"1600."

The similarly calm voice that topped up the bid of the 'Elemental Blade Sect' was actually one that came from the same VIP booth that had analyzed the nature of the stone at the very beginning, mistaking it to be a 'Dual-Element' elemental crystal before finally being the first to understand its true nature…

From the looks of it and from the amount that he bid, it seemed that his sect wasn't a pushover to fight against a hegemon like the 'Elemental Blade Sect', possibly being one of the three strongest sects that I knew little about for the moment, excluding the 'Elemental Blade Sect' that I knew a slightly bit more than the other two that I didn't even know their names…

'Keep Fighting then…'

This pricy competition was obviously to me benefit so I was more than amused to watch them continue this cold war.

"1800."

"1900."

"2000."

Slowing down a bit from increasing 200 gold coins per one bid to increasing 100 gold coins instead, the rhythm finally stopped for a sec…

'Did they…'

`~~`~~`~~`

A few parts of a second earlier…

"1600."

'Esteemed grand elder from the 'Elemental Blade Sect', there is no need to fight this much for it…'

'Our 'Elemental Blade Sect' has decided to acquire this item as it's vital to us, whether you want to fight us for it or not is your own business.'

"1800."

'I know that with how diverse your sect is, almost having a branch for every common element and weapon, these 'Omni-Element' elemental crystals must be indeed a highly beneficial opportunity that you can't miss, but what I meant to say is that our sect can easily withdraw from bidding this early so as you still gain the omni crystals benefits without suffering a loss as long as you accept our condition…'

"1900."

'Hmmm?'

"2000."

'It's very simple, we only require one crystal of each grade to conduct some research, so as long as you promise to provide us with that after you have won the collection, we will withdraw immediately and even pay for these two crystals we will receive…'

"..."

'... Agreed.'

'Great, thank you for your cooperation, we will wait for your part of the promise then.'

'...'

`~~`~~`~~`

"Two thousand gold coins going once… two thousand gold coins going twice… Sold!"

'Did they possibly solve this between themselves somehow…?'

The fact that calm bids stopped this abruptly after a strange moment of silence showed that something was wrong, even if the other sect gave up the way they did was kind of suspicious…

'Well, not like what happened matters anyway…'

The collection was already sold at this point, and two thousand gold was already a third higher than the appraiser's lowest estimation, so I wasn't overly sore about something that I only suspected yet couldn't confirm…

"With that our major Unity auction has finally come to an end, I wish that the winners of the limited items we displayed are satisfied with their purchase and that it lasts with them till it fulfills its purpose…"

All in all, the benefits that the auction has brought me was already more than enough, obtaining two vital items and replenishing my magical empty coin sack was indeed very satisfying, according to my assumptions, I could be considered the ultimate winner of this auction, it was just that…

"See you next year! Till then, I trust you will be in good health…"

While I felt like I should be somewhat thankful to that old white, I still couldn't through away my suspicion of what happened during my time to bid...

Clap.

'They have probably already confirmed that I…'

The two big curtains fell after the auctioneer's last and final clap, confirming that this not too long auction has finally come to an end…

"This auction was really great!"

"The last item was indeed a mind blower for the young ones, it was a good experience even for us…"

"yeah..."

'Well, not that I need to think about it as much…'

With how cautious the 'White Spear Sect' was acting around me, all they did was probe, so with the tournament being so soon, I didn't need to worry that much, because as soon as it ended, as long as I either joined their sect or one that's enough to scare them away then stuff would become much easier…

'Let's just leave the worrying to the end of the tournament for now…'

It was already quite late for me at this point, so I wanted to go ahead and withdraw my gold before leaving and going back to sleep as there were only two days left to the tournament which would mean less rest for me.

With that in mind, I had already left the my booth and went o search for the servant...

`~~`~~`~~`

Clap.

A few minutes ago in another VIP booth…

"With this proof, it's more likely that he acquired a newborn beast that had managed to summon the natural phenomena of lightning, am I right master?"

"It's more probable, it was just by chance that someone had put that beast pearl for auction, giving him the invitation wasn't mainly to probe the treasure he had acquired, it's also to give him another favor…"

"It's just that, when he traveled with us two days ago, he didn't seem like had any mythical beast with him, not to mention… just where did he get that much gold to bid with, isn't he supposed to be a sectless pleb?!"

"Sigh, I already mentioned that his background wasn't normal so you shouldn't be this surprised about it, keep in mind that we aren't too sure he was the one who bid either, if not for that bootlicking master Dan telling us of his booth's location we wouldn't be this sure…"

"What should we do then…?"

"Nothing, we do nothing, let's wait for the tournament to come and see his performance before trying to recruit him for our sect, if that doesn't work, then we can only give up… for now…"