160: Chapter 159 The Storm Behind the Auction, Bartering

Chapter 159: The Storm Behind the Auction, Barter

The [ Heavenly Soldiers ] advanced from [ Warriors ] have always been the mainstay cards of the Yanhuang Ancient Country's army, as well as the basic sequence with the strongest combat power among the five nations.

The five major nations each have their own unique card sequences as the basic sequences of their respective armies, among which the [ Heavenly Soldiers ] have the greatest potential and strongest combat power.

As the only [ deity card ] among the basic army sequences of the five major nations, the [ Heavenly Soldiers ] possess the noble [ divine power ] attribute and damage reduction against lower-level powers; these two points alone are enough to make the [ Heavenly Soldiers ] invincible.

Among the other four nations, even in the currently strongest [ Bald Eagle Federation ], its basic troop type, the [ Winged Men ], can only use [ divine power ], a level-four energy, after awakening their true names to become [ Angels ]. As for the [ Haogui ] advanced from the [ Ronins ] of the [ Sakura Island Company Divine Kingdom ],

the [ Rune War Bear ] advanced from the [ Violent Bears ] of the [ Northern Ice Bear Kingdom ],

and the [ Ancestral Spirits ] advanced from the [ Wild Spirits ] of the [ Lion Tribe Alliance ] are all in the same situation.

Only the [ Heavenly Soldiers ] of the Yanhuang Ancient Country are already noble [ deity cards ] at the mere purple grade without needing a true name, but this also makes the supply for the [ Heavenly Soldiers ] a huge problem.

The energy tier of [ divine power ] is too high, and the corresponding auxiliary means such as medicines and spirit meals are extremely scarce; they are either too rare or too costly, making large-scale popularization very difficult.

It is precisely because of the lack of supplies related to [ divine power ] that the [ Heavenly Soldiers ] are overshadowed by the [ Angels ] in the international ranking of the five major basic sequences.

When [ Taoman ] first heard about the effects of the [ tianhe exclusive shadow beef slices ], it was already deeply attracted, and when it heard that the raw material of this "divine meal" was white-grade material, stormy waves surged in its heart.

Isn't this the most suitable logistics food for the [ Heavenly Soldiers ] of the Yanhuang Ancient Country?

The [ Card Association ] has a specialized research department targeting cards and related derivatives, namely the [ Central Laboratory ].

There are countless talented people in the [ Central Laboratory ]. If it can figure out the secret of the [ tianhe exclusive shadow beef slices ] and replicate them, that would be a strategic victory that changes the international situation, and even a major victory that alters human destiny.

Win it!! Must win it!! Win it at all costs!!

Therefore, as soon as this wealthiest person among the five official titled Card Makers made a move, it was one hundred million, also showcasing its determination to win it by all means.

But there is a saying that the person who understands you best is your enemy. As several major nations coexisting with the Yanhuang Ancient Country, they are equally clear about the pain points of the [ Heavenly Soldiers ].

Therefore, that brushed-back samurai from the [ Sakura Island Company Divine Kingdom ] and the elegant middle-aged man in a suit from the [ Bald Eagle Federation ] are equally obsessed with these [ tianhe exclusive shadow beef slices ].

But as for where these foreign Card Makers got the news, one would have to ask [ Li Tiance ].

[ Sun Po ] had too low a background to understand the significance behind this dish of [ spirit meal ], but [ Li Tiance ] knew it like the back of his hand.

However, as an aristocratic family member, pursuing profit and weakening the official authorities were originally his duty, and he was indeed maximizing profits. As the major behind-the-scenes shareholder of [ Wangfeng Tower ], ensuring the promotion of new dishes was beyond reproach, but at this moment in this small auction house, because of [ Li Tiance ]'s overseas promotion, these [ tianhe exclusive shadow beef slices ] had already become involved in international clashes—

At this time, at the auction, following [ Taoman ]'s "one hundred million," the entire venue fell into a prolonged silence, and [ Li Tiance ] smiled and said, "Second Uncle-in-law has great financial resources."

[ Taoman ] glanced indifferently at the man in a suit who was gently wiping the corners of his mouth with a white silk handkerchief, placed its gaze back on [ Li Tiance ], and said unpleasantly,

"Brat! Calculating against your uncle-in-law over a bit of money, don't run after the auction ends!"

[ Li Tiance ]'s face turned bitter as he said, "Second Uncle-in-law, I am also an heir of the Li family after all; I have to think more about the family, you can't blame me!!"

[ Taoman ] didn't say much; its gaze merely paused on [ Sun Po ], nodded slightly to signal [ Sun Po ], and then withdrew its gaze.

While they were talking, Manager Cui was already counting down with his gavel.

"One hundred million once!!"

"One hundred million twice!!"

"One hundred million three—"

Just as his "three" fell and the word "time" was about to be uttered, a magnetic, middle-aged male voice leisurely sounded out.

"One hundred and ten million."

A gentle sentence, yet it weighed heavier than ten thousand jun.

One hundred million was not even the end point of this dish of "divine meal".

The one making the bid was the elegant man in a suit with blonde hair and blue eyes. While casually quoting the price, he looked with great interest at the big mouth on [ Taoman ]'s stomach.

[ Taoman ] felt that person's gaze and responded unceremoniously.

The gazes of the two briefly intersected in the void; one was filled with heartfelt disgust, while the other held undisguised longing.

[ Taoman ] understood this person; this was one of the few titled Card Makers who could compete with it in financial resources.

This person was named [ Gourmet Hannibal ], with the title [ Gourmet ], belonging to the extremely older generation of titled Card Makers in the [ Bald Eagle Federation ].

This person had a bizarre habit of eating people, and specifically picked the strong to eat. Regardless of good or evil, regardless of stance, he simply loved eating people by nature.

[ Gourmet Hannibal ] had once eaten a peer powerhouse of the [ Lion Tribe Alliance ], and that right on the territory of the [ Lion Tribe Alliance ].

That powerhouse's body was sliced extremely meticulously and exquisitely, with every body part cooked in the most appropriate way. It was said that on that day, a rich aroma permeated the entire prairie of the [ Lion Tribe Alliance ], and even a scene of God having dinner with disciples appeared above the sky of the prairie.

Right in front of that powerhouse's family, friends, and disciples, [ Gourmet Hannibal ] ate for a full twelve hours, stubbornly eating that titled Card Maker completely clean without leaving a single bit.

This was an unprecedented event across the entire world, causing an uproar at the time. However, the national strength of the [ Bald Eagle Federation ] was ultimately far superior to the [ Lion Tribe Alliance ]; the two sides pulled out their stances and almost triggered a national war, but in the end, it petered out without a settlement.

From then on, the illustrious and fierce reputation of [ Gourmet Hannibal ] spread far and wide among the various nations, but in recent decades, [ Gourmet Hannibal ] had restrained himself a lot, at least with no more rumors of him eating people spreading out.

Moreover, this person's [ field card ] was extremely important. It could be said that his importance to the [ Bald Eagle Federation ] was no less than [ Taoman ]'s

importance to the Yanhuang Ancient Country, both belonging to the weight class where moving them would directly lead to a nationwide war. [ Taoman ]'s Taoman Stomach Pouch was irreplaceable when making material pouches, while the [ God's Table ] field of [ Gourmet Hannibal ] was likewise the absolute core when producing [ spirit meals ] related to divine power.

However, because of their overly high importance, this [ Gourmet ] actually faced the same dilemma as [ Taoman ]: due to safety issues, even personal freedom would be restricted to a certain extent.

Just like before when [ Champion Marquis ] [ Huo Wuji ] saw [ Taoman ] [ Mancang ] appear in the void, he told him to evacuate quickly and even said he would propose to reduce his active time at the meeting.

The void and outer realms were connected, both being places where they might encounter huge dangers. As long as the two operated within the realms, they were basically safe, but if they went outside the realms or into the void, that would be the time when the entire country needed to raise its vigilance to the highest level.

And in recent days, it happened that these two "heavy weapons" of the world's number one superpower and number two superpower came out to move around together. What was even more fatal was that both of them simultaneously noticed these small [ tianhe exclusive shadow beef ], and gathered together at this [ Li Family Multitreasure Giant Tree ] auction.

[ Li Tiance ] also did not know this older-generation foreign titled Card Maker, thinking he was just an ordinary foodie, which was why he dared to boldly invite him over. If he had known some of this person's background, I am afraid even if [ Li Tiance ] were given several times the courage, he would not dare to let this person enter the auction.

Among the people present, only [ Taoman ], which was on the same tier, knew [ Gourmet Hannibal ]'s true identity; it had been paying attention to this dangerous foreign titled Card Maker right from the beginning.

It was only a pity that [ Huo Wuji ] and the [ Coachman ] had just gone to hunt down [ Zhuang Zhou ], and neither [ Hebo ] nor [ Zhuque ] could easily extricate themselves; otherwise, they could even consider permanently leaving [ Gourmet Hannibal ] in the Yanhuang Ancient Country.

Right now, the two "national treasures" were the strongest here, and without the certainty of taking down each other, they did not rashly make a move either. Instead, they still competed obediently on another battlefield.

"One hundred and twenty million!!"

"One hundred and thirty million!!"

"One hundred and forty million!!"

"Three hundred million!!"

The two people confronted each other tit for tat, neither yielding an inch, and stubbornly bid the price up to three hundred million!!

At this time, no matter how starved of information [ Sun Po ] was, he began to feel that something was wrong.

He did not know the market rate for [ spirit meals ], but this price was enough to buy a [ secret realm core fragment ]. Combined with [ Taoman ]'s official identity and the blonde-haired, blue-eyed middle-aged man opposite, [ Sun Po ] already had a guess in his heart:

"Deity, [ spirit meal ], foreigners? Directors in secret realm management?"

The bidding still continued, but that camel-headed man with white cloth on his head no longer made a bid, seeming to just watch the show from the side.

Meanwhile, the brushed-back samurai in armor had a distinctly unpleasant expression right now; he had completely been reduced to a spectator.

[ Li Tiance ] sitting beside [ Sun Po ] also looked increasingly ugly at the moment. He had a covert communication method like the arrow of the mind, and this abnormal price quickly prompted him to initiate a call request with his second uncle-in-law, [ Taoman ]. He had anticipated that the price would be crazy, but he didn't know it would be this crazy.

Nor did he expect that an auction for such a small purple-quality [ spirit meal ] would attract a heavyweight figure like the owner of [ God's Table ].

But at this moment, the auction had to go on, unless one side lacked financial resources and voluntarily conceded defeat.

This money—even [ Li Tiance ] already felt that it was a bit too hot to hold after earning it.

The two drove the price all the way up to 2.8 billion. Suddenly, [ Gourmet Hannibal ] spoke, "Lord [ Taoman ], you and I know each other's financial resources quite well.

If we keep bidding like this, I'm afraid we won't be able to tell who is superior even after shouting for three days and three nights. Why don't we take out some good things at the current price and let the owner of this dish decide for himself who the winner of this auction is?"

[ Gourmet Hannibal ]'s proposal happened to hit right in [ Taoman ]'s heart; its money was actually running out soon.

When money reached a certain level, its purchasing power was very limited. The most primitive barter instead began to become mainstream once again.

It's just that the tier of treasures requiring barter was generally extremely high. Logically speaking, it shouldn't have fallen to a purple [ spirit meal ] no matter what, but at this moment, the meaning implicit behind this [ spirit meal ] had long exceeded its own value.

If they were in the outer realms, there would be a new universal "currency", but these two hadn't had many chances to set foot in the outer realms in their lives, so neither of them had much of this "currency".

Speaking of pure money, mega-rich individuals like them among titled Card Makers probably couldn't compare to the Li family, who sat on [ Turning Stone into Gold ], nor could they compare to the [ Death Desert Tribe ] where the white-robed camel-headed man with massive exclusive resources belonged. But when it came to treasures, both of them had absolute confidence.

[ Taoman ] said as if it didn't care at all, "I have no objection. I believe your time is running out, right? Then let's be straightforward and directly compare whose collection is superior."

The other camel-headed man from the [ Death Desert Tribe ] also spoke at this time, "I also agree with this plan. What about this samurai from the [ Sakura Island Company Divine Kingdom ]?"

The camel-headed man speaking like this was something [ Taoman ] and [ Gourmet Hannibal ] hadn't expected. The two of them had proposed such a method precisely because they were somewhat wary of the camel-headed man's financial resources.

After all, the wealth of the tribe where the camel-headed man belonged was world-renowned. They didn't expect him to abandon his own strengths; he must have some extraordinary treasure as well.

Meanwhile, hope rose in the heart of the brushed-back samurai. Originally, once it reached nine figures, the brushed-back man's financial resources were already failing, but he hadn't expected it to change to bartering. His Miyamoto family also possessed secret stores; perhaps among them was something the goods owner fancied, allowing an exchange to be struck.

In this way, this thing might still be won and brought back to the clan for research.

That's right, what several people present fancied was actually not this [ spirit meal ], but the technology implicit behind this [ spirit meal ].

Although the matter of card-making was mysterious and unpredictable, research institutions in various countries all had their own trump cards, and they felt there was hope to decipher the secrets within and master this technology.

Of course, the [ Bald Eagle Federation ], which already possessed divine power supply methods, coming to wade into this muddy water was purely to strangle all possibilities of the [ Heavenly Soldier ] sequence having divine power supplies.

...

At this time, Manager Cui standing on the auction stage was covered in cold sweat, yet his eyes held an unspeakable excitement.

As a sharp businessman, he instinctively sensed the storms behind this transaction, but the bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish!!

This would be the most glorious day in the history of [ Wangfeng Tower ], and he would also be the most accomplished among all past managers!!

Soon, [ Li Tiance ] covertly finished communicating with [ Sun Po ] using the method of the arrow of the mind, and [ Sun Po ] naturally agreed.

After all, in this world, money was easy to get, but treasures were hard to seek.

Thus, the four of them together took out their own treasures from their respective storage devices. [ Sun Po ] swept his gaze across the four people's hands one by one, and suddenly, his gaze condensed as he hurriedly controlled his heartbeat and breathing