However, despite his doubts, Grand Duke Wedi still did not forget his duty. He first praised the painting, and said that it was the best in the world. Then, according to Monterey's instructions, he linked the auction to the friendship between the Gilded Kingdom and the Octopus Clan so that the Octopus Clan would not be suspicious.
In the end, Grand Duke Wedi officially announced the start of the auction for the Sunset on the Sea created by Heldanos with a starting price of 1,000,000 gold coins.
However, unlike the other auction items that were in full swing as soon as the bidding was announced, the entire venue was silent this time. It was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. There was an awkward silence!
1,000,000 gold coins was indeed not a large sum for the people who participated in the auction. Even the weakest among them probably wouldn't take 1,000,000 gold coins seriously. However, no one was willing to spend 1,000,000 gold coins to buy a painting.
Those who participated in the auction were all trying to buy things that were really useful to them. As long as it was really useful to them, they would fight for it with all their might no matter how high the price was. However, they really couldn't see any use for that painting. Although the painting had various meanings, those meanings were given to it by others, and to the people who participated in the auction, those meanings were meaningless. Who would spend 1,000,000 gold coins to buy something that was meaningless to them?
After Lin Li, who was sitting in the private room, saw the painting that was being auctioned, he had a look of realization on his face. The Gilded Kingdom's actions were actually very obvious. If Lin Li still couldn't tell, he would have been the President of the auction house for nothing. He didn't immediately raise his paddle to bid, not because he didn't want the painting, but because he didn't want others to know that he wanted it.
Although Lin Li was not short of money, it would naturally be best if he could spend the least amount of money to get what he wanted. He was well aware that if he acted like he was determined to get it, some of the people who participated in the auction would definitely jump out to make things difficult for him. At the very least, Gerina of the Giant Shark Clan definitely wouldn't mind pushing the price higher to take revenge for the Dark Golden Magical Dragon Armor that had been snatched away previously.
Grand Duke Weidi complained about Bradlor in his heart, but he had to repeat the merits of the painting. Although it was a very common thing for an auction to have an unsold item, it would definitely affect the auction if there was an unsold item in such an auction.
However, a painting was just a painting, and it couldn't be compared with something like the sea serpent's pearl. Grand Duke Weidi racked his brains. From the perspective of a work of art, he described this painting as a peerless treasure that had never been seen before or since, but he could not change the fact that it was just a work of art.
Looks like it's really going to be unsold this time! Grand Duke Weidi thought helplessly. This failure to be auctioned off would undoubtedly become a flaw in this auction, and it might even become a joke.
Faced with such a situation, Bradlor and Monteri looked at each other in the private room of the Gilded Kingdom. Didn't Felic take a fancy to this painting? Now that the painting was put up for auction, why was he unwilling to sell it? Did they misunderstand him, or did he think that the price of 1,000,000 gold coins was too high?
However, just as Grand Duke Weidi was about to announce that the painting was unsold, a voice came from the private room of the Octopus Clan.
"2,000,000 gold coins!"
No matter what, the painting was given to the Gilded Kingdom by the Octopus Clan, and it was the work of the legendary figure of the Octopus Clan, Heldanos. If it was really unsold at this auction, the Octopus Clan would feel embarrassed. Hence, seeing that no one was bidding, he had no choice but to bid 2,000,000 gold coins.
Hearing the bid of the Octopus Clan, Grand Duke Weidi was more or less relieved. Although the bidding was not as intense, it was good enough that it was unsold.
"3,000,000 gold coins!" Lin Li finally made a bid. 3,000,000 gold coins for a painting might seem unbelievable to others, but what Lin Li was interested in was not the so-called art, but the knowledge of inscription contained in the painting. If it was not in the form of a painting, but in the form of a notebook, the notebook of the Guru of Inscription, Heldanos, would probably be worth more than 30,000,000 gold coins.
Gerina of the Giant Shark Clan was initially feeling a little bored, and he even wanted to see how the Octopus Clan would react after the painting was unsold. However, he didn't expect that the Octopus Clan would first try to buy the painting back, and then Felic from the Tower of Dusk would make a move too.
This time, Gerina's interest was immediately piqued. Not to mention the other grudges, he was already infuriated that the Dark Golden Magical Dragon Armor had been snatched away.
Since the other party wanted the painting, how could he not cause them some trouble? Although he didn't need that painting and didn't know what it was used for, he had raised the price high enough to make the other party suffer a lot. At the thought of this, Gerina raised his hand and was about to raise his paddle.
However, Cantory, who was next to him, stopped Gerina, and said, "Wait a minute, Young Lord Gerina, don't you think this is a little strange?"
"Strange? What's so strange about that!? " Griner turned his head to look at Cantory with a smug expression, and said, "Since he wants that painting, I'll make him pay ten times or even a hundred times more. Otherwise, how can I vent my anger?"
However, Cantory shook his head with a smile, and looked at the private room opposite him. He calmly said, "Young Master Glina, don't you think that it's really strange for such a worthless painting to appear at such an auction? If there's nothing wrong with it, I'm afraid no one will believe it. "
"What? You mean, he's trying to lure me into making a move?" Gerina was not a fool, either. After receiving Cantory's reminder, he immediately thought of that possibility, and even more.
If Felic from the Tower of Dusk made a move first, he wouldn't mind making things difficult for him, but after Cantory's reminder, he felt that there was a conspiracy behind it! Gerina tapped his fingers on the table a few times, and couldn't help but have that thought.
In particular, the two people who made a move now didn't have a good relationship with him. Hence, he couldn't help but suspect that the other party had thought that he would find trouble with them, and thus set up such a trap for him.
Gerina couldn't be blamed for thinking that way, because such things happened too often at auctions. Something that was originally useless would often be raised to a sky-high price because of some conflicts, and someone would accidentally fall into a trap. Of course, such things also involved psychological warfare. If one was smarter, they might be able to turn the tables.
However, Gerina wasn't good at such things. Hence, he looked at Cantory, and asked, "So, are we just going to give up?"
"Give up? There's no need for that. We can first test the other party and see their reaction before making a decision. Maybe we can even let them reap what they sow. " Cantory and Lin Li had a deep feud, and naturally didn't want to miss such an opportunity. Hence, he gave Gerina such an idea.
"3,500,000 gold coins!" Gerina hesitated for a moment, and decided to test the waters a little.
As soon as Gerina said that, Lin Li increased the bid again. "4,500,000 gold coins!"
He increased the bid by another 1,000,000 gold coins, seemingly trying to pull Gerina into the rhythm. Lin Li increased the bid by 1,000,000 gold coins, but Lin Li increased the bid by 500,000 gold coins. Given Gerina's arrogance, how could he do such a shameful thing? If he continued to increase the bid by 1,000,000 gold coins, the price would exceed the 10,000,000 mark in a few rounds. 10,000,000 gold coins wasn't a lot, especially for people like them, but sometimes, 10,000,000 gold coins could play a very crucial role.
Gerina was about to raise the bid by another 1,000,000 gold coins, but just as he was about to raise the sign in his hand, he suddenly dropped it. Although he was impulsive, he wasn't a fool. Since he had long thought that the other party was setting a trap for him, how could he not be prepared at all? Hence, he couldn't help but look at Cantory again, wanting to ask for his opinion.
Cantory didn't say anything, and instead raised his hand to gesture with two fingers.
Gerina understood at a glance, and thus raised his sign. "6,500,000 gold coins!"
Cantory asked Gerina to increase the bid by 2,000,000 gold coins because he wanted to give Lin Li the false impression that he had fallen into a trap. However, it was just a painting, and there wasn't much room for maneuver. Hence, after Gerina raised the bid, he said, "Alright, if the other party increases the bid again, we won't have to bid anymore."
Gerina didn't object to Cantory's idea. Anyway, he didn't get cheated by Lin Li, and instead cheated him of 7,000,000 gold coins. Hence, he felt a little better.
Indeed, just as Cantory and Gerina thought, Felic raised his sign again after he raised the bid of 6,500,000 gold coins. However, this time, Felic didn't increase the bid by 2,000,000 gold coins. Instead, he only increased the bid by 1,000,000 gold coins, and made a bid of 7,500,000 gold coins.
"I knew it! Let it go, Gerina, "Cantory said as he clapped his hands. The tempo of a bid of 1,000,000 gold coins was completely different from that of 2,000,000 gold coins. It involved a very subtle psychological reaction. Now, he was certain that Lin Li wanted to use the painting to trick Gerina. Hence, there was no need for him to do anything else.
Gerina was rather convinced by Cantory when it came to scheming and scheming. In other words, in the eyes of the Sea Clan, humans were very cunning and treacherous. Hence, Gerina didn't object to Cantory's judgment at all, and simply sat back in his seat. He threw the sign in his hand onto the table, and said with a smile, "Haha, that felt good, that felt good. Let's see how that Felic is going to put on an act in front of me this time. I'm afraid he can't even cry now."
Cantory had schemed against Lin Li many times, but he had never gained the upper hand once. This time, it was undoubtedly a memorable occasion for Cantory. If it weren't for the fact that he had to continue participating in the auction, he would have gone out to find a place to drink to his heart's content.
After making three consecutive bids, Grand Duke Wedi finally put down the wooden hammer in his hand and confirmed the success of the transaction. He announced, "No bids for the third time. The final owner of this painting of Heldanos is President Felic from the Tower of Dusk!"
All of a sudden, everyone in the venue shifted their attention to the private room where Lin Li was. They couldn't understand why anyone would be willing to spend more than 7,000,000 gold coins on a painting. Perhaps at this moment, Lin Li had already been labeled as a lunatic and a fool in everyone's hearts.
However, Lin Li, who had gotten the painting, couldn't be bothered to pay attention to it at all. What a joke, this painting was left behind by a Guru of Inscription who was not inferior to him. Even 70,000,000 gold coins would be worth it, let alone 7,000,000 gold coins. To Lin Li, this was definitely a treasure he had picked up. What was there to be dissatisfied about?
At this moment, someone knocked on the door of the private room again, and Prince Monteri personally brought the painting over. After completing the transaction, Prince Monteri did not leave immediately. Instead, he asked tentatively, "President Felic, this painting belongs to you now. However, I'm very curious. If you don't mind, can you tell me what's so special about this painting that you're so attracted to it? "
Rumors had already spread outside that Lin Li had bought the painting because he failed to scheme against Greena, and was tricked by him instead. However, Prince Monteri knew that Lin Li had long been interested in this painting. Hence, he naturally wouldn't believe the rumors.
Lin Li did not hide it. After putting away the painting, he said to Prince Monteri, "Speaking of which, I have to thank you, Prince Monteri. Actually, this painting was of no use to ordinary people. However, I saw some knowledge in the field of inscription from this painting in the exhibition hall previously. This painting is just like Heldanos's inscription notes, which record all his fields and experiences in the field of inscription. However, most people won't be able to tell these things. "
Lin Li was telling the truth, but Prince Monteri did not really believe it. It was just a painting, so how could it become some kind of inscription notes? If it was really that amazing, how could the Octopus Clan not be able to tell that there were many powerhouses in the field of inscription? Why would they give the painting as a diplomatic gift instead?
However, Lin Li had already said so much, and Prince Monteri could not ask further. Hence, he had no choice but to shake his head and give up. He dryly said, "Congratulations, President Felic. The auction is not over yet, so I won't disturb you any further."
Although Prince Monteri did not deliberately spread the news, Lin Li's explanation still spread quickly in the venue. However, in everyone's opinion, Lin Li's explanation was just a lie made up for the sake of saving face.
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