Chapter 288: Going once...
Jia Xueqin fought to keep the fact that he was sweating from being apparent to his audience. It wasn’t the heat of the qi lights shining on the stage that caused his perspiration, either, as he was quite used to those. Instead, the beads of moisture forming on his forehead were purely due to the quality and quantity of luminaries that were watching him.
The Premiere Jade Treasures Auction House branch in Sixth Flawless Flowing City was a prestigious posting. All the big sects had branches in the city, and they always sent representatives to each auction. Likewise, the City Lord always had someone attend, even occasionally showing up in person.
Today, those normal VIPs were the least of his concerns.
To start with, Chao Su was watching, silently, from his private viewing room. If that scary man became displeased with either how his wares were selling or about not acquiring something he wanted, Jia Xueqin didn’t want to even contemplate what he might do. Destroy the building? Lay waste to the city? The entire continent?
The man’s reputation preceded him.
Next, serving as the Emperor’s representative was one of his sons. An actual prince was sitting in attendance. Though his cultivation power wasn’t as high as Chao Su’s, his political power was much greater. That man could end the entire auction house—and not just the branch, either!—with the stroke of a pen.
And if a powerhouse of cultivation and a powerhouse of political might weren’t enough, a powerful sect, the Purple Lotus, and the mighty Yu Clan, both from the Superior Water Breeze Continent, had been intrigued enough by the descriptions of the swords on offer to teleport members to the city.
Other branch managers in even more prominent locations might be used to addressing such an intimidating assemblage, but Jia Xueqin certainly wasn’t.
His initial plan had been to start the auction with several of their most mundane items, just to whet everyone’s appetite, but given the audience, he legitimately feared for his life if he tried something like that.
Instead, he felt compelled to offer up one of the swords first.
“Greetings, Honored and Esteemed Ladies, Gentlemen, and Cultivators. Welcome to the Premiere Jade Treasures Auction House of Sixth Flawless Flowing City. I’ll be your host and auction manager tonight, Jia Xueqin.”
No one struck him down with Lightning on the spot, so his opening had been received better than he’d feared.