*skii*
The noise came out of the spring mechanism in the doors.
"Now, now, I don't need you guys to tell me how awesome I look," Neon said as he came out of the changing room, dazzling and sparkling.
It wasn't something very different from what he usually wears, at least not in the color scheme. It was a black suit and boots with gold embroidery.
Except he was not wearing anything to obscure his face. He usually has his face partially hidden by a hat or a mask.
Everyone just stared at him, awestruck and dazzled by his beauty. It was suffocating to breathe the same air as him.
"Oh mighty, now we know why you hide your face," the dragon-slayer sighed with his usual soft and gentle tone.
One can wonder if he really is a dragon slayer, given his pretty and delicate physique, but it's a verified fact.
Cao Tang felt very out of place wearing such petty commoner clothes as he was.
The aura these guys gave off was monstrous. They had such an established presence that Tang could be considered invisible.
It was not as if Cao Tang was underdressed; he was wearing a traditional robe forged with a hydra's hide. He could not believe that its radiance was killed off by regular cotton and silk and gold.
What these guys had created was a fashion statement, something a person of Murim could not possibly comprehend. Only ladies care about clothes, and they majorly care because the males care about how they looked.
All Cao Tang knew was that he wanted to wear something like what they were wearing. In fact, it was not just him. Everyone around who laid their eyes on them wanted to be them.
"Hmm, you are ruining the atmosphere with your shit," the seer said with disdain.
"They are fuckin' hydran," Cao Tang wanted to say but could not.
"Go get that one in the showcase over there," the seer pointed.
"Cao Tang ran to put those on and soon locked himself in a dressing room.
Cao Tang almost broke the door when he opened it. He was done changing in 5 seconds.
It looked almost identical to what Liu usually wears, just instead, it had a sky-blue tone with gold lines running through the entirety of it.
Gold is one of the less valuable minerals in Murim due to the existence of stuff such as Heaven's Jade and Demonic Pine and the skin of various mythical monsters. The only place it is used is as currency, which was soon and surely replaced with paper and bronze. Making it extremely easy to acquire and hoard for the seer.
The Black Mamba were not only creating new products, they were making damn sure they are the only ones who possibly could.
The five stood in front of the curtain for the grand entrance they knew they were going to make.
And surely they did. They tore apart all the eyes in the hall on entry.
The inside was unlike the usual auction houses one sees in Murim. It was a bit chilled inside, red carpet all over. There were a flight of stairs descending right as soon as one entered and two paths right and left from the same point.
Any person entering gets three paths: left, right, and down.
Beside the steps were seats that were fairly full, and on the right and left were another flight of semicircular stairs attached to the wall ascending to a higher floor where surely VIPs were seated.
Down at the bottom was a stage. A very normal looking one.
The entire hall was dark enough for one to be unable to see color but still had plenty of clarity and visibility. At least enough for one to tell faces apart. The only well-lit place was the stage.
The Seer and Cao Tang went up while the other three went down.
The Seer seated himself somewhere on the hind area so that he only needed to look ahead and not sideways for the show.
"This place is more akin to a grand theater than an auction house," Cao Tang commented.
It was cold enough without the people glaring at them all the way until they reached the upper floor.
The dragon slayer and Ms. Hao went behind the stage while Ai Zu remained, staring at the wristwatch that the seer had given him.
He fixed his tie and throat, picked up, and placed a rather odd device which was most certainly a communication device.
The tension in the room was high as all were completely silent. All eyes were on An Zu, staring intently for him to just start speaking.
At that moment, Ai Zu could have talked random nonsense, and it would have resulted in screams of excitement.
People were getting impatient, but yet he still stood there waiting for a command.
"Ready? Begin," the seer said very lightly. It was barely audible to even Cao Tang.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," Ai Zu began, and it sent shivers down every single spine there.
"My name is Ai Zu, an elder of the Ai family. But right now, I am here merely as an enthusiast and nothing more. I will be your host for tonight." He spoke. He didn't need to worry about being loud or being audible. The hall was designed perfectly with the acoustics in mind.
"Now, I am sure you went through the catalog of what things we were going to put up for auction, and so did I. But after I did as well, and once I did, I went and told the head of Black Mamba, 'Isn't this our first day? Shouldn't we do something exciting for our dear customers?' And, well, he agreed, and therefore, tonight, my friends, you can expect a lot of unexpected." Ai Zu was a speaker. He was obviously following pointers that the seer had given him.
Cao Tang knew that the voice might be Ai Zu's, but the brain was Neons.
The entire hall went wild with pure and sheer excitement for all the amazing and mysterious articles that might be popping up.
"And to top it off, I told him why not start with one of those articles in the first place." His changing tone and confidence, the show and air he was putting up, were utterly impeccable.
Ai Zu was a talented martial artist, but he was turning out to be an even better host.
With a snap of his fingers, entered Ms. Hao, looking more beautiful than ever. People would come here and buy random stuff just to be able to spend a few seconds with her while she does not cover her face.
"First up, we have the Exploding Fire Turtles Destructive Shells Technique," Ai Zu yelled as he pulled the cloth off the tray Ms. Hao had brought onto the stage.
There, on a glass stand, it lay in all its glory.
The entire hall burst open with madness, unable to believe their eyes.
"Yes, that very technique you guys are thinking about, and we start the bid at the paltry price of a hundred thousand qing," he continued.
And the price was indeed paltry for a legendary technique of the gods.
Normally, this would be a steal for the people, and the house would be at a loss. But everyone gathered here was absolutely rich and greedy.
"1 million."
"4 million."
"40 million."
"80 million."
There was no holding them. They climbed and crushed and annihilated each other like crazy.
Everyone wanted a piece of it, and only one would have it.
There was no way this thing that is worth at least 500 million was going to be sold for anything less than 700 million. Purely because of the nature of the people in Murim.
The seer sat in his high seat, smiling and enjoying the show.
"Monster," Cao Tang murmured.
All the while, people continued to bid.
"180."
"360."
"640."
"980."
"And sold," Ai Zu announced.
"Sold at 980 million."
"Winner, please collect it after the auction."
There was a minute of silence, and people realized that it was merely the first item that was sold and not even the best one.