After the price of six million was called, everyone waited for City Lord Tan Wang to bid.
Only Tan Wang wore an expression of suppressed fury. Six million had already pushed past his bottom line, and he had no more Spirit Stones left.
"City Lord, since we stand as one, my Li Family will naturally lend our support. Although this old man has exhausted his personal Spirit Stones, the Li Family can still gather fifty thousand-no, five hundred thousand Spirit Stones. We are willing to assist the City Lord in this endeavor."
Observing Tan Wang's dark expression, the Li Family Ancestor hesitated for a moment before hardening his resolve and speaking.
"Is Ancestor serious?"
Tan Wang had already prepared to concede, but the Ancestor's words reignited a flicker of hope.
"Serious. You and Yan'er are husband and wife, which makes us family. Naturally, the Li Family will help."
The Li Family Ancestor had his own motives. He wanted to secure a deeper connection with the City Lord Manor. While the City Lord had always treated the Li Family with a degree of courtesy, it was merely polite accommodation rather than genuine respect.
"Very well. With Ancestor's words, that is enough."
"Six million one hundred thousand."
With a heavy exhale, Tan Wang raised the bid by another hundred thousand.
As the bid climbed, every eye in the auction house swung back toward the third-floor private room. At this stage, every single increment commanded the undivided attention of the crowd.
"Six million two hundred thousand.
Ye Tianyi had not yet reached her limit, and she immediately countered with another hundred thousand.
"Damn it, just how many Spirit Stones do these people have? Playing like this is endless."
Realizing they were still willing to drive the price higher, Qin Xiao felt a brief wave of hesitation. Just what figure would finally put an end to this?
"Seven million."
After a moment's thought, Qin Xiao decided to press the issue with a flat seven million. If he could force one of his competitors to drop out here, the rest would become much simpler.
"Forget it. This item is not meant for me."
As much as Tan Wang wished for Qin Xiao to back down, the moment that seven-million bid echoed through the hall, the City Lord slumped back into his chair. He knew his run had ended.
"Since both esteemed guests are determined to secure it, I shall no longer contend for it."
Though he was withdrawing, he still felt the need to preserve his dignity with parting pleasantries.
"Finally, one of them is out of the way. Now we'll see where the Heavenly Clothes Pavilion draws its line."
Hearing that Tan Wang had dropped out, Qin Xiao roughly gauged where his remaining opponent's limit lay.
"Where on earth did this brat get so many Spirit Stones?"
Ye Tianyi frowned in genuine bewilderment. Her hard limit was seven million, and she had been certain of victory coming in.
She had thoroughly investigated Tan Wang beforehand. The City Lord Manor could muster slightly over five million Spirit Stones, and even liquidating various holdings wouldn't push him past six million. She had even factored in the Li Family's reserves, calculating that Tan Wang could scrape together seven million at absolute best. That was why she had brought seven million five hundred thousand, certain the item was safely within her grasp-only for Qin Xiao to emerge out of nowhere.
"Miss Ling, I formally request capital verification to prevent malicious inflation of the bids."
Ye Tianyi simply refused to believe it. Could Qin Xiao genuinely produce seven million Spirit Stones? Even if the old master of the Qin family had left behind his entire estate, such a sum was impossible. She demanded proof.
"Why didn't I think of that? Oh well, even with verification, I'm no match for that woman Ye Tianyi anyway. I might as well sit back and watch the show."
After a brief flash of consideration, Tan Wang decided it was wiser to remain a spectator.
"Capital verification? Is that strictly necessary? Of course, if both parties are in agreement, our auction house can certainly proceed with it."
Although Ling Ruoxue knew a distinguished guest holding a Supreme Membership Card had entered the premises today, she had not connected that VIP to Qin Xiao. She had suspected him earlier, but as the bidding war on the third floor escalated, she dismissed the notion. While the young man possessed some wealth, he hardly looked like someone capable of producing seven million Spirit Stones.
"Capital verification? Fine by me, I have no objections."
Qin Xiao was entirely unconcerned; after all, he still had his Spirit Liquid reserves. Naturally, being allowed to buy on credit would have been ideal, but that was clearly out of the question.
"Since both sides consent, I shall conduct the verification personally."
Seeing no objections, Ling Ruoxue agreed. When transactions reached the scale of several million Spirit Stones, verification was standard procedure.
Since the request originated from Ye Tianyi, the inspection began on the second floor.
"Capital verification for the second-floor guest is complete. Confirmed wealth of no less than seven million Spirit Stones."
After inspecting Ye Tianyi's assets, Ling Ruoxue announced the result.
Ye Tianyi had prepared thoroughly, producing a pre-arranged storage pouch that allowed an immediate sweep of Divine Sense to confirm the contents.
Ling Ruoxue then ascended to the third floor.
"It's you?"
Opening the door to the private room, Ling Ruoxue blinked in disbelief at the sight of Qin Xiao and Yun Man. Though she had harbored suspicions, she had not truly expected it to be them.
"Miss Ling, please forgive my previous rudeness. Let us let bygones be bygones."
Aware that powerful Soul Formation stage experts backed the auction house, Qin Xiao decided discretion was the better part of valor and offered a conciliatory word.
"Hmph! You had better actually possess those Spirit Stones. Causing a disturbance in my auction house-even if you are Man'er's master-will not save you from severe punishment."
Seeing Qin Xiao's face brought back a fresh wave of irritation; the memory of his earlier mockery remained entirely vivid.
"A misunderstanding, purely a misunderstanding. I had no idea you and my disciple were old acquaintances. Do calm your anger, Miss Ling."
Qin Xiao wisely refrained from talking back. The young woman's backing was far too formidable to cross.
"Sister, please don't hold my master's attitude against him. Let's attend to the matter at hand first."
Sensing the awkward tension in the room, Yun Man hastily intervened.
"Ah, almost slipped my mind. Produce your storage pouch; I need to verify your funds."
Prompted by Yun Man, Ling Ruoxue recalled her purpose and temporarily set aside her grievance against Qin Xiao.
"I don't actually carry a storage pouch with me, but I have these instead. Converting these should easily cover three million Spirit Stones, shouldn't it?"
Lacking a storage pouch and keeping his wealth within the System Space, Qin Xiao retrieved a jade bottle containing one hundred drops of Spirit Liquid.
Though a single drop had fetched fifty thousand Spirit Stones during the earlier auction, direct private sales generally settled around thirty thousand per drop for instant purchase. Opting for fairness rather than gouging, Qin Xiao calculated its value at the standard baseline of thirty thousand per drop.
"What is this?"
Suspicion flickering in her eyes, Ling Ruoxue picked up the vial, wondering what new trick the young man was attempting.
"Wait-one hundred drops of Spirit Liquid?"
Upon closer inspection, Ling Ruoxue's composure fractured. She had considered herself generous when she contributed ten drops of Spirit Liquid to the auction block, yet this youth casually produced a full hundred drops.
"Well? Converting this should easily satisfy three million Spirit Stones, correct?"
Judging by her stunned reaction, Qin Xiao gathered that Spirit Liquid possessed far greater liquidity than raw Spirit Stones.
"Acceptable. That settles three million. Now produce the remaining five million Spirit Stones for verification."
Having witnessed many grand sights in her line of work, Ling Ruoxue quickly regained her equilibrium and pressed for the rest.
"If I were to take all of them out right now, this private room wouldn't have enough floor space. Of course, if you insist, I suppose I could empty the lot onto the floor."
Qin Xiao had briefly considered transferring the required stones to Yun Man, but the process was tedious, and the compact private room simply lacked the volume to accommodate such a mass at once.
"Ling Sister, you know my master is a mortal and cannot manipulate storage pouches directly. If he were to produce the physical stones here, they would bury us both before reaching five million. As for his ability to pay, you have my personal guarantee. Since my master can casually produce a hundred drops of Spirit Liquid, do you truly believe he would lack five million Spirit Stones?"
Having previously witnessed Qin Xiao casually dispense fifty thousand Spirit Stones in a space that barely held them, Yun Man spoke up without hesitation.
"Very well. Since Man'er vouches for you, I will record the five million as verified. Combined with the hundred drops of Spirit Liquid, your capital verification is approved."
Placing trust in Yun Man's assurance, Ling Ruoxue pursued the matter no further. Anyone capable of producing a hundred drops of Spirit Liquid clearly did not lack for wealth.
"Safe journey, Miss Ling."
Bidding her farewell, Qin Xiao returned to his seat, quietly noting that the young woman's personal opinion of him remained decidedly frosty.
"Capital verification for the third-floor guest is complete. Confirmed wealth of no less than seven million Spirit Stones."
Stepping back out into the hall, Ling Ruoxue announced the final verification.
" Heavens, what kind of monsters are bidding today? Both parties actually passed verification."
"Well, obviously. One is the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Clothes Pavilion, and the other is a mysterious magnate wielding a Supreme Membership Card. Neither of them is short on funds."
"I wouldn't even know how to spend that many Spirit Stones in a lifetime..."
The confirmation that both factions had cleared the threshold sent a wave of astonishment through the common seating area. Possessing seven million in miscellaneous assets and producing seven million in liquid funds were entirely different matters.
"Since the situation stands thus, I withdraw."
With her total reserves hovering just above seven million, Ye Tianyi saw no wisdom in continuing. Since her rival possessed matching liquidity and had shown a willingness to bid aggressively, persisting would only end in humiliation.
"Very well. With no further counterbids, this final auction item is secured by our distinguished guest on the third floor for seven million Spirit Stones."
"This concludes the auction proceedings. We thank you all for your patronage and look forward to meeting again at the next event."
Her announcement concluded, Ling Ruoxue carried the item directly to Qin Xiao's private room, determined to see exactly how he intended to produce those five million Spirit Stones.