Following Yao Niqian’s movements, the stage split open like a blooming flower, and a small stone platform rose out.

That kind of mechanism wasn’t that exquisite, but the entire device was built out of ivory and was as pure as jade, causing it to truly shock quite a few people.

A shining golden battle armor floated atop the stone platform.

That battle armor was extremely thick, and from the golden luster, it had to weigh at least a hundred pounds. With such weight, neither Long Chen or even grandmaster Yun Qi would be able to keep it floating in midair with just Spiritual Strength.

But when Long Chen swept his spiritual perception over it, he shook his head and scolded inside.

That armor was actually being supported by some very thin props. Due to the length of the armor and its positioning, it perfectly blocked those supportive props from view. 

Yao Niqian’s charming voice rang out, “This golden armor was made completely out of gold with a small amount of ‘wind copper’. It comes from a famous craftsman, and its defense is shocking.”

A sword appeared in Yao Niqian’s hand. She slashed the armor so quickly; it was like a thunderbolt in many people’s eyes. A cold gale from the speed of the slash blew over everyone before they could even react, and a clear ringing came from the golden armor.

Her slash just now had completely shocked everyone. The Huayun Pavilion truly was strong; just an auctioneer was a Blood Condensation expert.

And from her slash’s speed, it was obvious there wasn’t the slightest waste in her attack. She was a true expert of the Blood Condensation stage.

A couple of those people who had planned on bringing that bewitching woman back to their homes immediately gave up.

“Everyone can clearly see I used my full strength yet was unable to leave behind a single mark on the golden armor. Its hardness is shocking,” Yao Niqian said to the crowd.

But looking at her bewitching eyes and recalling the huge gust caused by her slash just now, many people had already started to feel that she was the thing whose hardness was most shocking.

“The golden armor is our first item this time. The minimum price is set at a hundred thousand gold coins. Each bid must be at least ten thousand gold greater than the last. The auction has officially begun!”

Yao Niqian smiled slightly. She raised a small wooden mallet and lightly banged it before her.

“150,000!”

“180,000!”

“250,000!”

Countless bidders immediately leaped into action. 

But the auction had only just begun, so everyone was still very reserved. The price only went up by tens of thousands.

However, due to how many people there were, the price continued to rise. Even Shi Feng wasn’t able to resist the temptation and shouted out two bids, but he was quickly drowned out.

Long Chen couldn’t help but shake his head. Businessmen truly were all evil.

They truly were planning on plucking away everyone’s money. This golden armor would definitely be sold for over a million.

That was why Yao Niqian had tossed out such a low starting price. It was in order to slowly entice everyone and gradually excite everyone’s mood.

This was just like boiling a frog. If Yao Niqian’s display was too seductive, many people would be on alert inside. Although most men thought with their lower halves, it didn’t mean all people were fools.

Now, Yao Niqian was acting extremely tranquil. She would only occasionally say a few words. But whenever someone shouted out a high price, her roving gaze would always brighten and pause over that person for a while.

“Give up Shi Feng. That thing is definitely not cheap. Don’t be fooled by the beginning price,” advised Long Chen.

Although that golden armor looked good for an auction, and its defense was irrefutable, it wasn’t actually that practical. It was only useful in small battles. In a large battle, who would wear such a gaudy armor? And if you were to wear such a cumbersome heavy armor at other times, you would be asking for death.

And even if it was a small battle, if you were to wear such a shiny armor without the strong enough martial might, it would also be no different than asking for death.

In a battle between armies, the main hope was to kill the opposing officers. Wearing something that gaudy would inevitably attract trouble.

Frankly speaking, this armor was just for looks. If it really was something good, the Huayun Pavilion wouldn’t be foolish enough to bring it out as the first item.

Normally, the first item to be auctioned was always the hardest to pick for the auctioneers. It had to attract people’s eyes, but it couldn’t be too expensive. Otherwise, it might negatively impact the items following it.

And thus, this golden armor, which appeared awe-inspiring yet didn’t have much use, had been chosen to start the auction. As expected, it ended up attracting quite a few people.

After Shi Feng heard Long Chen, he also gave up on it. Originally, he had thought that with a starting price of a hundred thousand, he should be able to get it for less than three hundred thousand. He hadn’t thought of the other’s shenanigans.

In just a couple of breaths’ time, the golden armor’s price had already exceeded eight hundred thousand. And furthermore, the bids had yet to stop. This caused Shi Feng to completely give up any thoughts of it.

“Damn, are these even people anymore? How can they spend that much money?” Shou Hou gulped.

“All the people qualified to be invited here have the cash to spare. Just the first item is like this. I can’t even imagine what kind of intensity the bidding will reach for the rest of the items,” sighed fatty Yu.

Although they were all part of the nobility as noble heirs, they were still speechless at the amount of gold coins being spent.

Back when Long Chen had fought with Li Hao, the person with the most money in their group had been fatty Yu. He had saved all his money since his childhood and still only had eighty thousand gold coins.

Just as they were sighing, the bidding of the golden armor easily broke through a million gold coins.

“1,050,000!”

“1,080,000!”

“1,150,000!”

Even after going past a million, there were still a dozen people bidding. They had been completely enraptured with the golden armor, and even their eyes had turned somewhat red.

“1,500,000!”

Suddenly, Xia Changfeng’s voice came from his private room, calming down the bids by quite a lot.

“He really is worthy of being the Grand Xia’s crown prince. With just one look, he managed to see just how valuable the golden armor is. Are there any higher bids?” Yao Niqian exclaimed in admiration.

“1,510,000!” shouted a middle-aged man.

“1,800,000.”

Xia Changfeng’s voice was still as calm as ever, giving off the impression that he was just playing around. His voice caused others to feel uneasy.

That middle-aged man’s face became a bit unsightly. Shaking his head, he didn’t continue bidding. It was obvious that one million eight hundred thousand gold coins had already surpassed his max.

“One million eight hundred going once!”

“One million eight hundred going twice!”

“Sold for one million eight hundred thousand. Congratulations Grand Xia’s prince! By purchasing this golden armor, you’ve become the first winner of the auction this time. Congratulations!”

Yao Niqian’s words were perfectly tuned in order to let people feel comfortable and at ease. Long Chen had no choice but to admit she was a truly skilled businesswoman.

“Haha, it’s just a bit of money. I wonder whether this prince has the qualifications to invite young miss to an evening meal?” Xia Changfeng suddenly walked out of his private room and asked Yao Niqian out to dinner.

“Respected Grand Xia prince, this little one cannot bear such glory. However, now is not the time to talk about that,” laughed Yao Niqian.

“This prince was too rude. Please continue.” Xia Changfeng indifferently smiled. He returned to his private room confidently and with ease.

A disdainful smile appeared on Long Chen’s face when he looked at Xia Changfeng. With just his intelligence, he dared to have a battle of wits with a skilled woman like Yao Niqian?

The second item was brought out, and as Long Chen had expected, it was not a ‘flashy but useless’ item like that golden armor.

This item truly was not flashy; it was a deed to a plot of land. Long Chen didn’t know much about it, but that deed caused quite a commotion when it was brought out.

It seemed that deed truly was quite attractive to some of the people. That was also due to the Huayun Pavilion’s brilliance.

Their auction wares were meant to be attractive to everyone. Anyone who came to the auction would find something that they were interested in.

The diverse items being auctioned were only collected by them after spending a year saving up. And for them to prepare such an auction, it naturally required a great deal of manpower.

After the bidding competition, that deed was won by a rich merchant for eight million gold coins. When he obtained it, he went crazy with joy. It seemed that he had made a profit.

Another three items were brought out. Although everything was very novel, none of those items drew Long Chen’s interest.

But what gave Long Chen a surprise was the sixth item; it was actually a living creature.

A young tiger was trapped in a cage. It was five feet long, but its fur clearly showed that it had only just been born. Its eyes opened wide, and it looked extremely adorable.

“Second rank Magical Beast – Golden Striped Tiger. Special golden stripes grow over its fur and will appear extremely beautiful once it is fully grown. I’m sure everyone knows that amongst second rank Magical Beasts, the Golden Striped Tiger is the easiest to tame. In other words, even someone without a cultivation base would be able to raise it. The Golden Striped Tiger only mates five times in its lifetime, so this infant is very precious. Everyone should take advantage of this rare opportunity. Infant Golden Striped Tiger, starting bid of five hundred thousand gold coins.”

As soon as she stopped speaking, the crowd went crazy as they shouted out bids.

“600,000!”

“800,000!”

“1,100,000!”

Once an infant second rank Magical Beast grew up, that would be equivalent to a Blood Condensation expert! Moreover, its combat ability would be even greater than most Blood Condensation cultivators. Who wouldn’t be tempted?

“Damn, I really want it, but the price is definitely going to be sky-high.” Shi Feng rarely cursed, but this time he couldn’t help it. The Golden Striped Tiger was simply too attractive.

It wasn’t just Shi Feng; Long Chen was also tempted. Back then, he had especially admired Meng Qi’s Magical Beast.

Although he wasn’t a Beast Tamer, as long as he raised this Magical Beast to trust him, then he would also be able to use it for fights.

The current price had already broken through one million five hundred thousand when Long Chen suddenly shouted:

“3,000,000!”

Long Chen immediately doubled the price, causing quite a few people to give up. Three million was already a price to cause many people to shrink back, and the crowd became silent.

Long Chen couldn’t help but celebrate inside. If it had continued by slow increments, three million would probably not have been able to stop everyone. Now that he had increased the price so sharply, it seemed he should be able to win.

“3,010,000!”

Just as Long Chen thought the infant Golden Striped Tiger would land in his hands, a woman’s voice that was filled with hatred rang out.