The mood in the auction hall had shifted. Jin Yu’s dominance was unquestioned. Dozens of nobles sat slumped, defeated, whispering bitterly. Others stared at the stage with red eyes, silently praying for an item they might actually afford. The bidding had turned into a one-man show.

  Until…

  A faint ripple stirred the air as the next item was unveiled—a small black box inlaid with seven locks. With a dramatic twist of her hand, the announcer released the seals. Inside was a smooth silver ring that glowed with a faint blue pulse, hovering above its velvet cushion.

  “A High-Grade Spatial Ring,” she said, trying to maintain her composure. “Believed to be of celestial origin. Contains three sub-dimensional layers, each large enough to hold an entire fortress. Contains internal formations for time dilation and Qi stabilization. Rarer than phoenix feathers. Starting bid—Five Hundred Million spirit stones.”

  Eyes widened. Even the elders leaned forward.

  The moment the number was spoken, dozens of hands shot into the air.

  “Six hundred Million!”

  “Seven hundred!”

  “Eight Hundred!”

  “Nine hundred!”

  The frenzy began. Nobles of every major house, hidden elders, and rogue powerhouses all vied for the treasure with bloodlust in their eyes. Each bid roared above the last, echoing like battle cries in a warzone.

  “One Billion!”

  “One point Two!”

  “One point Three!”

  Even Min Li was stunned. “So many dogs crawling out of their holes for a single ring…”

  Jin Yu sat calmly, swirling wine in his cup, not even glancing toward the stage.

  Min Li gave him a sidelong look. “Aren’t you going to—?”

  He shook his head. “Let them burn their wallets first.”

  The bids continued, rising higher and faster.

  “Two Billion!”

  “Three Billion!”

  At this point, some nobles had leapt to their feet, their voices trembling with greed and desperation.

  The announcer raised a hand, breathless. “Three Billion going once—”

  A cold voice sliced through the hall.

  “Six Billion,” came the call—from a previously silent VIP Room Nine, one cloaked in shadow. The tone was deep, emotionless, and unfamiliar.

  The crowd froze.

  Min Li frowned. “That room wasn’t active before.”

  Some nobles tried to outbid, but faltered. Many turned pale. Six Billion was a threshold few could cross.

  Then, silence.

  Everyone turned toward the highest bidder. The announcer’s lips parted to begin the countdown.

  Just as she raised her hand—

  A lazy voice cut through the tension.

  Jin Yu raised his hand. “Seven Billion”

  He has been waiting for this all this while.

  A few murmurs rose, but no one moved to bid. Everyone expected the usual—

  “Eight Billion,” a deep, cold voice rang out from VIP Room Nine.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Jin Yu’s brow lifted. “”

  “Ten Billion,” the stranger said smoothly.

  “Twelve Billion.”

  “Thirteen Billion.”

  The air tightened.This is no longer a battle, it's a War. A war of Wealth!

  Jin Yu smirked. “Fifteen.”

  Pause.

  The voice replied, “Twenty"

  The room exploded.

  "Twenty Billion?!”

  “Who the hell is that?!”

  “Even he can’t keep up forever, can he?!”

  Jin Yu leaned forward, no longer smiling. “Thirty Billion!"

  At this point,his heart was already beating irregularly, sweat dotting his head. I hope my father has that much money !

  Gasps, screams, chairs crashing to the ground. The bidding war had just been nuked by a single sentence.

  The announcer almost tripped,her heart beating wildly. “Thirty Billion!”

  Even VIP Room Nine went quiet.

  Then—

  “Thirty One.”

  Min Li slammed his hand on the table, fury bursting in his voice. “Who do you think you are?! Testing us?! Trying to humiliate Young Master Jin?! Crawl out here and face us!”

  Jin Yu frowned slightly.

  Min Li wasn't done, he shouted so the entire hall could hear, “Know your place! Our Jin family has more wealth than all your clans combined! Thirty one Billion? What is that? Petty change for my young master!”

  Jin Yu leaned forward, a sweat rolled down his head. “Thirty Five Billion!"

  VIP Room Nine hesitated… then went quiet

  “Item goes to Young Master Jin!” the announcer shouted, her voice full of forced calm.

  The hall went completely still.

  No one dared bid again—not with that kind of power sitting across from them.

  Jin Yu leaned back, still feeling uncertain. I hope that old man doesn't kill me for this, if it really comes down to it, I'll tell his him to threaten the auction house to take it back. Afterall,who dare refuse an immortal!.

  Min Li beamed with pride beside him. The crushing weight of young master's spirit stones had shaken the entire auction house to its foundations.

  Haozi was already sweating heavily from the whole scenario.

  ---

  As the auction neared its final stretch, the atmosphere inside the grand hall had shifted from excitement to raw tension. Many cultivators were already worn thin from the bidding wars, sweat on their brows, hands gripping their seats as their storage rings felt heavier than ever. It should have felt lighter but they didn't even have the chance to spend their spirit stones.

  The final item silenced all noise before it even reached the stage.

  It was carried on a velvet platform by four attendants, all of them exuding pressure from the Essence Core Realm—a sign of how important, or dangerous, the item was.

  The announcer stepped forward, her voice low and almost reverent. “The last item of today’s auction is… an Unidentified Egg, retrieved from the deepest vault of the Ancient Fallen Moon Realm during its collapse.”

  An audible gasp passed through the hall.

  “It has remained dormant for over five hundred years. Preliminary analysis suggests residual divine beast aura lingers faintly around it. No one has managed to crack or hatch it, nor identify the species within. Its origins are completely unknown.”

  She paused.

  “However, it withstood the collapse of the realm, the pressure of spatial turbulence, and the corrosive mists of the Abyssal Zone—completely unscathed.”

  The lights dimmed slightly, focusing on the large, gray egg now slowly rotating mid-air under the influence of formation runes. Golden patterns spiraled across its shell, pulsing ever so slightly like a heartbeat.

  “Because of its uncertainty, the item is being offered as a speculative treasure—a gamble, if you will. It may be a divine beast... or a dud.”

  She looked around, then raised her hand.

  “Starting bid: Five hundred million spirit stones.”

  Silence reigned.

  For once, even the most arrogant nobles held back.

  “Six hundred,” someone finally said—but their voice was unsure.

  “Seven,” called another, but it was more hesitant than proud.

  “Eight hundred,” a third added, biting their lip. “Even if it’s a dud, it can be used in research…”

  “Nine hundred” someone else joined. “If it hatches into a divine beast… it would be worth a hundred times that.”

  The bids climbed, but they lacked the fierce conviction of before. This wasn’t a competition of pride—it was now a wager of foresight.

  Then came a call from VIP Room Nine once again.

  “One Billion.”

  The crowd stiffened.

  “That room again…” someone whispered.

  Min Li narrowed his eyes. “Testing us again…”

  “One point One billion,” said another noble, hoping to challenge the mysterious figure.

  “Two Billion,” the man in Room Nine replied immediately.

  The hall tensed.

  And still, Jin Yu hadn’t spoken.

  He leaned back, arms crossed, face unreadable.

  Min Li stared at him, nervous. “Young Master, this item… it’s uncertain.”

  “I know,” he said coolly. “That’s why it’s worth bidding for.”

  He froze. “What?”

  “If it were obvious,” he said, rising to his feet and speaking clearly so the entire hall heard him, “then it wouldn’t belong to me.”

  His eyes burned with subtle amusement as he lifted a single finger.He has completely forgotten his earlier hesitation.

  “Ten Billion spirit stones.”

  The room exploded.

  People fell out of their seats. Mouths dropped open. Even the announcer visibly swayed, barely holding herself.

  This has completely exceeded their imagination!

  “What did he say? Ten—?!”

  “He must’ve lost his damn mind!”

  Murmurs became a full-blown wave of disbelief. A few nobles clutched their chests like they’d been struck, while others leaned toward their companions, their voices lowered but full of heat.

  “That thing’s been dormant for centuries. What if it’s dead inside?”

  “I heard ancient realms are full of scams like this. The shell might not even be an egg—it could be a leftover artifact shell.”

  “It doesn’t respond to Qi, divine sense, or warmth. How’s that not suspicious?”

  One man from a prominent sect snorted, folding his arms. “If it were a real divine beast egg, do you think the auction house would dare sell it like this? They’d hoard it. Raise it. Use it.”

  “That kid just got played,” another spat. “Rich fool. Flashy fool. Maybe he wants to raise a pet rock.”

  The announcer cleared her throat, clearly rattled but still doing her job. “T-Ten Billion spirit stones offered by the esteemed guest in VIP Room seven. Does anyone wish to... to counter?”

  Silence.

  No one dared.

  Even the unknown man in Room Nine was still. Either stunned… or calculating.

  Just as the gavel was about to fall, his voice cut through.

  “Twelve Billion.”

  A collective intake of breath followed. But it wasn’t celebration—it was wariness.

  “He's baiting him,” someone whispered. “Trying to see if the fool has a bottomless vault.”

  “He’s goading that brat—testing how far he’ll go for something that’s likely a scam.”

  Min Lei’s jaw clenched.

  “Annoying,” He muttered. “He Really doesn't learn "

  Jin Yu didn’t flinch. His tone remained calm, as if talking about pocket change. He's just bid Thirty Billion, this won't weak him.

  “Fifteen Billion.”

  The crowd erupted again.

  “This lunatic!”

  “Fifteen billion for a chance?! Just because there’s a heartbeat-like pulse?! That could be a formation trick!”

  "That's half the price of the spatial ring!"

  “The auction house must be laughing their asses off behind the scenes…”

  From somewhere in the lower seats, a middle-aged cultivator with a scholarly look stood and spoke aloud, waving a talisman. “I’ve done egg identification for two hundred years. That thing has no recognizable life fluctuations! The boy’s being scammed!”

  Someone else shouted, “This is a setup! Maybe the auction house planted that egg just to fleece one of the rich brats!”

  Even the announcer seemed pale.

  But before she could speak again, Jin Yu took a step forward and rested his hand on the railing of his private room. His voice rang out coldly, but clearly:

  “Fifteen billion, not for the egg, but for the gamble.”

  The crowd stilled.

  He raised a brow.

  “What’s the value of your courage? Your foresight? Your guts? If this is a fraud, I’ll accept it with laughter. But if it hatches…”

  He smirked.

  “I’ll make every last one of you crawl just to glimpse its shadow.”

  That shut them up.

  Even the critics.

  Even the “egg expert.”

  The auction house froze in stunned reverence. Jin Yu turned and sat down again with an almost lazy grace, as if he hadn’t just turned the auction into a personal battlefield of wealth and confidence.

  The announcer swallowed hard and said.

  “Going once… going twice…”

  A pause.

  No voice challenged him this time.

  “Sold! For thirty million spirit stones!”

  The sound of the deal being sealed echoed.

  And just like that, the egg—fake or real—belonged to the young master who dared stake Fifteen Billion spirit stones on the unknown.

  HERE