129: Chapter 129 Choice
Meanwhile, Lin Fan was also amazed by the wide variety of items before him.
Magic Cores, Demonic Beast Materials, magic spellbooks, magic tools, and even Demonic Beast eggs and juvenile Demonic Beasts that could be raised into pact beasts for Summoning Element Mages!
His understanding of this world was truly too shallow; there was still so much to learn.
The appraisal concluded. Lin Fan received a reward of 20 million yuan.
This amount left even Lin Fan stunned.
Elder Wang... the head of appraisals for the Alliance branch, transferred the money directly into his alliance card.
Just for appraising a few items, he got 20 million?
Lin Fan suddenly realized that there were professions in this world even more profitable than selling Demonic Beast corpses.
"Mr. Chen, the auction is about to begin. We have prepared an exclusive VVIP box for you. Would you like to head over now?" Elder Wang asked with a smile, watching as staff members moved the auction items away one by one.
The auction hall was located on one of the floors of the Alliance Building.
The lower level contained regular seats arranged in neat rows, while the upper level consisted of individual private boxes.
From the boxes, one could clearly see everything on the stage below. However, those on the lower level could not see the people inside the boxes, as they were blocked by dark glass.
These boxes were VIP and VVIP rooms specifically prepared for representatives of major Families, captains of major expedition teams, and wealthy, powerful big shots.
The box Lin Fan was assigned to was, in fact, a VVIP box.
It was spacious with elegant decor; a large, soft sofa was placed in front of the black glass, with a side table nearby.
This was to ensure he could watch the auction in comfort.
On the side table lay a numbered placard, used to indicate bids during the auction.
Lin Fan's number was 1. It was clear that Jiang Tianhai and the others held him in high regard.
The box was also equipped with a temperature-regulating magic tool to keep the room cool. At the same time, it came with an exclusive attendant to follow all his instructions.
Lin Fan sat on the sofa, his body sinking slightly into it. Comfortable. He thought to himself as he looked down.
The auction stage was only a few meters away from the first row of seats.
Guests had already begun to enter and take their seats. Each was dressed in gorgeous, exquisite clothing; they were clearly either wealthy or noble.
The auction was about to begin. While waiting, Lin Fan looked toward the other boxes.
The dark glass, which was opaque to others, posed no obstacle to his eyes.
He saw that many of the boxes contained two or more people, not counting the attendants.
The cultivation of some of them was astonishingly high. Many were Tier 4 Mages, and there was even one person who was a Fifth-Order Mage!
Baiyun City actually had a Fifth-Order Mage?
Behind his mask, Lin Fan's eyes narrowed as he stared at that person.
That was a man around fifty years old, with a sturdy build; there was no sign of aging on his face, though he already had a few streaks of gray hair.
He was in formal attire, playing with a small marble in his hand.
Lin Fan could feel the cold aura emanating from the marble... it was a magic tool.
He was not alone. There were two other people in the box. A man and a woman, both appearing to be under twenty-five, both Tier 2 Mages.
Lin Fan was somewhat surprised. Such young Tier 2 Mages?
He decided to keep an eye on this group until they left Baiyun City. It was obvious they were guests who had come for the competition.
Withdrawing his gaze, Lin Fan looked back down at the stage, waiting for the auction to begin.
More and more people entered, and soon, Lin Fan saw a few familiar faces: Aunt Mi Xue, several members of Wave, and the curly-haired Captain Jin Tu.
A few minutes later, the auction officially began.
The lower-level seats were packed, and the VIP guests in the boxes had all arrived.
The host walked onto the stage. It was Vice Minister Wei Rujun!
She was wearing an exquisite evening gown with elegant makeup. Her long hair was braided into a single plait resting on her left shoulder, so beautiful that even Lin Fan, who had seen her once before, was momentarily dazed.
With a script in one hand, she walked to the center of the stage. She introduced herself simply to the audience and welcomed everyone to the Baiyun City Alliance branch's annual auction.
The entire hall erupted in applause, and the auction officially commenced. The first auction item was brought onto the stage.
Vice Minister Wei Rujun began the introduction: "The first item up for auction is a Storage Ring containing one hundred Tier 1 Magic Cores. The starting price is 500,000 yuan, and each bid must be no less than 500,000."
As soon as she finished speaking, a bidding frenzy immediately erupted below. Everyone raised their numbered placards, competing to bid. Lin Fan watched with great interest.
This was his first time attending a real auction. He had only seen them in movies and novels before; witnessing it in person felt completely different. Especially with his current net worth.
Watching a group of people fight tooth and nail over Magic Cores, he found it quite amusing. The people in the VIP and VVIP boxes did not make any moves, merely watching quietly.
Before long, an old man dressed in luxurious robes won the ring for 790,000 yuan.
Vice Minister Wei Rujun announced the end of the bidding, the Storage Ring was delivered to the old man, and the second item was brought onto the stage.
The second item was also a Storage Ring, containing fifty Tier 2 Magic Cores. The starting price was 600,000, with each bid increment no less than 1 million. A new round of bidding began again.
Time passed quickly. Item after item was brought onto the stage.
The items appearing first were mostly Magic Cores and precious Demonic Beast Materials, such as sharp claws, wings, teeth, and bones.
Over an hour later, high-tier items began to appear. The first high-tier item was a spellbook.
It contained a core fire-element magic... Blazing Fist. The starting price was 5 million yuan, with each bid increment no less than 1 million.
"6 million!" someone shouted, raising their placard directly.
"6.1 million!" Bids rang out one after another, and the competition was exceptionally fierce. Lin Fan watched in surprise.
A Tier 2 spellbook was actually this expensive? In less than a minute, the price had already surged to 8 million!
Just as he was watching the battle for the spellbook, his ears caught a conversation in the adjacent VVIP box, and he immediately focused his attention to listen.
"Look at them, fighting like this over a crappy core spellbook; this sort of thing is completely useless at the university," said the young woman.
"Don't say that. Spellbooks can be used directly without needing to construct a Star Map yourself, and they don't require you to possess the corresponding element, so they are very practical in the wild," the young man instructed.
The middle-aged man ignored the two and continued to focus on the stage below. Lin Fan raised an eyebrow. So, they were people from a Magic University!
"To be able to send a Fifth-Order Mage as an escort, this Magic University must be extremely powerful," Lin Fan thought to himself, refocusing his attention on the auction.
Soon, the spellbook was sold for 9.8 million yuan. The next item was an egg.
Vice Minister Wei Rujun had people carry the egg onto the stage while introducing it: "This is the egg of the King of the Sky, the Yellow-Winged Dragon, a type of flying Demonic Beast. Once raised, it can become an excellent pact beast for a Summoning Element Mage." The starting price was 10 million yuan, with each bid increment no less than 5 million.
A flying Demonic Beast! The name alone was enough to be attractive. Those who knew of the King of the Sky, the Yellow-Winged Dragon, were all incredibly shocked.