The two people blocking the way, a man and a woman, were both wearing the same kind of mask, a very ordinary one!
The man scrutinized Liu Zixuan with sharp eyes, then spoke, "You're Liu Zixuan, aren't you?"
Liu Zixuan's heart skipped a beat. He was still wearing a mask, and the lighting here was quite dim, so being recognized at a glance meant they definitely knew him.
Judging by their figures, Liu Zixuan found them completely unfamiliar; they couldn't possibly be people he knew.
So, if not friends, they must be enemies!
Pulling Zhou Nian behind him, he asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?"
"No need to be nervous!" The man's voice was rich and magnetic, almost as if it had a certain magic power, making it hard to feel any hostility towards him.
Before Liu Zixuan could respond, the man continued, "I won't do anything to you. On the contrary, if you're in trouble, I will help you!"
"Help me?" Liu Zixuan asked meaningfully, "There must be some cunning trick involved!"
"You're a bit clever!" the man chuckled softly. "There are special reasons, but you needn't harbor any hostility towards me. If you're smart, I'm your friend; if you deliberately play the fool, I won't even give you the chance to be my enemy!"
Not giving a chance to be enemies—it meant that if Liu Zixuan made any move, they'd kill him right away!
Liu Zixuan snorted coldly, "Such arrogance! But who knows if you have the strength to back it up!"
"Oh, you'll find out!" The man shrugged, casting a peculiar glance at Liu Zixuan, "We'll meet again for real, of course, outside the Ghost Market!"
Having said that, the man directly took the woman's hand beside him and walked towards the Mandarin Duck Pavilion.
"Who are they?" Zhou Nian came closer to ask.
Liu Zixuan shook his head, "They're definitely not friends!"
"What do we do then? From what he says, he'll come looking for trouble!" Zhou Nian got anxious.
Liu Zixuan laughed wryly, "What's meant to be can't be avoided; do what you can and leave the rest to fate!"
"This Ghost Market is a real mess this year. Last year they didn't even have an arena!" Zhou Nian stomped his foot in frustration, obviously worrying for Liu Zixuan in another way!
Liu Zixuan raised an eyebrow, "It's strange, isn't it? Ever since I won in the arena yesterday, it seems no one else has set up an arena!"
"Probably because they heard the managers were all beaten, so now everyone's lying low! In times like these, no one wants to stick their neck out!" Zhou Nian pouted.
"Let's not think about these things. It's almost ten o'clock; it should be starting soon!"
Saying this, Liu Zixuan and Zhou Nian quickly returned to the Mandarin Duck Pavilion inside. Just as they sat down, that unique sound of the gong rang out.
The previous female host walked to the center of the stage, holding the microphone with her jade-like hand, and said, "I believe you all know, today is the last day of the Ghost Market, and the grand finale at the Mandarin Duck Pavilion will be delivered in a unique way!"
"Tonight, we have a mysterious guest with us, who has brought with him a unique item for auction, and he will conduct the auction himself shortly."
With that, the female host stepped down from the stage, and a slender yet steady-footed man walked onto the platform.
The man was dressed in a black tailcoat and wore a pure black mask, appearing extremely eerie.
He walked to the center of the stage with a rectangular box in his hands.
Taking the microphone from aside, he slowly began, "Thank you to the Mandarin Duck Pavilion for making an exception and allowing me to conduct this auction personally for this treasure."
"I won't beat around the bush. Let's get straight to the point."
As the man spoke, he opened the box, and instantly a sword hilt appeared before everyone.
"A sword hilt?"
"What's so special about that, isn't it just a sword handle? How can it be auctioned as a treasure?"
"Could there be some secret to it?"
Seeing only the hilt and not the blade, people were puzzled.
The man swept his gaze over the crowd and then smiled. With a gentle shake of his right hand holding the hilt, a dazzling light swiftly appeared as a sword blade, about 1.2 to 1.3 meters long, suddenly emerged from the hilt!
The blade wasn't very bright and was unlike any sword seen before; it didn't gleam but was entirely made up of a black body. This black had no impurities and also exuded an indescribable Sword Intent!
"This…"
"What a peculiar sword!"
"This sword has no name," the man spoke softly.
Nameless, simply without a name, but when the words came from the man's mouth, there was a certain kingly solitude, a Mental Realm without rivals!
"Nameless has been a treasured heirloom passed down through generations in my family, and our ancestral teachings instructed me to reveal it to the public at an appropriate time and let it find its true owner. Hence, I had no choice but to bring it to this Ghost Market."
"Therefore, today I am here to choose an owner for this sword, and in addition to the highest bid, the requirement is for the sword to resonate with the winner!"
As the man finished speaking, the crowd erupted in murmurs!
Merely a sword, no matter how powerful, is still inanimate, how could it possibly resonate with a person!
Discussions began to bubble.
Liu Zixuan smirked, "Interesting, huh? Most swords that can resonate with people have been nurtured for hundreds of years, akin to animals with human-like senses, they develop intelligence."
"Intelligence? Doesn't that make it a monster?" Zhou Nian suddenly asked.
"Hahaha." Liu Zixuan couldn't help but laugh, "Watching too many dramas, huh? The intelligence referred to here is about compatibility, for instance, the Cultivation Technique suitable for each individual differs, so an incompatible person given the most powerful Secret Martial Arts Manual still wouldn't succeed if there's no compatibility!"
"The same principle applies to weapons, only those who can truly wield it can unleash its true power. If you can't control it, not only can you not harm your enemies, you might harm yourself instead."
Touching his chin, Liu Zixuan murmured, "When the blade suddenly appeared, I could feel the fierce Sword Intent emanating from it. Claiming it has intelligence is not an exaggeration!"
"I seem to remember a term, Sword Spirit, is that what it means?" Zhou Nian mumbled.
"Exactly. That's what it means." Liu Zixuan smiled.
"Alright, I've briefly explained the situation of the sword. If you want to learn more, then bid for it and study it carefully after getting it. I guarantee that whoever wins the sword will also receive a surprise!"
The man finished speaking and struck the gong, "No bidding upper limit, starting price five million!"
"If it's really as powerful as he says, it's definitely worth fighting for!"
"Yes, if I get this sword, paired with my Cultivation Technique, my Realm breakthrough might become much easier!"