Chapter 425: Chapter 425: Shot in the Foot
This turn of events was so sudden that everyone present was instantly stunned.
What?
’Does this mean the Yuan family is giving up on the Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill?’
’What’s going on?’
For a moment, everyone was dumbfounded, their minds completely blank.
But the most dumbfounded of all was the Patriarch of the Chen family.
He had already received his orders. He could abandon the auction as soon as the Yuan family made one more bid. He never expected the Yuan family to give up at this critical moment.
’I heard the Yuan family’s Supreme Elder, Yuan Zhen, is still suffering from severe injuries. They’re at their wits’ end over the Winged Fire Beast’s fire poison.’
’A Supreme Elder at the Martial King Level is worth it, not just for 160,000, but even for 200,000 Lower Grade Profound Stones.’
’Could it be that the Yuan family doesn’t want to save Yuan Zhen?’
If that’s the case...
At this thought, the Patriarch of the Chen family broke out in a cold sweat.
At this moment, the Yuan family’s Patriarch, Yuan Fei, grew relaxed. He smiled faintly and said, "Patriarch Chen, what do you think? Am I not a good sport? I know you’re determined to get this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill, so I’ve reluctantly bowed out. I suggest you get your Lower Grade Profound Stones ready and happily take this Pill home. Otherwise, the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion doesn’t play games."
"Patriarch Qin Feng, what do we do now?" the Chen Patriarch hastily asked via voice transmission.
Bidding only what you can afford has always been the rule at the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion.
No one dared to violate this rule, not even the royal family of the Sky Empire.
Qin Feng was also a bit dumbfounded, but he was exceptionally shrewd. After a moment of thought, he immediately said, "Patriarch Chen, don’t be nervous. The Yuan family is just playing hard to get. Their Supreme Elder, Yuan Zhen, is suffering from the Winged Fire Beast’s fire poison. He can’t be cured without the Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill. Do you really think they’ll give up? Trust me, they’ll surely continue bidding in a moment. When they do, you just have to give up immediately."
The Chen family’s Patriarch felt slightly more at ease after hearing Qin Feng’s words.
But as he watched the auctioneer’s gavel strike twice, with the third and final strike about to fall, the Yuan family’s private room remained utterly still. The Chen family’s Patriarch could no longer remain seated.
’One hundred and sixty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones... Even if we sold off the entire Chen family, we wouldn’t have that much!’
Qin Feng couldn’t remain seated either. ’Did the Yuan family really give up?’
’This Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill came from my Qin family. One pill is normally worth only thirty or forty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones, but I raised the price to 160,000. After the auction house takes its cut, we’ll lose one hundred thirty to one hundred forty thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones in this scheme!’
The Qin family had already suffered a huge loss during the bidding for the Heaven-Burning Fire Skill. If they now had to eat the cost of this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill as well...
They would lose a total of 300,000 Lower Grade Profound Stones in this auction. Such a loss would be a crippling blow, enough to leave even a major power like the Qin family reeling.
Qin Feng could no longer stay seated. His face ashen, he sneered, "Patriarch Yuan, I hear your Supreme Elder, Yuan Zhen, is suffering from the Winged Fire Beast’s poison and can barely hold on. How is it that you dare not raise the price when this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill is only at 160,000? It seems you don’t care much for your Supreme Elder, do you? You’re really quite the Patriarch."
Qin Feng’s tone was thick with resentment.
But the Yuan Patriarch burst out laughing. "Patriarch Qin, I knew you’d pull a stunt like this. A mere Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill? As if my Yuan family would give it a second glance. I’ll be honest with you: my family’s Elder Yuan Zhen’s injuries healed long ago. I was just bidding to play along with you. It’s a pity you’re not too bright, Patriarch Qin, having your own lapdog keep raising the price. Now you’re stuck with it, aren’t you? Did you think I didn’t know this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill came from your Qin family?"
Since the Yuan Patriarch had decided to withdraw, he was going to do it with as much flair as possible.
His words sent the entire venue into an uproar.
Many had been completely baffled by the frantic bidding war between the Yuan and Chen families. Now, it all suddenly made sense. The two sides had been bidding so crazily because Supreme Elder Yuan Zhen had been afflicted with fire poison.
Unfortunately for the Qin family, who had clearly been trying to swindle the Yuan family, it looked like they had been hoisted by their own petard.
This brilliant "face-slapping" moment had everyone who understood what just happened exclaiming in delight.
’The Yuan Patriarch is incredible! His Supreme Elder’s injuries were already healed, yet he deliberately bid like a madman, acting as if he’d stop at nothing to get the pill. He must have been planning to screw over the Qin family all along.’
Qin Feng was stunned.
But he recovered in an instant and sneered, "Patriarch Yuan, don’t try to bluff your way out of this. I know perfectly well whether your Supreme Elder’s injuries have healed or not. Besides, this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill didn’t come from the Qin family."
At this point, Qin Feng wouldn’t admit it even if it killed him. He strongly suspected Yuan Fei was just bluffing.
"Hahaha!" Patriarch Yuan Fei couldn’t help but roar with laughter. "Patriarch Qin, stop joking. I know perfectly well that it came from your family. Your Qin family is truly despicable, swapping out the Luoxin Fruit and Alfalfa Liquid in this Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill for Dolan Fruit and True Injury Water. Did you really think I was completely in the dark?"
What?
’How does he know the ingredients in the Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill were swapped?’
In that instant, Qin Feng felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. His sharp gaze shot toward the other elders in the private room.
’Only a few core elders of the Qin family knew about this. It’s impossible for the information to have been leaked.’
The elders, met with Qin Feng’s gaze, also wore expressions of shock.
’How did the Yuan family find out about this?’ They looked at each other in shocked confusion. ’It’s impossible that any of us leaked this.’
At this very moment, the people from the Qin family were utterly, completely dumbfounded.
’Yuan Fei even mentioned that. He obviously knows about my scheme, which means everything he said before was true!’
Overcome with rage, Qin Feng coughed up a mouthful of blood. ’Dammit, I really reaped what I sowed!’
The Qin family’s private room instantly fell into chaos.
Yuan Fei had only said it as a probe, but the chaotic aura emanating from the Qin family’s room made his gaze instantly sharpen.
’It seems my words struck a nerve with Qin Feng.’
’Could it be that the ingredients in the Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill on stage were actually swapped?’
Yuan Fei involuntarily glanced at the private room where Ye Xuan was, a look of profound shock in his eyes.
「At that moment, on the auction stage」 The auctioneer’s final gavel fell. The Chen family had won the Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill for 160,000 Lower Grade Profound Stones.
The Patriarch of the Chen family’s vision went black. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and fainted dead away.
The auction for the Clear Fire and Bright Heart Pill had been full of twists and turns, with the price soaring to incredible heights. In the end, the Qin family was forced to swallow a bitter pill, unable to voice their suffering as they paid an exorbitant price to buy back their own item. The feeling of wanting to cry but having no tears was simply indescribable.
In two consecutive auctions, the Qin family had woven their own cocoon, suffering a major blow to their vitality. They lost a staggering 300,000 Lower Grade Profound Stones and became the laughingstock of the Sky Empire, leaving countless onlookers utterly astounded.
The biggest winner in this whole affair was, of course, the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion.
The smile on the green-robed elder’s face bloomed like a flower.
The next two treasures were auctioned off, selling for 45,000 and 53,000 Lower Grade Profound Stones, respectively. This allowed many people to breathe a sigh of relief.
’Now *that’s* a normal price for a finale item. Prices over a hundred thousand... that was just getting scary.’
"Everyone," the green-robed elder began with a smile, holding up a new tray, "the next item we will auction is also a Pill. After appraisal by our Heaven-Reaching Pavilion, its quality is somewhere between the Fifth and Sixth Grades. If we have to assign it a specific grade, the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion has designated it as Peak of Fifth Grade."
"What? A Pill at the Peak of Fifth Grade?"
The crowd erupted upon hearing this. They began whispering amongst themselves, astonishment written on every face.
The Heaven-Reaching Pavilion’s annual auction was an absolute spectacle for the Martial Artists and families of the Sky Empire.
There were specific requirements for an item to be featured in the grand finale of its annual auction.
For Pills, for instance, they generally had to be at the Peak of Sixth Grade to even qualify. Lower or Middle Sixth Grade Pills wouldn’t make the cut unless they were exceptionally unique.
So, when the green-robed elder announced that the next item was a Pill at the Peak of Fifth Grade, everyone was dumbfounded.
This was the first time in the history of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion that a Fifth Grade Pill had appeared as a finale item.
"Has the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion run out of good items? Bringing out a Fifth Grade Pill as a finale item? Are they just messing with us?"
"A Pill at the Peak of Fifth Grade isn’t bad. A particularly special one could fetch tens of millions of Profound Coins on the open market. But to include it in the finale of the annual auction? That’s just a joke, isn’t it?"
"Exactly. Finale items at the annual auction must be bid on with Profound Stones. Each item is worth at least several hundred million Profound Coins. A Fifth Grade Pill can’t possibly compare."
"The Heaven-Reaching Pavilion has operated in the Imperial Capital for years and has a stellar reputation. Logically, they wouldn’t make such a rookie mistake. Could that Pill really be something special?"
"No matter how special it is, it’s still a Fifth Grade Pill. In terms of Lower Grade Profound Stones, it’s worth a few thousand at most. The minimum starting bid for a finale item is five thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones. What kind of Fifth Grade Pill could possibly qualify for that?"
"Looks like the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion is about to embarrass itself, just like the Qin family."
The entire auction hall erupted as if a bomb had gone off. A cacophony of voices rose and fell, all filled with doubt and disbelief.
"Quiet! Quiet! Everyone, please be quiet!"
The green-robed elder had been waiting patiently for the discussions to die down, but the noise only grew louder, wave after wave, showing no signs of stopping. He had no choice but to raise his voice and shout.
The once-deafening auction hall instantly fell silent. All eyes turned to the green-robed elder, waiting to hear his explanation.
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