Rise of the Wang Clan: Starting with a Portable Farm

Chapter 246: Hosting the Auction

“If I go overseas, does that mean I won’t be able to see Mother and Father?” Wang Wenyue asked, clearly torn. She was tempted by the prospect of faster cultivation, but she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her parents behind.

“They will stay here with the main branch for now,” Wang Hao explained gently. “But once you reach Foundation Establishment, you can fly back to visit them whenever you wish. Besides, if our overseas territory prospers, Father—as the Clan Head—will inevitably relocate there to oversee operations.”

“Alright then. I’ll listen to you, Brother.”

Just then, a shout echoed from the end of the path. “Fifth Brother! Everything is ready. When do we depart?”

“Let’s move,” Wang Hao said, his demeanor instantly shifting from an older brother to the clan’s chief architect. “We head to the market first. We cannot delay the auction.”

Wang Wenyue rolled her eyes in exasperation. He asked me to think about it, and now he’s acting like I’m the one wasting time.

With the rumor of Foundation Establishment Pills acting as the ultimate bait, over 5,000 Qi Refining cultivators and more than 40 Foundation Establishment experts had swarmed Qingniu Market.

Some were local, while others had traveled vast distances the moment they heard the news.

For the Wang family, the importance of this auction was second only to the Golden Core assembly. It wasn’t just about liquidating assets for immediate profit; it was a critical marketing campaign designed to establish Qingniu Market as a premier commercial hub.

Security was paramount. Not only was the “Monarch,” Wang Guang’an, personally overseeing the event, but the Wang family had also drafted a massive security force comprised of cultivators from their vassal families—the Li, the Lei, and two others. They patrolled the market perimeter in shifts, day and night.

Despite the heavy presence, several fools still tried to cause trouble. The Wang family’s reputation as a ruthless power hadn’t fully cemented itself in the minds of the transient Rogue Cultivators.

Wang Guang’an had been furious. He had personally intervened, obliterating several thieves and instigators on the spot. To serve as a gruesome warning, he ordered that their bloodstains be left uncleaned on the cobblestone streets.

The wrath of a Golden Core master was not something the rabble could withstand. In the final days leading up to the auction, the market was deathly quiet; no one dared to even look at someone the wrong way.

While the market streets were packed, only a fraction of the crowd actually entered the auction house. Most Qi Refining cultivators were perfectly content to browse the massive selection of goods the Wang family and other merchants had stocked on their storefront shelves.

To drive sales, Wang Hao had ordered an across-the-board price cut of five percent. In the cultivation world, such a discount was unheard of. It drove the visiting cultivators into a shopping frenzy, causing many to drain their life savings to stockpile Cultivation Supplies. They knew prices wouldn’t stay this low forever; missing this opportunity could set their progress back by years.

Ultimately, only about a thousand people held the capital to participate in the actual auction, filling the newly constructed, cavernous auction hall perfectly.

To maximize the spectacle, Wang Hao broke from convention. Most premium markets segregated their audiences, placing Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators in entirely separate venues. Wang Hao put them all in the same room. He simply seated the Foundation Establishment experts in the plush, elevated VIP boxes on the second floor, ensuring their superior status was physically and visibly reinforced over the sea of Qi Refining cultivators below.

Not all the items on the block belonged to the Wang family. Wang Hao had accepted external consignments, and several individuals, eager to curry favor, had offered up treasures that genuinely impressed him. A few of the most critical items had been quietly purchased by the Wang family behind closed doors before the auction even began.

Wang Hao stepped out as the auctioneer, representing the absolute authority of the Wang family. Six Foundation Establishment elders guarded the venue’s exits, while Wang Guang’an’s terrifying Divine Sense blanketed the entire structure from the center, ready to crush any disruptions.

On the main stage, four beautiful female cultivators from the Wang clan stood at attention, dressed in sleek, uniform attire. They drew countless stares from the floor. Had the Wang family guards not been glaring daggers at the crowd, the catcalls would have been deafening.

Checking the time, Wang Hao flew gracefully onto the high platform. He cupped his hands in a crisp salute.

“Fellow Daoists,” his voice echoed, amplified by the hall’s acoustics. “I am Wang Hao. I represent the Wang family in presiding over this auction. I thank you all for your patronage, and I hope you all leave with the treasures you desire!”

“Enough with the pleasantries! Start the damn auction!” a voice barked from the second floor.

Wang Hao’s eyes snapped toward the VIP box. He instantly locked onto the speaker and unleashed the full, crushing weight of his Foundation Establishment Pressure.

“Since some of our guests are so impatient,” Wang Hao sneered coldly, his voice dripping with menace. “We will begin.”

The heckler, an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, choked. He had to instantly circulate his full Qi just to keep from being forced out of his chair by Wang Hao’s aura. His face turned an ugly, mottled purple, and he clamped his mouth shut, thoroughly humiliated.

Having established dominance, Wang Hao swept his cold gaze across the silent hall.

“The rules are simple. First: Fair bidding. Do not attempt to use your cultivation base or your clan’s name to intimidate other bidders. Second: No phantom bidding. If you call a price and cannot produce the Spirit Stones to back it up… you will not walk out of those doors alive.”

He paused, letting the threat hang in the air. “Naturally, if you find yourself short on liquid funds, you may sell your personal treasures to the Wang family on the spot to cover the difference. Third: The doors are now sealed. No one leaves until the auction concludes, save for those escorted out by my guards after a successful purchase.”

With the ground rules laid out, Wang Hao produced a small jade bottle from his robes.

“Our first item. A second-rank, Low Grade Pill: The Qi Gathering Pill. Starting bid: 100 Spirit Stones. Minimum increment: 10 Spirit Stones!”

A collective hiss of disbelief swept through the ground floor.

“A second-rank item right out of the gate? What are we Qi Refining cultivators even doing here?”

“Exactly! How are we supposed to afford that?”

“Relax, didn’t you read the itinerary? The first-rank items are listed for later. You really expect the Foundation Establishment seniors to sit through hours of us bidding on low-level trash before they get to the good stuff?”

“So we just have to sit here and wait for hours?”

“Hmph. Don’t complain. How often do you get to see high-level treasures auctioned off? Consider it an education! I’d stand here for a week just to watch.”

Wang Hao ignored the murmurs. The Qi Gathering Pill was slated to become a standard product in their shops, but establishing the supply chain and waiting for their own spirit herb crops to mature would take time. For now, the pills were a rarity.

The bottle was quickly snatched up by a Rogue Cultivator on the second floor. The vassal families didn’t bid; they were hoarding every last stone for the upcoming Foundation Establishment Pills.

It was a lukewarm opening, exactly as Wang Hao intended. The real show was about to begin.

Wang Hao raised his left hand and made a grasping motion. A long spear materialized in his grip. The spearhead pulsed with a vicious, volatile spiritual light.

The idle chatter on the ground floor vanished. Even the Foundation Establishment cultivators on the second floor leaned forward in their seats.

“A second-rank, Middle Grade Spirit Weapon,” Wang Hao announced, his voice carrying the practiced cadence of a showman. “The Fierce Horn Spear. Forged with the sealed soul essence of a second-rank, Middle Grade Fire Bison. It is practically indestructible. I won’t insult your intelligence with further embellishments. Starting bid: 800 Low Grade Spirit Stones. Minimum increment: 50 Spirit Stones!”

Another wave of sharp gasps rippled through the hall.

“An offensive, second-rank Middle Grade weapon?”

“If they are putting this up now, the finale items are going to be insane. They might actually drop a third-rank treasure!”

“They promised five finale items. The Foundation Establishment Pill is one. What are the other four? High Grade Spirit Weapons?”

While the floor debated, the VIP boxes erupted. A weapon like this was vastly more appealing than a simple pill.

“900 Spirit Stones!” a burly man in yellow robes roared. “This spear is perfect for my arts. I won’t yield it to anyone!”

“Don’t be so sure, big brother,” a woman in a vibrant, multi-colored dress laughed lightly. “I fancy it as well. 1,000 Spirit Stones!”

“This old man finds it agreeable,” an elderly Rogue Cultivator in gray robes wheezed. “1,100!”

“1,400!” The burly man slammed his hands on the railing and stood up, his massive muscles straining against his yellow robes. He glared at the surrounding VIP boxes, skipping three bid increments in a pure display of aggression.

The woman in the colorful dress assessed him. Seeing the raw desperation in his eyes, she leaned back and dropped her paddle. She didn’t actually need the spear for her path, and making a blood enemy out of a brute wasn’t worth the trouble.

The elderly cultivator, however, sneered. “You might scare the little girl, but you don’t scare me. 1,500!”

The burly man bared his teeth. “Let’s see how deep your pockets really are, old ghost. 1,600!”