CHAPTER 59: CHAPTER 59: SCHEMES AND WEALTH RIVALRY

EDITOR: ENDLESSFANTASY TRANSLATION

One million and ten thousand taels!

All the martial artists at the auction turned their gazes toward the private room from which the voice had come. None had expected Li Tianyang to raise the price to one million Silver Taels, let alone that someone would still raise the price further.

"Who is in that private room? To be able to offer one million Silver Taels, they must be quite a formidable character," one martial artist asked curiously.

"Earlier, I saw the Luo Family’s two young masters entering that private room. Judging by the voice, it should be the second young master, Luo Feng."

"Luo Feng! No wonder. In Panlong City, the only power capable of competing with the Li Family for the position of premier family is the Luo Family. The Luo Family definitely wouldn’t want this Stacking Wave Palm to fall into Li Tianyang’s hands. It looks like we’re in for quite a show."

A buzz of discussion spread through the crowd.

"Damn it!"

With a single slap, Li Tianyang shattered the purple jade stone table. Veins pulsed on his forehead, and his eyes were bloodshot, like a savage lion roused from its slumber. He had thought that by raising the bid to one million Silver Taels, the Stacking Wave Palm would surely be his. He never expected Luo Feng to raise the price again.

Hmph! The Luo Family just suffered a setback. I don’t believe this brat has that much silver!

Li Tianyang gritted his teeth, shot up from his seat, and stormed out of the private room. He roared at the lady in the red dress on the auction stage, "As far as I know, Zheng Hongzhi of the Luo Family was expelled from the family! The Luo Family is currently facing financial difficulties and absolutely cannot produce a million Silver Taels! I demand a verification of their funds!"

The entire venue was in an uproar! No one had expected to hear such explosive news from Li Tianyang.

Verify the funds...

The lady in the red dress frowned slightly. Verification of funds was a measure taken at auctions when one suspected an opponent lacked sufficient Silver Taels to cover their bid.

However, as an auctioneer, the last thing she wanted to see was a fund verification, because doing so would inevitably offend one of the parties.

The atmosphere in the auction hall grew heavy with tension. Inside their private room, Luo Xiao was now as restless as an ant on a hot griddle.

"Second Brother, what do we do now? Li Tianyang is demanding a verification of funds, and we simply don’t have that much silver!"

Luo Xiao paced around anxiously.

He had never imagined Luo Feng would bid on Yellow Grade High-Rank Martial Arts. By the time he reacted, Luo Feng had already bid one million and ten thousand Silver Taels!

Yet, as far as he knew, the silver they had brought this time totaled only a little over five hundred thousand Silver Taels!

"Why don’t you stay here? I’ll return to the family immediately and ask Father to figure something out," Luo Xiao suggested, already heading for the door of the private room.

If the fund verification proved they lacked sufficient silver to pay for the bid, it would be considered malicious disruption. Not only would they offend the colossal Dayang Commerce Alliance, but the Luo Family’s reputation would also suffer a severe blow!

Luo Feng reached out to stop Luo Xiao, smiling. "Brother, please calm down. It’s alright."

"How can it be alright? We don’t have a million Silver Taels!" Luo Xiao said anxiously.

Luo Feng gently pushed Luo Xiao back into his seat and said calmly, "Brother, still don’t trust me? Just sit here and watch."

With that, Luo Feng opened the door to their private room.

Stepping out, Luo Feng looked at Li Tianyang, flicked his fingers, and sneered, "Li Tianyang, is your composure really this fragile? A mere one million Silver Taels has you panicking like this."

A mere one million Silver Taels!

Li Tianyang felt like his head would explode from anger. Pointing at Luo Feng, he sneered, "Luo Feng, stop playing dumb with me! Just you wait. I’ll rip off your false front and make you get the hell out of here!"

Turning his gaze, Li Tianyang pointed at Luo Feng and said to the lady in the red dress, "I demand his funds be verified!"

The lady in the red dress felt a surge of disgust at Li Tianyang’s aggressive behavior, but her professionalism kept her from showing it. She confirmed, "Are you certain you want to verify his funds? You should know, if the verification proceeds and the other party *does* possess sufficient Silver Taels for their bid, then regardless of who ultimately wins the auctioned item, you will be required to pay him ten percent of the final transaction price."

"Absolutely certain! He definitely doesn’t have a million Silver Taels!" Li Tianyang declared, arms crossed, glaring coldly at Luo Feng.

The lady in the red dress turned her gaze to Luo Feng, choosing her words carefully. Luo Feng, however, simply waved his hand and smiled. "Rest assured, I’m not like this single-minded fellow. Since he insists on verifying funds, I will certainly cooperate."

The lady in the red dress smiled gratefully. She had been worried Luo Feng would be offended, as no one likes to be doubted.

"Young Master, this way, please." An attendant girl approached Luo Feng and guided him toward a special passage to the side.

"Tell me, do you think Luo Feng actually has a million Silver Taels on him?" The moment Luo Feng left, the entire auction hall erupted in discussion. Everyone was thrilled by this unexpected turn of events.

"The Luo Family is one of the four major families. Surely they can produce a million Silver Taels, right?" a martial artist said hesitantly.

"Didn’t you hear? Zheng Hongzhi of the Luo Family was expelled. With such a major incident befalling the Luo Family, they’re bound to have financial difficulties. Li Tianyang must know something to demand a fund verification. I reckon Luo Feng will find it very difficult to produce a million Silver Taels."

"That’s true," a nearby martial artist nodded in agreement.

Li Tianyang stood to the side, arms crossed, looking utterly unconcerned. The thought of Luo Feng being thrown out of the auction hall for not having enough silver made him want to laugh out loud.

A moment later, Luo Feng and the attendant girl returned.

The lady in the red dress on the auction stage glanced at the attendant girl, who nodded. The lady couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief.

"The fund verification results are in. He has sufficient silver to cover the bid price. As per the agreement, regardless of who ultimately obtains this Stacking Wave Palm manual, you are required to pay Luo Feng a ten percent fee," the lady in the red dress announced calmly to Li Tianyang.

"Impossible!" Li Tianyang’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He pointed at Luo Feng, roaring, "He can’t possibly have that much silver! You must have made a mistake!"

The lady in the red dress’s expression turned slightly cold. "Are you questioning the credibility of the Dayang Commerce Alliance?"

Li Tianyang was about to say more when Li Tianyao, who had approached him at some point, clasped his hands towards the lady in the red dress and said with a smile, "My second younger brother has a fiery temper, and his words may have caused offense. Please, Miss, don’t take it to heart. We are willing to pay Luo Feng ten percent of the bid price as the verification fee."

Even ten Li Families combined couldn’t compare to the Dayang Commerce Alliance. It was obvious who held more weight; even a fool could see that.

The lady in the red dress nodded curtly and said, "The auction continues. One million and ten thousand Silver Taels. Are there any further bids?"

Li Tianyang shot Luo Feng a venomous glare and gritted out, "One million one hundred thousand!"

"One million one hundred and ten thousand," Luo Feng said, looking at Li Tianyang with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

"He added another ten thousand! Is Luo Feng doing this deliberately?"

"He must be intentionally provoking Li Tianyang."

"I wonder who will ultimately win this Stacking Wave Palm..."

The surrounding martial artists, realizing what was happening, began to whisper among themselves, speculating on who would obtain the Stacking Wave Palm.

On the high platform, watching the two fiercely competing, the beautiful smile of the lady in the red dress became even more alluring.

Glowering at Luo Feng with cold, sharp eyes, Li Tianyang was filled with rage. He could have won the Stacking Wave Palm for eight hundred thousand Silver Taels, but now he was being forced to spend so much more.

Let’s see how much silver you really have!

Li Tianyang steeled his resolve, deciding to fight Luo Feng to the bitter end. He snarled, "One million two hundred thousand!"

"One million four hundred thousand." Luo Feng didn’t even lift his eyelids, his demeanor suddenly changing as he announced a price that stunned the entire hall. In a single breath, he had raised the bid by a full two hundred thousand Silver Taels!

"One million five hundred thousand Silver Taels!" Li Tianyang, his eyes bloodshot, blurted out the price without a second thought.

"One million five hundred thousand Silver Taels for a Yellow Grade High-Rank Martial Arts manual. The Li Family is truly wealthy and influential. Li Tianyang, you win!" To everyone’s astonishment, upon hearing Li Tianyang’s latest bid, Luo Feng simply smiled faintly and spoke to Li Tianyang in a mocking tone.

Stunned, Li Tianyang took a moment to register what had happened. He looked at Luo Feng, his face so dark it seemed water could drip from it.

Only now did he realize he had been played by Luo Feng!

The Stacking Wave Palm manual was worth one million two hundred thousand Silver Taels at the absolute most, yet he had just spent one million five hundred thousand!

Damn you! If I, Li Tianyang, do not kill you one day, then I will have lived in vain! Li Tianyang glared venomously at Luo Feng, veins bulging on his forehead, a low, beast-like growl rumbling in his throat.

The lady in the red dress glanced at Luo Feng in surprise, a hint of astonishment in her beautiful eyes. When her gaze fell upon Li Tianyang, a touch of mockery and ridicule flickered in her lowered eyes as her soft, melodious voice resonated through the auction hall.

"One million five hundred thousand Silver Taels, going once... One million five hundred thousand, going twice... Sold for one million five hundred thousand! Congratulations!"

Luo Feng, standing on the other side, also offered Li Tianyang a cupped fist salute from afar. "Li Tianyang, congratulations, congratulations! Paying one million five hundred thousand Silver Taels for a Yellow Grade High-Rank Martial Arts manual – you’ve truly set an unprecedented record! Oh, and by the way, don’t forget to send over that one hundred fifty thousand Silver Taels. HAHAHA..."

Luo Feng laughed heartily, then turned and returned to his private room.

A wave of light laughter rippled through the auction hall.

Li Tianyang’s face was ashen. If he could, he would kill Luo Feng on the spot!

In one of the private rooms, Ling Que watched Luo Feng, a pout on her lips. "Miss, that Luo Feng is so wicked..."

The person sitting beside her was Feng Lingyue. She chuckled and teased Ling Que, "If you dislike him so much, why were you so nervous when Li Tianyang demanded the fund verification earlier?"

"I... I just think he’s a tiny bit better than Li Tianyang, just a tiny bit!" Ling Que stammered, pinching her fingers together to emphasize the small amount.

Feng Lingyue smiled and shook her head, her gaze drifting towards the private room Luo Feng occupied.

She was well aware of the recent troubles plaguing the Luo Family. So, when Li Tianyang had demanded the fund verification, she had broken out in a cold sweat for Luo Feng. She never imagined things would take such an unexpected and dramatic turn.

I find you more and more inscrutable...

Feng Lingyue let out a soft sigh.

As soon as Luo Feng entered the private room, Luo Xiao hurried over. "Second Brother, what just happened? How did you pass the fund verification?"

Luo Feng smiled faintly. "Brother, didn’t I tell you before? I killed several powerful figures from the Jianghu. Besides those two high-rank martial arts manuals, they were carrying nearly a million taels in gold bank notes."

"So that’s how it was! Why didn’t you tell me sooner? You nearly scared me to death just now!" Luo Xiao exhaled deeply.

At that moment, the enticing voice of the lady in the red dress resonated once more.

"The final auction item, and the true centerpiece of today’s auction: a First-Rank Spiritual Artifact—a storage ring!"