Pursuit of the Truth
Page 307Chapter 307: Su Ming’s Counterattack!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming looked calm, as he usually did. The only change was the slight crease between his brows, which soon disappeared. If it had been anyone else bidding, he might have been somewhat interested in the crane and joined in to bid.
Yet since it was Tian Lan Meng, and she started with 500,000 stone coins right from the get go, Su Ming only gave it a brief thought before he decided not to open his mouth.
Yet even if he did not speak, it did not mean that the others in the room would not place a bid. By the side, Zi Shan noticed the slight crease between Su Ming’s brows before it disappeared. A barely noticeable glint appeared in her eyes and with a light chuckle, she spoke in a gentle voice.
"700,000."
The auction hall should have fallen into silence the moment Tian Lan Meng placed her bid. Most of the people were wary of her status, and the thought that they should not compete against her even rose within them. After all, to them, this item did not seem to have much use.
That was why when Zi Shan’s voice broke the silence, it immediately caught the attention of the crowd in the auction hall. Multiple pairs of eyes were instantly trained on the balcony leading to the ninth room.
Su Ming was standing there, and right beside him was Zi Shan, who was smiling as she looked at Su Ming. The expression she put on made it seem as if she was just following Su Ming’s orders.
The first thought that appeared in most of the people’s minds once they saw the scene at the balcony of the ninth room was that Su Ming had ordered the woman to place that bid!
Tian Lan Meng also lifted her head. Once she cast a glance at Su Ming standing at the balcony, she moved her gaze onto Zi Shan with a calm expression.
"1,000,000," she said gently.
"Brother Su, do you still want that?" In the ninth room, Zi Shan covered her mouth and smiled before looking towards Su Ming.
A chilling look settled in Su Ming’s eyes and he gave the woman a look. Her actions were disgustingly sinister. Just by standing beside him, she could create animosity between him and Tian Lan Meng, and that casual bid of 700,000 stone coins had just caused Tian Lan Meng to have to spend more than one fold of what she originally needed to.
"No," Su Ming averted his gaze and said calmly.
Zi Shan’s pupils shrank. She had originally thought Su Ming would definitely get angry. Even if that anger was not shown outwardly, he would still accidentally reveal some of it, and if he did, she would have succeeded in her plans.
In fact, she had already planned out what to say to Su Ming in her heart. She did not think that he would not be able to tell what she had just done, but she was also certain that he would be unable to fault her for it. After all, everything she did was for him. On the surface, that is.
Yet now, aside from Su Ming’s gaze, which had turned slightly colder, no other changes could be found on him. It made Zi Shan think that the man before her was very enigmatic, and it gave her a feeling that she could not predict his actions.
The grass woven crane was eventually bought by Tian Lan Meng. Even if she had paid twice the amount of what she originally offered, it was nothing to her.
She was only concerned about the fact that this crane came from some other world and interested in whether this thing could help her in reaching an epiphany regarding Dao.
Zi Shan gradually found herself unable to read Su Ming. This man, who was standing not too far away from her, had still not placed a bid on a single item. He only stood there and watched the items being bought by other people quietly.
Several hours later, the intense competition in the auction hall had caused buzzing sounds to fill the area, making it seem as if there was an invisible energy force enveloping the place. It could affect the people’s emotions, making all those there to go mad for the auctioned items.
Yet Su Ming remained as calm as water. He stood there and watched, unaffected.
‘This person may seem steady, but is in truth very naive. By acting sophisticated, once he places a bid during the auction, he’ll definitely attract attention to himself, it’ll be difficult for him to get something easily without having anyone compete against him.
‘He’s unlike those who had been placing bids for every single item. It’s easier for them to get what they want.’
Zi Shan cast a glance at Su Ming before she averted her gaze.
At that moment, the blue-haired old man standing on the stone pillar in the middle of the auction hall let out a few coughs. It lightened up the tense atmosphere that had filled up the area, and once it did and the people slightly piped down, his voice traveled in all directions once again.
"We are deeply grateful to your generosity, my fellow tribesmen of Freezing Sky. All the previous valuable treasures we brought out have been sold. I believe the next item I bring out will have the same fate.
"But I would have to warn all of you. This item might stir up fierce competition among all of you. Please be prepared." When the blue-haired old man finished speaking, he lifted his right hand swiftly.
"Bring it here!"
Once he spoke, a large mass of distorted ripples spreading out to an area of several hundreds of feet appeared abruptly behind him. Rumbling sounds came from within those ripples, and they were followed suit by nine people walking out of it slowly. All of the nine people were strong men, and a long spear lay on their shoulders. The instant all these people walked out of the distorted ripples, a gigantic black spear of one hundred feet appeared before the crowd!
The moment it did, an astonishing murderous aura spread out with a whistle, enveloping the entire area, causing all the people present to hear a shrill cry.
In fact, some of the people who had high cultivation bases could see faint shadows of thousands upon thousands of vengeful spirits gathered on that long spear. They swirled around and let out pained screams.
"Sky Shaman Spear!"
"This is… I read about this item in some ancient scrolls before. That’s right, there’s no doubt that this is it! That’s Sky Shaman Spear!"
"A thousand years ago, the Shaman Tribe carried out a large scale invasion into Sky Mist Barrier and used a special method to create nine Sky Shaman Spears. Rumors say that each of these Sky Shaman Spears contain such incredible power that they could shake the sky and earth. They can… kill those in the Berserker Soul Realm!"
Uproars broke out among the people and their voices stirred up waves upon waves of sounds that filled the entire auction hall. Many in the audience even stood up instinctively with disbelief on their faces.
A hint of pride appeared on the blue-haired old man’s face. This item had been the cause of many discussions in Western Sea Clan on whether it should be brought out and auctioned off. Eventually, it was decided that it should be sent to the land of Freezing Sky.
"This item is indeed Sky Shaman Spear. There is no mistaking it, because we of the Western Sea Clan have ascertained the identity of this thing! If you want to use it, you must first offer a sacrifice, but once it strikes, it can destroy a powerful Berserker in the Berserker Soul Realm!
"Yet even though you can only use it once, if you have this, then you will possess a power strong enough to make those in the Berserker Soul Realm wary of you. With this item, you might even be able to escape death once during Sky Mist Shaman Hunt!
"The starting bid for this item is 1,000,000. You can place your bids now!" The old man waved his arm, and the moment he finished speaking, the voices of people yelling out their bids immediately rose into the air.
"1,500,000!"
"2,000,000!"
"2,300,000!"
"2,700,000!"
"3,500,000!"
The excited voices continued growing in volume in the auction hall. Zi Shan hesitated for moment in the ninth room before she looked at Su Ming. However, in her eyes, Su Ming still looked and behaved the same way. Nothing changed on him.
"Brother Su, if you like this item, I can buy it for you…"
"Your Master will buy an item for me once, right?" Su Ming turned his head around and gave Zi Shan a look.
"Only once." Zi Shan nodded.
"Anything at all?" Su Ming smiled.
"Anything you like, brother Su!" Zi Shan lifted her chin and spoke. Her voice was very pleasant to the ears.
"But I don’t trust you. I’ll only trust you when I have everything on paper." As Su Ming spoke, he lifted his right hand and brought out a white beast skin from his bosom before he spread it on the table, then he looked at Zi Shan.
Zi Shan hesitated for a moment, but once she remembered her Master’s orders, she chose not to mull over Su Ming’s words anymore and went up to the paper. With a few strokes of her right index finger, graceful letters appeared on the beast skin. According to the promise they made, once she wrote down the words, she pressed her palm on the beast skin and left a print of her palm on it.
"Now then, I wonder if I can buy you, Miss Zi Shan." Su Ming continued smiling as he put away the beast skin and looked at Zi Shan.
Zi Shan was momentarily taken aback by his words, but soon after, her face darkened.
"Brother Su, please don’t joke around. What I’m talking about is the auctioned items. Besides, even if you want to buy me, you might not be able to bear the consequences." Displeasure boiled in Zi Shan’s heart, and her expression turned freezing cold.
"Name a price." Su Ming was not at all bothered by the cold tone in Zi Shan’s voice. He simply spoke with a drawl.
At that moment, the shouts of people placing their bids outside were growing louder with each passing moment. The appearance of the spear had caused a stir among many of them, shocking them right down to the bottom of their hearts, causing them to all open their mouths and shout their bids.
"8,600,000!"
"9,400,000!"
"10,000,000!"
The voice that placed the 10,000,000 bid came from the same type of room as Su Ming’s. It was from the third room. The voice that traveled out from that room was gentle, but gentle though it may be, its tone was one that spoke of not allowing anyone to refute his words.
Perhaps it was the appearance of that voice that caused a short period of silence to fall in the auction hall. Once Zi Shan heard it, she glared at Su Ming and her lips curled up into a cold sneer.
"Even with 10,000,000 stone coins, you still can’t buy me. Su Ming, I respect you as a guest, but don’t you dare think you can act so cockily! By saying such things, you are humiliating me!" Zi Shan’s voice turned colder.
"Humiliation, hmm..?" Su Ming smiled. "Miss Zi Shan, I want the spear. Please pay for me!" Once he finished speaking, he turned around and looked at the auction hall beyond the balcony.
"100,000,000!" he said unhurriedly, but his voice sounded like thunder crashing as it traveled out, causing the entire auction to fall into deathly silence in an instant. Numerous pairs of eyes were instantly trained onto the ninth room’s balcony and onto Su Ming.
Even the old auctioneer was stunned, swiftly turning his eyes towards Su Ming.
Zi Shan was stupefied, and then, her expression changed drastically.
She was not the only one who experienced a change in her expression at that moment. In the eighth room was an old man so withered he looked like a bag of bones. There was a wine cup in his hands. At that moment, with a loud crack, the wine cup shattered. A ferocious look appeared on his face and his breathing quickened, but when a thought appeared in his head, he forcefully suppressed his emotions.
"100,000,000… this… this is…"
"That’s Su Ming! He just called a bid of 100,000,000!"
"Does he have that many stone coins? 100,000,000 stone coins? That’s impossible! You rarely see that amount appearing in an auction! Even if Sky Shaman Spear has incredible power, it can only be used once. It’s not worth that price!"
The blue-haired old man glared at Su Ming and demanded in a hoarse voice, "Sir, do you understand that if you make a false bid and you can’t pay the amount of stone coins you offered, then even if you are a disciple of Freezing Sky Clan, you will have to bear the consequences?!"