Chapter 90: Chapter 90: Sky-high Starting Bid

"The Foundation Strengthening Pill is the grand finale item of this Treasure Elephant Pavilion auction."

"As you all should know, this Foundation Strengthening Pill can allow an expert at the peak of Martial Master Cultivation to easily break through to the Martial King Realm."

BOOM!

With every word Murong Xiangming spoke, the minds of the crowd in the auction hall seemed to reel.

Their breathing grew heavy and ragged.

This Foundation Strengthening Pill was simply too astonishing.

"And the Foundation Strengthening Pill we are auctioning today is, in fact, a Purple Gold Quality Level elixir."

Murong Xiangming took out a strange mirror.

Her smile was utterly captivating.

"This mirror is called a Light-Revealing Mirror. It is a magical mirror used to display the quality and color of an elixir."

"Everyone, please look."

Murong Xiangming then stood the Light-Revealing Mirror up next to the Foundation Strengthening Pill.

At that moment, SWISH!

Amidst a boundless golden glow, a strip of purple light suddenly appeared in the Light-Revealing Mirror.

Although many had never used a Light-Revealing Mirror, they knew it could more clearly display the composition of an elixir’s quality.

After all, elixirs have various qualities. A single pill can often contain not only Black Iron Quality components but also Silver Quality and even Gold Quality components.

And of course, that includes Purple Gold Quality components.

The Light-Revealing Mirror could display all of these components.

Right now, under the Light-Revealing Mirror, the Foundation Strengthening Pill on the stage showed ninety percent Gold Quality, while the remaining ten percent displayed a purple light.

That was the Purple Gold Quality.

In other words, this Foundation Strengthening Pill had a Purple Gold Quality content of ten percent.

Even if this pill had only one percent Purple Gold Quality content, it would still be considered a Purple Gold Quality Elixir.

Let alone a full ten percent.

That was terrifying.

BUZZ...

Seeing this, everyone present was utterly stunned.

"It’s incredible."

"I’ve finally seen a Purple Gold Quality Elixir in my lifetime! I can die without regrets."

"Whose masterpiece is this? The Alchemist who could refine such an elixir must be an absolute legend."

"My God, I have to buy it. With just one Foundation Strengthening Pill, my Cultivation can break through to the Martial King Realm."

Wave after wave of shock washed over the crowd, all because of the elixir.

Murong Xiangming paused for a moment before speaking gracefully once more.

"To highlight the value of these Foundation Strengthening Pills, all ten will be auctioned together as a single lot."

What?

Hearing Murong Xiangming’s words, many people were dumbfounded.

Then they shot to their feet in anger.

"Auctioning all ten together?"

"Isn’t your Treasure Elephant Pavilion going a little too far?"

"Are you kidding me? If you auction them all together, what chance do I have?"

Some people had come here planning to risk their entire fortunes just to bid on a single Foundation Strengthening Pill, thinking it would be worth it.

But now, Murong Xiangming’s announcement instantly shut the door on anyone harboring such wishful thinking.

A single Foundation Strengthening Pill was enough to make some already wealthy individuals bankrupt themselves.

Auctioning ten at once meant that the magnates who could only afford one were now left completely without hope.

Naturally, they were furious.

"The Treasure Elephant Pavilion must give us an explanation!"

"Dammit, I won’t accept this! You have to auction them one by one, or I won’t have a chance!"

Someone roared furiously at Murong Xiangming on the stage.

Their eyes blazed with fire.

They were trying to force the Treasure Elephant Pavilion to change its decision and auction the Foundation Strengthening Pills one by one.

However, this move by the Treasure Elephant Pavilion only made the truly wealthy tycoons even more excited.

This included two of Hanwu City’s great families: the Bai Family and the Ximen Family.

Of course, a number of other wealthy upstarts were also overjoyed.

For them, auctioning ten at once meant fewer competitors, allowing them to focus on the bidding.

Seeing the scene descend into chaos, Murong Xiangming remained elegant and composed.

"Please, everyone, calm down. This is the Treasure Elephant Pavilion’s rule, and it cannot be changed."

She tried to placate the troublemakers.

Some of the rich tycoons were also displeased with the protestors.

"What are you shouting about? Acting like a pack of mad dogs. If you don’t have the money, then get lost!" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"You’re just embarrassing yourselves. This isn’t the kind of place you bumpkins should be in, anyway."

Even Ximen Gong looked down on the loudmouths with contempt.

He had the smug look of a superior, nouveau-riche tycoon.

However, the situation remained on the verge of spiraling out of control.

Just then, a man in a gray robe suddenly appeared on the stage.

His eyes swept across the auction hall.

He let out a cold snort.

"Hmph!"

That single snort exploded through the hall like a clap of thunder.

After that cold snort, the protestors froze one by one, as if struck by lightning.

They stopped their clamoring in terror.

One by one, they looked up at the gray-robed man standing beside Murong Xiangming on the stage.

The man appeared to be middle-aged and was bald, but he had a somewhat frail-looking frame.

HISS...

Countless people, upon seeing this man, looked as if they had seen a ghost and scrambled back to their seats.

They didn’t dare to breathe too loudly.

"Master Tian Mu."

"It’s him, that monster."

"The number one expert in Hanwu City, a Martial King powerhouse."

That’s right. The bald man who had appeared was the Pavilion Master of the Treasure Elephant Pavilion in Hanwu City.

As the strongest martial expert in Hanwu City, his fearsome reputation was well-known.

His mere appearance was enough to make everyone shudder in alarm, not daring to act rashly.

Master Tian Mu scanned the room, and no one made another sound.

Only then did he nod at Murong Xiangming.

"Alright, Miss Murong, you may continue."

With that, he automatically took a step back and stood to the side.

With Master Tian Mu personally overseeing the event, even a fool knew it was safer to keep their mouth shut.

The clamor was gone, replaced by silence.

Murong Xiangming smiled again. "Auctioning ten Foundation Strengthening Pills together was a decision our Treasure Elephant Pavilion made to emphasize their value."

"The rule remains unchanged: the highest bidder wins."

"Now, let the auction begin! The starting bid is five million."

Following her announcement, a Copper Bell rang out, and the auction officially began.

When Murong Xiangming called out the starting bid of five million, some people nearly coughed up blood.

"Damn it, a starting bid of five million? Are they trying to kill us?"

"The Treasure Elephant Pavilion is trying to rip us off!"

"Forget it. I can only watch and sigh in despair."

A starting bid of five million set a new historical record for the Treasure Elephant Pavilion.

Many treasures, even at their final auction price, would not exceed five million.

But now, the ten Foundation Strengthening Pills had a starting bid of five million right off the bat.

The sound of sharp intakes of breath could be heard throughout the hall.

AHEM...

Jiang Chen had been sitting there quietly, but when he heard the starting bid, he nearly choked.

He quickly let out a few coughs.

He was a bit dazed.

He looked at Murong Xiangming on the stage.

His face was full of confusion.

’Why start with such a high bid right from the beginning?’

’Logically, for this kind of auction, the starting bid shouldn’t be this high. After all, you need to leave room for people to raise the price.’

’But the Treasure Elephant Pavilion started directly at five million.’

Jiang Chen couldn’t understand the Treasure Elephant Pavilion’s reasoning.

Still, this was more advantageous for him. The higher the starting bid, the higher the final transaction price would be.

And the more he would earn.