Chapter 322 – A Rather Interesting Person

After concluding the auction matters, Su Ming immediately received 800,000 Contribution Points from selling his initial large batch of goods directly to Wanbao Auction House.

As for the auction of the Phantom Demon’s blood from the Hazardous Species, the Ghoul Claw, and the four Red Vein Stones, according to Qin Qing, it wouldn’t proceed too quickly.

“Each of these auction items is significant enough to be a finale piece. If we simply put them up casually, we won’t maximize profits. It’s better to release information beforehand, letting all major forces in Tianfeng City know the importance of this auction. Then, when we hold the auction, more Family factions than usual will come flocking, competing more fiercely and likely driving prices to astronomical heights.”

Qin Qing explained to Su Ming that the auction should ideally be held three days later. Before that, Wanbao Auction House needed time to prepare and promote the event.

The handling fee for the auction would be reduced from the previous 5% to 2%, as Manager Yu had previously promised Su Ming.

It was unclear whether Qin Qing already knew about this arrangement or decided on it herself, but she informed Su Ming of the change.

Naturally, Su Ming had no reason to refuse.

“Three days later?”

Su Ming was also looking forward to that auction.

Not only because his items would be auctioned, but also because Qin Qing had told him that to ensure the auction was sufficiently high-end, Wanbao Auction House would prepare a batch of much better auction items than usual. These would be presented alongside Su Ming’s three items in the same auction.

This was a method to enhance competitiveness, increase influence, and stimulate more bidding and competition—a common auction strategy.

With these preparations, it wouldn’t be difficult for Su Ming’s items to fetch high prices.

This was the nature of auctions: there was significant room for manipulation and price inflation, and it was common for items to sell for more than their intrinsic value.

Thus, Su Ming would not only gain more Contribution Points but also have the chance to see many excellent items at the auction three days later.

He hoped to find more and better resources at the auction to improve himself and enhance his strength.

Of course, he hadn’t forgotten his plan to purchase cost-effective Extraordinary Items to exchange for crystal chips to open packages.

So, after discussing the auction, Su Ming proposed to browse Wanbao Auction House and conduct a larger transaction with them.

“In that case, I’ll accompany you,” Qin Qing said.

She had no reason to refuse and instead offered to accompany Su Ming as he toured Wanbao Auction House.

Since his goal was to find cost-effective Extraordinary Items rather than solely rare and useful ones, Su Ming wanted to explore not only the Third Floor but also the First and Second Floors.

As a result, Qin Qing accompanied him throughout, drawing considerable attention as Su Ming made numerous purchases.

Or rather, Qin Qing’s presence beside him was so striking that it was impossible not to attract notice.

Thanks to this, Su Ming, accompanied by Qin Qing, became the center of glaring attention.

“Who is that kid?”

“He actually has Chief Qin accompanying him?”

“Which Family’s young master is he?””Go, find out who that person is.”

Many interested parties began casting glances filled with various emotions toward Su Ming, whispering among themselves in the shadows, and even making small moves.

This made Manager Yu standing nearby smile wryly.

“I originally wanted to control the spread of this information, but it seems Young Master Wang will inevitably come under certain people’s scrutiny now.”

Manager Yu felt quite helpless.

And indeed, that was the case.

The news of Su Ming having Qin Qing accompany him reached many people’s ears almost immediately.

……

The sky gradually darkened.

Su Ming had spent the entire day wandering around Wanbao Auction House, only stopping when it was almost nightfall.

“These are all the items you purchased or bid on throughout the day, Young Master Wang. Please take a look.”

In the Third Floor hall, Manager Yu had packaged a large batch of goods and arranged them neatly for Su Ming to check.

“Is everything here?”

Su Ming glanced at the large collection of Extraordinary Items before him but didn’t actually bother to count them.

There was no helping it – he himself didn’t remember exactly what he had bought. He only knew that after spending the whole day at Wanbao Auction House, whenever he saw relatively cheap Extraordinary Items that could be exchanged for a good amount of crystal chips in the shop, he would immediately purchase them, buying as many as available.

Since his goal was simply to acquire items that could be exchanged for crystal chips, Su Ming naturally didn’t bother remembering the specifics of his purchases.

His Contribution Points had been completely exhausted – not only the 800,000 Contribution Points he obtained today, but even those from his previous auction earnings were all spent.

If he hadn’t completed an A-Rank Mission a couple days ago and obtained a sum of Contribution Points, Su Ming might have been completely broke by now.

Even so, Su Ming only had about tens of thousands of Contribution Points left, which showed just how much he had bought today.

Of course, the result of spending over a million Contribution Points in one go was that Su Ming was about to obtain a considerable amount of crystal chips.

“Now I can have a good round of package opening.”

Su Ming couldn’t help but break into a happy smile. Without checking the items, he stepped forward and with a wave of his hand, stored the large pile of Extraordinary Items in the hall into his backpack.

“Whoosh!”

With a blurring of space, the massive pile of goods that had nearly filled the entire hall completely vanished, as if they had never existed in the first place, leaving no trace behind.

This method, even though both Qin Qing and Manager Yu had seen it before, still felt somewhat strange to them.

Finally, Manager Yu couldn’t help but comment.

“Young Master Wang’s methods are truly extraordinary. I’m quite curious about how this is accomplished.”

Hearing this, Qin Qing also glanced at Su Ming.

Clearly, this Chief Qin was equally curious about the matter.

Unfortunately…

“That’s a trade secret.”

Su Ming’s somewhat dismissive attitude made it clear to both of them that they wouldn’t get any answers no matter how much they asked.

However, today’s gains had put Su Ming in a genuinely good mood.

So, Su Ming added one more sentence.

“There’s plenty of time ahead. You’ll come to understand that this is just one of my insignificant little tricks.”

Su Ming boasted about himself in this manner.

“That’s something Qin Qing will look forward to seeing.”Qin Qing observed Su Ming carefully for a moment before smiling and responding in such a manner.

“Then I’ll take my leave first.” Su Ming didn’t mind either, turning to Qin Qing as he said, “Thank you for accompanying this young master all day today, Chief Qin. If there’s an opportunity, I’ll treat you to a drink.”

Leaving these words behind, Su Ming waved his hand without waiting for Qin Qing’s response, then turned and departed.

Qin Qing had originally intended to casually brush off Su Ming’s invitation with a few perfunctory words as usual, but who would have thought Su Ming would simply turn and leave, as if he hadn’t been serious about extending the invitation in the first place.

“Just an offhand remark?”

Watching Su Ming depart, Qin Qing recalled what he had said during the day and couldn’t help but feel amused.

Nearby, Manager Yu only dared to speak up after seeing Su Ming leave.

“It’s rare to see you in such high spirits today, Young Miss, actually willing to accompany that Young Master Wang for an entire day.”

Speaking of this matter, Manager Yu also felt quite emotional.

This was the first time he had seen his young lady accompany a man for so long.

“He is indeed quite interesting.” Qin Qing didn’t deny or conceal anything, speaking lightly, “His identity is unclear, his origins mysterious, his methods reaching the heavens, and his wealth considerable. It truly makes one curious about who he really is, and why he can repeatedly display such miraculous techniques and produce so many treasures that others couldn’t obtain even if they begged for them.”

“Shouldn’t we investigate him?” Manager Yu said, “Such a mysterious figure – we don’t know whether he’s friend or foe to Tianfeng City, good or bad. Some investigation would still be quite necessary, wouldn’t it?”

“It would be useless.” Qin Qing shook her head, speaking with great certainty, “Even if we investigate, we probably wouldn’t find out anything, right?”

“Wouldn’t find out anything?” Manager Yu was taken aback.

“Do you think I spent the entire day with him just wandering around aimlessly?” Qin Qing glanced at Manager Yu, “Many times I couldn’t help but make indirect inquiries, intending to probe this Young Master Wang. But while this Young Master Wang appears flamboyant and high-profile, he actually maintains a very high level of vigilance.”

“Every time I steered the conversation in that direction, he would either deliberately change the subject or simply brush me off, completely ignoring my probing attempts. Several times I returned empty-handed, and instead found my emotions being swayed by him.” As Qin Qing explained, she seemed to be talking to herself, “Although this feeling was quite novel, from this we can see that this Young Master Wang isn’t as high-profile and unrestrained as he appears on the surface.”

With such a person, Qin Qing didn’t believe he would easily allow them to discover anything about him.

“Could this mysteriously-originated Young Master Wang be an Underground Professional?”

A sharp glint flashed in Manager Yu’s eyes.

Not to mention the miraculous technique of moving objects through empty space, Su Ming’s repeated display of valuable items made Manager Yu quite suspicious of their origins.

With so many high-quality Extraordinary Items appearing in Tianfeng City, their Wanbao Auction House hadn’t received even the slightest bit of information. It was as if all these items had appeared out of thin air, without even circulating through normal channels. This made Manager Yu highly suspicious that this batch of goods might not have been obtained through legitimate means.

In other words, Manager Yu strongly suspected that these items had emerged from the underground black market.

If that were the case, then Su Ming’s identity would be quite intriguing.

Actually, Qin Qing had considered this possibility as well.After spending the entire day together, she felt that such a possibility was unlikely.

“Although he has been concealing his identity, even his Qi and aura seem deliberately masked as if he has something to hide, I don’t sense the hostility and darkness typical of an Underground Professional from him.”

Qin Qing began murmuring to herself again.

“Rather than believing he’s an Underground Professional, I’d prefer to think he truly is a young master from some reclusive aristocratic family.”

That casual demeanor, she had to admit, made Qin Qing quite curious and left a deep impression on her.

It wasn’t that Qin Qing had never encountered easygoing and casual people before, but those individuals usually acted deliberately around her.

No matter how easygoing or casual someone was, when faced with Qin Qing—a stunning beauty—they would subconsciously pay excessive attention to her, becoming so conscious of her presence that they couldn’t maintain their natural ease or casualness.

Su Ming was different.

From him, Qin Qing didn’t feel ignored, but she also didn’t sense any desire from him to get closer to her.

This precisely indicated that Su Ming’s presence here wasn’t driven by ulterior motives.

“After all these years, I’ve finally met someone who seems genuinely interesting.”

Qin Qing admitted that she had enjoyed her time with Su Ming.

Not for any other reason, but simply because his attention wasn’t overly focused on her, making her feel for the first time that she didn’t need to constantly mind the distance between them or deliberately try to create separation. It was both relaxing and pleasant.

Coupled with Su Ming’s mysterious aura, Qin Qing’s impression of him was genuinely favorable and memorable.

This was something even Manager Yu had noticed, let alone Qin Qing herself.

“It seems the Young Miss is quite taken with this Young Master Wang.”

Manager Yu first furrowed his brows, then relaxed them.

Well, even if that were the case, it wasn’t his place to interfere.

He only needed to ensure that this mysterious Young Master Wang didn’t have any hidden schemes.

“A man of unknown origins shouldn’t be let guard down around, allowing him to linger near Her Highness.”

……

Three days passed quickly.

During these three days, Chi Qian, Mu Yan, Feng Qing’er, and Tong Xinyao—the group of four—rarely left their rooms except for meals and baths.

Occasionally, they could be seen heading to the Underground Training Ground, but aside from that, the young women hardly stepped outside their doors, seemingly determined to make the most of this week to seriously improve their strength.

Su Ming paid some attention and noticed significant changes in the Qi of everyone except Tong Xinyao, after which he stopped focusing on them. He himself continued practicing Ancient Blade Art in the Underground Training Ground, familiarizing himself with his body after advancing to Five-Star and adapting to his enhanced strength.

Naturally, over these three days, Su Ming also tossed the large batch of Extraordinary Items he had purchased from Wanbao Auction House into the mall, exchanging them for crystal chips and thoroughly opening packs.

Surprisingly, this round of intensive pack-opening accumulated quite a few valuable items for Su Ming once again.Among them were not only the extraordinary items Su Ming had prepared for Tong Xinyao to enhance her Spirit Power, but also resources he could use himself to further strengthen his abilities.

The combination of the Demon Emperor Sword and the Blue Demon Ceasefire Ring continued to steadily transform Su Ming’s Physique, allowing him to grow stronger without interruption.

This enabled Su Ming to quickly adapt to his newly attained Five-Star strength, with his power increasing slightly compared to just a few days ago when he had first advanced.

Today marked the official commencement of the Wanbao Auction House’s auction event.

Su Ming left early in the morning and headed straight for the Wanbao Auction House.

(End of Chapter)