Return of the Celestial King

"Qin Tuo, look, there are so many tycoons here. Will you be able to compete with them?"

Once they were seated, Chen Man Ni’s face filled with worry.

Qin Tuo, however, just smiled casually.

"Manni, don’t worry. Let’s just watch for now and see what happens."

Qin Tuo had brought a considerable sum of money with him this time, so his confidence wasn’t unfounded.

The Small Rejuvenation Pills he had refined a while back had all been sold by Chen Wenxiong for astronomical prices.

The fortune generated by those pills combined was nothing to scoff at.

Soon, the auction officially began.

As soon as the first item was brought on stage, the bidding began.

But people like Qin Tuo watched dispassionately, not moving a muscle.

Clearly, their sights were set on the Thousand-Year-Old Snow Lotus; the other items weren’t even worth a glance.

Over twenty items were auctioned off one after another.

Finally, it was time for the main event!

All the tycoons in the room stared, their eyes wide, not daring to blink.

At last, amid great anticipation, the dazzling Thousand-Year-Old Snow Lotus was brought onto the stage!

The auctioneer delivered a flowery preamble, whetting everyone’s appetite.

Then, with a faint, mysterious smile, he whisked away the red cloth.

Everyone craned their necks to get a better look.

There, on an exquisitely decorated stand, a Thousand-Year-Old Snow Lotus rested quietly.

When its appearance came into full view, everyone was first stunned.

Then, a collective look of disappointment washed over them.

"Tch, and here I thought it was some priceless treasure. Turns out it’s just this thing?"

"Ugh, what a waste of time. I’m not sticking around for this. Let’s go, let’s go!"

"Hmph, aren’t they just swindlers? How does this thing look anything like a Thousand-Year-Old Snow Lotus?"

Many of the tycoons were so disappointed they turned and left on the spot.

Many others were fuming, thoroughly displeased with the auction’s organizers.

It was plain to see that the quality of this snow lotus was exceptionally poor.

It lacked the spectacular radiance one would expect. Instead, it looked withered, yellow, and on its last legs.

One could even say its quality was far inferior to that of an ordinary snow lotus.

The crowd began to grumble, with everyone feeling they had been scammed.

But Qin Tuo’s eyes alone lit up, and his breathing grew measured.

He could tell at a single glance that this Thousand-Year-Old Snow Lotus possessed an incredibly dense Spiritual Qi!

In fact, this Spiritual Qi was far more potent than that of the Celestial Snow Lotus Long Wu had given him.

Qin Tuo estimated its age by sight. ’This snow lotus is definitely over a thousand years old,’ he thought to himself.

Seeing the disappointed expressions on so many faces, he couldn’t help but crack a smile.

This only made Qin Tuo more confident he could win the bid for the Thousand-Year-Old Snow Lotus.

Just then, the auctioneer officially began the bidding. The starting price was one hundred million.

When the bidding officially opened, the entire venue fell unnaturally silent. For a long time, not a single person made a bid.

The auctioneer stood there, a look of sheer awkwardness on his face, at a loss for words.

Backstage, the organizers watched the scene unfold, growing anxious.

Seeing the situation, Qin Tuo thought, ’Maybe I can snag this for the starting price?’

Beside him, Zhou Qihua couldn’t help but mutter.

"Sigh, what a wasted trip. Looks like this so-called Thousand-Year-Old Snow Lotus is going to fail to sell."

Clearly, even he lacked the insight to see the snow lotus’s true value.

A moment later, there was still no bid.

Just as Qin Tuo was about to open his mouth and snag the prize, Wu Chenggang, from the other side of the room, suddenly spoke up.

"I bid one hundred and fifty million!"

The moment he spoke, an uproar went through the crowd.

Everyone stared at Wu Chenggang as if he were an idiot.

One tycoon couldn’t help but try to reason with him.

"Boss Wu, aren’t you just throwing your money away and playing the fool?"

"That’s right, Boss Wu! This thing is obviously a fake. I can’t believe you’re willing to spend so much on it. I feel bad for you!"

Hearing the tycoons’ constant admonishments, Wu Chenggang couldn’t help but feel a surge of delight.

’These fools really don’t recognize a treasure when they see one,’ he thought. ’But that’s fine. It just means I get to walk away with a huge steal!’

Then, putting on a show of magnanimity, Wu Chenggang said heroically:

"It’s no problem, everyone! So you all didn’t come here for nothing, I’ll take the fall for this snow lotus. I’ll just add it to my collection!"

Hearing this, the crowd immediately gave him a thumbs-up.

"Master Wu, there’s nothing else to say. Two words for you: true class!"

"Hahaha..."

Wu Chenggang chuckled happily, inwardly blooming with delight.

He was also confident. ’I raised the bid by fifty million in one go. Surely no one will be willing to compete with me now, right?’

Since no one else was bidding, Wu Chenggang didn’t need to increase the price by so much right away.

But to play it safe, he preferred to jump the bid by fifty million in one go, just to prevent any unexpected competition.

Seeing no other bids, the auctioneer began his countdown.

Just as the countdown started, Qin Tuo coolly spoke up.

"I bid one hundred and sixty million."

As his voice rang out, the tycoons nearby stared at him, their faces filled with astonishment.

Everyone also realized that Qin Tuo was a complete unknown.

Everyone wracked their brains. ’Who is this guy?’

Wu Chenggang was also taken aback. He craned his neck to see who was competing with him.

A sense of unease grew within him. ’Could it be,’ he wondered, ’that this person has also seen the miraculous nature of the snow lotus?’

When he saw that it was Qin Tuo, his brow furrowed deeply.

So, Wu Chenggang raised his bid again.

"I bid one hundred and eighty million!"

Hearing Wu Chenggang raise the bid again, the tycoons present all wondered if he’d lost his mind.

But to their surprise, Qin Tuo continued to bid against him.

"I bid two hundred million!"

Everyone watched, wide-eyed, as the two of them went back and forth. The entire venue had fallen deathly silent.

The auctioneer, meanwhile, was ecstatic!

He had thought the item would go unsold, but he hadn’t expected two whales to get into a bidding war, driving the price through the roof.

With the bid now at two hundred million, Wu Chenggang was starting to get pissed off.

He couldn’t stop himself from asking coldly:

"Mr. Qin, are you dead set on fighting me for this?"

It was clear he was genuinely starting to lose his temper.

Because of Qin Tuo, he was being forced to needlessly spend tens of millions more.

Qin Tuo, however, replied with a wide grin:

"Boss Wu, you’ve been such a great help. How could I let you take the loss on this? No, please, allow me to be the one who suffers!"

Hearing this, Wu Chenggang flew into a rage, his face turning ashen.