Yang An!
That familiar figure was the same person defeated by Huang Xiaolong in the Yuwai Kingdom –Yang An.
He didn't expect the auction would attract Yang An from the Yuwai Kingdom. Since Yang An was there, wouldn't his Grandfather, Yang Dong, also be around?
Huang Xiaolong's eyes narrowed.
"Yang An?" At this point, Fei Hou also noticed Yang An inside the auction hall, and like Huang Xiaolong, he was surprised as well.
"So, that little brat is Yang An?" Marshal Haotian's eyes trailed Fei Hou, falling onto Yang An's figure. He might not have been there in the Yuwai Kingdom, but he received news about Huang Xiaolong defeating Yang An in the Yuwai Kingdom.
Fei Hou nodded: "That's the kid."
At this time, Yang An walked through the passageway for special guests, confirming Huang Xiaolong's prediction: Yang Dong indeed came because only Xiantian realm experts were eligible for a private room. Therefore, if Yang Dong wasn't around, Yang An wouldn't have access a private room.
People continued to enter the auction hall in droves, both large and small forces from neighboring kingdoms had made the journey.
The entire hall was a noisy racket.
Despite that, ever since they entered the auction hall, the chatterbox known as Huang Min had actually been silent, sitting down obediently as her big round eyes roamed around the ground floor of the auction hall as if looking for someone.
Seeing this, Huang Xiaolong smiled, "I say little girl, did you come to the auction not to buy things, but to look for someone?"
Originally, Huang Xiaolong spoke these words to tease Huang Min, but he didn't expect that Huang Min would blush and shoot him an angry stare, "Big brother, what are you saying? I came to the auction to buy things of course!"
Huang Xiaolong did not think he would guess correctly that his little sister was indeed looking for someone here.
"Then you tell me, which item from the auction is the one you want?" Huang Xiaolong's tone laced with a double entendre as he smiled sheepishly at his little sister.
Huang Min mumbled unintelligibly, yet after what seemed like half a day, no concrete answer came out from her. In the end, she tilted her head up in shy anger: "Anyhow, I came to bid for items!"
Huang Xiaolong shook his head with a faint, wry smile on his face.
Marshal Haotian and Fei Hou couldn't help letting out a tiny smile.
By this time, a sea of people had already crowded the huge auction all. Fortunately, the place was big with ten thousand seats prepared beforehand... however, each of them was filled. There were no empty seats left.
If the lower seats' situation was as such, one wouldn't even need to mention the very limited private rooms likely being fully booked early on.
A short while later, the entrance to the auction was closed, no longer allowing additional participants to enter because an old man in his seventies wearing an auctioneer's robe had already walked up onto the stage.
After the old man went up, he briefly introduced himself, stating that he was Thousand Treasures Auction House's high-grade auctioneer. In the Luo Tong Kingdom's Thousand Treasures Auction House, there were only two high-grade auctioneers. Of course, there were many early-grade and mid-grade ones too. At this time, the auction was being overseen by one of the high-grade auctioneers so the importance given to this particular auction was evident.
After introducing himself, he continued with the auction rules before finally declaring that the auction would begin.
The first item up for auction was a lump of Golden Crow Marrow.
Golden Crow Marrow was a crucial ingredient to refine a Grade Four Spirit Dan, and normal Golden Crow Marrow was only as big as an infant's fist, but the one being auctioned was the size of an adult's palm.
The starting price for it was a hundred thousand gold coins.
Usually, the first item auctioned would be the cheapest item of the event.
A hundred thousand gold coins!
Thinking of the ratio against the items being auctioned towards the end, the smaller forces felt their hearts tighten.
"One hundred and ten thousand!"
"One hundred and twenty thousand!"
In an instant, the bidding voices clamored below the stage.
And in the end, that palm-sized Golden Crow Marrow was won at one hundred thirty thousand gold coins.
Huang Xiaolong sat silently in the private room. Although Golden Crow Marrow was an important ingredient in refining pills, it was basically useless to him.
Subsequently, the second item on auction was a long sword named 'South Parting.'
According to the auctioneer's introduction, this South Parting long sword was forged from a ten thousand years old ice core and other rare metals. It was extremely sharp, but this was a secondary benefit. The main point was that the previous owner of this South Parting long sword, according to the auctioneer's explanation, was someone called Su Fei; a Xiantian expert of the Seventh Order.
One hundred years ago, this Su Fei was very well known in the surrounding kingdom, and the South Parting long sword went missing after he had fallen. It was found some time ago by the Thousand Treasures Auction House's people.
Huang Xiaolong had the Blades of Asura, thus, this level of weapon didn't enter his eye. But when Huang Min saw the South Parting long sword, her eyes were glued to it without blinking; it was obvious that she had taken a great liking to the sword.
"Big brother, can you?" Huang Min asked abashedly.
Huang Xiaolong watched the expression on his little sister's face, "You want to bid for this South Parting Sword?"
Huang Min nodded as she looked at her big brother-- even though she had some savings of her own, it was still far from enough to bid for the South Parting long sword.
"Two hundred thousand!" At this time, someone on the ground floor suddenly called out a bid.
The starting price for South Parting long sword was one hundred eighty thousand.
"Two hundred and ten thousand!" Another bidder raised the offer.
"Three hundred thousand!" Suddenly, Huang Xiaolong's voice came from the private room upstairs.
"Three hundred and ten thousand!" Following behind Huang Xiaolong, a voice sounded from a different room.
"Four hundred thousand!" Huang Xiaolong added with a calm expression.
Four hundred thousand!
The entire huge hall was shocked silent, including the other private room that made an offer.
In the end, the South Parting sword was bid down by Huang Xiaolong at four hundred thousand gold coins. When the people from the Thousand Treasures Auction House sent the sword to the private room, Huang Min's face bloomed and she became unwilling to put down the sword.
"Can you tell me now who you wanted to find by coming to the auction?" Watching her happy expression, Huang Xiaolong took the opportunity to ask again. The yearly profit from the Nine Tripod Commerce was abundant, and this four hundred gold coins was nothing but a single hair from nine oxen to Huang Xiaolong.
Huang Min honestly answered with a tinge of shyness: "I came to look for Guo Tai."
"Guo Tai?" Huang Xiaolong was puzzled. He then turned to Marshal Haotian and Fei Hou but both of them shook their heads, apparently, neither of them had heard of this name.
Huang Min's head bent so low that her nose almost touched her chest, and she said: "He is Guo Shiyuan's son."
"Guo Shiyuan!" Huang Xiaolong, Marshal Haotian, and Fei Hou were all surprised.
Guo Shiyuan was the branch president of Thousand Treasures Auction House in Luo Tong Kingdom's Royal City!
Huang Xiaolong shook his head wryly after getting over the small surprise. So, the reason his little sister came to the auction was all for her sweetheart!
But, thinking about it, after this year, his little sister would be sixteen, and in another two years' time it would be around the age for her to get married.
"Do Mom and Dad know about this?" Huang Xiaolong asked.
"Not yet." Huang Min was awkward and shy as she answered.
"Then, find some time and invite Guo Tai to Tianxuan Mansion so Mom, Dad, and I can take a look at him." Huang Xiaolong smiled as he said.
Seeing that Huang Xiaolong did not object, she was delighted and nodded vigorously: "Okay!"
Below, the auction went on, and more than a dozen items were sold.
"Next, we auction a wonderful world treasure: Geocentric Esne!" This time, the auctioneer on the stage raised his voice a notch higher.
Geocentric Esne!
Instantly, a commotion swept through the many forces present in the auction hall. It could be said that most of them came for this one item.