The auction was temporarily suspended due to interference from unknown individuals.
According to the exchange's request, the Jiangzhong City military was dispatched to verify the situation at the account holder's location.
The one carrying out this mission was none other than Lu Jun.
He led a military unit, together with the local police, to the Jingxin Lake Villa District.
"Hm? Why is the given location here?" Lu Jun stood in front of a massive mansion, looking completely puzzled.
This estate included three villas — and the courtyard wall had even been built with his help.
This was Jiang Kai's residence!
"You guys wait here. I'll go in and take a look." Lu Jun said to the soldiers and officers behind him, then walked up to the gate and pressed the doorbell.
Before long, the gate opened automatically, and Lu Jun stepped inside.
"Brother Lu Jun!" Jiang Ying personally came to greet him. "Why are you here?"
Lu Jun didn't answer directly. Frowning, he asked, "Are you alone at home?"
"My second brother's here too," Jiang Ying replied happily.
"So it really is him…" Lu Jun muttered to himself. "He's the one who supposedly died and logged off during the mine disaster, right?"
"He didn't say."
"Hurry, take me to see that guy. What kind of nonsense is he up to this time!"
Before long, Lu Jun saw Jiang Kai, half lying on the sofa. The coffee table in front of him was covered with snacks and drinks, and the large LCD screen opposite was displaying the words 'Auction temporarily suspended'.
"Brother Lu! You're here! Want some chips?" Jiang Kai greeted casually — the two were old acquaintances, so he acted completely at ease.
"Jiang Kai, what the hell are you doing! Was that you bidding just now?" Lu Jun strode forward. "The one offering Blood Essence Stones?"
"Yeah, that was me," Jiang Kai finally sat up properly. "I don't have anything else of real value, so I could only use Blood Essence Stones."
"This auction house is so annoying. Every time I bid, they warn me, and this time they even said I was disrupting order. Isn't that too much?"
"This… cough, cough… wait, you actually have fifty-three Blood Essence Stones?"
"Of course I do. If I were bluffing, my deposit would've been confiscated. You know me — I'd never let that happen."
Lu Jun thought about it. If it was Jiang Kai, that actually made sense…
"I'll confirm again — you really have fifty-three Blood Essence Stones? Jiang Kai, I'm not joking this time. You need to answer truthfully."
"I do… Brother Lu, want some beef jerky?"
Lu Jun's face darkened. This guy didn't realize how serious the situation was at all.
Still, in the end, Lu Jun decided to call headquarters.
"General, the bidder was Jiang Kai. He's home now."
"Oh, it's that kid? Then that explains it… I'll let the exchange know. Right, tell him to come see me when he's free."
"Yes, General. If that's all, I'll dismiss the others and stay at Jiang Kai's place tonight."
"Good. Stick close to him for the next few days — keep an eye on him! We can never find him when we need him!"
"Yes, sir."
A few minutes later, the auction resumed after the break.
As compensation, the exchange released a Seventh-Rank Martial Disciple Transfer Material.
Although this wasn't the first time such material had appeared — Jiang Kai had already obtained three of them during the preliminary Global Championship — there were currently only three Super-Seven Martial Disciples in all of Huaxia. Naturally, it drew everyone's attention.
As the most powerful class and highest-grade transfer material, the competition for it was fierce.
The seller demanded an item equivalent in value to a Three-Piece Divine Artifact Set!
Divine artifact sets were rarer than regular divine artifacts. A good set could consist of five pieces, while a lesser one had at least two.
Compared to normal divine artifacts, collecting a full set was much harder, but once completed, it granted additional set bonuses — something ordinary divine artifacts lacked.
Though there were many bidders, only about twelve or thirteen could actually meet the seller's requirements.
Liu Yuanxiang was extremely nervous. This Seventh-Rank Martial Disciple material was the first Super-Seven material likely to enter civilian hands.
Fortunately, the Xuanwu Guild had deep reserves. Their inventory happened to include a three-piece divine artifact set with outstanding attributes.
It consisted of a weapon, armor, and relic — far superior to other guilds' offerings like gloves, boots, or cloaks.
"President, our Reverse Scale Set is better than the others in attributes, slots, and effects. Its actual value is twice that of the Azure Dragon Rebirth Set!" the procurement representative said confidently.
"The whole hall is buzzing over our Reverse Scale Set's crazy stats!"
Liu Yuanxiang nodded. If he were the seller, he'd definitely choose the Reverse Scale Set — there'd be no second choice.
After all, Xuanwu was determined to win this material at any cost.
The previous Executioner and Geomancer materials didn't matter much; the key was this Super-Seven Martial Disciple one — he had to get it!
Sure enough, before the bidding period ended, seven or eight competitors withdrew — their offered sets were simply not competitive.
But just then, that guy appeared again.
["One Big Loving Family" offers: 50 Blood Essence Stones plus 1 Celestial Crystal.]
The auction hall chat, which had been marveling over the Reverse Scale Set, went completely silent — then exploded in shock.
"Fifty Blood Essence Stones — that's at least five divine artifacts' worth! Even if Blood Essence Stones can't upgrade sets, that's still basically five divine artifacts!"
"Bro, the Blood Essence Stones aren't even the main thing — it's the Celestial Crystal! A Celestial Crystal can grant a physical item enhancement property! In all these years, Huaxia's only ever found five of them!"
"Wait — it's that guy again! Does his family mine on Ghost Star or something?!"
As soon as Jiang Kai placed the bid, the seller made an instant decision. Jiang Kai won the Seventh-Rank material.
Of course, as always, the system sent him a severe warning — though this time, the tone was much more casual, as if the announcer had lost their mind.
> [Are you insane? Where are you getting all these Blood Essence Stones and Celestial Crystals?! Just saying numbers out loud now? You're not afraid of getting fined, huh?!]
Jiang Kai frowned and shook his head, pulling at Lu Jun's sleeve. "See, see, Brother Lu — did you see that? This is the attitude of the exchange people! Brother Lu, you need to talk to their leadership properly — they're even sending me messages like this!"
Lu Jun looked blank. "Uh… the person who sent that is probably the leadership…"
"But Jiang Kai, isn't your bid a bit too much? Are you sure you actually have that many Blood Essence Stones? You already spent fifty-three before!"
"And Celestial Crystals — do you even know what those are?"
Jiang Kai frowned back. "Brother Lu, I do have them! Fine, I'll let you in on a secret."
"I've got more than 1,300 Blood Essence Stones, 37 Celestial Crystals, and over 500 assorted ores."
Lu Jun's eyes widened. "What do you mean by 'assorted ores'?"
"Just things like Dragon Gall, Dragon Heart, and a few I haven't identified yet. I'll have Ruan Yu look at them later — saves me some appraisal cards."
"Dragon Heart, Dragon Gall… you call those 'miscellaneous'?! And you can't even spend a few dozen star coins on an appraisal card?" Lu Jun's face went blank with despair. "You really are… frugal to the core."
Jiang Kai grinned. "Big Brother always said we should run our household frugally, right?"
"But when I saw Xuanwu trying to buy it, I got mad. Even if I take a loss, I can't let them get it!"
"Brother Lu, our main god also needs to grow stronger! I've decided — I'll buy up all the upcoming materials! That'll really piss off Xuanwu!"
After a long silence, Lu Jun finally sighed faintly.
"…Next time you go exploring on Ghost Star… can you take me with you too?"