Chapter 218

The auction hall was arranged similarly to a sports stadium, circular in shape, with tiered seating all around.

Instead of a basketball or soccer court in the center below, there was a flat, spacious auction platform.

"Our seats are in the third row. Let's go over." Jiang Luo led Xu Jingming and the others toward the auction platform.

Seats numbered one through five in the auction hall offered the best views.

Although most attendees were psychics, even those seated in the back rows could see clearly.

But sitting up front still signaled noble status.

In fact, the first five rows of seats were significantly wider than the others.

"Chief Jiang."

"Jiang Luo, over here."

"..."

This area appeared to be reserved exclusively for Thunder Martial Arts Gym; as soon as Jiang Luo approached,

several staff members in Thunder Martial Arts Gym uniforms waved enthusiastically.

"Let me introduce you: this is my junior brother, Xu Jingming; the other two are my fellow students from Magic University, Song Qiuyun and Jiang Chuxuan."

Jiang Luo led Xu Jingming and the others over, smiling as he introduced them.

"No wonder you're Jiang's junior brother—you're already Third-Stage Upper at such a young age. Impressive."

"Magic University prodigies really are something else. At your age, I hadn't even reached Second Stage."

"You two young ladies are stunning. Why not sit next to me?"

"..."

Since Xu Jingming was about to compete in the National University League, Instructor Wu Chuang had not publicized his strength.

Even so, a third-stage upper-level student still drew serious attention from Thunder Martial Arts Gym members.

As for Song Qiuyun and Jiang Chuxuan, both equally young, their ranks were slightly lower—

one Second-Stage Middle, one Second-Stage Upper—but neither had yet reached twenty.

Reaching such levels was already remarkable.

Their striking beauty also caught the attention of several female supervisors.

They smiled, inviting them to sit together.

"It's Xu Jingming—he's here at the auction too."

On the fifth-row seats behind them, Lei Yaoyang and his group had also arrived.

Though they had only just graduated from the Elite Training Camp, their combat power

allowed them to easily kill several third-stage apex beasts and meet the 10-million entry asset requirement.

"This Xu Jingming isn't just strong himself—how come the women around him are so top-tier?"

Watching the two slender women beside Xu Jingming, Li Ming nearly popped his eyeballs out.

"You dare look? If Xu Jingming spots you, he'll punch your head off."

Someone beside him teased.

"Whoa, fine, fine—I won't look anymore."

Though it was a joke, remembering Xu Jingming's brutality in the video,

Li Ming sucked in a sharp breath and quickly looked away, frightened.

"Each seat has a number, and there's a small electronic screen on the right armrest.

Just enter your bid and tap confirm to participate in the auction."

After Xu Jingming and the others sat down, Jiang Luo smiled and explained.

"Understood." Xu Jingming nodded slightly.

Song Qiuyun and Jiang Chuxuan, seated to his left, looked experienced—clearly not first-timers at auctions.

"You can also use this screen to view the auction items and prepare your bids in advance."

"Oh?"

Xu Jingming raised his eyebrows slightly and quickly checked the palm-sized display on the right armrest.

"Lot 1: A-grade rare herb, starting bid: 20 million.

Lot 2: One fifth-stage thunder core, starting bid: 20 million.

Lot 3: Brand-new A-grade battle suit, starting bid: 100 million.

Lot 108: One S-grade cultivation resource, starting bid: 600 million."

The list contained many items—108 in total.

But truly rare items seemed to be only a few S-grade cultivation resources, a few S-grade battle techniques, and advanced psychic training methods.

There wasn't even a single SS-grade cultivation resource or SS-grade battle technique.

"This isn't Magic University—S-grade cultivation resources are already rare out here."

Seeing Xu Jingming's confusion, Jiang Luo explained with a smile:

"And even if there were SS-grade resources, the martial arts gym would use them internally—they'd never auction them off."

S-grade, SS-grade, and even the highest SSS-grade resources couldn't be bought with money alone in the outside world.

Only elite universities like Magic University, Jindong University, and Jingda—with deep roots and long histories—could consistently provide them.

"No wonder I didn't see Instructor Wu here."

Xu Jingming suddenly understood.

The auctioned items here were only useful to psychics below Sixth Stage.

"That's right. The Li family only sent Li Wanying and a few fourth-stage psychics.

Among other psychic clans, only the weaker ones had their clan heads show up personally."

Jiang Luo smiled. "But this level of auction is sufficient for us—we couldn't afford anything more expensive anyway."

"True," Xu Jingming nodded.

He had slain nine fourth-stage thunder beasts this time, plus numerous second- and third-stage ones.

All the beast materials combined sold for 210 million, added to his original 500 million—he now had 710 million in cash.

But for SS-grade resources, that amount meant nothing.

"Jingming, anything you want to buy?"

Song Qiuyun leaned over curiously.

"A few items caught my interest, but I'll wait until the host introduces them before deciding."

Xu Jingming replied.

The auction item list on the screen was extremely basic—even crude.

It only listed names; no other details.

For example, A-grade battle suits varied: some focused on defense, others on speed, others on balance.

Different types suited completely different psychic groups.

Without knowing specifics, no one would rush to bid.

Of course,

it was perfectly normal—if all details were listed,

there'd be no need for a live auction; online bidding would suffice.

Two items interested him: one was an S-grade spear, starting bid 500 million.

With the National University League approaching, his C-grade Qingxiao Black Dragon Spear was no longer suitable.

Upgrading straight to S-grade would let him use it even if he reached Fifth or Sixth Stage later.

The other item was a bundle of five fourth-stage lower-tier thunder cores, starting bid 40 million.

Each fourth-stage lower-tier thunder core normally sold for 6 million—now, at auction, each price had jumped by 2 million.

But Xu Jingming's psychic manipulation proficiency was about to break through to the Condensed Liquid stage.

Rather than entering the Thunderstorm Zone to hunt fourth-stage thunder beasts and return, it was better to buy them now and attempt a direct breakthrough.