Xiao Zhan's words settled over the hall like a stone dropped into still water. After a moment of stunned silence, pairs of eyes — gleaming with undisguised schadenfreude — drifted toward Jie Lie Bi, whose face had turned the color of iron.
"Wow — one hundred thousand gold coins for a single bottle of Foundation Liquid..." Xiao Yan lowered his head, stifling a laugh as he watched the Jie Lie patriarch's face twitch uncontrollably.
Xun'er smiled at Xiao Yan's barely concealed amusement. "An ordinary second-tier elixir is already considered rare on the market," she said softly. "Alchemy is the most envied profession on the continent — everyone dreams of becoming an alchemist. But the near-impossible requirements discourage countless aspirants."
Gazing at Xun'er's faintly wistful expression, Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and felt a surge of gratitude for his own soul's anomaly.
Falling silent, he turned his gaze to Jie Lie Bi, whose complexion remained a dangerous shade of steel-gray.
Jie Lie Bi was equally stunned by Xiao Zhan's abrupt withdrawal. He stared blankly at the man who had abandoned the contest without so much as a flicker of hesitation. After a long pause, his voice emerged hoarse and ragged: "Bastard — you were putting on an act the whole time!"
"Heh, so were you," Xiao Zhan replied lightly. "Only you weren't thinking clearly, so the performance was a bit unconvincing."
"Fine — fine. Xiao Zhan, I, Jie Lie Bi, will remember this humiliation." The patriarch drew several deep, ragged breaths, his eyes cold and venomous.
Xiao Zhan ignored the threat entirely. With a derisive snort, he turned to Ya Fei on the podium and called: "Miss Ya Fei — let's proceed with the final lot."
Ya Fei nodded with a gracious smile, maintaining her composed demeanor. Inwardly, however, she was laughing with barely contained delight. The auction prices had far exceeded her expectations, and the better the results, the more favor the mysterious alchemist would bear toward the Mitel Auction House.
She offered Jie Lie Bi a comforting smile — the kind one might give a wounded animal — then bent to retrieve the last two bottles of Foundation Liquid. Her crimson lips parted in a radiant smile. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final lot. The starting price remains thirty thousand gold coins."
The moment the last lot appeared, the elder patriarchs seated beside Xiao Zhan leaned in, their weathered faces tight with urgency. They sent rapid, covert glances toward Xiao Zhan, silently pleading.
Xiao Zhan sat calmly in his chair, ignoring their pointed looks. After surveying the quiet hall, he spoke in an even tone: "Fifty thousand."
The bidding from Xiao Zhan sent another jolt through Jie Lie Bi's jaw. His lips moved as though to counter, but the reality of his family's depleted coffers forced him to clamp his mouth shut.
On the other side, Ao Ba Pa observed Xiao Zhan's placid expression, his brow furrowing slightly. His fingers tapped a quiet rhythm on the back of his hand, and a brief flicker crossed his eyes before he smiled. "Fifty-five thousand."
The relationship among Wutan City's three great families was a strange and precarious thing. Each desired to devour the other two's holdings, yet none dared act alone for fear that a third party would reap the spoils. And if they joined forces, mutual suspicion made true cooperation impossible. Without the certainty of an annihilating blow, all three maintained a fragile, uneasy equilibrium.
Each family harbored grudges against the other two. Just because Ao Ba Pa had been lambasting Jie Lie Bi moments ago didn't mean he would extend any courtesy to Xiao Zhan. Raising the price a notch — creating a minor headache for the Xiao Clan — was something he was more than happy to do.
Ao Ba Pa's bid did not register any visible change on Xiao Zhan's face. He glanced casually in that direction and said evenly: "Sixty-five thousand."
That price had exceeded the Foundation Liquid's market value, but Xiao Zhan understood the rules of the game. In a bidding war among the three great families, acquiring elixirs at a discount was simply not possible.
"Heh heh, Patriarch Xiao is truly generous — but I fear being dragged into a spiral of escalation. I've already secured my own bottle, so I'll let you have this round." Ao Ba Pa hesitated briefly after Xiao Zhan's counter, evidently chastened by Jie Lie Bi's earlier misfortune.
Xiao Zhan returned Ao Ba Pa's tight, artificial smile with one of his own. Leaning back in his chair, he muttered under his breath: "Damn it — he made me drop another ten thousand. That bastard's no saint either."
Xiao Yan stifled a laugh at his father's complaint. In this kind of competition, there were no saints to be found. If not for Ao Ba Pa's fear of repeating Jie Lie Bi's disaster, he would have pushed the bidding even higher.
Xiao Yan snapped his fingers and watched as Ya Fei's gavel fell with a decisive crack. A quiet breath of relief escaped him. This money would sustain his spending for some time longer. Now, as soon as the ingredients arrived, he could have Yao Lao refine the Qi Gathering Powder...
"The rank of Dou Warrior is finally within reach..."
He licked his lips and let out a long, deep sigh. The first great hurdle on the path of cultivation — he was finally about to clear it.
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