"Heh, since no one wants to break the ice, I'll start. 110,000 gold!"
After a tense silence, a voice rang out from VIP Suite No. 10. Xiao Lin didn't recognize the bidder, but he didn't care. To much of the audience, this Mid-Level Blakc tier Qi Method was a life-changing treasure, but to Xiao Lin, it was barely worth a glance.
I'm already cultivating a Mid-Level Earth Tier Star Manual, Xiao Lin thought, leaning back in his velvet chair. Why would I waste energy on a Water-attribute Black Tier scroll that doesn't even fit my alignment?
The rest of the Xiao Clan sat equally calm. Ever since they had dismantled Marshal Moyai's conspiracy and absorbed the Intel Clan's assets, they had already acquired two Mid-Level Black Tier methods. For a rising Dou Wang family, this item was a luxury, not a necessity. The Nalan and Mu families felt the same, and the "Big Two"—the Imperial Family and the Yun Lan Sect—wouldn't even deign to open their mouths for something so common.
This was a battle for the mid-tier clans and powerful Dou Lings.
The Fever Rises
"120,000!" a voice shouted from the main floor. "Tsk, ten thousand at a time? We'll be here all night. 150,000!"
The jump didn't deter the hungry crowd. "If you want to play fast, let's go to 200,000," came the cold voice from VIP Suite No. 12.
"The young ones are so impatient," a weathered voice chuckled from the back of the hall. "210,000."
"250,000!" "260,000!" "300,000!" "350,000!"
In minutes, the price had more than tripled. The air in the auditorium grew heavy with the scent of desperation. At 350,000 gold, the "poor" elites were forced to drop out, their faces pale with frustration.
"360,000!" "370,000!" "400,000!" a bidder on the floor roared, his voice cracking. "If anyone goes higher, I'm out!"
He was at his limit. He could technically scrape together another 100,000, but this was only the first item. Emptying his entire treasury now would be tactical suicide.
"410,000," Suite No. 10 countered instantly. The man on the floor sighed, defeated.
"450,000!" Suite No. 12 shouted, an aggressive edge to their voice.
The room went silent. A 40,000-gold jump at this stage was a "kill shot." It signaled that Suite No. 12 was prepared to go to war. Suite No. 10 weighed the cost; even if they won, they would make a mortal enemy of a fellow VIP. It wasn't worth the blood.
The Hammer Falls
Primer Tengshan scanned the room, a satisfied glint in his eyes. "450,000 gold from Suite 12. Does anyone wish to challenge?"
Ten seconds passed. "450,000 once!" Thwack. "450,000 twice!" Thwack. "450,000 thrice! Sold! To the guest in Suite 12!"
Xiao Lin's Heavenly State Soul flickered toward the winning box. A Peak Nine-Star Dou Ling with Water-attribute Dou Qi, Xiao Lin noted. He's buying a path to the Dou Wang realm. No wonder he was desperate.
The Xiao Clan's Shopping Spree
The auction gathered momentum. The second item, a Mid-Level Black Tier Dou Technique called Thunderbolt Surge, went for 150,000 gold. This followed the classic 1:3 ratio of Techniques to Qi Methods—Methods were always more expensive because they governed long-term growth.
As the hours passed, Xiao Lin began to pick his shots. He wasn't looking for flashy scrolls; he was hunting for pills and rare herbs to bolster the clan's strength.
When a Grade 4 Vitality Pill appeared, Xiao Zhen's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Xiao Lin didn't hesitate, dropping several tens of thousands of gold to secure it for the boy. To the current Xiao family, this was "sprinkling water"—a Dou Wang family that couldn't drop 50,000 gold on a whim would be a laughingstock.
"T-thank you, Young Clan Head!" Xiao Zhen stammered, clutching the pill bottle like it was made of starlight. Xiao Ze and Xiao Yi looked on with envy, but they knew their turn was coming.
Finally, the item Xiao Lin had been waiting for appeared on the pedestal.
Foundation Building Fluid.
To many, it was just a useful tonic for children. But to Xiao Lin, looking at the manifest, this was one of the two items he must possess. It was time for the "Empowered Ancestor" to stop being a spectator.
"The next item is one that every single person in this hall with children or juniors will recognize. That's right—Foundation Building Liquid!"
The moment Primer Tengshan's voice rang out, a sharp light flickered in Xiao Lin's eyes. While the previous pills and herbs were for the clan's general strength, this was personal. This was for his son, Xiao Zhan.
Xiao Zhan was currently in the Dou Zhi Qi (Dou Disciple) stage, a delicate period of tempering the body before a Qi Cyclone could even be formed. Foundation Building Liquid was the ultimate catalyst for this stage—it provided the gentle, consistent nourishment needed to widen and strengthen a child's meridians without the violent backlash of higher-grade pills.
"I don't need to explain the benefits of this liquid," Tengshan continued, his merchant's tongue working the crowd. "Though it is technically a Grade 2 medicinal solution, its rarity and the difficulty of sourcing its ingredients give it a market value that rivals many Grade 4 pills. For the future of your bloodlines, what are you waiting for?"
Tengshan paused, scanning the VIP suites. Even the hidden giants—Jia Xing Tian of the Imperial Family and Yun Shan of the Yun Lan Sect—felt a stir of interest. They both led massive organizations filled with talented juniors who desperately needed such a resource. Even though they had high-level alchemists at their beck and call, the specific ingredients for Foundation Building Liquid were notoriously elusive, making it rare even in their private treasuries.
"We have thirty bottles in total, divided into three sets of ten. We will auction them in batches. For the first set of ten bottles: the starting bid is 10,000 gold coins. Minimum increments of 1,000!"
The Silence of the Shark
Before the crowd could even draw breath to start a bidding war, a calm, authoritative voice echoed from Suite No. 6.
"100,000 gold."
The auditorium fell into a deafening, unnatural silence. It was as if someone had suddenly sucked all the oxygen out of the room.
In a standard auction, prices climb like a mountain path—steady and predictable. Xiao Lin hadn't climbed the path; he had dropped a boulder on it. By opening with ten times the starting bid, he bypassed the psychological "comfort zone" of every other bidder.
It was a "Shatter the Table" move. The merchants and lesser lords who were ready to bid 15,000 or 20,000 gold were paralyzed. They weren't just outbid; they were intimidated. They looked at the glowing "6" above the VIP suite and felt the weight of a King's presence.
Tengshan, ever the professional, was the first to recover. "100,000 gold from Suite 6... Does anyone wish to challenge? 100,000 once!"
The crowd remained frozen, their brains struggling to process the jump.
"100,000 twice!" Thwack! "100,000 thrice! Sold! To the honored guest in Suite 6!"
The Accidental Bargain
As the hammer fell, the spell broke. A wave of groans and hushed whispers erupted throughout the hall. Many realized too late that they had been "bluffed." Had the bidding proceeded normally, a set of ten bottles could easily have reached 150,000 or even 200,000 gold in a frenzy. Xiao Lin had saved nearly half the projected cost simply by being the most aggressive shark in the water.
In Suite 6, the Xiao kinsmen were in awe.
"Young Clan Head... you actually got it that easily?" The Elder stared as the Primer attendants delivered the ten crystalline vials to their room.
"As expected of the Young Clan Head! That move was legendary!" Xiao Ze cheered, his eyes shining with hero-worship.
"Pure wisdom," Xiao Yi added. "You didn't give them a second to think."
Xiao Lin offered a modest shrug as he swept the bottles into his Storage Ring—a high-quality gift from the Primer Clan worth hundreds of thousands of gold itself. "It was just a bit of luck. They weren't prepared for a high opening."
Inside his ring, the vials sat alongside his other acquisitions. But he wasn't finished. If the opportunity arose, he intended to sweep all thirty bottles. In the Dou Qi Continent, one can never have too much foundational resource for their clan.
The Failed Copycat
Tengshan signaled for the second set of ten bottles. "The second batch! Starting at 10,000 gold!"
"100,000 gold!" a voice shrieked from the main floor immediately.
A minor merchant, thinking he had discovered a "cheat code" by watching Xiao Lin, tried to replicate the tenfold jump. But the room didn't fall silent this time. Instead, a chorus of cold laughter and immediate counter-bids followed.
"110,000!" "120,000!" "150,000!"
The trick only works once. The "Lao Liu" of the Xiao Clan had already taken his prize and retreated into the shadows, leaving the rest of the hall to tear each other apart for the scraps.