Chapter 61 Striking Back
"200,000,000!"
A Blood Condensation expert was the first to shout out a bid. He hadn't gained anything today due to the bidding being so fierce.
Due to the prices steadily climbing, the final prices had already exceeded their market value. Thus he hadn't spent anything, which was currently his greatest advantage now.
"300,000,000."
An aged voice came from a white-haired old man in the corner.
That old man had never made a bid the whole time. But as soon as he spoke, everyone immediately recognized him.
"Isn't that the Tuoji Empire's grandmaster alchemist, Wang Luyang?"
Although the Tuoji Empire wasn't as large as the Phoenix Cry Empire and didn't have an alchemist guild, it had its own alchemy hall.
If a nation didn't have the support of medicinal pills or martial weapons, it would eventually be destroyed. And martial weapons came second; after all, iron was never in short supply. However, medicinal pills definitely could not be lacking.
That alchemist Wang Luyang was essentially the master of the Tuoji Empire. His status was even greater than the Emperor.
There was no way around that; without the support of an alchemist, the Tuoji Empire would sooner or later be swallowed by one of the large neighbors.
That was why as soon as Wang Luyang bid, it immediately scared off many people. That was because he was equivalent to an Emperor. His financial resources were incredible.
The reason he had never bid before was because he hadn't seen anything that interested him. A person like him wouldn't easily take action; but once he did, it would be a sure win.
An ordinary second tier middle grade medicinal pill sold for three to four hundred thousand. But now the price had multiplied by a thousand, meaning few could participate.
Such a treasure was one that could only be found by luck. If someone lost an arm during battle, then their combat ability would definitely sharply drop and they would eventually be killed.
But the Flesh Bone Restoration Pill was equivalent to a life-saving treasure. Xia Changfeng and Xia Baichi were incredibly regretful that they hadn't prepared more money and could only watch as this treasure was purchased by someone else.
"400,000,000."
Ying Hou's distinctive voice rang out. No one had expected that he would also participate.
"500,000,000."
Wang Luyang didn't hesitate at all and immediately bid higher. That was his confidence; although Ying Hou was a noble, his financial resources were not as profound as Wang Luyang who controlled a nation.
The entire crowd was stunned to find that an insignificant middle grade second tier medicinal pill was actually being sold at the same price as an Earth class Battle Skill.
Even Long Chen felt his heart jumping wildly. It appeared this world had lost many pill formulas. Those ancient pill formulas in his Pill God memories were equivalent to an endless treasure trove.
But he also felt a bit of worry. Just a Flesh Bone Restoration Pill could cause this much of an uproar.
If others were to learn that this medicinal pill had come from him, that would definitely be dangerous for him. Perhaps he had been too reckless this time.
But since it was already like this, regret was useless. Now he could only hope that the Huayun Pavilion's reputation would protect this secret.
The entire crowd had turned silent after Wang Luyang's bid of five hundred million. Even Ying Hou had become silent. It appeared five hundred million was a price even he couldn't bear.
Now that the auction had reached this point, there was no need for Yao Niqian to fan the flames of people's passions. That would only cause people to feel disgusted.
Seeing that no one else was bidding, Yao Niqian started to count down. In the end, Wang Luyang's high bid won the middle grade second tier Flesh Bone Restoration Pill.
"Everyone, don't be a hurry to leave. The show has yet to end."
Seeing that everyone was already preparing to get up, Yao Niqian smiled and received a jade case from another maid.
Everyone's expressions became a bit strange. The auction this year truly was full of interesting surprises. What was this next treasure that was even more precious than that pill?
Opening the jade case, Yao Niqian revealed a medicinal pill that stunned everyone.
That was clearly the exact same as the Flesh Bone Restoration Pill from before! Didn't they say that it was one of a kind? Were they purposely playing with them?
When Wang Luyang saw that pill, he immediately stood up. Everyone was expecting him to fly into a rage.
But what no one expected was that he only foolishly looked at it for a moment before laughing. "Haha, good, this time I didn't come for nothing."
Yao Niqian smiled and admiringly said, "Truly worthy of being an alchemist grandmaster. You can tell from that far away."
"Yes, this is also a Flesh Bone Restoration Pill. However, this one is not middle grade. Instead, it is high grade!"
"What?!"
"Yes, this is a high grade ancient pill. The middle grade pill was only useful in the Blood Condensation realm and below. But this precious high grade pill is effective even to Muscle Rebirth experts," solemnly explained Yao Niqian.
A storm erupted in the crowd. Muscle Rebirth experts? That was the peak of the Phoenix Cry Empire!
"High grade Flesh Bone Restoration Pill. Starting bid: two hundred million."
"Five hundred million!"
The first person to shout was actually Wang Luyang. Moreover he immediately raised the bidding price, clearly not wishing to take it slowly and displaying that his determination to obtain it.
Everyone sighed about how alchemists truly were rich.
"Six hundred million!"
Ying Hou bid shortly after Wang Luyang. Everyone anticipated seeing the competition between the two of them.
"Brother Chu Yang, do you think Ying Hou can beat Wang Luyang?" asked Xia Changfeng.
"This time the medicinal pill is a must have for Ying Hou. Even if he had to spend his entire fortune, he would still bid," sighed the crown prince.
"Why's that?" Xia Changfeng was a bit puzzled. It didn't seem that just a medicinal pill could be so coveted.
"Brother Xia must not know about this. A dozen years ago, Ying Hou fought with an opponent, and in an effort to defeat him, he ended up losing a finger. Back then he refused to seek treatment due to his pride. He wanted to use that event to motivate him to cultivate harder.
"So from that point onwards, he started to train crazily, eventually finally breaking through and entering the Muscle Rebirth realm. But after entering the Muscle Rebirth realm, he realized that training in the Muscle Rebirth realm required you to refine muscle and marrow. Having lost a finger, he had lost a portion of his muscle. It had an enormous impact on his cultivation.
"But due to how long his finger had been severed, there was no way to fix it. He has spent several years roaming throughout nations without finding a way to heal it.
"The reason he let Wang Luyang win last time was because that was just been a middle grade Flesh Bone Restoration Pill. It was only useful to Blood Condensation cultivators. If he had used it, the chances of it helping him recover were extremely remote. Spending five hundred million on just a small chance really was a bit too much, thus he let it go.
"But now this high grade Flesh Bone Restoration Pill is practically godsent. So I can practically guarantee that he will obtain it. If that Wang Luyang refuses to give way, hehe…." Chu Yang coldly laughed and didn't continue.
But it was extremely obvious that if Wang Luyang refused to be tactful, it would be extremely difficult for him to be able to leave the Phoenix Cry Empire.
Even if he was the ruler of a nation, that nation wasn't comparable to the Phoenix Cry Empire. Ying Hou wouldn't mind killing someone for his treasures.
Xia Changfeng and Xia Baichi nodded. Alchemists were all exceedingly arrogant. Perhaps the competition between the two of them would extend past just this auction.
Wang Luyang's expression changed when he saw Ying Hou. He knew that Ying Hou probably viewed this pill as a must have. But getting him to give up instead was impossible.
With a high grade Flesh Bone Restoration Pill, his chances of figuring out the corresponding pill formula would skyrocket. And once he figured out the pill formula, his name would shake the heavens.
And furthermore, alchemists did not lack money. Of course, that was excepting beginners who failed their refinements so often that they often bankrupted themselves.
Just as Wang Luyang was about to bid, Ying Hou's soft voice rang out, "Grandmaster Wang, this medicinal pill is of exceedingly great importance to me. Please yield to me. I can even give grandmaster several days to study it after I obtain it. Harming the relationship of our two nations for just a small medicinal pill really isn't suitable."
This truly dazed the crowd. Ying Hou was using both the carrot and the stick to force Wang Luyang to give up. It seemed this medicinal pill truly was exceptionally important to him.
Yao Niqian's expression became a bit ugly though. This was clearly disrupting the auction, but both Ying Hou and Wang Luyang had high statuses and were their customers.
If she were to reprimand these two, not only would it not change anything, but the chances of them continuing to compete were no longer great.
Furthermore, punishing the two of them would definitely have a negative effect on the Huayun Pavilion's reputation. Yao Niqian truly started to hate that feminine voice of Ying Hou's.
"Ying Hou must be joking. This old man wants to compete, but unfortunately I have no more money." Wang Luyang laughed lightly.
The conclusion was a boring disappointment. Just what kind of person was Wang Luyang? No more money? This was clearly his way of giving face to Ying Hou and getting out of an awkward situation.
Although Yao Niqian was extremely angered, her face still maintained that perfect smile of hers. Now that the auction was nearing its end, she didn't want to cause a huge fuss.
"Master Ying Hou bids five hundred million. Are there any higher bids?"
"Five hundred million going once."
"Five hundred million going twice."
"Five hundred million going-"
Ying Hou had already relaxed inside his private room. Hearing the helplessness in Yao Niqian's voice, he coldly smiled. This kind of feeling was his favorite.
But a lazy voice caused his expression to immediately change. Even the tea in his hand spilled out.
"Six hundred million."
BornToBe's thoughts:
I've changed the name of the previous Earth class Battle Skill to Three Style Parting Wind. The skill doesn't appear in this chapter, but I just wanted to bring it up for the future if it ever becomes relevant (hint hint wink wink).