Sitting among the crowd, Tang Yan was utterly dumbfounded. He had still underestimated the value of the Youth-Preserving Pill!

In his previous life on Earth, Tang Yan knew that many women would spend a fortune on plastic surgery and cosmetics just to look beautiful. He never imagined that in a world where martial arts reigned supreme, women would be equally fanatic in their pursuit of beauty.

This auction wasn't just women bidding; quite a few men had also joined the fray.

Those with partners bid for their loved ones, while those pursuing their goddesses bid to win their favor.

The competition on the floor was exceptionally fierce.

"Ten thousand stars!"

In just a few minutes, the price of the Youth-Preserving Pill had broken through the ten-thousand mark!

Reaching this height, the price merely paused for a brief moment before immediately climbing as others chased it.

"Ten thousand three hundred!"

"Eleven thousand!"

"..."

"Twenty thousand Star Value!" The price kept climbing, though the speed of the calls gradually slowed. Of course, slowing down did not mean stopping.

Calls for bids continued to ring out from all directions.

"Twenty-three thousand stars!"

"Twenty-seven thousand!"

"Twenty-seven thousand five hundred!"

"Twenty-nine thousand stars!"

"..."

"Forty thousand stars!"

The bidding pressed on. As the auctioneer, Du Shu listened to the steadily rising price, his expression completely dazed.

He originally thought that reaching ten thousand Star Value would be the limit. He never expected the current price to soar so far beyond his expectations.

Du Shu was dumbfounded. Wan Fei and Lin Dongxue, who had wanted to keep the pill for themselves, were also dumbfounded.

Tang Yan was dumbfounded!

Elder Zhen was dumbfounded!

Elder Huo, who had been performing appraisals the whole time, was equally dumbfounded!

A pill that offered absolutely no benefit to cultivation had actually fetched such an astronomical price?

This old man had commanded respect in the alchemy world of the Tingxiang Kingdom for decades, yet he had never seen a single pill sell for so much!

When the price soared to fifty thousand Star Value, a crisp voice suddenly rang out: "Seventy thousand Star Value!"

As this bid fell, everyone felt that the Azure Dragon Academy had truly gone mad!

Jumping from fifty thousand straight to seventy thousand? The difference of twenty thousand Star Value, if converted to silver, was an extra tens of millions!

Who exactly possessed such an extravagant hand?

When the crowd saw a graceful, poised young woman slowly stand up, they could not help but exclaim, "It's Miss Zi Yuan!"

"Zi Yuan? The Zi Yuan ranked third on the Heaven Ranking?" some freshmen asked curiously.

"Who else could it be!"

"Haha, I didn't expect even a goddess to care about her looks."

Zi Yuan's appearance successfully caused a massive stir, and the bidding halted right there. It was unclear if it was because the price was simply too high, or if no one wanted to offend Zi Yuan.

Tang Yan was fairly satisfied with this final price. This auction was finally coming to an end.

Everyone seemed reluctant to leave. Several grabbed Du Shu and asked, "Brother Du, will there be more auctions in the future?"

Du Shu hesitated for a moment before saying, "I can't guarantee anything for now. Let me go back and discuss it with our leader. Once it's confirmed, I'll immediately announce the results."

At the end, Du Shu added, "These pills are extremely precious. Both the refining techniques and the medicinal ingredients demand very strict requirements."

Hearing this, everyone expressed their understanding. These pills were completely unheard of to them; they certainly wouldn't appear frequently.

With the auction concluding in complete success, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Du Shu was so giddy with joy that it went straight to his head. Just as he was about to leave, Fang Xuan hurried over, pulling the Pill Cauldron group along to thank Elder Huo. "Thank you, Elder Huo, for your immense support. Otherwise, the auction would never have gone so smoothly."

"Thank you, Elder Zhen!" The others finally snapped out of their daze and quickly bowed to express their gratitude.

"It's no matter. Where did all these pills come from?" Elder Huo asked the question he truly cared about.

"They were all given to us by our leader," Du Shu answered truthfully.

"That kid Tang Yan?" Elder Huo was somewhat surprised.

"Yes, do you know him?" Du Shu was momentarily caught off guard.

"We've crossed paths a few times. You've made a good profit today, so go back and celebrate properly. If you see Tang Yan, tell him to come find me at the Pill Pavilion." After leaving these instructions, Elder Huo departed.

Once Elder Huo was out of sight, Du Shu smacked his lips, saying with boundless admiration, "Brother Yan is truly impressive. He even managed to awe Elder Huo."

"Don't change the subject. Did you really just sell the Youth-Preserving Pill? For money, you don't even care about our sibling bond? I guess our youth isn't worth a single coin, huh?" Wan Fei glared fiercely at Du Shu.

Facing the furious Wan Fei, Du Shu, who had been ecstatic just moments before, instantly had his face fall. "Big Sister, it's not that I wanted to sell it! My hand was forced by the circumstances!

"Look at that price-seventy thousand Star Value! That's enough for us to move into the Four-Star Dormitory!

"Besides, the final bidder was Zi Yuan, ranked third on the Heaven Ranking. We can't out-wrestle a thigh with a mere arm, right? If we got on her bad side, our newly established faction would instantly make a powerful enemy..."

Wan Fei wasn't blind to the larger picture, she just couldn't bear to part with the Youth-Preserving Pill. What kind of sane person wouldn't go crazy over something like that?

She huffed twice but didn't pursue the matter any further.

Although Lin Dongxue was also reluctant, she had seen the Youth-Preserving Pill back in Yun City. She tugged at Wan Fei's sleeve and comforted her, "If I'm not mistaken, the Youth-Preserving Pill was refined by Tang Yan. As long as he still has the medicinal ingredients, we can just ask him to refine another one for us."

"Dongxue, for real?" Before Wan Fei could even reply, Du Shu jumped up and asked.

"What are you shouting for?!" Wan Fei grabbed Du Shu by the ear.

"Let go, let go quickly!" After finally breaking free, Du Shu rubbed his ear, grimacing as he said, "If we can refine a few more, won't we strike it absolutely rich?"

"Keep dreaming." The group was collectively speechless.

When Du Shu and the others finally arrived back at the dormitory, they froze in their tracks.

Rubbing their eyes vigorously and staring at the person sitting in the chair, they cried out in surprise, "Tang Yan!"

"Haha, long time no see. You haven't let your cultivation fall behind, have you?" Tang Yan asked with a smile.

"Of course not. Everyone has made tremendous progress." The others grinned.

Sensing the auras emanating from them, Tang Yan nodded. They were indeed noticeably stronger than they had been half a month ago.

"Tang Yan, I auctioned off all the pills you gave me last time!" Du Shu exclaimed excitedly.

"I saw. Very well done. How much Star Value do you have now?" Tang Yan asked.

"One hundred and twenty-six thousand, nine hundred in total." When Du Shu announced the final figure from the auction, everyone couldn't help but click their tongues in sheer amazement.

People worked their tails off in the academy and barely earned any Star Value, yet a single auction had raked in so much!

"Although this sum isn't massive, it can serve as our starting capital. How do you plan to use it?" Tang Yan asked with a smile.

Du Shu was stunned. All this money was merely starting capital?

He initially thought Tang Yan was joking, but seeing the serious expression on his face, Du Shu said, "Then I'll speak frankly."

"Speak boldly," Tang Yan nodded.

Du Shu took a deep breath. His aura suddenly shifted, causing the others to raise their eyebrows.

At this moment, Du Shu seemed to have transformed into an entirely different person. The confidence radiating from within him made it impossible to underestimate him.

"Although the Azure Dragon Academy is just a school, it boasts a massive population, and many of its disciples come from distinguished backgrounds. It is a market that cannot be underestimated.

"Next, I plan to continue using pills to carve open this market, but our methods won't be limited to just auctions."