Inside the VIP box, the atmosphere underwent a subtle shift at this instant.
The reason Jing Hongchen had quoted the high price of two hundred thousand without hesitation was for no other reason than a single sentence from Liu Yuan.
"Hall Master, I want this."
Just six simple words.
There was no explanation as to why he wanted it, nor any description of its use.
But for Jing Hongchen, that was enough.
Since his own Qilin son had spoken, then no matter what, he, Jing Hongchen, would secure it today!
...
Meanwhile, in the neighboring Shrek Academy box.
Upon hearing the bid of "two hundred thousand" and the subsequent voice belonging to Jing Hongchen, Huo Yuhao felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his Face instantly turning deathly pale.
It felt as if a drowning man had finally caught a life-saving straw, only to watch it be heartlessly severed before his very eyes.
In the sea of spirit, Electrolux's voice was urgent and stern: "Yuhao! You cannot let him take it! The purity of the gold of living beings within this knife is extremely high. If you miss this, there won't be another chance like it! Take it at all costs!"
Huo Yuhao's heart twitched violently. He spun around abruptly, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at Xuan Zi, his voice becoming hoarse and trembling with anxiety:
"Elder Xuan! I beg of you! Help me!"
"This carving knife is truly of great use to me! I cannot be without it!"
Seeing the hesitation and difficulty on Xuan Zi's Face, Huo Yuhao grew even more anxious, even pleading somewhat incoherently:
"The money... consider it a loan! I will definitely pay it back in the future! Elder Xuan, I beg of you!"
Looking at the child before him—usually resilient and steady, yet now on the verge of collapse—Xuan Zi also felt a pang of pain in his heart.
Although he felt the sting of the money that had been swindled away earlier, as a Shrek Sea Gods Pavilion Elder, how could he bear to watch the future hope of the academy struggle in despair like this?
Furthermore, Huo Yuhao possessed the Extreme Ice Spirit; he was a talent highly valued even by Elder Mu.
"Sigh..."
Xuan Zi let out a heavy sigh and slammed the wine gourd in his hand onto the table, a flash of ruthlessness crossing his cloudy old eyes.
"Silly child, what's this talk of loans? Since this thing is so important to you, then even if this old man has to dig out his funeral savings today, I will fight for it for you!"
He quickly calculated the remaining funds in his storage spirit tool, as well as all the public funds he had brought out this time.
Though he had been swindled out of quite a bit, he was a Super Douluo after all; he still had some foundation.
"Two hundred and ten thousand!"
Xuan Zi gritted his teeth and roared into the bidding device.
He was gambling.
He was gambling that Jing Hongchen was only doing this to annoy him and wouldn't truly invest too much for an ominous knife that no one dared to use. Two hundred and ten thousand was already a very irrational price.
However.
Reality was like a heavy iron hammer, smashing ruthlessly onto the crown of Xuan Zi's head.
His voice had barely fallen, and the echo hadn't even dissipated within the auction house.
That cold voice from the neighboring box rang out immediately after, like a death sentence pronounced by the Grim Reaper:
"Three hundred and ten thousand."
Boom!
Four simple words, a direct increase of one hundred thousand!
Without any hesitation, without any pause, one couldn't even hear a hint of heartache.
That feeling was as casual as tossing a few copper coins to a beggar on the roadside.
Xuan Zi's body swayed violently, nearly falling off his chair.
Three hundred and ten thousand...
This number was like a great mountain, weighing down on him until he couldn't breathe.
"Too much... this is simply bullying!" Xuan Zi's eyes were bloodshot, the veins on his forehead throbbing, his breathing heavy like a broken bellows.
"Elder Xuan..." Huo Yuhao looked at Xuan Zi in despair, tears welling in his eyes.
"Don't worry! This old man can still put up one more fight!"
Xuan Zi's eyes were also bloodshot with rage now; the anger of being humiliated and the obsession with reclaiming Face intertwined, causing him to lose his reason completely.
With trembling hands, he pulled out everything of value on his person, quickly estimating their worth.
This was the final bottom line.
Truly the last bit.
"Three hundred and twenty thousand!"
Xuan Zi almost shrieked this number, his voice shrill and somewhat out of tune.
The entire venue fell into a dead silence.
Everyone held their breath, their gazes shifting back and forth between the two boxes. A carving knife with a starting price of one hundred thousand had been bid up to three hundred and twenty thousand; this was simply insane!
However.
Just when everyone thought the dust had settled, and just as a sliver of hope had risen in Xuan Zi's heart.
Jing Hongchen's flat and somewhat ear-piercing voice rang out through the hall once more.
This time, he didn't add by increments of one hundred thousand.
He merely took a light sip of tea and then, facing the bidding device, nonchalantly spat out a number that made everyone's Soul tremble:
"One million."
...
Quiet.
A deathly silence.
At this moment, time seemed to freeze.
The hammer in Auctioneer's hand froze in mid-air, her mouth hanging open in an 'O' shape, completely forgetting to speak.
The audience members below were all dumbfounded, even doubting if something was wrong with their ears.
One million gold coins?!
Not three hundred and thirty thousand, not four hundred thousand, but a direct jump to one million?!
How was this an auction?
This was simply smashing people with a mountain of gold!
Inside the Shrek box.
The expression on Xuan Zi's Face froze completely.
It was too expensive.
He didn't have that much money on him anymore.
Thus, Xuan Zi could only say helplessly:
"Yuhao... give up."
"One million... even if we sold both you and me, we couldn't scrape together that much money."
Huo Yuhao sat there blankly, his heart filled with disappointment.
Give up?
How could he give up?
That was the gold of living beings!
But looking at Xuan Zi's dejected appearance and hearing that despair-inducing bid of one million, Huo Yuhao knew that everything was over.
He screamed inwardly with madness and unwillingess, but in the Face of absolute financial power, these emotions of his appeared so pale and weak.
In the sea of spirit, Electrolux let out a long sigh and then fell into complete silence.
...
"One million going once!"
"One million going twice!"
"One million going thrice! Sold! Congratulations to VIP Guest Number Two!"
As Auctioneer's trembling voice fell, this Soul-stirring auction finally came to an end.
Inside the Sun Moon Team box.
Jing Hongchen set down his teacup, his Face showing no sign of heartache; instead, it carried a hint of satisfaction.
To him, one million gold coins were nothing. If such a small amount of money could buy Liu Yuan's happiness, and incidentally trample heavily on Shrek's Face while making his old rival Xuan Zi suffer, it was truly worth it!
"Let's go, Xiao Yuan, to get your item."
Jing Hongchen stood up, straightened his robes, and led Liu Yuan and the others toward the backstage.
Backstage VIP room.
Jing Hongchen extremely readily swiped his card to pay the one million gold coins.
Soon, the crystal box containing the Spirit Devouring Carving Knife was brought before the two of them.
Even through the box, that gloomy, cold aura filled with resentment still made one feel uncomfortable.
Jing Hongchen looked at this carving knife, which was pitch-black and radiated an ominous aura, his brow furrowing slightly.
Although he had splurged a million for Liu Yuan, as a top Ninth-Rank Soul Engineer, he could clearly perceive the terrifying vengeful spirits contained within the knife.
"Xiao Yuan."
Jing Hongchen's Face was serious as he reached out to stop Liu Yuan, who was about to reach for it, and said in a heavy voice:
"Although this old man helped you bid for it, this thing is indeed very sinister. The resentment on it is no small matter; even a Titled Douluo's mental force could be affected if they aren't careful."
"If you want to use it, you must be fully prepared. Or wait until we return to Mingde Hall, and I will find several enshrinement elders who specialize in the spirit attribute to help you purify it together. You must not act recklessly, do you understand?"
Hearing Jing Hongchen's earnest and well-meaning advice, a warm current flowed through Liu Yuan's heart.
"Don't worry, Hall Master, I know what I'm doing."
As he spoke, he didn't hesitate in the slightest and directly reached out to take the crystal box.
"Alright, since the item is in hand, we should leave as well."
Seeing Liu Yuan so confident, Jing Hongchen said no more.
He believed Liu Yuan was not the kind of person who didn't know the gravity of things.
The group turned and left the Starlight Auction House, leaving behind the crowd of onlookers still talking animatedly about the "astronomical price of one million," as well as the Shrek group in the box who looked like they were at a funeral.
Just as they stepped out of the auction house entrance, a cool night breeze blew by.
With the Spirit Devouring Carving Knife tucked in his robe, Liu Yuan was in high spirits.
Right then, that familiar, cold mechanical voice rang out punctually deep in his mind:
["Congratulations, Host, for successfully completing the time-limited mission: Obtain the gold of living beings."]
["Reward obtained: Random Pokémon Item..."]
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