"Hmph! You think you can use the same trick twice? Do you take us for fools? 110,000 gold!" "Exactly! I'll go 120,000!" "130,000!" "150,000!" "180,000!"
The moment the second set of Foundation Building Liquid hit the stage, the room exploded. The "Tenfold Gambit" Xiao Lin used earlier had lost its shock value; instead, it had ignited a competitive fire. Within seconds, the price soared past 180,000 gold—nearly double what Xiao Lin had paid for the first batch.
Xiao Lin watched the madness with a detached calm. "200,000," he bid, testing the waters.
"220,000!" a voice countered instantly. It seemed Xiao Lin's earlier bargain had earned him some "resentment" from those who felt they had missed out.
"250,000 gold!"
The voice came from VIP Suite No. 2. The sheer authority in that tone caused the entire hall to fall silent.
Xiao Lin didn't counter. It wasn't that he lacked the funds—for his son's future, he would drop two million gold without blinking—but he recognized the occupant of Suite No. 2. That was the Jia Ma Imperial Family.
The Xiao Clan still needs to breathe in this capital, Xiao Lin reasoned. Picking a fight with the Crown over a bottle of medicine is a fool's errand. I've already snatched the first batch at a discount; there's no need to poke the dragon.
The hammer fell. The Imperial Family secured the second set for 250,000 gold. A high price, certainly, but to the Royal Treasury, it was mere pocket change.
The third and final set followed a similar trajectory. Xiao Lin bid a few times to keep up appearances, but when Suite No. 4—the Yun Lan Sect—stepped in, the rest of the room withdrew.
Yun Shan secured the final ten bottles for a staggering 270,000 gold.
In the Jia Ma Empire, there are two entities you simply do not cross if you want to keep your head: the Imperial Family and the Yun Lan Sect. As long as the price was fair, no one was willing to risk their future to outbid them.
Xiao Lin leaned back, a satisfied smirk hidden by the shadows of his suite. The Alchemist Association must be laughing all the way to the bank, he thought. They were the ones who provided these batches to the Primer Clan for auction. No wonder they didn't bid; they were the suppliers!
Alchemists... what a lucrative racket, Xiao Lin mused. My attribute is Earth, which disqualifies me from the 'Fire-with-Wood' requirement of a refiner. But before my grandson Xiao Yan rises, I need to start recruiting or training our own alchemists. The Xiao Clan is spending way too much on the open market.
As the Grand Auction continued, a dizzying array of scrolls, pills, and equipment crossed the stage. Xiao Lin remained focused, occasionally stepping in to secure treasures for his kinsmen.
Xiao Ze found his prize: a heavy, black-steel spear forged with rare ores. Xiao Lin dropped 70,000 gold to win it. The young man clutched the weapon as if it were a long-lost lover, his eyes glazed with joy. Xiao Lin suspected the boy might actually sleep with the spear tonight.
Finally, it was Xiao Yi's turn. He had his heart set on a rare Bone-Tempering Herb for his physical body cultivation path. Xiao Lin fought through a few stubborn bidders, eventually securing the herb for 130,000 gold.
By the time the mid-tier items concluded, Xiao Ze, Xiao Zhen, and Xiao Yi had all received their heart's desires.
"Thank you, Young Clan Head!" the three echoed, their loyalty to Xiao Lin now reaching a fanatical level. To them, he wasn't just a powerful leader; he was a benefactor who treated his kinsmen's growth as his own.
Xiao Lin nodded, but his eyes remained on the stage. The "warm-up" was over. The items that had brought the Dou Huangs out of their secluded peaks were about to be revealed.
The auction had raged on for over four hours, yet the fervor in the grand hall hadn't waned a single degree. This Centennial Auction by the Primer Clan was shattering every record in history—not just in the quality of the treasures, but in the sheer volume of items and the grueling duration of the event.
Commonly, even a large-scale auction would be wrapping up by the four-hour mark. But today, nearly a quarter of the inventory remained hidden. The Primer Clan had truly "held back a big move," providing enough bait to keep titans like Jia Xing Tian, Yun Shan, and Fa Ma rooted in their VIP suites. Without top-tier "Diamond" grade treasures, one wouldn't dare invite such "Porcelain" grade heavyweights.
The Primer Clan was swimming in gold. Even for items they didn't own, their commission as the middleman grew with every frantic bid. In the Jia Ma Empire, only the Imperial Treasury could rival the liquid wealth of the Primers; even the Yun Lan Sect fell short in terms of pure coin.
The Mystery from the Secret Realm
As the next item was prepared, Xiao Lin's posture straightened. For the first time today, an item appeared that wasn't for his son or his clan. It was for him.
"The next item is... unique," Primer Tengshan announced, his voice booming with forced enthusiasm. "Recovered by our explorers from an ancient secret realm, it carries the potential to unlock the lost wisdom of the ancestors!"
"From a secret realm?" "Is it a Tier 5 formula?" "A remnant of a Heaven-Tier technique?" "If it's from a ruin, I want it!"
The audience erupted in speculation. However, Xiao Lin, with his Heavenly State Soul, noticed the slight twitch in Tengshan's smile. The auctioneer looked... guilty.
Tengshan knew the truth: the item was technically from a secret realm, but it was the ultimate "chicken rib"—tasteless to eat, yet a waste to throw away. He had hyped it up to the heavens, but now he had to show the "goods," and he was terrified of a silent room.
"Ahem! Without further ado," Tengshan shouted, "I present to you... the Annotated Guide to Basic Formations! Yes! Do you wish to become a Grandmaster of Formations? Study this, and you shall learn the art of... well, you shall learn how to set a basic array!"
Tengshan had almost said "become a Grandmaster," but he caught himself. No one would believe a "Basic Guide" could produce a Grandmaster. That would be like saying reading a middle-school math book would make you a nuclear physicist. If he lied too big, he would ruin the Primer Clan's reputation for honesty.
The reaction was instantaneous. The hall went from a boiling cauldron of excitement to a frozen lake of silence, followed quickly by a wave of derisive boos.
"A basic formation guide? You dragged us along for that?" "Is this a joke? Who studies formations in this era?" "I'd rather buy a Tier 1 healing pill!"
Even the VIP suites remained dark. In the Dou Qi Continent, the "Art of Formations" was a dying, niche craft. Unless you were a high-level alchemist or a sect guardian, most people viewed arrays as tedious and useless compared to a good old-fashioned fire-ball. It didn't matter if it was written by a Dou Di; to most people, it was just expensive toilet paper.
The price was a mere 10,000 gold, a sum almost everyone in the hall could afford. But being able to afford it didn't mean they wanted to waste it.
One minute passed. Not a single bid. Tengshan stood on stage, sweat beading on his forehead as he faced the most embarrassing "cold stage" of his career. The crowd looked at him like he was a swindler trying to sell them a handful of dirt.
But in Suite No. 6, Xiao Lin was leaning forward, his eyes locked on the dusty book. To him, this wasn't trash. To a man with a Heavenly State Soul, the "Basic" logic of the world was exactly what he needed to bridge the gap between his power and the mysteries of the stars.