544: Chapter 544 Why are these two shills fighting?

As Su Chen's bid of "five million one hundred thousand" landed, a strange, eerie silence filled the noisy hall for three breaths.

Then, the first blade sharpened for him boldly unsheathed itself.

"Six million!"

In the third row on the east side, a burly man wearing a bamboo hat suddenly sprang up from his seat!

He shouted at the top of his lungs, using a volume as if afraid others wouldn't hear, smashing an earth-shattering number into everyone's ears!

His voice was coarse and powerful, filled with the desperate air of an all-or-nothing gamble.

"Hiss—"

Raising the bid by nine hundred thousand in one go!

This was no longer bidding; it was a demonstration of power!

The sound of collective gasps instantly rang through the hall. Countless gazes "swished" from the man in the bamboo hat toward Box Number One, eyes filled with the fervor of watching a good show.

Su Chen's posture leaning against the window frame didn't change in the slightest; his eyes narrowed slightly.

[As expected, here they come.]

[Number Jia, third row east side. The bidding style is simple and crude, meant to incite emotions and force me to act impulsively.]

[Exactly as I predicted.]

Beside him, Qian Duoduo's palms were drenched in sweat from anxiety. Seeing his boss still sitting calmly as if fishing from a terrace, he lowered his voice and wailed in a crying tone, "Boss! It's six million! He added nine hundred thousand! Please, don't be impulsive..."

Su Chen ignored him.

He was waiting.

Waiting for the second blade.

Three breaths.

Five breaths.

It came.

"Seven million!"

This voice did not come from the noisy hall.

It exploded like a clap of thunder from the shadows at the opposite corner of the auction house, in the direction of the hidden Private Room Number Seven!

The voice wasn't loud, but it was so heavy that the pillars of the auction house hummed!

A pressure unique to the True Immortal realm was mixed within, sweeping through the entire venue instantly and without concealment!

This pressure didn't harm anyone, but it dominantly throttled everyone's breath. The Loose Cultivators with lower cultivation in the hall felt their Divine Souls tremble; fine sweat instantly broke out on their foreheads, and their hearts raced.

The entire venue fell into deathly silence once more.

If six million was a demonstration, then seven million was a crushing blow! A declaration!

The gazes of everyone in the venue darted frantically between Box Number One, Private Room Number Seven, and the man in the bamboo hat.

Three factions were actually engaged in a bloody, cutthroat battle over the same auction item!

The internal monologue in Su Chen's mind finally began to scroll frantically.

[Good grief, the show of the year has begun!]

[The six million bid is from the Lingbao Trading Firm's shill, trying to slaughter me like a pig. Expected.]

[Seven million—Private Room Number Seven. This person is definitely not from the Lingbao Trading Firm.]

[The Lingbao Trading Firm's shill is buried in the general seating area, using inflammatory bidding to create a competitive atmosphere. But the person in Private Room Number Seven is using absolute, oppressive bidding, clearing the field directly with immortal essence pressure. This is the style of a Sect or a Great Family, not a merchant's.]

[Two groups of people.]

[Acting independently.]

[And, most importantly... they don't know of each other's existence!]

The fingertips Su Chen had resting on the window frame finally stopped tapping.

The smile at the corner of his mouth could no longer be hidden, blossoming completely.

Now this is getting interesting.

...

Meanwhile, inside the monitoring secret room on the top floor.

The Shadow-Recording Formation reflected everything below clearly. Xie Jinghong's brow furrowed deeply.

"Who is in Private Room Number Seven?" A hint of alertness entered her voice.

"Reporting to Young Miss," Qingluan replied respectfully while quickly flipping through the jade tablet records. "Private Room Number Seven was purchased temporarily this morning using a forged Loose Cultivator identity token. They paid three hundred thousand high-grade immortal stones for the room fee in one lump sum. All identity information is fake; no background can be found."

"A fake identity? And spending three hundred thousand on a room fee just like that?"

Xie Jinghong's fox-like eyes half-closed dangerously.

Her jade-like fingers, holding a wine glass, unconsciously tapped against the glass, making soft "knock, knock" sounds.

"Someone who can bid seven million and shell out three hundred thousand just for some peace and quiet is no ordinary Loose Cultivator."

She pondered for a moment, and then her furrowed brow smoothed out.

She understood.

"This Private Room Number Seven is probably arranged by that man named Su! One in the open and one in the shadows, bidding against each other to create a false sense of prosperity and muddy the waters, hoping to pick up a bargain at a low price in the end! Hmph, for an Ascender from the Lower Realm, he certainly has a lot of schemes!"

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that was the case.

"No matter who he is, as long as he's with Su Chen and wants to play games with me, I'll play them to death! One more person disrupting things will only force that man named Su to pay an even higher price in the end!"

The corners of her lips curled up completely, filled with the confidence of a hunter.

"Send word to Number Jia to keep following. But don't be in a hurry; let Private Room Number Seven and that Su person raise the price against each other for a few rounds. Once they've pushed the price up, we'll step in and be the fisherman who catches the prize!"

"As you command."

...

Meanwhile, inside Private Room Number Seven on the other side.

Having just placed his bid, Han Rui turned to look at Lin Wan in the corner and asked in a grim tone, "Is that man in the bamboo hat who bid six million someone Su Chen arranged?"

Lin Wan shook her head slightly in the darkness, her voice behind the black veil hoarse and calm.

"I'm not sure."

"But it's highly likely. He's an Ascender from the Lower Realm, and he's most skilled at concealment. We've been monitoring the people around him these past few days, but the fact that he could arrange a separate bidder in the hall shows he's better at hiding things than we anticipated. This person is probably his backup, used to test our bottom line."

The corner of Han Rui's mouth curled into a cold, mocking arc.

"Paltry tricks. No matter how many people he's arranged, he must never get his hands on the immortal body marrow core. As long as he dares to raise the price, we'll use absolute financial power to crush him! We'll make him throw in his entire fortune!"

"Correct."

Lin Wan nodded, agreeing with this strategy.

The sweet dimple behind the black veil sank in again, yet its sweetness was chilling.

"We must crush him. Let all his money become the spoils we are about to seize."

Both camps were staring intently at Su Chen.

Both were "wise" enough to mistake the other for Su Chen's secret pawn.

As for Su Chen himself, he was currently reclining leisurely back into the lounge chair of Box Number One.

Two wolves, thinking themselves clever, had already come to view each other as prey.

And he, the "rabbit," only needed to give them a gentle push.

He raised his hand, preparing to announce the next price that would completely ignite the entire venue.