Retirement begins with summoning Yuan Tiangang

The ancient scroll gleamed with a faint flash of lightning.

"The Earth-Rank Supreme Skill Technique: Thunderclap Palm".

The woman explained,

"Cultivators can wield lightning and are known for their powerful attacks. Although it is a top-grade Earth-rank technique, its attack power is comparable to many Heaven-rank techniques."

There was another explosion below.

Cultivation techniques are more precious than elixirs. Elixirs are gone once consumed, but cultivation techniques can be passed down.

A top-grade Earth-rank technique, and a lightning-based technique renowned for its offensive power, it is absolutely a rare find in this era where such techniques are hard to come by.

Earth-rank cultivation techniques can be used as the core techniques of some small and medium-sized sects, while Heaven-rank techniques are even rarer, and generally only top-tier powerful forces can produce them.

The starting bid is 150,000 taels.

The bidding was even more intense than before.

"Seventeen thousand taels!" A voice came from a private room on the third floor.

Lin Feng overheard people nearby saying, "That private room... seems to belong to the Heavenly Dao Sect."

Tiandao Sect?

Lin Feng's heart skipped a beat.

Yan Ruyu is from the Heavenly Dao Sect.

"180,000 taels!"

A sinister voice came from the opposite compartment.

"From the Qinglan Sect."

Another person said...

Lin Feng frowned.

As expected, the Qinglan Sect and the Tiandao Sect are at odds.

The price fluctuated between the two companies, but Qinglan Sect finally won the bid with 220,000 taels of silver.

Wang Fugui cracked open some melon seeds and clicked his tongue, saying, "Truly a major sect..."

The next few items were all sold out in the private rooms on the third floor.

There are elixirs, magical artifacts, and rare materials, each with a higher price than the last.

Lin Feng went from being shocked at first to becoming numb later. Anyway, he couldn't afford it, so he just watched the show.

Until the fifth item was brought up.

The maid brought over a small tray. On the tray was only one thing: a palm-sized bronze fragment, with irregular edges, a rusty surface, and some blurry engravings.

Lin Tian was in the third private room on the fourth floor. Long Ao, Qian Mancang, and Shi Yao were also in the room.

Lin Feng looked at the list and was only interested in the remains of ancient powerful figures.

He also saw Lin Feng in the crowd on the first floor, but he didn't want to say hello.

The fifth item.

It looks...unremarkable.

But the woman's voice became much more solemn:

"The fifth item – a fragment of a bronze mirror."

She paused, waiting for the room to quiet down, before continuing, "In ancient times, the bronze mirror, one of the four great magical artifacts, shattered for some reason, breaking into four fragments. This is one of them."

A magical artifact!

A legendary magical artifact.

The crowd below instantly erupted in excitement.

If a ritual implement possesses a spirit, it is called a spiritual implement.

"Ordinary people only know that magical artifacts are also divided into heaven, earth, black, and yellow, but they do not know that there are spirits above the heavens, which are existences that transcend the heavenly level of magical artifacts."

"By collecting the four fragments, a complete bronze mirror can be assembled."

"Starting price: 500,000 taels. Each bid must be at least 10,000 taels higher."

A brief silence.

Then, on the fourth floor, the lights in a private room suddenly turned on. A deep voice came from inside:

"Seven hundred thousand taels."

Add 200,000 directly!

The three floors below fell silent instantly.

Everyone looked up at the fourth floor, including Lin Feng and Wang Fugui.

But just then, the lights came on in another dark private room on the fourth floor.

A slightly hoarse voice rang out:

"Eight hundred thousand taels."

"Are you deliberately going against us?"

The voice from the first private room was filled with anger.

"Likewise," came the reply from the second private room.

Two powerful auras emanated from the private room simultaneously, colliding in the air.

An oppressive aura spread out, causing the faces of those on the three lower levels to change. Those with lower cultivation levels even found it difficult to breathe.

The woman on the auction stage changed her expression slightly.

The gray-robed old man behind her opened his eyes, about to speak,

"Shut up!"

The sound from the first private room was like a thunderclap, forcefully silencing the words the gray-robed old man was about to say.

The old man looked grim, but he didn't say anything more.

Just then, another person walked out from behind the auction stage.

It was a person in a black robe, whose entire body was shrouded in black, and whose face could not be seen.

He simply stood there, doing nothing, but the two colliding forces dissipated instantly.

The room was deathly silent.

Everyone sensed an even more terrifying aura emanating from it.

It is much stronger than the Celestial Realm.

A terrestrial deity!

The man in black robes didn't speak; he just stood there.

But the meaning is clear: if you want to cause trouble, go outside and cause trouble.

The two private rooms fell silent.

The bidding continues.

"Nine hundred thousand taels."

One million taels.

"One million one hundred thousand..."

The price climbed steadily, finally settling at 1.2 million taels, and was snapped up by the first private room.

The man in black then turned around and disappeared behind the stage.

The woman wiped the sweat from her brow; she had been genuinely afraid a fight would break out. She composed herself and continued:

"The sixth item—"

The auctioneer and maids led a few people, pushing a large rectangular red cloth.

Lift the red cloth covering it.

It's a bronze coffin!

The coffin is decorated with carvings of dragons and phoenixes.

The group worked together to push open the lid, revealing... a corpse.

The complete corpse lay quietly, its flesh long since dried up, but the bones were faintly visible, gleaming like jade and emitting a faint golden light.

A faint white halo surrounded the corpse.

"The remains of a mysterious ancient powerhouse"

The woman explained,

"The effects are unknown. However, according to our assessment, this corpse has existed for at least ten thousand years and still retains a powerful Daoist aura. It may provide unexpected benefits to cultivation, weapon crafting, and enlightenment."

She paused for a moment: "Starting price: ten million taels. Each bid must be at least one hundred thousand taels higher."

The crowd erupted in uproar.

Ten million taels!

This price is beyond the reach of most people.

After a brief silence, a voice came from the first private room on the fourth floor, the one where the bronze mirror fragment had been photographed.

"Eleven million taels."

Immediately following, from a private room on the third floor: "Twelve million taels."

The second private room on the fourth floor: "Thirteen million taels."

Someone on the second floor joined in: "Thirteen and a half million taels..."

Prices jump in the millions.

Lin Feng was stunned.

Ten million taels...that's a lot of money.

If you piled them up, they'd form a mountain, right?

Wang Fugui was also astonished: "These big shots really don't treat money like money."

The bidding continues.

"Eighteen million taels!"

"Nineteen million taels!"

"Twenty million taels!"

The final price was called out by the third private room on the fourth floor, the one that had been silent until now.

The voice was young, with a touch of cynicism.

The room fell silent.

But Lin Feng felt the voice sounded familiar, somewhat like Uncle Xiao Hei!

It looks so familiar!

"Impossible! Impossible! Uncle Xiao Hei is still at home."

Lin Feng quickly shook his head, dismissing the idea.

Is it worth 20 million taels of silver to buy a corpse of unknown purpose?

No one raised the price anymore.

Just as the woman was about to bring down the gavel, someone in the first private room on the fourth floor suddenly spoke up:

"Twenty-one million taels."

The third private room immediately echoed: "Twenty-two million taels."

"Twenty-three million."

"Twenty-four million."

The two families are at odds.

The price soared to 30 million taels.

The hall was completely silent; everyone held their breath, watching this battle of titans.

Finally, the first private room fell silent.

"Thirty million taels, for the first time."

"Thirty million taels, the second time."

"Thirty million taels, for the third time!"

"make a deal!"

The auction gavel fell.

Finally, the third private room won the bid for the ancient powerhouse's corpse at an astronomical price of thirty million taels of silver.

Wang Fugui gasped: "Thirty million taels... I've never seen so much in my life."

Raymond Lam has become numb.

He now feels that money is just a number to the upper class.

He looked up. He was on the first floor, where there were tons of people. Then, as he went up, the number of people decreased until there were only a few on the fourth floor.

The woman took a deep breath, calmed herself, and then smiled.

"Next up is the last item in this auction!"

She paused deliberately, building up the anticipation, before slowly saying:

"The Heaven-Burning Technique"

A maidservant brought over a jade plate.

Instead of a scroll, the jade plate held a crimson jade slip with flame-like patterns flowing across its surface, radiating a scorching heat.

"An evolving cultivation technique,"

The woman's voice rose a few decibels.

"The ultimate grade is unknown. It starts as a mid-grade Heaven Rank, and when cultivated to its full potential, it can burn mountains and boil seas, possessing boundless power."

Evolvable cultivation technique!

The area below completely exploded.

Can cultivation techniques evolve?

This means there's unlimited potential.

Mid-grade Heaven Rank is just the starting point; in the future, it may reach high-grade Heaven Rank, top-grade Heaven Rank, or even... higher?

"Starting price: 15 million taels. Each bid must be at least 1 million taels higher."

The voice just fell,

"Sixteen million taels!"

Someone shouted from the second floor.

"Twenty million taels!"

Third floor.

"Twenty-five million taels!"

The first private room on the fourth floor called out.

Prices skyrocketed instantly.

In Lin Feng's mind, the voice of Master Yu Yuan suddenly rang out, filled with urgency:

"Lin boy! Shout! We must master this technique!"

Lin Feng was taken aback: "Master, I don't have any money..."

"I have it!" said Master Yu Yuan.

"I saved up some private money back in the day, not a lot, but still tens of millions of taels. Shout it out!"

Lin Feng gritted his teeth and tentatively spoke:

"Two thousand... twenty-six million taels."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet meeting room.

The main reason is that it's shouted from the first level. Being at that level means that your current strength is also at that level. The gap between classes is like the difference between clouds and mud.

Everyone looked at him, including Wang Fugui.

Wang Fugui's eyes widened: "Lin... Lin Feng, you..."

Lin Feng blushed and forced a smile, "Uh... I... I'll give it a try."

There was a moment of silence, and then...

"Thirty million taels!" The first private room on the fourth floor.

"Thirty-five million taels!" The second private room on the fourth floor.

"Forty million taels!" The third private room on the fourth floor.

Prices are like a runaway horse, completely out of control.

Master Yu Yuan commanded in Lin Feng's mind: "Go with it! Fifty million taels!"

Lin Feng's throat went dry: "Five thousand... fifty million taels."

"Sixty million taels!" The first private room.

"Sixty-five million!" The second private room.

"Seventy million!" The third private room.

Lin Feng's hands were shaking.

Seventy million taels... even selling him ten thousand times wouldn't be enough.

"Master..."

He shouted in his heart.

"Follow!" Jade Yuan Zhenren gritted his teeth.

"Eighty million taels! I'm going all in!"

Lin Feng, with his eyes closed, shouted, "Eighty million taels!"

The venue was deathly silent.

Eighty million taels... This has set a new record for the highest price ever paid by the Qianbao Chamber of Commerce.

The beautiful croupier spoke up, "Young man, don't shout like that. No one in our Qianbao Chamber of Commerce has ever defaulted on a debt."

After a brief silence, a cold snort came from the first private room: "Eighty-five million taels."

The second private room fell silent.

The first private room also fell silent.

Master Yu Yuan directly controlled Lin Feng's body, and before Lin Feng could react, he raised his hand and shouted, "Ninety million taels!"

The woman's voice trembled: "Ninety-nine million taels, for the first time..."

"Ninety million taels, the second time..."

"Ninety million taels, the third time."

"make a deal!"

The auction gavel fell, its sound echoing in the silent hall.

He acquired "The Burning Heaven Technique" for a staggering price of 90 million taels of silver.

Lin Feng was covered in cold sweat.

Wang Fugui looked at him with a complex expression, a mixture of shock, doubt, and a hint of... awe.

"Lin Feng," Wang Fugui asked softly.

"You...you're really rich?"

Raymond Lam gave a wry smile: "It wasn't me..."

After the auction ended, staff found him and led him to a room.

A maid pushed open the door and entered, carrying a jade tray. On the tray was the crimson jade slip.

"Young master," the maid bowed.

"This is the 'Burning Heaven Technique' you purchased. Please... settle the bill."

Lin Feng's face turned deathly pale.

The bill? Ninety million taels? Even chopping him up and selling his body wouldn't be enough!

Just then, Yu Yuan Zhenren said in his mind, "Don't panic. Give her the storage ring."

Lin Feng was taken aback: "Huh?"

"Just give it to her."

Lin Feng steeled himself, took off his right storage ring, and placed it on the jade plate.

The maid paused for a moment, but didn't ask any further questions. She took the jade plate and left.

A moment later, she returned the storage ring to Lin Feng and bowed, saying, "The account is settled. Young master, this is your cultivation technique."

She placed the jade slip on the coffee table, then stepped back and closed the door.

Lin Feng picked up the jade slip, which was warm to the touch.

He could sense that it contained a vast amount of information, as well as a scorching Daoist aura.

He really... took the picture?

Ninety million taels, just like that... paid?

Wang Fugui leaned closer, his eyes shining: "Lin Feng, you...who exactly are you?"

Lin Feng opened his mouth, unsure how to answer.

He himself didn't even know who he was.

Lin Feng and Wang Fugui also went downstairs and walked out of the Chamber of Commerce.

The outside was still bustling with activity, brightly lit and filled with the noise of people.

But Lin Feng felt that everything was different now.

He carried the jade slip of the "Burning Heaven Technique" in his bosom and wore a storage ring on his hand. Although it was empty, it was still heavy.

"Lin Feng," Wang Fugui patted him on the shoulder.

"No matter who you are, I've decided to be your friend. If you ever need anything, feel free to come to me."

Lin Feng nodded: "Thank you, Brother Wang."

The two parted ways.

Wang Fugui returned to the house, and Lin Feng... he didn't know where to go.

He walked slowly down the street, his mind a jumble of thoughts.

Ninety million taels... even though I didn't shout it myself?

Just then, someone tapped me on the shoulder.

Lin Feng was startled and turned around.

He was a middle-aged man, dressed in ordinary gray cloth clothes, with an average appearance, but his eyes were very bright.

He was holding a gourd of wine in his hand, and was looking at Lin Feng with a smile.

"Young man,"

The man spoke, his voice hoarse.

"The auction was quite lively."

Lin Feng looked at him warily: "Who are you?"

"I?"

The man took a sip of his drink.

"Just passing by. Young man, you look unfamiliar, so I'll strike up a conversation."