Yang Cheng didn't care much about it.
This building had three floors, and he went straight to the third.
Lu Lingyi bit her red lip, then chose to stay on the second floor.
In the blink of an eye, it was the next day.
"Master Yang, Lu Lingyi, the owner of this estate said there's an auction happening at another one of his manors today. Apparently, there'll be some heavy-hitting items on sale. Interested?" Xu Letian asked.
"Let's go check it out," Yang Cheng said.
Following Xu Letian, Yang Cheng arrived at another manor, where an auction was indeed underway.
He wasn't interested in the earlier items.
It wasn't until the auction was about to end that the auctioneer spoke up. "Next, we present the grand finale of today's auction."
A maid walked out carrying a tray.
The auction item was a ginseng root.
"Ginseng?"
"Judging by the aura, it seems to be a few thousand years old."
"A ginseng root that's a few thousand years old does have value, but calling it the finale is a letdown."
Many people were murmuring.
But hidden among the crowd, a few mysterious figures suddenly narrowed their eyes. Their gazes turned sharp and blazing hot.
"As for this ginseng, those who know, know. For those who don't, I won't say much," the auctioneer said. "Starting price—ten million top-grade spirit stones."
"What?"
"Even a ten-thousand-year-old ginseng doesn't go for that much!"
The crowd erupted.
"This auction must be crazy greedy," Xu Letian muttered.
But Yang Cheng didn't say a word. Instead, his eyes gleamed.
Ding!
[Host has encountered the Ginseng Boy.]
[Ginseng Boy appeared in the Great Zhao Empire five hundred years ago and was later bought by the Ning clan.]
[Now, Ginseng Boy possesses strength comparable to a Refining God expert and has become a guest elder of the Ning clan.]
[Ginseng Boy rarely appears in public. This is a rare opportunity—host is advised to subdue Ginseng Boy.]
[Mission reward: Three-Star Pill Domain.]
The system prompt confirmed what Yang Cheng already suspected—this was indeed Ginseng Boy.
By now, the bidding had begun.
"Twenty million."
"Thirty million."
"Thirty-five million…"
Everyone around was dumbfounded. They couldn't wrap their heads around what was going on.
Sure, they admitted the ginseng was valuable, but a starting price of ten million top-grade spirit stones was absurd.
Now people were bidding like mad.
"This auction must think we're fools. Who believes a thousand-year-old ginseng is worth this much?"
"No, it's not the auction house treating us like fools. Maybe we really don't get how the world works anymore."
"Yeah. One of the bidders is the Fifth Prince, Nangong Yan. He wouldn't fake a bid just to help the auctioneer."
The crowd was in turmoil.
Before anyone realized, the bidding price had hit one hundred million top-grade spirit stones.
"I bid one hundred fifty million," Nangong Yan called out.
At that, the other bidders exchanged glances and didn't raise the price again.
Nangong Yan sighed in relief. He thought to himself, 'Finally, I can carry out Young Master Ning's orders…'
But just as he thought there'd be no more twists, a calm voice rang out.
"Two hundred million top-grade spirit stones."
The place went dead silent.
All eyes turned toward the source of the voice.
They saw a group of young men and women, and the bidder seemed to be one of the boys.
"Who is that?"
"No idea."
"Pretty bold to challenge the Fifth Prince."
Many in the crowd were thrilled. This was the kind of drama they loved.
Even Xu Letian and the others were stunned.
Two hundred million top-grade spirit stones?
Even though they were from the Horn Constellation Realm, they couldn't cough up that many spirit stones.
Not just them—their families behind them might not be able to either.
Only now did they realize just how rich Yang Cheng really was.
Nangong Yan slammed the table, glaring at Yang Cheng with venom in his eyes.
Yang Cheng looked calm and relaxed, completely ignoring his glare.
Nangong Yan had no choice but to say, "Two hundred ten million."
His tone was icy, clearly trying to intimidate Yang Cheng.
Yang Cheng didn't flinch at all. "Two hundred twenty million."
"You punk, can you even afford that many spirit stones?"
His gaze was like a poisonous snake.
Yang Cheng reached into his void ring and poured out 2.2 million godstones—the equivalent of 220 million top-grade spirit stones.
Nangong Yan's expression twisted violently. In the end, he gave a cold sneer and raised a thumb. "Fine. You've got guts!"
Then he sat back down.
The amount Ning Gongzi had authorized him to use was exactly 200 million top-grade spirit stones.
That earlier extra 10 million was just him trying to win favor.
Anything beyond that, he truly couldn't afford.
"Two hundred twenty million going once. Anyone else raising?"
"Two hundred twenty million going twice. If no one else bids, this item will belong to this young man."
"Two hundred twenty million, sold!"
The auctioneer was thrilled.
Whoosh!
The auction hall burst into an uproar.
Forget the Great Zhao Empire—even across the entire Wasteland Realm, few had ever seen an auction of this level.
"Who is this guy?"
"In our Great Zhao Empire, only the royal family could possibly afford that. What other clan has that kind of wealth?"
A lot of people were in awe.
Yan Qingzhi, Ma Ruoruo, and Wei Jia were completely stunned.
The most wealth they could usually access was maybe over 10,000 top-grade spirit stones.
Seeing Yang Cheng casually take out 220 million was beyond anything they could imagine.
They used to look down on Wasteland Realm cultivators, but now… maybe the true rich folk were these Wasteland Realm warriors, and they were the pitiful ones.
And Yang Cheng wasn't the only one. Even that prince from the Great Zhao Empire had been able to offer 210 million top-grade spirit stones.
Zeng Niu and Dongfang Sheng were speechless.
Lu Lingyi kept her head low, but her eyes shimmered faintly.
Fifteen minutes later…
Yang Cheng received the Ginseng Boy.
A group walked up. Leading them was Nangong Yan.
"You've really got guts and wealth, little brother. But you seem unfamiliar. Where exactly are you from?" Nangong Yan asked.
"If you've got nothing else, move aside," Yang Cheng replied blandly.
Nangong Yan's smile stiffened.
After a moment, he said, "Little brother, I just think you were too impulsive. Did you hear that this ginseng had a spirit and bought it because of that?"
"But let me tell you—there's a good chance that's just a rumor."
Yang Cheng's expression didn't change.
But the ones around him—Xu Letian and the others—started getting nervous.
After all, Yang Cheng had spent a fortune. If this turned out to be a dud, that'd be a massive loss.
"Prince Nangong, what do you mean by that?" Xu Letian asked quickly.
"If I tell you myself, you probably won't believe me," Nangong Yan said. "So I'll let the man behind me speak—our Great Zhao Empire's number one alchemist, Alchemist Song. His skill in alchemy is nearly demi-god level."
Alchemist Song, who looked like a sage with an immortal air, stepped out from behind Nangong Yan.
He said, "Young man, this ginseng indeed has no spirit. You've been ripped off this time."
"And how do you know that?" Xu Letian asked.
"Let's just say," Nangong Yan cut in with a deliberate tone, "the host of this auction was shady from the start. So something like this happening isn't all that surprising."
That made Xu Letian and the others even more anxious.
"Alchemist Song, just tell them the truth already," Nangong Yan said with a smile.