Chapter 21: Asset Verification
"What? Private Room Seventeen, Row Two, has bid again? One million? Th-this... this is terrifying!"
"Not even the Four Great Families could produce that much money in one go. Just who is it?"
"What in the world is going on? One million taels of silver, good heavens..."
Seeing the new characters suddenly appear on the jade token, everyone rubbed their eyes, afraid they had misread it. But when they confirmed the bid was one million, the room erupted once more!
One million taels of silver... Not even the Four Great Families could come up with that. Who on earth was this person, and how could they possess so much money?
They had already spent 200,000 taels on the Stem Lotus, and now they were bidding another million. To casually produce 1.2 million taels made everyone wonder just what great personage was in Private Room Seventeen, Row Two!
"I don't believe he has that much money! I demand an asset verification! If he doesn't have the funds, you don't have to do a thing. I'll kill this fraud for you myself!"
Yangg Jun had thought the matter was settled and was basking in his triumph when he saw the new bid appear. He nearly died of pure rage! Unable to restrain himself any longer, he smashed the window with his fist and let out a roar!
He was going insane. He had risked bankrupting his family to bid the enormous sum of 700,000, thinking he could surely overwhelm the competition and claim the Fiery Flame Axe. Who would have thought someone from Private Room Seventeen, Row Two, would appear out of nowhere and completely crush him, leaving him unable to even catch his breath!
One million taels of silver... Since when did Luoshui City have such a powerhouse?
As for the asset verification he mentioned, it was a common practice at auctions. When the value of an item for sale exceeded a certain amount, the bidder would be required to undergo an asset verification to prevent people from disrupting the order with empty bids!
Only buyers with sufficient funds could continue bidding. Otherwise, they would be executed on the charge of disrupting the auction, and no one would say a word against it!
When Yangg Jun proposed the asset verification, the manager of the auction house hesitated.
Although an asset verification could be seen as disrespectful to the bidder, it was a necessary measure to prevent losses for the auction house!
"Let's verify their assets. If they truly have this kind of wealth, the occupants of that room must have changed. It must be some supreme figure, perhaps even someone from the Imperial Capital. It would be more appropriate for me to go personally!"
Just as the auction house manager was hesitating, a calm voice sounded in the room, and a young man walked in.
"Young Master Chen Xing, you're here..." The others breathed a sigh of relief.
Chen Xing, the primary heir of the Chen Family of the Four Great Families and the Young Master of the Luoshui Auction House. His status was revered, his word was law, and he held absolute authority. Once he made a decision, no one dared to defy him.
"What are we going to do? Why did you bid such a price? If they verify our assets, we don't have that much money! We'll definitely be killed!"
Inside Private Room Seventeen, Row Two, Yangg Yan's face was etched with anxiety. He couldn't understand why the normally astute Nie Yun would make such a bid!
They had swindled 8,100 catties of gold from Li Fu's home, which converted to only 810,000 taels of silver. Even adding the 70,000 taels they got from Nie Yu, the two of them only had 880,000 taels. How could they afford one million?
Besides, they had already spent over 200,000 taels just now!
'We could have just not bought it if we didn't have the money. But now that this price has been bid, what do we do if the auction house comes to verify our assets? How could they possibly spare the two of us?'
It seemed that just six months ago, someone had made a fraudulent bid at this very auction house. When they were found out, they were hanged right in front of the entrance and strangled to death! That person was even an Inner Sect Disciple of one of the Four Great Families, yet that family didn't dare say a single word!
Never mind the punishment he would face for making a false bid; even his half-brother, the primary heir of the family, would face the harshest punishment from their family if he wrote a bad check at this auction house!
'It's over now...' Even the usually composed Yangg Yan felt that they had gotten into serious trouble this time!
"Relax!" Ignoring the anxious Yangg Yan, Nie Yun gave a faint smile. He casually took a jade token from his robes, placed his palm on it, and in the blink of an eye, formed a series of Profound Mystery hand seals, as if he were branding something onto it.
"What are you doing?" Seeing his strange actions, Yangg Yan couldn't help but ask, despite his anxiety.
"Making money, of course. This jade token is now worth at least 400,000. When the people from the auction house come to verify our assets in a bit, just give this to them!"
Nie Yun tossed the jade token over with a smile.
"400,000? Are you kidding me...?" 'How could a jade token possibly be worth that much?' Yangg Yan scratched his head, about to examine what was so special about the item, when he heard a knock on the door.
"Esteemed guests, I am Chen Xing, the primary heir of the Chen Family and the Young Master of the Luoshui Auction House. I have come to perform an asset verification. I hope you will pardon my intrusion!" a refined and gentle voice said from outside.
"Come in!" Nie Yun was slightly surprised to hear they had sent the auction house's Young Master, but not overly so. He had Yangg Yan open the door.
"Esteemed guests, my sincerest apologies. It's mainly because the one-million-tael price for this Fiery Flame Axe is simply too high, and our auction house is a small operation, so... I apologize for the disturbance!"
As the Young Master of the auction house, he naturally knew who occupied each private room. Although he had long guessed that it was no longer Nie Yu of the Nie Family's Inner Sect, he was still stunned to see two unfamiliar faces he had never seen before.
But who was Chen Xing? With years of experience, he was as sharp as they come. Though he was surprised internally, not a trace of it showed on his face.
"Heh, no matter. Give him the jade token first and let him verify its value!" In his previous life, Nie Yun's low status meant he'd never interacted with Chen Xing. He hadn't expected the man to be so composed and respectful, which immediately gave him a good impression.
"Okay!" Although Yangg Yan didn't know why Nie Yun was so confident, he still did as he was told and handed over the jade token.
"An Ordinary Jade Token... with a set of Martial Arts cultivation methods inscribed on it?" After taking the token and giving it a casual glance, Chen Xing was startled, and his expression changed instantly.
As the Young Master of the auction house, he had seen plenty of fine treasures. He was worldly and knowledgeable, so he naturally knew a great deal.
Martial Arts were a special type of Cultivation Technique that allowed one to fight above their level. They were extremely rare; there were only a few sets in all of Luoshui City! Like Cultivation Techniques, Martial Arts could only be recorded in special Cultivation Technique Jade Tokens. Yet now, one was recorded on an Ordinary Jade Token... It was simply unbelievable!
Ordinary Jade Tokens were very brittle. When inscribing images and text onto them, the slightest mistake would cause them to shatter... To be able to accomplish this, just what kind of person was he? What was his background?
He had long heard that there were supreme experts in the Imperial Capital of the Divine Wind Empire who could inscribe things onto Ordinary Jade Tokens, but he had never believed it. Could it be that these two really were from the Imperial Capital?
'The Patriarchs of the Four Great Families all have Martial Arts, and they are all Noble Top Grade skills. Let's see what grade this one is. It can't be too powerful if it was recorded on an Ordinary Jade Token!'
Like Bloodlines, Martial Arts were also divided into five grades: Emperor, King, Hou, Noble, and Mortal. The higher the grade, the rarer and more powerful it was.
With this in mind, he swept his Spirit across the jade token. Chen Xing's eyes gradually widened, and his whole body began to tremble!
Yangtze River Triple Wave, Noble Top Grade!
The Martial Arts on this jade token was actually also Noble Top Grade!
Although he hadn't cultivated it, Chen Xing knew that even among Noble Top Grade Martial Arts, this one was definitely considered one of the best!
Taking a deep breath to forcefully suppress the shock in his heart, Chen Xing couldn't help but say, "I cannot estimate the full value of this jade token, but it is worth at least 400,000 taels. If you two are willing, I can arrange for it to be auctioned right now. From the proceeds, our auction house will only take a five percent commission!"
"That's fine." Nie Yun said no more, simply giving a casual wave of his hand.
"My apologies for the intrusion!" Chen Xing turned and walked out.
"You... you sold a family Martial Art?"
Once Chen Xing was gone, Yangg Yan finally understood what was on the young man's jade token. His eyes widened as he stared at Nie Yun as if he were looking at a monster.
Cultivation Techniques and Martial Arts were the most core assets of a family. If a family discovered someone had sold one, they would absolutely treat the seller as a traitor!
"This isn't one of our Yangg Family's Martial Arts!" Seeming to notice his confusion, Nie Yun explained, "Alright, I'll tell you about these things later. For now, just relax and enjoy the show!"
"Nie Yun... you've changed!" Hearing the young man's words and recalling all the scenes he had witnessed that day, Yangg Yan finally understood that the gap between him and this young man was no longer small. He took a deep breath to suppress the shock in his heart and said slowly, "But this change... I like it!"