Chapter 367
1 million!
"150,000!"
A slightly arrogant voice rang out, coming from the direction of another VIP box; the voice sounded somewhat familiar.
"It's Prince Xuexing."
Dugu Yan spoke to Lin Xia in a low voice, her tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible disgust.
"This guy... humph."
The price was quickly pushed up to 200,000 gold soul coins.
The bidding slowed down, and the price had exceeded many people's expectations.
The host, with a satisfied smile on his face, was preparing for the final excitement and countdown.
Just then, Lin Xia finally moved.
He didn't pick up the bidding paddle on the table, nor did he even glance at the audience.
He merely turned his head slightly, facing the middle-aged man standing in the corner of the private room, dressed in the attire of a high-ranking auction house manager, and spoke clearly in a calm, even tone:
One million.
The sound wasn't loud, but it was like throwing a block of ice into a pot of boiling oil.
The entire bustling auction hall instantly fell into a deathly silence!
You could hear a pin drop!
All eyes, filled with utter shock, bewilderment, and disbelief, were simultaneously drawn, as if by invisible threads, to the ever-silent VIP box on the top floor!
Although the people inside could not be seen, the numbers that were calmly announced resounded in everyone's ears like thunder!
The host's professional smile froze completely, his mouth slightly open as if an invisible hand had gripped his throat, and the small hammer in his hand hovered in mid-air, forgetting to fall.
The Xuexing Prince's private room, which had just shouted out 200,000, fell silent instantly.
One million gold soul coins!
Just to buy a catgirl pet?!
This is no longer a premium, this is a complete crushing defeat!
It is a blatant trampling of rules by wealth!
It was a silent yet deafening declaration!
Inside the private room, Dugu Yan, Yu Tianheng, and the others were all stunned. Although they knew Lin Xia was rich, they were astonished that she would so casually spend a million just to buy that catwoman...
Ye Lingling looked at Lin Xia with a complex and inquisitive gaze.
Zhu Zhuqing's tense body trembled slightly. Looking at Lin Xia's cold cat-like eyes, for the first time, his calm profile was clearly reflected. The overwhelming killing intent was replaced by an indescribable emotion mixed with astonishment and a trace of faint hope.
The middle-aged steward standing in the corner reacted quickly. After a brief moment of shock, his face instantly filled with an unprecedented, almost fawning, respectful smile. He bowed deeply to Lin Xia, his voice trembling with excitement.
"A distinguished guest has offered one million gold soul coins! Is there...is there anything higher?"
His gaze swept across the entire room, but his tone was already firm: this was impossible to repeat.
The silence lasted for a full ten seconds.
The host finally found his voice, and with an almost cracking excitement and disbelief, he roared:
"One...one million gold soul coins! The top-floor VIP box number one has bid one million gold soul coins! Once!"
His voice was trembling.
The audience was silent.
All the previous bidders fell silent. The slick-haired fat man and the sinister old man shrank back, not daring to make any further moves. A hush fell over Prince Xuexing's private box.
"One million gold soul coins! Twice!"
The host's voice became even louder.
Still no one answered.
One million—this number was like an insurmountable chasm, completely crushing all potential competitors.
"One million gold soul coins! Three times!!!"
The host used all his strength to bring down the small hammer in his hand!
"Sold!!!" *Thump!*
The gavel fell, and the dust settled.
The enormous iron cage was slowly pushed off the auction platform.
The catwoman, curled up in the cage, seemed to feel the blow that would decide her fate. Her body trembled violently, and she raised her head blankly. Her heterochromatic eyes, one blue and one green, held extreme fear and a faint glimmer of disbelief as she subconsciously looked towards the mysterious private room on the top floor.
Inside the private box, Lin Xia remained oblivious to the huge commotion he had caused in the audience.
He slowly stood up, walked to the huge one-way glass, and his gaze pierced through the glass, landing precisely on those heterochromatic eyes filled with fear and confusion.
His gaze remained calm, but the cold indifference seemed to have dissipated somewhat.
Unbeknownst to anyone, an extremely subtle, gentle yet powerful spiritual force, like an invisible warm current, silently pierced through space, gently brushing against the trembling soul of the girl in the cage, conveying a simple yet sufficient thought to sustain her life.
It's over. We're safe now.
Zhu Zhuqing keenly noticed the subtle change in Lin Xia's eyes in that instant, as well as the almost imperceptible fluctuation of mental energy in the air.
Her tightly clenched fist finally slowly loosened.
The brief commotion was quickly quelled by the auctioneer's professional excitement, and the auction continued.
The following items were a diverse array.
Rare medicinal herbs from ancient times, magnificent weapons inlaid with soul beast crystal cores, fragments of lost ancient books, and civilian soul tools with various functions...
Lin Xia's mental energy, like invisible tentacles, swept over each item in the auction without leaving a trace.
Occasionally, his gaze would pause slightly.
"The next item up for auction is a thousand-year-old ice marrow jade heart from the depths of the far north!"
The auctioneer's voice was inflammatory.
"This item contains pure icy power, which is not only highly beneficial to the cultivation of ice-attribute soul masters, but also... Starting bid: 50,000 gold soul coins!"
Lin Xia lightly tapped the armrest of the sofa with her fingertip. The middle-aged manager standing in the corner immediately understood and respectfully raised his sign.
"VIP number one on the top floor, 60,000!"
"Seventy thousand!"
Someone is trying to compete.
"Eighty thousand."
Lin Xia's voice remained calm. The manager raised the sign again.
After several small increases, the price finally settled at 95,000 gold soul coins.
Lin Xia successfully took the picture.
This piece of Ice Marrow Jade Heart has pure energy. Although it is far inferior to the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow he saw in the Star Luo Empire's secret vault, it is still suitable as an occasional snack for Bankiras or as an auxiliary material for some ice-type soul tools in the future.
Then, in the same unassuming manner, he photographed a fist-sized piece of star-sinking meteorite iron, which was completely black but faintly shimmered with starlight.
This ore contains many impurities, but its core contains a trace of pure stellar power, and its outer layer is wrapped in strange time energy. It is somewhat similar to the deep-sea cold star iron that he had noticed in the exhibition room before, but of higher quality.
Its powerful spiritual force had already penetrated its surface and locked onto its core essence.
Bangiras transmitted a faint longing through his mental link; clearly, the ore held some attraction for him.
He wasn't deliberately buying things; he was just doing it on a whim.
These materials are merely icing on the cake compared to Gengjin City's vast inventory, but since we've come across something interesting, there's no harm in taking a picture of it.
For him, wealth had long lost its concrete meaning; it was merely a tool to achieve his goals.
The atmosphere at the auction continued to heat up, stimulated by Lin Xia's occasional bids.
Finally, an item that stirred the testosterone levels of the entire auction house was brought up for auction. (End of Chapter)