Chapter 227: 227: The Final Showdown_1
However, now there seemed to be a tacit understanding among several private boxes upstairs. Every time Qin Haowen placed a bid, one box would immediately counter-bid against him. Qin Haowen’s offers were followed by a second family’s bid within three seconds.
The Qin Haowen who had forcefully shouted out of the window just now had a face green with anger.
It seemed like everyone in the hall had grown tired of Qin Haowen. Although the customers in the hall might not be able to compete with Qin Haowen’s bidding, they would burst into enthusiastic cheers whenever they saw someone outbid him right after he made an offer.
Qin Haowen’s previously overbearing demeanor was disliked by everyone, turning him into the object of collective mockery at the auction.
Even Xu Yixue and Ye Xiaoning, along with Tongtong, joined in with the crowd’s cheers.
Even if Qin Haowen didn’t care about the opinions of others, he still cared about Xu Yixue’s attitude. He had found an opportunity to invite Xu Yixue to this auction precisely so she could see him dominating the scene, acting cool, and covering the sky with one hand.
However, instead of demonstrating his coolness and dominance, he had become a rat crossing the street that everyone wanted to hit. Even Xu Yixue was in the crowd mocking him. Qin Haowen felt like today was a total disaster.
“Dammit! Zhang Qiang, call the family and have them transfer another three billion in cash over. If you want to play, I’ll play to the death. Let’s see who can last to the end!” Qin Haowen snapped at his lackey, Zhang Qiang.
“Yes, young master. I will contact the family immediately!” Zhang Qiang picked up his phone and scurried to call for reinforcements.
“Elder Chou, remember every single one in those boxes who’s been challenging me today. Once we’ve advanced to the Grandmaster Realm, we’ll deal with them one by one. Let’s see if they dare to act tough in front of me then!” Qin Haowen turned to Chou Jiukun and said.
“Rest assured, young master. Once I’ve entered the Grandmaster Realm, they will all be like dogs before you—kill them or slaughter them as you wish!” Chou Jiukun gritted his teeth as he spoke.
“Haha, I’ll see if I can’t take you down!” Qin Haowen cursed fiercely and picked up the bidding device again to continue bidding.
By now, the price of the Blood Bodhi had been raised to three hundred and fifty million, and even Xu Fan could no longer keep up with the bidding.
Xu Fan had only a total of two billion from the Hu Family and one billion from Brother Long of Night Castle, plus some of his own private money which totaled less than three billion two hundred million. Moreover, he also bought a haunted Jade Token from Prince Nan Chen for five million, so now he only had just over three billion. When the price went up to three hundred and fifty million, Xu Fan had already stopped bidding.
Bidding without the money would only lead to being humiliated in the end.
However, Xu Fan had not given up on the Blood Bodhi because it was too important for him; he had to obtain it no matter what.
As for the elixir that could advance someone from the Qi Drawing Realm to the Grandmaster Realm, Xu Fan could also refine it. All it would take was a few tens of millions to buy some ingredients from Elder Lin, and he could produce a Breakthrough Pill with the same effects as the Blood Bodhi. When the time came, Xu Fan believed that using two Breakthrough Pills, he could surely trade for a Blood Bodhi.
Everyone was savvy. A Blood Bodhi in their hands was just equivalent to a Breakthrough Pill, but if given to Xu Fan, he could refine a Blood Qilin Pill.
So Xu Fan had this confidence that even if someone else won the bid, he could still acquire the Blood Bodhi by trading items for it.
Moreover, in Xu Fan’s mind, there were countless advanced techniques; if elixirs didn’t suffice, he could use these techniques instead. Any martial artist would likely care about the next-generation techniques that Xu Fan could offer.
To use the techniques from the Cultivation World to train martial artists was like using guns and cannons from the industrial age against swords and spears from the agricultural age; it was utterly a dimension reduction attack.
If there was a martial artist in this world who could resist such temptation, then they didn’t need to be a martial artist; they might as well become a monk, for they had reached the state of being free from all desires, able to renounce the butcher’s knife and attain Buddha-hood on the spot.
The auction continued, and after the price reached 350 million, even the people in the private rooms, like Xu Fan, fell silent for a while.
Elder Lin, the owner of Zhi Shen Tang, and his fellow patients, gave up bidding after the price soared to over 300 million.
After all, as an owner of a pharmacy, he knew the prices of medicinal materials. Although the Blood Bodhi was valuable, it was worth around 200 million at most; the current bidding had risen to over 300 million, significantly exceeding his budget, so he had to painfully let it go.
Another crucial point was that he had already found Xu Fan. If the Blood Bodhi were the only option, he might have continued to bid with his old friend. But now, with Xu Fan as his backup, Elder Lin felt relatively stable, able to accept even if he didn’t win the bid.
Now, several private rooms had given up the competition, only private room number 3, next to Qin Haowen’s, persisted relentlessly in outbidding him.
After several uncompromising raises, the price of the Blood Bodhi shot up from 350 million to 400 million.
In private room number 3, Gu Xiaorui looked at her elder brother with a headache and said helplessly, “Brother, why is this Qin Haowen so annoying? He follows every time I bid. It’s already gone up to 400 million; we’re almost at our limit!”
“The Qin Family must be feeling the pressure too. Their businesses may be vast, but there’s a limit to their liquid assets. To come up with 400 million in cash, their company is probably under strain!” Gu Xiaorui’s brother, Gu Changfeng, analyzed calmly.
“But that’s all the money we have. What if he desperately keeps bidding against us?” Gu Xiaorui spoke to Gu Changfeng with a touch of defiance.
“Then we have no choice but to think of other solutions. After all, heaven never seals off all exits,” Gu Changfeng optimistically said.
“Alright, do we keep raising the bid, or do we add it all at once?” Gu Xiaorui shook her head, thought for a moment, and asked her brother.
Gu Changfeng frowned, pondered for a few seconds, and replied steadily, “Raise it directly to 450 million. If he outbids us, we’ll have to give up for now. But if we manage to suppress the Qin Family, the Blood Bodhi might just be ours.”
“Alrighty!!” Gu Xiaorui nodded, picked up the bidding device, entered the number 450 million, and gently pressed the bid button.
“Private room number 3 bids 450 million!” Elder Wang’s voice resounded shockingly through the hall.
Everyone was astounded; the Blood Bodhi, which had started at 100 million, had been bid up to a staggering 450 million. It was truly inhumane.