I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense

Chapter 225 - 226: Seeing Sixth Senior Brother Again

“Miss Yun Ya, that’s quite uncalled-for of you. This is just a garment made from ordinary Tianzhu Mouse Fur with some cold resistance and a degree of durability, why dress it up in all these fancy terms?”

“It’s really not that valuable, a hundred top-grade Spirit Stones is already pushing it. I’ll take it, let’s move on to the next item!”

In the crowd, a fatty stood up and spoke indifferently.

He spoke as if he was an expert on the auctioned item, analyzing the coat’s pros and cons thoroughly. The crowd nodded frequently upon hearing him, finding his points sensible; indeed, the coat was quite average.

The price was more or less as expected, and their purpose for coming today wasn’t to acquire such trivial goods.

Yun Ya waited a while, and seeing no one continue to bid, she decisively announced, “Lot number one goes to this gentleman. Congratulations, sir!”

“Hm, let’s get on with the next item!”

The fatty waved his hand, showing a hint of impatience.

To the onlookers, this fatty seemed like a wealthy patron who was after the real treasures of the auction, hence his uninterested demeanor. However, Li Xiaobai noticed something peculiar.

This fatty’s behavior and certain habits strongly reminded him of someone he knew!

“Hehe, alright, on to the second item, the Demon Dragon Blade.”

“This blade is forged from Thousand-Year Cold Iron, utilizing high-temperature quenching technology in its masterful crafting. It possesses both ice and fire attributes. More importantly, it has been bathed in dragon blood. Whoever acquires it shall gain immense benefits!”

“Starting bid, eight hundred top-grade Spirit Stones!”

Yun Ya explained with a faint smile, her introduction somewhat exaggerated, but no big deal; those in the know didn’t need any introduction.

“Miss Yun Ya, you’re not being fair. What do you mean by high-temperature quenching technology? Isn’t that just rapid cooling after forging? It’s a standard process in blade-making. And about being bathed in dragon blood, the blood of a True Dragon is not the same as the blood of a Demonic Beast with Dragon Race lineage!”

“Don’t try to pull the wool over our eyes. This thing is useless to us. Fatty’s got it, let’s move on to the next one!”

Once again, the fatty spoke up, cutting through the secrets of the Demon Dragon Blade. Yun Ya felt a bit embarrassed; after all, she did indeed stretch the truth, and being called out on it was rather awkward.

There was no reaction from the second floor; they were not interested in such treasures. After hearing the fatty’s introduction, the rest of the crowd was also a bit disappointed, losing the desire to bid.

“Eight hundred top-grade Spirit Stones once.”

“Eight hundred top-grade Spirit Stones twice.”

“…thrice.”

“Congratulations, sir, for successfully bidding on another item from the Treasure Pavilion!”

Yun Ya kept up her cheerful façade but thought to herself, mmp, this damn fatty is onto something. An item that should have sparked a bidding war was rendered mundane by his explanations, cooling the crowd’s interest. And the worst part was, he was right, and she couldn’t even refute him.

“Alright already, Fatty’s not here for these things. Let’s continue with the next item!”

The fatty still looked completely impatient.

“Fine, the third lot is…”

Yun Ya, feeling helpless, continued presenting the lots.

The fatty repeated his tactics, critiquing each item thoroughly, leading the cultivators on the first floor to lose interest in bidding, and then he would quickly snatch them up at a low price.

The starters were just appetizers, and the cultivators on the second and third floors weren’t interested at all. No one on the first floor would compete with him, so after Yun Ya introduced an item, he would pick it up at the lowest price.

After he had collected quite a few treasures, the crowd finally began to sense something was amiss.

No matter what caliber of treasure Yun Ya presented, the fatty could trace its origins and point out its flaws, deliberately downplaying them to guide the crowd away from bidding, then quickly securing the items for himself.

This strategy was very astute; if it weren’t for the fatty consistently placing bids, they might not have even noticed.

“Cough cough, fellow daoist, you’re going a bit too far. Maliciously depressing the price isn’t in line with the rules!”

One of the cultivators spoke up discontentedly.

“Hmm, your hands are on your own bodies. If you want to bid, just raise your sign. Why speak to Ol’Fatty about it? Ol’Fatty hasn’t restrained your hands!”

The chubby fellow scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

“You…”

The cultivator was choked up and couldn’t refute. The fat man’s words were quite accurate; nobody was stopping them; it was their own choice not to bid.

“During the auction, please maintain silence.”

“All of you are individuals with broad horizons and naturally have your own judgments about treasures. Perhaps the previous items didn’t catch your eyes, but I believe the ones coming up definitely will!”

Yun Ya smiled, subtly reminding everyone not to blindly trust the big guy’s evaluations.

Whether to bid or not should still follow one’s own gut feeling.

If they allowed this fat man to continue having his way, their Treasure Pavilion would suffer a loss.

Li Xiaobai watched coldly from the side. Through a series of tricky maneuvers by the fat man, he could almost confirm that the person was indeed his Sixth Senior Brother, Liu Jinshui.

The devious tactics brought a familiar sense of warmth to him.

The auction continued, and the fat man kept gabbing on his own. He had something to say about each item as if there was nothing he didn’t recognize.

This time, however, no one was listening to him anymore. They had already missed out on many treasures, and as the auction proceeded, the items became increasingly precious, beyond what many of them could afford. If they did not act now, there wouldn’t be a place for them in the bidding later on.

The fat man seemed to have realized this as well, and he didn’t continue to outbid everyone, which further confirmed Li Xiaobai’s suspicion. Such despicable tactics could only be thought of by his Sixth Senior Brother.

Indeed, those with thick skin are invincible!

As the auction moved toward its middle and later stages, the treasures became increasingly dazzling. Heavyweights from the second and third floors started to enter the fray, and the scene became quite intense.

“The next item to be auctioned is not a single treasure, but a batch of Spiritual Medicine.”

Yun Ya slowly said, relieved that order in the auction house seemed to have returned to normal.

Here it comes!

Li Xiaobai’s heart stirred; his item was finally up.

“This batch of Spiritual Medicine was acquired from a Secret Realm in the Northern Region. This Secret Realm was opened by the sage of the Confucian Path, Beichen Feng, in the old days. The medicines inside are pure, natural and harmless—top quality. The grade is impeccable, and even those at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage would benefit.”

“The starting price, three million high-grade Spirit Stones!”

Yun Ya declared the price, which startled Li Xiaobai. The price was much higher than what he had suggested earlier. Treasure Pavilion really dared to do business, having quoted such a steep price.

Surprisingly, as soon as Yun Ya’s words fell, many wealthy patrons from the second floor began to compete fiercely.

“Five million high-grade Spirit Stones!”

“Six million!”

“Eight million!”

“Do me a favor, eight million and one hundred thousand!”

The atmosphere was incredibly heated. Li Xiaobai was so shocked that he was at a loss for words. He had underestimated the power of these wealthy patrons; indeed, it was poverty that limited his imagination.