The day of the Grand Auction arrived with a palpable sense of excitement that vibrated through the very stones of Sunken Treasure City. The streets were a river of cultivators, all flowing towards the city's central and most magnificent island, where the Sunken Treasure Auction House stood like a colossal, multi-tiered crown of coral and obsidian.
In their modest inn room, the atmosphere was not one of tension, but of a quiet, conspiratorial glee. The four of them were gathered around the main table, upon which rested a single, deep-blue pearl. It was the true Heart of the Deep Sea, its pure, profound energy filling the room with a calm, oceanic aura.
"I still can't believe it," Hu Jian said, staring at the pearl with wide, reverent eyes. "The mission is already complete. We have the treasure. Why are we even going to the auction?"
"Because our mission has changed," Li Yu said, his voice calm. He carefully placed the pearl back into its jade box and into his storage ring. "Our first objective was to acquire the Heart of the Deep Sea. Our new objective is to make sure our enemy, Jin Ao, pays an unforgettable price for the other one."
Brother Kai stroked his beard, a slow, cunning smile spreading across his face. "You mean to let him bid against us for a prize we already possess? Junior Steward, that is a wonderfully vicious plan. He will empty his faction's coffers and humiliate himself in front of the entire city."
"Precisely," Li Yu affirmed. "He has spent the last week slandering my name and, by extension, our hall's. He believes he can crush us with his wealth and status. Today, we will use his own arrogance as a weapon against him."
He looked at his three companions, their faces now alight with a shared, mischievous excitement. The pressure was gone.
Li Yu said with a nod. "Let's go. It is time for the show to begin."
The auction house was a marvel of wealth and power. They were escorted past the teeming, noisy common hall, where thousands of cultivators were finding their seats, and up a grand, spiraling staircase to the third level, reserved for private viewing rooms. Their room was an elegant, semi-circular balcony, shielded by a one-way privacy formation that allowed them to see the entire auction floor without being seen themselves.
From their vantage point, they could see the other major factions taking their places in similar rooms. They saw the black-robed disciples of the Asura Demon Clan, the proud, sword-bearing cultivators of the Heavenly Sword Sect, and, in the most opulent room directly opposite them, Jin Ao and his entourage. He sat on a plush divan like a young emperor, his expression one of bored arrogance, as if the entire event was beneath him.
The auction began. The auctioneer, a charming, silver-tongued old man at the peak of the Qi Condensation Realm, presented the first few items with a theatrical flair. A set of Rank 5 beast-hide armor, a rare, thousand-year-old spiritual herb, a high-grade flying sword artifact. Each item sparked a flurry of bids, with spirit stones being thrown around in sums that made Lin Tao's eyes widen.
"Five thousand for a single sword…" he whispered in awe. "These people are insane."
"That is the wealth of a true, major faction," Brother Kai murmured, his expression grimly appreciative of the spectacle. "It's a good thing we are not truly competing with them."
Li Yu remained silent, his gaze calm, watching the flow of the auction, the subtle tells of the bidders, the way Jin Ao would occasionally place a lazy, overwhelming bid to snatch an item he barely seemed to want, purely for the sake of displaying his dominance.
Finally, after two hours, the moment arrived. The auctioneer's voice boomed with a newfound excitement. "And now, esteemed guests, we present one of the three main treasures of this auction! A true, heaven-grade treasure for our water-attribute cultivators! The Heart of the Deep Sea!"
A guild servant brought out a single, deep-blue pearl on a velvet cushion. It pulsed with a pure, profound energy, its light filling the entire auction hall. It was identical to the one resting in Li Yu's storage ring, a testament to the Golden Sea Guild's truly bottomless resources to possess two such heaven-grade treasures.
A wave of excited murmurs went through the hall.
"The starting bid," the auctioneer declared, "is fifty thousand spirit stones!"
"Fifty-five thousand," a voice called out immediately from the Blackwater Demonic Clan's room.
"Sixty thousand," the Myriad Beast Sect countered.
The bidding quickly escalated, the price soaring as the major factions vied for the treasure. When the price reached eighty thousand, Jin Ao finally made his move.
"One hundred thousand," his voice was lazy, dismissive, and filled with an arrogant certainty. The bid was designed to crush the competition.
A moment of silence fell over the hall. Brother Kai looked at Li Yu, who gave him a subtle, almost imperceptible nod.
It was then that Brother Kai, following Li Yu's instructions, spoke, his voice carefully laced with a hesitant determination. "One hundred and five thousand."
All eyes, visible and invisible, turned towards the unassuming room of the Green Mountain Sect. Jin Ao, from across the hall, shot a look of pure, venomous hatred in their direction. His master had told him this item was needed for his cultivation and he couldn't let others get it from him.
"One hundred and twenty thousand," he snapped, his voice losing its lazy tone.
Brother Kai waited a few moments, as if calculating his funds, before replying, his voice strained. "One hundred and twenty-five thousand." His performance of a man bidding beyond his means utterly convincing.
"You dare?" Jin Ao's furious voice echoed in the hall. "One hundred and fifty thousand!"
The price was already astronomical, far exceeding the pearl's actual market value. The other factions, seeing that this had become a personal grudge match, wisely withdrew, content to watch the show.
From another private room, a new voice entered the fray. "One hundred and fifty-five thousand." It was Elder Quan of the Golden Sea Guild, playing his part perfectly, acting as a neutral third party to further legitimize the price. Li Yu had asked him to help him with this before the auction.
"One hundred and eighty thousand!" Jin Ao roared, his pride now completely on the line. He would not be outbid, especially not by the faction that housed his most hated enemy.
"Two hundred thousand," Elder Quan's calm voice replied, a clear challenge.
Jin Ao stood up in his room, his face red with fury. To be challenged by a merchant and the upstart from the Green Mountain Sect was an unbearable insult to his face. "Two hundred and fifty thousand!" he screamed, the price now reaching a level of absolute insanity.
Brother Kai raised the price again "Two hundred and seventy thousand"
"THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND!" he roared, his voice cutting through the chaos. "Does anyone else dare to challenge me?"
Absolute silence.
"Sold!" the auctioneer, eager to conclude the sale, banged his gavel. "To the esteemed disciple of the Heavenly Jin faction!"
From across the hall, in the quiet room of the Green Mountain Sect, Li Yu watched, a small, cold smile on his face. He leaned back in his chair, his mission complete. He had the Heart of the Deep Sea in his storage ring, he had fifteen thousand spirit stones left over from his master's budget, and he had just watched his mortal enemy pay a catastrophic price for the exact same treasure.