Chapter 111 - The Grand Finale
Supported by her resources and his own fortune, his rise in the kingdom had been unstoppable. During a recent beast tide, he had hunted down an ancient beast of Demon Lord rank containing a trace of dragon blood, refining its core to further temper his physique.
Just recently, he had quietly broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm. In the entire Wu Kingdom, there were very few figures capable of matching his current level of cultivation.
While searching through the royal palace’s restricted records, he had found a page describing the legacy of the Immortal Emperor of the Ancient Era. Realizing that the key map fragment was to be auctioned in Qiancheng, he had convinced the Princess to travel here to secure it.
Now, the map was within his grasp.
The bidding quickly crossed the five hundred thousand mark, and the atmosphere in the hall turned desperate.
"We of the Iron Sun Sect pool our wealth with the Silver Crane Merchant Guild!" a voice boomed from one of the private rooms, ignoring all anonymity. "We bid five hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones!"
"The Black Viper Valley joins the alliance of the Southern Mountain Clans!" another voice countered immediately, shouting through their array. "Six hundred thousand!"
"We have a long and honorable relationship with the Black Viper Valley," the representative of the Iron Sun Sect announced loudly, his voice echoing through the chamber. "Let us pool our wealth together instead of fighting. We swear upon our clan and sect names that we will divide the imperial inheritance equally among our groups once the tomb is opened!"
"Agreed!" a merchant guild leader shouted. "We will add our reserves to the coalition. Together, we bid seven hundred thousand spirit stones!"
The bidding war turned into a chaotic clash of alliances. Lesser sects and clans, realizing they could not win alone, publicly swore upon their family names to pool their resources, dreaming of the split spoils. The prices rose with terrifying speed, driven by the desperate desire to obtain the emperor’s legacy.
"Eight hundred thousand!"
Inside Room Eight, Shen Tianyu stared at the stage in absolute silence. His face was pale, his knuckles white. The numbers rising on the screen had long surpassed his entire clan’s budget. He was completely out of his depth, unable to even utter a bid. He looked toward Room Nine, waiting for the mysterious buyer to strike, expecting another domineering bid.
Yet, Room Nine remained completely silent.
As the bids climbed toward nine hundred thousand, a strange murmur began to spread through the lower floor. The eyes of the merchants and the sect representatives kept darting toward Room Nine.
"Look at Room Nine," a merchant whispered. "He was so domineering earlier, outbidding everyone for cracked bamboo slips and faded paintings. Why is he silent now?"
"Is it not obvious?" another replied, a sneer spreading across his face. "He spent hundreds of thousands of spirit stones on those useless items. He must have run out of money! What a foolish amateur!"
"He blew his entire wealth on useless trash!" a sect disciple laughed. "He thought he could dominate the auction, and now that the actual legendary treasure is here, he cannot even place a single bid. What an absolute fool!"
Inside Room Eight, Shen Tianyu let out a cold, venomous laugh. "So that is it. The master of Room Nine is nothing more than a brainless fool who did not budget for the finale. He spent all his wealth on garbage, and now he is left to watch from the sidelines. How pathetic."
Inside Room Nine, Su Ming sat completely still, his fingers loosely wrapped around his teacup. He had barely fifty thousand spirit stones remaining, making the current bids totally out of his reach. He was completely broke.
Watching the numbers climb past one million spirit stones, he could not help but feel a quiet sense of unease. When he had first arrived at the auction with nearly four hundred thousand spirit stones in his storage ring, he had felt remarkably wealthy.
In normal circumstances, a cultivator could easily purchase a high-grade Saint-rank item or a rare Saint-grade pill for two hundred to two hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones. Yet, this bidding war had given him a reality check. In the face of united factions and kingdoms, his personal fortune was barely enough to enter the arena. He decided he would have to come up with a way to earn a far more massive amount of spirit stones soon.
Still, as he took a slow sip of his tea, a faint smile remained on his face. He felt entirely relaxed. The Immortal Emperor of the Ancient Era was a mythical figure, his actual existence and feats lost to the ancient legends of the cultivation world, making the map fragment a massive gamble.
From his point of view, pursuing such a high-profile legacy was a dangerous pursuit that would inevitably draw an endless amount of attention. He had already secured several good items. He had no desire to waste a single spiritual stone or take unnecessary risks.
Su Ming listened to the mocking murmurs drifting through the walls of his room. He remained completely still, his expression calm and unbothered.
’Let them laugh,’ Su Ming thought, taking another slow sip of his tea. ’Let them think I am a foolish man who ran out of money.’
’Well, that I did, but that’s not the main point. They are about to spend a million spirit stones on a mythical tomb, while I have already got some treasures in my name. I am more than happy to watch them fail.’
On the stage, the bid reached a massive sum. "Nine hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones from the combined guilds!" Elder Feng announced, his voice trembling slightly with excitement. "Do we have one million?"
Inside Room Two, the Princess gripped her bidding token, her forehead slick with sweat. Her royal funds and all the personal treasures she had liquidated amounted to exactly one million. This was her absolute limit.
"Lin Fan," she whispered, looking back at him in a panic. "If I bid one million and they counter, we have nothing left."