Beast Taming: the More the Better

Chapter 1392: Chapter 571: Rules of the Auction! Spare Your Life?

The entire auction venue fell completely silent. Even the two auctioneers on stage were clearly at a loss. They kept casting glances at Box 44, waiting for Governor Merck’s instructions.

As for Merck, he had originally been prepared to let that old geezer take a huge advantage. He never expected a reckless hothead to suddenly intervene, causing the situation to take an unexpected turn.

He wasn’t in a hurry to react. Instead, he looked at the attendant behind him and ordered, "Go investigate exactly who those big shots in Box 17 are."

"Yes, sir."

However, Merck’s silence clearly shifted everyone’s attention to Box 22, the box belonging to the Governor of the Country of Ten Thousand Islands, Hato Beastmaster.

Sure enough, a chuckling voice soon rang out.

"Heh, it seems another friend also needs this Taiyin Water. Since that’s the case, let’s have a little competition. Three billion Dragon Country Currency!"

The faint voice carried a hint of amusement, but the price he threw out was fully triple the previous starting bid.

It was obvious that he was dead set on getting it. At the same time, he wanted to use this sudden, sky-high price to scare the other party off.

Unfortunately, anyone with a slight eye for goods knew the true value of this bottle of Taiyin Water, not to mention Jiao Ji, who didn’t care about the price at all.

However, she wasn’t in a hurry to place a bid this time. Instead, she thought for a moment, turned around, and looked at Su Ping with a beaming smile.

"Su Ping, how about we make a bet?"

Su Ping was taken aback. Before he could speak, Jiao Ji proposed a unique wager. He pondered for a moment before asking, "Alright. What are the stakes?"

"If I win, you have to perform the Breeding for my External Incarnation. If I lose, I’ll give you a Super-Rank Water Element Skill Breeding Method in return."

Su Ping shook his head. "You can’t undergo the Breeding for the External Incarnation anymore. If I lose, I’ll figure out a way to perform the Breeding for Master Zhu’s Haina Baichuan for you."

"Alright, it’s a deal!"

Upon receiving a positive answer, Jiao Ji suddenly perked up. Showing almost no concern for the cost, she spoke up again, "Five billion."

The atmosphere fell dead silent once more. Even with the isolation provided by the boxes, everyone in the entire auction venue felt as though their breathing had become stifled at this moment. The Spirit Saint Level fluctuations emanating from that box pressed down heavily on everyone’s hearts like a massive mountain.

In that short span of time, inside Box 44, Merck’s attendant was already reporting back.

"Master, the investigation is complete. It’s a man and a woman, both looking to be in their twenties or thirties. They supposedly come from some place called Penglai Island. One is named Ah Miao, and the other is named Apin... As for their Realm and strength, that remains unknown."

With that, the attendant brought out a projector, displaying the portraits of the two individuals previously captured on the surveillance cameras.

Merck’s brows furrowed slightly. He had clearly never heard of these two names, nor this island. Yet, he knew every single island in the entire Country of Ten Thousand Islands, and even in The East, like the back of his hand. He wondered where these two had popped out from.

However, they had appeared at just the right time. He scoffed at the idea of Hato trying to buy the Taiyin Water for a mere one billion. That old geezer took his money way too seriously. Although wealth was more or less tied to strength in the Country of Ten Thousand Islands, Merck absolutely couldn’t accept such a lowball price. These two who had popped out of nowhere were exactly what he needed.

Therefore, Merck thought for a moment before ordering, "Ignore them. Let’s just see if these two are reckless hotheads or powerful outsiders. That old Toad Hato won’t be easy to deal with."

Merck’s calmness was undoubtedly a tacit approval for the auction to continue. But this was only natural; after all, their actions were well within the Rules.

However, only those who were truly familiar with Hato knew exactly what Box 17’s actions signified at this very moment. For example, inside Box 55, members of the Golden Association, including Dong Muyun, sat observing the peculiar atmosphere outside.

In reality, they didn’t have anything they wanted to bid on at this auction, save for the item they had previously promised to secure. Their trip to the Country of Ten Thousand Islands wasn’t for the auction either, but primarily for the upcoming trade convention. They wanted to open up markets for their various companies’ products in the Country of Ten Thousand Islands. As for the auction, they were just here to take a look.

Little did they expect that everything would go smoothly until the Taiyin Water came up, sparking such a fiercely explosive bidding war.

At that moment, Director Yan, who was sitting to the side, spoke up. "Tsk, tsk. The guests in Box 17 are probably in for a rough time!"

Dong Muyun looked at him in surprise. "Director Yan, does this Hato have a bad reputation?"

Shen Qiu chimed in from the side.

"Out of the entire Country of Ten Thousand Islands, the place I’m least willing to deal with is his Cangyan Island in the Eastern region. He reeks of banditry and completely disregards the Rules—just look at what he’s doing right now!

"The most critical point is that Hato is incredibly ruthless. He is the true uncrowned king of that Eastern Island, and to make matters worse, his strength is exceptional, with the backing of the Country of Ten Thousand Islands behind him.

"However, that old geezer is a bully who only picks on the weak. When the Eagle Country’s merchant fleets or our people go there, he doesn’t really cross the line too much.

"But this person who rashly competed against him in the auction... If they have some real strength, they might be fine. But if they’re incompetent, even if the Taiyin Water ultimately falls into Hato’s hands, I’m afraid he will still torture them to death using the most cruel methods. After all, they forced him to spend so much extra money."