Chapter 99: The Trap Works, Turtle Armor Appears Again

Seeing Qin Xiao agree to use Cang Chen’s credit limit, Luo Yunshuang immediately regained her confidence.

“Twenty-two million.”

Luo Yunshuang did not hesitate, raising the bid straight to twenty-two million.

Qin Xiao’s private room was once again bidding against itself, a maneuver that left everyone utterly bewildered.

“Which high roller is in that fourth-floor private room? Playing it like this?”

“Perhaps this is simply how the wealthy amuse themselves. As for that fourth floor, if you are not born to reach it, you will never set foot there in this lifetime.”

“The fourth floor requires a Supreme Membership Card to access. Could it be the City Lord? Or perhaps the Pure Yang Sect’s Sect Leader? Even they wouldn’t mess around like this, would they?”

“It is not them. This time the Pure Yang Sect is led by the Second Elder, and the Sect Leader didn’t even come. The City Lord is even less likely-he has far too many matters to manage. Besides, I see the Young City Lord is on the third floor. If the City Lord had come, why would he be down there?”

The unusual bidding from Qin Xiao’s room puzzled the people below, and they began guessing who was inside.

“What game is Brother Qin playing? Could it be that the Junior Sisters are fighting against him?”

Inside the Mysterious Yin Sect’s private room, Su Lin murmured with a bitter smile.

“Su Lin, do you perhaps know the person on the fourth floor?”

Naturally, the Mysterious Yin Sect’s Great Elder, Wei Jian, had overheard his murmurs and immediately inquired.

“Great Elder, that’s Qin Xiao, the one I told you about. My Junior Sisters are with him.”

When asked previously where his junior sisters had gone, Su Lin had only vaguely replied that they had joined a friend in a private room without specifying the fourth floor. Now that he could no longer conceal the truth, he had no choice but to confess.

“Qin Xiao? The fourth floor? Even Lin Tiancheng only sits on the third floor. By what right does he qualify?”

Wei Jian was puzzled. He had heard of Qin Xiao, who had saved Su Lin in the Abyss Secret Realm, and had a good impression of him. But how did the boy have a Supreme Membership Card? Even their Sect Master was only on the third floor.

“I don’t know about that, Great Elder. Judging by the bids, my Junior Sisters may be competing with Qin Xiao for the Spirit-Burst Pills.”

Su Lin could only offer a helpless, wry smile.

“Impossible. Where would those two get so many spirit stones? The sect hasn’t approved any large sums for them.”

If someone claimed Qin Xiao merely held a fourth-floor room, Wei Jian might have been mildly surprised. But the notion that the Luo sisters were driving this bidding war was something he refused to believe.

“This… perhaps Qin Xiao lent the stones to them.”

Su Lin dared not mention the wager; if the Great Elder flew into a rage, the fallout would be impossible to manage.

“There’s more to this Qin Xiao than meets the eye.” Read this novel at novelping(.)com for the best experience.

Wei Jian asked no more. He was rather impressed.

In the Pure Yang Sect’s private room, Cang Xing was silently praying: Little brother, you had better not meddle in this mess.

“Where on earth does this kid get so many Spirit Stones? And is he actually lending them out?”

Yu Shaoqing knew which room Qin Xiao was in. There were people from three factions inside, which explained why it was bidding against itself. But where had Qin Xiao got so many spirit stones? He had just spent twenty million, was now bidding over twenty million again, and was lending money to others too.

Even those who knew some of the story could not gauge the wealth of the people on the fourth floor. How many spirit stones did it take to play like this?

“Twenty-three million.”

Qin Xiao remained unhurried, raising the price by a mere million at a time. He feared that a larger increment might cause Luo Yunshuang to drop out entirely.

“Twenty-five million.”

Luo Yunshuang had no patience to crawl along with him. Her total credit limit capped at thirty million, so she threw out twenty-five million straight away.

“Twenty-six million.”

Qin Xiao quietly added another million.

“Qin Xiao, what on earth is your game?”

Luo Yunshuang was getting angry. Qin Xiao clearly had no intention of letting her have the pills. He was humiliating her.

“What game? Isn’t this how auctions work?”

Qin Xiao looked innocent.

“State your bottom line and stop playing around with me. If you keep this up, I’ll drop out and let you have it. Do you think we lack methods of our own? We can still defeat you without this Spirit-Burst Pill.”

Luo Yunshuang was beginning to suspect something and intended to give up. She felt Qin Xiao was playing with her.

“My bottom line is thirty million. Beyond that, I drop out.”

Seeing that she wanted to give up, Qin Xiao stated his limit too.

“Is that true?”

“Naturally true.”

“Very well, thirty million.”

Luo Yunshuang decided to try once more and bid thirty million. If Qin Xiao bid again, she could not afford more. She would give up without owing anything, and find another way to win the wager. If she won the pills, the wager would be hers. Either way, Qin Xiao was paying. She could not lose.

“Ah, very well then. I yield.”

Qin Xiao pretended to look regretful.

The crowd had grown used to it. Whatever the fourth floor bid, they could accept. With the room bidding against itself, any price seemed reasonable. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.

The moment Luo Yunshuang’s bid of thirty million echoed out, no further voices challenged it, sealing victory for one side.

Even those in the other private rooms who knew about it could not tell who had won. Was it Qin Xiao or their Junior Brother or Sisters?

Voices from the private rooms were specially altered. Listeners could not tell if a speaker was male or female, much less identify the bidder. Each room had a button. Press it to speak, and the voice would carry outside. Without pressing it, the room was completely soundproof.

This was to conceal their identities. Not everyone wanted to be known.

“Since there are no further bids, this lot belongs once more to the fourth-floor private room.”

Though Cai Mu had presided over many auctions, this bizarre scenario was a first for him. Being an old hand, however, he smoothly steered the proceedings back to the standard rhythm.

At his declaration, the realization finally dawned on the audience: both opening items of the auction had been swept up by the fourth-floor room.

No one envied them. Fifty million spirit stones had gone on just two lots. It was a terrible deal. Together, the two items were worth only ten million and change.

The next lots were fairly ordinary. They could not all be good things.

Qin Xiao did not bid again. By his current standards, these things were too ordinary.

In the room, Luo Yunshuang examined the bottle of Spirit-Burst Pills she had received, looking at it and touching it again and again. Thirty million spirit stones!

Qin Xiao did not actually have that many spirit stones on him. As a Supreme Member, however, he could settle everything at the end. With Ling Ruoxue in the room too, no one worried he would run off.

“If you treasure it so much, why not hold it in your arms while you cultivate tonight?”

Seeing her doting on the pill bottle, Qin Xiao couldn’t help but toss out a teasing remark.

“None of your business. Now I have it, our strength rises while yours falls. Beating us is a pipe dream. Pills for free! Have the Spirit Liquid ready tomorrow.”

Luo Yunshuang did not mind the teasing. The pills were free to her, after all. She had not paid with her own spirit stones, so she felt no regret.

The auction gradually reached its midpoint. The excitement at the start had helped the later lots sell for good prices, but something was still missing. Cai Mu knew it was time for something impressive to liven up the middle of the auction.

“This next Dharma Treasure is a rare find: the Body-Protecting Turtle Armor. It’s inner armor for defense. Though appraised as a Middle Grade Dharma Treasure, its protection is far beyond others of that grade. Part of its core is missing, which is why it was rated Middle Grade.”

Cai Mu had obtained the treasure not long before. Since an auction was about to take place, he had kept it for this sale instead of reporting it to his superiors.

Cai Mu had someone bring in a stand with the inner armor on it. Its appearance showed that it had been made from some kind of turtle shell.

Its only flaw was a missing protective plate over the heart. What a pity.

The instant his gaze fell upon the armor, Qin Xiao’s eyes locked straight onto it.

“What? This thing?”