Chapter 4126 — A Slap in the Face

After all, no matter how rare this thing's appearance might be, when all was said and done it was still just a piece of spirit jade—not some other precious and wondrous treasure. It could indeed be used to assist in cultivation, but its effects plainly could not begin to compare with those of pills and the like.

And if one simply reckoned it in terms of volume exchanged, this top-grade spirit jade could at most be traded for a hundred spirit jades—and that was pushing it to the limit. Yet the starting bid was already a thousand spirit jades. To bid on that basis was sheer blindness; no matter how much spirit jade one had, this was no way to squander it.

Still, since the organizers dared set a reserve price of a thousand spirit jades, it was not entirely without reason. One had to understand that even on Cloud-Tier Island, where strength was revered, those fond of cultivating refined tastes were by no means few. This top-grade spirit jade might have little use otherwise, but to a lover of jade carving its value was extraordinary.

Unfortunately, judging by the chill that had settled over the hall, there was no jade-carving enthusiast to be found here. No matter how the woman auctioneer strove to play it up, not a single soul was willing to waste spirit jade on a reckless bid, and it looked as though the lot was about to go unsold.

At that moment, Wei Zhao suddenly spoke: "One thousand one hundred spirit jades."

The whole hall was taken aback, and all eyes promptly converged on the pavilion marked Jia Twelve. Even Cai Zhongxuan, seated beside Wei Zhao, could not help but start slightly.

"Young Hero Lin, I never imagined you had such a hobby—I hadn't noticed before," Cai Zhongxuan said with a chuckle. "I have a few friends who are devotees of this pursuit too. When we get back, I can introduce you; you'll find plenty of common ground."

Wei Zhao gave a noncommittal smile and said nothing more. In truth, a practical man like him would never care for jade carving; he had been watching purely for the spectacle and had never intended to bid at all.

The reason for this turn lay entirely with the ghost thing, who had suddenly alerted Wei Zhao through his divine sense, saying that this piece of top-grade spirit jade was a rare find. Only then had Wei Zhao changed his mind and spoken.

Now, seeing that the bidder was someone from Jia Twelve, the crowd's gazes—already tinged with envy and jealousy—took on an added note of gloating.

In their eyes, only a young master of that sort of standing would waste spirit jade buying such a thoroughly impractical trifle. But the more wantonly he wasted it, the more entertaining the spectacle became for them—after all, it was not their spirit jade being thrown away.

For Wei Zhao, this turn of events was no bad thing. So long as no one competed with him on the bidding, let these uncomprehending folk laugh at the show all they liked—there was a fine feeling in quietly making a fortune.

Yet just as Wei Zhao thought the matter settled and the woman auctioneer was about to bring down the hammer, a voice from the nearby pavilion marked Jia Fifteen suddenly called out: "One thousand five hundred spirit jades."

Wei Zhao started slightly, then turned to look. When he made out the speaker's features, his eyelid gave a small twitch—it was, astonishingly enough, a familiar face: Wei Shenjin of the Snow Sword Sect. And seated beside him was that shrew Situ Qian.

"Two thousand spirit jades," Wei Zhao promptly raised.

"Two thousand five hundred spirit jades." Wei Shenjin frowned and kept bidding upward.

"Three thousand spirit jades," Wei Zhao said without so much as lifting his head.

The hall erupted. That this top-grade spirit jade, with a reserve of a thousand spirit jades—already a loss in their eyes—should in the blink of an eye soar to three thousand, made them marvel. These scions of renowned families in the Jia ranks truly did have more spirit jade than they knew what to do with.

"Three thousand five hundred spirit jades," Wei Shenjin said through gritted teeth.

"Four thousand spirit jades," Wei Zhao called out, still calm and composed, his expression utterly unruffled, showing not the slightest sign of distress.

Spirit jade was hardly in short supply for Wei Zhao to begin with, and now that he had the Heavenly Pill Pavilion—a money-making machine that raked in tens of thousands of spirit jades a day—he was richer and more free-spending than ordinary folk by far. A mere few thousand spirit jades was nothing to him.

"Five thousand spirit jades!" Wei Shenjin shot back, unwilling to yield, and then, before Wei Zhao could bid again, he stepped to the edge of his pavilion, clasped his hands, and declared: "I am Wei Shenjin of the Snow Sword Sect. My wife has taken a liking to this top-grade spirit jade and wishes to use it to make a pair of wedding ornaments. I beg all you heroes to show forbearance and grant me this convenience."

At these words the crowd exchanged glances. The Snow Sword Sect was no small sect on the Central Island, and the very fact that it had been granted the pavilion marked Jia Fifteen was acknowledgment of its strength and standing; ordinary people could not afford to offend it.

Moreover, Wei Shenjin had put it that way, and any sensible person would likely give him face. This top-grade spirit jade was, after all, nothing of vital importance, and to provoke a powerful rival over a piece of showy but insubstantial jade was simply not worth it.

The auctioneer on the stage frowned at the sight. Wei Shenjin's conduct was a flagrant breach of their auction rules; if everyone learned to do the same, they might as well abandon public auctions altogether and settle everything privately.

But the man was, after all, a distinguished guest of the Jia rank, and the fact that this top-grade spirit jade could fetch such a high price of five thousand spirit jades had far exceeded their expectations. So they simply turned a blind eye.

Just as everyone thought the matter was over, Wei Zhao spoke up slowly, his tone casual and indifferent: "Five thousand one hundred spirit jades."

Wei Shenjin, who had thought the prize already his, froze on the spot, his face turning unspeakably ugly.

The rest of the crowd, meanwhile, murmured among themselves, secretly marveling at Wei Zhao's identity. Truly worthy of one who could sit in the pavilion marked Jia Twelve—his backing was so deep he did not even regard the Snow Sword Sect as worth noticing.

Wei Shenjin had only just finished speaking, and at once the fellow bid five thousand one hundred. Before, the bids had climbed five hundred at a time; now he suddenly raised by a mere hundred. This was a slap in the face with not the least attempt at concealment—who on earth was this young man?

"Look, the one sitting beside him is Cai Zhongxuan of the Five Elements Merchant Guild. Could this young man be one of theirs?" someone sharp-eyed in the crowd remarked.

"I've been to the Five Elements Merchant Guild often enough lately, and I've never seen this fellow," another chimed in with speculation. "Could he be a disciple from the Pill Hall? The Pill Hall and the Five Elements Merchant Guild are one and the same—it's quite possible!"

"I say this fellow's just a greenhorn who doesn't know the ways of the world," someone else scoffed. "Even if he truly has backing like the Pill Hall, who slaps a man's face in public like that? Wei Shenjin's backing is nothing to sneeze at either. Once they're out of the auction, a little dirty work in the dark, and no one the wiser—and this fellow is finished." R1152