Auction Ends

Old Peter was very satisfied with everyone's reaction; he clapped his hands, and a tray appeared before him.

The colorless, glass-like, black jelly-like object in the tray presented a colorful, iridescent illusion.

"Given the precious nature of this Extraordinary Potion, the starting bid for this auction is 0, with each increment no less than 1,000 gold coins."

"Guests, please place your bids!"

As Old Peter's voice fell, the young man sitting in the center of the front row dropped a bombshell:

"I bid 7,000 gold coins. I hope everyone will give me some face."

As soon as these words were spoken, the representatives among the guests capable of competing hesitated.

They did not absolutely require the Scholar Potion; among the many Extraordinary paths, they had plenty of options.

With their channels and connections, they could enter the Extraordinary realm by paying a certain price, and 8,000 gold coins could reliably secure an Extraordinary potion.

Especially for the various Orthodox Churches, one could use gold coins as a stepping stone to enter their corresponding Extraordinary paths.

Paying a price higher than that was not worth the loss for them.

"Mr. Balder bids 7,000 gold coins! Is there any higher bid?"

Old Peter immediately stepped in to liven up the atmosphere; a Sequence 9 potion of the Scholar Path was extremely rare.

If he couldn't fetch a suitable price, this auction would essentially have been held for nothing.

In the Old Continent, the acquisition methods and difficulty for the Extraordinary paths corresponding to the Orthodox Churches were relatively low.

For a rare Extraordinary path like the Scholar Path, they had to go through great lengths just to secure the auction rights for this potion.

"I am very interested in this potion. 8,000 gold coins!"

The voice came from the very back of the grand hall.

Balder Lancaster's expression remained unchanged, but he turned to look at the person who had spoken.

A scholar dressed in an unconventional manner, a Royal Apprentice Painter. The person who spoke was none other than Hisoka.

Arthur looked back at Hisoka, noticing the man looking around with a faint, mocking smile, and immediately withdrew his gaze.

The man was one of his suspects, likely a member of the Black Devil Order; he had happened to land on Blue Bay Island that very day, and there was a possibility he had been dreaming that night.

Hisoka's bid broke Lancaster's intimidation, prompting others to feel eager to try.

Arina tapped her armrest, her relaxed voice carrying an unquestionable tone that reached everyone's ears.

"9,000 gold coins. This young lady is very interested in this potion."

Balder Lancaster turned to look at Arina and said gentlemanly, "Miss Arina, could you please yield this potion to Balder?"

"No."

Arina Stuart lifted her proud chin, not giving Balder any face at all:

"This is the Old Wood Ship Auction. If you want the potion, let your gold coins do the talking."

Balder's smile faded, a trace of resentment appearing in his eyes as he said in a deep voice, "I bid 10,000 gold coins!"

Arina chuckled and bid again: "12,000 gold coins!"

"13,000 gold coins!"

"14,000 gold coins!"

"15,000 gold coins!"

Balder's relentless pursuit filled Arina with disgust; he was willing to burn bridges with her over a Sequence 9 potion!

She closed her eyes to calculate the gold coins she had on hand, plus the liquid assets from her family's businesses that she could quickly mobilize...

"Since Balder values this Extraordinary potion so much, this young lady will give you some face.

My final bid is 20,000 gold coins. If you can call out a higher price, this young lady will concede!"

Arina's voice trembled slightly, her hands clenched together, ready to explode at any moment.

A potion worth 10,000 gold coins, and because of Balder's bidding war, she would have to spend so much just to win it!!!

Kill him!

Balder Lancaster suddenly felt his body trembling as a surging, overwhelming malice reached his heart from nearby.

His senses were surrounded by a wave of malice, threatening to swallow and drown him.

Damn it!

Why?!

Why would the Stuart Family target him? Or did they know some hidden secret?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

Balder lowered his head with a dark expression, looking through the gap in his clothes at the Broken Bronze Mirror Shard on his chest.

The bronze mirror shard flickered slightly, and an ancient voice emerged in Balder's mind.

"For now, we must yield slightly. Gold coins are like fertilizer; they only serve their purpose when scattered in the right places.

The final lot will resolve your current predicament far better than the Scholar Potion."

Balder took a deep breath, steadying his turbulent emotions to maintain his gentlemanly demeanor: "Since Miss Arena has taken a fancy to this potion, Balder shall not contend with you for it."

Arena looked as if she had bitten into half a worm inside a piece of moldy bread; her expression was ghastly.

That he would stop competing for the Scholar Potion meant Balder's true target must be the final auction item.

A cold sneer tugged at the corner of her mouth. If I let you walk away with that item easily, I'll take the name Lancaster myself!

"Congratulations to Miss Arena for acquiring the precious Scholar Potion!"

"Next, we present the final auction item, a treasure from across the ancient Mediterranean—the remains of a Pharaoh!"

"I shall not provide too many details, but I can confirm that these remains belong to a true descendant of the Pharaohs!"

"The starting bid is 10,000 gold coins. Guests, please place your bids!"

As Old Peter's voice faded, two sailors carried in a coffin. The rotting wood had a hole in it, and a shriveled, bandage-wrapped corpse lay inside.

Arthur stared at the path the two sailors had taken, watching the trickling sand spill out from the jolting coffin.

It couldn't be that they had just dug it up from the opposite shore and brought it straight to the Old Wood Ship Auction, could it?!

"30,000 gold coins! Our Governor is quite fond of this ancient corpse!"

"40,000 gold coins! A Pharaoh's corpse is exceptionally rare; our Count is determined to have it!"

"50,000 gold coins!"

The final lot, the remains of a Pharaoh from the Tanmot Continent, pushed the atmosphere of the auction to its climax.

Arena observed Balder's emotional state, and certain he intended to purchase this item, she spoke up to interrupt the others.

"I bid 90,000 gold coins!"

As her voice fell, Arena closed her eyes, waiting in silence for Balder Lancaster to bid.

Balder's face turned pale. This price was his limit; even if his family were to scrape together 100,000 gold coins at once, it would shake their very foundations.

The Lancaster family was no longer the Lancaster family of a century ago!

An ancient voice echoed in his ears once more: "Secure this corpse, and you shall obtain my legacy—the ancient treasure of a high-sequence being."

Balder gritted his teeth and shouted the high bid of 100,000 gold coins.

"100,000 gold coins—isn't that a bit too high?"

"There should be more Pharaoh corpses at future Old Wood Ship Auctions. I'll bid 70,000 at most."

"Forget it, let it go. It's unwise to contend with the Lancasters!"

As the Old Wood Ship Auction drew to a close, Arthur stood up, preparing to leave and head to the back to collect his Jana Snake Bone.

At this moment, his 168-hour [Research]—the product of "Musket" + "Fear"—had finally concluded.

He closed his eyes to savor the result, a smile spreading across his face. An offensive transcendent weapon.

Even without stepping into a transcendent sequence, he had gained yet another means of self-preservation.

Hisoka, watching from the corner, observed the smile on Arthur's face and murmured: "Smiling so inexplicably—is it because of Miss Arena?"

"It seems that Scholar Potion was a gift prepared for Lord Arthur."

"This is becoming more and more interesting."