The Final Item

A worker wheeled out a pedestal with the top covered by a cloth.

Mike pulls the cloth, revealing a rusty, old rune. The rune was in a hexagonal shape, with lines etched across its surface. However, the lines were extremely faint and the entire thing just looked like a useless piece of garbage.

"The Starting Price of this mysterious rune will be 5 Mid-grade Chaos Stone. Each call must be in intervals of at least 100 Low-grade Chaos Stones. Please begin." Mike says.

However, there were no calls from the crowd. The crowd went dead silent. None of them were willing to waste their money on something that didn't have a confirmed use. In the end, it could turn out to be nothing and they would have wasted their money. There was so much more that they could do with 3 MId-grade Chaos Stones, like cultivation for example. No one would willingly waste such precious resources.

"Are there no takers?" Mike asked, clearly expecting this result.

"Going once?"

"Going twice?"

"I'll take it for 5 Mid-grade Chaos Stones." Someone suddenly says.

The entire crowd looked around for the person who said that. It was the female voice again. The woman in VIP Room #1. How rich was she? Was 5 Mid-grade Chaos Stones just a luxury to her?

Of course, Mike didn't care about the crowd's reactions. He was just glad that the random rune was able to be sold. If it weren't for the person requesting for this to be sold here, they wouldn't have put such a useless and little-known piece of relic in their auction…

"Alright!" Mike shouted quickly. "Congratulations to the honored guests in VIP Room #1 for winning the mysterious relic." Mike didn't want to risk the guest regretting their choice immediately.

Of course, the person who decided to buy it was Lin Ke. As for why… It was because Lily told him to get it.

That's right. Lily had woken up. When the rune appeared, Lin Ke's reaction was the same as the crowd's. He was looking at the object as if it was trash. However, his thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the little white cat.

"Lin Ke! Get that rune! It's super useful!" Lily shouted suddenly in his head.

"Huh? You're awake?"

"Yeah, but don't worry about that! Get the rune!!!"

"Hm? Alright, alright." Lin Ke turns to Ami and says, "3 Mid-grade Chaos Stones."

Ami raises her eyebrow, clearly surprised Lin Ke would take it. However, she doesn't question his choice, instead she spoke into the communication crystal.

"I'll take it for 3 Mid-grade Chaos Stones."

"Alright, I got it now, do you want to tell me what it's for?" Lin Ke asks.

"You'll find out later on when you visit one of the other Sacred Lands." Lily replies. "It'll be super useful to you then."

Lin Ke puts on an expression of dismay. That was the worst explanation ever. However, Lin Ke chooses to believe what Lily said. So far, even if she was slightly… extremely on the annoying side, Lily hasn't lied to him just yet.

After securing the mysterious rune, Lin Ke decides to sneak a glance at Lia. She was fidgeting around, clearly still not fully over what had happened. However, all her focus was on the stage, so she didn't notice Lin Ke's gaze.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! It's been a long day, but the auction will be coming to a close shortly! We only have one more item left for you all today. It is a special artwork… one that is rare beyond anything seen before in this world. The exact details about this history of this artwork is unknown, and it has no signature on it…"

"However, the moment you lay your eyes on it, you will know of its uniqueness! It's exact rank is unknown, however! There is no way it's lower than A-tier." Mike shouts excitedly.

"No lower than A-tier? No way! How did the Artifact Hall manage to get their hands on this???" Someone in the crowd exclaims.

"Doesn't matter how! We have to get it no matter the cost!" Someone else responded to him.

"Hurry up! Son, go sell our ancestral home to the highest bidder immediately! We need to get this artwork!"

"No, don't compete with me! I will be the one who wins this in the end!!!"

The crowd, upon hearing that, erupts. All of them want the artwork, and none of them could wait until they could see it. In fact, they couldn't be blamed. Higher than A-tier… That meant it had a chance of being S-tier… An artwork on that level could already be considered as a precious weapon!

The crowd couldn't be blamed for their unruliness. In fact, even Lin Ke was extremely curious about how this masterpiece would appear. Based on Lily's earlier descriptions about the different tiers, it seemed as if S-tier was when an artist finally gained the ability to fight.

"Alright! We will begin the final round of the auction shortly and please remember to act civil!" Mike yelled over the crowd.

Finally, a large crystal pillar was brought out, the top covered by a golden cloth that hid the artwork underneath it. The crystal pillar was quite wide, perhaps 4 feet in width. It was the widest thing brought out today. The moment it appeared in the room, everyone could feel the air shift. The World Energy around them could be felt being tugged towards the artwork...

This only made the audience anticipate the unveiling even more!

"Behold! The final item of today's auction!!!"

Mike flourishes his hand, and with a quick tug, unveils the final product of the auction.

Lin Ke watches intently as the artwork is revealed to him. At first, when it appears in his vision, his first thoughts are of shock and of awe. This artwork was simply amazing! It was breathtaking!

But then… He realized something odd about this painting… Lin Ke feels a chill run down his back. He had seen this painting before…