Versatile Sword Cultivator

Chapter 172 – The first server-wide auction

Fengqu City Honest Auction House.

Hosting the server's first private auction.

Players flocked in countless numbers to attend.

Since the auction house couldn't accommodate all the players at once, Lin Jichen set a threshold.

To participate, one needed at least ten thousand Spirit Stones.

Even so, thousands met the requirement, nearly filling the entire auction hall.

To boost its reputation, Lin Jichen decided to livestream the auction to the entire server.

However, players who weren't physically present couldn't bid; they could only watch as spectators.

This was Jiang Luoyu's idea, to maximize the anticipation among players, making them envious while they could only watch.

This would thoroughly hype up the reputation of Honest Auction House.

Setting a financial threshold was also Jiang Luoyu's idea, aimed at attracting wealthy participants.

Without such a limit, many players without bidding power would occupy seats, and wealthy players wouldn't feel special.

In real high-end auctions, you wouldn't see a single poor person; it's all wealthy individuals.

The same applies to the game. Normally, the auction house is open to everyone, treating all equally, allowing free trade.

But an auction must cater to the high-end.

It's like the auction house follows a public route, but the auction itself must go high-end; otherwise, there's no point in holding it.

Lin Jichen learned many business tricks from her, all very practical.

The results spoke for themselves.

The auction house was packed with players, proving everything.

The livestream had already attracted millions of viewers, and it hadn't even started yet.

Lin Jichen disguised himself as an ordinary bidder, walked into the auction house, and found an inconspicuous seat.

Soon, the second-floor auction hall was filled, with thousands of people packing the venue.

These were all individuals with economic power exceeding ten thousand Spirit Stones.

It seemed the wealthy in Tale of Immortal were growing in number.

Lin Jichen scanned the room and spotted many familiar faces, almost all the famous guild leaders were present.

There were also some well-known pay-to-win players from his past life.

One person left a deep impression on Lin Jichen, a chubby young man.

His name was Wang Fuchun, quite 'famous' in the past life, having spent nearly a billion in Tale of Immortal in less than two years.

He didn't run a guild or recruit followers, just a scatter cultivator.

But he bought himself luxurious equipment, threw money around to flirt with girls, gifted equipment to girls, and even arranged real-life meetups.

He even dated a few minor celebrities and popular female streamers.

Everyone thought he was a super-rich second-generation, and many guilds tried to recruit him for sponsorship.

Later, it was discovered he was just an ordinary college student from a modest family, working as an accountant in a big company.

He embezzled company funds due to his obsession with Tale of Immortal, and the unlucky company immediately reported him.

When he was caught, he was in a hotel with a second-tier female streamer, speeding things up.

Seeing him decked out in Spirit Grade equipment, Lin Jichen was sure this guy had started embezzling from his company again.

But who he embezzled from was none of Lin Jichen's business; it wasn't his company anyway.

Li Fengwen didn't come; he was still in prison.

But Kuang Xiaoyan attended in his place.

Besides, Lin Jichen also saw Liu Xiazi, the number one female streamer in Tale of Immortal, who had also come. It seemed she was a hidden rich lady.

Suddenly, Lin Jichen's attention was drawn to a figure, his gaze completely shifting.

Jiang Luoyu.

She had also arrived.

Su Wanling, her assistant, was still by her side.

This was the first time Lin Jichen saw her since their fallout.

Jiang Luoyu didn't seem to be in good shape, her face showing signs of fatigue, her eyes stiff and indifferent.

Even when familiar faces greeted her, she only nodded briefly without saying a word.

Jiang Luoyu's attention seemed captivated by the venue, her gaze sweeping across, seemingly searching for someone.

When her eyes swept towards Lin Jichen, her gaze trembled, and their eyes met.

The next second, Jiang Luoyu said nothing, casually finding a seat.

Su Wanling also saw Lin Jichen, gave him a big eye roll, and ignored him.

Lin Jichen showed a self-deprecating smile. If possible, he didn't want their relationship to be so strained.

But some things had to be confronted, some hurdles had to be crossed.

Soon, the auction began, and Lin Jichen's thoughts returned to the present.

On stage, a beautiful NPC woman stood, smiling as she gave the opening remarks.

This NPC was also hired by Lin Jichen, eloquent and experienced in hosting auctions.

To avoid exposing himself as the owner of Honest Auction House, Lin Jichen used NPCs as much as possible.

After some pleasantries, the beautiful woman announced the first auction item.

"Today's first auction item is the Spirit Grade Wind Chasing Fire Spear. This spear's attributes are top-notch among Spirit Grades, acquired from a master by our auction house. Starting bid is 200 Spirit Stones."

She then displayed the equipment's attribute panel for everyone to see clearly.

Bidding immediately erupted.

"220 Spirit Stones!"

"225 Spirit Stones!"

"230 Spirit Stones!"

...

Seeing this item, Kuang Xiaoyan almost cursed.

Wasn't this his treasured Spirit Grade equipment? He had been depressed for days after Lin Jichen looted it. Unexpectedly, he saw his treasure again at the auction.

"Boss, fuck Lin Jichen, he really sold the equipment our brothers looted to the auction house."

Kuang Xiaoyan chatted with his friend Li Fengwen in prison.

Although Li Fengwen couldn't come out, he could still chat.

So he was now giving instructions from behind the scenes.

"I knew it long ago. The equipment store is full of our brothers' stuff. I bought most of it back. Get this spear back too."

Li Fengwen instructed from prison, his heart bleeding.

In less than half a minute, the spear's price had risen to 300 Spirit Stones.

Converted to market Spirit Stone prices, the spear had been raised to four hundred.

He had no choice but to buy it, as it was his loyal subordinate's equipment. He couldn't just let it go.

"Okay, thank you, boss!"

Kuang Xiaoyan was overjoyed, feeling touched, and immediately joined the bidding war.

A few minutes later, Kuang Xiaoyan bid 500 Spirit Stones.

Others gave up; 500 Spirit Stones was already very high.

Spirit Grade equipment wasn't too valuable now, given the game's public beta had been running for so long.

Plus, with the recent storyline trigger and the appearance of the Battle Merit Shop, many players had exchanged for Spirit Grade equipment.

This made Spirit Grade equipment not rare, though well-attribute Spirit Grade equipment was still cherished.

Seeing he was about to reclaim his treasured spear.

A voice rang out.

"501 Spirit Stones!"

Damn it!

Kuang Xiaoyan was furious, turning to see Lin Jichen raising his hand, smiling smugly at him.

"600 Spirit Stones!" Kuang Xiaoyan raised the price again.

"601 Spirit Stones!" Lin Jichen didn't back down.

The audience couldn't help but laugh. Everyone knew Lin Jichen and the Blood Fiend Guild had a deep-seated grudge.

But seeing Lin Jichen's cheeky bidding style, they couldn't help but laugh.