Chapter 92: Chapter 92: The Real Sky-High Price

The City Lord’s Mansion making a bid undoubtedly cast a strange atmosphere over the auction for the Foundation Strengthening Pill.

This was especially true because the man holding the paddle for the City Lord’s Mansion was a fat young man with a wicked smirk on his face.

Jiang Chen recognized him.

He stared at the fat young man.

The corner of his own mouth curled up.

’Wen Bufan.’

That’s right. The fat man was none other than Wen Bufan, son of Hanwu City’s Lord, Wen Quan.

If one were to name the number one wastrel in Hanwu City, it clearly wasn’t Jiang Chen, but this Wen Bufan.

Don’t be fooled by Wen Bufan’s portly appearance; he actually possessed an Eighth-Grade Martial Vein. His cultivation was nothing to scoff at either, having reached the Peak of the Warrior Fifth Heaven and on the verge of breaking through to the Warrior Sixth Heaven.

Furthermore, Wen was the royal surname of the Fire Sparrow Kingdom. Anyone in the kingdom with the surname Wen was related by blood to the royal family.

And Hanwu City was merely one of the cities under the Fire Sparrow Kingdom’s rule.

Thus, not only was Wen Bufan’s aptitude impressive, but he was also a kinsman of the Fire Sparrow Kingdom’s King.

The thought filled Jiang Chen with anticipation.

’With the City Lord’s Mansion getting involved, just how high a price will my Elixir fetch?’

"Damn it."

Seeing Wen Bufan raise his paddle—a bid from the City Lord’s Mansion—Bai Xiong slammed his hand hard against the armrest of his seat.

He was absolutely furious.

Bai Shu glanced fearfully at the City Lord’s son, Wen Bufan.

’That fat bastard.’

He seemed to have been bullied by the fat man before and was clearly intimidated by Wen Bufan.

He then looked to his father, Bai Xiong, who was clearly furious. He asked cautiously, "Dad, should we give up?"

"It wouldn’t be good to offend them."

By "them," he obviously meant the people from the City Lord’s Mansion.

Bai Xiong took a deep breath.

He sighed. "Forget it. We’ll give up. We truly can’t afford to offend the City Lord’s Mansion."

With that, he tossed the bidding paddle aside. Though they had been determined to obtain the Foundation Strengthening Pill, they had to be realistic about the situation.

The City Lord’s Mansion had a terrifying background. Even if he broke through to the Martial King realm, he wouldn’t dare to challenge them.

After much deliberation, his only choice was to give up.

Just like Bai Xiong, Ximen Gong discussed the matter with Chen Ran and then resolutely decided to withdraw from the bidding.

Bidding against the City Lord’s Mansion was undoubtedly suicidal.

They would be lucky if the City Lord’s Mansion didn’t come looking for trouble with them as it was.

The Bai and Ximen families weren’t the only ones to back down. Two other factions also weighed the pros and cons and decided to withdraw.

"Number twenty bids eighteen million. Going once..."

Murong Xiangming’s expression remained neutral as she began the count.

Seeing no other bidders, she continued to use provocative language to stir the crowd as she made the call.

But still, no one made a bid.

Wen Bufan was quite pleased. No one was competing with his City Lord’s Mansion. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

However, before he could celebrate for long, a paddle shot up in a corner.

"Number ninety-nine, bids nineteen million."

Murong Xiangming called out the new number.

Everyone looked over curiously.

’Who is that? Who would dare bid against the City Lord’s Mansion? Are they tired of living?’

But no one recognized the bidder, who didn’t seem to belong to any of Hanwu City’s local powers.

This was one of the groups that hadn’t backed down earlier.

Wen Bufan shot them a threatening glare.

However, they paid him no mind, clearly unconcerned about the City Lord’s Mansion.

Anyone who could so easily disregard the City Lord’s Mansion had to have a significant background.

Jiang Chen also understood the power dynamics of Hanwu City.

Besides the three great families and the City Lord’s Mansion, there were, of course, other hidden factions that simply kept a low profile.

He glanced over, feeling no particular stir.

As far as he was concerned, all that mattered was getting more money.

How they bid had nothing to do with him.

No matter who won the bid, he was the one getting paid in the end.

So, he simply watched in peace.

Seeing that his opponent wasn’t backing down, Wen Bufan, representing the City Lord’s Mansion, bristled.

With a ferocious look in his eyes, he raised his paddle again.

"Number twenty, bids twenty million."

The bidding increments were no longer in the hundreds of thousands, but in the millions.

The other party seemed very calm.

They looked completely self-assured.

"Number ninety-nine, bids twenty-two million."

What?

Everyone looked over again. The bidder was a middle-aged man with an extremely obscure aura; no one could discern his level of cultivation.

Yet he had made his bid with utter calm.

He had just raised the bid by two million without batting an eye.

Next to Wen Bufan, a middle-aged fat man turned his head to glance at the man who bid.

Then he turned back around and didn’t look again.

Wen Bufan said to the man beside him, "Dad, we have to fight him to the very end."

The man was none other than the City Lord of Hanwu City, Wen Quan.

Both father and son were heavyset men.

To think that Wen Quan himself had come for the Foundation Strengthening Pill.

However, even his personal presence hadn’t been enough to intimidate the room.

Someone was still bidding, disregarding the dignity of the City Lord’s Mansion.

Wen Quan nodded and said to his son, Wen Bufan, "Keep raising the bid until I tell you to stop."

"Until the other party gives up."

The auction had now effectively turned into a bidding war between the City Lord’s Mansion and the mysterious man.

The atmosphere was somewhat strange.

The price, meanwhile, had reached a staggering figure.

Finally, Wen Bufan raised his paddle again.

"Number twenty, bids twenty-three million."

The City Lord’s Mansion’s bidding remained steady, without a hint of impatience.

His opponent, however, was ruthless.

He raised his paddle almost immediately.

"Number ninety-nine, bids twenty-five million."

Another increase, and a jump of two million at that.

Keep in mind, the starting bid for the Foundation Strengthening Pill was five million. Now, a single bid increment was two million.

This showed just how heated the auction had become.

Wen Bufan glanced at his father. Seeing that he said nothing, Wen Bufan hesitated for a moment before placing another bid.

Another tense round of bidding ensued.

And the man slowly raised his paddle.

"Number ninety-nine, bids thirty million."

Finally, the auction was set ablaze. The Foundation Strengthening Pill had sold for a truly historic, unprecedentedly high price.

Faced with this unknown faction’s frantic bidding, Hanwu City’s Lord, Wen Quan, took a deep breath.

He said lightly to his son, Wen Bufan, "That’s enough. We’re out."

Wen Bufan was stunned. His father was finally giving up.

In truth, he had wanted to give up after the bid hit twenty-five million.

"Okay, Dad. I’m withdrawing."

Neither Wen Quan nor Wen Bufan was happy about it.

But they had no choice. They had to withdraw.

Their opponent’s determination to fight them to the bitter end demonstrated their confidence and immense wealth.

No matter how wealthy the City Lord’s Mansion was, their funds were not limitless.

With the City Lord’s Mansion’s withdrawal, the auction’s final, crowning treasure finally fell into the hands of the mysterious bidder.

’Heh, thirty million. That’s plenty.’

Jiang Chen was, without a doubt, the most relaxed person in the entire auction hall.

He watched with a wide grin, knowing that thirty million was about to land in his pocket.

Jiang Han reached out and patted Jiang Chen’s shoulder.

Both father and son were extremely satisfied with the final auction price.