Chapter Ninety-Eight: Eternal Spring Pill

Although mages and swordsmen were the two professions chosen by the greatest number of people in the world, the members of those two callings were, for the most part, people from entirely different strata. In this age-old world, ever since time beyond memory, martial prowess belonged to the poor and magic to the rich. Those who could become mages were either nobles or wealthy merchants, and for them, so long as a thing could increase their strength, money was never the issue. Seeing the wondrous effects of the mana restoration potions, whether they wanted them to save their lives or to study them, the mages below could not possibly remain unmoved by the set of mana restoration potions on the stage.

Thus, once the auction began, the price of the mana restoration potions soared at once.

"One hundred and ten thousand gold coins!"

"Two hundred thousand!"

"Five hundred thousand!"

"Eight hundred thousand!"

"And so on."

The bidding rose again and again, until at last a noble mage raised the price to three million gold coins, finally crushing the others' intentions and successfully purchasing all ninety-nine mana restoration potions.

The items Zhou Tian brought out for the next rounds of the auction were still either luxuries or auxiliary goods. Though their effects were almost entirely different, without exception they were all treasures from the system shop, and so every one of those lots fetched an almost absurd price in the end.

Time passed slowly. Only when the final, headline item was brought out did Zhou Tian stir himself and direct his attention to the auction hall.

"The final item is the Ever-Youth Elixir." Mike held up the pill with a slightly trembling right hand, his voice shaking as he introduced it. "It is one of His Holiness the Bishop's most precious alchemical works. Because it is too valuable, and because its effects cannot be demonstrated immediately, I will not be testing it on the spot. According to the Bishop's own explanation, this Ever-Youth Elixir has only one effect..." He paused for a moment, glanced at the guests below, and only after Anna and Afra came out from the back and stood guard beside him did Mike continue. "It extends life by ten years!"

Boom!

The moment Mike's words fell, everyone below stood up at once. Though there was no great commotion, every one of them felt as if thunder had exploded beside their ears.

Ten more years of life might be precious to ordinary commoners, but it could hardly be called a truly important treasure. Yet for nobles, a treasure that could lengthen life was truly something beyond price.

Those without money hope for money. But once wealth reaches a certain degree, then for most rich men, money becomes merely a tool to lend dignity to their status.

In this feudal society, commoners lived harsh lives, yet the nobles, who controlled most of the world's instruments of violence, possessed vast wealth. For nobles, unless they were truly destitute, money had never been something they cared about, so long as they could obtain what they wanted.

Who does not desire immortality? Yet aside from the gods, even beings of semi-divine rank, such as the God of War or the God of Magic, possessed lifespans of only about a thousand years. Now that they suddenly heard the Ever-Youth Elixir could grant ten more years of life, the temptation it held for the nobles present was plain to imagine.

Though the Ever-Youth Elixir was appearing for the first time, Zhou Tian had already auctioned off so many items without a single problem, and with his identity as it was, naturally no one present would think his words false. So when Mike finished speaking, after their shock passed, everyone immediately revealed expressions of ecstatic delight.

"The starting price is ten million gold coins. Each bid must be at least one hundred thousand gold coins. The auction begins now!"

"Fifty million!" The first to speak was, unsurprisingly, Li Jiahao. After hearing the elixir's effect, he had immediately shown a look of desire, though with Zhou Tian sitting beside him, he found it hard to make any underhanded moves. So the instant the auction began, he placed his bid.

Seeing that the bidder was Li Jiahao, quite a few people present hesitated. Unfortunately, though Li Jiahao's deterrent power was considerable, under the lure of the Ever-Youth Elixir, his bid was overturned after only a few seconds.

"Fifty-five million gold coins!" A portly noble, after escaping Li Jiahao's murderous glare, wiped the sweat from his brow and stared nervously at the little wooden hammer in Mike's hand.

He would rather offend Li Jiahao than let the Ever-Youth Elixir slip away, and his resolve was not small. Sadly, he did not possess Li Jiahao's level of intimidation. So after he bid, even those who had previously hesitated began to join the competition.

"Sixty million gold coins!"

"Sixty-one million gold coins!"

"And so on."

"One hundred million gold coins!"

"One hundred and five million gold coins!"

"One hundred and twenty million!"

"Two hundred million!"

As the nobles below drove the price of the Ever-Youth Elixir ever higher, Li Jiahao, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly called out an outrageous bid of two hundred million. With that single move, he stunned everyone present.

Two hundred million gold coins was not only a sum few could produce; more importantly, if anyone dared to humiliate him as before after he had raised the price to that point, whether they could even leave the Northern Territory would be a question.

Thus, everything went smoothly. Once Li Jiahao had pushed the price to two hundred million and no one else dared to bid, he finally secured the Ever-Youth Elixir.

"Congratulations, Duke Li." After Mike's hammer fell, Zhou Tian immediately expressed his goodwill toward Li Jiahao. There was no helping it. In Zhou Tian's eyes, Li Jiahao now seemed to glitter with gold. Though he knew nobles were rich, and a regional overlord like Li Jiahao was especially wealthy, he had never imagined that Li Jiahao could be so rich as to offer two hundred million for a single pill. Two hundred million gold coins. Converted into RMB, that was at least no less than ten billion. Facing such a generous patron, how could Zhou Tian fail to show a bit of warmth?

Compared with Zhou Tian, however, although Li Jiahao had indeed obtained the thing he wanted, the smile on his face looked somewhat stiff.

"You're too kind, Bishop. The one who should be congratulated now is you, isn't it? You have thoroughly emptied me this time. Two hundred million gold coins, Bishop Zhou, you've cut me to the bone!"

"Mutual benefit, mutual benefit," Zhou Tian replied with a dry laugh after hearing Li Jiahao's tone of complaint mixed with envy. "There's nothing to be done about it. Alchemy consumes money at an alarming rate. Merely buying the magic cores for experiments nearly bankrupted me. If you don't support me a little, how will I have money to make other alchemical products in the future?" As he spoke, he pretended to rummage in his robes, then tossed a pill to Li Jiahao.

"What is this?" Li Jiahao caught the pill casually and looked at Zhou Tian in confusion.

"Something to heal your injuries." Zhou Tian glanced at him and said, "Your Grace has helped me a great deal, and you also bought the most valuable item in this auction. Let this pill count as my compensation to you." He paused, then slapped his forehead and added, "I almost forgot to remind you: the Ever-Youth Elixir can extend life, but it can only be taken once. After that, further doses will no longer have any effect. Once you have it, make your own arrangements, but don't waste it. It is not easy to refine this thing!"

"Understood." To Li Jiahao, it did not matter even if the Ever-Youth Elixir could only be taken once. So long as it truly extended life, that was enough. After nodding at Zhou Tian, he walked toward Mike under the protection of his guards.

In the end, no accident occurred. The people who had come to the capital for the auction were either invited by Li Jiahao or nobles from the empire who had heard the news and rushed over. Though they were indeed extremely covetous of the wealth this auction had brought in, under the deterrence of the Church of Light and Li Jiahao, the Marshal of the Northern Legion, no one dared truly leap out and cause trouble.

Money exchanged for goods. After Li Jiahao paid the two hundred million gold coins, Mike handed him the Ever-Youth Elixir, and thus Zhou Tian's first auction came to a perfect close.