hapter 285 – Retiring to a Farm
Jia Xueqin would have much preferred to finish his tea rather than spending his limited time smoothing things over with an offended powerful cultivator, but while his position as the head manager of the Premiere Jade Treasures Auction House was often cushy and paid quite well, there were times when he had to earn that large salary. He sighed and rose from his chair.
The first decision he had to make was whether or not to bring Yan Chunhua with him to meet with the cultivator. Sometimes, having the object of the offended party's ire in the room stirred their thirst for inflicting punishment themselves. With others, seeing the underling suitably chastised by their boss smoothed things over nicely. It all depended on the particular person.
"Follow me," he told her.
She winced but obeyed his command.
When he reached the door to the receiving chamber, he said, "Stay here out of sight but pay attention. If I call for you, come immediately, head hung low. Fearful."
She cupped her hands. From her appearance, she definitely wouldn't have to fake that last part.
After taking a deep breath to center himself, he opened the door to face the wrath of the cultivator. The first things he saw were two dozen swords hovering in the air. As he stepped inside the room and shut the door behind him, the blades rearranged themselves to point at him.
He swallowed hard.
The young man, who didn't appear to be older than his early twenties, was well groomed with a cleanly shaven face and close cropped hair, but the robe he wore screamed homeless to Jia Xueqin's sensibilities. He could easily understand why his clerk might have been somewhat less than polite. No one with strong backing was likely to appear in their establishment wearing such rags.
But the young man's appearance wasn't the biggest mystery. Jia Xueqin was in the middle realm of Golden Core, and considering that his specialty was appraising, he'd honed his spiritual sense more than any other aspect of his cultivation. As far as he could tell, the man was a mere mortal.
But he couldn't be a mortal. Streams of finely controlled qi directed each of the blades. Jia Xueqin was positive he couldn't perform the same feat even if he'd mastered a technique for the purpose.
Clearly, the young man was not so simple.
Jia Xueqin's stomach sank. Something wasn't adding up. He cupped his hands and bowed low. "Greetings, Esteemed Master Cultivator, this lowly one's inept assistant indicated there was a sword to be appraised."
"You're an appraiser?"
"Forgive me, Esteemed Master Cultivator. This lowly one is Jia Xueqin, head of this branch of the auction house and an Expert Appraiser."
The young man frowned. "Only an expert? Disappointing."
Jia Xueqin would have been insulted if he wasn't so terrified. Never before had he been so confused about a situation. "Apologies, Esteemed Master Cultivator. This lowly one assures you there are no better appraisers on this entire continent."
The man sighed. "I guess you'll have to do, then."
"May this lowly one have the Esteemed Master Cultivator's name?"
While Jia Xueqin doubted he'd recognize the actual name, it might give him some clue as to what organization the young man represented.
"I'm Chao Su. Nice to meet you."
It was only vast years of experience dealing with tricky situations that kept Jia Xueqin's jaw from dropping. Chao Su! The sect leader of the Rising Tide Sect. The man who had killed two Nascent Soul cultivators from the Jade Chameleon Sect by himself. The man who had completely destroyed that entire branch sect and killed most of their Golden Cores, so-called sparing others by destroying their cultivation.
That Chao Su?
Jia Xueqin suppressed a shudder.
Rumors ran rampant about the man. His cultivation level. His combat prowess. The fact that he was an actual Formations Master—he had to be one considering he constructed an array that held and killed a Nascent Soul.
With all the stories spreading through the city regarding the man, none of them spoke to his appearance. That was probably because almost everyone who caught sight of him died shortly thereafter. Only the Poison Claw Sect, and the Kang family in particular, seemed able to survive encounters with him. And not only was he in the auction house, but that idiot, Yan Chunhua, had insulted him.
Even though Jia Xueqin was barely into his fourth century, he decided right then and there that, if he survived the day, he would retire. Find a nice house somewhere in the country. Maybe a farm. Raise crops.
Yeah. If he survived, that would be nice. If.
Jia Xueqin realized he was just standing there staring at the monster. He had to do something. Quickly. And running away probably wasn't an option. Not from a Nascent Soul with Chao Su's reputation. The man would probably destroy the entire city.
"M-may this lowly one examine the sword, Esteemed Master Cultivator?" It was the only thing Jia Xueqin could think of to do.
Chao Su gestured to a sword that was lying on the counter.
The appraiser wanted to slap himself on the forehead for making such a simple mistake, a mistake that might get him killed. "Of course, Esteemed Master Cultivator. Apologies, Esteemed Master Cultivator."
Jia Xueqin engrossed himself in examining the blade, trying to distract himself from the looming natural disaster staring at him. Luckily, it was as well made as Yan Chunhua had indicated. In fact, it was even better than she'd said. The entire construction was a masterwork, forged by a true Master Blacksmith.
There were a few mortals on the continent who claimed the title of master blacksmith, and he supposed they'd earned it. But they were confined to working with only mortal materials. When one added in the skills necessary to manipulate qi and metals that could accept channeling it, the difficulty in achieving that level of craftsmanship multiplied by several orders of magnitude, and only by reaching mastery of those elements could anyone be considered an actual Master Blacksmith. To the best of Jia Xueqin's extensive knowledge, there were currently no artisans of that rank currently operating on the continent.
Jia Xueqin couldn't imagine where Chao Su had acquired such a sword.
On top of the blade being a masterwork, Jia Xueqin could sense that three formations had been added to the weapon. Self-repair was an obvious and valuable addition. He sent a bit of qi into the array and observed the flow.
The movement of qi through the channels was nothing short of a work of art. No obstructions. If there was any loss of efficiency, he couldn't detect it. The blade had clearly been inscribed by a Formations Master.
That factor, at least, made sense given Chao Su's reputation.
Becoming more and more fascinated by the magnificent piece he held in his hands, Jia Xueqin examined the next array. It appeared to feed some type of unfamiliar qi element to the blade's edge. Enhancing it somehow. Cutting? Swiftness? Something along those lines.
Finally, he moved to the final array that he sensed. It took in Wind qi from the user, amplified it, and emitted a Wind Slash. Simple, but well done.
"This lowly one can't quite determine the qi element enhancing the blade itself, Esteemed Master Cultivator."
"Sharpness," Chao Su said.
A good choice. All three arrays represented added value. Each would be useful to anyone lucky enough to obtain such a weapon.
"This lowly one can't put a price on such a masterpiece, Esteemed Master Cultivator," Jia Xueqin said reluctantly. "The Premiere Jade Treasures Auction House has never had the fortune of presenting such a sword in one of our auctions. The blade is clearly the work of a Master Blacksmith. It is exquisite. Simply exquisite."
"Aw, shucks," Chao Su bizarrely said.
"This lowly one didn't understand, Esteemed Master Cultivator?" Jia Xueqin felt like he was taking his life in his hands making that admission, but he didn't see any alternative.
"I simply meant that you're embarrassing me with your praise."
Jia Xueqin again had to resist dropping his jaw. "Is this lowly one given to understand that the Esteemed Master Cultivator forged this sword?"
"I did."
"And the formations as well?"
"Obviously."
If Jia Xueqin survived the encounter, that was some interesting information to add to the knowledge base of anyone interested in Chao Su, which encompassed every major sect member and noble on the continent—Chao Su was apparently both a Master Blacksmith and a Formations Master.
"Does the Esteemed Master Cultivator wish to enter this sword in today's auction?" Jia Xueqin said.
"Yes, please."
Jia Xueqin swallowed hard again. He couldn't imagine the disaster that would come about if the sword sold for less than Chao Su wanted. "Does the Esteemed Master Cultivator wish to enter a reserve? This lowly one would suggest fifty thousand greater spirit coins."
"No, that's okay. I really have no use for it or the others, so whatever the market will bear, you know?"
Jia Xueqin's eyes widened. Did Chao Su mean the two dozen swords that were still facing him, ready to turn him into a pincushion? Those weren't simply a threat? "O-others, Esteemed Master Cultivator?"
Four of the swords floated over and laid themselves gently on the counter.
"These are just like the one you just looked at, except they use Earth, Fire, Water, and Wood qi respectively."
Jia Xueqin gave the four blades a cursory inspection. As far as he could tell, they were all of similar quality to the first. If he survived long enough, which was bizarrely seeming like more of a possibility by the moment, he'd examine all the blades in far more detail after Chao Su left.
Five more swords floated over, landing on the counter with the softest of clinks.
"These five are a bit more special than the first set," Chao Su said. "They convert whatever qi the cultivator inputs into an attack that corresponds to the sword's qi element—Force, Ice, Lightning, Magnetism, and Shadow respectively."
Jia Xueqin was sure that he'd misunderstood something. It wasn't possible for a blade to receive qi of one element and convert it to an attack of an entirely different element. Was it?
Chao Su laughed. "Go ahead. Test one of them. The Shadow one would probably be the safest if you want to use it inside, though."
Jia Xueqin couldn't help himself. He needed to know. Of the five swords, one of them did resonate with an element that could definitely be Shadow, so he picked that one up. Pointing the blade at a deserted corner of the room, he inserted a quite small amount of qi into it. He followed the path of that qi through the blade's arrays with his spiritual sense as it was converted into a different qi type.
A stream of Shadow poured from the blade, darkening the corner of the room.
There was no other source of qi present. He wasn't quite ready to stake his reputation on the results—he'd need far more testing before taking that step—but his initial analysis was that the sword worked. It actually worked.
Five more swords floated over.
"These might be the biggest money makers," Chao Su said. "They're just like the previous five, but the elements used are much more exotic—Gravity, Soul, Space, Time, and Void."
Jia Xueqin didn't speak. He couldn't. The value of, say, a Lightning sword that any cultivator could use that didn't need to be recharged with Lightning attuned greater spirit coins was already of incalculable value. Adding such mythical elements as those would raise the price by an order of magnitude. Even the Emperor might go broke bidding for one of those.
Five more swords and then another five floated over, and Jia Xueqin nodded along to whatever it was that was said. But he didn't process a word. Forget making a quarter of his annual profits at the auction. He might make many multiples of his annual profits.
He needed to get the word out about the swords. Fast. There were major factions from other continents that would want to attend for a chance to see the masterworks, much less have a chance to own them.
"You think you can accommodate all of these?" Chao Su said pointedly.
Jia Xueqin almost reflexively answered yes, but he hesitated, thinking about it. "Given the value of these swords, Esteemed Master Cultivator, this lowly one fears there aren't enough greater spirit coins in circulation on this continent—and certainly not in this city—to get you the payment you deserve for them. This lowly one will do his best, but…"
Chao Su simply nodded. "Just do the best you can. I won't blame you if the audience doesn't have enough money on them. After all, I'm springing this on you at the last moment."
Relieved and hopeful that the man's words were true, Jia Xuequin cupped his hands. "Gratitude, Esteemed Master Cultivator. Is there anything else we can do to make sure your experience with us meets your satisfaction?"
Chao Su rubbed his hands together before describing in detail exactly what he wanted.
"Of course, Esteemed Master Cultivator. This lowly one already has several items in the auction that meet your criteria and will search high and low for more!"
"I do have one other request, if you don't mind."
"Anything, Esteemed Master Cultivator. Anything."
And Jia Xueqin meant that quite literally. His first act would be to draw up paperwork to have Chao Su attain the most elite status the Premiere Jade Treasures Auction House offered. Anything he wanted on top of that would be granted. If it could be purchased, begged for, bartered, or stolen, Jia Xueqin would see that it was provided.
"I appear to have gained the slightest bit of enmity from a sect or two," Chao Su said.
There was absolutely never an understatement greater than that one made in the entirety of Sixth Flawless Flowing City in its long history.
"It is doubtful that I can keep my presence at the auction hidden for the whole time, but I'd prefer that it not be announced that the swords came from me," Chao Su said. "It might hurt the bidding."
"Of course, Esteemed Master Cultivator! No one but this lowly one knows your identity, and I swear to you that not one single clue regarding the origin of the blades will be mentioned to anyone."
Purple Heavenly Lightning flashed outside, followed by the deep rumble of thunder.
Jia Xueqin's heart thudded hard against his chest. His oath had been witnessed by the heavens. Never in his life had that happened to him. He was far too unimportant to gain the attention of the heavens.
Just who or what was Chao Su?
"Fantastic." And then Chao Su did something completely unfathomable. He cupped his hands and bowed. "Gratitude, Esteemed Manager Jia Xueqin."
And with that, the man popped out of existence. One moment he was standing there. The next he wasn't.
If not for the twenty-five heavenly treasures stacked neatly on the counter, Jia Xueqin might have suspected that he'd imagined the whole thing.
Chapter 286 – Economic Warfare
The visit to the auction house had been a lot of fun for Benton. While the lady at the counter hadn't been nearly as expressive as Kang Lin, the clerk had definitely been awe-struck, both by the sword she examined and the floating ones. The appraiser, though, had been the highlight of the visit.
It was nice to have one's work appreciated, and the man was greatly impressed by the craftsmanship. Apparently, Benton might have overshot his mark by a bit. While he'd understood that masterworks were rare, he hadn't realized how rare. And valuable.
Five to ten swords probably would have been more than enough for his purposes.
On the other hand, the appraiser's reaction had been priceless. Dollar signs—uh, tael signs?—danced in the man's eyes. He was surely in for a great bonus once all the swords sold.
Since he was developing active relationships with different parties and factions in Sixth Flawless Flowing City, Benton was paying more attention to the concept of social debt. More specifically, he realized that asking favors incurred such debt, so he sought to avoid doing that. Thus, he'd been relieved when he'd grasped that the appraiser would be getting an enormous boon from the swords being auctioned off. That fact swung the balance of the relationship way to Benton's side, meaning it was completely okay for him to make the simple requests he'd desired.
All in all, the trip to the auction house had been absolutely perfect. He'd gotten to see some fun, gratifying reactions; found out that his wares were so much more valuable than he'd anticipated that he should easily earn enough to cover all the materials he wanted to purchase; and gained the manager's assistance in keeping Benton's identity as the crafter secret and in procuring materials.
And he'd done all that without doing the stereotypical entitled cultivator thing of scaring weak juniors into doing his bidding. Instead, he'd been affable and exceedingly accommodating and polite. And his charm offensive had worked like a … well, charm.
He felt really good about himself.
His next stop was the Poison Claw Sect, and he almost simply teleported straight into Kang Ya-Ting's study. Just before he triggered his technique, though, he recalled his newfound resolve to behave more like a sect leader, and sect leaders visiting allied sects didn't simply pop into a friend's study.
No, they went through a bunch of bureaucratic rigamarole instead. He sighed. That meant the front gate. Which meant he needed his actual sect robes instead of the wandering cultivator ones.
For a moment, he considered purchasing a technique to instantaneously change clothes but stopped himself. While that would be neat and convenient, it was also a wasteful use of Sect Points. Besides, he recalled something he'd read in a book once where a ring stored different outfits and twisting the ring instantaneously equipped the one corresponding to that setting.
Now that would be cool. And something he could sell. Even better, he bet that Kang Lin would find it utterly flabbergasting that he'd use his talents as a Formations Master and Master Blacksmith to create something so utterly frivolous. If nothing else, her reaction was sure to make crafting it totally worthwhile.
So instead, he used both his spiritual sense and enhanced physical senses to find an unoccupied house nearby, popping in there to change clothes. Though no one was currently present, the home clearly belonged to someone, and Benton felt bad about breaking in as he had. He dumped a handful of silver taels on a table to compensate for his rudeness.
It didn't occur to him until after he did so that he had other options rather than invading someone's house, like creating a wall of Shadow in an alley to provide him privacy. That didn't seem very sect leader like, though. Ahh. He could have simply Teleported back to his office.
Yeah. That would have been best.
Oh well.
Finally decked out in his official sect robes, he Teleported outside the Poison Claw Sect gate. It only took an instant for the Foundation Establishment realm guards to notice his presence. They both looked at each other and gulped.
Benton couldn't fathom the reason for their reaction. It was almost like they were scared of him. But that couldn't be right. He was the nicest guy he knew.
"Greetings," Benton said cheerfully. "I'm Sect Leader Chao Su of the Rising Tide Sect, here to see my friend, Elder Kang Ya-Ting."
There. Trying to be both friendly and formal was a tricky balance, but he'd totally nailed it.
After more kowtowing than he thought was necessary, an escort was summoned to take him to his destination.
"Friend Su," Kang Ya-Ting said with a bemused expression, "your arrival was quite a bit more formal that usual."
Benton chuckled. "I'm trying to act more like a sect leader. How am I doing?"
"Just fine, my friend. Just fine."
"I stopped by the auction house."
Kang Ya-Ting's eyes widened.
"Don't worry. I wore a disguise. I let the manager know who I was, but he agreed to keep it on the down low." Benton pulled the glaive he'd crafted for Elder Feng, one that converted the user's qi to a Lightning attack, from his ring. A moment later he added the sword for Elder Dai that produced a Poison attack. "As you can see, I also brought the trade goods."
Kang Ya-Ting was prepared for such an eventuality because he quickly extracted the rank 11 Shadow aspected beast core and the Ice Lotus from his ring, and the two quickly grabbed their new merchandise.
Benton grinned. With the new acquisitions, he now had eight out of the eighteen materials he needed. Ironically, the one he wanted most, the Fire aspect plant kernel that would complete his set for that element, was the item the Poison Claw Sect was providing in trade that he'd end up taking possession of last as it was still in transit to the village.
"Gratitude," Benton said, cupping his hands.
"To you as well, Friend Su," Elder Kang said, replicating the gesture.
"You'll be at the auction, right?"
"Considering the swords you're putting up for bid, Friend Su? This one wouldn't miss it."
"I guess I'll see you there, then."
There was no reason for Benton to stick around the city. Considering how easy his teleport skill made traveling, it was much more convenient for him to spend the few hours until he needed to be at the auction house in his office. Since he'd now visited the auction house's courtyard, he could just pop directly back there when he needed.
The two—friends? Colleagues?—said their goodbyes, and Benton Teleported back to the sect.
Mao Biya was incensed. That man, the insufferable man, Chao Su, came to the city—her city! The way he insulted her sect was unacceptable. She could not let that slight stand. That he actually had the audacity to think he could just show up and attend an auction was just rubbing his threats in her face, thinking her impotent to do anything about him.
Well, he was wrong. She was born in Sixth Flawless Flowing City and had managed the Swift Blizzard Sect branch there for more than a century. Her ties ran deep, and she'd worked hard to expand her network.
The clerk at the Premiere Jade Treasures Auction House, Yan Chunhua, was a friend of one of Mao Biya's nieces. The woman didn't know much about the specifics as she hadn't been able to hear much through a door, but Chao Su had shown up at the auction house early in the morning looking like a pauper—as if that could hide him from the Swift Blizzard's spies.
He'd met with the manager for quite some time, partially to have some swords appraised. According to Yan Chunhua, the blades were crafted by an expert blacksmith and had arrays inscribed on them.
It seemed that the so-called sect leader needed money for something, probably for something that was being sold in the auction, and he clearly expected the trinkets he was putting up for sale to provide that income.
Mao Biya chuckled. Not if she had anything to say about it.
After the conversation with Teng Wuying a couple of weeks ago, she had realized that the auction was scheduled for too soon for the two of them to arrange an ambush, but thwarting Chao Su's plans was a decent start to avenging the loss of face for her sect.
Sure, well made swords with formations crafted by a master were desirable. Valuable. Chao Su had to be confident that his creations would earn him all that he needed so that he could buy whatever it was that had drawn his eye.
But there was something that was infinitely more valuable than a well made sword—the continued favor of both the Jade Chameleon Sect and the Swift Blizzard Sect. Sure, the first of those had fallen on hard times, but they were still head and shoulders above any random small or mid-sized sect. Cultivators without major backing couldn't afford to go against them.
In contrast, defying the wishes of her sect was downright suicidal, especially within the confines of the city. There were so, so many ways she could make a cultivator's life miserable.
Once word got out that Mao Biya would be quite displeased with anyone who purchased one of Chao Su's swords at the auction, the market would dry up. Sure, she had no control over the Poison Claw Sect, but they could hardly afford to buy all the swords. And better yet, without competing bidders, the prices they paid would be severely depressed, leaving little to go into that heavens cursed man's coffers.
The City Lord's underlings were a bit more problematic, but she had levers she could pull, such as access to her sect's enhanced cultivator rooms. The leader of her sect would throw a fit if he found out she was offering spaces to outsiders for such a reason, but there was no reason for him to learn of it. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
She'd cut Chao Su's source of income off at the knees, and as soon as she figured out what it was he desired, she'd buy it right out from under him. His lesson not to threaten the Swift Blizzard Sect would be short-lived as he wouldn't remain in existence much longer after the start of the tournament, but teaching that particular knowledge to him would be quite satisfying, nonetheless.
Confident in her plans, Mao Biya laughed.
Chapter 287 – Auction Anticipation
The morning visit to Sixth Flawless Flowing City had done nothing to reduce Benton's excitement about the upcoming auction. In fact, if anything, he was even more eager to attend. The appraiser had seemed to think that the swords would go for much more money than Benton had anticipated, leaving him all the funds he needed to buy materials.
With an hour yet to go before the start and wearing his best sect robes, Benton teleported to the courtyard outside the auction house. He was definitely early because he didn't sense any cultivators present other than the ones that had been onsite earlier in the day.
That was okay, though. The fewer people who knew he was there, the better.
When he walked inside, he found a different young lady attending the front counter than the previous one, and his experience was much different as well. She immediately greeted him as Sect Leader Chao Su and showed him great deference.
"Greetings," he said, cupping his hands.
Her eyes went wide at his act of politeness to a Foundation Establishment realm junior, and she froze for a moment.
"Is there some kind of private viewing room or something set up for me?" he said to help prod her along.
"Of course, Sect Leader," she said, recovering nicely. "Please follow this lowly clerk."
Interesting. She used the same manner of speech as Sun Hua. Maybe his assistant's mother had trained with merchants.
The clerk led him to a well-apportioned room. There were four quite luxurious chairs, a table, and a glass window overlooking a stage.
"Since the Sect Leader is a Formations Master, feel free to modify or improve any of the privacy measures the Premiere Jade Treasures Auction House have established for you."
Benton took a moment to examine the formations. The intent was obviously to block spiritual and physical senses from detecting anything inside the room, and he supposed the efforts weren't bad per se. But they weren't good, either. A high realmed Golden Core or a Nascent Soul could pierce the arrays with a bit of effort.
"Give me a moment," Benton said.
Using his Time Aura, he quickly dashed around the room, making minor modifications.
"There," he said. "Now there is no way anyone below Nihility will sense, see, hear, smell, or even taste anything coming from this room."
A look a confusion crossed over the young lady's face before she quickly schooled it. Benton was confused himself for a moment before he realized that the combination of him manipulating time and using his already supernatural speed along with the weak perception ability of a junior cultivator meant that, to her, it must have looked like he hadn't even moved.
He thought about explaining for a moment, but it was far more amusing to appear to be highly eccentric.
"Gr-gratitude, Sect Leader," she said. "Should this lowly clerk extend an invitation to anyone else to view the auction in this room?"
"I'm assuming the Poison Claw Sect has their own viewing area?"
"Of course, Sect Leader."
"I'll be fine alone, then. Gratitude."
"O-of course, Sect Leader." She pointed to what looked like a tablet lying on a small end table. "That device will allow you to place bids, tabulate the total amount of greater spirit coins earned and spent, and send a request for refreshments."
The auction house had apparently invented an iPad with apps to run things. Cool. After dismissing the young lady, he sat down to play with the device and, of course, determine how it was made so he could make one for himself.
Mao Biya couldn't wait for the auction. She hoped she got a chance to see Chao Su's devastated face when all his plans for selling his swords and purchasing whatever caught his eye went for naught.
Her underling, Chang Wencheng, knocked and entered after receiving permission to do so.
"Report," she said.
"The Jade Chameleons are on board with your plan, and the smaller sects and merchants have been intimidated into compliance, Branch Sect Leader."
"Excellent. And the City Lord's coterie?"
He grimaced, not a good sign. "There have been difficulties, Branch Sect Leader. Rumors are circulating about just how good the swords in question are. The Emperor is sending a representative to the auction, someone who outranks the City Lord by quite a bit if the rumors have any truth to them."
Mao Biya frowned. That news wasn't good. At all. There were only so many levers she had to pull with the City Lord's people, and none of those controls would work with someone from the capitol. With both the Emperor's flunky and the Poison Claw Sect bidding, she might not be able to depress the selling price for the blades as much as she wished.
Still, there was a limit to the wealth the relatively poor Poison Claw Sect could afford to waste on swords. Even if the Emperor devoted significant sums to the endeavor, there was only so much damage his representative could do without someone actively bidding against him.
On the other hand, she wanted to make Chao Su pay, not be minorly inconvenienced.
"How many greater spirit coins do we have in the treasury?" she said.
"One hundred fifty thousand, Branch Sect Leader."
Hmm. That was a good start. And she could also count on the auction house extending her sect a line of credit for a quarter million. With three hundred and fifty thousand greater spirit coins at her disposal, she could surely at least prevent Chao Su from getting his grubby little hands on whatever it was that he desired.
At the very least, she could drive up the prices that Chao Su paid. Doing so would cost her nothing.
Of course, her sect leader, Dong Qiao, would not be happy with her if she did end up spending even the majority of what was in the branch treasury without something important to show for it, much less going into debt. As long as she was successful in keeping something important out of an enemy's hands, though, she could get the council of elders to side with her.
The gamble was worth it. She just had to be careful.
"Bring it all," she said.
Kang Ya-Ting was quite sure that the day's auction would be extraordinary. Chao Su's craftsmanship had been a revelation. The fight with the Jade Chameleon Nascent Souls exposed his status as a Foundations Master, and the quality of the weapons he created meant he was also a Master Blacksmith.
Who knew what other wonders the man was capable of?
Overall, Kang Ya-Ting thanked the heavens that his instincts had paid off. His star, along with his granddaughter's, was rising because of that man, and Kang Ya-Ting was more than willing to ride those coattails as high as they'd go.
Which was why he was in Elder Dai's study.
"You've heard the latest rumors, right?" Dai Shuren said. "Mao Biya is trying to intimidate people into not buying Chao Su's swords, but as word spreads about what might be on offer, her efforts appear to be failing."
Kang Ya-Ting chuckled. "She's in for a bad night."
"Should we warn her or Chao Su?"
"Friend Su will figure it out quickly, and I'm sure he'll make her regret her actions. As for her…" Kang Ya-Ting shrugged. "She's putting herself more and more on an enemy footing with the Rising Tide Sect. You know where I stand."
"That's one of the Big Three you're dismissing in favor of one man."
Kang Ya-Ting laughed. "The big two, you mean, and that one man is the reason for that change. Soon it will be the big one."
"You think the Poison Claw Sect will be all that will remain?"
Kang Ya-Ting made sure to keep his expression flat. He was absolutely confident that the Poison Claw Sect would be the only one of the Big Three left standing and would become bigger and better than ever. The big one, however, would be the Rising Tide Sect. "Definitely. That's what I believe, Elder Dai."
She flattened her lips into a line. "Our sect leader was quite impressed by the weapons Chao Su provided us."
"He's already seen them?"
"Elder Feng brought both of them to main sect grounds shortly after you gave them to us," Elder Dai said.
Interesting. Chao Su certainly was good at making ripples that splashed even the highest levels of the sect leadership.
"The sect leader was so impressed that he authorized us to use a half million greater spirit coins for bidding," Elder Dai said. "He wants a sword with a mythical element."
Kang Ya-Ting's eyes went wide. "A half a million? For one sword?"
"Absolutely. We hope we can get it for that. We also hope recoup some of it. He ordered us to sell two materials we know Chao Su is seeking."
"Why not simply try to swap directly?" Kang Ya-Ting said. "I'm sure Chao Su would be willing to make whatever the sect leader wanted in trade."
"That option will be our last resort. The sect leader is wary of an exchange of value that leaves us giving Chao Su far too little value in return for a treasure like the sword. It's important to achieve balance with him. You've done well to tilt things in our favor, but it's been quite noticeable that he's been pulling back as of late."
"Understood, Elder Dai." Kang Ya-Ting paused. "Do you think the sect leader would authorize any Lightning aspected materials to be auctioned off as well?"
"Lightning? Why? Chao Su didn't mention that as something he was seeking."
"Just a hunch," Kang Ya-Ting said. "Just a hunch."
Teng Wuying winced as rumors started flying around the city. Not about the high quality swords that his enemy, Chao Su, was selling. The man would be dealt with during the tournament, so the more money and resources he collected now, the better loot his ring would contain when Teng Wuying took possession of it.
No, he was worried about his ally, Mao Biya.
The woman was an excellent warrior and usually a fairly competent administrator. She was about as subtle as a blacksmith's hammer, though. If there was anyone wholly unsuited for attempting to manipulate an auction, it was her.
Normally, he wouldn't care. Let her suffer a loss of both spirit coins and face. As long as it didn't harm him, why should he care?
The problem was that a large enough setback might get her demoted and recalled to the main branch of her sect, putting her part in arranging for four Nascent Souls for the ambush in jeopardy.
There was no help for it. Teng Wuying would have to attend the auction with her and lend his aid. A little humbling would do her good, but he needed to prevent her experiencing a complete disaster.
The more he thought about it, the more fun the prospect of the auction seemed. Chao Su was turning out to be a much more worthy adversary that Teng Wuying had believed. Matching wits with an imbecile was no fun, but a challenging opponent was a different matter entirely.
Maybe the two of them would turn out to be each other's nemesis. How exciting!
Chapter 288 – Going once…
Jia Xueqin fought to keep the fact that he was sweating from being apparent to his audience. It wasn't the heat of the qi lights shining on the stage that caused his perspiration, either, as he was quite used to those. Instead, the beads of moisture forming on his forehead were purely due to the quality and quantity of luminaries that were watching him.
The Premiere Jade Treasures Auction House branch in Sixth Flawless Flowing City was a prestigious posting. All the big sects had branches in the city, and they always sent representatives to each auction. Likewise, the City Lord always had someone attend, even occasionally showing up in person.
Today, those normal VIPs were the least of his concerns.
To start with, Chao Su was watching, silently, from his private viewing room. If that scary man became displeased with either how his wares were selling or about not acquiring something he wanted, Jia Xueqin didn't want to even contemplate what he might do. Destroy the building? Lay waste to the city? The entire continent?
The man's reputation preceded him.
Next, serving as the Emperor's representative was one of his sons. An actual prince was sitting in attendance. Though his cultivation power wasn't as high as Chao Su's, his political power was much greater. That man could end the entire auction house—and not just the branch, either!—with the stroke of a pen.
And if a powerhouse of cultivation and a powerhouse of political might weren't enough, a powerful sect, the Purple Lotus, and the mighty Yu Clan, both from the Superior Water Breeze Continent, had been intrigued enough by the descriptions of the swords on offer to teleport members to the city.
Other branch managers in even more prominent locations might be used to addressing such an intimidating assemblage, but Jia Xueqin certainly wasn't.
His initial plan had been to start the auction with several of their most mundane items, just to whet everyone's appetite, but given the audience, he legitimately feared for his life if he tried something like that.
Instead, he felt compelled to offer up one of the swords first.
"Greetings, Honored and Esteemed Ladies, Gentlemen, and Cultivators. Welcome to the Premiere Jade Treasures Auction House of Sixth Flawless Flowing City. I'll be your host and auction manager tonight, Jia Xueqin."
No one struck him down with Lightning on the spot, so his opening had been received better than he'd feared.
"The first item up for bid tonight is a starsteel jian forged by a Master Bladesmith. For those of you with the proper technique for your spiritual sense, feel free to examine it. As an Expert Appraiser, I attest that it is ranked as top heaven grade, and that every feature that I will describe has been personally tested and verified by me." He held the blade in the air and felt spiritual senses from multiple cultivators sweep the area. "The sword also has three arrays, all inscribed by a Formations Master. The first allows the blade to repair itself by drawing in ambient qi, and that process can be sped by feeding it a Metal aspected spirit coin."
Jia Xueqin paused for a moment to let those details sink in. Metal was a fairly easy element despite to acquire not being one of the five most common ones, and the presence of a self-repair feature was fairly common for a high-end weapon. It was normal. Expected.
The unique factor was the ability of the formation to draw in ambient qi. If the blade collected minor damage, all one had to do was put it aside for a week or month or whatever, and it would eventually be good as new.
"The second array adds the element of Sharpness to the blade, making it cut ten times better than even the best forged starsteel blade," Jia Xueqin said. "This array, too, is recharged by either absorbing ambient qi or from the appropriate spirit coin. If the sword is not overused, however, it is not anticipated that anything other than ambient qi will be required."
So far, so good. He hoped that the potential buyers' reactions were in the range of excited. If so, the night might be a record breaker for his branch of the auction house, considering that the blade he held was one of the least valuable of Chao Su's creations.
"The final array," Jia Xueqin said, "shoots a ball of dense Fire from the end of the sword. One must, of course, input Fire qi into the hilt to trigger the attack, but the formation amplifies that input to expend ten times the power."
Jia Xueqin had no idea how such a miracle had been managed, but he and his team had tested it vigorously. Ten times magnification. A little over, actually.
"Bidding will start at ten thousand greater spirit coins."
The first bid came in instantly from the prince, but he was outbid so quickly that Jia Xueqin could hardly keep up. Twenty thousand. Thirty thousand. Forty. Fifty. And the numbers kept rising, eventually stalling at one hundred and five thousand.
"Going once. Going twice… Sold to Bidder 8461."
The prince's son used the Fire element, so the sword was probably destined to be a present for the young man.
Jia Xueqin had put a lot of thought into the order of items to be put up for bid. Obviously. He always did that. But the stakes for that particular evening were so high that he second and third and fourth guessed himself. And once he had the list finalized, he changed it.
There were many considerations regarding the proper sequence to present the items. Besides the twenty-five, now twenty-four, swords, the auction consisted of fifteen lots of pills, six lots of alchemy supplies, a dozen lots of various other weapons, two dozen lots of talismans in various quantities and strengths, and twenty lots of qi-rich materials.
In setting the order, his first item had served a dual purpose. For one, it immediately showed all the VIPs that the auction house hadn't exaggerated.
The other reason was just as important, if not more so—pleasing Chao Su. In addition to keeping Chao Su happy so he didn't destroy everyone and everything in the building, his abilities as a craftsman made him a valuable resource. The man was interested in buying the qi-rich materials, but Jia Xueqin had no idea what kind of resources the enigmatic Nascent Soul—just about all the major players agreed by that point that Chao Su was, in fact, at that realm—had in terms of spirit coins. Saving the items he most wanted until after several of his swords had earned him funds was a minor favor, and one that should net plenty of goodwill.
After the first item, the strategy grew more complicated. A simple or inexperienced house might start with low value items and ramp up over the course of the event, finishing with the anticipated most prestigious treasure. Years of experience had taught Jia Xueqin better. For one thing, the best items should go at about the sixty percent mark. Otherwise, all the wealthiest participants would save their spirit coins in anticipation of going high at the end. By getting the high earning items out of the way, it would leave coins in the spatial rings to spend later.
Of course, it was also important to end with a bang, so the second most important group of swords would be saved for last. Thus, the order of Chao Su's items was the five common element swords, the temporary stat boosting blades, the mythical element weapons, and a mixture of the final ten. A couple of the qi rich materials would be mixed in among the stat boosting blades and a few with the mythical elements. The majority, though, three quarters in fact, would be introduced between the final ten. That strategy left the pills, alchemy supplies and various other weapons to be put up near the beginning.
Jia Xueqin started with the worst pills in the lot, Major Healing Pills with purities in the low nineties. As he'd hoped, the Fire sword had stirred the crowd's ardor, and even those comparatively trash pills got an enthusiastic response, going upwards of twenty percent above what he would have expected.
Also as he expected, demand remained high for the other four common element swords, but they didn't spark quite the bidding war that the in-demand Fire aspected one had, each going in the eighty-five thousand to ninety-five thousand range.
Jia Xueqin smiled to himself. Even with the twenty percent commission, Chao Su had to be pretty happy with his first set of swords earning him over three hundred seventy thousand greater spirit coins.
Teng Wuying grimaced. Mao Biya's face grew stormier with every sword that sold.
"Who are all these people? Why are they bidding? Don't they know who I am?" She screamed so loudly that people outside the building would have heard if not for the soundproof arrays in the private viewing room. "These trash swords should be making him no more than thirty thousand each, not triple that. When I find out who the bidders are, even the heavens will not be able to spare them from my wrath!"
She didn't know that the Emperor's representative was one of the princes—a prince!—or that two quite high-powered delegations from the neighboring continent had been teleported in for the event. The expense that must have cost their factions was extraordinary.
Explaining any of that to her would have only made her angrier, though, so Teng Wuying held his tongue.
He leaned forward in his chair as the auction house manager introduced a new sword, the first of a new type. Some information about the blades had gotten out, released as advertising in fact. Publicly available data included the fact that the arrays were crafted by a Formations Master and that, in addition to self-repair, the arrays produced effects never before seen.
Most of the actual details, however, remained a mystery. Only the very sterling reputation of the Premiere Jade Treasures Auction House had brought in so many VIPs without the auction manager having to provide more specifics.
Teng Wuying couldn't help but be curious about what his nemesis had produced.
"This lowly one hopes that the audience is not disappointed with the next set of blades," the auction manager said. "They do not, unfortunately, channel qi into an elemental attack. Instead, in addition to the normal self-repair and Sharpness arrays, the next sword up for bid absorbs a small amount of qi from each of an opponent's attacks and uses that qi to temporarily increase the perception of the sword's user."
Teng Wuying couldn't hear anything other than the auction manager due to the fact that everyone was inside private rooms equipped with privacy arrays. Regardless, it was almost a given that the entire place would have lapsed into absolute silence at that announcement.
How could a sword absorb a portion of an attack? Sure, some Grand Defensive Formations could achieve such a feat, but those were enormous and complex. The blade was a normal sized jian.
And even if it made a little sense that a Formations Master could miniaturize such an amazing array, how under the heavens could that absorbed energy be converted to a usable increase in the abilities of the sword wielder?
Such a thing simply wasn't possible. Was it?
The auction manager was an Expert Appraiser, renowned for his abilities in that field. In fact, he was regarded to be the absolute best of his profession on the entire continent. Not only was he not one who would be easily fooled, but he put his reputation on the line by making such a claim. One falsehood and his career was finished. Given the organization he worked for, they wouldn't bother firing him, either. He'd be summarily executed.
The man literally put his life on the line by making that claim, meaning it was extremely unlikely that he'd lie about it. After all, the winning bidder would soon discover any treachery if there were any.
Teng Wuying believed that the manager was telling the truth.
Just what kind of monster had Teng Wuying set himself against?
For the first time in a long time, he felt his face ease into a true smile. A challenge. Finally, a true challenge. He'd finally found a worthy opponent, one he was determined to beat.
Chapter 289 – Going Twice…
Benton was having a simply great time. Though he'd attended many auctions before Evelyn brought down the ban hammer on him, he'd never been a major player or anything. He'd simply attended and bid on items that caught his attention with them usually going higher than he could afford.
None of his former experiences applied at the current event.
For one thing, items that he brought, that he created with his own two hands, were the primary attraction for most of the bidders. For another, he'd been given his own private viewing room, and if he so chose, he could have had servants waiting on him hand and foot.
Benton was officially, for that auction anyway, a Big Deal.
The best part, though, was that his first five swords had already brought him over three hundred seventy thousand greater spirit coins. That was a lot of coins. His best regeneration rate, obtained by using his Meditation Technique, was a bit over one hundred and one million qi per hour. Due to inefficiencies, it took him eleven thousand qi to create one greater spirit coin. That meant that, using just his regen rate, he could create ninety-two hundred greater spirit coins per hour.
The five swords had earned him over forty hours' worth of spirit coin production.
As far as Benton was concerned, that was a fantastic trade off. For one thing, those swords were the ones he expected to sell for the least amount. Second, making spirit coins was boring. Very boring. Forging swords was much more intellectually stimulating. And third, those swords had taken him only twenty-four hours to create, and that period included breaks, earning him a profit of sixteen hours with twenty swords left to sell.
Honestly, the fourth advantage was probably the biggest one—it felt awesome to have his craftsmanship acknowledged so enthusiastically and tangibly.
Regardless, the auction had barely started, and he was already thrilled with the results. He especially appreciated that the auction manager had delayed putting up any of the qi-rich materials Benton wanted to buy until he had a chance to build up a war chest.
Being catered to in such a manner also felt really good.
He'd mostly zoned out when the pills and alchemy supplies had been on the block. The pills, quite simply, weren't up to his standards, and none of the supplies, though rare, corresponded to any pills that he planned on making in the immediate future, if at all.
The items reminded him, though, that he'd purchased the necessary techniques from the System to make him a Master Alchemist. At the time, he'd had a vague notion of either combining all three crafts into a really valuable item for sale or of creating pills to sell at the auction. He'd ended up doing neither as he hadn't come up with any ideas for incorporating alchemy into a sword.
And upon further reflection, he'd decided he didn't want any of his pills on the market, either.
The main problem with creating any alchemical product, which would have surely sold for a lot, was in obtaining the ingredients, but he felt that he could have bought supplies at a low enough cost to guarantee a good profit margin. Creating pills also wasn't the issue, nor was figuring out which ones to craft. The real issue was the fact that the most valuable alchemical creations were those that gave a permanent boost to the consumer. Since anyone could buy his products in an auction, the pills might have landed in the hands of his enemies.
He didn't regret becoming a Master Alchemist, though. The skills allowed him to confidently produce pills with acceptable purity levels and would surely come in handy for the duration of his time as a sect leader and were already saving him beaucoup Shop Points. It was probably for the best, though, that he kept that particular master craftsman ability for his sect members and maybe allies only.
Benton returned his attention to the stage where the next item up was the first of his stat boosting weapons, the Perception Blade. He really had no idea how much it would go for, especially considering that the common element blades had done so well. Those swords, though, hadn't been anything really unusual. They just did what normal cultivator weapons did, only they were of much better quality. The next set performed functions that Su had never even heard of.
"This lowly one hopes that the audience is not disappointed with the next set of blades," Jia Xueqin said from the stage. "They do not, unfortunately, channel qi into an elemental attack. Instead, in addition to the normal self-repair and Sharpness arrays, the next sword up for bid absorbs a small amount of qi from each of an opponent's attacks and uses that qi to temporarily increase the perception of the sword's user."
Benton frowned. He'd expected the auction manager to hype up the uniqueness of the blade or the craftsmanship or something. Instead, he'd apologized and downplayed its functions.
Oh well. Not all creations could be huge money earners. It appeared that the stat enhancing set would be a bust.
Benton's lowered expectations were soon thwarted, though. The bidding started fast and only intensified. Five or six parties were in competition to win the blade, driving up the price. It finally settled on one hundred seventy-three thousand greater spirit coins.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Mao Biya grew angrier at each of Chao Su's swords that sold. Her efforts to depress the selling prices had utterly failed. Instead of a measly twenty or thirty thousand greater spirit coins each, his blades were going for four, five, or even seven times higher.
She only had one option to keep him from leaving in absolute triumph.
"Teng Wuying, you surely know what Chao Su is after in this auction," she practically screamed. "Tell me!"
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"Tell me or our alliance is over."
Teng Wuying paused for way too long before finally sighing. "A while back, corresponding to a visit to the city by three of Chao Su's disciples, the Poison Claw Sect sent out inquiries to a lot of merchants about certain qi-rich materials. I don't know exactly what he needs or what he needs them for, but I am almost positive that will be what he seeks to purchase here."
Mao Biya fixed him with a glare.
"What?" he said. "That's all I know. Do with it as you will."
Three more of Chao Su's swords hit the block—one that temporarily boosted speed, another strength, and another that replenished the user's store of available qi. They went for one hundred sixty-eight thousand, one hundred eighty-one thousand, and one hundred forty-four thousand greater spirit coins, respectively.
Finally, one of the qi-rich materials came up for bid—a rank twelve Nature-aspect beast core. She glanced at Teng Wuying. He nodded.
Mao Biya grinned. If Chao Su wanted it, he would have to pay out the nose for it.
The auction manager started the bidding at five thousand qi, and the value was fairly quickly met. Someone instantly bid six thousand before the manager could say a word. The manager asked for ten thousand, accepted a bid, and had it instantly raised to eleven.
The same thing happened with fifteen advancing to sixteen and twenty advancing to twenty-one.
"That's Chao Su, right?" Mao Biya said.
"That would be my guess."
"How much should that core go for? Around fifty thousand?"
"A rank twelve Nature?" Teng Wuying said. "A useful element but not terribly rare. Could be a substitute for Wood for most uses. I'd say sixty to sixty-five."
He proved to be correct. Bidding slowed as it reached sixty thousand and being instantly raised to sixty-one. There were no takers at sixty-five, so the manager had to increase by increments of one thousand. Someone finally bid it up to sixty-four, and Chao Su raised to sixty-five thousand.
"Sixty-five thousand going once…" the auction manager said. "Sixty-five thousand going twice…"
Before the man could say "Sold," Mao Biya entered seventy thousand in the device provided by the auction house. It was, of course, instantly raised to seventy-one. As was seventy-five, eighty, eighty-five, ninety, one hundred, one ten, one twenty, one thirty, and one forty."
"How much do you have to spend?" Teng Wuying said.
"None of your business."
"What happens if Chao Su drops out?"
"He won't," she said. "He needs this core."
"How do you know? He's already paying more than double. These cores aren't that rare."
She put in a bid of one hundred fifty thousand, which was instantly raised.
Unfortunately, Teng Wuying had a point. Her sect leader might go as far as having her removed from her position if she spent so much on a relatively useless beast core. She would definitely face some form of punishment for such an action.
"Fine," she said.
The core sold to Chao Su for one hundred fifty-one thousand greater spirit coins.
Teng Wuying smiled. "You should be happy. He way overpaid for it because of you."
"Not like he can't afford it," she grumbled.
A few miscellaneous items went up for bid, followed by another sword, this one converting a portion of an opponent's attacks into healing. If not for the source of the blade, Mao Biya would have been tempted to bid on it. The novelty of turning something your opponent intended to harm you into healing drew her interest.
She apparently wasn't the only one so intrigued. The sword sold for an even two hundred thousand greater spirit coins.
The next item on the block was a rock that had been found at the bottom of an icy cave. It had steeped in that environment for so long that it had taken on a strong Ice aspect.
Mao Biya exchanged a glance with Teng Wuying.
He sighed. "Less that fifty. I wouldn't want to pay more than the low forties for it."
The auction of the Ice Stone played out the same as for the Nature Beast Core. Once the other bidders dropped out—as predicted, Chao Su was winning it for forty-three—Mao Biya again pushed it up to one fifty, making him pay one hundred fifty-one greater spirit coins for it.
"Great job!" Teng Wuying said enthusiastically. "You've cost him at least a couple hundred thousand greater spirit coins."
"That would be just fantastic if he hadn't already earned over a million at this auction."
Chao Su would pay for his insult. Mao Biya was determined to make sure of it. He'd pay a lot, and he'd pay in as many ways as possible.
Benton frowned. On one hand, he was quite pleased. He'd already come away with two of the materials that he needed. That he'd had to way overpay for them was somewhat inconsequential considering how much he'd made so far.
On the other hand, it appeared that someone was deliberately targeting him, and the person wasn't even being all that clever about it. If the person wanted to keep driving up prices, they really should have stopped at random amounts instead of clearly signaling their ceiling like that.
He pressed a button on his tablet, summoning an attendant. A young lady soon knocked and entered.
"How may this Attendant assist you, Esteemed Sect Leader?"
"Do you have any Fire-aspected materials up for auction today?" He hadn't specified a need for that element since he already had two of the three in his possession and had arranged for the third to be delivered. Still, his understanding was that such materials were an auction staple, so he expected there to be some elements he didn't need up for sale.
"Apologies, Esteemed Sect Leader, but this lowly Attendant is not aware of the list of items." She cringed away from him as if expected to be struck or worse.
"That's fine," he said hurriedly. "Would it be possible for you to message the auction manager, and let him know my request that, if there are any Fire-aspected materials in the queue, I'd really appreciate it if he could move that one to the slot for the next qi-rich material that comes up in the sequence?"
Still obviously fearful, she said, "This lowly one cannot guarantee that the Esteemed Auction Manager will comply with the request, Esteemed Sect Leader, but this lowly one will send the message."
Benton cupped his hands. "Gratitude."
Chapter 290 - Sold
Jia Xueqin paused the auction for a moment, indicating to the audience that the break was for him to grab a drink of water. His actual reason was that he'd noticed an incoming message on his device. Since his staff was instructed to hold all but the most crucial communications during an auction, he knew it had to be important.
Chao Su wishes for the next qi-rich material put up to be Fire aspected if possible.
He took another sip of water, thinking hard. Normally, the Premiere Jade Treasures Auction House did not allow any interference in the order of items to be put up for bid. That selection was purely in the control of the auction manager—him.
Jia Xueqin chuckled. That was the auction house's official position.
In reality, it was quite common to perform small favors for important clients, and Chao Su had earned the house over a quarter of a million greater spirit coins in fees already even though only forty percent of his swords had yet made it to the block.
And the favor was very minor. There were seventeen more such materials. Substituting one for another made little difference to Jia Xueqin.
He decided to hold off on making the call until after the next sword was sold. If it did as well as he hoped, the favor would be no issue. No issue at all.
"In all my years of managing auctions," Jia Xueqin announced, "I can honestly say that I've never had an item on the block more interesting, more unique, more powerful, more paradigm breaking, and potentially more valuable than the next set of swords. In one way, the blade is much like the first set that utilized a user's input to form a qi attack. In another, it breaks the mold of such a common array in a way that the two cannot even be compared. First, the qi element of the attack does not have to match the input qi of the user. I'll say that again in another way. Any cultivator can use this sword. Input any qi element into the hilt, and an array converts that qi to the type used for the attack."
He paused, letting that impossibility sink in.
"It's an impressive feat of formation creation, worthy of a true Formations Master," Jia Xueqin said. "Just that one facet of the sword alone would have made it almost priceless. But there's more.
"The Esteemed Cultivators watching are probably asking, 'What could possibly be better?' The elements used in the attack, my dear friends. The element makes the difference. For our first of the next five swords for bid, This lowly one presents … the Gravity Blade."
Even though Kang Ya-Ting knew of the blade and that it would be auctioned, his heart was still thudding with excitement at the auction manager's presentation. That sword was one that would be treasured by the sect that won it for centuries, perhaps millennia.
He glanced at Elder Dai, who nodded her consent.
"The bidding starts at two hundred fifty thousand greater spirit coins," the auction manager said.
Kang Ya-Ting was ready, matching the opening bid and getting it in before his competitors. He and Elder Dai were only authorized to spend a half a million for one of the blades, and he doubted he'd get the first one offered, especially given the starting point.
Two seventy-five. Three hundred. Three twenty-five. Three fifty. Three seventy-five. Four hundred. The price kept climbing with no signs of stopping or even slowing down.
Four hundred twenty-five. Four fifty. Four seventy-five.
Kang Ya-Ting entered the bid for half a million and held his breath.
Five twenty-five.
The number went up, surpassing six hundred fifty before slowing to ten thousand coin increments. Bidder 8461, presumably the prince, won it for seven hundred fifteen thousand greater spirit coins.
Yikes.
"I didn't expect us to win that one, but seven hundred fifteen thousand?" Elder Dai said.
"Maybe the novelty will wear off," he said, "and the price for one of them will slip down to half a million."
Kang Ya-Ting didn't have a lot of hope that would happen, but he had some.
Mao Biya clenched and unclenched her fists. Chao Su's latest sword had gone for almost three quarters of a million greater spirit coins. One. Sword.
She was beginning to wonder if her attempts to squash the sale had actually had the opposite effect.
"What do I do?" she said. "That man gave the Swift Blizzard Sect no face. His actions cannot go unpunished. The prices that we're seeing after all the messages that I sent… The loss of face from this auction will be just as bad as his insulting threat, maybe worse."
"Do nothing," Teng Wuying said.
The coward. The honorless cur.
"I will say it again. Slowly." Mao Biya snarled at him. "I. Cannot. Tolerate. This. Loss. Of. Face. Understand?"
"You will pay him back for this indignity and more. At the tournament. When we have six Nascent Souls attack him, and the formations are in our favor."
"Months from now? I have to live with the stain of this day on my reputation for months? Not acceptable."
Teng Wuying sighed. "You should let it go. I'm almost positive any action on your part at this point will just make things worse."
"Not. Acceptable."
"What can you do?" he said. "You don't have the strength to attack him. His sect is being guarded by a Nascent Soul and a Grand Defensive Formation. Even if you got past those two formidable obstacles to move against his juniors, Chao Su can Teleport there in an instant. Any attack on his home turf or without overwhelming force is doomed to failure. Literally, all you can do is try to make him pay a bit more for his purchases, and even that carries more risk than I'd be willing to take on."
It had been a long time, centuries, since she'd felt so impotent. Advancing to the Golden Core realm and forming a Concept had been such an amazing boost in power that it had felt like the entire world had to bow before her martial prowess. To be brought so low as to feel as weak as a mortal by that man, Chao Su, was intolerable.
She had to do something. Anything.
"I'll make him pay," she said. "I'll squeeze every coin that I can out of him."
It wasn't much, but it was at least something.
Benton grinned happily at the price his Gravity Blade sold for. He'd been off in his thinking of the price by an order of magnitude, hoping to get seventy-five thousand for it.
"Heh. I guess I overshot the mark by a bit."
It was truly cool to see everyone go wild over his crafts.
The next words out of Jia Xueqin's mouth only improved Benton's mood further. The auction manager put a rank ten Fire-aspect beast core on the block.
Benton actually laughed out loud. He had a very similar one in his ring that he'd harvested from the cyclops that he'd killed.
The fact that he had absolutely no need for the core didn't change his bidding at all. Not at first, anyway.
The price advanced quickly to sixty-six thousand greater spirit coins, and as was his habit, he immediately jumped it by one thousand. Then, as he expected, his wannabe foil jumped in, escalating the bidding. Which soon reached one hundred forty-five thousand.
As was his wont, he increased it to one forty-six.
His opponent immediately raised to one fifty.
And Benton remained silent, his hand still. He made no move to increase the bid.
"Going once for one hundred fifty thousand…" Jia Xueqin said from the stage. "Going twice…"
Mao Biya stared at the auction manager with wide eyes. What was happening? Why wasn't Chao Su upping the bid?
"Going twice…" the auction manager said.
She turned to Teng Wuying. He shrugged at her. Shrugged.
"Sold!" the auction manager said. "Bidder 4615 wins the item for one hundred fifty thousand greater spirit coins."
Bidder 4615. She looked at her device. That was her number. One hundred fifty thousand greater spirit coins had been deducted from her account, leaving her with only those granted from her line of credit with the auction house. She'd taken the coins she'd just, somehow, spent from the branch sect treasury. They weren't hers. They were the sect's.
And she'd spent them.
Gone. They were gone.
To purchase a rank ten Fire aspected beast core that neither she nor the sect had any legitimate use for. And she'd overpaid by close to two and a half times its worth.
The sect leader would be livid. She'd be called back to the main sect to answer for the debacle. The addition of her loss of face due to her failure to prevent Chao Su's swords from selling at a high price would only add to her problems.
She might have to face the Punishment Hall.
Mao Biya turned to Teng Wuying. "You! You did this."
"I did nothing but warn you against your actions. Your failure helps me none at all."
"Leave my sight. Now. Or you will taste my blade."
Teng Wuying quickly cupped his hands and scurried off like the rat that he was. As soon as the door shut behind him, she sank into one of the provided chairs and tried to think of a way, any way, out of her dismal situation.
Teng Wuying, safely ensconced in his own private viewing room, shook his head. The problem with conspiring with hotheads was that occurrences like what just happened were not only possible but likely. Luckily, he'd already figured a way out.
With the enormous loss of face the Swift Blizzard Sect had just suffered, they were, somewhat, in the same position as the Jade Chameleon Sect. Oh, the Swift Blizzard's loss of face was lesser by orders of magnitude, but it was still severe. They'd been threatened by a nothing sect and, after openly conspiring against that sect's leader, had suffered a complete failure. In public.
By that evening, the specifics of what happened in the auction house detailing exactly how Chao Su had outwitted and outmaneuvered the branch head of the Swift Blizzard Sect would be on every tongue. Teng Wuying would make sure of it.
Sect Leader Dong Qiao would hate the risk he'd incur by providing all four of his Nascent Souls for the ambush, but he would have no other choice. The continued existence of Chao Su would be a constant drain on his sect's face and a testament to his personal impotence.
Teng Wuying might even get the man to contribute enough greater spirit coins to hire mercenaries. Unaffiliated Nascent Souls didn't exist, but some of the smaller sects on nearby continents were willing to sell their members' services for the right price as long as there was a guarantee of safety.
Six Nascent Souls plus the right formations should be good enough to kill Chao Su, but eight would be even better. And when the Jade Chameleon council of elders found out that the Swift Blizzard Sect was going all out, they'd be pressured to hire their own mercenaries.
If Teng Wuying played things correctly, he could end up with a dozen Nascent Souls in opposition to Chao Su. No more underestimating the man. No more letting the man live, much less win.