The Rise of the Fallen Prodigy

Half a month is neither too long nor too short a period of time.

Apart from his daily cultivation, Liam Smith also had to receive some of the elders of the family from time to time.

Perhaps it was because of his return to the Breeze Courtyard and the restoration of his talent. Those elders who had previously ignored him completely were now deliberately getting closer to him.

The motives behind this were obvious to all, and Liam Smith didn't expose them. Everyone was just going through the motions anyway.

In addition, what made Liam Smith extremely frustrated was that after half a month of hard cultivation, coupled with the stimulation of the magic fruit, he still hadn't broken through to the Fourth Level of the Refined Gas Realm. He was just one step away.

However, the day of the auction meeting had arrived, and Liam Smith had to temporarily stop his cultivation.

After having dinner, he dressed up carefully and headed towards the auction house.

This was the rule of the Silvermoon Valley Auction House. Generally speaking, the auction would be held after nightfall.

As for the reasons, Alistair said it varied from person to person. Maybe it was the will of the owner of the Silvermoon Valley Auction House.

In the Liberty Divine Land, the rules of each auction were roughly the same, but there were some differences in details.

Under the night sky, the place was brightly lit. It seemed that because of the auction meeting held by the auction house today, the entire Silvermoon Valley was a bit livelier than usual. There were constantly pedestrians on the road, and most of them were heading towards the auction house.

"I didn't expect this auction meeting to be so lively. Just looking at the turnout, I guess the auction house is going to make a killing again," Liam Smith said enviously. "How great it would be if I had an auction house of my own?"

"Kid, you only see the glorious side of others. Do you have any idea how much they have to sacrifice and endure behind the scenes?" Alistair seemed to sigh.

"Master, did you experience something like this before?"

"How could your master do such a dull thing? I've just seen a lot, so I understand a lot."

"But I think it's still a pretty good idea to have an auction house. We can just be absentee owners if we want."

Alistair sneered, "Kid, do you know how many soul crystals are needed to maintain an auction house in the early stage?"

"How many?"

"At least a hundred thousand soul crystals a month, and at most several hundred thousand or even a million soul crystals a month."

"Whoa." Liam Smith couldn't help but gasp.

It was estimated that few people in the entire Silvermoon Valley could afford so many soul crystals. Even the three major families couldn't come up with a million soul crystals all at once.

"Soul crystals are just one aspect. Without a powerful expert to sit in, it will still end up in failure."

Liam Smith nodded in agreement. As long as an auction house could be maintained, it was definitely a sure-fire investment. It could be said to be a piece of fat that everyone wanted to get their hands on.

If there was no powerful expert to back it up, it would sooner or later be annexed by some large forces. This was inevitable.

Thinking of this, Liam Smith reckoned that the Silvermoon Valley Auction House must have powerful experts sitting in, and maybe there was more than one. Otherwise, how could the three major families allow an external force to open an auction house here?

With these thoughts in mind, Liam Smith had a new understanding of the auction house.

After entering the auction house, in the hall on the first floor, Liam Smith found that most people were heading towards a back door. It was the same back door that Ignatius had mentioned last time, which led to the auction hall.

Liam Smith naturally followed the crowd.

After passing through a short corridor and entering through a huge door several feet high, there was a large hall inside. The walls around the hall were all built with white jade stones. This kind of white jade could illuminate the night as if it were daytime.

Although white jade stones were not precious, just thinking about using them to build the walls of such a large hall, one could tell that the auction house was powerful.

The facilities in the hall were relatively simple. In the front was a platform about two feet high. On the platform was a long table with a set of tea sets on it.

Standing on it and taking a look down, all the situations could be seen at a glance. It was estimated that this was the so-called auction platform. Directly facing the platform below were rows of seats, which should be for the warriors who came to participate in the auction.

Roughly estimating, this auction hall could accommodate at least several thousand or even tens of thousands of people.

On the left side of the auction platform was a small door, which seemed to be connected to another part of the auction house. On the right side was a wooden staircase, and above the staircase was the second floor of the auction hall.

At the entrance of the staircase, there were two disciples of the auction house standing guard. It seemed that without a certain status, one couldn't go upstairs at all.

At the moment, no one was going to the second floor. Most people were just scrambling for seats on the first floor, and it was in chaos.

Liam Smith was just worrying about getting a seat when suddenly a girl's voice sounded behind him, "Mr. Davis, you're here?"

Turning around, he saw that it was Aisha.

He nodded and said, "Master Ignatius's kind invitation. How could I not come?"

Aisha said respectfully, "Master has ordered that if Mr. Davis comes, he should be arranged in the VIP room on the second floor. It's much quieter there than on the first floor."

With such a good offer, Liam Smith naturally wouldn't decline. After all, he was just worrying about the seat issue.

"Lead the way ahead," Alistair said in an old-fashioned manner.

Aisha didn't dare to be negligent, and the two of them walked towards the second floor one after the other.

On the way, Aisha introduced to Liam Smith that the second floor was a VIP room specially reserved for VIPs by the auction house. Only those with a gold card and those with extremely high status and reputation in Silvermoon Valley could come up.

The second floor was not like the first floor, which had rows of seats. Instead, there were several small rooms, about a dozen or so. These should be the so-called VIP rooms.

Outside each VIP room, there were two disciples of the auction house standing on the left and right, probably to be at the service of the VIPs.

Looking down from the VIP room, it was directly facing the auction platform, and the scene on the first floor below could also be seen clearly. It was estimated that these seats were for the people from the major forces in Silvermoon Valley.

Aisha led Liam Smith into a VIP room. It was quite spacious inside. It was estimated that it could accommodate about a dozen people. In the middle was an old-fashioned armchair, and on a tea table next to it were some tea sets and fresh fruits.

Although they were not magic fruits, they were also of the same level as the red plum fruits. Generally speaking, the treatment for VIPs was quite good.

"Your VIP room is not bad. It's quite decent," Alistair said indifferently.

"Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Davis. I wonder if you have any other instructions?" Aisha asked cautiously.

Liam Smith knew that at this time, she was probably going to be busy reporting to Ignatius.

So he waved his hand and said, "Not for now."

"In that case, please take a rest here, Mr. Davis. I still have other things to attend to, so I'll take my leave first."

"You can go."

"Yes. If you need anything, Mr. Davis, just give an order, and the disciples outside will take care of it for you."

"Got it."

Aisha clasped her fists in a salute and said, "I'll take my leave now."

After saying that, she turned around and left.

After Aisha left, Liam Smith directly sat down on the old-fashioned armchair. After walking for a long time and squeezing through the crowd for a while, he could just sit down and have a rest now and enjoy the treatment of a VIP.

The hall below was still noisy. After a while, a group of people came out from the small door on the left side of the auction platform.

They were all from the auction house.

At the head was an old man wearing gorgeous clothes and a bit plump. It was estimated that he had a relatively high status in the auction house.

His eyes were narrowed into a slit, and it was hard to tell if they were open or not. His neck couldn't be seen as it was covered by a mass of fat. He had a smile on his face, which gave people a kind and gentle feeling.

When the old man appeared, the chaotic and noisy situation below improved a little.

Many people started whispering to each other—

"Why is he hosting this auction meeting again?"

"Who is he?"

"You don't even know him? Are you from Silvermoon Valley?"

"Have you ever heard of the 'White Fox' of the auction house?"

"No."

"Damn it. I have no common topic with you. Get lost."

"The 'White Fox' is a nickname. His real name is Easton White."

"Easton? What an interesting name?"

"Interesting? He's not as interesting as his name. He's a guy who's smarter than a fox."

"But he doesn't look like it to me."

"Don't be deceived by his appearance. There are countless people who have been cheated by him over the years. He's really a ruthless character who eats people alive."

"..."

"Master, I didn't expect there to be such a funny person in the auction house. Why couldn't he have chosen a better name? He actually named himself Easton."

"Don't be careless. Appearance is the most deceptive thing."

When Easton White saw that the noise below had decreased a bit, he nodded with satisfaction and then slowly walked onto the auction platform.

As soon as he opened his mouth, he started with some polite words, "Dear fellow practitioners, it's really kind of you to come here today. I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of the auction house first."

After saying that, Easton White also bowed slightly to show his thanks.

"What Elder White said is too much. The auction meeting is one of the liveliest events in Silvermoon Valley. How could we miss it?"

"Yes, Elder White is being too modest."

"..."

The people below were all flattering in their words.

Of course, there were also those who didn't give him face.

"Elder White, stop talking nonsense and start the auction already," said a middle-aged man with a bushy beard.

Easton White's face changed, but he quickly returned to normal and smiled, "Brother, don't be in a hurry. There are still many fellow practitioners who haven't arrived yet. How can we not wait for them?"

Sure enough, there were still a few people coming in from the door at the moment.

Seeing that Easton White directly brought up the issue of waiting for everyone, the middle-aged man with a bushy beard naturally couldn't say anything more. After all, he didn't dare to arouse public anger.

He snorted coldly and then sat down.

Next, there were a whole lot more polite words, but basically, it was just Easton White talking to himself. He didn't care if there was a response from below or not. Anyway, he was talking non-stop and spitting all over the place.

After listening to him for about a quarter of an hour, finally, the hall was basically full. The people who should come from Silvermoon Valley had come, and those who shouldn't have come had also come. There were only one or two people coming in from the door occasionally.

During this time, a disciple of the auction house came in from the door and directly went up to Easton White and whispered a few words to him.

It was not known what was said, but it seemed that it was to inform him that almost everyone had arrived.

Easton White nodded to show that he understood, and then he clasped his fists towards the people below and said, "I've kept you all waiting for so long. The auspicious time has come, and I hereby declare that the auction meeting officially begins."

There was a cheer from below.

Damn it. After waiting for so long, it finally started. As for what Easton White said about the auspicious time, no one present believed it. It was just an excuse for him to delay the time.

The purpose of doing this was just to make sure that the maximum number of people came to participate in the auction.

Liam Smith also sat up straight and perked up. This was his first time attending an auction, and the good show was finally starting. He couldn't miss it.