When Raymond bade for the snow dragon fruit, others had decided to withdraw in order to not offend
the Flaming Sun Valley. A smug smile played on Raymond's lips when his trick was successful.
"Well, thank you for doing this for me!" Raymond said conceitedly.
"Humph! This is an auction house, not the Flaming Sun Valley. The snow dragon fruit will belong to the
highest bidder. 55, 000 vital energy crystals!"
A boy's voice came from a corner of the auction house.
People turned to look who it was, and then saw a boy of 16 or 17.
He was wearing purple, and his clothes were luxurious. His demeanor was both dignified and graceful.
He seemed someone royal or noble.
Standing behind him were a group of martial artists. Apparently, they were under the boy.
'He must be from a prominent family. He doesn't take the Flaming Sun Valley seriously, '
thought most people present.
'Besides, he has three martial artists at the Earth Realm as his men.'
"You... Who are you? How dare you ignore the Flaming Sun Valley!"
shouted Raymond. He was boiling with rage now.
"Seriously? I'm here to make bids at the auction. Is the Flaming Sun Valley so high-handed that nobody
is allowed to bid?" the boy sneered and then turned to the auctioneer. "Hello, Miss Auctioneer, can we
bid for the snow dragon fruit?"
Disdain was written all over his face.
Many other martial artists had been already irritated by a bossy Raymond, but they had been forced to
keep their resentment to themselves because of the formidable power the Flaming Sun Valley had.
The boy contradicting Raymond somewhat appealed to them. Some of them even laughed out loud to
show their approval.
The auctioneer turned to Raymond and told him, "Sir, please don't disturb the public order at the
auction.
If you are really interested in the snow dragon fruit, please make your bid."
Although the Flaming Sun Valley was a powerful sect, the Ganges Auction House was one of the very
best auction houses, with its forces all over the country. Besides, it had a close relationship with many
sects. After all, they needed the Ganges Auction House to procure various kinds of resources for them.
As a result, the auctioneer was not intimidated by Raymond despite his background.
Raymond had stirred up the public fury. Although he was used to being arrogant, he felt rather
embarrassed at this moment.
"60, 000 vital energy crystals!"
Raymond said in a loud voice.
"65, 000 vital energy crystals!"
The boy made no concession.
Only Raymond and the boy were bidding for the snow dragon fruit. The rest of the people didn't join in
but watched eagerly.
Originally, Austin had wanted to bid for the snow dragon fruit. But when Raymond and the boy bade
100, 000 vital energy crystals, Austin gave up.
He had more than 400, 000 vital energy crystals in total.
And he was here because he wanted to buy some swordsmanship.
He knew that the price of swordsmanship could only be higher than that of elixir.
So he simply decided to give up on the snow dragon fruit and save money for the swordsmanship.
When Raymond bade 150, 000 vital energy crystals for the snow dragon fruit, the boy flashed a tiny
smile and quit.
Actually, the boy had no intention of bidding for the snow dragon fruit. He just detested Raymond's
arrogance and had decided to hustle him to increase the price.
By now, this was clear to Raymond as well. Although he had won the snow dragon fruit, his face turned
red with anger. He was duped by the boy.
"Okay, everyone. We've witnessed an exciting bidding round. The next item for the auction is actually
our main highlight," said the auctioneer.
She waved her arm, and then the lights above the stage dimmed immediately. She bent over and took
out a silver plate from a desk. On the plate was a light green classical jade slip.
The jade slip shone light green, and looked rather mysterious against the silver plate.
"Grade four martial arts skill—the Illusory Swordsmanship!"
Silence befell the auction hall when the "grade four martial arts skill" was uttered from the auctioneer.
Compared to the snow dragon fruit, the martial arts skill was much more attractive to martial artists.
Spiritual fruits and elixirs were indeed precious, but they could only be used once. Martial arts skills
were different—martial artists could use them for a lifetime, and even pass on to their descendants. In
a sense, high-grade martial arts skills were more elusive and rewarding than spiritual fruits and elixirs.
If you didn't have any spiritual fruits or elixirs, your cultivation speed would be much slower than the
others. But as long as you had a high-grade martial arts skill and you adhered to cultivation
unremittingly, you would be a strong martial artist sooner or later.
But if you didn't have any martial arts skills, you would be unable to be a strong person even though
you may have countless spiritual fruits and elixirs.
After a moment's silence, people came back to reality and fixed their eyes on the jade slip kept on the
plate. Even the inviting auctioneer had lost her luster.
Austin took a deep breath to calm himself down. He was excited because he was satisfied to see the
grade four martial arts skill.
However, many martial artists were interested in it as well. Austin was not sure if he could have it in the
end.
Staring at the jade slip on the plate held by the auctioneer, Austin swallowed hard. If it went to another
man, then his trip to the auction was a failure.
And failure was precisely what Austin would not be able to reconcile to.
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