Chapter 317: The Inaugural Trans-Sea Auction

The sea breeze of Dream Island still carried its salty tang, yet carried a few measures more of bustle than usual.

A-Lan stood atop a massive boulder at the shore inscribed with the four great characters "Gold Coin Commerce Guild," his black long robe billowing and fluttering in the sea wind.

His gaze turned toward the exotic merchant ships continuously emerging on the distant sea line, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

At last, things were lively.

Dream Island, which had been forced to suspend operations some days prior due to the sea crisis brought by the Mist Fog Race, had now recovered its former prosperity.

Merchant ships of varied designs slowly sailed into the harbor one after another.

There were Sea Demon Race pearl-shell ships, their hulls inlaid with luminous, flickering spirit pearls that refracted seven-colored halos under the sunlight.

There were Scale Race tidal canoes, as well as Roaring Spirit Race abyssal whale tugboats, their massive whale shadows faintly visible beneath the sea surface, towing rafts laden with cargo.

On the dock, members of the Gold Coin Commerce Guild were busy directing the unloading.

"Since this batch of moon-pattern algae isn't meant for long-term storage, send it straight to Warehouse 3. You're responsible for the carrying yourselves—having our guild members carry it costs extra."

"Newcomers, be careful—the Gold Coin Commerce Guild takes no responsibility if ghost-crystal shards are broken. No registration means no safety guarantee of any kind."

"Count's done. Take the manifest. Once you've confirmed the resource-to-coin exchange ratio is correct, head onto the island."

Shouts, haggling, and the clatter of cargo wove together into a noisy yet vibrant scene.

A-Lan's gaze swept across the dock, and after confirming everything was in order, he gave a slight nod.

The plan was advancing steadily.

The cooperation between the Mist Fog Race and the Gold Coin Commerce Guild had formally elevated Dream Island into the trade center of the Azure Star Sea Region.

Before this, there might still have been races who felt the Gold Coin Commerce Guild lacked the strength—even with integrity, they still couldn't guarantee resource safety.

But after being tagged with the Mist Fog Race's "Strategic Cooperation Partner" label, so long as a Gold Coin Commerce Guild member came to talk, most were willing to cooperate with the guild and hoped to enter the "Safety List."

Among the races arriving this time was a batch of new trading races.

The resources each race brought were gathered and tallied at the dock, then entered the island via the lists issued by the Gold Coin Commerce Guild to begin trading.

Every transaction was ultimately overseen by a Gold Coin Commerce Guild member, and every transaction earned the guild a cut of the profit.

Added to the extra income from the Painful Painful Minghun, every day brought the guild a substantial tribute power profit.

"President."

Just then, a player strode over, came to a halt below the boulder, looked up, and said:

"The trading teams I'm liaising with have all entered the island. What's the next arrangement?"

Facing the inquiry, A-Lan nodded:

"Head back to the island and rest. The evening auction will keep us very busy… Oh, and remember to check whether the bidding devices have any debugging issues."

Once the guild member departed, A-Lan leapt down from the boulder.

What was just mentioned—the bidding device—was the core prop of this auction.

During the bidding process, every entering exotic-race representative received a bidding device with a random number.

No race marker, no identity tag, and even the holder's seat was assigned at random.

Brothers from the Gold Coin Commerce Guild were in charge of liaison.

This arrangement was naturally something he had deliberately arranged—everything was for safety's sake.

If a certain Zhen Pin was won by one race, and another race happened to want it too, then after the auction that race might move against the group that successfully took the item, and vice versa.

Anonymous bidding let the winner safely take the auction item—besides the Gold Coin Commerce Guild, no one would know who had taken it.

This model allowed races that wanted to participate to raise prices without any concerns, without having to worry about offending any other race.

But bidding devices weren't easy to make.

Monster World had neither electronic chips nor wireless signals; to achieve real-time bidding display, they could only seek out the Arms Merchant Guild, which already possessed the relevant technology.

The Arms Merchant Guild hadn't originally wanted to take this job—after all, it was a one-off prop, with no way to build a production line yielding continuous profit.

It didn't align with the Arms Merchant Guild's pursuit of profit.

But in the end, everything came down to price, so he offered a price that satisfied the Arms Merchants to custom-make this batch of equipment.

The crafting of the equipment was also extremely complex; the Arms Merchant Guild's technicians used the most primitive method—hand-forging.

The bidding device's shell was smelt-cast from the carapace of the "Black Iron Crab" from the Colored Mist Coast region, with hundreds of hand-crafted micro-gears embedded inside, each gear engraved with numerals corresponding to the digits 0 through 9.

When a bidder turned the side lever, the gear assembly would click-click into rotation, combining into the corresponding number.

Since wireless transmission of data was impossible, the Arms Merchant Guild simply sealed a "Sound-Transmitting Grass seed" from the Senluo Forest region inside every bidding device—this type of seed could transmit information through sound-wave resonance.

When exotic races used the bidding devices to bid, the numbers given would be transmitted via the Sound-Transmitting Grass to the Sound-Transmitting Grass beneath the auction house's bone-crystal screen, then converted into gear commands and displayed on the bone-crystal screen.

Moreover, to prevent accidents with the Sound-Transmitting Grass seeds that might stop the bidding information from being transmitted,

twelve Gold Coin Commerce Guild members were also on standby behind the auction house, specifically tasked with hand-copying bids should any accident occur.

Should the information-transmission layer crash, the auction would continue by means of hand-held wooden placards.

This entire set of equipment was like a fusion of steampunk and natural technology.

But as long as it could run, nothing else mattered.

In the original plan, the Gold Coin Commerce Guild would soon be able to use all sorts of new-technology products.

Unfortunately, sudden accidents in Monster World were hard to predict—for the exotic races, and for the players too.

In the plan, the Moon Eclipse Race would soon occupy the Di Ku Shi Jie base of the Machine Guard Race, and after restarting the base, a new arms factory could be built upon the ruins.

Although it wasn't intended for war, it could at least rapidly raise the player faction's technological level to Earth's level.

Producing all kinds of tech products wouldn't be a problem at all.

But the appearance of the Blue Lantern Race completely shattered his future plans.

The entire Di Ku Shi Jie had been reshaped by the Blue Lantern Race into an Adventurer's World.

This was a great thing for all players, yet it also indirectly affected his plan to update the Gold Coin Commerce Guild's supporting equipment.

But this wasn't much of a challenge; the issue of technological development could wait until the Star Network entered the picture.

The core of the Monster World remains the Star Vein system.

The Star Net had already stated at the outset of the Moon Eclipse Clan's arrangement of the Monster World that the Moon Eclipse Clan would also develop their system around the Star Vein system, with the technological system serving merely as auxiliary support, offering convenience in certain specific fields.

Amidst swirling thoughts, A Lan passed through the crowded dock district, following a path paved with luminous shells toward the auction venue deep within the island.

Many of the facilities on the island are managed by the Tian Chuo Clan.

In addition to the initial dock construction, this includes the very shell-paved path beneath our feet—from materials and design plans to subsequent construction—all handled by the Tian Chuo Clan.

This is also why he chose to protect the Tian Chuo Clan.

Our own players charge exorbitant appearance fees and refuse to do this, refuse to do that.

In contrast, the Tian Chuo Clan will do anything as long as you pay.

They are arguably the best contractors in the Misty Coast region.

When he initially fought to protect this race, it was precisely because he valued their pragmatic style: pay and they'll do it, no nonsense.

The construction of the Dream Island will continue, and cooperation with the Tian Chuo Clan will persist.

……

Time moved to night.

As the last streak of twilight sank below the sea horizon, the phosphorescent corals transplanted by the Tian Chuo Clan on Dream Island ignited one by one, their pale blue glow rippling like water, enveloping the entire open-air auction venue in a hazy atmosphere.

The venue is located in the eastern district of Dream Island, where there are no gilded halls—only an open-air arena.

All seating here has been fashioned from the bones of giant sea beasts.

For example, the ribs of the Abyss Whale have been planted upside-down into the sand, forming natural arched backs.

Lighting comes from clusters of luminous coral, carved into various shapes around the auction grounds, swaying gently with the sea breeze and casting pale blue light.

At the center of the venue stands the auction podium, its edges engraved with a ring of intricate runes to stabilize the projection of the Bone Crystal Screen.

As for a rain canopy, it is utterly unnecessary.

All races come from storms and tempests; even a downpour would not affect their bodies in the slightest.

As the auction was about to begin, representatives of each race arrived with their bidding devices.

They sat according to randomly assigned numbers, maintaining distance from one another; near each seat were placed interference stones to block spiritual perception.

Perception could scan only from the seat to the auction podium, not to other races nearby.

The Spirit Chef players invited by the Gold Coin Guild had already been pushing their "Seaweed Wine Cart" between the seats.

The drinks offered were naturally not free—each cup required payment in Gold Coins.

This was also the Gold Coin Guild's welfare support for their own players: all earnings Spirit Chefs made here belonged solely to them, with no need to remit any to the Gold Coin Guild.

How much they sold depended entirely on their own ability.

"Honey-fermented Seafruit Juice, 80 Gold Coins a cup—who wants a cup?"

"Abyss Fire Wine, 300 Gold Coins a cup—guaranteed to leave you exhilarated."

"Dream Bubble Drink, infused with extract from the Illusionary Jellyfish, limited to 50 cups, 1,500 Gold Coins a cup."

One player squatted beside the wine cart, swiftly collecting payment with the Gold Coin Guild's transaction device, muttering as he did:

"Hey, Sea Witch brother, want to try the new Coral Agate Jelly… too expensive? This price is extremely reasonable—I wouldn't cheat you, drink it and you'll grow stronger."

On the other side, two representatives of the Bu Xing Clan frowned as they sipped the "Abyss Fire Wine," tongues sticking out, white smoke curling from their throats.

The currency used on Gold Coin Island is called Gold Coin.

Ten Gold Coins are roughly equivalent to one Shou Shou Jili.

Although in the player faction, Shou Shou Jili is the purest currency—it can be used to strengthen Painful Painful Minghun, purchase items from the Shangcheng, and other services—

Even directly converted into Painful Painful Minghun experience.

But the problem is, Shou Shou Jili is an exclusive resource usable only by players, fundamentally a "rule-force" bound to the player's consciousness.

Other races cannot perceive it, let alone touch it.

Players can transfer Shou Shou Jili among themselves, but cannot materialize it; it exists only as a balance within the player's inventory panel.

To solve the trading problem, A Lan introduced the finer currency unit "Gold Coin" on Dream Island.

The smallest unit is one, worth 0.1 Shou Shou Jili, usable for trade of all goods on the island, and convertible at any time into physical resources via the Gold Coin Guild.

This auction is conducted using Gold Coins.

Each participating race had previously deposited their resources into Dream Island, where the coordinating player calculated their value and issued a corresponding Gold Coin amount.

This ensures no invalid bids—only those with sufficient Gold Coins may bid.

The qualification verification was completed before the auction began.

As time passed, a long, resonant conch horn sounded, and the noise in the open-air auction venue gradually faded.

The auction officially began.

Liu Yi, Vice Chairman of the Gold Coin Guild, stepped onto the auction podium.

He wore a dark golden robe embroidered with intricate coin patterns, a gold coin-shaped medallion hanging at his waist.

This outfit was custom-made by a forum player.

"Ladies and gentlemen."

His voice was not loud, yet through the resonance of the voice-carrying conch, it echoed clearly throughout every corner of the venue.

"Welcome to the inaugural Cross-Sea Auction of Dream Island. The rules are simple: if you have sufficient wealth, you may take anything you desire; if not, you sit below and watch helplessly as others claim it."

"Here, there is no favoritism, no credit, no post-auction payments—every bid must be backed by actual Gold Coins."

"No more talk—let us begin. There are twenty items up for auction today. First, the first item."

Liu Yi waved his hand; the particles on the Bone Crystal Screen behind him shifted abruptly, revealing the form of the first lot.

It was a pitch-black war spear, its shaft entwined with threads of Bone-Eroding Power.

Clearly, a mere image could not convey its nature; a display platform rose before Liu Yi, bearing the actual spear as shown on the Bone Crystal Screen.

Players' analysis content cannot be shown to alien races, so Liu Yi proceeded to give a detailed explanation of the weapon:

"Ladies and gentlemen, this Bone-Eroding Spear originates from the ancient battlefield of the Bone Marsh region; it was once the personal weapon of a great shaman of a lost tribe."

"Its property is simple: any wound inflicted by this spear will continuously fester, with bones rotting from within until the body becomes a hollow shell."

"Of course, it has some minor issues." As he spoke, Liu Yi extended his finger toward a prominent crack along the spear's midsection:

The image shifted again, revealing a clear crack along the spear's midsection.

"This weapon was damaged in battle and currently can only unleash seventy percent of its power… Those interested may come forward to inspect it."

At this moment, A Lan sat in his seat at the auction hall, watching the auction unfold.

Most of the items up for auction this time could be examined up close by alien races, so there was no worry they would snatch and run.

After all, every race's resources were still held by the Gold Coin Guild; there was no real need to fear theft of such ordinary goods.

He turned his head toward his side at this moment.

There sat a towering figure in a specially designated seat — it was General Ye Ming, the invited guest.

He wore a black robe, its heavy fabric draping to the floor, embroidered with mist patterns; the shadow of the hood completely obscured his face, revealing only a cold, sharp jawline.

His gaze was fixed on the Bone-Eroding Spear on the auction stage, scanning its lingering aura through perception.

"Interested?"

"Not interested." General Ye Ming shook his head.

The weapon's quality was not low, but it was still a damaged item — its strength paled beside his own physique; what use would it be to him?

"There may be something more to your taste later," A Lan said, his gaze returning to the auction stage.

After the detailed introduction, several races had already stepped forward to examine the weapon or attempt to swing it.

With the viewing round concluded, bidding began:

"The opening bid for the Bone-Eroding Spear is 30,000 gold coins. Place your bids."

Below the stage, representatives of the native race whispered among themselves; soon, a number appeared on the bone-crystal screen. 【Bidder #329: 30,001 gold coins.】

A second bid followed immediately.

【Bidder #23: 30,002 gold coins.】

Seeing this price, A Lan below the stage felt speechless.

These alien races were truly stingy — all trying to win the item at the absolute lowest price.

As time passed, the numbers kept rising.

Each item had a thirty-minute bidding window; the race offering the highest bid within that time would win the item.

The display time passed without digital or marked increments — after all, no race understood Earth's script; they used the most primitive hourglass.

When the sand in the hourglass ran out, the bidding for that item ended.

When the bidding reached 120,000 gold coins, Vice Chairman Liu Yi smiled and said:

"The sand is flowing — hesitation means defeat. This weapon's power will not disappoint you. Is there a higher bid?"

Upon hearing this, the bidding price surged rapidly.

At this moment, players in the live stream went wild.

The weapon's quality was 67; offering it beneath Di Zhao yielded only 8,500 Shou Shou Jili. Its listing price on the Shangcheng could only fetch a 7–10% premium — after fees, there was barely any profit.

But now the bidding had reached 20,000 Shou Shou Jili and was still climbing.

When only one minute remained, the Bone-Eroding Spear's price had soared to 620,000 gold coins, entering its final sprint.

【Bidder #12: 500,000 gold coins.】

Bidder #12's sudden jump reignited heated discussion among live-stream players.

They had never imagined that what they saw as sacrificial items could fetch such a high price from the Gold Coin Guild.

The player who provided this item, relaxing on the Colorful Mist Coast while watching the stream, let out an excited roar — drawing glances from nearby players.

The Gold Coin Guild took only a 10% cut; he had made a fortune — now he could upgrade his Star Vein set.

When the countdown ended, the Bone-Eroding Spear was finally sold for 620,000 gold coins — equivalent to 62,000 Shou Shou Jili.

But the winning race did not appear; Vice Chairman Liu Yi directly stored the Bone-Eroding Spear into his spatial pouch.

The transportation phase was handled by Gold Coin Guild members, who personally escorted it to the island; delivery would occur at the winning race's homeland.

This method ensured the safety of participating races and eliminated potential theft risks.

The second item now appeared.

Liu Yi waved his hand; the bone-crystal screen switched to display a whole crate of glowing emerald-green glass bottles before the representatives of each race.

Then, a physical display platform rose.

All races turned their heads — they could see the transparent bottles, their liquid shimmering like flowing jade, refracting a mesmerizing glow under the phosphorescent coral.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the next item is surely familiar to you."

Liu Yi casually picked up one bottle and gently shook it; the liquid inside immediately sparkled with fine golden starlight.

"The second auction item is our Gold Coin Guild's exclusive Premium Life Recovery Elixir — ten bottles total, limited supply. It can repair damaged bodies; the exact effect depends on the drinker's physical condition — the stronger the physique, the more Elixir is required."

He paused deliberately, scanning the entire hall:

"As long as you're still alive, even in critical, near-death condition, it can regrow severed limbs and rapidly restore your state."

The moment he finished speaking, the hall erupted in commotion.

To players, such elixirs were commonplace — but to the races of the Azure Star Sea, they were akin to a second life.

"Opening bid: 100,000 gold coins."

On the Shangcheng, one Premium Recovery Elixir cost 1,000 Shou Shou Jili — so the opening bid was at cost.

The moment Liu Yi finished speaking, bidding launched instantly.

Bidder #17 immediately raised it to 200,000 gold coins.

No. 42 refused to be outdone, doubling the base price of 200,000 gold coins to 400,000 gold coins.

But this price lasted only one second; the next second, it rose to 500,000 gold coins.

Even General Ye Ming, who had been watching coldly, slightly lifted his head, then adjusted his counter, doubling the price again to 1,000,000 gold coins.

This scene left the viewers in the livestream utterly stunned, and instantly, Danmu flooded Aran's livestream:

"Holy shit, this isn't making money—it's printing it. Too ruthless."

"I just came from the Emperor's livestream next door, where they're still grinding to accumulate Shou Shou Jili, and here they're already on an assembly line printing cash. I'm green with envy."

"Even capitalists would cry—this money is too hard to earn. All you need to do is click the function panel, open Shangcheng, then click buy, and you double your price tenfold. It made me cry."

"The Gold Coin Guild probably won't sell in bulk—they operate as a luxury brand, limiting supply to jack up prices, turning one coin into ten thousand. They even use potions to facilitate their trade. Too bad ordinary players have no access; the Gold Coin Guild is raking it in."

…

Veteran players now commonly use the 500-coin advanced recovery potion; the Divine Hall Guild's Special Injury-Tolerance Recovery Potion is standard issue, and some have even begun using the 2,000-Shou Shou Jili "Solid Blood Potion."

To players, the Special Recovery Potion may be valuable, but not this valuable.

Ten Special Recovery Potions sold for 1,000,000 gold coins—that's 100,000 Shou Shou Jili.

A commodity easily bought from Shangcheng was auctioned off at a sky-high price, truly shattering the worldview of the onlookers.

In the end, the item sold for 1,350,000 gold coins, purchased by General Ye Ming.

Next came the third item, another product from the Adventurer Dungeon: the Star Vortex Soul Condensation Pearl.

This item was not a weapon but more like an ornament, no larger than a fingertip, capable of automatically absorbing Spiritual Qi to nourish the body.

But to players, its only value lay in offering Beneath Di Zhao—it was far less useful than the Qi-Sustaining trait.

Under Liu Yi's explanation, representatives of all races were stirred, and after the display ended, they scrambled to bid.

Time slipped away with each successive auction item.

Unaware, the auction had lasted all night.

Dawn arrived.

The horizon whitened; a faint glow like fish belly shimmered along the sea, shrouding Dream Island in a hazy morning mist.

The phosphorescent coral's glow dimmed, replaced by a soft golden hue from dawn mingling with sea fog, gilding the entire island in a gentle filter.

A breeze brushed past, carrying the briny scent of seawater, dispersing the heat within the auction hall.

Many alien representatives remained energetically excited, awaiting the Gold Coin Guild's final, climactic auction item.

When Liu Yi concluded the bidding for the nineteenth item, the spirits of all races lifted sharply.

The image on the bone-crystal screen abruptly changed.

An irregular shard of black-purple hung in midair, its surface riddled with cracks, appearing plain and unremarkable.

As the crowd wondered why such a broken fragment could be the climax, the display platform rose—and the expressions of all present representatives changed instantly.

The image revealed nothing, but at the sight of the real object, they felt an indescribable aura of pressure.

At that moment, Liu Yi smiled and explained:

"This is neither weapon nor equipment, nor potion or item—it is the materialized form of the world's primordial force, a rule made manifest. In its complete state, it indeed holds supreme mystery, allowing you to define your own rules within the logic of the rules."

Here, Liu Yi's tone shifted suddenly, sounding resigned:

"Unfortunately… the primordial power within this rule fragment has been drained. Now, it is merely an empty shell—and only a partial one at that."

"In simple terms, it has no practical use now: no rule logic, and it cannot be used to forge any weapon or equipment."

Upon hearing the words "rule fragment," the representatives of all races immediately grew agitated.

Liu Yi's words did not dampen the enthusiasm of the representatives; instead, they made the atmosphere even more electric.

Because even an empty shell of a rule fragment was a symbol of supreme status.

For a race to gain broader development space and become a dominant power, possessing a rule was the first step.

Without a rule, in the Monster World, one was destined to be mere prey.

Whispered murmurs rose continuously:

"The Gold Coin Guild actually has such a treasure—even with its primordial power gone, it's priceless. Perhaps it can be forged into a pseudo-rule item."

"If we obtain this, my race will surely have a far brighter future."

"How many gold coins does my race still have? Even if we exhaust all our resources stored with the Gold Coin Guild, we must secure it."

Even General Ye Ming, who had been watching coldly, suddenly stood up, his eyes formed from soul-fire flickering uncontrollably.

The Gold Coin Guild pursued profit, but profit was ultimately meant to be converted into power.

It could not comprehend why the Gold Coin Guild would auction off such a precious rule fragment.

This act was utterly foolish.

Even a pseudo-rule item could not be measured by ordinary resources.

The Mingwu Clan already possessed two rules, but in its eyes, rules were never enough—it could not compare to the top-tier races of the Monster World.

This rule fragment made its heart pound wildly, even sparking the urge to rush forward and seize it.

At that moment, Liu Yi on stage suddenly stored the rule fragment in his spatial pouch:

"The final climactic item is special. The display is over—proceed directly to bidding."

"The starting bid for the rule fragment is: 1 gold coin."

As he spoke, Liu Yi inverted the hourglass.

The moment Liu Yi finished speaking, the bidding numbers erupted like a tidal wave.

【No. 382, bid: 100,000 gold coins.】

【No. 220, bid: 500,000 gold coins.】

【No. 9, bid: 2,000,000 gold coins.】

【No. 33, bid: 10,000,000 gold coins.】

Representatives of all tribes had bloodshot eyes as the price surged at an astonishing rate.

It was as if they were not fighting over a hollow shard, but the very chance to elevate their own tribe to greatness.

Liu Yi scanned the hall, his smile deep and enigmatic.

Indeed, the value of certain things depends on context—on how much others are willing to pay for them.

In the player faction, no player would ever treat this as a treasure; the end result would always be selling it, never using it themselves.

Any Painful Painful Minghun picked at random from our own collection would be stronger than a complete Rule, let alone a Rule shard.

If it cannot be sold, it is merely a decoration, worthless in the eyes of players.

But on Dream Island, it can generate unimaginable wealth.

This is only because the Gold Coin Guild's current scale has yet to grow; if in the future it establishes trade relations with thousands, tens of thousands, or even more tribes,

the auction could attract even more competitors.

Such rare treasures could then fetch even higher prices.

【Lot 313 bid: 30 million gold coins.】

General Ye Ming could no longer sit still; he turned his bidding device and placed a bid of 3 million Shou Shou Jili.

But this figure was quickly crushed by another tribe's bid of 32 million gold coins.

This enraged General Ye Ming—he leapt to his feet, his black robe stirring without wind.

The black mist swirling around him erupted violently, surging like a tidal wave across the entire auction hall!

Crack!

The nearest few coral lamp stands shattered instantly.

His cold gaze swept across the hall; every alien representative he locked onto felt as if plunged into an icy abyss.

They only then realized that the Misting Tribe had a representative present.

One small tribe's representative collapsed outright in his seat, face ashen.

General Ye Ming turned his bidding device again, raising the price to 35 million gold coins.

The air seemed to freeze; even breathing became clearly audible.

Yet, in this suffocating pressure, the number on the Bone Crystal screen suddenly jumped:

【Lot 89, bid: 36 million gold coins】

General Ye Ming's pupils shrank sharply; the black mist around him roared in fury.

Who?

His gaze slashed across the hall like a blade—but the bidding device did not display the number; it could not identify which tribe was secretly bidding.

"General Ye Ming, don't lose your temper. Auction items are always decided by wealth."

A Lan smiled soothingly.

On the other side, Liu Yi stood on the auction stage, his lips barely lifting.

"Current highest bid: 36 million gold coins. Any higher?"

His voice rang crystal clear in the silent hall, like a single drop falling into boiling oil.

Instantly, a new bid appeared.

36.5 million… 37 million… 38 million—the price climbed again. General Ye Ming, now seated, stared at A Lan and said grimly:

"I want this Rule shard."

"The highest bid determines ownership," A Lan replied without yielding.

"I didn't bring enough resources this time. I'll make it up to you when I return."

"That's the Gold Coin Guild's rule—external resources cannot count toward bids. Perhaps next time, you should store more resources here to avoid such incidents."

The aura leaking from beneath General Ye Ming's hood turned instantly icy. His voice dropped to a low, unshakable threat:

"Lord of Shou Shou Jili, you should know one thing: what the Misting Tribe wants, we can obtain without bidding."

"Honestly… rather than constantly being threatened by you, I suggest you try actually taking something from my Player Tribe. Otherwise, you'll never give up believing you can intimidate the Gold Coin Guild," A Lan replied calmly, smiling.

After staring at A Lan for a long moment, General Ye Ming rose abruptly and shot skyward.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the morning light.

8,300 characters delivered~

(End of Chapter)