Chapter 73: You Still Want to Close the Bidding

Just as the gray‑haired elder finished speaking, a bronze‑skinned, muscular youth sitting in front of the wooden platform immediately raised the sign before him and shouted, "Ten thousand contribution points!"

Someone nearby laughed and said, "Senior Brother Song, you're still busy refining your body every day?"

"We are cultivators, not strongmen!"

"You say you leave Qi unpracticed, yet you spend all day training what muscles?"

"How big must these muscles get to be considered big?"

"Hahaha…"

"Bang!"

The towering youth's palm, as big as a fan, slammed heavily onto the handrail, then glared at the robed youth who had just spoken and said in a deep, resonant voice.

"Hmph!"

"A towering building rises from flat ground; cultivation demands both internal and external cultivation!"

"You only cultivate Qi, not forge the body!"

"When the Concentration Realm is fully attained and you prepare to cross the Thunder Tribulation, if your inner pill hasn't formed, you'll be struck dead by a bolt of lightning from the heavens!"

"You…"

Stung publicly by the towering brute, the robed youth's fair face instantly showed a flash of embarrassment; he raised his hand to point at the brute, opening his mouth to retort.

But the words caught in his throat and he swallowed them.

In the end, he slunk back to his seat, silent.

This scene.

It instantly provoked a burst of laughter among many Inner Peak disciples in the auction hall!

However.

The towering brute's words weren't entirely unreasonable.

The so‑called Foundation Establishment Realm essentially draws a cultivator's entire aura, and through the Three‑Flower Convergence and Five‑Qi to the Origin, refines one's essence, Qi, and spirit into an inner pill.

Once one survives the Thunder Tribulation and successfully embraces the pill, it signifies a successful Foundation Establishment!

But if one only cultivates Qi without forging the body, the flesh cannot withstand the Thunder Tribulation!

If a cultivator fails to pass the Thunder Tribulation during Foundation Establishment, they might rely on others to shield them from the tribulation.

Thus, even if they manage to forge an inner pill, at best it is merely a counterfeit pill.

The divine technique summoned by a counterfeit‑pill cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Realm, while not as intangible as the mere illusion of the Concentration Realm!

But when pitted against genuine Foundation Establishment cultivators who have truly braved the Thunder Tribulation and endured Heaven's might, they are utterly ineffective, collapsing at the slightest touch!

This explains why physical strength accounts for no more than thirty percent of a cultivator's total combat power.

Thus, a Thunder Tiger inner pill that can temper the body and boost physical strength becomes so coveted among cultivators at the auction.

Just as the crowd was abuzz with discussion about this.

At that moment.

A cold snort sounded: "Fifteen thousand contribution points!"

The one who opened the bid was none other than the white‑robed youth Pan Wenbo, whose sudden appearance had drawn everyone's attention.

After finishing his bid, Pan Wenbo rose, bowed to the crowd in the auction hall, and cheerfully said, "Everyone!"

"I came in a hurry this time and didn't bring many contribution points."

"I wonder, could you all part with it?"

"If you are willing to give me this Thunder Tiger inner pill, I, Pan Wenbo, will repay you greatly in the future!"

These words, however, provoked discontent among many Inner Peak disciples in the auction hall.

After all, the auction is a highest‑bid‑wins affair.

"What does it mean for you to jump in and contest this hand?"

"Are you trying to close the bidding outright?"

Considering that Pan Wenbo is a disciple of Master Dongfang and may very well become an Alchemist in the future!

Even though many Inner Peak disciples harbored resentment toward Pan Wenbo's move, several silently relinquished their bidding tags.

After all, absent a direct conflict of interest, no one wishes to deliberately offend someone destined to become an Alchemist.

Seeing how his casual remark calmed the once‑heated, fiercely competitive auction hall.

When the hall suddenly fell silent, Pan Wenbo nodded with satisfaction, a smug, arrogant smile spreading across his face.

He thoroughly enjoyed the feeling.

But the feeling didn't last long.

Very soon.

"Sixteen thousand!"

Another call for a bid, unhurried yet steady, rang out, instantly freezing Pan Wenbo's smile.

Pan Wenbo, irritated, followed the voice and his gaze met Li Mu's amused stare in mid‑air!

Seeing Li Mu bounce in front of him again and again, Pan Wenbo's fists clenched under his white robe, yet his face remained indifferent, completely ignoring him.

He barely lingered his gaze on Li Mu at all.

With Li Mu becoming the focal point, the previously subdued auction hall suddenly flared up again!

Everyone raised their signs, scrambling to outbid each other!

In no time.

The Thunder Tiger inner pill had already risen to twenty‑two thousand sect contribution points.

Li Mu raised his sign again: "I bid twenty‑five thousand!"

At this moment.

After several rounds of bidding, only Li Mu and Pan Wenbo remained as bidders.

Pan Wenbo glanced at Li Mu, his previously breezy, spring‑like demeanor gone, and a cold, fierce glint flashed in his eyes!

At the same time, whispers began to ripple through the auction hall.

"Sss…"

"What on earth is this newly inducted Named Disciple's background?"

"He actually bids so generously!"

"Indeed!"

"How could a single Named Disciple possibly have so many sect contribution points on him?"

"That makes no sense!"

"Hey!"

"Fellow Daoist, you just don't get this, do you?"

"Many disciples from great cultivation clans have families that voluntarily provide massive amounts of Heavenly Treasure and spirit weapons so that clan disciples can exchange them at the sect for sect contribution points."

"The sect also gains many benefits, so it turns a blind eye to the matter."

Listening to the murmurs around the auction hall, Pan Wenbo turned his head, glared at Li Mu in a threatening manner, and then, gritting his teeth, shouted, "Thirty thousand!"

"This item!"

"Anyone who dares to contest me again will be my enemy!"

"Heh…"

"And what if I oppose you?"

Li Mu chuckled lightly, shook his head, and raised his placard again: "Twenty‑five thousand!"

Pan Wenbo grew furious!

He slammed the armrest of his seat hard and shouted loudly, "Forty thousand!"

At that moment, Qian Wen slipped a Jade Slip from his pocket and whispered, "Brother, I still have…"

"No need!"

Li Mu did not take it; instead, he slapped the Jade Slip worth fifty thousand sect contribution points onto the armrest, his tone rising slightly at the end, "Fifty thousand!"

"Wow!"

Pan Wenbo sprang up, his eyes fixed rigidly on Li Mu in the back row, his face showing unmasked fury, and he declared, "It seems you intend to oppose me to the very end!"

Facing Pan Wenbo's threat, Li Mu's smile remained as he said, "I recall this auction isn't supposed to involve anyone named Pan, right?"

"When it comes to coveted items, everyone relies on their own ability; there's no talk of opposing you!"

"You!"

Pan Wenbo's complexion froze!

Li Mu's words, both overt and implied, were clearly a snub!

He had originally thought that by revealing his identity outright, he could make the other party submit and thus obtain this Thunder Tiger inner core at the lowest cost!

Yet when everyone else in the auction hall chose to cower and withdraw, Li Mu deliberately stepped forward to stir trouble!

That caused Pan Wenbo to pause slightly in surprise!

Since he became a quasi‑Alchemist under the Eastern Master, no one has ever dared to deny him face.

The inner‑peak disciples inside the hall were likewise stunned, and a chorus of exclamations erupted.

"Sss!"

"What exactly is this Named Disciple's background?"

"Is he a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, or does he truly have some backing?"

But the white‑haired elder at the auction podium ignored all that; seeing that Pan Wenbo could no longer bid, he calmly called out the next price as usual.

"Fifty thousand, first round!"

"Fifty thousand, second round!"

"……"

"Creak, creak, creak…"

Listening to the white‑haired elder repeatedly shout the final bids, Pan Wenbo's anger was so fierce his silver teeth seemed about to be crushed, and his once‑pale face flushed intensely with rage!

From a distance, he looked just like a boiled crab!

Li Mu is truly detestable!

Again and again!

And a third time he ruins his own advantage!

But that isn't the most infuriating thing for Pan Wenbo!

What infuriates Pan Wenbo the most is—

Li Mu is now using contribution points to bid against me for the Thunder Tiger inner core, points that were most likely snatched from me!

He's using my own contribution points to snatch the item he covets!

This damn…

This damn!

It's downright excessive deceit, as if he's flipping the Heavenly Gang on its head!

Wait!

My own contribution points?

Pan Wenbo then glanced at the Jade Slip Li Mu held, a cold smirk curling his lips as if he recalled something.

"Fifty thousand, third round!"

"Deal!"

"Hold on!"

Just as the white‑haired elder was about to drop the gavel, Pan Wenbo's voice suddenly rose an octave.

A playful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he raised his hand, pointed at Li Mu and shouted, "Everyone had better check the valuables and money you have on you."

"I know this person!"

"Just now, he stole my sect's Jade Slip worth fifty thousand contribution points!"

"What I didn't expect is that this little petty thief is so outrageously bold."

"He actually dared, in front of me as the rightful owner, to brazenly use the stolen money to bid in the auction."

Seeing Pan Wenbo speak with such confidence, it didn't seem like a lie.

At that moment, many people believed him about seventy or eighty percent.

After all…

Li Mu was merely a Named Disciple, nothing more.

Carrying a sum of fifty thousand sect contribution points on his person already raised doubts about its source.

Now, being publicly exposed by Pan Wenbo, the scene erupted in uproar, and many began to check their own belongings.

"Pan Wenbo!"

"You talk big, how dare you frame my elder brother!"

Seeing this, Qian Wenyi couldn't stay seated, slammed the table and scolded angrily.

"Hehe…"

"Why are you speaking so loudly?"

"Your friend's fifty thousand contribution points—are they stolen? Others may not know, but aren't you, the party involved, supposed to know!"

Hearing that, Pan Wenbo sneered.

He raised his hand, pointed at the Jade Slip in Li Mu's hand, and said evenly.

"You!"

Qian Wenyi flushed bright red, his chubby face swelling from Pan Wenbo's rebuke.

He opened his mouth to say something, but the words got stuck like a fishbone in his throat.

Because…

As he had said earlier, the Jade Slip worth fifty thousand sect contribution points in Li Mu's hand truly wasn't his—it was snatched from those two extortionists just now!

Thinking of this, Qian Wenyi felt a silent regret.

Had he known earlier, regardless of whether his elder brother accepted, he should have raised the bidding sign immediately and secured the Thunder Tiger inner pill first.

Because of his momentary mistake, his elder brother fell into such a passive situation.

Me, just a junior!

Really damned!

However, while Qian Wenyi was still racking his conscience over this…

Li Mu pressed on Qian Wenyi's shoulder and guided him back to his seat.

Watching Qian Wenyi, whose demeanor had clearly become chaotic and showed regret…

Pan Wenbo's smile grew even more smug.

He then looked at Li Mu, trying to read guilt, fear, and lingering dread on the young man's face.

But regrettably, Li Mu's expression was as calm as an ancient well.

Only his mouth corner lifted slightly; this smile gave off, no matter how you looked at it, a faint sense of…

the illusion of a fish taking the hook?

"What on earth is happening?"

"You just said he used stolen money to bid?"

"Is this true!"

Just as Pan Wenbo was still made uneasy all over by Li Mu's meaning‑laden smile…

But then the white‑haired elder who had been on the auction stage walked down, followed by two stern, imposing auction hall guards.

Seeing this, everyone involuntarily sucked in a breath of cold air, and their gazes toward Li Mu were filled with sympathy.

If Li Mu were to face the white‑haired elder's interrogation next and couldn't prove his innocence.

Moreover, if it were confirmed that the Jade Slip worth fifty thousand sect contribution points in his hand was indeed stolen!

That would mean his cultivation would be stripped and he would be expelled from the Ziyang Sect, never to rise again!