Chapter 1160 – Zhong Wenshu
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"A guest has bid 7.5 billion, is there another guest that is willing to bid a higher price?" Princess Honeylush asked on the auction stage with a flirtatious tone, a tone that caused many young elites to bubble over with heated blood. But, as they thought of this 7.5 billion cost, they were all discouraged. This price was simply too high.
"7.5 billion, huh, whoever bids this high must be rich!"
A young disciple sighed enviously from beside Lin Ming. For many present, their total usage of resources growing up until now didn't surpass 7.5 billion. But, this cost was actually used to bid on a nine aperture spirit crystal to nourish a spirit artifact. There was simply no way to describe this gap.
"It's impossible to withstand the world of the wealthy."
As some were discussing, in the higher level reserved seats, someone suddenly called out, "10 billion!"
The one who spoke was a young man who looked to be 15-16 years old. He was handsome with clear eyes and shining teeth, and also had an early Divine Sea cultivation. Although he only appeared to be 15-16 years old, for him to have reached a Divine Sea cultivation, his natural age had to be over 30.
"That is Dual Polarity Palace's Zhong Wenshu. Dual Polarity Palace is also a World King Holy Land! They're on a similar level to Sacred Martial Mansion and one of their branch divisions is located in White Sun City. White Sun City is only slightly inferior to Immemorial Imperial City in terms of trade. There must be an auction held over there, but these fellows actually decided to cross tens of millions of miles to come to our Immemorial Imperial City and steal our meat!"
In True Martial World, the highest ranked World King level Holy Land influence was naturally True Martial Holy Lands. As for Sacred Martial Mansion and Dual Polarity Palace, they could only be considered as being on the lower end of the spectrum of World King level Holy Lands. This was simply how things were. Even so, they weren't something that the Yue Family or the River Family could compare with. They had tens of millions of years of accumulation and just a tiny hair from them was thicker than some of these distinguished families' thighs.
"Humph, these World King Holy Lands are too widely distributed and there are far too many young disciples. Even Sacred Martial Mansion has a massive amount of their power distributed outside of Immemorial Imperial City. It is impossible for them to fully hedge on a single city auction. With the First Martial Meeting approaching, they have to spread their net out as much as possible and buy as many goods as they can. This Immemorial Imperial City auction is a battlefield that many World King Holy Lands are gambling on. We shouldn't think of being able to partake in any of the good treasures. Just eating a bit of the soup should be enough."
Disciples of ordinary Holy Lands and small families understood their own worth. It was impossible for them to purchase any of the major items, but they had hopes of buying some of the smaller goods.
At this time, beside them, a youth suddenly raised a jade slip in his hands. "10.5 billion!"
The youth who called out this bid sat in the lower seats of the auditorium where the disciples of the ordinary families were. To call out this bid from that seating position, this action immediately attracted everyone's eyes!
"Who is he? What sort of background does he have?"
All of the young elites couldn't help but wonder this.
Lin Ming remained calm. He was already prepared to be noticed by others in this auction. The true war of wealth was still to come!
"This brat, could he be randomly shouting?"
"What a joke. In this auction there are very serious consequences for maliciously bidding without meaning it! Moreover, the 200 million violet sun stones we put out to come here won't be returned either!"
For a disciple of an ordinary family, having to give up 200 million violet sun stones would absolutely ruin them. No one was so crazy that they would waste all of their hard-earned wealth to do some grandstanding, much less risk the danger of being executed later.
Beside Lin Ming, River Feather wasn't surprised at all. He already knew that Lin Ming had a spirit artifact spear, and an extremely high quality one at that!
But River Feather's older brother, River Wind, was left completely dumbfounded. He looked at Lin Ming and gulped. 10.5 billion to buy a spirit crystal to enhance a weapon? Moreover, this was proof that Lin Ming had a spirit artifact as a weapon! How could his little brother possibly know such a person?
Zhong Wenshu looked at Lin Ming with some surprise before revealing a playful smile. He simply hadn't placed Lin Ming's competing bid in his heart. He adjusted his seat to a more comfortable position and then lazily lifted the jade slip in his hand, calling out another bid, "12 billion!"
"12.5 billion!" Lin Ming said before a single breath of time passed. This second bid he shouted was as if he were tossing out a pile of rocks instead of violet sun stones.
"How interesting!" Zhong Wenshu humphed. "13 billion!"
"13.5 billion!" Every time Lin Ming put in a higher bid, it was 500 million more. It was succinct and the same no matter what the other party called. This was a reflection of his rich property and his determination to purchase the nine aperture spirit crystal. Against this sort of momentum, it was easy for others to give birth to fear in their hearts, a feeling that it was impossible to win a bidding war against Lin Ming.
Zhong Wenshu frowned. He sat up, his expression serious.
"15 billion!"
"15.5 billion!"
"This brat!" Zhong Wenshu's handsome face flashed with a trace of impatience. As he looked at Lin Ming, his eyes were a bit cold.
He had his own spirit artifact. Although his family had spent a great deal of wealth to refine it for him and help train him to use it, if he really sold it then he would only be able to receive 80-90 billion. If he had to buy this nine aperture spirit crystal to enhance his spirit artifact's artifact spirit, that would be nearly a sixth of the entire value. It would be an overall loss for him.
If it weren't for Lin Ming, he definitely wouldn't spend so much.
"16.5 billion!" Zhong Wenshu shouted out as he raised his jade slip again. This nine aperture spirit crystal was extremely valuable to him. If he missed out on it this time, there was a chance that he would lose to his opponent in the First Martial Meeting due to the difference in weapons. Nine aperture spirit crystals were extremely rare; it wasn't possible to buy one whenever he wanted to. Thus, as he looked at Lin Ming, his eyes became increasingly cold.
"17 billion!" Lin Ming calmly said, raising the bid by another 500 million. He definitely had to obtain the nine aperture spirit crystal. This was because his Phoenix Blood Spear was much more valuable than the weapons that these other young elites used!
There was no other reason than the fact that the Phoenix Blood Spear was personally raised by Lin Ming. For the other young elites, no matter how wondrous or magnificent their backgrounds were, their weapons were still granted to them by their Elders. This was because no matter what sort of heaven-defying lucky chances they had experienced in their 30-40 years of life, it was impossible for them to form their own source artifact spirit.
Lin Ming was able to become one with the Phoenix Blood Spear, thus the Phoenix Blood Spear was not a spirit artifact that the weapons of other geniuses could compare with. So, the Phoenix Blood Spear was worth Lin Ming spending a great deal of money to buy the nine aperture spirit crystal, so that he could raise the Phoenix Blood Spear to become his own life weapon in the future.
In the higher reserved seats, some peak disciples of World King Holy Lands looked down at Lin Ming and Zhong Wenshu competing in their bidding war. Some revealed a bemused expression, but some were frowning. They also wanted the nine aperture spirit crystal, but because of Lin Ming and Zhong Wenshu's competition, they didn't have the chance to enter into this bidding war. And by this point, the bid had already surpassed the original value of the nine aperture spirit crystal by a great deal. There wasn't much meaning to shouting out another price. Moreover, Lin Ming appeared as if he were willing to obtain the nine aperture spirit crystal no matter the cost. This caused them to immediately lose interest in competing with him.
"Let them struggle and buy the nine aperture spirit crystal at a higher price so that they can use up their resources. That youth sitting down below probably isn't planning on bidding on the closing treasures, so he's bidding so unscrupulously now. As for us, we have to focus on those last few treasures. Even if it is only 10 billion or 5 billion, every amount is precious. A tiny straw can be the weight that crushes the camel. That tiny bit of wealth can decide our victory in the final auction bids!"
If the nine aperture spirit crystal was said to raise a martial artist's strength by a single point, then the Boundless World Pill could increase a martial artist's strength by dozens of points. Moreover, one was aimed at an external object and the other was aimed at the martial artist themselves. Their values naturally couldn't be compared.
What these young elites were thinking was also what Zhong Wenshu was thinking. Zhong Wenshu deeply looked at Lin Ming as if he were carving Lin Ming's looks into his mind. "Second Uncle, did that boy change his appearance?"
Zhong Wenshu asked an old man meditating beside him. This old man was a peak Holy Lord level powerhouse.
The old man opened his macerated eyes and looked at Lin Ming for a few breaths of time before expressionlessly saying, "No."
"He's sitting in the seating area of the commoners and still doesn't understand how to restrain himself. Instead, he swaggers around trying to struggle with the disciples of World King Holy Lands. It's as if he wants to die! Find someone to thoroughly investigate his origin and just what family he comes from!"
Zhong Wenshu sneered. Since Lin Ming wasn't sitting in the reserved section, that meant he likely didn't have a World King Holy Land background. Even so, it was best to be careful and investigate Lin Ming's background lest he be forced to kick himself later.
Of course, it was impossible for him to do anything in Immemorial Imperia City – that would be a blatant violation of the rules. If anyone dared to provoke the sanctuary of the True Martial Holy Lands, their future might not be so safe.
This wasn't a particular grievance that Zhong Wenshu was looking to take revenge on, but a natural process of the world of martial arts. In the world of martial arts, the law of the jungle was all that mattered and the strong ate the weak. Besides in some super cities and other areas, there weren't any legal constraints at all. Killing someone and stealing their possessions was common. This was because the strong did not need to reason with the weak. Strength was the only reasoning required!
Thus, if one only had a minor background and managed to stumble into a great deal of wealth and come to this auction to play around, then that was completely suicidal behavior!
"17 billion. Is there anyone that would like to place a higher bid?" Princess Honeyl
Honeylush gently smiled on the auction stage, her eyes on Zhong Wenshu. She had already glanced over the young elites from the other World King Holy Lands, and he was the only one who seemed willing to raise the bid.
One had to admit that Princess Honeylush's warm and watery eyes seemed to speak volumes. Her vision seemed to contain 10,000 temptations, causing one to lose concentration as if they were lost in freefall.
Zhong Wenshu coldly coughed and sat back down in his chair. He said in a cold and clear voice, "Little girl, there's no need for you to try to stir me up with your eyes. It doesn't matter to me how you keep batting your eyes at me. What is 17 billion? Much less 17 billion, if I were in a better mood, even 170 billion would be nothing at all! However, the reason for me coming here today is for the Boundless World Pill, so I can't be bothered to haggle with those little mice sitting down below. This nine aperture spirit crystal, what's the big deal if I grant it to you?"
Zhong Wenshu's words were filled with energy as they spread throughout the entire audience. This sort of appearance made it seem as if Lin Ming didn't win the bidding for the nine aperture spirit crystal, but rather that Zhong Wenshu bestowed it to Lin Ming.
Moreover, when he said 'those little mice sitting down below', that was clearly mocking all of the young elites from ordinary family backgrounds. This caused those ordinary young elites to immediately be enraged. Yet, they had no words to refute him.
Zhong Wenshu was absolutely not someone they could provoke.
Chapter 1161 – Auctioning the Boundless World Pill
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"Fuck, who the hell does he think he is? He clearly lost so why is he pretending to be so amazing at losing!" River Feather cursed. "It's as if he thinks that he's donating to us or something. Everyone clearly knows he lost the bid and yet he thinks he won it!"
Lin Ming thought little of it. He said, "That type of person has an arrogant personality with a mouth that keeps running off on its own. Even if he lost he would tell others that it wasn't because he was weak but because he couldn't be bothered to put his full force into fighting. These geniuses from somewhat influential backgrounds are born with a sense of superiority, so being idiotically arrogant like this is also normal."
As for Princess Honeylush, she looked at Zhong Wenshu without the least bit of embarrassment. As the auctioneer for this event, it was common knowledge that she would be able to keep a small percentage of the profits for herself. Even so, any normal person would have been humiliated after being publicly scolded by Zhong Wenshu.
But Princess Honeylush only smiled. She said, "What Sir Zhong said about me, I will surely remember. I hope that once the final several items of this auction come out, Sir Zhong will be able to put forth a splendid performance!
"If no one wishes to bid again, then I will begin the countdown!"
As Princess Honeylush spoke, Lin Ming was a bit surprised. This young woman wasn't simple at all. She was actually able to remain so calm and composed in the face of Zhong Wenshu's ridicule. It might really be true that she had a talent that approached the three prodigies of Sacred Martial Mansion.
"17 billion, going once…"
Princess Honeylush slowly spoke. As she finished the countdown, no one bid again.
"Congratulations to this guest for obtaining the nine aperture spirit crystal!"
Princess Honeylush smiled at Lin Ming. As for those young elites around Lin Ming, all of them were looking at him with strange expressions on their faces. They never imagined that this youth they were sitting with would actually be so special and wealthy.
"Does anyone know what his background is!?"
"Not sure. If he comes from a World King Holy Land then he should have revealed his status. If his status was certified, he should have been able to sit in the VIP seats as an honored guest. Since this youth didn't, he might be the descendant of some expert. If that expert is amazing enough, then his status might not be too different from that of an upper level Holy Land. Otherwise, if he's just some nobody that obtained a massive lucky chance by accident, then he will be in danger."
All of the young elites began discussing Lin Ming's status with true essence sound transmissions, curious as to just who he was and where he came from.
"Honored guest, would you like to switch seats?" Princess Honeylush kindly said to Lin Ming. She clearly wanted to swap Lin Ming's seat for one in the upper levels.
Lin Ming shook his head, "No need."
"Very well, please do as you please. Now, it is time for the next auction!" As Princess Honeylush spoke, she had already opened the second box.
This was a five foot long wooden chest. After opening it, a sword with a four foot long blade was revealed. The blade edge was sharp and chilling!
This was… a transcendent saint artifact!
A spirit artifact without an artifact spirit was a transcendent saint artifact. It was weaker than a true spirit artifact but far superior to a top grade saint artifact.
And most importantly, this sort of weapon could be used by an extreme Divine Sea genius. By relying on the weak world power within themselves, they could move this weapon. It wasn't like a spirit artifact that required a Divine Transformation realm genius to use it.
"What a wonderful treasure, haha!"
"I just happen to use a sword! Although I can't compare to those rich fellows that use spirit artifacts, a transcendent saint artifact isn't too bad either. At least in terms of weapon hardness and durability, I won't lose to others!"
At the ordinary lower level seats, many young elites were itching to put up a struggle for treasures. After the first auction, the quality of the items dramatically fell, otherwise they would never have been able to afford anything here.
The base price of this transcendent saint artifact sword was 80 million. The disciples of ordinary families bid on it until it was finally won at 160 million.
Following that, item after item was auctioned. However, the price normally wouldn't exceed 200 million. The audience for these items was ordinary young elites. Of course, these so called 'ordinary young elites' were still top disciples of Holy Land level sects and distinguished martial families.
To Lin Ming and others, these things had little to no use.
Lin Ming didn't call out another bid. As for those other World King Holy Land geniuses, they were all saving their strength for the true bidding.
As item after item was sold, the auction finally began to approach its end.
Princess Honeylush stepped on stage again. She said with a lively and spirited voice, "This auction has continued for three days. Several thousands of items have been auctioned, and now, it is finally time for the grand finale. The first of the final items is also the most precious of them all, as well as what so many of you have come here for. It is… the Boundless World Pill! Now, let us begin the auction!"
There were a total of 10 final items. The most precious, the Boundless World Pill, was the first and not the last. This was so that the young elites present would compete for it without holding back. Otherwise, if they all held their hands waiting for it, they would bid lower on the other items, thinking to save as much as possible for the Boundless World Pill.
Once the Boundless World Pill appeared, everyone would still be in the situation where they had the most funds available to them. They could wholeheartedly compete for it with everything they had! If they couldn't win the bidding then they could at least forget about it.
At that time, they would be able to bid on other items. They would have already cut off all other paths so they would have no choice but to purchase something else, otherwise they would have to leave empty-handed without anything to show for their efforts.
This arrangement was to maximize the auction value of all items. It was also to ensure that the bidding competition between these young elites would be fair.
"Let's begin, the true act is here!"
"Haha, I've waited three days for this. The Boundless World Pill is finally appearing. I must obtain it before I can go to sleep!"
In the higher reserved seats, every disciple of the World King level Holy Lands was gearing up to bid. Beside them were also many of their Elders that were here to back them up. Many of them were peak Holy Lord masters.
On Sacred Martial Mansion's side, a tall and burly youth rubbed his spatial ring, caressing it like he would his most treasured lover. Without a doubt, there was a great deal of wealth contained within this spatial ring.
This tall and burly youth was Sacred Tianhao, one of the three prodigies of Sacred Martial Mansion. Beside him, the red-haired Sacred Yueping drawled, "Big Brother, there is no need for there to be a fight between us brothers. Let's join together to purchase this Boundless World Pill and then we can discuss how to split it up later."
As geniuses of Sacred Martial Mansion, although their relatio
relationship wasn't usually harmonious, they naturally fell in sync with each other at this time.
"That's a good idea. It's not just us, but we also have to join together with Third Sister. We have to win this Boundless World Pill at all costs. This is going to be a tough battle for all of us."
In truth, even if several of them joined together, the force standing behind the three prodigies was only a World King level Holy Land. Their advantage here wasn't too great.
And in front of them were several geniuses of World King Holy Lands. For instance… Zhong Wenshu.
At this time, Zhong Wenshu had completely put away his previous cynical and contemptuous manner. He was staring at the jade box in front of Princess Honeylush, eyeing it like a viper eyeing its prey!
Zhong Wenshu had an early Divine Sea cultivation. If he could obtain the Boundless World Pill and close up in training for three months within a time altering array formation, then it would be guaranteed for him to step into the middle Divine Sea realm. Moreover, his inner world would become much more stable and he would be able to have a more amazing result in the First Martial Meeting. With a great result, the advantages he would obtain from the sect would be indispensable for his future achievements.
"This Boundless World Pill is mine no matter what!"
Zhong Wenshu cried out in his mind.
As for those disciples of ordinary sects and families, they could only watch the play unfolding in front of them. This would be a bloodbath of those with true wealth. Although they couldn't participate, they were still filled with anticipation in being able to watch. They all wanted to see just how astronomically high the price would rise.
A Boundless World Pill used a Realmheart cornerstone as the main material in refining it. As for a Realmheart cornerstone, that could only be obtained after a boundless world reached its natural end-time and collapsed. The preciousness of such a treasure could be imagined.
Moreover, wanting to refine such a pill wasn't easy either. Only a Great World King level alchemist would have the ability and power required to refine such a pill. Even then, in normal times this pill couldn't be bought with mere wealth. And now that the First Martial Meeting was approaching, the value of the Boundless World Pill was impossible to calculate!
Many people had a similar mentality in that even if they couldn't afford a high-priced treasure, and even if it was impossible for them to even dream of owning such an item, they would still want to see just how high of a price it could sell for. In the future, they could gossip about this and even boast about how they were present.
"I wonder just what it will sell for!"
"I have no idea. The price will surely be unimaginable!"
Before the auction for the Boundless World Pill began, Princess Honeylush waited for a full half incense stick of time. Finally, she slowly opened the jade box containing the Boundless World Pill. As the jade box opened, a perfectly spherical pill shot up into the air. The pill was surrounded by a clear jade green haze and the main body was translucent. Sealed within the centre of the pill seemed to be some kind of spirit. This spirit struggled within, as if it had a life of its own!
However, there was a special array formation on top of the jade box. As soon as the pill rushed out, it crashed into the array formation. There was a golden flash of light and the pill was bounced back, emitting hissing sounds all the while. As it floated in the air, brilliant beams of energy shot out like rays of the sun, beautiful and wonderful!
"It really is the Boundless World Pill!" Mo Eversnow exclaimed from within Lin Ming's spiritual sea. She had clearly seen this pill before.
As for the others present, even if they were the young elites of World King Holy Lands, this was still the first time they had seen such a pill.
"So that's the Boundless World Pill."
"It seems alive, how incredible."
As expected of a top grade pill approaching the rank of a transcendent divine pill. If one could take this pill then the advantages could be imagined!"
Princess Honeylush lifted up the jade box and placed it within the array disc projection, expanding the image to tens of thousands of times its original size so that everyone could clearly see it. "Everyone, can you see that little life within the pill? That is a world spirit! In the legends it is said that there is a world soul, but… that is only a legend. Still, this Boundless World Pill was refined with a Realmheart cornerstone, so it wouldn't be surprising if a world soul could truly be bred within. What does everyone think about this item? Hohoho… this pill, if taken by someone at the Divine Sea or Divine Transformation realm, will grant tremendous benefits to their inner world! Now, let us start the bidding!"
"The starting price…"
Princess Honeylush trailed off as she spoke to here, and then said, "The starting price… is zero!"
"Zero?"
Many of the young elites were stunned. They looked at each other, not thinking that the starting price would be zero.
But, no matter what the starting price was, it didn't matter. In this bidding war, the final price for the Boundless World Pill would surely rise to unbelievable heights!
Chapter 1162 – The Rise
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"With a starting price of zero there is no standard to measure the auction with. The first bid will be even more exaggerated!"
A World King Holy Land Elder said from the higher reserved seats. Because there were so few Boundless World Pills and they were rarely traded, their price was difficult to estimate. Moreover, there were vastly different prices in each transaction without any standard at all. Thus, no one could say just what the price of the Boundless World Pill should be.
In this sort of situation, if the auction house were to put forth a starting price then others would subconsciously think that this was the ordinary reserve price of the Boundless World Pill.
If this auction finally produced a price several times that of the starting price then there would be people who thought that they spent too much money and would think this was a great injustice!
This would cause some people to feel uncomfortable with their purchase and might even affect the final transaction price.
But on the other hand, if the starting price was too high then many people would develop fear at the start and wouldn't dare to bid. This would lead to the auction being deserted and wouldn't allow the bidding price of the item to reach its highest peak.
Thus, the starting price had simply been set as zero!
A starting price of zero even meant that some not-so-wealthy geniuses of peak Holy Lands felt eager to dip their hands into the game. Although they knew it was impossible for them to win in the end, they still felt fired up enough to bid a single time. Then, in the future, for better or worse, they could say that they had joined in on competing for the Boundless World Pill.
As several young elites opened their mouths to shout out a price, in the lower common seats, a red bamboo hat woman who had yet to speak a single word spoke up.
"100 billion!"
100 billion! That bid immediately broke past the limits of what most people were able to bid. Even if these young elites were to put forth their entire wealth, they still wouldn't be able to match a tenth of that price! Moreover, this young woman was sitting in the lower common seats so chances were that she wasn't a disciple of a World King Holy Land. Just where had she come from?
"Good heavens! The starting price is 100 billion!" River Feather wiped dripping sweat from his neck. He already knew that Lin Ming had raised an astronomical amount of funds in order to compete for the final items, but as for how much he had prepared, River Feather actually had no idea. And now the first bid was 100 billion. The final bidding price might even be 10-20 times higher than that! Could Lin Ming have possibly managed to scrounge up so much money?
Lin Ming glanced at the bamboo hat woman. Her voice wasn't gentle or elegant at all. Rather, she sounded a bit hoarse. The bamboo hat was covered with a fine red gauze, but although it was just a little bit of fabric, there was actually a strange energy covering it that made others unable to see her appearance.
Where had this woman come from?
"200 billion!" On Sacred Martial Mansion's side, Sacred Yueping suddenly stretched out the jade slip in his hand. His bright red hair was particularly radiant in the audience.
"250 billion!"
"300 billion!"
"360 billion!"
The bidding price continued to rise without end. Before a voice even faded, another person would place a bid!
This left the young elites present dazed. For them, it was already difficult to imagine just how much money this actually was.
At this time, a voice shouted, "One trillion!"
As this voice echoed forth, all of the heroic young geniuses of ordinary families were left completely panic-stricken. One trillion! This was one trillion! Just what kind of insane number was that? This was a number usually used to describe populations!
However, a bidding price of a trillion didn't dampen the excitement of these Holy Land geniuses.
Zhong Wenshu stood up. He glanced at Princess Honeylush and then at Lin Ming, revealing a playful smile. He raised the jade slip in his hands and said, "2 trillion!"
By the heavens! This was double the last bid!
River Feather gulped. As he thought of the 150 billion violet sun stones that he had lent Lin Ming, that could barely be considered a rounding error! That amount had already been his complete wealth. He had thought that he had an incredible destiny after stumbling into a great lucky chance, but compared to these truly wealthy individuals, everything he had in his life was now a joke.
River Feather glanced over at Lin Ming and discovered that he was still sitting there with a placid expression, not hurried at all. This startled River Feather. How could Lin Ming remain so calm? This was 2 trillion! Did he still have the confidence to continue bidding later?
"2.3 trillion!" Sacred Martial Mansion's Sacred Tianhao shouted out as he raised the jade slip in his hand, rising past Zhong Wenshu's bid.
"Mm?" Zhong Wenshu frowned. He coldly looked over in the direction of this new bid and met the eyes of Sacred Tianhao. Both of them came from World King level Holy Lands so neither of them feared the other.
"Good, then let's have a little battle! 2.5 trillion!" Zhong Wenshu shouted out another bid. Towards those like Sacred Tianhao and Sacred Yueping, who had a formidable power backing them from behind, he didn't bother mocking. He could only contend with them in a battle of wealth.
"2.5 trillion! Is there a higher bid?" Princess Honeylush passionately said from the auction stage. She was extremely excited to be able to preside over such an auction!
And at this time, Lin Ming finally stood up. Besides the bamboo hat woman, he was the only one in the lower common seats that was able to compete with these World King Holy Land geniuses.
Because of the ruckus caused by Lin Ming competing for the nine aperture spirit crystal, many people were able to recognize him. As soon as Lin Ming stood up, he immediately attracted everyone's eyes to him. As for Zhong Wenshu, he suddenly rose to a sitting position. He looked towards Lin Ming, a cold light flashing in his eyes.
"3 trillion!"
Lin Ming said, slowly and confidently. Then, he sat down. The new bidding price that he shouted out immediately shocked all of the young elites present, including River Feather!
It was already astonishing to them that Lin Ming had spent 17 billion to purchase the nine aperture spirit crystal. But now, something completely unbelievable had occurred. He had bid an entire 3 trillion!
If Lin Ming truly came from a World King level Holy Land then why wasn't he sitting in the reserved VIP seats? If he was able to bring out a token that indicated he was from a World King level Holy Land then he would have been able to sit at the higher reserved levels. This would have helped him avoid a great number of troubles. Otherwise, it was simply too ostentatious for him to sit amongst the common young elites and call out such a high price. Once he left Immemorial Imperial City in the future, he would be targeted by countless people!
Just what was going on here?
Regardless of what happened, Lin Ming was now the center of all attention! A youth who others suspected of having an ordinary background actually put forth a bid of 3 trillion!
"This brat!" Zhong Wenshu's lips twitched. He had thought that Lin Ming only had enough to win that single item at the start. He never imagined that this young man would actually have the ability to contend for the final treasures, and the most precious one at that. In addition, the first time he had entered a bidding war against Lin Ming he had lost. That had been the same as ruthlessly slapping his face.
"There must be some secret on that brat. We must investigate his identity in as much depth as we can!" Zhong Wenshu said to the old man behind him.
It wasn't just Zhong Wenshu, but the three extraordinary geniuses of Sacred Martial Mansion also noticed Lin Ming. However, in the vast Divine Realm, it wasn't easy to thoroughly vet someone's background.
Just as Zhong Wenshu was about to shout out another bid, the bamboo hat woman that sat with Lin Ming in the lower common section actually stood up. She said in her coarse and deep voice, "3.3 trillion!"
"What!?"
This new bid left the audience bewildered. Lin Ming was already a surprise, but this bamboo hat woman also had trillions in wealth!
Just what was going on here!?
Everyone looked at that bamboo hat woman. Because of some special array formation in the red gauze that covered her face, it was impossible to clearly discern her appearance.
"Humph, covering up your face is nothing but a joke in front of me!"
Several Holy Lord level old monsters rudely released their senses. They wanted to directly pierce through the bamboo hat woman's veil and see just what sort of person she was.
But at this time, a sharp light flashed in the eyes of an old woman sitting beside her. An unimaginable aura erupted from her, and the divine sense of these old men crashed into this aura, immediately repelled. This feeling was just like a mortal running at full speed into a brick wall. It was enough to cause them to almost vomit blood!
The several old men who tried to investigate the woman's appearance paled as the blood drained from their faces. Their bodies shook and they nearly tumbled out of their chairs.
These old geezers were all stupefied. They knew now that they had kicked iron!
That person was…
Lin Ming's mind chilled as he looked towards the old woman. The old woman was wizened and haggard, with a face that was dried up like a walnut. Her hair was sparse and stringy and her body was bent with rickets. Her entire body was swathed in gray robes and her breathing was deep. It was hard to imagine that she was someone capable of defeating a crowd of peak Holy Lord masters.
All this indicated that she was… a World King!
Everyone present glanced at each other in dismay and shock. The appearance of this old man caused them all to be even more acutely aware that this auction was truly a den of crouching tigers and hidden dragons!
There were some people that didn't come from World King level Holy Lands, but standing behind them were still unfathomably deep existences. Because these existences were hidden, they were mostly unknown to anyone else. However, their strength far surpassed one's imagination. And for this Divine Realm First Martial Meeting, they had personally sent out their disciples to temper themselves in the upcoming battles!
"That old woman is too terrifying!"
Many young elites spoke to each other with true essence sound transmissions. Looking at this old woman, their eyes filled with dread and awe. For this old woman to be able to reflect the divine sense of several Holy Lord level masters with just a thought, then even if her strength wasn't that of a World King, she was infinitely close to one!
"Miss Mo, is that old woman a World King?"
Mo Eversnow shook her head. "She emits a very strange feeling. Her soul force is not inferior to that of an ordinary World King, but her true essence fluctuations are actually inferior to mine from 50,000 years ago! She should… not be a World King! But, she is someone approaching a World King, a peak half-step World King character! I am even more inclined to believe that she was once a World King. However, because of some injury she received in the past, she dropped out from the World King realm!"
Mo Eversnow inferred the likeliest situation from the little bits of clues and information she knew.
"I see… even someone that dropped from the World King realm is so frightening. She was able to casually defeat several Holy Lord level powerhouses and there were even peak Holy Lord level masters within that group. If what you said is true, then that bamboo hat young woman might be that old woman's last disciple. In this auction, every opponent I face is stronger than the last. I only have 7 trillion… I wonder if that's enough…"
Lin Ming sucked in a deep breath. As he traced his spatial ring, his expression was solemn.
Chapter 1163 – Crazy
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"Miss Mo, how much property would a World King level powerhouse and a World King level Holy Land have?" Lin Ming asked Mo Eversnow, a bit unsure of himself.
Mo Eversnow said, "Property is divided into fixed assets and liquid assets. Whether it is a World King powerhouse or World King Holy Land, over 99.9% of their total wealth will be locked down in array formations, palaces, transmission arrays, training locations, pills, treasures, and so forth. They wouldn't have many liquid assets available. For them, having too much money is useless. It's best to invest everything into training disciples and exchanging for resources. In the past, my Verdant Feather Holy Lands only kept around 4-5 trillion in liquid capital, and the Verdant Feather Holy Lands was also a Great World King level Holy Land. It was much wealthier than these ordinary World King Holy Lands like Sacred Martial Mansion or Dual Polarity Palace. I estimate that they have a total of 1-2 trillion in liquid assets!"
Lin Ming nodded. This was a reasonable amount. When the Verdant Feather Holy Lands had been destroyed, Mo Eversnow had quickly snuck away some of the wealth, but that was only a small amount of the total, around a trillion in all. And then later, most of that had been taken away by Mo Eversnow's little sister, leaving less than 400 billion at Starbind Bank.
As for an ordinary World King Holy Land, even though their liquid capital was normally around 1-2 trillion, they could sell a small amount of their fixed assets in exchange for violet sun stones. The true value of their property was definitely above his own!
Fortunately, a World King Holy Land was far too large. There was more than one peak disciple and there was much more to do than attending a single auction. This meant that the wealth of that Holy Land would be scattered about all over. This was his only chance!
As Lin Ming was thinking about his own wealth, the bidding price had already dramatically risen to 3.8 trillion. The one who cast this bid was actually Sacred Yueping!
3.8 trillion was equal to the total liquid capital a normal upper World King Holy Land would have during normal times. But, this amount was actually tossed out in a single breath in order to buy just one Boundless World Pill that helped solidify one's inner world. Once this pill was used it would be no more!
From this, one could see just how much money was required to raise an extreme genius!
"The wealth required to walk down the martial path surpasses my original expectations. No wonder it's impossible for a top genius to appear amongst the wandering martial artists, and it's no wonder that even a Great World King level Holy Land would find it difficult to produce another World King successor after hundreds of thousands or even millions of years. This is why so many World King Holy Lands like the Ancient Dragon Clan lack successors!"
Lin Ming thought to himself. He thought about the True Martial Holy Lands. Starbind Bank had already been operating for millions of years, and there were also the many trade associations within Immemorial Imperial City that fell underneath the control of the True Martial Holy Lands. Just how much wealth had these businesses earned during this time? Perhaps not even the True Martial World King was sure!
But it was impossible for this wealth to be saved. It had to be spent at ridiculous speeds to help raise the future generations!
However, up until now, the True Martial Holy Lands had yet to produce a second World King! They had only produced over a hundred 'successors' to the True Martial World King. In this Divine Realm First Martial Meeting, the True Martial World King had even promised a position of successor for any disciple that obtained certain achievements.
And to grow each of these 'successors' cost a massive amount of wealth! Even so, the chances of them becoming a World King in the future weren't high at all!
Of course, the True Martial World King was still in the prime of his life. It was no problem for him to live for another million years or so. He still had hopes that he would be able to produce a World King before his eventual death.
If he could guarantee raising a World King, then let alone several trillion, the True Martial World King wouldn't hesitate to spend even dozens or hundreds of trillions!
"It seems that the reason the Ancient Phoenix Clan, Kirin Clan, and Roc Clan haven't raised a World King in all these years is that they are too… poor!"
Lin Ming recalled the Ancient Phoenix Clan's Xiao Daoji and Huo Burning Heaven. They were both extreme characters of their generation. The totem stones they left behind had filled Lin Ming with inspiration and wisdom. But even then, such characters had been stopped at the half-step World King realm. They hadn't managed to take that last step forwards!
At that time, Lin Ming had thought this was unbelievable. But now that he thought about it some more, the reason they couldn't take that last step was not because their talent was too poor and not because the foundation they built during Ninefall and the Nine Divine Shifts was too shaky, but because the Ancient Phoenix Clan simply wasn't able to afford it!
The basis of the Ancient Phoenix Clan was that they had obtained the secret to finding out where the Ancient Phoenix underwent nirvana and thus were able to obtain the blood of the Ancient Phoenix. However, the Ancient Phoenix Clan didn't even have enough of this blood to use, let alone trading it away for resources.
As for the Ancient Phoenix Clan's resource sites, the most valuable one was the God Beast Mystic Realm. But, while the God Beast Mystic Realm was excellent for tempering geniuses and allowing them to find great lucky chances, its ability to produce wealth was still below that of Carefree Island's Red Desolate Mystic Realm.
Of the four God Beast clans, only the Ancient Dragon Clan had been able to rely on its superior numbers and vastly greater wealth to raise two World Kings in the span of a hundred million years!
Lin Ming could only sigh with emotion as he understood all of this. For a genius, if they couldn't grow because of their lack of talent, then that was their own problem. They had no right to complain!
But if they were extremely talented individuals like Xiao Daoji or Huo Burning Heaven, and yet failed to break past their boundaries because of insufficient resources, then that was truly sad.
In the entire Divine Realm, there were many people that possessed the talent to become a World King, but lacked the resources to do so.
As Lin Ming thought of this, he unconsciously clenched the arm of his seat. No matter what, he would not allow himself to become one of them! This Boundless World Pill had to be his at all costs!
"3.9 trillion! Is there a higher bid?" Princess Honeylush excitedly said from atop the auction stage. Her clear voice easily spread throughout the entire arena.
Zhong Wenshu adjusted his position in the higher seats. He was the one to call out a bid of 3.9 trillion just now. At this time, with such a huge amount of wealth on the line, even someone as arrogant and proud as him found it hard to remain calm.
Suddenly, Lin Ming stood up. He shouted out, "5 trillion!"
"What!?"
Zhong Wenshu glared at Lin Ming, fires nearly spouting out from his eyes.
The three prodigies of Sacred Martial Mansion, Sacred Yueping, Sacred Tianhao, and Sacred Yanran, all looked towards Lin Ming. At this time, most of the World King Holy Land disciples that were here had withdrawn from bidding. The only ones left competing were Lin Ming, the red bamboo hat woman, the three elites of Sacred Martial Mansion, as well as Zhong Wenshu! These were four different parties!
"To raise the price to 5 trillion in
a single breath, that brat must be ridiculously rich. Does he really have the ability to obtain the Boundless World Pill? Or perhaps he's throwing out his total worth in hopes of scaring everyone away?"
Zhong Wenshu grasped his chair's armrest, his fist constantly clenching and unclenching. His palms were already wet with sweat!
5 trillion began to approach his total wealth!
Within Dual Polarity Palace, Zhong Wenshu wasn't the only peak disciple. There were a total of four, and each of them had a talent similar to the rest, and all four of them needed resources. In a situation where Dual Polarity Palace couldn't guarantee that one of these disciples could become a World King, they wouldn't be willing to spend everything they had regardless of how steep the price was. It simply wouldn't be worth it! This was why they had to carefully consider just how much they should invest in their young geniuses.
Thus, although Dual Polarity Palace had mobilized a massive amount of wealth by going through various channels and even selling some of the Palace Master's own treasures, Zhong Wenshu himself had only been able to obtain 5 trillion. Then, after selling everything he possessed and taking as many loans as he could, he was still only at 5.5 trillion.
In fact, in normal circumstances, Dual Polarity Palace wouldn't be willing to support their disciples in purchasing such expensive treasures. If every genius required the best resources on every step of their road of martial arts, Dual Polarity Palace simply wouldn't be able to keep up!
"5.5 trillion!" Zhong Wenshu grit his teeth and called out his bid. He had tossed out his complete wealth!
At this time, he was no longer able to raise the price a little at a time. If he raised the price by 100-200 billion at a time then his opponent might immediately surpass 5.5 trillion instead. If that happened then there would be no way for him to raise the price yet again. He could only bet everything on this last desperate gamble and hope that it would work!
After he called out this bidding price, he glared at Lin Ming, his eyes filling with a deep cold killing intent!
"Brat, I advise you not to go too far! If I'm not wrong then you do not have a fierce backer supporting you. Do you know what fate you will suffer after obtaining the Boundless World Pill? Many people will chase you to the ends of the world to kill you and take it! You will die without a burial! If you have a life to buy it then you won't have a life to use it! Even if you did, you would die later regardless of what happened!"
Lin Ming had intended to stand up and place another bid when he suddenly heard Zhong Wenshu's threat. He sneered, "How interesting! I've already attracted enough attention today, so what's the point in grabbing a bit more? This auction site has hundreds of thousands of people present. With such a great number of people, there are innumerable individuals that already have dark intentions towards me. If that's true, I might as well go all in and use this Boundless World Pill to strengthen myself as much as possible and obtain a good result in the First Martial Meeting. At that time, just who would still think of killing me?"
"Hahahahaha! What did you say? Unless I'm wrong, you only have a ninth stage Life Destruction cultivation and yet you still want to carve a little space for yourself in the First Martial Meeting. Who do you think you are? A young Empyrean or something? Keep on daydreaming, I'm about to die from laughter!"
Zhong Wenshu recklessly laughed. "If you stop now then I can protect you. But if you wish to continue fighting with me then I will have you suffer a fate worse than death!"
As Lin Ming heard Zhong Wenshu's words, he looked towards him with an unbelievable expression, as if he were watching a clown making of fool of himself. "This is the first time in my life hearing such imbecilic and dimwitted words. Seek your protection? Are you expecting me to deliver a piece of meat to you or something?"
As Lin Ming sent out this true essence sound transmission, he decisively stood up again. He locked his eyes onto Zhong Wenshu's murderous gaze and raised his jade slip, clearly shouting, "6 trillion!"
These words left the entire audience in an uproar!
6 trillion! That was simply insane! Such a crazy bidding scene left everyone thrilled and aghast! Just what background did this youth have!?
Lin Ming's words smashed into Zhong Wenshu like a wrecking ball. He felt his chest ache as he nearly vomited blood in anger!
He no longer had a chance!
"Good! Very good! Since that's the case, then you… can wait to be surrounded and killed by others!"
Zhong Wenshu threatened Lin Ming. But, the truth was that this wasn't a threat. Everything he said was a fact!
At this time, many great influences were ready to thoroughly investigate Lin Ming's status. If Lin Ming didn't have a background then he would undoubtedly become the target of everyone here. For him to speak such a price was simply far too flashy. Moreover, Lin Ming wasn't like the red bamboo hat woman; he didn't have the protection of a quasi-World King master.
"6 trillion! Is there anyone willing to bid higher?" Princess Honeylush said, her words coming out in panting gasps. Such a sum of money would even cripple a World King level Holy Land for some time! It was incredible to imagine that this amount would actually come from the hands of an unknown youth!