CHAPTER 335: CHAPTER 298 I LIKE

In the Interstellar Era, noble families stand above all.

Yet, noble families that have endured for millennia at least retain a manner of refined elegance.

When facing the public, noble families rarely show an overbearing and domineering side directly.

The ruthless and aggressive behavior of this group of people is rarely seen in the Alliance. At least, it is not displayed openly.

Gao Xuan glanced at the person surrounded by the crowd, a young man in his twenties, quite handsome and well-dressed, with a Source Power Level already at Level 11, prominently a Silver Sword Hero.

The most noticeable feature of this man was a crimson tattoo on his forehead, resembling a snake, slightly like a flame, and somewhat like a vertical eye.

In any case, this red mark was very bizarre and eye-catching.

The young man also sensed Gao Xuan’s gaze and glanced at Gao Xuan as well.

Next to the young man was a middle-aged man with a head full of red hair, tall and heavily built, with a greasy complexion. His voice was particularly rough, exuding a hero-like demeanor.

The red-haired middle-aged man shouted at Gao Xuan, "Get the hell out of here quickly."

Upon seeing the red hair, Gao Xuan realized that this was related to the red hair from the car. It must be the Red-haired Ghost King.

Gao Xuan didn’t respond, stood up, and moved to a seat in the back row.

The young man, however, became interested in Gao Xuan and casually asked, "Where did you get that mechanical eye?"

The young man was the son of the Celestial Snake King, with a noble status.

Red-haired Ghost King Peng hurriedly ordered someone to investigate Gao Xuan’s identity. The Red-haired Ghost Gang may sound funny, but its power is formidable, almost dominating Hundred Ghosts City.

They quickly found out about Gao Xuan’s identity, an alien outsider who bought the auction invitation from the Purple Lily Hotel.

Wang Peng said, "Young Master Xu, that person is just an alien shopper..."

Young Master Xu slightly nodded, "Oh."

Wang Peng added, "If you don’t like him, Young Master Xu, I’ll take care of him once we leave."

"Hahaha..."

Young Master Xu laughed, "That won’t be necessary. I just find this person somewhat interesting."

Meanwhile, San Baihe, sitting in the last row, nervously said to Gao Xuan, "It’s the son of the Celestial Snake King, Xu Fang."

San Baihe immediately recognized his identity upon seeing the strange mark on the young man’s forehead.

Among the Ten Kings, the highest administrators of the Black Banner Alliance, the Celestial Snake King is the most recognizable. Everyone in his lineage also bears the Celestial Snake mark on their foreheads.

It is rumored that the Celestial Snake King has a very young son, Xu Fang, who is deeply favored by the Celestial Snake King. Judging by the young man’s attire and the way the Red-haired Ghost flattered him, he must be the Celestial Snake King’s youngest son, Xu Fang.

San Baihe cautioned Gao Xuan, "Make sure not to get into conflict with them."

She feared that Gao Xuan might not know the limits and could anger Xu Fang. She also briefly explained the situation of the Black Banner Alliance to Gao Xuan.

Currently, the highest administrators of the Black Banner Alliance are known as the Ten Kings. Offending any of the Ten Kings within the Black Banner Alliance territory would be certain death. Regardless of Gao Xuan’s family background, it would be of no use here.

Gao Xuan listened silently; he wasn’t afraid of the Celestial Snake King. He was simply there for business and saw no need to create conflict over trivial matters.

Quickly obtaining the Book of All-Knowing and leaving should be his priority.

He could return to clean up the mess at the Black Banner Alliance once he had the capability.

The auction continued after a brief commotion.

Hundred Ghosts City is the largest city on the Planet of Death, and the auction items were quite good. However, they were mostly only Silver Level Marvels, with a few Marvels whose levels were hard to determine.

Gao Xuan did not want to show his intentions too strongly, so he participated in the bidding for several valuable Silver Marvels.

Yet the demand for such Marvels was so high that prices were quickly driven up by the crowd.

Gao Xuan bid on several items but didn’t win anything.

San Baihe, not knowing what Gao Xuan needed, enthusiastically gave him suggestions from the side.

She believed that some of the Silver Marvels were extremely valuable and that buying them at a high price would be worthwhile.

The key was, the more money Gao Xuan spent, the higher the commission she would receive.

The auction room’s atmosphere was very lively, with intense competition.

Many people would lose themselves in such an atmosphere and start bidding frantically.

Unfortunately, Gao Xuan remained very calm, not behaving like an impulsive noble youth at all.

Halfway through the auction, a yellowed blank book appeared on the projection screen behind the auctioneer. The introduction stated it was a book-type Marvel, with an unknown use.

The auctioneer exclaimed, "This is a book-type Marvel. Although its level cannot be determined, the inability to gauge its level indicates its uniqueness.

"Furthermore, after long-term preservation, this Marvel hasn’t shown any harmful side effects. Even if it has no practical use, it can be an ornament at home. If one discovers its secrets, one would be tremendously successful..."

The auctioneer said with some excitement, "Life always needs some surprises, some miracles. With this Marvel, the future might become very different."

This auctioneer was quite eloquent, and his words were quite persuasive.

An unidentifiable Marvel is indeed intriguing on its own. Moreover, it is not dangerous. This also sparked the purchasing desire of many.

"The starting price is five billion. Please increase bids by at least one million each time."

The auctioneer pointed to the guests below the stage, "Now, please place your bids."

The hall fell silent. Although the crowd’s purchasing desire was triggered, the price was somewhat too extravagant.

Spending a few million or tens of millions might be worth the surprise. But billions? That price was too steep. Who would spend billions on something useless?

The Book of All-Knowing had been sitting at Qiqu Pavilion for two years, drawing no interest each time it appeared.

However, Qiqu Pavilion was not in a hurry. Such Marvels were acquired at extremely low costs. It didn’t matter if they couldn’t be sold, but they absolutely couldn’t be sold cheaply.

Qiqu Pavilion also had its style; nothing was sold cheaply.

Furthermore, this book was difficult to appraise, which was intriguing enough in itself. Appraisers also determined that its level wouldn’t be low.

The auctioneer was quite experienced; although the room was silent, he was not embarrassed at all.

He smiled and said, "A price of several hundred million is indeed not low, but it also proves our confidence in this marvel..."

The auctioneer spoke a bit, but nobody responded. He was about to announce that the item would be passed in, when he saw someone below signaling with a bid card.

He couldn’t help but be pleased, "This gentleman has good taste."

The auctioneer didn’t think anyone else would bid again. After looking around the room, he gently tapped the gavel, "Five hundred million, first time; five hundred million, second time,"

Sitting in the front row, Xu Fang suddenly raised his hand to signal, and the auctioneer looked at Xu Fang with a bit of surprise. Of course, he knew the man’s identity. But since he hadn’t made a sound, suddenly bidding on this book, what did it mean?

Out of professional ethics, the auctioneer steadied his emotions, "Five hundred million and one hundred thousand, first time..."

Gao Xuan sighed inwardly; sure enough, this Xu Fang just wanted to make trouble.

But if he didn’t bid earlier, the item would have been passed in. This item was hidden in the Qiqu Pavilion’s treasure vault. Wanting to forcefully snatch would be troublesome too.

In a place like the Planet of Death, even if you snatched something, it would be hard to have a way to leave.

Daring to do such business, Qiqu Pavilion surely must have established connections long ago. Thinking of snatching things and running away isn’t that easy.

So, the best way was to buy it directly. Spending billions was worth it.

Gao Xuan had money now, and he didn’t want to cause a fuss over problems that could be solved with money.

Of course, he could hold off on bidding. Wait until Xu Fang leaves and then bid.

But why was Xu Fang targeting him? Just because of the seat issue?

Gao Xuan couldn’t understand the other party’s logic; they had only met once. What grudges could there be?

San Baihe was anxious too; she advised Gao Xuan, "You’d better not raise the price. That’s Xu Fang."

Gao Xuan ignored San Baihe and raised his bid again.

Xu Fang also followed Gao Xuan, increasing his bid each time.

Others understood, both parties had locked horns. This was also the most interesting part of the auction. Both sides could directly defeat each other through competition.

Red-haired Ghost King Peng said, "Young Master Xu, do you like this thing? I can go warn that kid."

Xu Fang waved his hand, "No need, I’m just playing with him."

Wang Peng didn’t quite understand, so he just accompanied with a dry laugh.

Xu Fang didn’t explain either. He wasn’t specifically targeting Gao Xuan; he had seen the book’s peculiarity.

After the Celestial Snake King’s mark was imprinted on his brow, he developed a special ability to see the marvel’s level and observe the refined changes in Source Power.

With this discovery, Xu Fang was willing to run around and look for bargains. Although his family held great power, there weren’t many truly powerful marvels.

With his special ability, he could find treasures among the junk. That feeling was exhilarating. He was even addicted to it.

In Xu Fang’s view, the book was at least at the Gold Energy Level. Moreover, it was higher than all the Gold Marvel levels he had seen.

For this reason alone, it was worth purchasing.

Xu Fang also noticed a strong marvel reaction on Gao Xuan. He just couldn’t determine which marvel it was.

Gao Xuan wanting to auction this book too only piqued his curiosity further.

Xu Fang kept raising his bid along with Gao Xuan, also wanting to see Gao Xuan’s limit. Gao Xuan bid higher and higher, showing no sign of stopping.

Obviously, he was determined to get this book. Which showed that Gao Xuan must know the book’s origin.

This made Xu Fang very happy. Once he caught Gao Xuan, he would know everything.

Gao Xuan, however, was getting a bit impatient with Xu Fang’s entanglement, "Ten billion."

The doubling of the price startled everyone present.

Everyone turned their gaze to Xu Fang to see what he would do.

Until the auctioneer hammered down the auction price, Xu Fang didn’t make a bid. The onlookers were somewhat disappointed.

Red-haired Ghost King Peng felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Young Master Xu, I’ll deal with that kid."

Xu Fang smiled faintly, "No rush."

San Baihe, who was following Gao Xuan, became anxious, "It’s over. You’ve angered Young Master Xu. You’re in big trouble. Sorry, I can’t help you."

As San Baihe was about to leave, Gao Xuan grabbed her hand, "The commission can’t be earned for nothing. Wait until I get the auction item before you go."

San Baihe sighed repeatedly but had no choice. She could only accompany Gao Xuan to the back to handle the payment procedures.

Gao Xuan took out twenty Source Diamonds and handed them to Qiqu Pavilion for appraisal. They quickly made an estimate and returned five Source Diamonds to Gao Xuan. The remaining Source Diamonds were valued at ten billion.

Of course, this estimate was undervalued by 10%. This part of the profit was Qiqu Pavilion’s main income.

After completing the payment, the people inside showed Gao Xuan the Book of All-Knowing, then placed it in a specially made alloy box.

A staff member, holding the alloy box, walked out from the side door, intending to hand the item to Gao Xuan. It was at this time that Xu Fang, with Wang Peng and a large group of people, approached.

The group stopped the staff member, and Wang Peng gestured to the man, "Hand over the item."

The staff was a little stunned, hesitantly looking at Gao Xuan.

Wang Peng, however, didn’t care what the staff thought. He grabbed the alloy box and, with a flattering smile, handed it to Xu Fang, "Young Master Xu, the book you wanted."

Xu Fang opened the alloy box, took out the Book of All-Knowing, and shook the book at Gao Xuan, "Friend, thanks for the gift."

Gao Xuan asked the manager behind the explosion-proof window, "Your Qiqu Pavilion allowed the item to be robbed, and you won’t do anything about it?"

The manager spread his hands helplessly, "You’ve already signed over the delivery. If it gets robbed, it’s not related to us..."

"So it’s unreasonable?"

"If you insist on saying so, there’s nothing I can do."

The manager said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, "If you really have the skills, go look for that person. Talking to me is useless."

Gao Xuan suddenly smiled, "So that’s how it’s played. I like it!"