As Draco settled into his opulent hotel suite at the Star Pavilion, his eyes roamed over the intricate decorations and luxurious furnishings. He couldn't help but smirk with satisfaction.
There were special lamps that glowed brightly, with spirit stones in their base, hanging in the corners of the room. These lamps that resembled modern light fixtures surprised him, he didn't see them anywhere back at the old sect ruins.
He then walked to the balcony, taking in the sights, as he marveled at the view. The bustling streets of Clear Jade City below, are a testament to the city's grandeur.
Old Jiang and Old Zhou sat in a corner and began to cultivate. Draco too sat in a lotus position and began to cultivate.
Three hours later, Arthur's voice chimed in his ear, "Hey, the auction may begin soon, people are starting to gather. Head there soon."
As Draco stood up and headed out of the room, without needing a prompt Old Jiang and Old Zhou stood up and began to follow him.
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15 minutes later, at the entrance of the Jade Pavilion auction house, the long queue of people began to start moving as the admission into the auction house began.
Draco walked past the line and upon showing his purple token, he and his cohort were specially escorted to a beautiful room on the top floor, overseeing the stage and the other tiers of seating down below.
The auction house was packed to the brim 20 minutes later.
A sharply dressed man stepped onto the stage, as the whispers and noises died down and silence returned to the auction house, the man introduced himself, "As some of you may know, My name is Li Wei, the auctioneer of the Jade Pavilion auction house..."
As the elaboration of the history and reputation of the Jade Pavilion continued, Draco scanned the various faces on the topmost floor and then continued to look at the seats below.
'I don't see a lot of young masters here, what a pity!... Most of them look like Elders or Sect Masters... I hope I get to hear some cliche dialogues about giving face...' Draco chuckled as he pondered.
5 minutes later, the auctioneer ended the speech as he concluded that today's auction was a prelude to the upcoming Southwestern sect competition and thanked everyone for attending.
"Today's first item is a pill called the Crouching Tiger Pill; developed by the Azure Alchemy Pavilion, it's an improved version of Tiger Pill, this version of the pill helps recover 30 percent more spiritual energy and could be fully absorbed in 2 minutes; that's 5 times faster than the Tiger pill.
"It will be available for general sale five months later, but the initial production run was set to be auctioned on the eve of the intersect competition. Pills will be auctioned in batches of 1000, with a total of 20 batches. Bidding starts at 1 Million Spirit stones per batch."
The large sects eyed these pills covetously, with the help of these pills their disciples would have a major advantage in the realm trials stage of the competition. Even if the other sects fielded their most talented disciples, with access to these pills it would become a battle of attrition and endurance. Though they would have to shell out some money, it would be really worthwhile.
Immediately, a bid of 3 Million Spirit stones was called from the room beside Draco's. Hearing this voice Old Jiang and Old Zhou, surprised, started to grit their teeth in anger. Old Jiang telepathically conveyed a message to Draco.
Draco turned to look at Old Jiang, who was seething with anger.
Recalling his memories of how to communicate using spiritual energy, he replied to both Old Jiang and Old Zhou.
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Using his communicator, he messaged Arthur, 'Need more Spirit Crystals, have them ready.'
A moment later, Arthur's voice echoed in his mind, "I saw what transpired, no need to hold back, the next batch will be ready briefly, bid to your heart's content. And just a reminder I could continuously monitor you with the help of the Neuro Module; I could perceive your thoughts, no need to contact me while in the middle of doing things. All you need to do is think about it and I'll get it done."
Draco had a smile on his face.
'That's awesome!'
Many of the interested parties recognized the voice for the bid and remained silent; after all, it was the Celestial Tyranny Sect; they had to give them face.
Draco called his bid, "5 Million Spirit stones."
Draco's loud and clear voice echoed in the large hall. Everyone looked at the room from where the voice came, wanting to mock the occupants for being dumb enough to compete with the Celestial Tyranny Sect.
However, the scene of an extremely tall young man, with the most dominating physique they have ever seen, knocked some sense into them. Behaving like obedient children, they averted the gaze of this Titan who was looking at them from up top, as if looking at insignificant ants.
After a brief pause, during which Zhang Qiang tried to probe the occupants of the room next to his, he called a bid, "7 Million Spirit stones."
A smile appeared on Draco's face. "15 Million Spirit stones."
It was only the first batch and yet the price has skyrocketed to 15 Million. Everyone in the auction house was flabbergasted at the jump from 7 to 15 Million. They concluded that the hulking young man belonged to a powerful hidden sect, who didn't know or didn't care about the Celestial Tyranny Sect.
Having come to the same conclusion, Zhang Qiang stopped bidding, not wanting to enter a senseless bidding war.
"15 Million Spirit stones, going once... twice... thrice. Sold!
"Bids for the second batch begin now."
Before anyone could respond, the young man called a bid again, "15 Million."
Zhang Qiang frowned, he tried to probe again, but could only faintly sense the cultivation of the two men standing behind the young man. Surprisingly, they were Origin Sage cultivators, but what's even stranger was the young man's cultivation couldn't be sensed at all. He was like a bottomless abyss, mysterious and deeply hidden.
The auctioneer had a smile on his face. 'This auction will be interesting!' He thought.
After a long silence, the auctioneer loudly spoke, "Sold!"
"Third Batch..."
Before the auctioneer could even say begin, several bids were called. This time neither the young man nor Zhang Qiang called any bids.
It was sold at 6 Million Spirit stones to the Illusory Moon Sect, another heavyweight within the Southwestern Domain.
Subsequently, the auctioneer spoke quickly, afraid of being cut off, "Fourth Batch, Begin."
As Zhang Qiang wanted to call a bid, Draco called a bid again, "15 Million Spirit stones."
This time, Zhang Qiang didn't give up, he was now angry and confused. Wanting to settle this in a single call, he called, "25 Million Spirit stones."
His sect, the Celestial Tyranny Sect didn't lack for money. If it was a competition for wealth, he was sure he could drown his opponent in spirit stones if need be.
Draco wasn't flustered, he responded with a call, "50 Million Spirit stones." With his hands clasped behind his back, he spoke in a solemn voice, "This Young Master has heard of the Tyrannical ways of you and your sect. Being Tyrannical isn't wrong in itself, this is a world of the strong after all, but unfortunately for your Celestial Tyranny Sect, this Young Master has decided to oppose you. Zhang Qiang, be prepared to leave empty-handed."
The auction house became extremely quiet.
The loud sound of a table breaking could be heard from the room beside Draco.
The auctioneer was displeased at this, he didn't care if Zhang Qiang was from the Celestial Tyranny Sect. He wanted to remind him to behave himself when the voice of the young man interrupted his thoughts.
"Zhang Qiang, this isn't your Celestial Tyranny Sect to do as you please. You're merely an ant at the Boundary Sage level.
"Believe me when I say I can slap you to death with a wave of my hand. Settle down, or you will have to be carried back as ashes in an urn."
The young man's aura and his cold voice were a potent combination, sending chills down everyone's spine. They all had the same thought.
'Who did the Celestial Tyranny Sect offend... They seem to have kicked an iron plate.'
Draco's cold voice brought back Zhang Qiang's sanity.
The young man's imposing physique and extraordinary bearing gave credence to his words. Add to that, Zhang Qiang couldn't sense the young man's cultivation, this meant he either had a higher cultivation than him or had a Heavenly-grade Concealment Artifact.
Zhang Qiang calmed down, with a hint of displeasure in his voice, he asked "May I know who this Young Master is and how I and my sect have offended you."
Draco's non-response angered Zhang Qiang further, but he held back and sat down in his seat.
The auctioneer wasn't a simple man, he was a powerful Boundary Sage and was one of the ten council members of the Clear Jade City Council.
Even with his powerful cultivation and the Heavenly-grade detection Artifact he wore as an amulet, he couldn't detect the young man's cultivation. This greatly surprised him, this meant the young man's cultivation surpassed his own and he also has a peak Heavenly-grade Concealment Artifact.
Using his spiritual sense, he telepathically sent instructions to his underlings, asking them to investigate the young man immediately.
After this short pause, the auctioneer spoke in the same enthusiastic voice as before, "Sold! Congratulations to the Young Master!" He looked at Draco and slightly nodded.
Some among the audience caught this act of the auctioneer. They knew the auctioneer was a powerful cultivator and was involved with the Clear Jade City Council. Not only did he not reprimand the young man for his provocation, he even nodded at the young man, seemingly acknowledging him with respect. This shocked many of the Elders and Sect Masters of the Large sects, who knew of Li Wei's status.
Both Draco and Zhang Qiang didn't bid in the rounds that followed. When the auctioneer announced the final batch of the Crouching Tiger Pill, Zhang Qiang immediately called a bid for 80 Million.
Zhang Qiang previously instructed the head of a clan they were in alliance with, to bid for the pills and has successfully acquired them.
In the final round, he wanted to vent his anger by goading the arrogant young man into purchasing the pills at an astronomical price, ensuring less trouble when acquiring the items that were to be auctioned next.
But even after a long anticipatory silence, Draco didn't bid for the pills. He wore a mocking smile on his face and scoffed at Zhang Qiang's stupidity.
The audience, including the auctioneer, understood that Zhang Qiang had been played.
"Sold! Congratulations to the Celestial Tyranny Sect for winning the final batch of the Crouching Tiger Pill." The auctioneer announced in a hurry.
Zhang Qiang nearly fainted in anger, even if his sect was rich, paying 80 Million for a mere 1000 energy recovery pills was nothing short of insanity.
"Let's take a short break, the auction will be resumed shortly." The auctioneer announced and got off the stage, heading to the backroom.
~~~