322: Arrogant girl

Li Changbai nodded slightly and said with a smile, "There shouldn't be much of a problem."

Lu Xingchen was the first to raise his bidding paddle, which also attracted everyone's attention. They all looked at Lu Xingchen with surprise.

Is this new Peak Master of Lingyun Sect also interested in art?

After Lu Xingchen, several more people raised the price.

Because Li Ping's reputation was indeed worth that price.

But when the price of the sculpture rose to 250,000, no one else bid.

Because everyone was a Martial Artist, with Cultivation as their priority, it was impossible to spend too many gold coins on something purely for aesthetic appreciation.

Lu Xingchen raised his bidding paddle again.

"260,000 gold coins!"

Just as he thought victory was in his grasp and he was about to get a great bargain, a little girl in a seat towards the back of the auction hall raised her bidding paddle for the first time.

"300,000 gold coins!"

Hearing this, Lu Xingchen's heart skipped a beat, and he turned to look at the source of the voice.

It was a fair-skinned little girl, wearing a long, blue-green dress, with two braided pigtails, looking petite and adorable.

He wondered which force she came from, if she was just playing around, or if she too had discovered the extraordinary nature of this sculpture?

However, all of this would soon be revealed.

Everyone else's gaze also converged on the little girl, and whispers arose in the auction hall.

"Damn, I've never seen such a bid increase. This little girl is amazing!"

"I wonder which force this young person is from, actually taking out 300,000 gold coins at once. That's not a small sum!"

"To spend 300,000 gold coins for an ornamental sculpture, what a spendthrift."

"Exactly, exactly, a fool with too much money."

Lu Xingchen had absolute faith in the System.

Without the help of the System, it would have been difficult for him to reach this point.

Since the system map had given a reminder, it proved that this sculpture must have something miraculous about it.

Although it might not be useful for now, there was no harm in acquiring it.

Lu Xingchen raised his bidding paddle again.

"310,000 gold coins!"

"400,000 gold coins!"

Now Lu Xingchen was certain that the petite and adorable little girl had also discovered the unique qualities of this sculpture.

In fact, she might have come specifically for this sculpture.

This was normal; the Tianyuan Continent was so vast, with all sorts of characters. Since he could perceive the unique qualities of this sculpture with the System, others could also have such abilities.

Given this, the only option was a head-on financial battle.

"410,000 gold coins!"

Lu Xingchen raised his bidding paddle again.

The two began to compete, and the others in the auction hall also noticed that something was amiss.

"Hey, something's not right! Why are those two going at it? Is there some secret in this sculpture?"

"There are two possibilities: either this sculpture has unique qualities, or the two just want to save face. But even if this sculpture is truly extraordinary, since we can't discover its secrets, we naturally can't use it, so there's no need to compete."

"I know this Lu Dazhuang; he's the new Peak Master of Lingyun Sect, Jiang Taishen's fourth Personal Disciple, and quite a talented individual. Since he's so persistent, this sculpture must have something special! But who is that little girl? I've never seen her before."

"While we don't need to snatch this sculpture, watching the excitement doesn't cost money. I'd like to see how far they can push this!"

Li Changbai's expression also changed. He tugged at Lu Xingchen's sleeve and said in a low voice, "Junior Brother, the price has already reached 410,000, and that child is likely to bid higher. Is it really necessary to keep fighting for it?"

Lu Xingchen nodded heavily and said in a deep voice, "Second Senior Brother, I must fight for it! I trust my judgment."

Li Changbai gave a bitter smile and said, "Alright. I'll ask one more time, do you need me to fund you?"

Lu Xingchen shook his head slightly and said with a light chuckle, "No need. Second Senior Brother, don't forget, I am also an Alchemist!"

"500,000 gold coins!"

The little girl's bidding method was still so simple and direct.

"1,000,000 gold coins!" Lu Xingchen raised his bidding paddle again.

At these words, the entire hall erupted in an uproar.

"Damn, 1,000,000 gold coins, just to buy a broken sculpture, is Lu Dazhuang crazy?"

"I originally thought this little girl was bold enough, but I didn't expect Lu Dazhuang to be even more impressive, directly doubling the price!"

"I've never seen this kind of bidding in my life."

"Lu Dazhuang is amazing!"

"No doubt, this sculpture definitely has unique qualities. But is it really worth one million gold coins?"

Lu Xingchen smiled slightly, letting the surrounding people discuss and clamor, just quietly waiting for Xue Qian to strike the gavel.

He had just looked at the little girl's head and saw that she was also a One-Star Martial Venerable in terms of Cultivation, stronger than himself.

To have such Cultivation at such a young age was simply a prodigy.

Moreover, she had never appeared in Wangshu City before. She was either a Loose Cultivator or a favored child from another region.

Lu Xingchen habitually estimated situations with the worst-case scenario in mind, so he assumed she was a favored child from another region, backed by a major force.

This one million gold coins was also Lu Xingchen's limit. If the other party bid again, he would have no choice but to give up.

The entire auction hall was noisy until Xue Qian struck the gavel, and the little girl did not raise her bidding paddle again.

Lu Xingchen finally breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed her audacity had its limits.

Li Changbai patted Lu Xingchen's shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Junior Brother, you're too rich! One million gold coins just like that!"

Lu Xingchen chuckled, "I did it on purpose, just to scare that little girl with this method."

Li Changbai sighed softly and said gently, "I hope you can get your money's worth."

"However, your move this time also has an advantage: outsiders will think that our Lingyun Sect paid to cover your expenses, so they will underestimate our financial strength. We'll have a slight advantage when competing for that eighth-grade pill."

Lu Xingchen nodded slightly and chuckled, "Second Senior Brother thinks quite deeply. But we need to be careful when leaving later; I'm afraid that little girl will call for people to snatch this sculpture."

Hearing this, all three were startled.

Li Changbai said in a deep voice, "Does this little girl have a strong background? How did you figure that out?"

Lu Xingchen chuckled, "I can't tell her background, but her Realm has already reached One-Star Martial Venerable, stronger than me."

"What? That powerful!"

All three were incredibly shocked.

Liu Ruyan said in a deep voice, "This little girl is only in her early twenties, yet she has reached the Martial Venerable Realm. She must have strong backing. It seems we've really run into trouble this time!"

"If there's really a conflict when we leave later, I will do my best to protect you all. Whether there will be trouble or not completely depends on this little girl's character."

Lu Xingchen chuckled, "I won't place my hopes on others; it's better to prepare early."