Chapter 2522 – Calligraphy Scroll
Immediately, the others attending the auction started chatting. "That person’s name is Xuan Qi, right? I heard that his talent is even greater than Shao Qingfeng’s when it comes to voidforce energy."
"He"s monstrously talented, but I don"t know if he’ll go to the Great Academy."
"It isn’t easy to get in there. Maybe he’ll visit the other schools first."
Jiang Xiaodao proclaimed loudly, "Surpa.s.sing Shao Qingfeng? Hmph, he has some skills. I hope that he comes to the Lost Clan inst.i.tute. I will reluctantly accept him as my little brother and show him off in front of Shao Qingfeng."
Mu Mu sneered. "Aren"t you afraid of getting beat up by Shao Qingfeng?"
"Get lost! I"ll give you this woman. She"s too big, so I"m not interested," Jiang Xiaodao said.
In the end, the subhuman went to Mu Mu.
Some distance away, Luo Lao"er whispered, "Seventh Bro, don"t pay him any mind. This is just how he always is, a typical ignorant young man. He"ll offend anyone and everyone. If it weren’t for his father, Sage Jiang, always protecting him, he would have died countless times already."
"What’s Mu Mu like?" Lu Yin asked. He could not care less about Jiang Xiaodao. The guy was nothing more than another Ku Wei. He simply needed to be beaten into submission, or else he would continue to strut over everyone.
Luo Lao"er replied, "I haven"t learned much about Mu Mu, but she has to be someone else with an amazing background. She must be supported by someone who can rival Sage Jiang."
Lu Yin looked at Jiang Xiaodao and then at Mu Mu. He rubbed his chin. He should find an opportunity to capture both of them on Zenith Mountain. If he did that, chaos would likely break out within the Sixverse a.s.sociation.
"Now we have our final item for today, a calligraphy scroll." The auctioneer raised a communication crystal, and an image appeared in it. Sure enough, it was a calligraphy scroll that was covered with characters, but in contrast to everyone"s expectations, the characters on the scroll were horrendously ugly. They looked like nothing more than a child"s scribbles.
As soon as the crowd saw the writing on the scroll, a wave of curses erupted. Jiang Xiaodao was especially vocal. "Are you seriously trying to make money from this? I can write better with my feet! What sort of bulls.h.i.t is this? I can"t even make out a single character!"
"The fact that it’s illegible doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that it’s hideous."
"That handwriting is truly ugly."
The auctioneer sighed before plastering a bitter smile on his face. "Everyone, please listen to my explanation: while the handwriting is undeniably ugly, it contains a unique comprehension. Every stroke carries a special charm, which means that anyone who sees the true writing on the physical scroll will be able to unconsciously receive some sort of insight. The scenes that each person sees will also be different. Some people will witness battle techniques, while others might see a landscape. Some have even witnessed strange phenomena. In short, this calligraphy scroll is the highlight of this auction."
"Why should we believe you? What evidence do you have?" Jiang Xiaodao yelled as a challenge.
The auctioneer replied with a shrug, "If you don"t believe me, then there"s nothing I can do. All that can be done is to withdraw the scroll from the auction. Fortunately, the first six items were enough to satisfy your interest, which means that everyone did not waste the trip here."
Not one bid was placed. The handwriting was truly revolting. It would not be any surprise at all if the scroll was withdrawn from the auction.
"Luo Lao"er, do you have any money? How much?" Lu Yin asked quietly as he stared at the calligraphy. While the characters were indeed ugly, they were ancient characters, just like the ones that the Wen family used for their Literary Prison or the ones that the ancient Daosource Sect had used.
Lu Yin wanted the scroll. He had never expected to see these ancient characters from the Fifth Mainland in the Sixverse Academy.
The fact that it bore ancient characters meant that there was something exceptional about the scroll, and he wanted it badly.
Luo Lao"er rummaged through what he had before pursing his lips. "Seventh Bro, I really don"t have much money. I"m not lying to you."
"Just give me whatever you have," Lu Yin said.
Luo Lao"er sighed. "Seventh Bro, just forget about it. Every item in this auction has a starting price, or else someone like Jiang Xiaodao would threaten everyone so that he could take everything while barely spending anything."
Lu Yin had not considered that.
Luo Lao"er explained, "This scroll definitely has a higher starting price than any of the previous items. Just think about what the starting price for that first energy converter was. I don"t have anywhere close to enough money on me to buy even that energy converter."
Lu Yin felt disappointed. He observed the appearance of the person below. At the same time, he marked the person with his domain. He was determined to obtain this calligraphy scroll. It seemed like he had done something similar before, and more than once at that.
He a.s.sumed that the calligraphy scroll would simply be withdrawn from the auction.
No one knew what happened to start it, but Jiang Xiaodao ended up getting into another argument with Mu Mu, and the two started another bidding war, this time for the scroll.
The bids jumped higher and higher, to the point where even Lu Yin’s brow started to rise. If star essence could be used as funds in this auction, he could terrify everyone with a random amount.
The atmosphere grew increasingly tense as the bidding war continued. They were no longer simply competing for the scroll, but rather for their pride.
In the end, Mu Mu lost due to her previous purchase of the subhuman woman, so the scroll went to Jiang Xiaodao.
"Hahaha, in the end, you"re still just a woman! I wasn’t even competing with you last time, but you still had to show off. Just a flick of my finger would be enough to make you kneel," Jiang Xiaodao boasted.
Mu Mu snorted contemptuously. "You paid so much for such an ugly calligraphy scroll. Jiang Sheng’s going to kill you when you take that back to show him."
Jiang Xiaodao glared at the woman. "I"ll kill that freak of yours first! I"ll teach him how to behave properly and that there are people he should never offend!"
"Jiang Xiaodao, how dare you!" Mu Mu yelled threateningly.
"Keep an eye on me, if you dare."
"You must be itching for a fight. Today, I"ll help Sage Jiang finally discipline his son."
"Bring it on."
"Anytime."
The two quickly left the auction cave.
The rest of the crowd quickly followed, eager to see the rest of the confrontation.
Luo Lao"er was also excited. "Seventh Bro, Jiang Xiaodao and Mu Mu are going to fight! Let"s go watch the show!"
Lu Yin was also a bit interested. One of the two was the child of a Progenitor-level figure from the Cyclic Universe, while the other came from the Arboreal Realm. Since they had both studied in the Sixverse Academy for quite some time, they should already have picked up some of the other universes’ tricks as well. Watching their match should give Lu Yin a better understanding of the Sixverse a.s.sociation.
There were plenty of open s.p.a.ces throughout Cliff Town. It was not set up like a regular market town where the stalls were grouped together. Instead, all of the stalls were s.p.a.ced a great distance apart.
After leaving the cave, the various people who had attended the secret auction all continued on in the same direction, though some moved faster than others.
Lu Yin chose not to stand out, so he stayed behind the majority of the crowd.
The fastest person had long since disappeared.
Boom!
The loud noise was accompanied with a wave of energy. The power felt like a flowing stream, and it forced Luo Lao"er to retreat a few steps. Some of the nearby people were even sent flying.
The noise startled Lu Yin, and he looked into the distance. There, he saw a graceful figure flipping and flying about like a crazed, raging dragon. Every move was accompanied by shadows of flying palm strikes. On top of that, every move contained minute transformations.
Could it be a Semi-Progenitor battle technique?
The woman’s palm technique had a deceptively simple appearance, but each shadow palm was intricately linked together. Most people were unable to see the changes, and if they lost track of the changes, the subsequent attacks would land. Even if this was not a Semi-Progenitor battle technique, it had to have at least been created by someone at the six-tribulation Envoy level.
"Eight Hands of the Stone Gate? How many hands have you learned?" Jiang Xiaodao called out with irritation in his voice as he retreated.
The graceful figure belonged to none other than Mu Mu. Her face appeared calm during the fight, but a fierce madness filled her eyes. Her attacks quickly grew even more aggressive.
"Take a guess!" As she spoke, her battle technique changed.
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. He had just seen a second layer of changes in the technique. Eight Hands of the Stone Gate? In that case, were there eight layers of changes? Just the first and second layers already had the power of a Semi-Progenitor battle technique, which meant that the full battle technique was very likely a Progenitor battle technique.
Luo Lao"er gasped for breath. He was barely able to withstand the shockwaves from the battle. "I was almost blown away! Seventh Bro, let"s watch from here. We can"t get too close."
The people closest to the battle retreated several times. Both Mu Mu and Jiang Xiaodao possessed formidable power, and they had already revealed a strength equal to a peak Enlighter’s. In Lu Yin’s perception, the two actually possessed the strength of Envoys. If they released their full power, the onlookers would not be able to see anything, as they would not be able to get close enough.
Within the Sixverse Academy, Shi Hong"s cultivation was regarded as decent, but at best, she could only compare to an Enlighter, and she was also far from reaching the strength of a peak Enlighter. This showed the difference between her and the two currently fighting.
On the other side of the battle, Shi Hong led Zuo Yu to a place some distance away from Jiang Xiaodao and Mu Mu’s fight. While Zuo Yu wanted to get closer, Shi Hong stopped her from doing so.
"I don"t know what level Jiang Xiaodao"s cultivation has reached, but Mu Mu’s strength is definitely between a green and a blue energy converter, which is not something that you or I can contend with. The fact that Jiang Xiaodao dares to fight her means that he might be at the same level. We can’t risk getting closer, as it"s too dangerous."
Zuo Yu"s eyes brightened as she stared into the distance. Longing filled her eyes. These were cultivators! This was a real battle! Compared to this, fights with energy converters were simply too monotonous.
Mu Mu"s aggressive onslaught forced Jiang Xiaodao to retreat. He looked overwhelmed by the relentless attacks, but he was also surrounded by a soft force that constantly broke down and cushioned Mu Mu"s endless palm strikes. If not for this, Luo Lao"er and the others would have been coughing up blood instead of merely being blown away.
"Only two hands? How boring. I"ll finish you off." Jiang Xiaodao"s power suddenly spiked, and a terrifying, visible energy spread out, shattering the void. The man took a single step and instantly disappeared from Mu Mu"s sight.
Mu Mu refused to be outdone, and an equally terrifying aura shot high into the sky. The change in the two combatants caused everyone in Cliff Town to turn around and look in astonishment.
Such power was rare even in the Sixverse Academy, and few could compare to the two who were fighting.
Jiang Xiaodao suddenly reappeared behind Mu Mu, and when he did so, water was flowing from his hands. "Try taking my Heavenly River."
Mu Mu spun around, and the nearby vegetation shot upwards to form a round shield of bark. "Wood Wheel."
A river surged from Jiang Xiaodao"s palm. While it only appeared to be as large as a hand, anyone who laid eyes on it would have the impression that it was a raging river roaring towards them. It seemed to even somehow be capable of flooding outer s.p.a.ce. The shield that Mu Mu had manifested was also large enough to cover the sky, and it clashed against the Heavenly River.
Powerful shockwaves radiated out from the point of impact, and they instantly reached Lu Yin and the other onlookers. Caught off guard, the audience was lifted off their feet by the impact.
Lu Yin pretended to be blown away as well, though his eyes never left the two people who were fighting.
Both the Heavenly River battle technique and Wood Wheel were quite impressive battle techniques that had undoubtedly been created by Progenitor-level powerhouses.
These two were geniuses in the Sixverse Academy who had Progenitor-level figures behind them. The other students simply could not compare to them.
Luo Lao"er let out a strangled cry as he was sent flying, but Lu Yin grabbed him and helped him find some footing.
Far away from the two, Shi Hong repeatedly retreated with Zuo Yu. Despite their distance from the battle, they had still been affected by the shockwaves and were forced to retreat even further. Zuo Yu felt like an oppressive force was suffocating her, and she could not help but gasp for breath. Fear entered her eyes as she stared at Jiang Xiaodao and Mu Mu.
Mu Mu and Jiang Xiaodao both stepped back. Mu Mu took a few steps back before firmly planting her left foot. Tri-colored monarch essence emerged from her body and formed an imprint on her Wood Wheel. "Let’s go for another round."
Jiang Xiaodao arched a brow. "Foolish woman."