The Auction is About to Begin

To be honest.

When they first formulated this plan, the data they had in hand was merely a series of deductions Lan Qingyou had made based on her own knowledge.

However, after actually chatting with the clan leaders of various races for a while, they realized that the reality was not at all what they had imagined.

Instances of a tribe selling off some of the ancient blood they had worked so hard to obtain—or simply storing it away—because they lacked the funds to craft evolution items were everywhere.

Some had even brought their stock to the auction house earlier for appraisal and registration, hoping to auction it off for some spending money.

This resulted in tribes that were originally supposed to have at least ten or twenty thousand members now only having three to five thousand.

Perhaps, however, it was precisely because of their dwindling populations...

...that these small and micro-sized races felt so envious of everything on the Witch race's side. After a few drinks, they began to pour out their grievances.

They spoke of how difficult life was, how they were frequently bullied by larger tribes with more people, and how the hunting grounds they had finally found were being snatched away by the more numerous Transmigrators.

In short, everyone was having a hard time, and everyone was struggling just to stay alive.

Doesn't this provide the perfect opening for Diana and the others to work their magic?

But there was no need to rush this matter.

They needed to continue feeling out the situation to see how many of the two hundred-plus clan leaders present were dissatisfied with the status quo.

Although a tribe of three to five thousand people was small, if they could gather dozens or even a hundred of them, the total number would be quite substantial.

Thus, Diana and the others quietly recorded the names of every race that expressed dissatisfaction with their current situation.

Whoosh—! Boom!

Just as everyone was chatting enthusiastically, the sound of fireworks blooming echoed from outside.

This was the second time, and it signaled the official start of the auction.

“Clan leaders, the auction is about to begin. Please follow our staff and enter the auction house in an orderly fashion. We have prepared private booths for all of you.”

As the second round of fireworks detonated, Bei Adolis, dressed in a crimson evening gown, took on the role of the master of ceremonies, microphone in hand.

The guests were then guided by the staff to the auction hall they had been waiting for.

The venue was not a temporary structure but a grand lecture hall built alongside the Witch Academy.

It had originally been intended for Lan Qingyou to use whenever she decided to give a lecture, but it ended up being used for this purpose first.

This venue could accommodate a hundred thousand people simultaneously.

The main hall could seat ninety-nine thousand people, while the various private booths combined could seat another thousand.

The clan leaders were arranged in these booths in batches.

So...

Although millions of tourists had arrived, most had already headed to other cities or were off sightseeing in various parts of the Abandoned Land, which was now entirely protected by magic shields.

In reality, not many were actually able to enter the auction hall, or rather, not many were qualified to enter.

Tickets were available, but for the sake of fairness and to avoid unnecessary trouble, Bei Adolis had simply released nearly a hundred thousand tickets on the world channel and started a "3, 2, 1" countdown for people to grab them.

In less than a second, every single ticket had been snatched up.

Afterward, some people were buying them at high prices, while others were selling them for a profit.

But Bei Adolis had no intention of interfering with such matters.

After all, no matter the world, there was never a shortage of scalpers—creatures that specialized in buying low and selling high.

Being able to grab a ticket in a second, or even less, proved that those people were capable. Likewise, those who could afford to buy tickets at high prices would naturally be able to afford the items in the auction house.

Thus, after the auction tickets changed hands several times, the entire venue was packed with a hundred thousand people.

Although everyone was speaking in low voices, the sheer number of people made the atmosphere exceptionally noisy.

Seeing this from backstage, Bei Adolis gave a meaningful look to a witch beside her. The witch then spread her hands.

With a flash of light in her crimson eyes, a single word escaped her lips— “Silence.”

Instantly.

No matter how noisy the hall had been before, it fell into a hush so profound it was almost terrifying.

The people who had been chatting with their neighbors just a moment ago all wore expressions of horror.

A hundred thousand people in the venue were suddenly silenced at once. No one could remain calm when faced with such a thing.

It wasn't over yet.

Once the crowd was forcibly quieted, they saw witches wearing long robes and witch hats appearing from all sides of the hall.

Each of these witches had their eyes covered by black silk bands, making them look mysterious and possessed of an indescribable charm.

Of course, that wasn't the important part.

What mattered was that each witch was followed by a variety of bizarre-looking creatures.

At a gesture from the witches, these creatures seemed to receive a command, rushing to empty seats or hovering in the air, staring down the audience with their strange eyes or compound eyes.

What was the meaning of this?

Had the Witch race gathered them here only to wipe them all out in one fell swoop?

Unlike the Transmigrators sitting in the main hall, the evolved clan leaders in the private booths were thinking more along the lines of a predatory double-cross.

After all, compared to the retail participants downstairs, they had all consigned more or less valuable items to the auction house.

This was especially true for the ancient blood; the Little People race wasn't the only ones to have done so.

If the Witch race were to wipe them all out now, they would surely make a killing from this single operation.

However, these were mostly the thoughts of the leaders of small races, scaring themselves and suffering from unnecessary mental fatigue.

The leaders of larger tribes could see that what the Witch race had already displayed far exceeded the potential revenue from this auction.

After all, aside from the magic tools the witches had provided themselves, they weren't charging any fees for third-party consignments.

Under such circumstances, dreaming of making a profit was sheer nonsense.

In other words, the Witch race's purpose in hosting this world-renowned auction wasn't about the money, nor was it even about the auction itself. They had other motives.

As for what those ulterior motives were, no one knew.

Even those who had tried to probe the members of Tarot Villa found that even they were in the dark.

Good grief, if the members of the organization itself didn't know, it meant the level of secrecy surrounding the 'hidden agenda' beneath this auction was extremely high.

Consequently, people began to speculate wildly about the reason.

But no matter how they racked their brains, they couldn't find a connection to anything else.

“Now then, the first Night of Magic Auction officially begins. I, the Golden Witch Bei Adolis, will be your host. Since this is our first time, I hope you won't be too demanding.”

The sexy Bei Adolis walked slowly onto the auction stage, microphone in hand.

She even cracked a small joke along the way, instantly heating up the atmosphere of the venue.