The auction quickly began with a starting bid of one hundred billion.
"One hundred and fifty billion!"
"One hundred and eighty billion."
Zhou Yan spoke, "Six hundred billion."
The others: "..."
This armor would eventually exceed five hundred billion anyway, so why not be more direct and save time?
The price of six hundred billion indeed made many shake their heads and look at Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan had become well-known to many at the recent trade fair, and his financial strength, in particular, was shocking.
Only a few people thought Zhou Yan acquired his wealth by plundering the territories of tens of thousands of lords.
But they didn't know that was just a drop in the ocean of his wealth.
No one competed with Zhou Yan. The armor's price would at most be a little over five hundred billion. Six hundred billion was already beyond their calculations. Zhou Yan had once again secured an item.
"You've been getting a lot of attention from foreign beauties lately. Haven't any of them stirred your heart?" Ye Bufan asked, observing the many beautiful women subtly hinting at Zhou Yan, who seemed uninterested.
"What use are mortal women? I only fancy those from my own territory," Zhou Yan replied.
Ye Bufan's heart stirred, "The key is not having to worry about betrayal. Unfortunately, our family doesn't permit marriage to women from our territory."
"Oh, there's such a rule? But I suppose for people like you, family alliances through marriage are necessary. Family alliances are quite good, at least you don't have to worry about finding a wife. You don't know how many single people there are in the world."
As Zhou Yan spoke, he skillfully shifted the conversation to Ye Bufan, leaving the latter speechless.
"I remember we were talking about you at the beginning. How did we suddenly get onto me? I already have a girlfriend, you know." Ye Bufan said.
"Have you told your father about you and Zhao Qingwu yet?" Zhou Yan asked.
"Of course. My father has agreed. However, he said that if we are still together after we graduate, he'll arrange a proposal." Ye Bufan replied.
"That's only three more years. Time flies quickly," Zhou Yan commented.
"The next auction item has already begun," Ye Bufan said, wanting to change the subject from his personal affairs.
The two continued to watch the auction, but nothing Zhou Yan desired appeared.
An hour later, when ten RRR-quality Hero Summoning Tokens were presented on stage, Zhou Yan finally said, "Finally, something that interests me."
"Wow, these guys are good. They managed to get ten top-tier Hero Summoning Tokens. They're really generous," Ye Bufan exclaimed in surprise.
"A single top-tier Hero Summoning Token is worth hundreds of billions. Ten of them together would definitely exceed a trillion. If I could compete with you, I'd want to participate too," Ye Bufan added.
"It's alright, it's alright. We'll split them. I'll give you five after we win the bid," Zhou Yan offered.
"Good brother," Ye Bufan said with satisfaction.
Having obtained so many good items this time, Zhou Yan didn't mind parting with five Hero Summoning Tokens.
The starting bid for this lot had already reached five hundred billion Spirit Coins. Zhou Yan immediately declared, "One trillion two hundred billion!"
Zhou Yan didn't want to waste time. This price already exceeded the market value by two hundred billion. Even if others wanted to compete, they felt they had no chance, and the price was beyond their expectations.
This left the others speechless. It was as if they weren't even given a chance to shout.
Zhou Yan once again successfully bid for the ten Hero Summoning Tokens and then gave five to Ye Bufan.
Ye Bufan whispered, "How many were in the last batch?"
Ye Bufan was referring to the Hero Summoning Tokens from the previous auction.
"Not many. Twenty RRR-quality, fifty RR-quality, and one hundred R-quality," Zhou Yan replied.
"No way!" Ye Bufan was surprised. There were so many.
With this, Ye Bufan taking five top-tier Hero Summoning Tokens was no longer a concern for Zhou Yan.
The two chatted while observing the auction items, bidding on what they wanted and letting others compete for what they didn't.
Time passed until ten o'clock in the evening, when the final ten压轴 (yāzhóu - finale) items were presented.
Even Zhou Yan didn't know what the finale items were, as the secrecy was meticulously maintained.
The first item was a building called [Heavenly Gate], a structure that led to an unknown destination. Its specific function would only be revealed after they built it.
"Interesting." Zhou Yan's eyes fell on the building, and he waited for the bidding.
Top-tier buildings started at a minimum of a trillion, some worth ten trillion or even a hundred trillion, depending on their nature.
Clearly, this building's value was only around a trillion. The starting bid was five hundred billion. Zhou Yan directly stated, "One trillion!"
"One trillion and ten billion!"
"One trillion and twenty billion."
There were still competitors, indicating they were determined to acquire it. Zhou Yan continued, "One trillion one hundred billion."
This move deterred anyone else from competing with Zhou Yan.
After Zhou Yan paid, he looked at the second item: a blueprint, and moreover, a blueprint for a Saint Artifact.
This was extremely rare.
The value of a Saint Artifact blueprint far exceeded that of a Saint Artifact itself.
As long as one had sufficient materials, one could continuously forge powerful Saint Artifacts.
Of course, this was contingent on possessing Saint Artifact-level blacksmiths and artisans whose auxiliary professions were at a very high level.
Ou Yezi and Gan Jiang were talents who could forge Saint Artifacts without blueprints, but they couldn't guarantee a 100% success rate, sometimes relying on luck.
It was precisely their lack of blueprints that, if they had them, would undoubtedly allow them to mass-produce Saint Artifacts. Though "mass-produce" might be an exaggeration, as forging Saint Artifacts took a considerable amount of time, sometimes months to complete.
This was a Saint Artifact blueprint for a spear. Based on Zhou Yan's estimation, its value would not be less than eight hundred billion, and there were quite a few competitors.
Those who needed it would naturally vie for it with all their might, and Zhou Yan was no exception.
When the auctioneer announced the price, it quickly rose to five hundred billion.
The number of competitors decreased, but some still vied for it.
Zhou Yan spoke, "One trillion!"
One trillion. Once again, this price exceeded the expectations of many.
Money truly allowed for arbitrariness.
There were many people Zhou Yan recognized in the auction hall. They looked at him with admiration. Due to his immense wealth, Zhou Yan had become the highest spender at this auction.
While this blueprint was slightly expensive, the value it could create was immense. Zhou Yan didn't feel he had overpaid.
After successfully acquiring it, the third finale item was brought onto the stage.