Chapter 955: Three Can Keep A Secret If Two Are Dead

[1]

"This Great Nymph King Blue Gold Fruit starts at fifteen hundred amethystine coins. Each bid increment must be no less than one hundred. If you want it, fight for it. In the upcoming matchmaking tournament, it might prove a crucial asset. Taking it during battle means boosting your power and accelerating recovery; taking it at any time means extending your life. I’m sure you understand its value. Let the bidding begin!"

With the Tenebrous Demon Emperor's announcement, the auction atmosphere instantly ignited.

"Three thousand amethystine coins, VIP Room Eight!"

The lively auction house fell silent.

Inside, Tang San retracted his hand from the bidding button with a smile, while the elders around him looked at him with admiration.

If the Substitute Lotus Seed sold for over four thousand, why should the Blue Gold Fruit be worth less? Tang San was setting the price, and also saving everyone time. Certainly, price manipulation was not allowed, but it was one thing to have someone else push the price up under a false pretense of bidding, and another thing altogether to raise the price on your own items.

Obviously, this also came with a risk, namely that people could simply choose to no longer bid. In that case, the item owner would have to pay for their own item—of course, they’d pay it to themselves, but since transactions were done through the auction house, they’d have to pay the very non-negligible transaction fee. Not only would they not gain anything, they’d lose a sizable chunk of amethystine instead.

Meanwhile, in the VIP rooms, countless powerful figures were fuming.

Shameless... Absolutely shameless! What blatant price gouging!

Everyone knew VIP Room Eight housed the Blue Gold Tree clan, so what could they do if the damn trees decided to ask for more money? Had this been the first item, there might have been a boycott. But since the Everblaze Sunflower had just gone for 2,600 and the Substitute Lotus Seed for 4,200, and Blue Gold Fruits were arguably even more valuable... the price really wasn’t unreasonable. Assuming only two or three such fruits could be produced in a lifetime, three thousand seemed more than fair.

Tang San smirked. He had what seemed to be unlimited wealth at his disposal, but no matter how much you have, if you keep spending, at one point or another, you reach the bottom of the sack. He had to also make money.

"Three thousand one hundred amethystine coins, VIP Room Four." Sure enough, a new bid came instantly.

"Three thousand two hundred amethystine coins, ..."

Bidding enthusiasm remained undampened. Tang San didn’t bid again; once was enough. Any more might cause resentment, and that wasn’t his goal. Not to mention, he didn’t feel like being admonished by the auction house.

"Four thousand amethystine coins from VIP Room One." The Celestial Fox clan made its first move, but instead of settling the matter, it only heightened the excitement around the Blue Gold Fruit.

If even the Celestial Fox clan wanted it this badly, how could it possibly be subpar?

The price thus exploded once more, even surprising Tang San. By now, all bidders were from VIP rooms—representatives of Emperors, in other words.

"Four thousand eight hundred amethystine coins, VIP Room Two."

Eh? The Scorching Sunflower clan?

Tang San knew something was up, and sure enough, as soon as they bid, the Sunborne Nymph Emperor’s voice followed.

—I'll help you raise the price. If I win it, just give me one extra.

Tang San winced. Karma sure came fast. The Sunborne Nymph Emperor was just like him in this respect, not the kind to swallow a loss.

"Don’t tell me you’ve never had one,"

Tang San said helplessly.

—Certainly, but good things are never too many. Even if it won’t extend my life, it can still nourish my life force. Not to mention, with the Ancestral Tree awakened, these fruits are bound to be even more potent.

These words reminded Tang San of what the Grand Elder had told him, and he was suddenly struck by an idea.

"Your Majesty, I have something to tell you."

—Speak.

"I’ve never produced a Blue Gold Fruit. I’ve been saving my strength because I was planning to do it only after becoming an Emperor. I am not sure how good the first fruit would be, but I am quite convinced the effect wouldn’t be limited to a mere hundred years of lifespan."

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The Emperor fell silent. Only after a long break did his divine consciousness voice echo again.

—Three can keep a secret if two are dead. Understood?

"Understood,"

Tang San replied immediately.

—Good.

The Sunborne Nymph Emperor’s divine consciousness vanished.

Tang San smiled faintly. He understood exactly what that meant: this information was not something that could be shared with anyone at all. Thus, by revealing it to the Sunborne Nymph Emperor, he’d essentially made an offer. The real value of this offer—in other words, how effective his Blue Gold Fruit might be—was up to the Emperor’s own imagination.

As for whether Tang San could actually produce a fruit... that was a whole different matter. After all, he wasn’t even a real Blue Gold Tree. Although he bore the Ancestral Tree’s imprint, producing a Blue Gold Fruit would require him to accept its full inheritance and turn his body into an actual Blue Gold Tree body. Tang San obviously had no intention of doing that, but no one else apart from him had any way of knowing. Essentially, it was a beautiful illusion that no one could possibly see through.

"Five thousand amethystine coins, VIP Room Six."

The Behemoth clan’s quite rich,

Tang San mused. Five thousand was a more than satisfactory amount. It had even exceeded his expectations, and with all the "marketing" surrounding it, it had indeed far exceeded its actual value.

"Please wait a moment."

Tang San’s voice echoed from VIP Room Eight, halting the auction.

The Tenebrous Demon Emperor frowned slightly, looking toward Tang San as he stepped out.

Tang San’s eight dorsal spines shimmered faintly with blue light, and his blue-golden attire, along with the rich life aura he exuded, made his identity plain for everyone to see.

Tang San bowed slightly to the Tenebrous Demon Emperor. "Your Majesty, as the provider of this item, I have a few words I’d like to share. Don’t worry, my intention is not to raise the price."

After a brief consideration, the Tenebrous Demon Emperor nodded. "Keep it short."

Tang San smiled and glanced around at the VIP rooms. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your earlier introduction. Indeed, Blue Gold Fruits are incredibly difficult to produce, especially those from Great Nymph Kings. My clan’s elders usually refuse to grow them, as it costs them their life essence and practically ends all hope of becoming an Emperor.

"Perhaps you’d say achieving Emperorhood was never likely. That might be true, but the worst thing is losing hope. We want to preserve that hope. After all, our clan only has four Great Nymph Kings, including myself. Every fruit from a Blue Gold Tree Great Nymph King is a priceless treasure.

"Is it worth five thousand amethystine coins? I believe so, but others may not. Especially with the matchmaking tournament ahead, demand far exceeds supply, and we don’t want to be considered greedy. We are already under enough scrutiny as things stand. In all honesty, five thousand is a fairly high price, but just now, I noted that rooms one, two, four, six, and ten are ready to keep bidding. If this continues, the price might go over six thousand, but we don’t wish to inflate it that much.

"With that in mind, I have a proposal. We have enough Great Nymph King-level Blue Gold Fruits to satisfy all five bidders and save one or two for ourselves. So rather than fighting each other, why not agree to split them? You may take one per room, for five thousand each. Our clan wields the light of life, and we hope that light reaches as far across the continent as possible. But I must regretfully inform you that after this auction, we likely won’t be able to produce another Blue Gold Fruit of this level in the next hundred years. So if you disagree, feel free to continue bidding."

1. This was originally the title of the previous chapter, but the actual line only appears in this chapter and it’s completely disconnected from what happens in 954. The original is something along the lines of "heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know" meaning that no matter how much you try to keep a secret, things will eventually come to surface. ☜