“May I take a look?”
Sun Shang asked eagerly.
“That goes without saying. Master Sun is the foremost alchemist on the Divine Phoenix Continent. Yun Ya naturally trusts your judgement.”
Yun Ya smiled.
This was a chance for free publicity after all.
Sun Shang rushed forward and snatched up the pill. After examining it carefully for a moment, he nodded: “Indeed, it is a perfect-grade pill. Have you encountered that mysterious alchemist again?”
Yun Ya nodded: “That master is in the imperial city at present, though he himself prefers not to show his face.”
“I see.”
Sun Shang drew a deep breath and returned to his seat. He had already resolved to bid high for these pills.
He could of course claim it was not perfect-grade. But then he could not bid either.
Once he bid, anyone not a fool would see through his nonsense.
What was more, he worried the mysterious alchemist might be watching from the scene. If the fellow stepped out to expose him, he, the newly appointed dean of the Divine Phoenix Medical Academy, would lose face.
“You have all heard, have you not? The Divine Hand Heavenly Venerable Sun Shang has passed judgement on this pill. I have a total of one hundred such pills in hand. Well, one should say only one hundred. Once the auction ends, there will be no further chance.”
Yun Ya seized the moment to say.
No one doubted Sun Shang’s words.
For everyone present knew how formidable the Divine Hand Heavenly Venerable Sun Shang was in alchemy and medicine.
If he said the thing was genuine, then it would be.
Ling Xiao drew a deep breath. At the last auction, he had ridden on Sun Shang’s coattails and exploited the fellow once.
He had not expected to borrow this Sun Shang’s light again today.
It made him almost unwilling to deal with the old codger.
He observed the guests’ expressions idly, waiting for them to bid.
Then suddenly he saw Feng Yanran leap to her feet. She turned at once and said something urgently to Feng Qingyan beside her.
He did not dare release his soul force to eavesdrop. But from their lip movements, he could guess the gist.
After all, the analysis power of his Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul was far stronger than before.
“Uncle Qingyan, I fear I lack enough spirit stones on hand. Lend me some later, will you? I must take the lot.”
Feng Yanran said very earnestly.
“This lower-grade Heavenly Spirit Divine Pill is indeed a fine thing. I support you fully in taking it. It will aid your cultivation greatly.”
Feng Qingyan nodded.
“Not for me to use. It is for Ling Xiao.”
Feng Yanran shook her head.
“For Ling Xiao? You cannot have fallen for that boy, can you?”
Feng Qingyan asked in puzzlement.
“Uncle Qingyan, spare your nonsense. Ling Xiao faces a life-and-death duel with the Blood Skull in a month’s time. Do you truly wish to watch him go to his death like that? These lower-grade Heavenly Spirit Divine Pills are too vital for him.”
Feng Yanran said in haste.
“You still have not answered my question.”
Feng Qingyan shook his head.
“Oh, I cannot explain it to you. On the matter of Ling Xiao, you may ask my Hidden Mountain Brother directly. He knows far more than I.”
Feng Yanran grew flustered.
At that moment, Yun Ya announced the auction’s start.
“These one hundred lower-grade Heavenly Spirit Divine Pills will not be auctioned separately. That would be too cumbersome. One hundred pills, starting bid one million lower-grade spirit stones. Bidders, please proceed. Each raise must be no less than one hundred thousand lower-grade spirit stones.”
After speaking, Yun Ya turned her gaze to the VIP seats.
It was Feng Qingyan, Feng Ming Wan Chong, and the like seated there who were the true big spenders.
“One million one hundred thousand!”
No sooner had Yun Ya finished than someone called a bid.
It showed how great the market was for these lower-grade Heavenly Spirit Divine Pills. Many were willing to pay high prices to compete for them.
“One million two hundred thousand!”
“One million five hundred thousand!”
Perhaps finding increments of one hundred thousand too tedious, someone raised it straight by three hundred thousand.
…
The bidding in the hall climbed steadily.
In a mere span of time, it had already breached the five million mark.
“Uncle Qingyan, have you decided? I have only five million lower-grade spirit stones. Any more and I am tapped out. Please, I beg you. Some things I truly cannot say. But we must aid this Ling Xiao. Our Ice Phoenix Clan owes him that.”
Feng Yanran said anxiously.
“Very well, very well. I will help you take it. As for whether to give it to that Ling Xiao or not, I must first consult the Ice Phoenix Heir.”
Feng Qingyan could not withstand Feng Yanran’s wheedling and cajolery. He finally meant to bid.
He did not hurry to call though. When he bid, he would settle it outright. Faffing about was not his way. Too much hassle.
At present, those calling bids were still the small fry in the ordinary seats. They posed no threat to him.
What he needed to guard against was the bidding from the Divine Phoenix Academy side.
That was the crux.
The contest continued to ferment. The voices grew fewer.
When the price reached five million lower-grade spirit stones, in truth many had already hit their limit.
Not everyone was as flush as an alchemist.
Most martial artists earned their spirit stones through gruelling tasks one by one. To scrape together five million was no small feat.
“Six million!”
Just as Feng Qingyan thought the moment ripe, a voice rang out.
He turned to look. The bidder was none other than the Divine Hand Heavenly Venerable Sun Shang.
This call made many bids on the tips of tongues swallow back down.
For few dared offend the Divine Phoenix Academy.
What was more, this was the dean of the Divine Phoenix Medical Academy.
To vie with such a one offered no hope of victory. It might even earn enmity. Better to yield the favour.
“Sun Shang, you are the foremost alchemist on the Divine Phoenix Continent. Why then do you need to buy these lower-grade Heavenly Spirit Divine Pills?”
Feng Qingyan asked, somewhat perplexed.
His confusion was genuine. After all, he knew little of pills.
“A perfect-grade pill merits study upon return.”
Sun Shang explained offhand.
“I say, old phoenix Qingyan, if you lack the funds, then spare your prattle. Whether others buy or not, what business is it of yours?”
Feng Ming Wan Chong seemed on poor terms with Feng Qingyan. They bickered at every meeting. This time he did not miss the chance to mock him.
“This Heavenly Spirit Divine Pill today, I am set on! Seven million lower-grade spirit stones!”
Feng Qingyan did not wish to raise so much at once. But as vice-dean of the Clear Void Academy, he absolutely could not bid less than that Sun Shang. Otherwise it would amount to a show of weakness.
This was no personal matter. It was a contest of face between academies.
“Eight million!”
This time the bidder was not Sun Shang but Feng Ming Wan Chong. The fellow truly seized every chance to spar.
“Nine million!”
…
In a brief span, Feng Qingyan and Feng Ming Wan Chong had driven the price of this gourd of lower-grade Heavenly Spirit Divine Pills to thirteen million.
It was like a fit of pique now. No longer for the pills at all.
“Twenty million lower-grade spirit stones. You two had best not contend further. This thing is mine!”
This voice came from outside the door. It belonged to a stranger.
