freenovelworld Chapter 95 Auction
Chapter 95 Auction
Seeing that he said that, Lin Zhifeng had no choice but to agree. However, since he had made such a big profit, he would have to send him another batch of royal jelly next month.
Having made up his mind, Lin Zhifeng accepted Ding Mo's thousand high-grade spirit stones.
The next day, I arrived at the auction.
Lin Zhifeng and Ding Mo were led into the auction hall and seated by the staff of Hundred Beast Valley.
The auction venue was set up without anything particularly special; there was a large stage at the front with a table on it. The auction items would be displayed there, and then an auctioneer would preside over the auction.
The hall was filled with chairs for the auction participants. Each chair was numbered and had a corresponding number plate to facilitate bidding.
There were well over ten thousand seats in the entire hall. According to the shop assistant, each person needed to spend ten thousand high-grade spirit stones to obtain an admission ticket, which effectively excluded most people. Those who could enter the venue were all wealthy.
Lin Zhifeng didn't go to sit in the hall. Instead, he pulled the person who was leading them to their seats aside and asked, "Young man, do you have any private rooms at this auction?"
The man said, "Yes, but private rooms are available for a fee of 10,000 high-grade spirit stones each."
Lin Zhifeng hissed upon hearing this, and even Ding Mo was taken aback by the price.
After hissing, Lin Zhifeng continued, "Why is it so expensive?"
The people from Hundred Beast Valley said, "Guests, you may not know this, but those private rooms are spacious and offer drinks and food. Each private room has a dedicated staff member. If you have your eye on an item, you can set a reserve price and the staff will bid on your behalf. In addition, the buyer whose final auction price is over one million high-grade spirit stones will have their private room fee waived."
Lin Zhifeng asked in detail: "Is it that if the people in the private room spend a total of one million, the room fee will be waived, or does each person have to spend a total of one million to qualify for the waiver?"
The man said, "If the entire private room is full, that's fine."
Lin Zhifeng turned to Ding Mo and said, "Uncle-Master, how about we get a private room?"
For Ding Mo, sitting in the main hall was perfectly acceptable; there was no need to specifically request a private room. However, since Lin Zhifeng had said so, he must have his reasons, so after a moment's thought, he nodded in agreement.
After the two had made their decision, Lin Zhifeng asked the waiter to take them to a private room upstairs.
It turns out that there are dozens of private rooms on the second floor of this auction hall, specially set up for wealthy people who don't like to be disturbed.
The waiter led them to the second floor and handed them over to the staff in the private room. Naturally, the staff in charge of the private room came forward and invited the two to sit down.
The private room wasn't big, only about five or six square meters. There was a table and a few chairs. Lin Zhifeng and Ding Mo sat side by side.
Several plates of spiritual fruits were already placed on the table, and after they were seated, the staff quickly brought out a pot of spiritual tea.
After pouring tea for the two guests, the staff brought over an auction list and said, "Gentlemen, this is today's auction list. The auction will begin in the order indicated on this list. You can preview the spirit beasts to be auctioned. If you are interested, please let me know and I will bid on your behalf."
After speaking, he stepped back and stood quietly in the corner of the private room, as if he were just a decoration, with no sense of presence whatsoever.
Lin Zhifeng spread the auction list on the table and pulled Ding Mo to look at it together: "Uncle-Master, let's filter the targets first."
Upon hearing this, Ding Mo also focused his attention on the auction list.
The two examined the auction list side by side. The first item up for auction was a Qilin Beast, said to possess the bloodline of the ancient divine beast Qilin. It could be used as a mount or trained to fight alongside the beast, possessing formidable attack power equivalent to a Nascent Soul stage cultivator. The starting bid was 100,000 high-grade spirit stones.
Anyone who has attended an auction knows that the organizers usually put out relatively low-priced items at the beginning, while the really good stuff is at the end.
The first item on this auction list starts at 100,000 high-grade spirit stones, so the final item will definitely be quite expensive. Lin Zhifeng used to think he was very wealthy with a million-dollar fortune, but now he realizes he was just a frog in a well.
But you can't really blame him; everyone in the Sword Sect is just too poor. He's considered wealthy within the Sword Sect. That's how his perspective gets so narrowed!
Although Lin Zhifeng was taken aback by the prices on the list, he gritted his teeth and didn't show any weakness.
However, he wanted to release the treasure-hunting rat to help him see if he could snag a bargain. He didn't even dare to dream of the auction's grand finale item.
So he summoned a waiter from the private room and asked, "My uncle and I would like to be alone here and don't like being waited on. Besides having you bid on our behalf, are there any other ways to bid?"
The man said, "Yes, sir. You can see an auction device on that table. You can operate it yourself, just like that."
Lin Zhifeng gave the waiter a high-grade spirit stone as a tip and sent him outside the private room.
Seeing his generosity, the waiter was happy to have some free time and thanked him profusely before leaving the private room. Of course, he didn't dare to slack off and go off to play; he simply stood outside the room, ready to be summoned by the guest at any time.
Once the waiter left, Ding Mo, at Lin Zhifeng's request, set up a barrier to prevent peeping in the private room.
Once the barrier was set up, Lin Zhifeng released the pair of spirit rats.
The treasure-hunting mouse is currently preoccupied with his girlfriend and is somewhat regretful about being released to work.
The treasure-hunting rat said, "Master, let me make this clear first: I'm not very good at identifying spirit beasts; my expertise lies in appraising treasures!"
Lin Zhifeng laughed and said, "It's alright, as long as you're better than me! I'll help my master pick up some scraps later."
What else could the treasure-hunting mouse say? With its girlfriend there, wasn't it going to show her some skills?
Lin Zhifeng and Ding Mo continued looking at the auction list. Sure enough, the later the list appeared, the rarer the spirit beasts became, and the higher their prices. When they got to the final one, the starting bid was a million.
Lin Zhifeng shed tears of envy, feeling deeply ashamed of his previous arrogance: I am unworthy.
Lin Zhifeng decided to snag a bargain, otherwise he simply couldn't afford the expensive ones.
Ding Mo had saved money for several more years than him. Although he wasn't as lucky as Lin Zhifeng in terms of adventures, he had the advantage of traveling more often. In addition, he participated in countless competitions both inside and outside the sect, winning the championship every time, and thus received a lot of prizes. Furthermore, his master, the Grand Elder, doted on him and, unable to provide him with guidance in cultivation, compensated him with extra resources.
Moreover, Ding Mo doesn't spend money, so he's probably the wealthiest among the younger generation.
Unlike Lin Zhifeng, who merely glanced through the list, he carefully examined the auction catalog and had a few targets in mind.
Before the auction started, Lin Zhifeng picked up the auction device from the table and studied it.
This auctioneer is a simple tool; it has an option to increase the bid and a button to participate in the auction. It's very easy to use.
Having figured it out, Lin Zhifeng simply waited for the auction to begin.
The treasure-hunting rat and the auxiliary rat sat on the left side of the table, near Lin Zhifeng. Lin Zhifeng was bored, so he gave the two spirit rats fruit to eat.
The two mice were delighted to be served and ate with great relish.
Lin Zhifeng was even happier watching them eat so happily than when he was eating himself; a smile never left his face.
Ding Mo found it quite amusing to see the two mice and the person getting along so well with each other.
After waiting a while, the auction officially began.
The auctioneer at Hundred Beast Valley was a steady middle-aged man whose cultivation level should be above the Refinement Realm.
Lin Zhifeng guessed that this arrangement was also to keep the situation under control, so that anyone who wanted to cause trouble would have to think twice about their own capabilities.
Soon the first spirit beast was carried onto the stage.
Although the Qilin beast was confined in a cage, it still maintained a majestic appearance. It roared with its head raised, releasing its oppressive aura. However, the cages in Hundred Beast Valley were also special magical artifacts, isolating all of this within them.
As the auctioneer began to introduce the Qilin beast, mentioning that it possessed a trace of the bloodline of the ancient divine beast Qilin, the crowd below exclaimed in amazement.
Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, the auctioneer announced, "Starting bid: 100,000 high-grade spirit stones. Bidding increments: 10,000 high-grade spirit stones or more. Let the auction begin!"
One after another, people in the hall below raised their paddles to increase the price, and finally the Qilin beast was auctioned off for a high price of 870,000 high-grade spirit stones.
Lin Zhifeng smacked his cheek and sighed, "It seems I'm going to go home empty-handed this time!"