571: Chapter 571 First Auction Item

Inside the office, Manager Qiu sat alone at the desk. The virtual figure was gone, replaced by another virtual page.

The avatar in the top left corner was none other than Xiao Weiqing.

This page displayed Xiao Weiqing's basic information, but it was less comprehensive than what Xiao Weiqing had previously filled out.

It only contained Xiao Weiqing's name, age, origin from the Blue Star Civilization, status as a Sixth Heaven member, and his entry path via the Ascension Battle.

Manager Qiu had intended to investigate further; it was a habit he had developed over many years of doing business.

But it was better not to look, because checking gave him a fright. He had been warned by the System.

This had never happened before. For this reason, he hurriedly asked his boss.

The reply he received was that he had insufficient authority and was instructed to treat Xiao Weiqing as a Seventh Heaven member.

Yet, Xiao Weiqing had clearly just entered the Sixth Heaven.

The virtual page disappeared. Manager Qiu cast aside all stray thoughts, deciding not to dwell on it any further, for he knew that curiosity killed the cat.

The four-sided building housing the trading market had 100 floors.

The 100th floor was a magnificent, large auction hall. It was as big as half a football field and consisted of three levels.

The first level was for ordinary seats, while the second and third levels contained individual private boxes.

Unlike the second level, the boxes on the third level were larger and more luxurious, complete with service staff. They were led to Box 4.

"Three distinguished guests, do you need me to introduce the auction..."

"No need, you can leave first. We will call you if we need anything." The service woman was interrupted by Jate before she could finish.

"Very well." The woman did not dare to say anything more and respectfully exited the private box.

"Xiao Weiqing, have a seat."

The three of them took their seats. There was a spacious single sofa, and on a stool to the right, there were five colored jade plates, about the size and thickness of playing cards.

Jate pointed to the plates and said, "Just like the treasures of the Purple Sea, the white plate represents 1, and the gold plate represents 10,000."

"When bidding later, if you need to place a bid, just throw the plate into the box in front of us, and the screen outside our box will display the bid amount."

Xiao Weiqing nodded; it was easy to understand. "That seems a bit primitive. Can't you just input the number?"

Ji Sheng laughed and said, "We used to input numbers, but when inputting numbers, everyone becomes extremely cautious, which is not conducive to selling treasures at high prices."

"It was changed later."

"Using this method, most people enjoy the feeling of spending lavishly."

Xiao Weiqing frowned. "Impulse buying?"

"Yes, that's a very apt description. Regardless, it's certainly easy to get carried away, especially when competing with others. I have also used prices far exceeding the market value to win a treasure before."

"Let's keep an eye on each other later so we don't waste money."

"Really? Even you would do that?"

Ji Sheng looked at Xiao Weiqing, his face turning red. He said helplessly, "You'll see in a moment."

Half an hour later, the ten thousand seats in the first-floor hall were basically full.

Click, click. Click, click. The lights went out. The entire hall was suddenly plunged into darkness.

"It's starting," Jate said suddenly.

Step. Step, step, step. Crisp footsteps echoed in the darkness.

For some reason, these footsteps felt like they were treading on Xiao Weiqing's heart.

As the footsteps echoed, a beam of light turned on in the center of the hall. The light went from dim to bright, and where it shone, a swaying figure was walking toward the center of the hall.

Even just looking at the silhouette was full of allure, causing people to fall into endless reverie.

When this figure walked to the central auction stage, everyone finally saw the person's appearance clearly.

This was a beautiful woman wearing a purple dress.

"Good evening, everyone. Welcome to our 4,567 distinguished guests to this Purple Sea auction."

"Without further ado, let us welcome the first lot of the night."

Inside the private box, Xiao Weiqing frowned.

"What is going on?"

Xiao Weiqing's tone was filled with disbelief because the woman in front of him clearly looked like a person from Daxia; her height and appearance matched, and her figure was even more outrageously good—one could say she was fully mature and full of allure.

"Hmm? No, wait, is that Divine Soul energy?"

Xiao Weiqing's heart stirred. He radiated his Divine Soul energy and looked again, but the image remained unchanged.

"Don't bother trying," Ji Sheng said with a bitter smile.

"That is Daphne, of the Phantom Heart Clan. They belong to a solitary clan of the Universe. Her strength has already reached the Peak of the Dominator Realm, and her Divine Soul even rivals that of the Undying Realm."

"The entire auction hall is within her Domain. She can trigger your most primitive desires based on the aesthetics of different races."

Xiao Weiqing raised an eyebrow. A solitary clan of the Universe meant a race with particularly Heaven-Defying genes but very few members.

His Senior Brother Yake, who had already passed away, was from a solitary clan of the Universe—a member of the Heaven-Abandoned Clan, who were rumored to have their Comprehension Ability be Heaven-Defying, and thus were cursed by the Universe.

He hadn't expected to see another one here.

"Is this allowed?" Xiao Weiqing asked softly.

Ji Sheng looked at Xiao Weiqing. "What do you mean by 'allowed'?"

"Just releasing her Domain like this, giving us illusions."

Ji Sheng replied, "There is nothing wrong with it. Daphne hasn't done anything; she just released her Domain and presented different images based on our preferences. How nice is that?"

"You have to know that this kind of auction takes a long time. You will only bid on a few treasures at most, and when things you don't need appear, waiting is very boring."

"Exactly. When you're bored, looking at Daphne is quite pleasing to the eyes," Jate added.

At this moment, his eyes were burning as he stared at Daphne. One wondered what Daphne looked like in his eyes.

Xiao Weiqing felt somewhat helpless. No wonder that fellow Ji Sheng had once used a price far exceeding the market value to win a treasure; so that was what was going on.

Ji Sheng seemed to notice the meaning in Xiao Weiqing's gaze.

"Ahem. That incident was an accident; there will absolutely not be a next time."

Ji Sheng said seriously, as if speaking to Xiao Weiqing, and also as if speaking to himself.

"Xiao Weiqing, actually, this is also a test. If we can't even withstand this bit of temptation, we have only ourselves to blame."

Xiao Weiqing found it a bit strange when he heard this. "Are you talking about yourself?"

Ji Sheng's expression changed, and he looked a bit embarrassed.

"Ahem. I said that time was an accident."

"Watch the lot, watch the lot..."

In the center of the hall, the first treasure to be auctioned had appeared. It was a few pitch-black stones, some large and some small.

"Everyone, please look."

Suddenly, the appearance of the treasure appeared in the private box, as if it were right within arm's reach.

Xiao Weiqing was surprised by this imagery. "This isn't a virtual projection."

"It's one of Daphne's abilities," Ji Sheng explained. "There is no difference from the real object; you can reach out and touch it."

Xiao Weiqing was somewhat skeptical. He stood up, walked forward, and reached out to grab one of them in his hand.

It fit perfectly in his hand. It felt soft to the touch, and when he weighed it, it had some heft and was even slightly warm.