Chapter 398 - 350: Grandmaster Combat Power, Final Auction Item

"Eight hundred fifty Yuan Crystals!"

"Eight hundred eighty Yuan Crystals!"

"Nine hundred Yuan Crystals!"

"..."

While the distinguished guests in the top-floor private rooms bid fiercely, the crowd in the seats and cubicles below chatted just as enthusiastically.

"Nine hundred Yuan Crystals! What a fortune! These people really don’t treat Yuan Crystals like money!"

"Of course! How could anyone not be tempted by such a Heavy Treasure!?"

"..."

"Nine hundred fifty Yuan Crystals!" a middle-aged woman’s voice called out.

"It’s Five Poison Earth Fiend Palm, Lan Yingying! She’s joined the bidding!"

"She’s already reached the Pseudo-Grandmaster Realm, why would she need this Ice Soul Profound Heart Lotus!?"

"Are you stupid? Can’t she be buying it to train a junior disciple?"

"Oh, right, right! But... isn’t it a bit early to be training a junior? Given Little Five Poison’s current Realm, who knows how many years it will be before she can use it!"

"Treasures like this can be preserved with special techniques. Sealed in a corresponding Jade Box, you can ensure its Spiritual Energy doesn’t fade for a long time! Lan Yingying buying it now won’t affect its later use! As they say, opportunities are rare. If she misses this one, who knows how long she’ll have to wait for the next!"

"I see! I’m so jealous of Little Five Poison Lan Yingjun! Her master is paving the way for her so early on. I wish I had a master like that!"

"What’s there to be jealous of? You can have one too!"

"What? For real?"

"You actually asked! Of course it’s not real! You think everyone can be Little Five Poison?"

"..."

As the price climbed round after round, only a few distinguished guests from the top-floor private rooms were left in the running.

"Fifteen hundred Yuan Crystals! This old woman is determined to have this treasure. I ask that you all do me this favor!"

Carried by a tremor of True Qi, Lan Yingying’s voice echoed throughout the entire auction hall.

She had raised the bid by one hundred Yuan Crystals in a single breath—the value of a Fine Treasure Artifact—displaying her immense wealth and absolute determination!

"Elder Lan, please choose your words carefully!"

On the central high platform, Li Dongshan couldn’t help but issue a reminder.

The rules of the Beicang Auction forbade using one’s status to pressure others or using intimidation to scare off rival bidders. Although Lan Yingying hadn’t explicitly broken the rules, her words carried that implication, pushing the boundaries.

If it had been anyone else, Li Dongshan would have already rebuked them for their actions.

But...

Lan Yingying was, after all, a Pseudo-Grandmaster who had been famous for a long time.

Therefore, Li Dongshan’s words were extremely restrained.

Lan Yingying didn’t respond. Although the auction floor remained lively, for a moment, no one else placed a bid.

On one hand, it was because Lan Yingying’s bid was extremely high. On the other, it was because of what she had said.

Though everyone had long known it was Lan Yingying herself who was bidding, as long as she didn’t announce it, the other guests could pretend they didn’t know and continue to bid. Business was business; it was a fair auction!

But now... Lan Yingying had spoken out! Her words represented her stance.

If she had said this earlier, when there were many bidders, it wouldn’t have mattered much if the crowd didn’t grant her this "favor." But now, the price had already reached a certain level, and only a few participants remained. With Lan Yingying having made her attitude clear, anyone who continued to bid would undoubtedly be disrespecting her. They might even risk offending her!

If offending her meant they could win the Ice Soul Profound Heart Lotus, some might have been willing to take the risk. However, judging by the current situation, Lan Yingying clearly had deep pockets. Bidding against her now would most likely mean offending her *and* failing to win the Ice Soul Profound Heart Lotus.

If Lan Yingying were just an ordinary Pseudo-Grandmaster, it might have been fine. The problem was, she wasn’t! Moreover, she was an expert of the Poison Dao! The mere thought of offending such a person was chilling.

Due to all these factors, after weighing the pros and cons, no one else continued to bid.

In the end, the Ice Soul Profound Heart Lotus was won by Five Poison Earth Fiend Palm, Lan Yingying, for a price of fifteen hundred Yuan Crystals.

This amount of Yuan Crystals far surpassed the accumulated wealth of ordinary Noble Families!

Someone like the Silver Gong Qiankun Envoy, Cao Yingxiong, who held sole authority over a region and had amassed wealth for years, couldn’t even scrape together half that amount.

Most importantly, these fifteen hundred Yuan Crystals were far from Lan Yingying’s entire fortune. It had to be said, a Poison Dao Pseudo-Grandmaster like Lan Yingying truly had a knack for making money and was incredibly wealthy!

With such a master, it was no wonder Lan Yingjun, her sole successor, lived up to the name of a little rich girl!

...

’Divine Skill Dragon Elephant Dominating Body Technique, Entry Level!’

Inside the private room, Chen Ping’an suppressed the urge to roar at the sky and gazed into the empty space before him.

Name: Chen Ping’an

Realm: Profound Light - Mystic Light Penetrating Object

Martial Arts: Dragon Elephant Dominating Body Technique Entry Level (0/240), Minor Achievement of Soul-breaking Blade (0/640), Great Success in Three-Point Human Tribulation Finger (507/1600), Vajra Unbreakable Divine Skill Perfection, Great Vajra Palm Perfection...

...

The existence of the Inheritance Realm made Chen Ping’an’s Cultivation exceptionally smooth, allowing him to reach Divine Skill Introduction directly.

However, the price was that the Spiritual Light on the Jade Scroll was completely exhausted, dissipating into the void. From then on, the Jade Scroll was reduced to a common Divine Skill Tracing. Though still valuable, its worth had plummeted compared to before.

A Horizontal Divine Skill Training, the Dragon Elephant Dominating Body Technique!

When Chen Ping’an reached the Entry Level of his Cultivation and circulated it, his True Qi surged, and faint wisps of black energy coiled around his body.

These wisps of black energy did not conflict with his Vajra Unbreakable Divine Skill. Instead, they elevated his already incredibly powerful physique and Divine Intent to a slightly higher level.

Beyond that, the True Qi inside Chen Ping’an’s body was surging to its absolute limit, its density beyond imagination. His every move now contained immense power.

Although he had only just reached the Entry Level of the Dragon Elephant Dominating Body Technique, the addition of a newly learned Divine Skill, with its Divine Wonders stacked upon the Vajra Unbreakable Divine Skill, raised Chen Ping’an’s combat power by another notch!

At his level, even the slightest change could have a massive impact, let alone an entire notch of improvement!

Although he hadn’t tested it personally, Chen Ping’an had a faint feeling that he was now in no way inferior to a true Grandmaster! If compared to the Dragon and Tiger Chart rankings, he should be able to rank somewhere between thirty and forty!

Though he had not yet reached the Grandmaster Realm, he possessed genuine Grandmaster Combat Power!

Furthermore, the greatest surprise that came with reaching Entry Level in the Dragon Elephant Dominating Body Technique was that deep between his brows, a Profound Light shone, and his Spiritual Energy was abundant. The Spiritual Bud had been fully nurtured and was now ready to bloom.

Having reached this stage, Chen Ping’an could now attempt to break through to the Jade Balance Grandmaster Realm whenever he wished!

Success meant Ascension to the Jade Balance Grandmaster Realm! Failure meant his Realm would fall, and he would have to build up his foundation again. A stalemate—neither success nor failure—would result in achieving the Pseudo-Grandmaster Realm!

This was a step every Martial Arts Cultivator had to go through when attempting to reach the Jade Balance Grandmaster Realm. To improve their odds and chances of success, they would spend a great deal of time and effort preparing corresponding Spiritual Objects, such as the Ice Soul Profound Heart Lotus that was just auctioned.

However, Chen Ping’an had his Golden Finger Panel, so he naturally had no need for such things. He had a vague feeling that as long as he could achieve another breakthrough in any of the three Divine Skills he was currently practicing, then... he would ascend to the Jade Balance Grandmaster Realm as smoothly as water carving a channel!

Never before had Chen Ping’an felt so close to the Grandmaster Realm!

For a moment, his blood boiled, and his heart swelled with boundless ambition.

At that moment, Li Dongshan also announced the final winner of the Ice Soul Profound Heart Lotus in a loud voice, finalizing the matter.

"Five Poison Earth Fiend Palm, Lan Yingying!"

Chen Ping’an returned to his senses, the image of the gray-robed, white-haired old woman appearing in his mind.

’I can’t believe she’s the one who won the Ice Soul Profound Heart Lotus!’

’Fifteen hundred Yuan Crystals! This Lan Yingying is really loaded!’

The matter of the Ice Soul Profound Heart Lotus was settled.

Everyone’s attention now shifted to the final auction item. Ever since news of the upcoming Beicang Auction began to spread, announcements about its major items had been released one after another.

But right up until the auction officially began, there had been no mention of this final item, making it seem incredibly mysterious.

Long ago, everyone had already started speculating what kind of Heavy Treasure this final item could possibly be!

And now, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Li Dongshan was finally about to reveal the answer.