Chapter 164: The Art of Being a Sucker

“What do you mean?!”

The smile on Li Moxin’s face was like boiling oil doused with icy water in the dead of winter—instantly freezing, then shattering, leaving behind nothing but a hideous, feral wreckage.

His divine sense transformed into an invisible blood-colored sword, carrying overwhelming rage and humiliation as it crazily stabbed toward the private room where Chu Feng was located!

However, the moment that divine sense sword touched the outer wall of the private room, it melted away soundlessly, like spring snow meeting the blazing sun.

The top-tier restrictions of Thousand Illusions Pavilion—how could they be shaken by a mere Golden Core cultivator?

“It means nothing special.”

Chu Feng’s lazy voice, like that of a wealthy lord who had just woken from a nap, carried a trace of satisfied leisure as it slowly echoed through his mind.

“It simply means exactly what it says.”

“Thank you, Young Lord Li, for using your own personal funds to conduct a massive ‘brand promotion’ for our Ascension Group in the high-end market of the City That Never Sleeps.”

“You helped all our potential competitors accurately receive one message:”

“That we are a group from the Eastern Wasteland—simple-minded, rich, and only interested in second-rate medicinal materials… premium chives.”

“This ‘marketing expense,’ if converted into spirit stones, would be worth at least two to three hundred thousand.”

“Now that you have paid it for us, everyone in our group is deeply grateful to you.”

“You… you people!”

Li Moxin trembled with fury, his teeth grinding loudly. His handsome yet sinister face twisted from blood congestion,

“Nonsense! You didn’t win that flower at all—this is just bluffing!”

“Who said we didn’t get it?”

Chu Feng chuckled softly, the sound filled with a cat-toying-with-a-mouse kind of mockery.

“Oh, right, I forgot to tell you.”

“The one you spent seven hundred thousand on was a ‘substandard product’ we deliberately gave up.”

“The one we obtained through an ‘internal channel’ has better quality, and as for the price… it was far more reasonable.”

As the words fell, Chu Feng’s voice transmission ended abruptly, like a blade severing the final strand of hope.

“Pff!”

Inside the Blood God Palace’s private room, Li Moxin could no longer suppress it. A mouthful of reversed blood sprayed onto the jade table before him, staining the warm, lustrous jade a vivid crimson.

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared viciously at the “Supreme Void Illusory Dream Flower” that had just been sold on the stage, then glanced at the Ascension Group’s private room opposite—calm and tranquil, as if nothing at all had happened.

An unprecedented sense of humiliation—of being toyed with like a monkey—instantly devoured his rationality like the most vicious inner demon!

A sucker!

He—Li Moxin, Young Lord of the Blood Sea, ranked sixth on the Mortal Realm Prodigies List—had actually been treated as a sucker in full public view!

He had spent seven hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones, not only failing to strike his opponent, but instead helping them put on a cover act and serving as a stepping stone!

Most humiliating of all was that he couldn’t even speak of it!

If he dared shout that he had been schemed against by Chu Feng, no one would pity him—people would only laugh at him for being a brainless idiot!

This silent loss—he had no choice but to swallow it!

“Chu… Feng!”

Li Moxin squeezed out those two words through clenched teeth. The venom in his gaze was nearly tangible, as if it could pierce through all obstacles.

Meanwhile, inside the Ascension Group’s private room, the atmosphere was the complete opposite—filled with warmth and delight.

Leng Yanran carefully held a specially made warm jade box. Inside it, a perfectly preserved “Supreme Void Illusory Dream Flower” lay quietly. The flowing spiritual radiance it contained was even richer than that of the one auctioned earlier.

A faint flush of excitement appeared on her usually cool and delicate face. When she looked at Chu Feng, her eyes sparkled with an unusual brilliance.

“President… this… what exactly is going on?”

Feng Zhiruo was completely dumbfounded. She had handled the bidding from start to finish and considered herself the core executor of the plan, yet she had no idea when this flower had been acquired.

“Commercial competition is all about information asymmetry.”

Chu Feng calmly poured himself a full cup of spirit tea, his demeanor indescribably carefree.

“When everyone thinks you’re deploying your main force at Point A, your real killing move is already waiting at Point B to harvest.”

He raised his cup toward Yao Yue’s projection and smiled:

“Of course, we also have to thank the Pavilion Master of Thousand Illusions Pavilion for providing a ‘green channel for off-site bulk transactions’ to small and micro enterprises like ours.”

Yao Yue covered her mouth and laughed softly, casting him a charming sideways glance.

“President Chu, don’t put a tall hat on me. Thousand Illusions Pavilion recognizes spirit stones, not people.”

“It just so happened that a certain guest urgently needed funds and was willing to sell a Supreme Void Illusory Dream Flower at an ‘internal price’ of six hundred thousand, and you just happened to be our ‘Supreme VIP.’ Naturally, I prioritized meeting your needs.”

That being said, no one present was foolish.

How could this be a coincidence?

This was clearly a grand open stratagem Chu Feng had already laid out before the auction even began!

He had long anticipated that Li Moxin would come to cause trouble, so he never intended to clash head-on in the open!

By using Yao Yue’s intelligence network and trading channels, he had locked onto another seller in advance and completed the transaction at an irresistibly tempting price.

Everything that happened on the stage earlier—from Feng Zhiruo’s determined bidding to Leng Yanran’s disappointed withdrawal—had been a tailor-made, zero-cost “fishing enforcement operation” designed exclusively for Li Moxin!

Feng Zhiruo looked at the young man before her who was chatting and laughing with ease, and stormy waves surged within her heart.

She prided herself on coming from one of the Major Families of the Western Regions and having seen countless schemes and intrigues, but tactics like Chu Feng’s—where human psychology, information leverage, rule loopholes, and network resources were fused together so perfectly, layer upon layer, without a single leak—were something she had never even heard of!

This was no longer mere plotting—this was the art of dimensionality reduction!

At the side, Jian Wuxin remained expressionless, yet the veins on the hand gripping his iron sword bulged visibly.

For the first time, he realized that the brain was truly far more useful than a sword.

Zhao Wuji, meanwhile, made a bold entry in his little notebook, titled:

【An Analysis of Innovative Applications of “Bait Marketing” and “Channel Supremacy” in High-End Auction Scenarios】

He summarized excitedly:

“President’s move was a textbook-level example of ‘asymmetric warfare’!”

“Not only was the core strategic objective achieved at zero cost, but it also struck the competitor’s ‘cash flow’ and ‘brand image,’ while simultaneously deepening strategic cooperation with the ‘platform channel partner’!”

“One stone, three birds—no, one stone, ten thousand birds! Brilliant! Truly brilliant!”

At that moment, the auctioneer’s voice rang out once more from the high platform. This time, it carried an unprecedented mix of solemnity and excitement.

“Everyone! After a long wait, we finally welcome the last item of this Heaven-Piercing Auction—and also the most anticipated ultimate treasure!”

As his words fell, the atmosphere of the entire venue instantly shifted from the earlier clamor to a suffocating silence.

All eyes locked tightly onto the high platform.

A massive display stand forged from ten-thousand-year black crystal slowly rose from beneath the stage.

Upon it lay a shattered yet ancient metal skeleton, emitting an aura of boundless antiquity, desolation, and an alien presence utterly incompatible with this world.

Its structure was filled with straight lines, gears, and rivets, radiating a cold, orderly sense of “industrial beauty.”

It was that object—capable of overturning the entire Mortal Realm’s artifact-refining system—

The remains of a previous-era Traverser!

“The value of this item surely needs no elaboration from this old man!”

The auctioneer’s voice trembled.

“Starting price: three million top-grade spirit stones! Each increment shall be no less than one hundred thousand!”

Boom!

The entire venue erupted completely!

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