20 Sky-High Priced Potion

Although he had prepared himself mentally, the starting bid of twenty thousand gold coins still struck Xia Ming's heart hard.

It had to be said, the price gave Xia Ming quite a fright. Though he knew the Mana Source Potion was valuable, an opening bid of twenty thousand gold coins far exceeded his expectations.

What did twenty thousand gold coins even mean?

Xia Ming was no longer the greenhorn he had once been, so he naturally understood its value. When old mage Anthony had scrimped and saved to give Xia Ming those ten thousand gold coins, his face had been full of reluctance. It was clearly an enormous sum.

Even a mission from the Adventurers' Guild to hunt a level-five Magic Beast only rewarded three hundred gold coins...

And that was not to mention that these twenty thousand gold coins were merely the starting price.

With twenty thousand gold coins, one could buy a vast stretch of land in the outskirts of Azure Flame Island's city-state, live as a country squire singing and feasting every night, and enjoy life for more than a decade.

"Twenty-one thousand gold coins!"

The moment the fat man finished speaking, someone called out a higher price. It was a young man dressed in luxurious robes, who announced the bid with a smug look on his face.

But someone else made an offer immediately afterward.

"Twenty-three thousand gold coins!" This bid came from a middle-aged man with a burly frame and a long scar across his face. He looked imposing and fearsome.

Xia Ming frowned. Those in this auction house ought to be the wealthiest and most powerful people on Azure Flame Island, but unfortunately, he knew none of them. After glancing at the hostess, Xia Ming pointed at the middle-aged man and asked, "Who is that?"

The hostess shot Xia Ming a surprised look and lowered her voice. "Sir, he is Hughes, the man at the helm of Black Dragon Alliance, Azure Flame Island's largest underground organization. More than eighty percent of the city's gambling dens and black markets are under his control. He can be said to be a figure who covers the sky with one hand among the underground powers."

The hostess had not expected Xia Ming to know nothing even of Black Dragon Alliance, Azure Flame Island's largest underground force. It seemed this mysterious potion master was not from Azure Flame Island.

Xia Ming's eyes lit up slightly. This Hughes was basically Azure Flame Island's mob boss.

"Twenty-five thousand gold coins!"

The young man seemed unwilling to concede. Gritting his teeth, he raised the bid once again.

Soon after, several mages in robes joined the bidding, and the price climbed all the way upward until Xia Ming was almost numb to it.

"Thirty thousand gold coins!"

"Thirty-five thousand gold coins!"

Xia Ming could not help sighing. This money came far too easily. It seemed potion masters really were exceptionally sought after across the continent.

"Hmph, I bid forty thousand gold coins. You little brats still want to fight me for it?" As expected of someone from the underworld, Hughes spoke with bandit-like swagger. He sneered as he swept his gaze over the room, raising the price to an astonishing forty thousand gold coins in one stroke.

"Forty thousand gold coins, going once!"

The fat auctioneer's face blossomed into a smile as he brought down the hammer heavily.

Even though everyone present had gone red-eyed with bidding, the staggering figure of forty thousand gold coins still made them balk. The room abruptly grew much quieter.

Forty thousand gold coins. This price was enough to make Xia Ming secretly consider brewing a few more potions. He could practically see a mountain-high pile of gold coins waving at him.

"Forty thousand gold coins, going twice!" The fat man licked his lips and brought down the hammer again.

"I bid fifty thousand gold coins!"

At those words, the entire auction house fell deathly silent.

Everyone's eyes turned in unison toward the bidder. It was a mysterious figure clad entirely in black robes and a black cloak, holding an unnamed short staff. Their voice was shrill and strange, making it impossible to tell whether they were male or female.

Fifty thousand gold coins in one breath! What a deep-pocketed fellow—and such a mysterious identity, too. Azure Flame Island truly was a place where fish and dragons mingled together.

Xia Ming watched the mysterious figure. The Mana Source Potion was indeed valuable, but fifty thousand gold coins was still somewhat excessive. He had no idea where this person had come from, though they looked like a mage.

"Fifty thousand gold coins, going once!" Even the fat man had not expected the Mana Source Potion to fetch the astronomical price of fifty thousand gold coins. His breathing grew hurried.

The hall remained silent. It seemed the figure of fifty thousand gold coins had intimidated everyone. Even Hughes, the underground boss, wore a helpless expression. Fifty thousand gold coins for a single potion was an absolute sky-high price. It was rather not worth it.

Fifty thousand gold coins could normally buy two or three ordinary Mana Source Potions. Hughes had no intention of being taken for a fool.

After calling out fifty thousand gold coins twice more without anyone bidding, the fat man promptly sealed the deal. "Fifty thousand gold coins, sold!"

Fifty thousand gold coins in the bag! It had all been so simple that Xia Ming felt as if he were dreaming.

The Mana Source Potion was delivered into the hands of the black-robed mysterious figure. At the same time, a crystal card worth fifty thousand gold coins was placed before Xia Ming.

The feast of Mana Source Potion had ended, yet the crowd still wanted more. Whispers filled the room as they discussed it heatedly, making Xia Ming once again feel the allure of the Mana Source Potion.

The fat man gestured with both hands and said with a beaming smile, "The Mana Source Potion is incomparably precious. Congratulations to this powerful and mysterious mage, sir. Next, the item we will auction is equally shrouded in mystery."

With a grand wave of his hand, an item appeared before everyone's eyes.

It was an ancient-looking ring, pure silver in color, small and exquisite. All kinds of magical patterns were engraved upon it. Clearly, it was a ring bearing profound inscriptions.

"Everyone, this is a mysterious spatial ring, a treasure discovered by the Snow Wolf Mercenary Corps during an expedition into the Southern Wasteland Desert. Unknown ancient words and abstruse inscriptions are carved upon it. Unfortunately, the ring has suffered slight damage. The starting bid is ten thousand gold coins."

Xia Ming looked at the mysterious spatial ring, his heart stirring. Though he was some distance away, he could still sense a familiar aura from the ring. It was the distinctive feeling of [Mithril]!

[Mithril] was a high-grade metal, and one of the toughest metals in this world. It was exceptionally scarce. It was said that adding merely one or two grams of Mithril to a weapon or suit of armor would raise the equipment's toughness by several levels!

Compared to it, Earth Essence Gold was simply common street merchandise.

Xia Ming felt that his luck was truly good. To think he would actually see a Mithril ring here. With the master-level knowledge of magical materials and ores imparted by the Book of Eternity, Xia Ming's eye for such things was exceptionally sharp.

Still, the distance was too great for Xia Ming to determine whether the ring was truly made of Mithril. But he was at least seventy percent certain. More importantly, the ring's archaic design made it seem like the product of some lost civilization. Though damaged, it might well conceal some secret.

With seventy percent certainty, it was worth taking a gamble!

Xia Ming immediately joined the bidding without hesitation. With fifty thousand gold coins now in hand, he was flush with cash and directly waved his hand to raise the bid.

"Fifteen thousand gold coins!"

Xia Ming directly added five thousand gold coins, clearly determined to obtain this mysterious ring. He thought to himself, I'll take a gamble. At worst, it's still a spatial ring—and I happen to be short one myself.

Someone had clearly remained obsessed with having to borrow Su Weiwei's spatial ring to store the Earth Essence Gold last time...