I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 233 - 233: Two Hundred and Twenty Nine: Auction (2)

Just as the Steward was explaining to Tang Luo, a martial artist from the Fierce Realm at the seat in the southwestern corner abruptly turned his head. His hawk-like gaze met Tang Luo’s, and it was filled with an icy chill.

“Merely from a few glimpses, he accurately found me. What a keen spiritual sense,” thought Tang Luo as he met the man’s gaze.

Tang Luo didn’t avert his gaze and continued to scrutinize their table. After recognizing Tang Luo’s face, the martial artist from the Fierce Realm whispered something to the young master beside him.

The young man called Ji Fu also turned his head to look at Tang Luo. After giving a slight smile and nod, he turned his face away.

Seeing Ji Fu’s friendly demeanor, Tang Luo turned to the steward and said: “It’s alright, you can withdraw”.

However, even after learning of Ji Fu’s background, he still did not completely let down his guard.

The logic was quite simple. If it was just for security, there was no need for him to bring five Fierce Realm martial artists to the auction.

The martial artists sitting with Ji Fu were all alert and cautious, continuously inspecting everyone in the auction hall, especially the powerful members of the Xiao Family posted at four points of the hall, seemingly ready for battle at any moment.

They weren’t here for pleasure, Tang Luo could tell, but he just couldn’t pinpoint what their purpose was.

Elder Xu, who was already at the table, noticed Tang Luo rushing to the railing as soon as he arrived. Now feeling Tang Luo’s complex emotions, he stood up and asked: “Little brother, what’s the matter?”

Tang Luo glanced at Elder Xu, then at the six Fierce Realm martial artists from the Xiao Family stationed on the first floor, and responded, “Nothing, I hope I’m just overthinking.”

Although he had some suspicions, it was inappropriate to spoil his mother’s shopping mood because of some guesses. If there really were sudden changes, he believed Elder Xu should be capable of protecting Xu Shuhui and his siblings.

Tang Luo, having thoroughly thought it out, returned to his seat with Elder Xu, waiting for the grand opening of the event in Xiling.

A handsome middle-aged man stepped out from behind the stage curtains. Dressed in a blue robe with gold threads and a chestnut-colored belt with tiger stripes around his waist. His neat black hair was tied behind, looking free and elegant. This was Xiao Zheng, whom Tang Luo had met at Baiyan Martial Arts Hall.

As he walked to the centre of the stage, the audience quietened down and all eyes were on him. Xiao Zheng bowed to the crowd and said with a smile: “Thank you all for your appreciation. My name is Xiao Zheng, I will be the auctioneer for this event. Every single treasure for auction today is a rare spiritual object gathered from various regions. I hope that everyone can acquire the piece of their desire.”

His brief speech sparked enthusiastic applause from the audience. For most, just attending a Xiao Family auction was already an honor. Each auctioned item was extremely rare, even if not purchased, it was still a great talking point just to hear about it.

Feeling the enthusiasm of the crowd, Xiao Zheng joyfully announced: “Now, let’s unveil the first item of the night —the Xuanji Jade from the Xuanji Sect of Beimang!”

A slim woman gracefully walked onto the stage, holding a jade platter in her hands which carried a Xuanji Jade, black with a hint of red.

Gong Zheng saw the puzzled faces of most matriarchs below the stage and knew they were clueless about the Xuanji Jade. In contrast, some powerful martial artists and knowledgeable masters showed interest and curiosity when they looked at the jade on the platter.

But these people are not his target customers.

For an excellent auction host, the most important skill to fetch a high price for an item is to make the uninitiated understand its value.

With a beaming smile, Xiao Zheng pointed to the Xuanji Jade and introduced: “I believe many people are not quite familiar with this spiritual object. Allow me to introduce its extraordinary attributes.”

“Beimang has a sect called Xuanji, although it is not a holy land, it is indeed the top power in Beimang.”

“The Xuanji Jade is their signature spiritual object. Once spiritual power is imbued into it, it can activate a transportation matrix in the jade, instantly teleporting the user within a radius of ten kilometers. It is the top-notch protective amulet in the world.”

As soon as Xiao Zheng finished his introduction, there were shouts of surprise from the crowd. Most matriarchs of medium-sized families were most worried about their husbands not returning from battles. Yet with this Xuanji Jade, it was almost like having the best assurance for their battling husbands.

At this moment, many matriarchs had made up their minds: even if they couldn’t get anything else today, they had to get this Xuanji Jade!

Seeing the matriarchs’ eyes change from confusion to determination, Xiao Zheng, grinning, cried out, “Xuanji Jade – starts at one million gold, each bid must not be less than fifty thousand gold. Let’s start!”

“Two million gold!”

“Two million five hundred thousand gold!”

“Two million seven hundred thousand gold!”

In a short while, the Xuanji Jade’s price soared to five million gold, and the people on the first floor were still clamoring for it.

“This guy could have been an excellent scammer!” Tang Luo watched Xiao Zheng, who was grinning like a fox on the stage, and cursed under his breath.

To begin with, Tang Luo was quite interested in the Xuanji Jade. But with Xiao Zheng’s misleading sales pitch, he knew that acquiring the Xuanji Jade was likely beyond his reach.

Watching the crowd below bidding over this ten kilometer jade, Elder Xu was filled with astonishment. He turned to Tang Luo and asked, “Are the people of Xiling so wealthy?”

Tang Luo covered his face and chuckled, “average, just average.”

The Ten Kilometer Xuanji Jade, initially priced at one million gold by the Xuanji Sect, was quickly bid up to five million gold with prices still rising. It was no wonder Elder Xu was exclaiming about the affluence of Xiling.

Instantaneous travel of ten kilometers sounds impressive, but for Fierce Realm martial artists, it’s merely a brief escape distance. If they were battling an opponent well-versed in escape techniques or if they were seriously injured and then teleported ten kilometers, they wouldn’t be able to escape their demise.

The Ten Kilometer Xuanji Jade may be a good protective amulet for martial artists in the Mortal Realm, but for those in the Fierce Realm, it seemed rather pointless.

But how could the matriarchs sitting below even contemplate these points? As soon as they heard that it was a world-class protective amulet, their eyes turned red, determined to bid at any price.

Blame it on the remoteness of Beimang, as none of the clans in Xiling had much knowledge of the Xuanji Sect, resulting in this farce.

Most of the knowledgeable people who understood the true value of Xuanji Jade looked somewhat strange. From the current situation, the price of this Ten Kilometer Xuanji Jade was expected to reach ten million gold..