Choice!

Jia He and Ya Fei sat down in Room One. Before long, a maid brought in tea.

Ya Fei's alluring voice softly sounded beside Jia He's ear. "Over the past few days, I've trained through quite a few auctions in the Yellow and Mystic-tier auction houses. I'm now the chief auctioneer of the Mystic tier!"

"This time, I came mainly to observe the auction methods of the clan's Earth-tier chief auctioneer."

Jia He looked at Ya Fei with some surprise and smiled. "What, auctioneers have ranks too?"

Ya Fei gave a soft hum and smiled. "Of course. Auctioneers of every rank receive different treatment within the clan. My dream is to become a Heaven-tier chief auctioneer. The most precious treasures in the grand auction house must all pass through my hands!"

Jia He looked at Ya Fei. "Oh? That's quite a good dream. It seems you're willing to strive for it."

Ya Fei said, "Of course. This is the goal I'll strive toward for my entire life!"

"But in the end, you're still unwilling to accept it, aren't you?" Jia He suddenly said.

Ya Fei was slightly stunned. She looked at Jia He and asked in confusion, "What does Your Highness mean by that?"

Jia He chuckled. "As far as I know, although the Mittel Clan is a merchant clan, it places equal importance on cultivation talent and strength, doesn't it?"

"Even if you truly become a Heaven-tier chief auctioneer someday, you can only go that far. Don't you want to become the Mittel Clan's clan leader?" Jia He asked.

Ya Fei's expression abruptly changed. She looked at Jia He solemnly and seriously. "Your Highness, you should say such things less often. The Mittel Clan naturally has its own rules when choosing a clan leader!"

Jia He nodded with a smile. "Of course I know that. But strength ultimately carries the greatest weight in that process, doesn't it?"

Ya Fei fell silent.

Jia He continued, "You have high emotional intelligence, and you've maintained our relationship well. That proves you hold a superior position when it comes to dealing with people!"

"Although you greet everyone with a smile, you're actually difficult to get along with in private. It isn't easy to get close to you. Mu Zhan of the Mu Clan is an example!"

"But what I want to tell you is that Mu Zhan was not the first, nor will he be the second. Even if you become the clan's chief auctioneer, as long as your strength is insufficient, you still won't be able to become clan leader."

"When the day comes that your clan needs to win over a Dou Huang or even a Dou Zong-level expert, and the price it must pay is you, what do you think your clan will do? And what should you do?" Jia He's voice was gentle, yet it seemed to carry a kind of magic.

Ya Fei gradually sank into thought. When she heard Jia He's final sentence, her delicate body began to tremble slightly!

Ya Fei seemed to see the scene of her clan sending her away in order to win over an expert. And she would ultimately be unable to resist. That was her fate!

Jia He could sense the fear and trembling in Ya Fei's heart at that moment.

"If there were a way right now to free you from the feeling of being controlled, would you choose it?" Jia He looked at Ya Fei and said.

Ya Fei seemed to have seized a lifeline. Her eyes were panicked, and she looked at Jia He with urgency in her voice. "Does Your Highness have a way? I don't want to become a puppet controlled by others!"

"We're friends, so I won't deceive you. I do have such a method, but an exchange requires bargaining chips. What is your chip?" Jia He looked at Ya Fei and said calmly.

Ya Fei froze at once. Right, what was her bargaining chip?

Bang!

At that moment, the auction hammer fell, striking with a light sound as an auction item was successfully sold!

Ya Fei also came back to her senses at that moment. She looked at Jia He and said, "What does Your Highness want? Anything I possess, I can hand over!"

Jia He's gaze was clear, but when he looked at Ya Fei, there was a trace of aggression in his eyes. "Perhaps you yourself are the bargaining chip!"

Ya Fei's face turned pale as she looked at Jia He in disbelief.

Jia He continued smiling. "You can think about this matter. There's plenty of time, enough for you to consider it!"

Then Jia He turned his gaze toward the auction stage.

The chief auctioneer looked at everyone present and slowly said, "Next is the finale item of this auction: a high-grade Earth-tier lightning-attribute Dou Technique, Nine Heavens Thunder Punishment!"

A deep-blue scroll was brought out, and everyone at the auction held their breath.

A high-grade Earth-tier Dou Technique sounded tremendously appealing. Unfortunately, its auction price was too high, and there were not many people on the Northwest Continent who cultivated lightning attributes, nor were they particularly strong!

Even if someone managed to purchase this high-grade Earth-tier Dou Technique, they likely would not be able to keep it!

"Cough, cough!" The chief auctioneer coughed lightly twice before saying, "This high-grade Earth-tier Dou Technique has a small flaw, but after inspection by our auction house, there should be no problem cultivating it!"

"This lightning-attribute high-grade Earth-tier Dou Technique currently only has its first half. Its rank can likely only be considered low-grade Earth-tier, but if one is fortunate enough to find the second half, it can rival a high-grade Earth-tier Dou Technique!"

Upon hearing this, quite a few people who had come to the auction could not help but curse.

"What kind of nonsense is this? Isn't this deceiving people? Even the Mittel Clan pulls this sort of stunt?"

"Exactly! It went from high-grade Earth-tier to low-grade Earth-tier, and it's lightning-attribute to boot, with half the scroll missing. What competitiveness does it even have left?"

Jia He also frowned slightly. Then he glanced at Ya Fei, who was somewhat distracted beside him, and asked, "This Dou Technique only has half a scroll?"

Ya Fei gradually came back to her senses. When she looked at Jia He, there was a faint trace of distance in her eyes.

Jia He did not care about that. If she understood how to make choices, he could lend her a hand. If she did not, then there was no need for him to waste more thought on her.

"This technique indeed only has half a scroll, but the first half is enough for ordinary people to cultivate!" Ya Fei said flatly.

Jia He said nothing. The auctioneer onstage had already called out the starting price for the Dou Technique. "Nine Heavens Thunder Punishment, starting bid: four million gold coins! Each increase must be no less than five hundred thousand gold coins!"

"Four million five hundred thousand gold coins!"

"Five million gold coins!"

Although the starting price was high and it was a lightning-attribute Dou Technique, people quickly called out higher bids.

A low-grade Earth-tier Dou Technique generally ranged in value from five million to eight million gold coins.

The price could vary depending on the Dou Technique's attribute and how much the auction participants were willing to pay. If someone desperately needed it, even ten million gold coins would not be impossible!

Very quickly, the price reached seven million gold coins!

At this point, there were basically no more people able to bid. The price had more or less settled at seven million.

It had the gimmick of being a high-grade Earth-tier Dou Technique, but it was ultimately only half a scroll and could not sell for a higher price.

"Eight million!" Jia He spoke at that moment.

Ya Fei looked at Jia He in surprise. She had only mentioned it casually to him; she had not expected him to actually participate in the auction!

"Eight million gold coins! Is there anyone offering a higher price?" the auctioneer called out loudly once more!

But there was no sound from the entire hall. Clearly, this price had exceeded expectations, and there was absolutely no need to bid again!

As the auctioneer's hammer fell, Jia He acquired the lightning-attribute Dou Technique for eight million gold coins!

Third update!

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