Chapter 153: Detestable Xu Jianren

"The Brilliant Necklace is crafted by a renowned weapon refiner of the Frenzied Martial Empire. There are three in total, which our Prosperous Wind Chamber of Commerce has authenticated as Earth-tier High-grade. All three are identical; the core of each necklace is forged from the Earth-tier refining material, 'Azure Charm Spirit Stone,' and a fifth-rank demonic beast core, while the strap is made of refined steel meteorite iron. When the wearer is attacked, the necklace will spontaneously generate a protective shield capable of repelling attacks below the Martial King realm..."

"This necklace is so pretty!" Seeing the necklaces on the stage, Tong Yixin's eyes flashed with a bright light, full of anticipation.

Even Tong Yibing, who usually had a cold disposition, showed some fluctuation in her eyes upon hearing about the Brilliant Necklace. To block attacks below the Martial King realm—it truly lived up to its reputation as an Earth-tier High-grade defensive equipment.

"The three 'Brilliant Necklaces' will be auctioned together. The starting bid is one hundred thousand taels of silver, with each increment no less than ten thousand taels of silver. Bidding starts now!"

"Eleven hundred thousand!"

"Twelve hundred thousand!"

"..."

People in the regular seats had already begun bidding. Earth-tier High-grade equipment was considered formidable for ordinary people. Those sitting in the regular seats knew very well that they could never compete with the VIP zone for the Life-Extension Pill, and the people in the VIP zone would look down on lesser items. Therefore, they competed fiercely for the items that the VIPs disdained.

"Xinxin, do you like it?" Wu Tian asked with a smile, seeing Tong Yixin's eyes glowing.

"Yes, I love it very much. This is an Earth-tier High-grade defensive equipment—both beautiful and practical. Of course I like it," Tong Yixin nodded vigorously.

"Since it's good, I'll buy it for you." With that, Wu Tian stood up. "Three hundred thousand taels."

"Whoa! Someone in VIP Box 16 has bid three hundred thousand taels of silver, raising it by one hundred thousand all at once! Still, I feel three hundred thousand is still too low for three Earth-tier High-grade items. Are there any higher bids? Anyone?"

Wu Tian's direct bid of three hundred thousand stunned everyone present, including Tong Yixin and Tong Yibing.

"Brother Wu, what are you doing? I only said I liked the necklace, I didn't say I wanted to buy it!" Tong Yixin tugged at Wu Tian's sleeve in shock, saying.

"It's fate that we met again today. Since you like the necklace, I'll buy it and give it to you as a gift," Wu Tian smiled.

"But... but it's too precious, I can't accept it!" Although Tong Yixin had a lively personality, accepting a gift from Wu Tian without a valid reason was still a bit much for her to take calmly.

"A gift is not measured by its price. Let's win the bid first!"

"Three hundred and ten thousand!"

"Three hundred and twenty thousand!"

After a moment of astonishment among the crowd, people started bidding again. After all, three hundred thousand for three Earth-tier High-grade items was indeed a bargain.

"Five hundred thousand!" Wu Tian raised his hand again, directly pushing the price to five hundred thousand.

Another wave of uproar swept through the crowd. Damn it, this guy didn't play by the rules at all, raising the price by over a hundred thousand in one go. What a filthy rich bastard.

"What the hell! Who is being such a show-off? Trying to outshine the VIP zone—well, I'm in the VIP zone too, dammit!" At this moment, Xu Jianren from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect felt a bit displeased. He looked over toward Wu Tian's location and immediately spotted him. "Holy crap, it's this asshole. This jerk has the money to buy Earth-tier equipment?"

A mischievous smirk crossed Xu Jianren's eyes. "Heh, whether you have the money to buy it or not, today I'm going to make you choke!"

With that, Xu Jianren raised his hand and shouted loudly, "Eighty hundred thousand!"

When Xu Jianren shouted eighty hundred thousand—eight hundred thousand—the entire auction house was instantly dumbfounded. Holy crap, another big spender appeared, directly raising the price by three hundred thousand.

Wu Tian frowned and glanced at Xu Jianren. So this fellow was making trouble; it was obvious he was deliberately driving up the price. How utterly shameless.

"Ninety hundred thousand!" Even though he knew Xu Jianren was intentionally inflating the price, Wu Tian did not give up and continued to raise his bid.

"One million!" Xu Jianren looked at Wu Tian from afar with a smile and shouted again.

"One million one hundred thousand!" Wu Tian continued to bid.

After that, the entire venue was left with only Wu Tian and Xu Jianren driving up the price. Everyone else completely gave up on bidding. After all, when two wealthy tycoons in the VIP zone were fighting, others had no business interfering.

"Brother Wu, that's enough. The necklace is nice, but anything over one million five hundred thousand isn't worth it." Seeing Wu Tian continuously raising the bid, Tong Yixin tugged at his sleeve and persuaded him.

"Heh, some people just want to show off, and now they probably can't back down gracefully!" Guo Yuemen nearby saw someone deliberately antagonizing Wu Tian and felt quite delighted inside, so he sarcastically remarked with a sour tone.

Wu Tian ignored Guo Yuemen, raised his hand, and called out, "One million six hundred thousand."

Xu Jianren gave Wu Tian a slight smile and raised his hand again. "One million eight hundred thousand!"

"Two million," Wu Tian called out once more without hesitation.

At this moment, the old steward standing behind Xu Jianren quietly reminded him, "Young Master, please heed this old man's advice. Our mission today is to bid for the 'Spirit-Enhancing Pill.' If we spend too much capital on other things, we might fall short. Please think twice, Young Master."

"I know what I'm doing." Xu Jianren nodded, then shrugged at Wu Tian with a gloating expression. The price had already been driven up to two million, which thoroughly disgusted Wu Tian.

"This young master has raised the price to two million. Are there any bids higher than two million? Any? Two million going once, two million going twice, two million going three times! Very well, the Earth-tier High-grade defensive equipment, the Brilliant Necklace, belongs to this gentleman. Congratulations!"

In the end, Wu Tian secured the three Brilliant Necklaces for the price of two million.

"Um, Brother Wu, two million—a full two million. May I ask if you really have that much money?" Tong Yixin asked with a trace of disbelief.

"Well, right now I don't seem to have it, but I will after the auction ends." Wu Tian had basically used up all the funds on hand. Fortunately, transactions at the auction were typically settled after the event concluded, and by the end of the auction, Wu Tian would definitely have well over two million.

As soon as the Brilliant Necklace auction ended, an attendant personally delivered the three necklaces to Wu Tian.

Taking the three necklaces, Wu Tian turned to the side and said, "Xinxin, Yibing, and Sister Yue, it's such fate that we met today, and I didn't prepare any formal greeting gifts. Let these three necklaces serve as my gift to you all. I hope you can shine as brightly as the name of the necklaces!"

Though she had mentally prepared herself, Tong Yixin still covered her mouth in disbelief. Tong Yibing didn't cover her mouth, but she was equally shocked; she hadn't expected Wu Tian to gift her such a valuable necklace, especially since her attitude toward him had never been particularly good. Yue Shishi was also quite surprised. Although she had accepted Wu Tian as her younger brother, this welcoming gift was simply too lavish.

"No, I can't accept this. It's too precious. Two million for three—that's seven hundred thousand each. How could I possibly afford to accept such a thing!" Tong Yixin hurriedly shook her head.

"You should keep it for yourself. We don't need it," Tong Yibing also shook her head.

"Brother Tian, although the necklace is indeed lovely, this is only our first meeting. It's inappropriate to give away something so valuable," Yue Shishi said solemnly.

"I am giving this to you with all sincerity. A gift is not measured by its worth; please accept it." Wu Tian offered them forward with both hands.

"We cannot accept." All three of them continued to shake their heads.

"Since you despise them so much, fine! These three necklaces are useless sitting here—I'll just throw them away right now!" With that, Wu Tian raised his hand as if ready to discard the necklaces.