Chapter 136 - 111: The Entire Audience in Shock, Respect from the Auction House

Chapter 136: Chapter 111: The Entire Audience in Shock, Respect from the Auction House

However, before they could finish speaking, voices rang out from several other booths in succession.

"Young friend, I am also quite interested in you. Booth Six would like to make friends with you."

"HAHAHA! You two shameless old things! Does my Booth Five not have the qualifications to trade with this young friend? Young friend, I am waiting for you quietly in my booth. No matter what you wish to trade in the future, I will fight for the maximum benefit for you."

"Little brother, come to Booth Nine! From now on, not only will I maximize your profits, but I will also reserve a VIP room for you at every auction. You will be welcome at all auctions held by Tiancheng Auction House!"

As the voices echoed continuously, everyone in District One was entirely stunned.

"What’s going on? Why are they fighting amongst themselves?"

"You might not know this, but Tiancheng Auction House has an internal competition mechanism. Each booth corresponds to a different auction hall. What does the auction house rely on to survive? Trades, of course!"

"Exactly. If a hall can secure a terrifying existence for regular trades, the future benefits it will bring them are unimaginable."

"By the same logic, when they encounter a trader with massive potential, they will compete against one another, offering the biggest concessions within their authority. It’s a win-win."

"I see. But the young man only brought out a pile of pills. Even if the grade and quality are top-tier, is it really enough to make the auction house staff disregard their status and fight over him in public?" a Cultivator asked, his eyes filled with doubt.

For a behemoth like Tiancheng Auction House, pills were not their only trade scope; they were merely the tip of the iceberg. The auction house shouldn’t have lost its composure to such an extent.

However, another Cultivator immediately offered an explanation.

"Didn’t you hear what the Trade Master in Booth Seven just said? This young man is very likely an Alchemy Master, and his Alchemy Dao attainments are infinitely close to the level of a Tier Three Pill Master."

"If it were just some high-grade pills, it might not be enough for the auction house to take him so seriously. But if they secure a long-term partnership with such a young Tier Three Alchemy Master, the profits it will generate in the future are terrifyingly unimaginable."

Tiancheng Auction House occasionally auctioned off world-shocking Divine Pills at astronomical prices. Therefore, it wasn’t that they didn’t care about the pill market; it was just that most pills didn’t reach a level worthy of their attention.

Suddenly, everyone came to a realization. The auction house didn’t just have their eyes on the pills, but on the young man who refined them. They valued his future potential in the Alchemy Dao.

Though voices rang out from several booths, the foremost Booths One to Three remained dead silent. Clearly, it seemed as if the young man before them was not worthy of their intervention.

Finally, Jiang Hao said nothing. He simply waved his hand again, storing all the pills into his Spatial Ring, and strode briskly toward Booth Five. He wasn’t stupid. The lower the booth number, the greater its authority within Tiancheng Auction House. Since he might frequently deal with the auction house in the future, it was naturally best to aim as high as possible. Among all the booths that had extended an invitation, Booth Five was the highest-ranking one.

Seeing Jiang Hao heading for Booth Five, Tang Xin Yi finally snapped back to reality, a trace of imperceptible joy flickering in her beautiful eyes.

"Sir, let me guide you inside," Tang Xin Yi said. She immediately took the lead. Her previously arrogant demeanor had vanished, replaced by a sense of deep respect.

As the crowd watched the two walk toward Booth Five, the lobby of District One instantly boiled over. The atmosphere was completely different from just moments ago.

"Booth Five? The Trade Master of Auction Hall Five actually issued an invitation?"

"Who is this guy? To be a Tier Three Alchemy Master at his age?"

"Even if he isn’t a Tier Three Alchemy Master yet, he is still a quasi-Tier Three Pill Master infinitely close to that level! To think that such an astonishing Alchemy Dao figure was born in a barren land like this!"

For a moment, countless Cultivators were deeply shaken, their eyes filled with utter disbelief as if they had seen a ghost. Their gazes were a complex mix of shock, doubt, envy, extreme jealousy, disbelief, and astonishment.

Meanwhile, inside Booth Five.

"Elder Tang, it’s just an Alchemy Master. The main auction items of Hall Five shouldn’t be pills, right? Why did you speak up?" a young man with an extraordinary bearing asked casually as he slowly picked up a teacup. He was evidently a local peerless freak who had just finished a trade, intentionally or otherwise putting on airs. Behind him stood several top-tier peerless monstrous geniuses, none of whom showed much emotion on their faces.

Hearing this, Tang Cheng smiled faintly. "I was just casually chiming in. I’ve made a fool of myself in front of you, Young Master Leng."

Facing this extraordinary young man, Tang Cheng could only offer an apologetic smile. He had no choice. After all, the other party was a peerless freak from the Leng Family of the Ice Race, one of the Nanling Twenty-Eight Ancient Races. Moreover, the young man was the cousin of Leng Tianyu, the new-generation Saint Son of the Ice Race. Being a peerless freak-level heaven-chosen himself, it simply wasn’t the place for a mere Trade Master like Tang Cheng to put on airs.

Hearing this, the corners of Leng Tianlin’s mouth curled up slightly. He didn’t seem particularly astonished by the figure outside, and even the top-tier peerless monstrous geniuses behind him didn’t react much either.

"A Pill Master is naturally noble. A Pill Master at his age is bound to have the hope of becoming a Pill King in the future. But in the eyes of the Ancient Races, it’s just so-so. Unless a true Pill King descends, potential is ultimately just potential," Leng Tianlin stated.

"Well said. Elder Tang, not to mention anything else, it is currently an era of heaven-chosen vying for supremacy. The auction house should focus more of its attention on true peerless heaven-chosen," one of the geniuses chimed in. "After all, to put it bluntly, only powerful peerless monstrous geniuses and peerless freaks can bring you the most valuable auction items from those ancient ruins."

Evidently, these youths were also here to trade away useless items they had obtained from various ancient ruins. Having just reaped a handsome sum of Spirit Stones, they were currently bursting with confidence.

As they finished speaking, Leng Tianlin seemed quite displeased with Tang Cheng’s attitude toward the figure outside. He was just a heaven-chosen from a barren land. Even he, Leng Tianlin, had never received such frantic, scrambling treatment. What right did that guy have? As a peerless freak of a Saint Race, he naturally possessed his own inherent pride.

With these thoughts in mind, Leng Tianlin took over the conversation to express his dissatisfaction.

"To the entire Cultivation Realm, a Pill Master is perhaps the most noble profession, bar none.

"But to an auction house, they don’t seem quite as indispensable.

"To put it bluntly, what the auction house truly relies on is the auctioning of Cultivation Techniques, martial skills, Dan Fang Secret Techniques, Array Dao Manuals, and the like, as well as terrifying treasure-tier auction items.

"As for pills, the last thing an auction house lacks is the circulation of pills. This is the place where Pill Masters can make money the fastest, and also the venue where a pill can be maximized for profit.

"There is nothing that can drive a premium price better than a bidding war.

"Elder Tang, do you think what I’m saying makes sense?"

When the youth finished speaking, Tang Cheng smiled bitterly. He had just realized that he had been too impulsive, almost implicitly offending a peerless freak over a young Pill Master. After all, during this era of heaven-chosen vying for supremacy, these juniors might not possess any heaven-defying treasures themselves, but the ancient ruins they could enter were never short of items that could shock the world upon appearing.

"Hehe, what you young friends say is absolutely correct. How could this old man put the cart before the horse? It’s just that I thought if we could trade with a Pill Master long-term, there would be some returns," Tang Cheng replied with a forced smile that didn’t reach his eyes, and there was indeed little excitement left on his face. In his eyes, the young man outside would likely only be able to trade in pills.

Seeing the reaction on Tang Cheng’s face, Leng Tianlin was very satisfied.

Little did he know, to Tang Cheng, this was nothing more than play-acting on the spot. He didn’t care who was who; he only cared about who could provide more and higher-grade auction items. Naturally, Tang Cheng understood all this, but he simply didn’t take Jiang Hao, the young man outside, seriously.

The reason an Alchemy Master enjoyed such an extremely high status was largely due to their terrifying web of connections, a deterrence that was incredibly formidable. However, to strike iron, one must be strong oneself. Connections were ultimately an external force. In the eyes of true powerhouses, they were only something to be wary of.

"It’s a pity. Nine out of ten Pill Masters have mediocre cultivation talents. How many Pill Kings or Pill Saints are there really in this world?"

"Other than pills, I’m afraid this person won’t be able to provide Elder Tang with any treasures in the true sense of the word."

As the youths chimed in one after another, they all shook their heads slowly, unwittingly looking down even more on the white-clad figure currently walking into the booth.