Highest Bidder Wins, the Principle of Checks and Balances!

... ...

"This little Bayi seems like it's about to undergo another upheaval."

Qi Heng sighed inwardly, inevitably feeling some mixed emotions.

Bayi Town had only four or five thousand residents, yet it produced six local magnates among them.

Now, an extra Qin Lu had been added.

With martial arts as the foundation, he feared it would not take long for a Qin Clan to be forged, thereby further carving up each household's interests within Bayi Town.

The cake on the plate would likewise be redivided accordingly.

His Qi Household had barely forty or fifty clansmen.

Being already the weakest of the six households, he naturally found this the most distressing.

Distressing was distressing, however.

His old Qi Household always developed honestly, making no enemies and forming no alliances, so standing apart from the affair was the best choice.

Besides, his Qi Household mainly engaged in animal husbandry and the fur business.

There was no need to nurse a grudge against Qin Lu.

Therefore-

Qi Heng's attitude was considered the most amicable among the six households.

As for the other five households, their motives differed.

Yet most maintained neutrality; after all, Qin Lu had not yet truly harmed their interests, so they naturally could not easily offend him.

What was more-

In all of Bayi Town, there were only two or three people who understood medicine, and this Qin Lu was among them the one with the most profound mastery of the medical arts.

Just ask which of the six households had no clansmen who had received his favor?

Although several households had objections to Qin Lu advancing to a Warrior.

Could they really kill him? Even if they made a move, they would still have to weigh whether they possessed the ability to bear the consequences.

Besides-

Did one think Warriors were truly that easy to kill?

If they were easy to kill, the six households would not coexist in the town; one would have long since dominated alone.

--

Before the hall-

Qin Lu was fully confident, and observing the attitudes of the various households, it was all within expectations.

Immediately afterward.

He brought out the medicinal pills he had prepared long ago, placing them before everyone's eyes.

Ten porcelain bottles were lined up in sequence, and everyone cast curious gazes, wondering what purpose Qin Lu actually had in this move.

"Do not be impatient, everyone. Allow me to explain in detail."

"I imagine everyone came here having also heard about the spirit ginseng."

"That stalk of spirit ginseng was around twenty years of age and possessed exceptional efficacy for the Martial Dao, yet it was not the optimal method of use, so this Qin went ahead and refined it into pills."

"Named: Wood Essence!"

"It is my exclusive Pill Formula, and compared to consuming it directly, the efficacy is many times stronger."

"It can strengthen Qi and Blood, supplementing blood deficiencies."

"It can also assist Warriors in their cultivation, possessing a certain degree of breakthrough efficacy!"

"The starting bid is ten taels of silver, and the highest bidder among you shall win."

As the words fell-

The crowd paused once more, turning around to reveal looks of astonishment!

The gazes they directed at Qin Lu seemed to have grown much clearer; this was no enemy at all, this was their great blue-sky lord and master!

Based merely on this hand of alchemy techniques, no one would dare touch him even within the county!

High-age mountain ginseng, though helpful for Martial Dao cultivation.

Yet at this moment, compared to the precious pill-

Mountain ginseng of that sort had instead become unpresentable street merchandise.

Pills capable of assisting Martial Dao cultivation, leaving aside how much they were worth, spoke solely of their output volume, which was extremely scarce.

Market price of a hundred taels of silver-

This was merely the initial price of the precious pill, which could be called a rare sight.

At least in Bayi Town, such rare treasures had never been produced; they had only heard rumors of precious pills occasionally being sold in the county.

Yet never did they expect-

Today, they actually witnessed it right here!

The crucial part was that it was so cheap, requiring only ten taels of silver to purchase a single pill.

"Since Physician Qin has such confidence, might you allow Wei to verify it first?"

"If it works, my Wei Family is willing to buy them all."

Wei Cheng spoke up first.

As the sole Warrior among the six households present, verifying the authenticity of the medicinal efficacy made him naturally the best candidate.

By both reason and convention, there was naturally no objection.

Seeing Qin Lu gesture, Wei Cheng poured out from the bottle a jade-green medicinal pill the size of a longan, and a refreshing fragrance abruptly filled his field of vision.

Just a brief glance.

Everyone believed a bit more; what Qin Lu stated was likely far from false, as this was a true treasure!

Following that-

Wei Cheng tossed his neck back, and the medicinal pill passed through his middle dantian along his esophagus, plunging into the lower dantian.

In just a short moment, a wave of heat surged over Wei Cheng's body surface, making him resemble a thoroughly cooked river shrimp, with hot breaths permeating between his skin.

"Hoo~"

As the scorching Qi current was expelled like a pillar.

Wei Cheng abruptly felt refreshed and clear-headed, the medicinal efficacy flowing as smoothly as a long river entering the sea!

"In earlier years, this Wei once consumed a Yang-Strengthening Pill."

"This pill is the most common precious pill, yet it consumed a full one hundred twenty or thirty taels of silver and more, holding city-collapsing value and possessing breakthrough efficacy."

"And this Wood Essence Pill, although its medicinal efficacy is far inferior to the Yang-Strengthening Pill."

"Yet it also possesses about a tenth of its potency. If ten of them are combined, it is even faintly higher than the Yang-Strengthening Pill, and perhaps slightly superior by a hair."

"Calculated carefully, the overall price is even more cost-effective. It truly is a prized gem!"

Wei Cheng praised unceasingly.

With a flick of his hand, he tossed out a pouch of silver ingots, striking with a resounding thud.

"One hundred taels of silver, my Wei Family wants them all!"

With that said-

Wei Cheng was about to reach out to take the pills when he was blocked by Chu He from the side.

"Brother Wei, please wait a moment. If this Chu remembers correctly."

"What Physician Qin stated was that the highest bidder wins."

"You, Wei Cheng, have already consumed one. At most, the rest of us households will let your Wei Family purchase one more, and the remaining eight ought to be distributed among the remaining five households."

"How about that?"

With those words spoken-

Chu He did not give Wei Cheng a chance to speak, turning around to say instead:

"My Chu Household offers fifteen taels of fine silver for a single Wood Essence Pill, and will purchase two."

"For the rest, help yourselves, everyone."

Chu He swept his gaze over the crowd and placed the silver upon the table.

He picked two Wood Essence Pills and turned to leave, showing not the slightest intention of entangling himself.

The remaining households saw this scene.

Not fearing Wei Cheng either, they successively pulled out money to vie for purchases, forcefully driving the price up from ten taels of silver apiece to seventeen or eighteen taels of silver per pill.

After all, there were only ten in total.

The Wei and Chu households alone divided four between them, leaving the remaining six to be distributed by the other four households, regardless of who got more or less.

Inevitably, it consumed another bout of verbal dispute.

Until finally, the ten medicinal pills were completely divided up among the various households.

Even the weakest Qi Household spent a heavy sum, purchasing two pills like snatching food from the jaws of a tiger. Heartache was heartache, but good things naturally had to be seized!

At this point, the matter here was concluded.

The various households dispersed one after another, whether to test the medicinal efficacy or to attempt to dissect the medicinal properties and plot the replication of the Pill Formula.

However-

Qin Lu did not care either; whoever possessed such capability, he would swallow his pride and accept it.

Perhaps it would not take long.

New Warriors would emerge across the various households, and at that time the landscape would change accordingly. If so, he, Qin Lu, could also fish in troubled waters.

By that time-

His status would likewise rise with the tide, becoming impregnable!

As for whether the various households would still harbor covetous thoughts toward him in the future, that was even more sheer absurdity.

As long as the powerholders of each household were not foolish, childish infants, they logically ought not to do so. Not only that, but they would also have to treat him as an ancestral deity and worship him.

In a situation of a win-win for everyone, why bother fighting to the death.

Looking across past and present, how many aristocratic clans had perished because they could not control their greed!

The balance within it was naturally carried through from beginning to end.

Regarding this-

Qin Lu had already understood it clearly.

If not for having such checks and balances, how could he possibly make such a grand display?!