Rise of the Wang Clan: Starting with a Portable Farm

Chapter 247: The Huang Family of Tengyun Ridge

“My fortune may be modest, but it is more than enough for this spear. One thousand, seven hundred!” the elderly Rogue Cultivator sneered.

The burly man slammed his fist down, his face flushed purple with rage. “Two thousand Spirit Stones! Keep bidding, you old ghost! If you can raise it by even a single stone, I’ll let you have it!”

The elderly Rogue Cultivator hesitated. Dropping two thousand stones on a Middle Grade Spirit Weapon wasn’t a complete loss, but it was dangerously steep. He glanced at Wang Hao, who stood perfectly at ease on the platform. The auction had just begun; bleeding his coffers dry right out of the gate was foolish.

“Hmph. If you wish to play the fool, this old man will let you have it,” he grumbled, leaning back in his chair.

Wang Hao was more than happy to let the tension simmer, artificially inflating the weapon’s perceived value. After ten breaths of silence, he finally slammed his gavel. “Sold! The Fierce Horn Spear goes to this Fellow Daoist. Please proceed to the front to complete the transaction.”

A maidservant escorted the burly man to the stage. He paid the sum, snatched the spear, and shot a triumphant grin at the elderly cultivator. “If you’re broke, just admit it. Why put on airs?”

He didn’t care about the crowd’s judging stares. A suitable Spirit Weapon was rare and would drastically boost his combat prowess. Earning back a few hundred extra Spirit Stones by hunting Demon Beasts with his new weapon would be child’s play.

Over the next three hours, Wang Hao hammered through a relentless block of merchandise. He auctioned off forty to fifty items—rare ores, potent talismans, and gleaming Magical Artifacts. Wave after wave of frenzied bidding pushed the auction house to a fever pitch.

By the time the final second-rank material was claimed, Wang Hao paused to sip from his teacup, moistening his throat.

“Fellow Daoists,” he announced, his voice slicing through the lingering chatter. “The moment you have been waiting for is here. Keep your eyes wide open. You do not want to miss the finale.”

“Hurry it up, Fellow Daoist Wang! We’ve been waiting all day!” someone yelled from the crowd.

“Patience,” Wang Hao smiled, a master of pacing. “We will take them one by one. I guarantee you will be satisfied.”

He waved his hand. Two massive iron spheres thudded onto the stage. Wang Hao formed a quick hand seal, and with a series of mechanical clacks and grinding gears, the spheres unfolded into two towering, metallic ape puppets.

“Second-rank, Low Grade puppet beasts,” Wang Hao declared. “Their offensive power rivals a cultivator at the third layer of Foundation Establishment, and their defensive plating is even stronger. Buying one is equivalent to hiring an early-stage Foundation Establishment bodyguard. They are the perfect trump card for any clan.”

The crowd stared, skepticism etched on their faces. Words were cheap.

“Telling you is one thing,” Wang Hao laughed. “Showing you is another.”

He activated a restrictive barrier around the stage. A flash of light illuminated his hand, manifesting a first-rank, High Grade longsword. Without warning, he violently swung the blade at one of the ape puppets.

Before the crowd could even blink, the mechanical ape raised its heavy shield. Clang! The impact sent sparks flying. When the dust settled, the puppet’s shield bore only a faint white scratch, while Wang Hao’s High Grade longsword was visibly chipped.

“Heavens! That puppet is incredibly fast!”

“A High Grade Magical Artifact ruined just like that? My heart aches just looking at it!”

“It’s not your sword, why are you crying?”

Wang Hao tossed the ruined blade aside. “Did everyone see clearly? Ordinary first-rank Magical Artifacts cannot even scratch its paint! Even a second-rank artifact will fail to damage it unless it strikes a critical joint!”

To prove his point, he drew a second-rank, Low Grade artifact and struck again. The puppet braced, taking the blow and merely sliding two steps backward.

Then, Wang Hao demonstrated its offense. With two swift, brutal mechanical chops, the ape puppet cleaved Wang Hao’s own first-rank, High Grade defensive shield into pieces.

“The demonstration is concluded,” Wang Hao said over the stunned silence. “While these constructs lack the versatility of a true Foundation Establishment master, their defense is peerless. They run on a simple stream of Divine Sense and two Middle Grade Spirit Stones. I need not explain the strategic value of such a weapon. The bidding begins now. We will auction them separately. Starting bid: ten thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones. Minimum increment: five hundred!”

“Ten thousand? That’s extortion!” The gasp echoed not just from the Qi Refining floor, but from the VIP boxes above. A ten-thousand-stone baseline meant the final price would easily eclipse twenty thousand.

Yet, as the reality set in, the outrage shifted to greedy calculation. Purchasing an unflinching, unkillable Foundation Establishment fighter for twenty thousand stones was a steal.

“Eleven thousand!”

“Eleven thousand, five hundred!”

In a private VIP box, a middle-aged man named Zhao Gaoquan turned to his son. “Bid.”

“Father?” the youth balked. “Aren’t we here for the Foundation Establishment Pill?”

Zhao Gaoquan cast a tired, heavy glance at the boy. “Do you honestly believe the Zhao family has the capital to outbid the others for the Pill?”

“But…” The youth knew their clan was in steep decline, but accepting defeat tasted bitter. He possessed the best spiritual roots in their generation; if they secured the Pill, it would be his.

“Bid,” his father commanded. “You are young. You can afford to wait. If we secure a puppet beast, I will no longer be shackled to guarding the estate. I can venture out, hunt Demon Beasts, and replenish our coffers. You are the future Patriarch. You cannot be so selfish as to only consider your immediate glory.”

“Yes, Father.” The youth gritted his teeth. The price had already soared to seventeen thousand. He leaned out. “Eighteen thousand!”

A young woman in yellow robes, seated in another box, called out immediately. “Nineteen thousand!”

“Keep raising,” Zhao Gaoquan ordered.

“Father?”

“I said keep raising! Securing it for anything under twenty thousand is a victory.”

“Twenty thousand!” the youth shouted.

The young woman in yellow hesitated, her brow furrowing.

Sensing the lull, Wang Hao injected a dose of pure psychological pressure into the room. “I must remind you all, there are only two of these puppets in existence! Their core materials are exceptionally rare, and the craftsmanship is grueling. I cannot guarantee they will ever appear at a future auction!”

Pushed by Wang Hao’s performative scarcity, the woman bit her lip. “Twenty-one thousand!”

“Father, the Wang family is deliberately baiting us!” the youth fumed.

“It is basic commerce. Would you not sell your own goods for the highest possible price?” Zhao Gaoquan replied coolly. He shoved past his son and leaned out the window himself. “Twenty-two thousand!”

The young woman in yellow slumped back. She had hit her financial limit.

Smack! “Sold!” Wang Hao declared. “The first puppet belongs to Fellow Daoist Zhao. Please step forward.”

Once the Zhao family’s transaction cleared, Wang Hao immediately rolled out the second ape. As expected, the yellow-clad woman bid aggressively, ultimately securing it for twenty thousand Spirit Stones.

Just as he was about to finalize the sale, a telepathic voice transmission slipped into Wang Hao’s ear.

“Fellow Daoist Wang. I am Huang Zhiwei of the Tengyun Ridge Huang family. My liquid funds are slightly lacking. May I use alternative assets to offset the cost, or perhaps borrow your esteemed stage to auction them?”

Wang Hao’s brow furrowed slightly. She fought tooth and nail for the bid and didn’t even bring enough cash? Moreover, the Huang family of Tengyun Ridge was a Golden Core Sect, geographically separated from Qingniu Market by the entire Blazing Heaven Sect territory. How did news of this auction reach her ears so quickly?

Regardless, she represented a fellow Golden Core power. It would be foolish to offend her without cause.

“What do you have?” Wang Hao transmitted back. “If the items are of quality, the Wang family is happy to accommodate you. But if it is common trash, do not waste our time.”

Huang Zhiwei chuckled softly in his mind. “See for yourself, Fellow Daoist.”

A Storage Bag sailed through the air from her VIP box, landing squarely in Wang Hao’s palm. He swept his Divine Sense inside.

He blinked. The contents were staggering: two Yin Thunder Talismans, a pristine white Demon Beast egg, and a massive log of four-hundred-year-old Golden Sun Wood.