The beautiful woman stood atop the elevated platform and gave a graceful bow, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. Her red lips parted gently, and a pleasant voice rang out: "Thank you all for attending this auction hosted by our Gathering Treasures Building. I'm grateful you've traveled so far to be here, and I must express my deepest thanks to Elder Qian Tong of Shadow Moon Hall for his tremendous support. Without Elder Qian Tong's indispensable contribution, this auction could not have proceeded so smoothly."
The moment these words left her lips, hushed curses erupted from dozens of private rooms across the Jiazi and Yizi sections. They had all received word from their disciples and knew that Qian Tong had extorted five hundred thousand Saint Crystals from them just to use the spatial formation in Tianyun City once. Who would thank him at a time like this? Not shouting curses openly was already showing restraint out of deference to their own status and giving Qian Tong face. Thank him? Thank his grandmother!
Yang Kai sat in the Bing-13 private room, watching the beautiful woman with great interest. Although he had never attended an auction before, that didn't mean he was completely ignorant about how such affairs worked.
An auction—well, the auctioneer was a critical element. A good auctioneer knew how to stir up the crowd and whip the atmosphere into a frenzy. Once the mood was properly ignited, the prices of the items on offer would skyrocket.
This woman was stunningly beautiful. Her mere presence alone—even without saying a word—could elevate the already heated atmosphere of the auction hall by several degrees. The people at Gathering Treasures Building certainly had devious minds.
The beautiful woman on stage introduced herself, then humbly apologized for any shortcomings in Gathering Treasures Building's hospitality. Her words were impeccable, leaving no room for criticism. The ever-present, spring-like smile on her face made everyone feel what it truly meant to be welcomed as an honored guest. Her glistening, doe-like eyes swept across the room, making every person mistakenly believe she was gazing directly at them, waiting for them to flash some wealth.
After some pleasantries, she shifted her tone and said with a light laugh: "Enough chitchat—let the auction begin. The first item we'll be offering today is a Saint King grade, high-quality armor!"
As she spoke, a woman in palace attire walked slowly forward from behind the stage, carrying a jade tray. On the tray sat the Saint King grade high-quality armor. It shimmered with five colors and radiated a noticeable wave of energy—a clearly impressive defensive artifact at first glance.
The beautiful woman waited a moment. Once everyone had finished admiring the armor, she continued: "This Five-Color Ruyi Armor is the recent creation of our Gathering Treasures Building's master refiner, Gong Taihong. Master Gong's reputation precedes him, and I believe his craftsmanship needs no further introduction. This armor not only possesses outstanding defensive capabilities, but can also resize itself at will—that is why it bears the name 'Ruyi.' Whether male or female, anyone can wear it. The starting bid is thirty thousand Saint Crystals, with a minimum increment of two thousand. Please, everyone!"
Hearing the starting price, Yang Kai frowned and glanced over in Yang Yan's direction.
He recalled that when Yang Yan had refined the first batch of artifacts for him, she had created a Saint King grade high-quality auxiliary artifact from the wings of a Phantom Cloud Butterfly. According to her, those wings alone could sell for thirty thousand Saint Crystals.
Although both were Saint King grade, high quality, Yang Kai felt that the butterfly wings Yang Yan had crafted were far superior to this so-called Five-Color Ruyi Armor—not only were they rare and beautiful, but also far more practical.
Those wings were only worth thirty thousand Saint Crystals, and this Five-Color Ruyi Armor was worth the same? And that was merely the starting price?
While he was mulling this over, someone below had already begun bidding. The price offered made the corner of Yang Kai's eye twitch.
"Fifty thousand!"
The bidder had skipped the starting price entirely, jumping straight up by twenty thousand Saint Crystals.
The beautiful woman on stage smiled sweetly: "Our friend in room one-sixty-nine certainly knows quality when he sees it. The Five-Color Ruyi Armor is already at fifty thousand. Is there anyone else who—"
Before she could finish, another voice shouted from the crowd: "Fifty-two thousand!"
"Fifty-five thousand!"
"Fifty-eight thousand!"
The beautiful woman fell silent, merely standing on the stage with her enchanting smile. She knew that for this particular artifact, she didn't need to say another word—those who wanted this armor would drive the price up on their own.
The price climbed steadily higher. In the main hall, the warriors participating in the auction competed fiercely, none willing to show weakness. The people in the private rooms, however, showed no intention of joining the bidding—not one of them even spoke up.
Those who could secure private rooms all belonged to prominent factions on the Dark Star. This armor was decent enough, but it wasn't worth their while to lower themselves and compete with the common crowd in the hall.
In Bing-13, Wu Yi gazed at the Five-Color Ruyi Armor with undisguised envy, her beautiful eyes full of longing. But even the starting price of thirty thousand left her sighing in defeat.
Yang Yan let out a cold snort, her tone dripping with disdain: "Something like this can actually sell for such a high price? There are truly far too many people in this world who don't know quality when they see it."