The reason for this was twofold: on the one hand, the price he offered was indeed high enough; on the other hand, the two people in rooms No. 1 and No. 2 were already in a dilemma, and now with him stepping in as a third party, they both found a convenient way out, so they simply gave up on continuing to bid.
"Hmph, dare to compete with me, Boneo, over something, you all are really something, really something!"
The person in room No. 1 snorted coldly, and after throwing out one last harsh remark, there was no more sound coming from the room, as if he had left.
The person in room No. 2 didnât say much either, and the dimming lights indicated that the person there was also gone.
"Ji Xing, you... you actually..."
In the room, Ziwei was completely taken aback that Zhang Xiaoman had quietly placed a bid and even with a massive ten billion, won that Perfect-level combat skill book in one fell swoop.
"Donât look at me like that; itâs not like you donât know Iâm really short on advanced Dark Spirit Techniques right now. This Perfect-level combat skill book is just what I need urgently."
Zhang Xiaoman chuckled lightly.
"But..."
Ziwei hesitated, feeling a bit reluctant to accept it.
She had been enjoying the excitement of the auction, never expecting her friend to join in and ultimately win, securing that rare combat skill book.
"Ten billion Star Coins... Arenât you the least bit pained by that?"
Ziwei, seeing Zhang Xiaomanâs nonchalant look, felt an immense heartache.
Even though it wasnât her money, just watching ten billion Star Coins spent like that was agonizing for someone who would rather walk a few extra steps to reach a teleport point than spend money on a shuttle.
"Wait a minute! Ji Xing! Are you sure you have that many Star Coins? I remember your Star Dust only sold for over seven billion before, and adding your previous funds, itâs definitely not enough to cover this bill... you..."
As if suddenly realizing something, Ziwei widened her eyes and looked at Zhang Xiaoman.
Seeing his silent smile directed at her, she immediately leapt up from the comfortable sofa, eyeing him warily.
"Donât you dare have ideas about my money! Every penny I have has already been spent on materials, and I donât have three billion to give you!"
Zhang Xiaoman was taken aback by her reaction and then burst into laughter, waving his hand, saying:
"No need, I have some items I can use to cover the cost, donât worry."
As he spoke, he retrieved five portions of Star Dust from his storage ring and placed them neatly on the table in front of him.
"Star Dust!? How do you have so much more!?"
Ziwei was startled by this scene, not expecting Zhang Xiaoman to produce such a quantity of Star Dust again.
"Ji Xing, did you fall into a Star Dust mine or something? Where on earth did you get so much Star Dust?"
She instinctively asked.
Zhang Xiaoman just smiled and didnât answer.
Ziwei didnât dwell on the question but circled the Star Dust with curiosity.
The next moment, a flash of light appeared at the teleport point in the room, and a figure wrapped head to toe in bandages emerged.
"Esteemed guest, you called for me, may I ask for what..."
The newcomer was Yalei, the Void Spirit who had previously attended to Zhang Xiaoman and Ziwei.
In Zhang Xiaomanâs eyes, they all looked the same, distinguished only by the color of the cloth wrapped around them.
Now, as Yalei entered the room and began speaking, he instantly fell silent upon spotting the five bottles of Star Dust on the table, visibly trembling with excitement, seemingly fixated on the Star Dust.
"Yalei, hello. Iâd like to use this Star Dust to cover part of this transactionâs Star Coin payment. Is that possible?"
Zhang Xiaoman stated the reason for calling him over.
He planned to pay seven billion Star Coins, then use these five portions of Star Dust to cover the remaining three billion.
"Esteemed guest, three billion Star Coins for five portions of Star Dust...? That puts each portion at sixty million, but according to the official acquisition price at the Dark Spirit Association, a portion is only fifty million..."
Yalei hesitated, expressing his concerns without immediately agreeing.
"You see, Iâm not the owner of that Perfect-level combat skill and cannot decide on their behalf. Since the actual value of your offered Star Dust has some controversy, I canât agree on their behalf. Perhaps you could accept five billion as the exchange rate, and we can cover the difference by selling to the Dark Spirit Association at auction..."
Zhang Xiaoman frowned.
"So five bottles of Star Dust arenât enough... Well, in that case, forget it. I can contact previous auction participants. Iâm sure theyâd be happy to buy at sixty million a bottle."
Having said that, he prepared to take back the Star Dust.
Seeing this, Yalei quickly gestured and hurried over to the table, exclaiming:
"No, no, no need to trouble yourself. Sixty million a bottle, sixty million a bottle, Iâll buy them all! Rest assured, weâll complete the transaction promptly, and the Perfect-level combat skill will be yours!"
Seeing this, Zhang Xiaoman smiled and stopped what he was doing, allowing the other to take the five bottles of Star Dust away.
He knew exactly what this Void Spirit was up to.
Although fifty million was the official purchase price, sixty million per bottle really wasnât that high.
Even without having to look for the previous bidders, just standing in the marketplace would attract a crowd eager to buy.
Thus, the deal was concluded smoothly, and with that, the auction ended.
Altogether, Zhang Xiaoman had secured two items: a Pearl that offers permanent Youth Retention and now the Perfect-level combat skill in his possession.
This combat skill was stored on a small white stone, similar to his Jade Scroll in effect.
The difference was this stone could be read by personal terminalsâessentially a USB drive commonly used on Water Blue Star.
"Ziwei, if I share the Magic Technique in this Crystal Key with you, could you cultivate it too?"
Back at the inn, in his room, Zhang Xiaoman voiced his doubt.
Dark Spirit Techniques arenât like the skill light balls from the System Store that are consumed upon use.
Once these Warlocks master them, they can pass them on to others.
Even though the Dark Spirit Association strictly forbade such actions, as long as he didnât sell them but simply shared them with a friend, there would be no way for them to find out, right?
Beside him, Ziwei shook her head, saying:
"Itâs not as simple as you think. The Crystal Key you obtained is under a special curse called âLeaker.â If you share its contents, youâd be affected by the curse, not only suffering its effects but also allowing the Integration Department to locate and capture you based on feedback from the curse!"
"So, donât entertain such thoughts. Almost all Dark Spirit Techniques sold by the association carry the Leaker curse, except for the applicable-level abilities..."
Zhang Xiaoman nodded.
"I see, so I canât share this combat skill with you, or else Iâd be affected by the Leaker curse..."
He suddenly laughed, perplexing Ziwei who was beside him.
"If itâs just the curse..."
Zhang Xiaoman first imprinted his ownerâs information onto the Crystal Key, then projected it in front of Ziwei.
"Ah! What are you doing!"
Ziwei was startled, quickly turning around and covering her eyes with her hands.