Chapter 15: Sky-High Price
The golden-haired middle-aged man stood on the stage, continuing his eloquent speech: "When it comes to historical stone carvings, the lowest-priced among the current top ten carvings is 528 gold coins, while the highest-priced one is the sculpture 'Blood-Eyed Mane Lion,' which recently sold at the Pruex Chamber of Commerce auction hall in the Yulan Empire for a staggering 13 million gold coins!"
The nobles and wealthy individuals below fell silent.
This price was indeed terrifying.
"The 'Blood-Eyed Mane Lion' is based on the sacred beast 'Blood-Eyed Mane Lion,' and the sculptor was the grandmaster 'Hoover,' who lived over a hundred thousand years ago. In the past ten thousand years, our Yulan Continent has also produced two grandmaster-level figures: Master Pruex and Master Hopkinson. Both have reached the grandmaster level."
The golden-haired man suddenly smiled.
"However, as far as I know, throughout history, any grandmaster—let alone grandmasters, even ordinary master-level figures—when they were respectfully called 'Master,' were almost always over a hundred years old. Even if not over a hundred, they were in their seventies or eighties. Has anyone ever become a master before the age of thirty?"
The golden-haired man looked down at the audience: "Not in the past, but now there is."
"The great Master Linley is a genius. At seventeen, just seventeen years old, he is already a seventh-rank dual-element mage. In the field of magic, he ranks second among geniuses in the entire history of the Yulan Continent. And at seventeen, the quality of his carving work—well, you all know it."
With that, the golden-haired man turned to face the stone carving 'Dream Awakening.'
The two maids stepped forward and pulled off the cloth, revealing the true form of the 'Dream Awakening' carving.
"This is Master Linley's work. According to our chamber's investigation, this piece was completed during the period of heavy snowfall last December. That is, when Master Linley was sixteen years old." The golden-haired man said with a smile, "I've always wondered why last year's snow was so heavy. Now I think it might have been because of the birth of this masterpiece."
The nobles and wealthy individuals below all laughed.
"Alright, enough idle talk." The golden-haired man pointed at the 'Dream Awakening' carving. "This stone carving has fully reached the grandmaster level. What's most remarkable is the sheer size of this piece. To be honest, this work could be split into five separate pieces for auction."
The wealthy nobles below began chatting and laughing among themselves.
"Of course, I'm joking. Each of these five human figures possesses a unique charm, and when combined, they form a beautiful love story. I believe many who study stone carvings can feel this poignant love story."
The golden-haired man sighed in admiration: "Each of the five human figures is at the grandmaster level, and together they convey a unique story. I simply cannot estimate the price of this carving."
"Most importantly, when Master Linley completed this work, he was only sixteen. Sixteen years old!" The golden-haired man raised his voice. "Never have I felt so inadequate with words. I cannot express my admiration for Master Linley. He is truly a genius!!!"
This speech resonated with the nobles and wealthy individuals below.
Completing such a work at sixteen was nothing short of a miracle.
In the Debs family's private box, there was complete silence.
"That damned guy." Kalan harbored resentment toward the golden-haired man. Because of his speech, the price of 'Dream Awakening' would likely be even higher.
"I cannot imagine Master Linley's future achievements. And precisely because of this, Master Linley's first work to shake the Yulan Continent is even more precious. Alas, I don't have enough money, or I'd sell everything to buy it." The golden-haired man smiled. "Alright, the auction begins now. The starting price is one million gold coins. No objections, I hope?"
One million gold coins?
And that's just the starting price?
Many nobles who had harbored faint hopes were immediately stunned. Unless they were from a major family or extremely wealthy, they couldn't even entertain the thought of competing for 'Dream Awakening.'
"Each bid must increase by at least one hundred thousand gold coins." The golden-haired man added, "Alright, the auction for Master Linley's work, the stone carving 'Dream Awakening,' officially begins."
The entire auction hall fell silent.
"1.5 million gold coins!" A noble on the first floor directly placed a bid.
On the third floor, Linley listened carefully to the bids below. The 'Bebe' in his arms poked its little head out to look down.
"Boss, from now on, I can eat roast chicken, roast duck, and drink as much wine as I want, right?" Bebe's voice echoed in Linley's mind.
"No problem." Linley patted Bebe's head.
To him, Bebe was practically a brother.
"Yay, life is going to be great!" Bebe's eyes sparkled with excitement as it stretched its neck to look down. "Whoa, two million gold coins. Higher, higher!" Bebe kept hoping the price would rise. Seeing Bebe like this, Linley couldn't help but laugh.
King Clay of the Fenlai Kingdom warmly patted Linley on the shoulder: "Linley, let me give you a boost too."
"Ostoni, five million gold coins." Clay said to Ostoni.
Ostoni walked to a speaking point and announced loudly: "His Majesty King Clay bids five million gold coins."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Linley said immediately.
"Haha, no problem." Clay enthusiastically put his arm around Linley's shoulder. "Linley, are you interested in helping me out? There's no need to distinguish between ruler and subject." Clay said casually.
Linley felt a liking for Clay.
He was indeed a very charismatic and appealing leader.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I want to go back and discuss it with my father. If nothing unexpected happens, I will still stay in the Fenlai Kingdom." Linley said with a smile.
"You should indeed discuss it with your father." Clay frowned slightly. "Linley, as far as I know, your father seems to have left Wushan Town. I checked but couldn't find any trace of him. It's as if... he disappeared."
After Linley's fame skyrocketed, Clay, hoping to get Linley's help, had investigated his family.
But Hogg was not in Wushan Town.
"My father isn't in Wushan Town?" Linley was puzzled. "He might have gone somewhere else. He's still in Wushan Town."
"Perhaps." Clay didn't say more.
Hogg was indeed very well-hidden; otherwise, how could a king of a country fail to find someone?
******
In a private box on the second floor of the auction hall.
"Five million gold coins? Bullshit!" Kalan cursed, a rare outburst.
Beside him, the always gloomy head of the Debs family, Bernard, said in a low voice: "Kalan, you know the family's situation. With the future uncertain, we can't waste too much money on this. According to the family's decision, we can give you at most eight million gold coins. That's the limit."
Kalan nodded.
He knew well that the family's total assets amounted to about one hundred million gold coins. However, most of that was fixed assets, with only about twenty million in liquid assets. The family couldn't afford to throw all its money at a single carving.
The fact that the family hadn't forced him to separate from Alice was already rare.
"5.3 million gold coins!" Someone from the second-floor box bid again.
The golden-haired host immediately got excited: "5.3 million gold coins! The previous lowest price among the top ten carvings was 528 gold coins. Now that record has changed. I can announce that 'Dream Awakening' has entered the top ten carvings!"
"Young Master Yale of the Dawson Chamber bids 6 million gold coins!" Ostoni's voice came from the third floor.
Hearing this price, Kalan's face darkened again.
The price had reached six million gold coins so quickly, far exceeding Kalan's expectations. He had thought that with the last of the top ten carvings at only 528 gold coins, his eight million budget would be enough.
But...
Kalan was not a true collector and had no real understanding of stone carvings.
True collectors could feel the heart-stirring quality of 'Dream Awakening,' especially the five human figures combined, which was extremely rare. Never in the history of the Yulan Continent had there been a set of five human figures that could convey such a poignant emotion.
And the sculptor was only sixteen at the time, a super magical genius.
"I can't let the price climb step by step." Kalan frowned.
He knew that if the price rose slowly, his chances of success would be very low.
"Eight million gold coins!" Kalan shouted his bid loudly.
Jumping from six million to eight million gold coins, a two-million increase, stunned many people. After all, the top ten carvings were priced at that level. Even Pruex's three most precious works included one that sold for just over seven million.
Collectors weren't blind; they also considered value.
Otherwise, blind competition was the behavior of a spendthrift.
The golden-haired man immediately shouted: "The Debs family bids eight million gold coins! Such a decisive bid shows their determination to acquire this carving. I can imagine that once Master Linley becomes a Saint-level powerhouse, this work's price won't be eight million but more likely sixteen million!"
The golden-haired man was indeed a master of hype.
But the people below weren't fools. They were all thinking... no matter how rich you were, you had to spend wisely.
......
On the third floor of the auction hall, Linley, Yale, King Clay, Cardinal Gillmore, Cardinal Lampson, and others watched the proceedings, chatting casually.
"Third brother, that Kalan just bid." Yale said in a low voice.
Linley looked toward that box. He could clearly see Kalan and Alice holding hands inside, with Kalan looking very nervous.
"Third brother, do you want me to outbid him? No matter what, your carving shouldn't end up in his hands." Yale whispered in Linley's ear.
"No need." Linley slowly shook his head.
Linley was staring at Alice. In that box, Alice looked like a poor, wronged little girl. The other members of the Debs family looked at her with dissatisfaction, as their family had to spend a fortune for her sake.
"If they really want it, let them have it." Linley said coldly.
Gillmore and Lampson exchanged glances and smiled.
*****
In the box, the Debs family members were all tense, especially Kalan and Alice.
"Don't worry, Alice. Eight million gold coins is already an extremely high price. It won't go higher." Kalan comforted Alice, but this was also comforting himself. The family had only authorized him eight million.
The golden-haired man raised his small hammer: "The Debs family bids eight million gold coins. Is there any higher bid? Then... I'll start the countdown."
"Ten million gold coins."
A lazy voice came from a seat on the first floor. In reality, the later bids for 'Dream Awakening' were almost all from the super-wealthy nobles in the upper boxes. The nobles and rich on the lower floors were just watching the show. No one expected a bid from the first floor now.
"What poor judgment. In my view, this 'Dream Awakening' has created a new school of carving. Its style is completely different from other carvings, and with five human figures each with a distinct charm, ten million gold coins is still worth it." The man who bid 'ten million gold coins' said casually.
This seemingly thirty-to-forty-year-old man wore a loose robe, and his lazy demeanor was unmistakable.
"Ten million gold coins?"
Kalan and Alice in the box were both stunned.