeve and left without looking back, humiliation and fury burning in his heart.
Watching his disheveled retreat, Aoba Pa showed not the slightest trace of gloating. Instead, his expression grew more solemn.
A mysterious person who could casually toss out one thousand gold coins and wasn't the least bit afraid of the Jialie Clan...
The waters of Wutan City were about to be stirred into a frenzy.
On the third floor, inside the Purple Gold Private Room.
Su Chen remained reclined on the sofa, his posture unchanged from beginning to end.
He watched the chaos below and Jialie Bi's furious retreat, his face showing not the slightest ripple.
He picked up the glass of deep-red fruit wine beside him and swirled it gently.
The wine shimmered alluringly in the crystal glass, reflecting his eyes, black as ink.
Deep in those eyes, all was calm.
He slowly brought the glass to his lips and took a small sip.
"Pleasure doing business."
Before you continue