Exactly how vast the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy was, Liu Bai truly did not know.
But today, as he prepared to go out, he had flown for several hours before finally approaching the border between the inner and outer regions of the Academy. There, he sensed a faint wave of concealed spiritual energy emanating from the air ahead. This was clearly the protective grand array of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy.
As a Spirit Array Master, Liu Bai was very interested in such things. He quietly extended his senses toward the grand array and was instantly stunned by the immense and boundlessly profound waves of spiritual energy that surged like the sea.
In fact, as he was probing, he discovered that even his own spiritual energy began to grow chaotic, and he hurriedly withdrew.
Nevertheless, this gave him a preliminary judgment about the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy's protective grand array. It should be a terrifying Grandmaster level array.
The protective array of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy had one unique trait. Going out was easy, but coming back in was difficult. Unless one possessed an "Academy Token," entry was impossible. To force entry would likely result in being struck down directly by the array.
The Academy Token could be obtained in Beicang City, the enormous outer city of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. In the entire Northern Heavens Continent, Beicang City was extremely famous and was considered the first line of defense that the Academy maintained outside its walls.
Naturally, Liu Bai did not need to go through such trouble. He already held an Academy Token personally bestowed upon him by Elder Chihuo. As long as he carried it when returning from outside, he could easily pass through into the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy.
Qingyun City was not far from the Academy, located to the southeast, about two days of travel. Therefore Liu Bai was in no rush to hurry along.
Although the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy was the most powerful force in the Northern Heavens Continent, it was not the only great power. Furthermore, the Academy had not truly dominated the entire continent. Thus when its students traveled across the land, they were still in danger.
Especially since the Demonic Dragon Palace, which had once been besieged by the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy together with other forces, had not truly been eradicated. On the contrary, many of the names within the top ten of the Student Bounty Rankings were butchers from the Demonic Dragon Palace.
Liu Bai knew even more clearly that the present Demonic Dragon Palace was by no means weaker than the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. The difference was that most of their strength had now been hidden in the shadows. What appeared openly were only remnants, but the truth was something no one could fathom.
Qingyun City itself might not have been significant in the scope of the entire Northern Heavens Continent, but within thousands of miles around, it was renowned. One very important reason for this was the annual auction held there.
Amidst an endless stretch of mountains stood one particular peak that seemed as though it had been severed at the waist by some immense force. At its broken summit lay a vast plateau, and Qingyun City had been built upon it.
Because this city stood high upon the mountain, with clouds seeming to gather at the very foot of its walls, it was named Qingyun City.
Each morning, as the sun rose, golden light would flood the city, making it seem like an ethereal immortal paradise.
When Liu Bai arrived at this city upon the mountaintop, he saw countless streaks of light descending from the distant skies, all flying rapidly toward the city. Clearly, these people were drawn by the annual Qingyun Auction.
Liu Bai descended swiftly at the city gates. Before him loomed walls constructed of white stone, hundreds of zhang high, majestic and imposing, radiating a sense of indestructible strength.
In terms of both scale and prosperity, this city was dozens of times greater than Liu City, where his family resided. Seeing such a massive city for the first time, Liu Bai could not help sighing inwardly. Even an ordinary city on the Northern Heavens Continent was more grand and magnificent than every city in the Northern Spiritual Realm combined.
This strengthened Liu Bai's determination to bring his family out of that barren and desolate place.
After entering the city, Liu Bai did not immediately begin searching for information. Instead, he first found a place to lodge. The auction would only begin tomorrow, and the only requirement for participation was sufficient strength.
Therefore Liu Bai decided to wait until tomorrow's auction, where items that had once belonged to the Xie Clan would appear. Otherwise, if he wandered blindly like a headless fly, he might be discovered by hidden enemies before finding anything useful.
The next day came quietly. Ten minutes before the auction began, Liu Bai had already arrived at the Trading Center in the city's heart.
The Qingyun Auction was being held inside the largest building of this Trading Center. It would last five full days, with nearly a hundred auction sessions in total. Among them, the session where items of the Xie Clan would appear was scheduled for this morning.
At this moment, Liu Bai was dressed in a simple training robe and had deliberately disguised himself to look older. After all, he was only seventeen years old. Without some disguise, he would easily attract attention.
After all, a seventeen or eighteen year old at the Heaven Fusion Realm was a sight that would draw every gaze and would quickly lead others to suspect he was a genius student of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy.
If his identity were exposed, it could indeed bring about deadly danger.
Following the flow of the crowd, Liu Bai paid the entrance fee and quickly stepped into the building.
Upon entering, his vision opened wide. After a short corridor, a massive auction hall unfolded before his eyes.
The hall was already crowded with people. After glancing around, Liu Bai found a seat near the front rows and sat down.
Normally, such seats were reserved for those with considerable strength or distinguished backgrounds. Around him were various figures who sat casually, waiting for the auction to begin.
Liu Bai did not recognize most of them, but from the marks and insignias they bore, it was obvious they all belonged to great powers. As for those like Liu Bai who had no background or were hiding their identities, they mostly sat further away.
Before long, accompanied by the sound of drums and bells, a scantily dressed and alluring woman walked gracefully onto the auction stage.
"Welcome, esteemed guests, to the auction held by our Umbra Chamber of Commerce here in Qingyun City. I am Linglong, the chief auctioneer of Umbra's Qingyun branch. On behalf of the Umbra Chamber of Commerce, I thank you for your support."
The Umbra Chamber of Commerce was one of the three great chambers of commerce in the entire Northern Heavens Continent, with shops and auction houses spread across many regions. The Qingyun Auction influenced thousands of miles around, so all three great chambers of commerce had established auction houses here.
Although the woman was captivating, most of the audience was more concerned with the items being auctioned. Thus Linglong did not waste words. With a wave of her hand, someone brought forward a tray.
"An High-Level Spirit-grade offensive art, Heavenly Wind Divine Slaughter Slash. I trust I need not explain much. The power of an High-Level Spirit-grade art is enough to easily slay a Heaven Fusion Realm expert. The starting price is one million two hundred thousand spirit coins. The auction begins now."
As her voice fell, a chorus of bids immediately rose.
Liu Bai merely curled his lips.
An High-Level Spirit-grade art capable of slaying a Heaven Fusion Realm expert with ease? What nonsense.
Even if both parties were at the same cultivation level, unless one had mastered the art to great completion, such a claim was simply not true. Besides, would an opponent just stand still and let themselves be struck?
Of course, this was nothing more than salesmanship.
Liu Bai naturally did not take it seriously. He had no intention of bidding. The reason was simple. He had no money.
Yes, he was broke.
Although his father Liu Qingtian had given him a decent amount of spirit coins before, and he had not spent much at all since then, when faced with auctions starting at over a million, his funds were still pitifully insufficient.
"What kind of Spirit-grade arts does the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy not have? And they can be exchanged directly with Spiritual Value, without needing to fight others in an auction. So why waste money here…" Liu Bai told himself inwardly.
Very soon, the Heavenly Wind Divine Slaughter Slash was sold for one million eight hundred thousand spirit coins. The price was about the same as what it would cost to exchange for one in the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy using Spiritual Value.
So in that case, was one Spirit Coin of the outside world equivalent to one Spiritual Value Point of the Academy?
Liu Bai had just formed this thought but it was immediately shattered by the next auction item.
"Honored guests, the long spear in my hands is called the Coiling Dragon Golden Spear. It is a mid-grade Spiritual Artifact, and within it is sealed the essence of an Azure Flood Dragon whose strength can rival the Heaven Transformation Realm. Its power is extremely formidable. If there are any friends who specialize in spears, you must not miss this opportunity." Linglong revealed a bewitching smile, her red lips curling as she spoke.
"The starting price for this spear is one million five hundred thousand Spirit Coins."
As an Artifact Refiner, when Liu Bai heard that this Coiling Dragon Golden Spear actually had a Spiritual Beast Essence sealed within it, his brows involuntarily twitched.
Fusing Spiritual Beast Essences was considered a shortcut in artifact refinement. Instead of inscribing Spiritual Patterns into an artifact, one would directly seal a Spiritual Beast's essence within it. Not only did this make the refining process far easier, but oftentimes the artifact's might would surpass that of orthodox refinement methods.
The reason why this method was regarded as a shortcut by countless Artifact Refiners was because the artifact's strength was entirely dependent on the level of the Spiritual Beast Essence. For lower or mid-grade Spiritual Artifacts, this method was acceptable, but if one wished to refine a high-grade Spiritual Artifact, it would require the essence of a super Heavenly Beast.
And what of Divine Artifact then?
Thus, this was a method that was only widely used in low-level artifact refinement and was not recognized by true orthodox Artifact Refiners.
Of course, what Liu Bai cared about was not the refinement method of this Coiling Dragon Golden Spear, but that such a mere mid-grade Spiritual Artifact was already auctioning for one million five hundred thousand Spirit Coins. Compared to this, those mid-grade Spiritual Artifacts in the Spiritual Value Hall of the Academy that only cost several thousand or ten thousand Spiritual Value Points were completely overshadowed.
It seemed that his earlier assumption of one Spirit Coin being equal to one Spiritual Value Point was utterly ridiculous.
In truth, the two could not be compared at all.
Shaking his head, Liu Bai cast away those messy thoughts, and soon after, that mid-grade long spear was bought at a price even higher than a high-level Spirit-grade Art.
It appeared that what Elder Chi Huo had once said, that becoming a Divine Artifact Refiner would cause countless great powers to fight over him, was not necessarily false.
One auction item after another was brought onto the stage and taken away at high prices. Liu Bai occasionally placed bids but did not succeed in obtaining any of the treasures.
Finally, the item that had flowed out from the Xie Clan was brought onto the stage and Liu Bai's attention immediately focused.
"A high-grade Spiritual Artifact, the Kaiyuan Chasing Moon Bow. Refined primarily with Golden Sun Stone, the bow's body is wreathed in scarlet flames. When arrows are released, they thunder forth with unstoppable momentum. Two Chasing Moon Spiritual Patterns are engraved upon it, enabling the arrow's trajectory to soar far, as if capable of pursuing the moon itself."
"The starting price of this item is three million Spirit Coins."
Liu Bai expressionlessly gazed at the crimson bow on the stage, though his focus subtly scanned the hall.
Amidst the rising bids, Liu Bai noticed one person behaving suspiciously. That man never hesitated when bidding and seemed deliberately provoking others, goading them into anger.
"This fellow is a plant."
Very quickly, Liu Bai arrived at that conclusion.
Yet he did not know whether this man was the original owner of the Kaiyuan Chasing Moon Bow or whether he had merely been hired to artificially raise the price.
To test his own suspicion, Liu Bai also called out a bid.
If that person was truly a plant, then he would certainly try to provoke Liu Bai as well rather than simply clashing with the earlier bidders. The possibility was small, but Liu Bai still wanted to confirm it.
Although he had no money, he was not afraid of the bow falling into his hands, since there were still others competing and the price would certainly rise further.
As expected, the moment Liu Bai made his bid, that man immediately pressed over him with a higher price. With a face full of arrogance he mocked, "What kind of stray cat or mangy dog dares to fight with this young master? Did I not say already that this treasure belongs to me? If you do not believe me, continue bidding and see if I cannot suppress you all."
Liu Bai remained indifferent, merely casting a faint glance at him before withdrawing his gaze, completely ignoring his provocation.
Seeing this, disappointment flickered in the man's eyes. He had not expected that Liu Bai would not rise to the bait.
Perhaps because his performance was too exaggerated, the other angered bidders quickly sobered up and also fell silent.
As time ticked by and Linglong was just about to announce the final result, a lazy voice from Liu Bai's side and slightly behind suddenly sounded. "I bid four million Spirit Coins."
The entire auction hall immediately fell silent for a brief moment. Liu Bai then noticed the plant letting out a long breath of relief, quietly wiping away cold sweat from his forehead.
That had been far too close.
He was merely a plant paid to do a job. If he messed things up, reporting to the employer would be one matter, but should the price truly fall on him, he absolutely could not afford such millions of Spirit Coins. By then he might really be beaten to death.
Soon, the morning session of the auction came to an end.
Liu Bai left the venue without having obtained a single item. However, instead of paying attention to the plant, his gaze silently tracked the one who had successfully purchased the Kaiyuan Chasing Moon Bow.
....
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