Hai Ning’s voice wasn’t very loud, but it echoed throughout the entire auction hall.
The people nearby were shaken by Hai Ning’s voice, and all eyes immediately turned toward Wen Qingye in the upper section of the auction hall.
"Twelve thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones."
Not a single ripple of emotion showed in Wen Qingye’s eyes. His lips parted slightly, not letting down the expectant crowd.
"Wen Qingye actually bid! I wonder who this beauty will end up with."
"The Celestial Profound Sect and Taiyi Pavilion are truly like fire and water. They’re even fighting over a woman. Now this is getting interesting."
"Hai Ning is Huangfu Yiye’s eldest disciple. I’m afraid Wen Qingye can’t possibly match his wealth."
...
"Thirteen thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones."
Hai Ning shouted his own bid, refusing to back down in the slightest. The air was thick with the feeling of a head-on confrontation.
"Fourteen thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones!"
"Fifteen thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones!"
...
Under the stunned gazes of the crowd, the bidding between the two skyrocketed. Neither showed any hesitation, and in just a moment, the auction price had multiplied several times over.
"Wen Qingye?" A cold glint flashed in Xu Yuan’s eyes as he stared at the man not far ahead of him, his gaze holding a profound meaning.
Jiechen watched the two bid without even blinking, clasped his palms together, and slowly said, "Amitabha Buddha. The Celestial Profound Sect and Taiyi Pavilion are truly wealthy. They are far beyond the likes of us."
Who else but Wen Qingye and Hai Ning would bid like this?
"This is a bit strange." Pan Jieming watched Wen Qingye, a flicker of doubt rising in his heart. Though he had only met Wen Qingye once, he refused to believe the man was so impetuous and rash.
Pan Jieming thought to himself, ’Has Wen Qingye lost his composure? Or does he truly want to dominate Hai Ning right here in the auction hall? But to try and overpower the Taiyi Pavilion with wealth... there’s probably no hope of that.’
Su Ding of the Great Daoist Mansion heard the back-and-forth bids and couldn’t help but exclaim, "A Super Sect is a Super Sect. To spend over ten thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones on a woman... they’re really willing to splurge."
Shaking his head, Su Qingyun said with suspicion, "How strange. I never thought Wen Qingye would get jealous and fight over a woman."
Su Ding chuckled. "Hehe, at the end of the day, Wen Qingye is still a man."
Xiaoo Xin watched the two bid relentlessly, secretly overjoyed. An irrational bidding war could only benefit her Ninth Trading House.
"Twenty thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones!"
Hai Ning shot to his feet and bellowed, then looked at Wen Qingye with a cool gaze in a clear show of force.
The people in the hall looked at one another, then collectively gasped.
No one had expected Hai Ning to spend money like water for a woman. Twenty thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones—that was enough to buy several Low-Level Spirit-Grade Magical Artifacts.
In an instant, all eyes turned to Wen Qingye.
Wen Qingye smiled faintly, then looked at Hai Ning and said, "Brother Hai, you truly are generous. But I have to wonder... for making a fraudulent bid, how will the Ninth Trading House deal with you?"
A fraudulent bid!?
Everyone’s heart jumped in surprise at Wen Qingye’s words.
Fraudulent bidding was recklessly placing bids without the Primordial Stones to back them up, disrupting the order of the auction. That was a fraudulent bid.
The Ninth Trading House was no small-time Commerce Association. The powers backing it were extremely mysterious. If one made a fraudulent bid here, the consequences were not something an ordinary person could bear.
Hai Ning sneered, a faint, ghostly light flickering in his eyes. "The name ’Taiyi Pavilion’ is a priceless treasure in itself! You, on the other hand, Brother Wen... you’d best not do anything foolish."
Their words were sharp and probing, neither man willing to back down in the slightest.
"Thirty thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones," Wen Qingye said slowly with a calm smile.
Wen Qingye’s words sent a shockwave through the auction hall, instantly silencing it. An eerie, unnatural quiet descended.
Thirty thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones. Such a price had far exceeded the woman’s own value, completely surpassing everyone’s imagination.
Everyone stared at Wen Qingye in shock, their eyes filled with disbelief.
Guu Hongxiu looked at the expressionless Wen Qingye, a strange ripple passing through her heart. She couldn’t help but wonder, ’What in the world is this Wen Qingye up to? Does he really have that many Primordial Stones?’
She knew very well that thirty thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones was not a sum an ordinary person could produce. Even for her, thirty thousand was her entire net worth. Adding the twenty-thousand-plus her father, Guu Changxiong, had given her, she only had a little over fifty thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones in total.
Hai Ning also frowned, his pupils constricting sharply. Thirty thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones was the absolute limit of what he could produce, and that was including the Primordial Stones he had received for becoming an Inspection Disciple.
"I bid thirty-one thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones!"
After a moment, Hai Ning’s voice rang out again, and the crowd slowly snapped out of their daze.
"Brother Hai, where is that boldness of yours? You truly disappoint me. If this is the measure of Taiyi Pavilion’s magnanimity, then I’m afraid you’ll have to excuse me." Wen Qingye stood and shook his head, then looked toward Xiaoo Xin and slowly said, "Forty thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones."
The crowd stared at Wen Qingye, dumbfounded, as if they had turned to stone.
An increase of ten thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones. That was ten thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones! Just what kind of boldness did Wen Qingye possess?
Su Ding exclaimed, "Forty thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones! That’s forty thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones!"
Su Ding’s words represented the thoughts of everyone present. Was this beauty truly worth forty thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones?
Everyone looked at the still-calm Wen Qingye, their hearts pounding wildly.
Who else but Wen Qingye could spend a fortune and remain so calm?
The woman on the floral platform also narrowed her eyes slightly, a watery glimmer in them as she looked at Wen Qingye. She hadn’t expected that she would be the subject of a bidding war that Wen Qingye and Hai Ning would drive to such an extent.
Xiaoo Xin stood to the side, her mouth slightly agape. She immediately sensed something was amiss. ’If Hai Ning suddenly falls silent and stops bidding, Wen Qingye will have truly thrown away a fortune... but does he actually have forty thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones?’
Hai Ning also shot to his feet, his eyes locked on Wen Qingye, as if trying to see through those indifferent eyes to the panic within the man’s heart.
But he was disappointed. He could see nothing in those placid eyes—only tranquility and an unhurried calm.
Guu Hongxiu looked at Hai Ning, whose eyes were turning bloodshot, and couldn’t help but frown deeply. She cautioned him, "Senior Brother Hai, in my opinion, we can stop. This is enough."
Hai Ning suppressed the turmoil in his heart and said slowly, "I know. But I don’t think it’s enough."
"But..." Guu Hongxiu wanted to say more, but Hai Ning was already standing.
Hai Ning stood, took a deep breath, and, staring ahead, announced in a clear voice, "Forty-one thousand Top-grade Primordial Stones!"