The fourth quarter of the apocalypse.
Sunlight filtered through the glazed tiles above the fifth floor, scattering mottled patches of light across the fifth-floor hall like shattered fragments.
All of a sudden.
Clang—
Clang—
Clang—
Three strikes of a bronze bell rang out, each one piercingly clear.
It's starting! The thought flashed through Jiang Ning's mind.
A moment later.
"Greetings, honored guests! Sorry to have kept you waiting!" A clear female voice rang out.
Jiang Ning pushed open the window and looked below. A woman dressed in a purple floor-length gown was already standing at the center of the display platform.
She appeared to be in her early twenties, with an exceptionally youthful face.
Simply standing there, she possessed an air unlike that of ordinary people, her entire bearing steeped in nobility.
"I am Xia Wanqin, the person in charge of this auction!"
As soon as her words fell, low murmurs arose below.
"This one is unfamiliar. I've never seen her before!"
"Me neither. She does look unfamiliar!"
"With such outstanding bearing, this woman must be extraordinary!"
"..."
On the display platform.
A faint smile rested on Xia Wanqin's lips.
Every sound around her entered her ears.
Then, she clapped her hands.
The curtain behind the platform was pulled open at one corner.
A maid in splendid robes approached gracefully, carrying a red sandalwood tray covered by a red cloth.
"Most of you guests have likely already learned about the first item, so I will not waste words."
"The Turtle-Origin Embryonic Breath Technique is a mid-grade Inner-Strengthening martial art. The inner breath cultivated through this technique may not be fierce or tyrannical, but it nourishes the body and prolongs life, allowing one's bodily functions to remain at their peak for longer."
"The starting bid is ten gold. Each increase must