A Chaotic World

There were only benefits if Lu Tianzi was really able to become an artificer.

These benefits did not just come in terms of an elevated status, but also in terms of convenience.

After all, being able to forge his own equipment would mean that he could easily fill in for anything that he lacked, all as long as he was able to find the right materials.

However, such a matter would have to wait.

Not to mention becoming an artificer, the current Lu Tianzi did not even have any idea as to what the occupation truly comprised.

He would need to gather a lot more information before he could seriously consider it.

Nanlan Qianxue and Ruan Ling stood beside him as they looked through the one-way mirror to admire the grand auction hall.

Behind them, Grandmaster Tiequan and Young Master Xuan Hao appeared to be sitting there in silence, but they were actually having a private conversation through voice conveyance.

While they could not be considered close friends, it had been some time since they last met, so they still had quite a few matters to talk about.

Before long, a neatly-dressed young man walked up on stage and clasped his fists towards the crowds.

Upon noticing his appearance, everyone in the grand auction hall immediately quietened down.

At the same time, Lu Tianzi felt a faint wisp of energy coming from the bidding card in his hand, as though signalling that it had just been activated.

He could sense a mini communication formation within the bidding card, one that bore similarities to regular communication rings. Now that it had been activated, this mini communication formation could finally be used.

If the middle-aged receptionist from before had explained correctly, as long as he channelled a bit of energy within, he would be able to send in his bid.

Of course, he would not carelessly test it out without first knowing what was the item on auction.

"Good morning, sirs and madams. Welcome to the Sacred Lotus Auction. My name is Juekang, and I will be your host of the day."

The young man"s tone was pleasant sounding, articulating each word in a clear and precise manner. There was even a particularly soothing feeling that came along with his voice, as though it held the power to comfort the very souls of the listeners.

"Law of Music!" Young Master Xuan Hao exclaimed in surprise.

While others" perceptions were unable to enter their private room, their senses had not been restricted in any way, allowing them to hear what the young host was saying.

Through the young host"s voice, Young Master Xuan Hao was able to detect a power that originated from the Law of Music.

Lu Tianzi could not help but pay closer attention after hearing what Young Master Xuan Hao said.

The Law of Music was a rare world law that few comprehended, so it came as a surprise that they were able to experience something like this here at the Sacred Lotus Auction.

The rarer a technique was, the harder it was to deal with it.

That was because others might not know of the methods to counter such techniques.

While it was not much, this little experience could still be helpful to a certain extent if Lu Tianzi had to deal with someone who utilised the Law of Music in the future.

"All of you have come from afar not to listen to me speak, so I shall not blabber on any longer," Juekang continued. "Without further ado, let the Sacred Lotus Auction begin. Please bring the first item on stage."

On his cue, two men pushed out a large object on wheels.

There was a dark curtain laid over it, blocking out all perceptions so that no one was able to tell what was underneath.

Of course, this was just a temporary measure to build up the level of suspense.

"The first item on the list is known as the Thunderfire Armour," Juekang introduced while walking over to the large object.

With a well-practiced action, he pulled off the dark curtain in one fell swoop to reveal a golden full body armour underneath, held up by an exquisite armour stand.

The colour and design of the armour was extremely eye-catching, but there was much more to it than just that. Even from a distance, Lu Tianzi could feel a profound energy contained within.

Without a doubt, it was at least an item of the Peak Origin Core rank!

A small commotion arose among the crowds the moment they laid eyes on the Thunderfire Armour.

"Many of you should already be familiar with the Thunderfire Armour, but I will still elaborate on its roots for those who are not," Juekang said. "The Thunderfire Armour is part of the Thunderfire Set crafted by the late Grandmaster Xinquan, and is capable of mitigating the effect of every attack that is of the lightning or fire element. Of course, its inherently strong defensive properties also mean that even attacks of other elements are unlikely to penetrate it. The Thunderfire Armour will be going for a starting price of twenty mid ranked beast cores, and each raise has to be by at least one mid ranked beast core."

Weng-!

Juekang had barely finished speaking when a large crystal above the stage gave off a bright glow.

Words of light appeared within the crystal, apparent for all to see.

[Bidding Card #2315: Thirty mid ranked beast cores]

The first bidder had instantly raised the bid by ten mid ranked beast cores!

Mid ranked beast cores could only be obtained from killing beasts at the Origin Core realm. For the Thunderfire Armour to be worth thirty mid ranked beast cores, that was quite an exorbitant price.

Yet despite that, the bids did not stop coming in.

[Bidding card #10231: Thirty-one mid ranked beast cores]

[Bidding card #1521: Thirty-two mid ranked beast cores]

[Bidding card #5423: Thirty-four mid ranked beast cores]

...

[Bidding card #7: Eighty mid ranked beast cores]

With that last bid, the auction hall quietened down in an instant.

This bid price was far too high for most people to be willing to compete against!

One had to know that this was only the first item of the day.

Most people were unwilling to commit too much resources without knowing what would be appearing in the later parts of the auction.

How would they feel if even better items were revealed later, and they ended up being unable to obtain those because they had overspent at the start?

That said, it was rather surprising that this person was actually willing to fork out an amount four times the starting price.

"How extravagant..." Ruan Ling exclaimed.

"Perhaps they really needed the Thunderfire Armour?" Young Master Xuan Hao tried to rationalise.

"Bidding Card #7 belongs to Captain Icethorn of the Sacred Cliff City Guards," Grandmaster Tiequan explained when he overheard their conversation. "As a captain of the Sacred Cliff City Guards, he reports directly to the Burning t.i.tan Overlord, and can be considered one of the most influential men within Sacred Cliff City. He naturally has the resources to spare."

There were some bidding cards that were reserved for specific people every auction, just like how Grandmaster Tiequan had been given the same private room from previous years.

This was how he knew the owner of Bidding Card #7.

"Captain Icethorn?" Lu Tianzi rubbed his chin in contemplation.

Icethorn was most likely an alias, and aliases were usually named after a martial artists" abilities.

Because of that, Lu Tianzi guessed that Captain Icethorn was probably a user of the ice element.

That would explain why he was willing to spend this much wealth on something that could mitigate attacks of the lightning and fire elements, both of which were relatively effective against the ice element.

Lu Tianzi could not help considering things from his own perspective as well.

Thankfully, he was not just a user of the water element.

On top of that, he still had his sword techniques, his Limitless Mirror Eye, and even his Palm of Thousand Venoms that he had yet to use in actual combat. He also had his sabre techniques to rely on, though it was slowly starting to fall behind his other abilities.

Having a wide range of techniques meant that he would not be easily countered in battle.

However, Lu Tianzi was still rather dissatisfied with the number of cards in his hand, thinking that perhaps he should start focusing on improving his weaker aspects.

While he was contemplating over the matter, the Thunderfire Armour had been sold to the owner of Bidding Card #7, and the second item was already being pushed on stage.

This time when Juekang pulled off the curtain, Lu Tianzi could not help but frown.

Within a cage was a small bed, on which a young girl around the age of six lay.

Her eyes were closed as she lay there unmovingly, but her signs of life were strong. It was obvious that she was only unconscious for the time being.

She was dressed in a clean set of clothes, and her long hair was sprawled on the bed.

"The Sacred Lotus Auction sells slaves as well?" Young Master Xuan Hao blurted out in disbelief.

"Anything and everything can be obtained at the Sacred Lotus Auction," Grandmaster Tiequan replied, indirectly answering his question.

"The young girl here is a royal descendant of the old Xinling Empire, and bears the imperial b.e.a.s.t.i.a.l bloodline of a Violet Eye Night Cat. As long as it is cultivated properly, she would become a valuable a.s.set to any force. While she is still young at the moment, this only means that it would be easier to mould her mind accordingly," Juekang introduced the girl as though she was just another regular item. "The starting bid price is ten mid ranked beast cores, and each raise has to be by at least one mid ranked beast core."

This time, the response was not as enthusiastic.

So what if the young girl possessed a b.e.a.s.t.i.a.l bloodline?

Not everyone needed a young slave by their side.

Not only would they have to raise her, they also had to provide her with cultivation resources if they wanted her to realise the potential of her b.e.a.s.t.i.a.l bloodline.

After all, a weakling with a b.e.a.s.t.i.a.l bloodline would just make her a slightly stronger weakling.

Unless they had a specific need for a subordinate like that, no one was going to bid for her.

But even though there were a few moments of silence, Juekang remained unfazed. The young host continued to stand on the stage as he waited patiently for the first bid.

He did not have to wait long either.

Weng-!

[Bidding Card #146: Ten mid ranked beast cores]

"That Weiwo..." Grandmaster Tiequan sighed. "Even after so long, he just doesn"t change."

"Is Grandmaster Weiwo the one who made the bid?" Ruan Ling asked.

"Indeed it is," Grandmaster Tiequan nodded.

He had known Grandmaster Weiwo for a long time now, and naturally remembered the bidding card number that was usually a.s.signed to the latter.

"Does that mean...?" Ruan Ling revealed a look of disgust as she thought back to Grandmaster Weiwo"s earlier actions. "Brother Xuan Hao, we need to save her! We can"t let such an innocent young girl fall into the hands of that lecherous old man!"

Young Master Xuan Hao frowned, having fallen into a dilemma.

Just like Ruan Ling, he very much wanted to help the young girl as well.

However, his resources were limited.

With his current wealth, Young Master Xuan Hao might be able to barely contend against a Grandmaster Artificer if he went all out, but this could essentially mean giving up on the rest of the auction.

Even so, if he could save the life of someone because of that, perhaps it might be worth it after all?

"Don"t bother," Grandmaster Tiequan said with a tone of disapproval. "You can save one person, but what if the next item is yet another young girl? There will always be more of these captives out there, and the current you is simply unable to make much of a difference. If you really want to help, I"d rather you save your resources for something more important – something that will help you build the foundation to actually do something significant in the future."

Young Master Xuan Hao looked at Grandmaster Tiequan in indignance.

How could he not understand what Grandmaster Tiequan was trying to say?

Right now, he was an heir candidate to the Timeless Flame Sect.

Whether he could successfully inherit the sect leader position would highly depend on how well he fare during this period of time, and the best way to increase his chances would be to gain power in terms of individual strength, acc.u.mulating resources, as well as garnering support from others.

That being the case, he really could not afford to be wasting his resources.

The Sacred Lotus Auction was a rare opportunity for him to obtain things that he needed, and the rational side of him told him that he should be spending his resources wisely.

This was also why he had held back from buying any items in Sacred Cliff City during the week that led up to the Sacred Lotus Auction.

As long as he managed to claim the seat at the helm of the Timeless Flame Sect, the resources at his disposal would be astronomical, and he would be able to save as many people as he wished.

Young Master Xuan Hao was not an idiot. He naturally understood all of that even without Grandmaster Tiequan"s reminder.

However, people often acted against their rationality because of a single word – emotions.

Looking at the innocent young girl lying in the cage, Young Master Xuan Hao felt an uncontrollable ache in his chest.

Young Master Xuan Hao gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his bidding card. As he did, a new row of words appeared within the large crystal above the stage.

[Bidding Card #4132: Eleven mid ranked beast cores]

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