The seller was clearly leveraging the momentum of the divine artifact to hold out for the best possible price, thus boldly setting such an unbelievable figure. According to the seasoned judgment of many present, the actual worth of this item was barely fifty thousand Universal Points. Even with an auction premium, seven hundred thousand Universal Points would have been generous.

Of course, unless one managed to collect the entire set—the lamp base, the lamp oil, and the lamp vessel—then setting the price at five million Universal Points might have held some justification.

Thus, the harsh reality was that the lamp vessel of the Lamp of Aladdin ultimately went unsold, receiving no bids whatsoever. It seemed the original owner must have been deeply disappointed. However, everyone who attended this auction was shrewd; how could they willingly allow themselves to be fleeced as easy marks?

Next, Fang Senyan observed two more Legendary items appearing on the auction floor. Strikingly, one of them was forged from the unique reward of a Gold Main Quest: the Enigmatic Forging Blueprint (limited purchase of three sheets per person). This item was called the Boots of Mystery, and its appearance instantly drew fervent pursuit from the assembled bidders.

The final grand item, the centerpiece, even astonished Fang Senyan. This thing looked utterly drab and unremarkable—dark, gritty, and unimpressive. But reading its description was enough to send a shockwave through the room! Because this, too, was a divine artifact! And unlike the Black Arrow, which was a relatively obscure Lower-Tier Divine Artifact, this was one of absolute renown: it was the One Ring! The ultimate treasure of the Lord of the Rings world, the very source of the Dark Lord Sauron’s power!

Naturally, it would have been even better if the description hadn't concluded with the qualifier: "Destroyed."

The introduction for this piece of equipment read: During the battle at Mount Doom, the Hobbit ultimately succumbed to the evil nature of the One Ring, unable to resist its **—desiring to possess it for himself, yet being stopped by the righteous Gollum. In the fierce struggle, Gollum realized he was no match for the two evil Hobbits, so he resolutely leaped into the volcano with the Ring, destroying it. To commemorate this unsung, valiant warrior, after the battle concluded, someone considered the possibility that the violent eruption might have ejected Gollum's remains. Therefore, they meticulously searched the vicinity of Mount Doom and found the remnants of this One Ring.

The One Ring (Destroyed). Grade: Unknown Attribute: You must repair it to obtain basic attributes. Description: A destroyed divine artifact remains a divine artifact, much like how the king among beggars is still merely a beggar. Note: A tribute to Mr. Gollum, buried in the errors of history!

Looking at this series of distorted descriptions that seemed to contradict the original narrative entirely, Fang Senyan couldn't help but admire the sheer ingenuity of the person who acquired this One Ring (Destroyed). This individual had certainly taken a unique path, focusing on Gollum, who was overlooked by so many. They must have brainwashed or controlled Gollum. Then, exploiting Gollum's high probability of interacting with the Ring within the story, they aimed to seize this powerful artifact.

This was something most people wouldn't dare even contemplate. Since Gollum was fundamentally controlled by the Ring, to twist his will and implant one's own intent suggested a level of enthrallment so powerful it was breathtaking—far beyond what equipment alone could grant. It must have been a formidable inherent talent to achieve such a feat.

However, this person's gambit ultimately failed. The Gollum, whom he had filled with righteous thoughts, ultimately did not deliver the Ring into his hands but instead dramatically reenacted history's demise. Yet, the acquirer could still count it as a success, as the remnants of the One Ring were the extra reward he obtained.

Observing this item, the crowd fell silent.

Yes, this was a gamble. To purchase this, one first had to ask if they possessed the ability to repair it. And even if they did, repairing a peak Divine Artifact like the One Ring offered no guarantee of success. But if even one attribute could be restored, it would break even; two attributes meant a profit; three attributes would be like winning the lottery; four attributes... well, that would only be a hallucination.

But the starting bid for this thing was hardly cheap. An opening price of 1.3 million Universal Points was enough to make many balk. After all, the Philosopher's Stone of Nicolas Flamel seen at the last auction only had an estimated value of one million Universal Points, yet the Stone was incredibly practical, a solid, tangible hard currency.

The majority of people present were not lone wolves; they carried the heavy responsibility of their teams. The higher their standing, the greater their constraints. Rashly throwing over a million Universal Points—and that didn't even account for repair costs—was perilous. Under normal circumstances, if the gamble paid off, few would offer sincere gratitude or respect; but if it failed, their position might become precarious. An endeavor with such a disproportionate risk-to-reward ratio was something few would attempt.

Under these conditions, despite two Divine Artifacts appearing, the atmosphere remained strangely muted. However, for the auction organizers, they had witnessed far stranger things; this small incident was nothing. After the official auction concluded, nearly half the bidders received private, secret notifications requesting them to remain. The official line was that they needed to process the items that had failed to sell.

At this point, all unsold items were placed on a large, circular table. At the center were the two un-transacted Divine Artifacts, with the rest arranged in sequence around them. In reality, the failure to sell the Black Arrow was entirely due to Fang Senyan's high demands. Had he been willing to accept Universal Point transactions, the major players present would have received advance notice of the huge surprise and prepared ample cash, ensuring the Black Arrow would fetch an astronomical price.

The unsold items were now brought out one by one. The auctioneer announced the corresponding prices, exactly as during the auction, but in descending order. Take the vessel of the Lamp of Aladdin, for example. Based on the seller's original starting bid of five million Universal Points, with increments of one million! Now, the starting bid would be four million; if it still failed, another million would be deducted, with the lowest acceptable price set at three million. If the total value dropped below one million, the reduction would switch to increments of one hundred thousand.

Soon enough, when the price was trimmed down to one million, it reached the psychological threshold of the influential figures, and someone finally made a move:

"I'll take it for one million."

But clearly, others were unwilling to sit by; someone immediately countered with 1.1 million Universal Points, at which point the bidding entered its standard phase. The auction house felt quite certain that with the Black Arrow as a fallback, a total failure to sell was impossible.

After a fierce round of bidding, the price settled at the high mark of 2.2 million Universal Points. The mysterious bidder labeled "Number Seven" had previously secured twenty-four thousand in rare ore, suggesting they were absolutely determined to acquire the Black Arrow. To be frank, the Black Arrow’s greatest strength lay in the moment it was fired as an arrow; using it in melee combat always felt like an underutilization of its potential. It seemed Buyer Number Seven’s team, or perhaps the buyer himself, was an expert archer, otherwise, they wouldn't have bid so recklessly.

In Fang Senyan’s eyes, however, "reckless bidding" translated directly to "easy mark." Thus, after Buyer Number Seven secured the Lamp Vessel of Aladdin, he began calculating how to maximize his gains. Sure enough, shortly after, Buyer Number Seven invited Fang Senyan for a meeting. Since he had acquired the item Fang Senyan had explicitly requested, satisfying the precondition, he was now qualified to negotiate. As for whether Fang Senyan might suddenly renege on their previous understanding, that was unlikely; the auction house absolutely could not allow such a reputational stain.

Meeting Number Seven, Fang Senyan cut straight to the chase, offering his price: the Lamp Vessel of Aladdin + all the rare ore he possessed + that damaged One Ring + fifty thousand Universal Points. Fang Senyan’s demand wasn't excessively harsh, considering the Lamp Vessel's normal value was around fifty thousand Universal Points, and the damaged Ring could at best be counted as a Legendary item, totaling about one million Universal Points between them—a value of 2.3 million Universal Points combined.

However, because Fang Senyan had deliberately spread the word, the Lamp Vessel of Aladdin had seen a significant inflation in price. The divergence lay here, as Number Seven had purchased it for a premium of 2.2 million Universal Points in hard currency. To him, Fang Senyan's demand felt like a blatant attempt to gouge.

But both parties were eager to reach an agreement given the current environment and foundation, meaning everything could be negotiated. Finally, Number Seven, growing impatient with haggling, suddenly stood up and fixed his gaze on Fang Senyan:

"Your team managed to acquire a Divine Artifact like the Black Arrow, so you must be quite powerful. How about we make a wager?"

Fang Senyan remained impassive:

"Wager on what?"

Number Seven replied:

"I see you are absolutely set on obtaining the Lamp Vessel of Aladdin and the damaged One Ring. Let's settle the transaction for those two items first. Then, the remaining rare ore and those fifty thousand Universal Points will serve as the stakes! If someone from your team can defeat someone from ours in a one-on-one duel, it all goes to you. But if you lose..."

Fang Senyan smiled:

"Then it's all nullified? In such a duel, with a Divine Artifact in your hands, your side certainly has the greater chance of winning."

Number Seven was unfazed by Fang Senyan's goading, speaking coolly:

"If you are afraid, then pretend I never brought it up."

Fang Senyan smiled:

"Agreed."