"Brother-in-law, I know this person. He's Zhao Wuji from the provincial capital's Zhao family. He's a cousin to Zhao Tianyuan and his strength is far beyond that of the Qingcheng Zhao family!" Tang Pinliang said with a frown. When Zhao Wuji was mentioned, even he felt a sense of apprehension, let alone the other young masters from Qingcheng families.
Lin Feng hadn't expected Zhao Tianyuan's family to be so powerful, involving the Zhao family from the provincial capital. Furthermore, from what Tang Pinliang implied, there was an even more formidable Zhao family above the provincial capital's Zhao family!
At this moment, seeing that no one dared to bid against him, Zhao Wuji's aloof face revealed a hint of arrogance. In his eyes, the moment the provincial capital's Zhao family made a move, everyone else had to retreat. This was the deterrent power of the Zhao family!
However, just as Zhao Wuji thought the Nine Dragon Bronze Ding was a sure thing, Hong Liju raised his bidding paddle!
"Twenty-five million!" Hong Liju directly increased the price by five million, showing no regard for the provincial capital's Zhao family.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Wuji's sharp, hawk-like gaze immediately shot over, a cold, sharp arc forming on his lips: "Thirty million!"
"Thirty-five million!" Hong Liju ignored Zhao Wuji's provocative and threatening gaze and calmly raised the bid.
"Fifty million!" Zhao Wuji escalated the price to fifty million in one go. He then stood up and looked towards Hong Liju, saying, "My Zhao family has bid fifty million. Is there anyone who dares to disrespect my Zhao family?"
"The Zhao family?" Hong Liju sneered. Just as he was about to raise his paddle again, Lin Feng stopped him. "Elder Hong, since it's someone from the Zhao family, let him have it!"
"Hmm!?" Hong Liju frowned. Seeing the meaningful smile on Lin Feng's lips, he slowly lowered his paddle.
"Good that you know your place!" Zhao Wuji, seeing Hong Liju back down, sat back in his seat with a smile. The Nine Dragon Bronze Ding was thus unexpectedly won by Zhao Wuji for fifty million.
"Mr. Lin, could it be that you've spotted something wrong with this Nine Dragon Ding?" Hong Liju, knowing that Lin Feng wouldn't back down just because of the Zhao family, asked out of curiosity.
"That's right. This is not a bronze ding from the Shang and Zhou dynasties at all, but from the Zhou dynasty!" Lin Feng said confidently, "Look, although this ding appears very old, the patina on it is artificially applied. I wouldn't be mistaken about this!"
Hong Liju naturally didn't doubt Lin Feng's eyesight. However, he had come specifically for this ding today. If he didn't win it, what would he use as a gift?
"Elder Hong, this item is quite good. You can buy it as a gift!" Lin Feng pointed to the fourth item up for auction, a golden seal with a starting bid of fifteen million. As this large seal was made of pure gold, it didn't attract much attention. Clearly, wealthy people weren't concerned about mere gold.
"Mr. Lin, does this golden seal have anything special about it? If it's just pure gold, my old brother won't like it!" Hong Liju was puzzled as to why Lin Feng was so interested in a gold item.
"Elder Hong, to you, it's made of gold. But to me, this large seal was used by Qin Shi Huang!" Lin Feng explained with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Hong Liju's eyes immediately lit up. After all, anything used by Qin Shi Huang would be a priceless treasure!
"Sixteen million!" Hong Liju immediately raised his bidding paddle.
"Twenty million!" Zhao Wuji quickly joined the bidding. Beside him, an antique expert seemed to have also recognized the significance of the large seal, offering him guidance.
"Twenty-five million!" Hong Liju continued to bid. He was determined to get this large seal!
The back-and-forth between the two parties caused many in the audience to be confused. It was just a gold item, and even if the gold content was exceptionally high, it shouldn't be worth this much money. Why was the competition so fierce?
"Fifty million!" Zhao Wuji, losing patience, once again pushed the price up to half a hundred million! At the same time, Zhao Wuji repeated his tactic, standing up and declaring, "My Zhao family has set its sights on this large seal. Who dares to disrespect my Zhao family?"
"Eighty million!" Hong Liju used his actions to demonstrate his attitude and resolve. Zhao Wuji was surprised that Hong Liju would suddenly be so resolute. He hadn't dared to offend the Zhao family before. How could he be getting more and more courageous this time? Could it be that he had also seen the special nature of this large seal? Zhao Wuji murmured to himself and said fiercely, "One hundred million!"
A stir went through the crowd. No one expected a gold item to be bid up to such a sky-high price of one hundred million! The Zhao family was truly wealthy and overbearing! What he didn't expect even more was that Hong Liju bid one hundred and twenty million! He was determined to fight the Zhao family to the bitter end!
"Young Master Zhao, forget it. Any higher and it won't be worth it. Why not wait until the end of the trade fair and just snatch the large seal?" Zhao Wuji's advisor, Zuo Changdao, chuckled. "I've checked. This old fellow is called Hong Liju, and he used to be involved in the underworld. So, let's go for a 'black eat black' move!"
"Mm, that makes sense. Let him keep it for now." Zhao Wuji nodded and gave up on further bidding. However, through this auction, Zhao Wuji began to feel that Lin Feng, who was beside Hong Liju, was definitely an expert in appraising treasures.
As the golden seal was won by Hong Liju for one hundred and twenty million, the fifth exhibit was brought out. It was a piece of stone with a peculiar pattern, looking like a corner of a stone tablet. The handbook provided little information about this stone. In the eyes of many, this piece of broken stone didn't belong at the trade fair at all. Of course, there were always strange and unusual items at the annual antique trade fair, and many items went unsold, so no one paid much attention. Especially since the starting bid for this stone was only one hundred thousand yuan, which made even fewer people care!
However, the moment the stone was brought out, Lin Feng suddenly felt a faint image of a stone tablet appear in his mind, as if there was some sort of resonance. Could this stone tablet, like the jade talisman, help him break through in his cultivation at some point in the future? Lin Feng sensed something and stood up, saying, "I bid one hundred and ten thousand!"
"Brother-in-law, it's just a piece of broken stone, worth less than ten yuan. I can get you a whole cartload of this junk!" Tang Pinliang felt completely bewildered. However, remembering how he had foolishly spent five hundred yuan on Qiu Yihe's broken bowl cushion earlier, he wisely shut his mouth.
"One hundred and ten thousand for the first time!" "One hundred and ten thousand for the second time!" The crowd sneered, ignoring the auctioneer's calls. In their opinion, Lin Feng was acting like an idiot, bidding one hundred and ten thousand for a piece of broken stone. Whoever bid now would be an idiot! Little did they know that in the backstage area, a tall man was watching the live surveillance feed. When he saw Lin Feng bid for the stone, intense surprise flashed in his eyes. This fragment of the stone tablet was something he had intentionally released to fish for information. If someone unaware of the inside story were to bid, it would mean that person knew something about the stone tablet. Therefore, the man immediately focused his attention on Lin Feng's actions!