Baronial Title and Fief (Please Follow)

"100,000 Gold Coins?"

For a long while, no one bid in the auction hall, until a tentative voice broke the atmosphere.

"150,000 Gold Coins!"

"180,000 Gold Coins!"

After the first bid rang out, countless voices followed in quick succession.

Most of the frenzied bidders came from small families.

The members of the Rose Family, who were also in private rooms on the second floor like Chen Mu, did not place any bids.

A Breathing Technique could be extraordinarily precious to small families, precious enough that they would drain their entire fortunes to obtain one.

But to major families, it was not nearly as important.

After all, many large families possessed Breathing Techniques, some of which were even of a higher grade than the Frost Breath Method.

In the end, the Breathing Technique was bought by someone from a small family for 280,000 Gold Coins.

The price could not be called low, but compared to the value of a Breathing Technique to them, the cost was not all that important.

Chen Mu could plainly see the wild joy on that noble's face after winning the Breathing Technique.

Even Chen Mu became interested in the next item, though only slightly. It did not mean much to him.

"The ninety-ninth item: a Magic Potion—Gargoyle's Tears.

This Magic Potion can help an ordinary Peak Quasi-Knight activate their Life Seed, but it will exhaust all of their potential, leaving them forever at the Formal Knight realm.

Its value is extremely high. There is no starting price. Highest bidder wins!"

The auctioneer brought out a wooden box.

When he opened it, a transparent crystal bottle was revealed before all the nobles.

A pale yellow liquid flowed within the bottle. Judging by appearances alone, no one would have known it was a Magic Potion.

Good stuff, but it won't do much for me, Chen Mu thought. This was his first time seeing a Magic Potion in person.

This small bottle alone could help a Peak Quasi-Knight become a Formal Knight. It was undoubtedly immensely valuable.

In truth, even if Chen Mu had not become a Formal Knight, he would not have been interested in this potion.

After all, it reached the Formal Knight realm by overdrawing all of one's potential.

There was also something the auctioneer had not mentioned, but Chen Mu knew.

This Magic Potion also had side effects: it would drain the drinker's life force.

So even if Chen Mu had wanted it, Earl Arthur would not have given it to him.

But Chen Mu not wanting it did not mean others felt the same.

Formal Knights could be considered true Transcendents. There were not many Formal Knights in the entire kingdom, and no one did not want to become one.

Thus, the moment the auctioneer finished speaking, countless voices erupted from below.

Everyone wore different expressions: longing, greed, disbelief.

However, Chen Mu noticed that Viscount Russell, the man he suspected of belonging to the Black Robe Pathseekers Society, had a trace of disdain in his eyes, as if he looked down on this Magic Potion.

After a brief thought, Chen Mu understood why.

Since Viscount Russell belonged to the Black Robe Pathseekers Society, he must have ties to Wizards.

Magic Potions were concocted by Wizards, so he naturally understood their effects. It was normal for him to disdain it.

Countless people competed to bid. Even those who knew they could not possibly buy the potion still tried calling out a price.

Even Viscount Russell pretended to be interested and bid once, though his voice was quickly drowned out.

In the end, the Magic Potion sold for 160,000 Gold Coins to a noble in a private room on the second floor.

Its final price was lower than that of the Breathing Technique, but it was still extremely high.

After all, the Magic Potion could only be consumed once, while the Breathing Technique could be passed down as a family foundation indefinitely.

The price of the potion also showed just how easy it was for a Wizard, or even a high-level Wizard Apprentice, to earn Gold Coins.

But Chen Mu understood that Gold Coins were merely numbers in the eyes of true Wizards. The currency used in the Wizard World was not Gold Coins, but Magic Stones.

These were all things that had already existed in the original owner's memories. Chen Mu even knew that the Golden Lion Family possessed Magic Stones, though he had never seen one himself.

Compared with the previous items, the final auction item was the true highlight.

Chen Mu knew it would fetch an astronomical price, but it had nothing to do with him.

Before seeing the auction list, even he had never imagined that this could be auctioned off.

"The hundredth item: a Baronial title and a fief. The fief is located in West Mountain Province, and the Land Deed is complete. There is no starting price. Highest bidder wins!"

That was right. The final centerpiece was a noble title and a fief.

Before seeing that auction list, Chen Mu had never imagined such a thing.

He had not expected that titles and fiefs of the kingdom could actually be sold.

After all, noble ranks in the Winter Kingdom were clearly defined.

From highest to lowest, they were King, Duke, Marquess, Count, Viscount, Baron, and Knight Bachelor.

Among them, the five ranks of Duke, Marquess, Count, Viscount, and Baron were hereditary.

As for the rank of Knight Bachelor, any Formal Knight could register within the kingdom to receive it, but it could not be inherited.

In other words, if an ordinary person bought this title and fief, they could establish a family.

They could then pass down the title hereditarily. With generations of management, it would not be impossible for them to rise in rank.

Just like Chen Mu in the previous simulation, who had led the Golden Lion Family to become a ducal family and even join the Kingdom Council.

A noble title was like a stepping stone into the nobility. One could imagine how outrageous it was to auction one off.

In truth, if this title and fief had not been located in West Mountain Province, and if it had not only been a barony, even the Golden Lion Family would never have put it up for auction.

After the auctioneer's voice fell, there was no huge uproar in the auction hall as Chen Mu had expected. Instead, it was as silent as a library.

Countless people widened their eyes and looked at one another, seemingly wondering whether they had misheard.

What nonsense was this auctioneer talking about? Auctioning off a title and a fief? Some of them had attended previous auctions held by the Golden Lion Family and knew the family was immensely wealthy.

But they had never expected them to be this wealthy.

This was no longer merely wealth. This was madness! But when the auctioneer brought out a thick stack of contracts, they knew the Golden Lion Family was not playing a joke on them. It was real!

Chen Mu also saw Russell, who had remained calm throughout the auction, widen his eyes in disbelief.

No one understood better than him how difficult it was to obtain a noble title in the kingdom.

If a Wizard Apprentice with an open identity wanted to obtain a title, it would naturally not be difficult.

But the Wizard Apprentices of the Black Robe Pathseekers Society were all known to the kingdom. How could the King possibly allow them to become nobles?

Moreover, the Black Robe Pathseekers Society now only had a handful of people left. They did not even have a single Level Two Wizard Apprentice.

Even their Meditation Method was the lowest-grade kind, one so poor that not even experimental subjects on the Wizard Continent would cultivate it.

Yet even so, they had personally traveled to the Wizard Continent to learn it.

Put nicely, they had returned after completing their studies. Put bluntly, they were homeless dogs who had not dared to remain on the Wizard Continent.

Back then, more than a hundred of them had traveled to the Wizard Continent in pursuit of the Wizard Path, but only a tenth had returned.

Even the Kingdom Consultants, whose status was equivalent to that of Dukes, were merely the lowest-grade Level Three Wizard Apprentices.

After the King granted most noble titles and fiefs, they were immediately claimed and put to use.

After all, no one could resist the temptation of becoming a noble. One could imagine just how precious a title and fief with no heir at all would be.

"500,000 Gold Coins!"

Viscount Russell, who had only bid once throughout the auction, was the first to call out a price this time. His voice carried a hint of determination.

Though he was already a noble, he could buy this title and sell it to someone else in the organization.

Since he had encountered it, there was naturally no reason for him to let it slip away.

P.S. Thanks to Qu Xue Feng Xue Ye Fei Feng for the Monthly Pass, love you~ Please follow~ Please vote~ Please send Monthly Passes~ Thank you, thank you~