Li Lang’s group got settled in their seats in the auditorium of the auction house. A moment later, the lights dimmed, and an old man took to the stage. He had white unkempt facial hair and would be mistaken for a homeless man if he wasn’t wearing clean clothes.
He gestured for the crowd to quiet down, then glanced over at one of the servant boys. They answered by carrying over a large wooden chest to the center of the stage.
Everyone knew it contained the first lot for today’s auction, but no one bothered to question why he decided to place it in a chest instead of in a space ring. The old man simply continued as it was. He pointed at the chest and the lid flew open at his gesture.
Inside the container was a lone pair of sandals and nothing else. It was made from rose-colored wood and had an eye-catching sheen to it.
“New stuff, low-tier Earth-grade Skysandals. Allows you to fly with hard-to-predict movements, unlike Skyswords. Rating five and starting price of fifty red crystals.”
The old man was curt, but the auction quickly went on without taking note of it.
“Eighty!” one of the Young Masters from the floors above yelled.
“One-fifty!” a voice from the opposite side of the venue angrily shouted out.
It was apparent that the two factions of orthodox and demonic were in contention with each other. While they couldn’t fight in Polarity City, they could at least unleash their frustrations in a bidding war. No one stopped them as it played to the city’s advantage to allow it to happen.
The price grew quickly as various cultivators salivated at the chance to own the new model of flying artifacts. It allowed one to conserve their energy while moving faster than those without one. However, there were some hesitant people in the crowd simply due to preferring Skyswords.
“Hmph, these new Skysandals are only marginally more manageable but a lot slower than Skyswords.”
“Oh, quiet, you old fossil. Skyswords may synergize well with your sect’s techniques, but for most, the less predictable movements more than make up for the speed.”
“Yeah, until you find your enemy able to run or chase you down as they please.”
“Hahaha,” a third man bellowed. “In that case, why not just have both? One for controlling the engagement, while the other for fighting!”
No one replied to the last man who spoke as they didn’t want to come off as a miser. They knew their money was only ever useful if it could improve their strength, but not everyone had the means. As much as they wanted to, they couldn’t justify overspending only then to come up short on other resources.
These types of discussions were going on everywhere in the auction house while just as many people continued to bid.
“Li Lang, are you going to bid this time, too?” Sima Xue asked over the bustle of the audience.
The man in question tilted his head.
“Maybe, if the price is right. It’s not really worth it, as we can’t make use of it right now.”
“Well, I recommend it. I’ve been using mine for only a short while, but they’re so comfortable. It makes it easy to walk around, especially when I’m getting a little lazy.”
“...You’re using Skysandals as a crutch for walking around?”
“Hmm? It’s mine, so I can use it however I like, right?”
“If I had those, I would be able to fight against those aerial beasts by myself!” Long Yi exclaimed from the side. “We should consider them, Li Lang. If we’re to travel by air often, it’s a worthwhile investment. Otherwise, we’d be sitting ducks up there.”
If the artifact in question was in the Mortal-grade, Li Lang would’ve bid on it without hesitation. As it was an Earth-grade item, it would only sit around as extra baggage until one of them broke through.
Seeing how passionate Long Yi had become for the Skysandal, along with all the other cultivators in the room, Li Lang decided to place one bid to satisfy his friend.
“One hundred and seventy!” Li Lang cried out.
The old man simply stared his way until someone else shouted out a larger number. It passed by quickly, as the competition for the item was still fierce.
“I tried my best. Looking at how so many people are dead set on it, it’s not worth pursuing.”
Despite knowing Li Lang was only putting up a show, it still soothed Long Yi’s heart somewhat. The group watched on as the price slowly but surely rose to new heights. It gave them a new appreciation for the earning ability of these experts.
The money Li Lang currently got was from a one-time windfall. It wasn’t from a stable income of any source, so while it appeared to be a lot, it was a hard to replenish resource. For those other Foundation Establishment experts, that wasn’t the case. The services they could provide with their superior cultivation or even simply hunting down higher-tier Qi beast could allow them to consistently earn it all back.
At the end of the day, a strong economy solves a lot of problems. It can get us valuable materials we otherwise would be hard pressed to encounter. I need to redouble my efforts in producing a cash cow.
After some time, the auction for the first item finally ended at an impressive three hundred red crystals. As expected, one of the Young Masters, with a strong background, won it from the second floor.
The trend of fierce bidding continued onto the second item.
“Next, Clear Jade Treasure Sword. Mid-tier Earth-grade, with a rating of four. It can unleash tremendous power at once. One hundred red crystals.”
The prices that were being thrown around were nothing to sneeze at. It was almost enough for one to cultivate for a good while, but everyone understood it wasn’t practical to just cultivate the entire time. One needed stimulation and training to break through their bottlenecks. Only a fool would neglect their combat power.
A weapon artifact was the simplest and most direct way to increase one’s combat potential. It had a multiplying effect on one’s strength. During high-intensity fighting, the ability to squeeze out just one percent more strength at a critical moment could decide life and death.
This time, the sword sold for an even higher price than the previous lot, at four hundred and thirty crystals. Several other weapons came after it, including bows, spears, and more swords. The prices all hovered between the three hundred to five hundred range.
During the last few items, the crowd visibly became less passionate about the artifact weapons. The most zealous among them had gotten when they wanted, while the other had gotten used to laying eyes on these rare artifacts.
As if the organizer knew this would happen, the next item was something entirely different!
“Next, rank three space ring. That means it can hold one thousand shi! Starting at one hundred red crystals,” the old man casually proclaimed.
The new item reset the fervor in the room, as the bidding got more intense all at once.
It caused even Li Lang to have second thoughts about remaining a spectator. Obtaining a space ring had been one of his goals during his stay at Polarity City. It was just too useful to have, especially when they were traveling. They could stow away a large emergency supply, their Skyrunner, and various items like talismans.
With it, Li Lang would no longer have to carry a large unwieldy cauldron on his back or take up valuable space in their Skyrunner during trips. Then there were all the materials he could stock up on.
Sima Xue had told him all about the wonders of the space ring. The higher quality it was, the better its capabilities to keep its content in the same condition as when it had been stored. Foods lasted several times longer in the ring. If one had a high enough level space ring, it could virtually store food there indefinitely without going bad.
This was another property Li Lang wanted to get his hands on. Without refrigerators, carrying and transporting various materials became especially arduous. Just the cyanide he employs needed to be kept at a low temperature lest it turned into gas. Even with the stabilizing agents he mixed it with, he still needed to be careful at all times.
With all those advantages of a space ring running through his mind, Li Lang didn’t need any urging from his companions to join in the bidding war for the space ring.
“Five hundred!” he shouted out.
It managed to silence the venue for a moment as the participants took a moment to reassess while wearing hard-to-read expressions. It was apparent to the auctioneer that they were thoughtfully deliberating their next move, so he didn’t say a word either.
The old man kept his gaze locked on Li Lang until another voice finally resounded within the auditorium.
Everyone looked up at the voice of one of the balconies. The one in question didn’t have any blinds blocking the view, allowing all to see the young man in green robes sitting with a haughty expression. Two others were beside him, and they all glared over at Li Lang. They didn’t bother to hide their hostility.
“That’s someone from Spirit Grove!” Long Yi alerted the group.
Upon recognizing them, Sima Xue looked disgusted. It was because they had a history. The three young masters sitting up top were Lu Hong, Zhang Bai, and Pei Fong. The three who had competed for her hand during her time undercover in Spirit Grove.
Of course, if Sima Xue could recognize them, they could recognize her as well. They looked down at the former Ling Xue and Li Lang with frosty expressions.