Joseph broke out in a cold sweat. “Mr. Wilder, you can’t counterbid. I bet that the bidder in lounge No. 1 is from the Strauss family. You’ll suffer if you get on their bad side.”
Zia, too, advised Sebastian, “Dad is right. You might have the backing of the Sanders, but you’d better not mess with the Strausses because Phaedra Island has historically been isolated. That’s unless you plan to stay here forever.”
Sebastian was not oblivious to the risks. The Strauss family was almost equally powerful as the Sanders. Even the Supreme Nexus founded by Sebastian was nothing compared to it.
He did not intend to make enemies, but he would not back down from procuring the Aether Script, which was important to him.
“Ten point five billion dollars!” Sebastian offered again, leaving Joseph and Zia sweating helplessly.
The amount caused an uproar in the crowd. Ten point five billion dollars was enough money to build a powerful sect. Many felt that the Aether Script was not worth that amount of money. After all, the script was useless if one failed to decode the major secret it contained.
Lana was both stunned and worried for Sebastian. She hadn’t expected him to spend a fortune on the Aether Script, and she had the urge to tell him to calm down, but she had to maintain her professionalism as an auctioneer in a hall full of crowds.
Besides, the script was jointly owned by the Four Great Immortal Sects.
“Bidder 6697 made a bid of 10.5 billion dollars. Any counterbid?” Lana directed the question at the bidder in lounge No. 1. Though she wished for the mysterious bidder to counter with a higher offer, she was worried that Sebastian might continue bidding.
She waited for a response with mixed feelings. Then, she assumed the bidder had given up after a prolonged silence from lounge No. 1.
“If no one is interested in countering the bid, I’ll announce the results. Ten point five million dollars going once! Going twice! Sold! Congratulations, sir!” Lana wondered if she should be feeling happy or sorry for Sebastian.
After years of studying the Aether Script, no one on Phaedra Island successfully broke the code, to the point that they started questioning the authenticity of the rumor. The script might not contain any secrets at all! That was the reason they decided to auction it.
To Lana’s dismay, Sebastian spent billions to purchase the Aether Script. Everyone believed he was fooled, thinking he might be rich but dumb. Some even taunted him behind his back, calling him a dimwit and a waster.
Sebastian, however, paid no attention to the gossip about him. A wave of relief washed through him when the deal came through.
Sebastian was wealthy, but most of his assets were illiquid. All he had in hand was a little
more than 10.5 billion dollars, which meant he had spent nearly everything on the Aether Script.
In fact, his last bid was his final attempt. Had the Strauss family topped his bid, he’d have no choice but to give up. Fortunately, the worst did not happen, and he managed to secure the Aether Script.
He could not wait to pore over the Aether Script. He’d thank the heavens if the script contained the techniques for the second transformation. If not, he would be crushed to have spent billions on something useless.
He immediately went backstage to pay for the Aether Script and emerged with the script and the century-old dragon root-the only two items he bid in the auction this time.
“Sebastian!” Lana jogged over to him, and they left the auction together.
Sighing, she lamented, “You shouldn’t have bought the Aether Script!”
“I’m fine with spending the money on the script as long as it’s not a counterfeit!” he joked. “It can’t be a counterfeit. All the auctions on Phaedra Island are honest. But it was a waste of money to bid for the Aether Script. You won’t get anything out of it.”
“Money comes and goes all the time. I can always earn what I spend. It’d be a different story if I figured out the secrets in the script, though. I’d hit the jackpot.” he replied.
“I hope so.” Lana did not seem confident as no one on Phaedra Island could decipher the script after ten generations.
Bruce sighed when he learned that Sebastian won the bid for the Aether Script. However, it was too late to say anything.
“Mr. Sanders, I’d like to refine some pills. May I borrow your secret room, the one you use for cultivation?” Sebastian questioned.
“Of course.” Nodding, Bruce agreed without hesitation. His generosity made Lana and Harvey a little jealous as they were never allowed into the secret room.
“Thank you, Mr. Sanders,” said Sebastian.
Later, Sebastian went to the hotel and came back with a bunch of herbs for pill refining. His plan was to refine the pills with the century-old dragon root as soon as possible.
He brought the herbs into the secret room. The room contained a high-quality alchemy pot and a small Spirit Gathering Formation, which would speed up the process of cultivation or pill refinement.
Instead of working on pill refinement, he first reviewed the Aether Script. Cultivating techniques was more important than refining pills. Without the help of pills, he could master the techniques in the script within a year.
However, without the techniques, no amount of pills could help him advance to another level.
On the surface, the Aether Script he won at the auction resembled the first script from before. He picked up the script and sniffed it. His nose detected a faint smell of blood, which suggested that someone before him had tried to figure out the secrets by using blood.
The discovery was not unexpected. The people of Phaedra Island would certainly have considered such a simple solution after years of attempting to decode the script.
Still, the blood in each person varied. More accurately, each individual displayed different physical attributes. Even if their blood didn’t work, that did not mean Sebastian’s blood wouldn’t.
Without hesitation, he grabbed a sharp dagger and cut his wrist, dripping the blood on top of the script.
As expected, a blinding light soon appeared as more blood dripped onto the script. The situation played out in the same way as last time, which heightened his anticipation.
