It wasn't that Miles and the others didn't want to stand up, but a persistent thought in their minds told them they had to stay kneeling; otherwise, something terrible would happen.
Only after Qi Ling and the others finished their meal and left the restaurant did Miles and the others feel as if they had been granted a pardon. They immediately collapsed to the ground, their faces covered in sweat, barely able to endure it any longer.
"Damn it, what happened? Why was I kneeling there just now?" Miles gasped, puzzled. "Damn it, it must be Si Long's doing! Si Long, I'll never forgive you!"
After leaving the restaurant, Si Long went to prepare things for everyone, while Tang San said, "Big Brother, are we just going to let them go like this?"
"How could that be, Xiao San? Didn't I tell you? No one from the Divine Court would take any information out of here!" Qi Ling said.
The day passed in this way, and on the evening of the second day, the group, led by Si Long, went to the auction held by the Blacksmith Association.
The auction was held on the fourth floor of the Blacksmith Association. Before entering, everyone had to conceal their identities with hoods to prevent their identities from being revealed.
Just as the group was about to enter the auction house, the master craftsman Lou Gao unexpectedly arrived beside them and entered the auction house with them. Qi Ling knew that he had come for Tang San, after all, seeing Tang San's Torrential Pear Blossom Needles yesterday, that thing was fatally attractive to Lou Gao.
After entering the auction hall, Lou Gao led everyone to the center of the front row. As soon as they sat down, he couldn't wait to ask Tang San about his Torrential Pear Blossom Needles.
After a short wait, the stage suddenly lit up as an elderly man in formal attire appeared and began to introduce himself.
The first item auctioned was a piece of black iron. As a rare metal used in various mechanisms, the more the better, so the price quickly rose to 200,000 Gold Soul Coin.
Qi Ling and the others were naturally determined to get their hands on this item. Seeing that fewer and fewer people were bidding, Ning Rongrong spoke up, "Three hundred thousand!"
This price was almost exceeding the value of the black iron itself, so after Ning Rongrong announced the price, the auction house fell silent. No one wanted to make a bad deal.
Just as the auctioneer was about to announce the owner of the black iron, a voice suddenly rang out from behind. "Four hundred thousand!"
Upon hearing this voice, everyone frowned, for it was indeed Miles ' voice. Clearly, he recognized them and wanted to cause them some trouble.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Miles couldn't help but reveal a smug smile, as if to say to everyone, "Go ahead and raise the price if you dare!"
"Hey, interesting, someone actually wants to compete with me in terms of money!" Qi Ling laughed. "Senior Lou Gao, I need to confirm something with you: this piece of black iron, its owner should be someone from the Blacksmith Association, right?"
Lou Gao paused for a moment, then said, "Yes, that should be the case. After all, only the Blacksmith Association would pay attention to this kind of metal."
"Okay, that's good. Then I won't worry about the good stuff going to outsiders." Qi Ling laughed. " Rongrong, raise the price with him!"
"Huh? How much more?" Ning Rongrong asked.
"Let's raise it to 500,000 first!"
After Ning Rongrong offered 500,000, Miles was visibly taken aback. 500,000 was clearly beyond the price of this piece of black iron. What were they planning to do?
Miles couldn't help but glance at Qi Ling and the others, only to catch Qi Ling's disdainful look. He was instantly enraged. "Me, a dignified bishop, do you think you can look down on me?"
"Six hundred thousand!" Miles shouted, eliciting gasps from everyone around.
But before the crowd could finish their gasps, Ning Rongrong continued bidding, "Seven hundred thousand!"
Miles slammed his hand on the chair next to him, gritted his teeth, and continued shouting, "Eight hundred thousand!"
"Nine hundred thousand!" Ning Rongrong continued to shout.
This time, Miles hesitated. Nine hundred thousand? No one would want to buy Xuan Tie at such a price. Could it be that they really needed it?
"Hmph! The more you want it, the more I'll cause you trouble!" Bishop Miles was determined to raise the price one last time! Even if he couldn't buy it himself, he would make Qi Ling pay an extra 200,000!
"One million Gold Soul Coin!" Bishop Miles shouted.
Upon hearing this price, everyone was shocked once again, turning to look at Bishop Miles, thinking to themselves that the Divine Court was indeed incredibly wealthy; one million Gold Soul Coin just to buy a piece of black iron?
While Bishop Miles was gloating, he was secretly waiting for Qi Ling and the others to raise their bid, but they didn't. Bishop Miles started to panic. "Why don't you raise the bid? What are you doing?"
"Only a madman would keep adding to the price with you. Is this guy out of his mind?" Qi Ling laughed from the side, while shouting loudly, "Since you want this Xuan Iron so much, we have no choice but to admit defeat. This Xuan Iron is yours."
"You!" Bishop Miles felt a sudden urge to choke, almost passing out. He had never wanted this black iron! A million for a lump of iron? Was he crazy?
But the words were already out, and it was too late for Bishop Miles to take them back. After all, as a bishop of the Divine Court, he couldn't do something so undignified, so he had no choice but to swallow his pride.
Lou Gao almost burst out laughing at Miles's expression. This guy had caused their Blacksmith Association no shortage of trouble, and seeing him get his comeuppance was a real treat.
The auction on stage continued. Having learned from this experience, Miles dared not bid casually after Qi Ling again, fearing that it might be another trap set by Qi Ling.
The auction continued until the very end when the old man on the stage suddenly became serious. Then a small cart was pushed up, and under the cover of a red cloth, it appeared to contain two people.
The Blacksmith Association naturally wouldn't auction off the person; this final, grand finale auction item was the life's work of the master craftsman Lou Gao: the Eight Treasure Wishful Soft Armor, a true divine artifact.
The auctioneer solemnly introduced the two items to the audience, explaining that the mere fact that Lou Gao had personally crafted them made them priceless, not to mention their numerous benefits, which made them irresistible.
"The starting price for these two items is 500,000 Gold Soul Coin! You are now free to place your bids," the auctioneer announced.
"Eight hundred thousand!" It was Miles again who shouted out the bid, but this time, he wasn't just arguing with Qi Ling; he genuinely wanted to buy the two divine artifacts, since they would greatly enhance his strength.
Ning Rongrong then looked at Qi Ling, Qi Ling smiled and said, "Follow! No matter what Miles shouts, we'll follow!"
Ning Rongrong then called out a price of 900,000, Miles immediately followed with a bid of 1 million. Seeing the two sides' stances, everyone else knew they were going all out, so they kept quiet and waited to see what would happen.
With both sides vying for the same price, it quickly climbed to nine million! This was the highest price ever paid for a product since the Blacksmith Association Auction House was established, making even the auctioneer excited.
"Ten million!" Miles ' heart trembled as he shouted the price. Ten million! That's ten million! It wouldn't just take all his money, it would probably wipe out the entire budget of the Divine Court branch here!
At the same time, Miles couldn't help but feel a surge of exhilaration. With a sum of ten million, he was determined to get the Eight Treasures Eight Treasure Wishful Soft Armor. Moreover, this thing was the most precious treasure of the master craftsman Lou Gao, and he was determined to humiliate them properly!
Just as Ning Rongrong was about to raise the price with Miles, Qi Ling suddenly stopped her. Ning Rongrong asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Qi Ling? Aren't we going to raise it?"
"No, I just think it's too troublesome to add it little by little like this." Qi Ling smiled, took the bidding paddle from Ning Rongrong, and then raised it up, shouting, "I bid one hundred million!"
Upon hearing the price, everyone seemed to go into a frenzy, discussing Qi Ling animatedly. They simply couldn't believe they would see such an astronomical figure at the Blacksmith Association's auction!
Bishop Miles was also in a daze. He simply couldn't come up with a hundred million; it wasn't even a matter of scraping together the money!
"Damn it, who is this kid? How does he get so much money!" Miles said viciously. "Hmph! Since that's the case, don't blame me for being ruthless. All these treasures, and your Gold Soul Coin, I want them all!"
Qi Ling, however, said with utter disdain, "Is Miles stupid? The sellers and buyers are all our people, and even the Blacksmith Association is ours. It's just a matter of switching hands; how could he possibly win?"
"Of course, Senior Lou Gao, we will hand over all this money to the Blacksmith Association. We've made a huge profit by buying two such divine artifacts for 100 million Gold Soul Coin," Qi Ling said to Lou Gao.
Lou Gao was naturally very excited at this moment, feeling as if he had met a kindred spirit. After all, for a blacksmith, nothing is more gratifying than having his work recognized.
"Of course, after all, Senior Lou Gao waived the cost of a batch of materials for us before. Those materials were worth almost 100 million, so it's like we made 100 million for free," Qi Ling said with a smile. "We really have to thank Senior Lou Gao!"
Lou Gao was speechless after hearing Qi Ling's words. After all, it was his own words. He hadn't understood Qi Ling's blueprints, so he naturally had to pay for the materials.
"You little rascal, you've got your eye on me now? But I'm not afraid of such a scheme! Hahaha!" Lou Gao said.
Afterwards, everyone returned to the Blacksmith Association together. Qi Ling smiled and patted Tang San on the shoulder, saying, " Xiao San, I'm going for a walk. Will you come with me?"
Tang San looked into Qi Ling's eyes and immediately understood. Qi Ling was planning to go to the branch of the Divine Court to fulfill her promise for today.
Seeing Qi Ling and Tang San walk out the door together, Lou Gao looked at Tai Tan with a puzzled expression and said, "What, Tai Tan, aren't you going with them? Do you think the two of them can handle those people from the Divine Court?"
Tai Tan laughed loudly, "Hahaha, Old Lou, that's the funniest joke I've heard all day! I may be Soul Douluo, but if it really came down to a fight, neither the Young Master nor the Alliance Leader would be a match for them!"
"Especially the Alliance Leader, I reckon Miles is in for a treat today. The Alliance Leader will definitely show him a sight he'll never forget!"
After leaving the house, Tang San asked Qi Ling, "Big brother, should we disguise ourselves before we go?"
Qi Ling laughed and said, "Disguise is because we're worried about being seen by the enemy, but if your enemies are all gone, do we still need to disguise ourselves?"
The two then stealthily made their way to the location of the Divine Court's branch, only to find Miles and others secretly gathering within the church, seemingly plotting something.
Without a doubt, the two could guess that they were also planning to go to the Blacksmith Association to rob it. Qi Ling couldn't help but laugh, "It's really effortless! With you all gathered together, it saves me a lot of trouble!"
"Since you are a church, you must be very devout, right? I wonder if, seeing this scene before you die, you will feel that it is your Lord coming to welcome you?"
Fourth Soul Skill: Gaia Energy Cannon!
Later, according to the residents of the City of Metal, many people saw the sun that night! And Bishop Miles and the others were also called by God and all went to Heaven.