Han Chen and Song Ming were not mistaken in their thoughts.
Lin Hao did not bid on the bronze sword on the stage simply because he liked its appearance.
Instead, a trace of spiritual energy was leaking from the bronze sword on the stage.
Lin Hao initially thought he was mistaken, but after activating his Qi observation technique, he discovered that spiritual energy was indeed emanating from the sword's body.
Swords with spiritual energy leaking from their bodies were only found in legends.
Lin Hao had not expected to encounter one today.
As Lin Hao stared at the ancient bronze sword on the auction stage, a voice rang out.
"Five million five hundred thousand!"
The voice came from Director Li in the right side of the hall.
He stared in Lin Hao's direction, his eyes burning with anger.
He had almost secured this sword.
Unexpectedly, someone had interfered.
As Director Li's eyes, filled with rage, fixed on Lin Hao, Lin Hao calmly said, "Six million."
This price caused an uproar in the hall.
Everyone was surprised that a mere bronze sword had fetched such a high price.
At the same time, Director Li in the right side of the hall was so angry his nose almost turned crooked.
While he enjoyed collecting ancient swords, he was not foolish.
Six million was his limit.
With these thoughts, Director Li shot Lin Hao an angry glance, then sat down and withdrew from the bidding.
Lin Hao ignored Director Li's furious gaze, quietly waiting for the cheongsam-clad woman on stage to make the final call.
Although six million was a high price, it was insignificant compared to a sword with leaking spiritual energy.
For such an item, even sixty million or six hundred million would be a bargain.
It could be said that an ancient bronze sword like the one before him was immeasurable by mere money.
"Six million for the first time!"
"Six million for the second time!"
"Six million for the third..."
"Seven million!"
Just as the cheongsam-clad woman was about to strike the gavel, a voice suddenly cut through the air.
The bidder was none other than Ye Weicai, from the first row on the left.
Ye Weicai's bid surprised even Lin Hao.
Lin Hao looked at Ye Weicai, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Although he didn't understand antiques, it was unlikely that someone would bid seven million for a seemingly ordinary bronze sword unless they, like him, had detected the spiritual energy emanating from it.
Why spend seven million on a plain-looking bronze sword when there were so many other things to do?
Lin Hao looked at Ye Weicai, wondering if he had also sensed the spiritual energy from the ancient bronze sword.
However, Lin Hao soon shook his head.
Ye Weicai was an ordinary person; how could he possibly detect spiritual energy from the ancient bronze sword?
If that wasn't the reason, then Ye Weicai was simply trying to drive up the price.
But why? He hadn't offended Ye Weicai.
Why would Ye Weicai suddenly raise the bid?
Lost in thought, Lin Hao shook his head and raised his paddle. "Eight million."
"Nine million!"
Ye Weicai bid almost without hesitation.
Lin Hao's brow furrowed slightly.
From this, it seemed Ye Weicai was deliberately inflating the price.
But why?
As Lin Hao pondered this, Han Chen tugged at him and whispered, "Brother, it seems Ye Weicai is deliberately raising the price."
"Did something unpleasant happen between you two?"
"No, I only met him this morning."
Lin Hao waved his hand and raised his paddle again. "Ten million."
Hearing Lin Hao's bid, Han Chen's expression changed, and he anxiously said, "Brother, isn't ten million a bit too much for this bronze sword?"
"It's fine."
Lin Hao waved his hand, his expression calm.
However, he had already decided to back down.
Ten million for such a legendary sword was not much.
But Lin Hao knew that if Ye Weicai was indeed deliberately driving up the price, then acquiring the bronze sword would cost far more than ten million.
Therefore, Lin Hao had decided to give up.
If Ye Weicai continued to bid, he would withdraw.
At the same time, as Lin Hao was thinking this, Ye Weicai also began to hesitate.
In his opinion, ten million had far exceeded the intrinsic value of the bronze sword.
He wondered if Lin Hao would continue to bid if he raised the price again.
If he bid and Lin Hao didn't follow, he would suffer a huge loss.
Spending over ten million on such a bronze sword would be foolish.
However, if he stopped now and let Lin Hao easily acquire the bronze sword, it would be too easy for Lin Hao.
With these thoughts, after much deliberation, Ye Weicai gritted his teeth and raised his paddle. "Eleven million!"
He believed Lin Hao would definitely follow up with a bid.
Otherwise, Lin Hao wouldn't have intervened halfway and kept bidding.
This was enough to show that Lin Hao desperately wanted the bronze sword.
Ye Weicai made up his mind.
After Lin Hao bid this time, he would stop.
However, as he was thinking this and waiting for Lin Hao to bid, Lin Hao remained silent.
Seeing Lin Hao's prolonged silence, Ye Weicai's expression changed.
Meanwhile, the cheongsam-clad woman on the auction stage picked up the gavel and began to call out.
"Eleven million for the first time!"
"Eleven million for the second time!"
"Eleven million for the thir—third time!"
"Crack!"
The gavel fell, and the cheongsam-clad woman's voice followed.
"Congratulations, President Ye!"
As the cheongsam-clad woman finished speaking, the entire hall fell into an unusual silence.
However, many people were suppressing laughter.
Ye Weicai took a deep breath, and the anger in his heart finally subsided.
Then, Ye Weicai looked at Lin Hao.
But Lin Hao stared straight ahead, his expression calm, as if nothing had happened.
"Damn it!" Ye Weicai clenched his fists, almost smashing them onto the table in front of him.
Seeing Ye Weicai's furious expression, Tang Hongye tried to comfort him. "Old Ye, don't get worked up. It's only just begun."
"I don't believe he won't bid on anything else after this one item?"
Hearing Tang Hongye's words, Ye Weicai nodded and muttered fiercely, "Damn it, later, whenever he makes a move, I'll drive up the price until it's unbearable!"
"Dad, Uncle Ye, what are you talking about?" Tang Ziyuan looked at Tang Hongye and Ye Weicai, her expression confused.
At the same time, she also looked at Lin Hao with a hint of bewilderment.
She hadn't expected Lin Hao to spend ten million on a bronze sword.
Although the bronze sword was eventually bought by Uncle Ye, she still felt a sense of confusion.
Because, in her impression, Lin Hao shouldn't be interested in things like bronze swords.