If the esteemed person standing before him really was a Rank 4 Alchemist, then what the hell did his own measly Rank 2 status amount to in front of him?
Ya Fei had just called him a master. In this esteemed person's eyes, hadn't that been a joke?
He felt sweat pour down his back.
So he hurriedly reminded Ya Fei that he couldn't call himself a master in front of a Rank 4 Alchemist.
What the hell kind of master was he?
Guni immediately said, "May I ask how to address you, esteemed Alchemist?"
"My surname is Yao."
"Esteemed Mr. Yao, may I ask if you truly have a Rank 4 Pill to consign to the Miter Auction House for auction?"
Yao Chen didn't waste words. He took a pill straight from his Storage Ring, handed it to Guni, and said,
"This pill is called the Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill. It can help a Master Fighter break through the bottleneck and enter the Da Dou Shi realm. It's a Rank 4 Pill."
After Yao Chen finished explaining the pill's effects, Guni and Ya Fei exchanged glances.
They hadn't expected this esteemed person to really produce a Rank 4 Pill—and one that could help someone break through to Da Dou Shi, no less! It was truly unbelievable.
Guni took a moment to confirm that the pill's quality was indeed extraordinary. There was no doubt it was Rank 4.
In truth, he was only a lowly Rank 2 Alchemist. What the hell qualified him to judge a Rank 4 Pill, and what ability did he have to do so?
But there simply wasn't another Rank 4 Alchemist in Wutan City who could appraise it.
Judging by his many years of experience refining pills, this one was definitely Rank 4 or higher. There could be no mistake!
Ya Fei sighed. She hadn't expected that in a small place like Wutan City, she would actually encounter a Rank 4 Alchemist.
So Ya Fei had already made up her mind.
When they auctioned off this Rank 4 Pill later,
the Miter Auction House wouldn't take a single coin from the proceeds. Every last gold coin would go to the seller.
In a small place like Wutan City, making the acquaintance of a Rank 4 Alchemist was far more meaningful and valuable than a mere few hundred thousand gold coins in commission!
That much was obvious.
Ya Fei said seriously, "Mr. Yao, I plan to set the starting bid for this Rank 4 Pill at 800,000 gold coins. What do you think?"
"Whatever the final sale price, we won't charge any fees. The entire amount will be deposited into your account."
"But we hope we can become friends. What do you say?"
Yao Chen's voice was cool and detached. Through her own efforts, this woman, Ya Fei, had managed to run the auction house in Wutan City with impressive success. She truly wasn't simple.
Her judgment and keen instincts were beyond what an ordinary person possessed.
"If you have no objections, Mr. Yao, I'll make the arrangements for the auction right away."
Yao Chen replied, "Mm. Go ahead."
"Of course, Mr. Yao." Ya Fei nodded, then left the VIP reception room and went straight to the auction hall, which was already packed to the rafters.
There was nothing particularly valuable or significant in today's auction, so almost everyone who'd come was some unimportant small fry from Wutan City.
Others were nearby mercenaries, hoping to see if they could find any pills that restored Dou Qi or treated injuries.
But as soon as word of the Rank 4 Pill spread, it immediately drew the attention of the three great clans, and they came here.
That caused a huge commotion.
When the heads of the other two clans saw that Xiao Zhan had also come, they mocked him. "Xiao Zhan, what are you doing here? Your useless son, Xiao Yan, probably won't have any use for a Rank 4 Pill in his entire life."
"He's cultivated for three years and is still only at the Three-Stage Dou Qi level. This Rank 4 Pill is for breaking through to Da Dou Shi. Your son Xiao Yan has no hope of reaching that level in this lifetime, does he?"
"I heard your son was also publicly rejected when he went to ask for a marriage annulment a while back. Your Xiao Clan sure made a name for itself this time. The whole of Wutan City is talking about it."
The heads of the other two clans stood nearby, sneering at him.
When Xiao Zhan heard them mocking his son Xiao Yan like that, he immediately flew into a rage.
If not for the fact that they were at the Mittel Auction House, and that he had important business to attend to later,
he would never have allowed anyone to mock his son like that. He would have made them pay, no matter what it took.
Once Ya Fei stepped onto the stage, she quickly adjusted her tone and spoke.
"Everyone, please be quiet for a moment. We've just received a consignment from a Rank 4 Alchemist."
"We'll be auctioning a Rank 4 Pill later as the grand finale of today's auction. Please look forward to it."
"We'll now begin the auction. The first item is a Yellow-tier High-grade cultivation technique with a fire attribute." Ya Fei began hosting the auction.
But with the Rank 4 Pill as the heavyweight grand finale, the other auction items had already lost everyone's attention and interest.
The heads of the three great clans in particular had no interest in the Dou Techniques and cultivation techniques up for auction.
They planned to save their money and fight for the Rank 4 Pill at the end.
They were all eagerly anticipating what sort of effects the Rank 4 Pill had.
At last, more than an hour passed, and all the earlier items were sold.
"Next is the grand finale: the Rank 4 Pill, the Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill. It can help a Master Fighter break through the bottleneck and enter the Da Dou Shi realm."
"The starting price is 800,000 gold coins."
After Ya Fei announced the price, the entire venue fell silent, as quiet as death.
That was 800,000 gold coins—not a small sum. It naturally scared off countless people.
But then again, the value of cultivating a Da Dou Shi was far beyond what a mere 800,000 gold coins could buy.
Take the Xiao Clan, for example. As one of Wutan City's three great clans, even its strongest member, Xiao Zhan, was only a five-star Da Dou Shi.
If they really could cultivate a Da Dou Shi for a few hundred thousand or a million gold coins, it would be an incredible bargain.
"810,000!" Jia Liebi immediately raised the bid, but with the starting price already as high as 800,000, no one dared raise it by much.
"Only 10,000? You have the nerve to call that a bid? That's downright pathetic."
"900,000!" the head of the Aoba Clan immediately called out.
"950,000!" This time, the bidder was the head of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Zhan.
Although this Rank 4 Pill was meant to help a Master Fighter break through the bottleneck and reach the Da Dou Shi realm,
his son Xiao Yan might not be able to use it at his current stage, but there would surely come a time when he could. As a father, Xiao Zhan felt this was all he could do to help him.
The starting bid for this Rank 4 Pill was already 800,000.
That was equivalent to several years of the Xiao Clan's income. If he really bought it, he would surely face tremendous pressure from every direction.
He believed his son would never let him down.
No matter how you looked at it, the money would be well spent!
After he called out 950,000, the other two clan heads sneered at him. "Xiao Zhan, what are you up to? Are you planning to buy this Rank 4 Pill for your useless son?"
"Wouldn't it be a waste to let Xiao Yan take such a precious Rank 4 Pill? Besides, with your son's talent, is there any chance he'll reach the Master Fighter realm? I'd say he probably doesn't have much hope in this lifetime."
Xiao Zhan immediately shot back at their taunts with a cold retort.
Before long, the price had been driven up to one million. In truth, no one at the venue was surprised.
It was a Rank 4 Pill, after all. Everyone knew how precious it was.
Forget one million—even if someone bought it for two million, it wouldn't be a loss. This was something you couldn't buy even if you had money.
Even if you were willing to spend, you weren't guaranteed to find one, and there was only this single pill.
So the heads of the three great clans fought fiercely over it. After half an hour, the price had already been driven up to 2.3 million.
At that price, Xiao Zhan was starting to feel the strain. A Rank 4 Pill had appeared at last, and he truly wanted to buy it for Xiao Yan to use in the future.
But as clan head, he couldn't completely disregard the Xiao Clan's finances. Recently, business at the Xiao Family Market had been poor.
The reason was that the Jia Lie Clan had hired an Alchemist to refine pills, cutting the Xiao Clan's income by more than half.
If they spent another two million gold coins, the Xiao Clan's financial situation would become extremely precarious.
And it would also provoke tremendous controversy within the clan. That might not be good for Xiao Yan, either.
So in the end, Xiao Zhan reluctantly gave up on raising the bid.
At 2.3 million, Jia Liebi won the auction.
Standing on the stage, Ya Fei announced that the deal was done. "This auction has officially concluded."
Jia Liebi went backstage, paid 2.3 million gold coins, and handed Ya Fei a card.
She replied, "Please wait a moment. I'll transfer the money to the esteemed Alchemist's account right away. Then I'll arrange the handover of the pill. Please wait a little."
"Of course, no rush, no rush," Jia Liebi said with a smile. After half an hour, Ya Fei had completed all the procedures.
Jia Liebi also got his wish and received the Rank 4 Pill, the Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill.
He smiled with satisfaction, then looked at Ya Fei and said, "Miss Ya Fei, I have a small favor to ask. I wonder if you'd be willing to grant it?"
"Clan Head Jia Lie, please go ahead," Ya Fei replied.
"It's about the person who refined this Rank 4 Pill—the Alchemist you just mentioned. Could you introduce me to him? I'd like to discuss a potential partnership. Would that be possible?"
"I'll need to ask Mr. Yao first before I can give you an answer. Please wait," Ya Fei replied. Then she left and went to the VIP reception room.
She deposited the 2.3 million gold coins into a card, handed it to Yao Chen, and added,
"Mr. Yao, the clan head who just bought your Rank 4 Pill, Clan Head Jia Lie, would like to meet you. He said he wants to discuss a potential partnership. Would you be interested?"
At that moment, Yao Chen's attention was on the system panel.
[Current Quest: Auction off a Rank 4 Pill and earn Ya Fei's approval.] [Reward: One Red Blind Box.] [Reward successfully issued.]