He didn’t hear that wrong, did he?
Huo Tianqian incredulously looked at Chu Ge, his heart seemingly hearing the sound of it shattering. One hundred million—it wasn’t just about losing his entire fortune.
Not only his wife could not surpass him, but even his brothers would have to follow him and drink the northwestern winds.
Chu Ge didn’t know about Huo Tianqian’s difficulty, he just faintly nodded, "Yes, one hundred million, you heard it right."
Huo Tianqian secretly rubbed his hands, hesitatingly asked: "But Mr. Chu, I ... really ..."
He really couldn’t come up with that much money.
Chu Ge glanced at him, seeing Huo Tianqian’s troubled expression, and knew he was struggling with money matters. He chuckled lightly and said, "Don’t worry, I’ll cover this amount for you."
Huo Tianqian was startled, and looked up at Chu Ge.
Chu Ge continued, "This secret manual, I’ll bid for it on your behalf, just consider it as my gift for taking care of me before."
Huo Tianqian, a man in his forties, held Chu Ge’s hand excitedly upon hearing this, "Mr. Chu, this generous gift, I really ..."
Chu Ge disdainfully shook his hand off, looking at him with disgust, "Don’t get too excited yet. Whether there will be higher bids for this secret manual is still uncertain."
Huo Tianqian chuckled, the price of one hundred million was already very high, who would continue to raise the bid?
As Huo Tianqian had thought, there were no further bids.
Even Ge Fan, sat there with a constipated expression, his body uncontrollably trembling, furious that he couldn’t even produce one hundred million.
Finally, the secret manual was won by Chu Ge for one hundred million.
The host first praised Chu Ge, and then switched topics, introducing the second item.
The auction mode for the second item was different from that of the first secret manual; this time, it was public.
The waiter again pushed the display cabinet forward; inside, there was a half-meter tall Jade Venerable Living Buddha, carved exquisitely and with breath-taking detail.
Chu Ge loved the Jade Venerable Living Buddha at a glance. As the Buddha was rolled forward, it also caused a stir in the hall.
Everyone stood up, staring intently at the Jade Venerable Living Buddha on stage.
Some wanted to step forward to take a closer look, but before they could step out, they were glared back by the host.
"This Jade Buddha, sixty centimeters tall, is naturally unpolished, directly carved out of jade stone. It contains Spiritual Energy like spring water, making it a perfect Divine Artifact for Ancient Martial Artists."
The host cheerfully introduced: "This Jade Buddha was carved out just yesterday. We have had it authentically verified, so everyone can rest assured."
"Can’t we take a closer look?"
Someone in the crowd shouted.
Immediately others joined in, "Yeah, just by your words, how can we know if the Jade Buddha is real or fake? Let us have a closer look."
"Exactly, besides there’s a glass cabinet, what are you afraid of? That we might damage it?"
The host was at a loss; while there was a glass cabinet, it was just an ordinary one with no protective capabilities, and the abilities of these Ancient Martial Artists were unpredictable.
While the host was hesitating, someone backstage called for the host, and after whispering together briefly, the host returned to the stage.
The host coughed lightly, smiled, and said, "The organizer has just stated that you can take a closer look, but only from a distance of one meter."
The host seemed wary that someone might play tricks, adding, "Everyone here at this underground auction knows our rules. If we find out anyone has messed around, that person will be permanently blacklisted in the world of martial arts and expelled from the Ancient Martial Arts."
Being expelled from Ancient Martial Arts was harmful for everyone present as cultivators of Ancient Martial Arts.
Anyone blacklisted by the underground auction would also lose all their societal credibility.
The attendees were all prominent figures, running companies or small businesses. Losing their credibility could greatly hinder their societal standing.
Adding expulsion from Ancient Martial Arts, such a person would bear a tag, a tag calling for public condemnation, potentially ruining their life completely.
Thus, despite the host’s repeated emphasis, everyone present knew not to act rashly in such a situation.
As the host finished speaking, those eager to take a closer look quickly stepped forward, standing a meter away to closely admire the Jade Buddha.
Chu Ge and Huo Tianqian also followed, Chu Ge standing amidst the crowd, his gaze sharply fixed on the Jade Buddha, ready to probe it with Spiritual Energy, when he sensed a flow of True Qi beside him.
This True Qi carried an Evil Energy, not entirely pure, and oddly unsettling.
What surprised Chu Ge even more was that this flow of True Qi seemed only perceivable to him, with no one else reacting at all.
This True Qi slowly probed towards the Jade Buddha, Chu Ge squinted slightly, and his hand lingering at his side swiftly pushed out a flow of True Qi to block the other Evil Energy.
Everyone in the crowd was admiring the Jade Buddha, only one person was looking down, wearing a mask, his facial features completely obscured, but an Evil Energy, both righteous and demonic, emanated from him.
He felt a resistance against the True Qi he had pushed out, and was inwardly shocked.
This man was masking his identity, covering his Evil Qi very effectively—only those of equal or higher capabilities could detect it.
Therefore, the masked man concluded that there was an Innate Grandmaster among the crowd.
Ha, interesting, an Innate Grandmaster attending such an auction.
With a mocking smile curling his lips, he scanned the crowd, his gaze stopping abruptly on Chu Ge.
At that moment, Chu Ge was also looking at him.
Their eyes met, each accurately determining the True Qi came from the other.
Chu Ge stared at the masked man; despite the distance, he clearly saw that his pupils were a blood red, similar to Nangong Man Sha’s Blood Eyes, but his were even more vivid and sensually red.
The two flows of True Qi clashed within the crowd, skillfully avoiding everyone else, so in those few seconds, nobody knew there was a secret battle of Martial Arts taking place.