The seven Pill Furnaces were grand and of an ancient style. Their purple-gold bodies emanated a faint halo, and the Array Patterns inside and out were perfectly integrated, giving them a profound and substantial air.
All the Alchemists present couldn't help but stare, their eyes filled with unconcealable envy.
Zhao Yan smiled faintly. "Everyone! This batch of Hundred Refinements Furnaces was crafted by the hand of the Zhuge Clan's Patriarch, Zhuge Hong. As everyone knows, the Ba Shu Zhuge started out through Artifact Refining with Arrays. Since the founding of the Great Yu, they have never lacked for master craftsmen, and Elder Zhuge Hong is the youngest Artifact Refining Grandmaster in history. This batch of Pill Furnaces is made of purple-gold meteorite iron, forged with Earth Core Fire, and their patterns are derived from..."
He spoke with eloquence and flair, captivating the hearts and minds of the crowd.
The materials used for the Hundred Refinements Furnaces weren't the absolute best, so they couldn't be called the most top-tier Pill Furnaces.
But thanks to Zhuge Hong's divine Artifact Refining techniques and his incomparably profound mastery of Array Patterns, they were considered the pinnacle of standardized Pill Furnaces.
Even the most powerful flames would find it difficult to make them explode.
Furthermore, their Array Patterns could help an Alchemist control the temperature, and during the final Closed Furnace Quenching Pill stage, they could even increase the temperature of the Pill Fire by about ten percent.
They were truly masterpieces!
However, the production of Hundred Refinements Furnaces was extremely low and depended entirely on Zhuge Hong's mood. He would forge a few when he felt like it, so over several decades, only thirty-odd had ever been made, all of which were monopolized by a few major alchemy clans.
This left countless unaffiliated Alchemy Masters to only gaze upon the furnaces and sigh in longing.
Rumor had it that if the Emperor hadn't sent a letter to Ba Shu, claiming he hadn't admired Zhuge Hong's Artifact Refining skills in years and wished to commission a few furnaces to see if his techniques had improved or regressed, this batch would never have seen the light of day.
Who would have thought they would be sold as a single lot again? This was clearly not something a lone wolf could acquire.
Everyone's gazes shifted to the two brothers, Zhao Ci and Zhao Yong.
The only recently rising new powers in the Elixir Realm seemed to be Zhao Yong's Yonghe Pill Workshop and the Xiang Clan's Pill Association, which had been consolidated by Princess Consort Jing.
Princess Consort Jing was not in attendance this time, and the Xiang Clan's Pill Association was now registered under Zhao Ci's name. It was a clear sign of her support for her son's powerful establishment of his own household, though no one knew how much funding she had prepared.
However, the Yonghe Pill Workshop was backed by the Zhu Clan and clearly had deeper foundations.
This time, a bloody battle was likely to ensue.
Furthermore, with the Gongdan Conference only half a month away, many suspected the Emperor was using this batch of Hundred Refinements Furnaces to force these two new powers into a cutthroat competition that would reshape the Elixir Realm.
At this moment, Zhao Yan delivered his final line. "This batch of Hundred Refinements Furnaces contains seven units. They will be auctioned as a lot. The starting bid is seventy thousand taels, each increment must be no less than five thousand taels, and the bid cap is three hundred and fifty thousand taels."
Everyone in the audience held their breath.
At official auctions, the starting price was always the officially appraised value. This meant the official valuation for these Pill Furnaces was ten thousand taels apiece—a fair bit higher than previous official appraisals.
The bidding hadn't even begun, yet they could already picture the two brothers getting carried away, going back and forth. They wondered if the bidding would actually reach the cap, which usually felt more like a decoration.
THUD!
Zhao Yan's gavel fell. "Let the bidding begin."
Zhao Ci was the first to raise his hand. "Three hundred and fifty thousand taels!"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
Everyone present was stunned. No one had expected things to go this way.
'Shouldn't there be a back-and-forth bidding war, a frantic psychological game?'
Why did he bid the maximum right from the start?
'Three hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver... that must be half of Princess Consort Jing's savings from the last decade, right?'
Although the auction had a bid cap, it had never actually been met before. After all, a price five times the official valuation defeated the purpose of an auction.
'Even if you're ridiculously rich, you don't throw money around like *that*, do you?'
This...
Zhao Yong's vision went dark, and he felt like he was about to have an aneurysm. "Lao Shi, what kind of move is that?"
"Oh?"
Zhao Ci looked at Zhao Yan on the stage. "Seventh Imperial Brother, is this against the auction rules?"
Zhao Yan had been a bit dazed himself, but he quickly composed himself and said with a smile, "Bidding is open. It's perfectly reasonable."
Zhao Yong choked for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Lao Shi, you need to understand something. After you establish your household, all expenditures will be deducted from your merits. It's true Noble Consort Jing has deep pockets, but are you sure you want to shoulder a debt of three hundred and fifty thousand taels right after opening your doors?"
"I've only just established my household, so I don't really have a concept of debt."
Zhao Ci said, a hint of impatience in his voice, "Ninth Imperial Brother, just tell me if you're matching the price or not!"
"I'll match!"
Zhao Yong felt his very liver tremble as he ground out through clenched teeth, "Three hundred and fifty thousand taels! I'll match!"
In recent years, the Emperor's health had been steadily declining. The undercurrent of conflict between the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince for the succession had reached its peak, and its influence had long since spread down to the other princes.
He had established his own household to serve as a greater bargaining chip for the Crown Prince. Otherwise, the Zhu and Feng Clans would never have increased their investment and sent a large number of top-tier Alchemists to join him.
His debts were already high enough. He never thought the debt for the Pill Furnaces would also be maxed out, yet he had no choice but to accept it.
Without this batch of Pill Furnaces, the overall quality of his elixirs would drop by at least half a grade.
He couldn't accept that.
The crowd: "Hiss..."
They felt like their brains were about to overheat.
They never imagined the bidding would turn out like this.
Zhao Yong talked about being rational, but when it came time to match the price, he didn't even blink.
"Since you've both bid the same price..."
Zhao Yan hadn't expected this outcome either. He shook his head with a wry smile. "Then we can only let the owner decide. Elder Zhuge, if you please."
With that, he hopped off the stage and handed the gavel to Zhuge Wei Yue.
This situation was exceedingly rare, but there were rules to handle it: let the owner make the final decision.
Zhuge Wei Yue held the gavel, feeling a bit dizzy herself. She had expected the Pill Furnaces forged by her brother to be sought-after, but not *this* sought-after. 'When was the last time a bid even surpassed the cap?'
She glanced at Zhao Yong, then at Zhao Ci, and felt a headache coming on.
A while ago, both Zhao Yong and Princess Consort Jing had approached her separately, expressing their desire to acquire this batch of Pill Furnaces. It was precisely because she didn't want to take sides that she had slightly offended both parties by putting the furnaces up for auction, letting them fight it out themselves. Whoever was willing to pay the price would get them.
She never expected that in the blink of an eye, this hot potato would land right back in her hands.
She rubbed her head. "Your Highnesses are both rising stars in the Pill Realm. As for who should receive this batch of Pill Furnaces, I cannot yet decide. Why don't you each make a case for yourselves? That should help me make a judgment."
"Elder Zhuge, there's actually no need for us to make our cases."
Zhao Yong smiled faintly. "The Hundred Refinements Furnace is what every Alchemist strives for in their lifetime. Its great renown is largely thanks to Elder Zhuge Hong's divine Artifact Refining techniques. However, the thirty-odd owners of the existing Hundred Refinements Furnaces also deserve some credit. Only their superb Alchemy skills can complement the furnaces. I ask you..."
At this, he shot a deliberate glance at Zhao Ci and continued, "If the Hundred Refinements Furnaces were to fall into the hands of a mediocrity and be used to produce batch after batch of crude elixirs, wouldn't that tarnish their reputation?"
The crowd held their breath, not daring to make a sound. Zhao Yong's move was like striking a snake at its vital point.
Princess Consort Jing had managed to bring a multitude of small Pill Workshops under her control in a short time, which was nothing short of a miracle. But what kind of Alchemists could small clans possibly cultivate?
One didn't even have to think about it; a glance at the business of those small Pill Workshops told you everything you needed to know.
If nothing unexpected happened, this reasoning alone should be enough to settle the deal.
Although the Tenth Prince had made an unorthodox move by bidding the maximum price right away, he still couldn't compete with deep-seated foundations.
Zhuge Wei Yue nodded slightly and looked toward Zhao Ci.
But contrary to expectations, Zhao Ci was not flustered in the slightest. He said calmly, "Elder Zhuge, this junior would like to ask you a question."
Zhuge Wei Yue nodded. "Your Highness, please speak!"
Zhao Ci smiled. "Suppose there are two teachers. One takes on a genius and turns them into a Sword Dao Grandmaster. The other takes on a mediocrity and also turns them into a Sword Dao Grandmaster. Elder, which of these two teachers do you think is more deserving of the title 'Master Teacher'?"
He kneaded his knuckles. The Seven Injuries Fist was practically begging to be unleashed.
This debt of three hundred and fifty thousand taels.
He wanted to bear it.