The hall was silent; everyone was stunned, looking at the calm Shen Qiang.

"150 million? How could he possibly come up with so much money!"

"Impossible, isn't he the guy with only five million at most?"

"Unbelievable, does this guy have a powerful background supporting him? Such an astronomical figure, an ordinary small sect or small sect is simply unable to afford it!"

The crowd wore peculiar expressions, each lost in their thoughts.

And it wasn't until a full three seconds later that the suddenly reinvigorated auctioneer exclaimed, "Who could have expected the 'Daluo Heavenly Tribulation Heart Sutra' to cause such a stir once again? This gentleman has now bid 150 million! Are there any more bids?"

Upon hearing this, Jing Haotian's face turned pale instantly.

After all, the budget given by his family was only thirteen million, and earlier, Shen Qiang had tricked him, costing him ten million, but fortunately, he had ten million saved up in his personal vault.

This was all he could use to purchase the 'Daluo Heavenly Tribulation Heart Sutra.'

Just now, when Mr. Ni bid 130 million out of necessity, he had bid 140 million because he knew that his sister didn't have a habit of squandering money.

Therefore, by reasoning, she should at least have savings of about fifteen to twenty million.

In that case, since the secret manual was being bought for her, it would be fine for her to cover the extra amount.

Even so.

150 million was his absolute limit in bidding, as before coming here, the elders of his family had explicitly instructed that 130 million was the maximum budget, and not a cent more could be spared.

Therefore, if he wanted to continue bidding against Shen Qiang, he could only rely on himself.

All or nothing!

Jing Haotian's eyebrows twitched, and he shouted forcefully, "155 million!"

The crowd was momentarily stunned.

In fact, the minimum increment standard for bidding on the 'Daluo Heavenly Tribulation Heart Sutra' was five million.

Previously, when bidding against Mr. Ni, both men were adding ten million each time, and Shen Qiang did the same.

Unexpectedly, the previously triumphant Jing Haotian, who almost roared 'who else?' had suddenly changed his temper and now added just five million. This seemed, perhaps, not as formidable as anticipated.

The crowd looked doubtful.

A cultivator proficient in flattery, completely unaware of Jing Haotian's real situation, praised with a smiling face, "Worthy of being Young Master Jing, adding five million at a time, making sure not to outpace this Shen too quickly."

"Hahaha, go for it, Young Master Jing, don't cut this Shen guy any slack; make him truly understand what a Great Family is!"

At these words, Jing Haotian's face grew somewhat redder.

Now, he had no mind to compete with Shen Qiang; all he could think of was where to get the funds to cover the shortfall after making his bid. If he actually won the auction and couldn't produce the money when settling the account, where would he, the grand heir of a prominent family, put his face?

And just when he was becoming frantic.

The hitherto silent Shen Qiang casually raised his placard, saying, "165 million."

"He added another ten million!"

"My god, where does this kid get his money from!"

"Has he gone mad? With that much money, he could buy a decent Earth Rank Technique, enough to revitalize a small sect."

As he looked at the calmly composed Shen Qiang, Jing Haotian's face turned pale.

Noticing that he was being watched, Shen Qiang slightly frowned and said, "Wasn't 140 million small change for you? Then please be more straightforward and don't waste everyone's time with increments of five million."

On hearing this, Jing Haotian was dumbfounded.

"Scorned? Have I just been scorned by this guy?"

The surrounding crowd nodded in agreement.

"Exactly, now that the auction is almost at an end, continuing to add little by little makes no sense."

"Indeed, Young Master Jing comes from a renowned family, and it's meaningless for him to get entangled with this petty thief. Better to cut through the chaos swiftly, showcasing your formidable strength to utterly defeat him."

Listening to the crowd, Jing Haotian's face reddened.

In the auction house, it's easy to call a high price, but what about when it's time to settle the bill?

If he, Jing Haotian, called out a high price and then couldn't produce the money when settling the bill, wouldn't he become the laughingstock of the Cultivation World?

Moreover, how would Xu Nan see him?

Wanxin Hesheng, is not a small family like the Jing Family.

That is a first-class family that even the five major Sword Sects would not dare to provoke lightly.

Before coming here, Jing Haotian had already planned everything.

With his excellent appearance, refined temperament, impressive talent, and decent family background, if he could win Xu Nan's favor and form a Daoist couple with her, leveraging Wanxin Hesheng's formidable strength, the rise of the Jing Family to a first-class family was merely a matter of time.

If he recklessly bid now and then could not produce the money, chasing the high-and-mighty Xu Nan would be nothing but a fool's dream.

"Impossible!" Jing Haotian glared at Shen Qiang, fury filling his eyes, and he thought to himself, "His clothes are ordinary, there's no Shen surname among the Cultivation families, he must be bluffing, he definitely must be bluffing!"

With this thought, he suddenly raised his eyebrows and said coldly, "Shen Qiang, still the same old tactic, huh? Driving up the price to force me to bid high, then you drop it and make me lose a lot of money."

Shen Qiang raised his eyebrows in surprise and said calmly, "I just want to buy it, you can't just make wild accusations based on guesses. If you can't afford it, then shut up. This 'Daluo Heavenly Tribulation Heart Sutra' will be mine."

"Impudence!" The pimply-faced young lad following Jing Haotian exclaimed angrily, "Our young master is noble-born, even a single leg hair of his is thicker than your waist!"

The crowd nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, young master Jing comes from a distinguished family. Such an incident of not affording the bid would definitely not happen to him."

At that moment, the auctioneer asked again, "Sixteen hundred fifty million, any more bids?"

Hearing this, Jing Haotian suddenly raised his eyebrows and said loudly, "I request to seal the bid to verify funds, as I suspect this Shen Qiang does not have that much money, he is just driving up the price to trap me."

Shen Qiang smiled.

Xu Nan's expression turned somber, she said lightly, "No problem, we will seal the bid now and verify the funds. But as you know the rules of fund verification, since you are requesting it, it will start with you."

Jing Haotian was stunned, though feeling a bit embarrassed, he cooperated and swiped his card.

Account balance: One hundred three million two. Another card: Account balance: One million thirty-nine thousand.

"Totaling one hundred four million forty-two thousand," the fund verifier said.

Jing Haotian gritted his teeth and nodded.

Then, pointing his finger at Shen Qiang, he said, "Your turn."

Shen Qiang with an indifferent expression swiped his bank card.

Account balance: five million seventy thousand.

"Mr. Shen, would you like to add any other bank cards?"

Shen Qiang smiled, "Oh, this is the only card I have."

Hearing this, the crowd in the hall instantly erupted into chaos.

"My God, he actually only has five million; Isn't this guy clearly here to cause trouble? He should be beaten up with clubs."

"My heavens, indeed it is young master Jing who is experienced and knowledgeable. It turns out this guy is really just a embroidered pillow."

Amidst the murmuring crowd, Jing Haotian, with an air of superiority, coldly smiled at Shen Qiang and said, "Competing with the young master with just this much? You're way out of your league!"

Having said that, looking at Xu Nan, Jing Haotian smiled proudly.

"Because this fellow doesn't have the amount of money he claims, I request that the final transaction price for this secret manual be one hundred forty million, and at the same time, I request that Wanxin Hesheng immediately expel him."

The crowd unanimously agreed.

"Exactly, too despicable, clearly not having enough money yet still bidding to drive up the price, utterly shameless."

"Yes, indeed a despicable person, such a person should be despised by all in our community."

"Exactly, all circles of Cultivation practitioners should ban his entry."

As Jing Haotian listened to the crowd's words, the corners of his mouth curled up handsomely.

Just as he was fantasizing about Shen Qiang being expelled, the crowd lavishly praising him, and Xu Nan happily having dinner with him,

sitting next to Shen Qiang, Xu Nan said calmly, "Mr. Shen's bank card indeed does not have much money left, but at Wanxin Hesheng, his available balance is…"

After typing a few figures on her phone,

the electronic scrolling display above the auctioneer displayed a sentence.

Client number 5361, Shen Qiang, available balance: 11.5 million + 21 million + 30 million + 250 million, totaling 315.15 million.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.