Transcending Dreams - D2 - Chapter 34

“Even I’m tempted,” Lan Yang muttered.

He ignored that. “Senior Yang, I want this one.”

William had doubts that he could be the first bidder with the interest most on the Red Floor were showing. As they should.

He reread the text on the wall as Xia Qing continued her speech about how rare the skill manual was, as if anyone needed more motivation.

[Heavenly Thunder Scripture] allowed the user to harness the power of thunder as the name suggested, with mastery of the human-tier skill allowing for the infusion of those properties into the body. Very useful for close combat.

At the earth-tier, the user could summon thunderbolts from the sky, unlocking the full potential of the martial skill.

William felt like he was fated for the [Heavenly Thunder Scripture]. It was too perfect of a martial skill for his needs. Enhancing close combat while providing a strong range option at the higher tier.

The only negative he could think of was the need to be under the sky to fully use the capability of [Heavenly Thunder Scripture]. It was a concern, but the skill’s benefits allowed him to overlook that.

“So does every other cultivator in the auction,” Lan Yang said with a frown. “This might be one of the most expensive items sold, other than the headliners.”

It wasn’t a good feeling to have his hopes dashed so quickly. Still, the smallest amount was hanging by a thread. “Maybe it won’t cost too—”

“No,” Lan Yang interrupted, “even you can see how much interest it has gathered.”

“I’d still like to try,” William replied stubbornly. “There’s no harm in doing so.”

“Hm,” Lan Yang narrowed his eyes at him. “Very well, but don’t be too disappointed when it’s out of reach.”

He nodded but knew that would be the case anyway. It was an impossible ask. Feeling disappointment was natural if this martial skill got away from him.

“Let’s start the bidding on this lot at one hundred Spirit—”

“One hundred!” William stood from his seat and raised his pass high to make sure there was no chance he could be missed. He knew he had interrupted Xia Qing in the middle of her senate, but he couldn’t help himself.

“Looks like someone doesn’t have the patience to wait,” Xia Qing laughed. “This isn’t the norm, but I’ll take the bid! But first, let me explain the minimums.”

“Sit down,” Lan Yang hissed. “You broke an unwritten rule.”

William didn’t argue and fell back to the seat. He noticed that Lan Yang might be onto something about that unwritten rule. Every single person on the Red Floor was staring directly at him, not bothering to hide the anger they were feeling.

He blinked and looked away, pretending he couldn’t see them glaring daggers.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Each bid must be fifty Spirit Stones higher than the current bid,” Xia Qing paused before staring up in the direction William was sitting. “Since the impatient guest is from the Red Floor, the ten-bid rule comes into play immediately. I now welcome the new bidders!”

“One thousand!”

William blinked like an owl, staring at the lower floor in shock. This had to be the highest bid from that floor so far, and with Lan Yang’s apparent surprise, it was likely the case.

“From one hundred to a thousand! To the man on the left—” Xia Qing was interrupted.

“One thousand one hundred!”

William liked this. The second bid wasn’t much higher than the last, relatively, of course. This was still an amount of Spirit Stones he personally couldn’t fathom.

“One thousand two hundred!”

Three bids were used up. Only seven more go. There was a chance. William could feel his hope rising, especially when he saw that Lan Yang didn’t seem concerned at the bid level.

This was still within range—

“Three thousand.”

William’s heart dropped, not only because of the drastically higher bid, but also because Lan Yang was shaking his head. It was out of range.

“Oh my! Three thousand is now the winning bid!” Xia Qing’s excited voice sounded muffled to William. The disappointment was setting in.

He had plans on what to do if he could win [Heavenly Thunder Scripture]. His choice in the yet-to-be-picked heaven-tier martial skill would have likely changed if he already had a reliable ranged skill.

Now, that was out of consideration.

“Three thousand four hundred and fifty!”

William didn’t care that the bid had come from the lower floor. What did it matter at this point? The martial skill wouldn’t be going to him.

“I said don’t be too disappointed, Junior Wei,” Lan Yang comforted awkwardly. “I know the feeling of losing something you desire, but maybe this could be a hidden benefit. What if you find something that fits you better?”

“Yeah.” William couldn’t even try and make himself sound upbeat. If something better came up in the auction, the cost would exceed [Heavenly Thunder Scripture].

“No more bids?” Xia Qing called out. “All you need to be the highest bidder is fifty more Spirit Stones than the last. Don’t lose your chance to own this one-of-a-kind martial skill!”

William hadn’t realized it till now, but the bids had stopped after the person on the lower floor took the lead. That was only the fifth bid.

It seemed like the price was too high.

He looked away from the jade token containing the [Heavenly Thunder Scripture] on the stage, not wanting to torture himself with the sight of something he could never have. That inadvertently let him catch the people standing just to the side of the stage.

William had rarely bothered to take his eyes off the items being sold during the auction, and the time he did, it was to glance at the one who made a bid. He didn’t know if standing near the stage was common, but that didn’t matter.

He recognized the ones standing there.

“Senior Yang,” William spoke over Xia Qing trying to draw in more bids, “who are they?”

Lan Yang looked to where he was pointing. “Those are the owners of the item. They have the option to be anonymous, but since a merchant house is the owner, it is beneficial to have their identity known.”

“Oh,” William blinked dumbly.

When Wang Xiaoling had taken ten thousand Gold from him for an ‘investment,’ he had written that off as a lost cause. Besides being annoyed for a few days, he didn’t think much of it. After all, why should he? It was supposed to be a lost cause.

So seeing the miserly, short-tempered, self-proclaimed number-one merchant Wang Xiaoling, the overly affectionate guard Li Jie, and Fatty Xu standing off to the side of the stage was a shock.

Especially since the misfit group was supposedly the owners of Rising Merchant House.

“Looks like there are no more bids,” Xia Qing announced regretfully. “I’ll close the bidding for this auction in five… four—”

William tuned her out and looked at Lan Yang with sharp eyes. “Senior Yang, are you sure those are the owners?”

“Hm?” Lan Yang took his sweet time to answer. Xia Qing’s countdown was at one. “Of course. The rules don’t allow anything else.”

“… One. The bidding is over!” Xia Qing called out. “To the original bidder on the Red Floor, would you like to beat the highest bid by fifty Spirit Stones?”

William saw Wang Xiaoling and her group celebrating. He could vaguely hear Lan Yang consoling him again. Everything was muted. He had tunnel vision because he was getting ready to do something that only a scumbag would do.

Gambling with money that wasn’t his.

“Yes!”