The competition had dwindled from thousands to just a dozen people.
The price of the Sea-Splitting Warblade continued to climb.
Lin Jichen glanced at the time; it was almost noon. He was contemplating whether to log off and have lunch. Gu Qiuxue had mentioned she made a lot of delicious food today, and he was eager to have a feast.
But at this rate, the auction wouldn't end before noon.
As Lin Jichen hesitated, Jiang Luoyu noticed his expression and asked, "Something on your mind?"
Lin Jichen smiled and nodded, "My sister called me for lunch."
Jiang Luoyu smiled, "Do you want to finish watching the auction first?"
"Yeah, but it looks like it will take a while. It's fine, I'll just tell my sister I'll eat later," Lin Jichen replied casually.
However, Jiang Luoyu seemed to have an idea. She calmly instructed Su Wanling, "Wanling, let's speed this up."
Su Wanling immediately understood and raised her bidding paddle again, "One hundred thousand."
Everyone was stunned. An increase of twenty thousand in one go? That was intense...
This wasn't just twenty thousand Chinese Yuan; it was twenty thousand Spirit Stones, equivalent to four million Chinese Yuan.
With Su Wanling's bid, the remaining bidders gave up.
Spending twenty million on a piece of equipment was too extravagant; money didn't grow on trees.
Moreover, if they spent one hundred thousand Spirit Stones now, what if better equipment came up later?
Thus, the Earth Grade item was successfully claimed by Jiang Luoyu.
Lin Jichen was both amused and exasperated. He hadn't expected Jiang Luoyu to expedite the auction in such an "unconventional" manner just because he mentioned wanting to finish early for lunch.
"Don't misunderstand, even if we bid until the end, it would probably reach this price anyway. Besides, I'm a bit hungry too and wanted to finish early for lunch," Jiang Luoyu winked at Lin Jichen.
Lin Jichen was speechless. Maybe this was the dilemma of the wealthy—their money was simply too much to spend!
Find the original at "pawread dot com".
The auction continued.
A large number of Mysterious Grade equipment were presented one after another.
The atmosphere grew more lively, with everyone eagerly bidding.
But Su Wanling seemed to be at odds with everyone. For each piece of equipment, she would raise the bid significantly right from the start.
For a Mysterious Grade item with a starting price of five thousand, she would immediately bid ten thousand, regardless of whether she liked it or not.
If someone competed, she would stop bidding; if no one did, it was hers.
This tactic skipped the small bidding increments.
As a result, all the Mysterious Grade equipment exceeded ten thousand.
If you didn't bid, all the equipment would be taken by the Moon Shadow Guild; if you did, the starting bid was at least ten thousand.
Many people had complaints about Su Wanling, but considering Jiang Luoyu beside her, they dared not voice them.
With Su Wanling's aggressive bidding, the auction speed indeed increased significantly.
Before long, it was nearing the end.
"The next two items are the highlights of this auction. Since the auction has been going on for a while, and everyone might be a bit tired, let's take a ten-minute break. Xuanxuan has prepared some refreshments for everyone to enjoy," the female host announced.
After she finished speaking, many beautiful women entered the venue, carrying various snacks and drinks for everyone.
These refreshments were from the Drunken Immortal Pavilion and cost quite a few Spirit Stones.
Seeing free food, everyone was happy to wait.
In fact, the host announced the break to give people time to gather more Spirit Stones, ensuring the final two items would fetch higher prices.
Lin Jichen hadn't planned this; the auction was entirely managed by the female host.
Lin Jichen hadn't expected her to be so resourceful, even Jiang Luoyu couldn't help but praise the NPC's business acumen.
Sure enough, many people took this time to gather more funds, determined to win the final items.
Ten minutes passed quickly.
The female host returned to the stage, clapped her hands, and said, "Now, let's proceed with the penultimate item of today's auction."
A piece of equipment was brought up, and its attributes made everyone exclaim in admiration.
[Earth Grade Weapon: Blood Demon Dagger]: Strength 75, Critical 50, each attack has a 5% lifesteal effect, and comes with [Backstab] and [Bone Carve] skills.
Requirement: Golden Core Realm dagger players.
"The starting bid for this item is still thirty thousand Spirit Stones. Begin bidding!"
As soon as the host finished speaking, the players started raising their hands to bid.
"Thirty-five thousand!"
"Forty-two thousand!"
As the bidding gradually increased, Su Wanling raised her paddle again, "One hundred thousand!"
Everyone was frustrated.
A guild leader stood up, pointing at Lin Jichen, and shouted, "Lin Jichen, are you colluding with the Moon Shadow Guild to inflate prices? This auction is too dishonest!"
Before Lin Jichen could respond, Jiang Luoyu said domineeringly, "If I were inflating prices, would I use such a crude method that you could see through? The items you didn't bid on all went to Moon Shadow. The highest bidder wins; what's wrong with that?"
The guild leader retorted angrily, "Who bids like that? How many items has Moon Shadow won? Do you even have that many Spirit Stones? Is there some secret deal between you and Lin Jichen?"
Jiang Luoyu, expressionless, replied indifferently, "Don't use your narrow perspective to judge the vastness of the world. If you can't afford it, it just means you're poor, nothing more."
"You!" The guild leader was so enraged that his face turned red, but he had no choice but to sit back down, fuming.
Others also gave up bidding. After all, it was a dagger, and not many people used it. They decided to let Moon Shadow have it for a hundred thousand.
The female host immediately announced the final item.
[Earth Grade Weapon: Evil Soul Broadsword]: Strength 85, Critical 55, each critical hit causes a 3% bleeding effect, stacking up to 30%.
Comes with [Rock Solid] and [Wind Break] skills.
Requirement: Golden Core Realm blade users.
Another Earth Grade weapon!
But as soon as it started, Su Wanling raised her paddle, "One hundred thousand!"
The guild leaders almost spat blood. How many Spirit Stones did Moon Shadow Guild have?
But this time, no one wanted to give up.
It was the last item. They had missed out on two Earth Grade items; they didn't want to miss the last one.
"One hundred and ten thousand!"
"One hundred and twenty thousand!"
"One hundred and thirty thousand!"
Perhaps provoked by Su Wanling, or perhaps not wanting to be outdone, many guild leaders started bidding in increments of ten thousand.
Surprisingly, Su Wanling stopped bidding, seemingly giving up on this item.
They guessed right. Jiang Luoyu had instructed her to stop bidding for this item.
It wasn't that they were out of Spirit Stones, but Jiang Luoyu didn't want Moon Shadow to take all the good items, fearing it would deter people from attending Lin Jichen's future auctions.
She didn't want to ruin Lin Jichen's auction business.
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas