Auction Room 4-64, the 64th room of the fourth floor was where the trio was headed. There was still time before the auction had begun but the room was already full of people. Ming Yue could not see a space for them to sit.
"Oh, we don't sit here", Fengtian quickly explained, "As high ranking members of the Yu Family, we have our own personal booth. We can bid and watch from there."
"I see..." Ming Yue did not know of this, after all, this was her first time participating in an auction.
Unlike what she had seen at the arena, the people here did not have those strange papers but instead had a card. It was somewhat larger than the card she was given by the Gold Honor Shop and it was had a metallic black color with the words "Bright Treasure" etched on it. Since Ming Yue was only here to watch, she was not given one but Yu Fengtian had the black card.
An attendant saw them enter and quickly led them away from the masses and into their booth. Although it was called a booth, it was more of a large room, fully furnished with a seats and tables as well as food and drinks. It was rather fancy with a chandeliers and intricate carvings on the wall.
MIng Yue felt out of place but the Yu siblings already seemed used to the lavish style.
They took their seats as the auctioneer came out. Accompanying him were two women who rolled out a stand covered with a silk cloth. Just from the silhouette, Ming Yue knew that it was a sword.
"Welcome to the Bright Treasure Auction Hall, this is our next item of the day. A special sword made by sword smiths hundreds of years ago. Their secret techniques have imbued the blade with an uncanny sharpness and a beautiful star pattern. A balanced blade suitable to any swordsman and it has two sockets for elemental cores handling up to rank 4 beast cores. Starting at 200,000 gold coins, this is the Star Seeker Blade, a middle-sage weapon!"
At once, many murmurs and numerous discussions had run rampant among the bidders. No one had made a bid yet, not because this item was undesirable but they waited for someone else to start.
Bidding wasn't just quickly shouting the next largest sum of money. It was a battle of the wits. How much money would it take to make people give up on the item? How much can they themselves afford to bid on this item? Would it be worth it?
"220,000 gold to #346!" the auctioneer spoke out in a resounding voice.
The moment someone made a bid, everyone started bidding like a giant wave and he began a long stream of announcements for each and every bid.
"250,000 gold to #563!"
"289,000 gold to #142!"
"300,000 gold to #434!"
Minutes later the price had already hit 500,000 gold and people had begun to give up on their bidding. At this point there were only six bidders still fighting for it. However, Yu Fengtian had yet to make a move. He waited until there were less people before making a bid.
Fengtian could've made a large bid from the very beginning to take out his competitors but this way he could make a more conservative bid as he wanted to get the sword with as little money as he could use. This money might have been the Yu Family's wealth, but he managed to collect a large sum of money for taking quests and other jobs. Although it was under their name, it was his hard earned gold.
He was not the type of person to spend it wantonly and saved diligently.
Fengtian waited until the price had hit 700,000 gold and only two bidders continued to fight. #316 and #492 continued to outbid each other at increments of 10,000 gold but after 700,000 gold, it became progressively slower and slower going up by only one or two thousand.
This was his opportunity to attack!
He circled his energy into the black card and choose an amount to increase the bid. The card hummed after his bid, signalling that it had been made.
Seconds later, the auctioneer spoke.
"750,000 gold to #592! Do we have anymore bids?" he asked.
Fengtian had added several thousand gold to the bidding price, silencing everyone else, especially the two bidders.
Ten seconds passed and no one else had made a bid to fight him. The auctioneer smashed his gong and announced the winner of the auction.
"The Star Seeker Blade goes to#592 for 750,000 gold coins!"
No one fought him or even made an attempt. In the Bright Treasure Auction Hall, it was money that held the greatest power here. Status did nothing to help someone and no one would be able to attack the the bidders that won. This was right next to the Emperor's castle after all. No one would dare make a scene and the auction hall had a reputation to uphold.
Minutes after the end, an attendant walked in with the Star Seeker Blade in their hands while Fengtian gave over his black card. At the same time, he also handed over a spatial ring that contained the 750,000 gold coins for the sword. The attendant bowed before leaving to process the payment and Fengtian examined the sword before testing it out in the room.
It was a beautiful blade and in his hands, it was a sight to see. He smiled after handling the sword, content with his winnings and sheathed the blade, carrying it in his hand. Both Yao Xian and Ming Yue watched, happy that Fengtian was able to get what he wanted.
"Congratulations brother!" said Yao Xian, "You finally found the sword you wanted."
"I really did", he replied,
He was looking for a sword that would match him and the Star Seeker Blade caught his eye. The pattern was exceedingly beautiful and the dimensions fit him perfectly. After seeing it and using it, he felt even more sure that this was the sword for him.
The attendant came back with the ring empty and the three of them left the room. He did not bag it or cover it like his sister as he was not afraid of being attacked for it. There were even people flaunting their winnings to others.
Something like robbery and assault could not happen. The auction hall would not allow someone's hard earned bids be taken and so placed many hidden guards on surveillance especially since this was the General Auction.
Ming Yue learned a great deal of about the auctions and how they worked. She spent the rest of the day with the Yu Family, relaxing and enjoying the General Auction to its utmost. The next several days proceeded in a similar manner. She would wake up and practice for a bit before going out to explore the General Auction. Even after several days of looking, she had estimated having only seen 60% of the auction.
It really was an eye-opening experience for her. The sheer number of items being sold was enormous. Even though, she had no need for them, it was really a sight to behold.
Rank 1 and Rank 2 plants and materials were sold on every stall as well as a multitude of weapons and armor, all of which was under Sage Rank. The Auction Hall was where the true treasures were and after several days, the fourth day had arrived.
Ming Yue had her purple card that she was given from Elder Yin to gain access to the Auction. Now the true trials fall within whoever will be fighting her for it. She walked up to the room where the Auction for the Splitting Moon Blade was being held, it was the 18th floor and the 78th room. She entered the room expecting it to be as crowded as the other rooms were but to her surprise, it wasn't.