Mysterious Treasure

"Now, let us present the first treasure—the Azure Nether Sword. Please take a look. Over a thousand years ago, this Azure Nether Sword was the personal sword of Li Bai, the Poet Sword Immortal. With this sword, Li Bai roamed the martial world for decades without a single defeat. Only because Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, killed too many did Li Bai become the second greatest expert under heaven. Yet even so, it could not dim the brilliance of the Azure Nether Sword. This sword was forged from Nine Nether Cold Iron of the Northern Sea, taking four years and nine months to complete. It is a first-rate sword beneath heaven. The starting price is five hundred thousand taels of silver." Holding the Azure Nether Sword in his hands, Old Mr. Wang gave everyone a brief introduction to the weapon.

Did Old Mr. Wang even need to introduce it? Li Bai's fame could be said to surpass even that of emperors. In the Martial Way, he had swept across the world and occupied the throne of the greatest under heaven for nearly thirty years. Only in his old age, with the fall of the Tang Dynasty and Xiang Yu's rise, had he been relegated to second place. Those of the martial world respectfully called him the Sword Immortal. Yet in literature, he was absolutely unmatched before and unsurpassed after. He had brought poetry's spirit and charm to their fullest expression, reaching an unimaginable realm, and later scholars respectfully called him the Poet Immortal. Thus, later generations called him the Poet Sword Immortal, and this also led later scholars to enjoy wearing treasured swords at their waists.

Everyone below the stage examined the sword closely. A streak of cold light drifted restlessly across its blade, making it appear exceedingly sharp. Since the Azure Dragon Continent now had a system for ranking martial artists, and a martial artist's rank was equal to an official's rank, the status of martial artists had risen greatly. In everyone's minds, martial artists were no longer mere rough men of the grasslands. This made many people especially fond of weapons, while some wealthy men even liked gifting their treasured swords to experts in order to win their favor.

"I bid six hundred thousand taels of silver." A voice rang out from one of the private rooms.

At this time, treasures of this caliber were generally bid on by those in the private rooms. The people below the platform usually could not afford them.

"I bid six hundred and ten thousand taels of silver." Another voice rose from a different private room.

As bid after bid sounded, the price of the Azure Nether Sword soared at a rapid pace. A sword of the Azure Nether Sword's quality would ordinarily be worth around two hundred thousand taels of silver, but because it had once been Li Bai, the Poet Sword Immortal's, personal sword, its price had skyrocketed.

"I bid one million." A resonant voice came from the private room in the center.

Everyone froze. Until then, people had been raising the price gradually, with no one adding more than twenty thousand taels at a time. Yet this fellow had leaped straight from seven hundred and ninety thousand taels to one million. He truly treated money like dirt!

"Oh, Master Shen Wansan bids one million taels for this treasured sword. Is there anyone willing to bid higher? If no one makes another bid, then this Azure Nether Sword will belong to Master Shen." The moment Old Mr. Wang heard the bid, he immediately shouted loudly.

Only then did everyone suddenly realize that it was Shen Wansan, the richest man in the capital. Then there was nothing strange about it. Shen Wansan differed from the other family-based economies; his entire fortune had been created by his own hands, and he had even been granted the title of count. One could well imagine how formidable he was.

I looked at the people below. Shen Wansan had become a count-level tycoon entirely through his own efforts. What I wanted was to become a duke-level tycoon and establish my own Aristocratic Clan as well. Excitement surged through my heart. Just watch, all of you below—watch how I, Zhang Xingfeng, create a miracle.

Old Mr. Wang before my eyes had begun flattering Shen Wansan again. I laughed inwardly. After all, few people could escape worldly conventions.

"Everyone, please welcome Master Shen to receive this Azure Nether Sword! Master Shen has already come up. Let us greet him with applause!" Old Mr. Wang immediately walked toward Master Shen Wansan, while the chief steward beside him stepped forward as well.

I looked at Shen Wansan, the man who had accumulated wealth faster than anyone in history. He was no longer young, seemingly already sixty, yet his majestic bearing remained unmistakable. That aura greatly resembled someone else—the head of the Zhang Family, my father. I felt that my heart was no longer as it had been when I first left home. Back then, whenever I thought of my father, a pain would seize my heart as though it were being twisted tight. Now there was only defiance. I had been abandoned just like that, and anger filled my heart. That piercing ache was no longer so clear. I shook my head and steadied myself, then raised my head again to look at Shen Wansan on the platform.

"Everyone, Shen has bought this treasured sword today for the sake of my beloved grandson, Shen Xiaotian. I intend to find him Master Illusion Sword Saint, a great swordsmanship expert of this generation. I have heard that the master has long desired this treasured sword. I believe that if my beloved grandson takes this sword to him, he will receive the master's guidance. Those who did not obtain the sword, please do not take offense!" Shen Wansan spoke with exceptional courtesy. Given his current status, he had no need to explain himself to anyone. This was the virtue of one who accomplished great things.

As I looked at Shen Wansan, I admired him greatly. He himself did not possess any extraordinary martial arts. He had relied entirely on his strategies and his ability to seize the right moment. If I lost my own power and the memories of my previous life, I had no confidence that I could reach his level. Yet just as people often said: compare people to people, and it could infuriate one to death. I, Zhang Xingfeng, possessed peerless martial arts that could look down upon the world. With top-grade jade, I could not only absorb its spiritual energy but also create Flawless Jade. I also possessed all kinds of secret manuals from the Tianxin Sect of the Cultivation World. Heaven had truly treated me too well. This was fate! With all this in my hands, was my goal still far away?

In an instant, I inexplicably thought of Li Tianxiang. He too was only ten years old, yet he clearly possessed a maturity no less than an adult's. Behind him stood the Li Family, even more powerful than the Zhang Family. Could I compare with him?

I shook my head. My goal was merely to establish the Star Peak Family, not to contend with the Li Family. Why was I thinking such nonsense? I smiled mockingly at myself and looked back toward the platform.

"This is the Heavenly Wrath Saber I mentioned. This saber was the personal weapon of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, a peerless tyrant of his generation. This saber has drunk countless lives' blood. It is exceptionally sharp and sinister, an important treasure of the Demonic Sect. It vanished for nearly a thousand years, but now it has appeared. The starting price for this peerless vicious weapon is five hundred thousand taels. Let the bidding begin!" Old Mr. Wang stood a considerable distance from the Heavenly Wrath Saber. A master from the auction house held the saber; ordinary people simply could not endure its peerless killing aura.

I looked at the Heavenly Wrath Saber, which seemed as though it had been completely dyed red with blood, and found it strange. Turning to Brother Wang beside me, I asked,

"Brother Wang, isn't this saber a vicious weapon? How does the auction house dare put it up for sale? Aren't they afraid someone will use it to commit evil?"

Brother Wang looked at me and smiled. "Young Master, you still do not know one of the Ming Dynasty's laws. This law was established upon an alliance agreement among several nations concerning the management of martial artists. It says that the imperial court holds no prejudice against any sect, but no sect may gather its people to slaughter another sect. Otherwise, that sect will be jointly eradicated. This is why the Demonic Sect changed from a sect everyone once wanted to kill into one no different from other sects. So there is no need to fear that someone will use the Heavenly Wrath Saber to do great evil."

Oh, so that was how it was. I truly had not expected the imperial court to use such a move to resolve the most common large-scale conflicts in the martial world. Impressive, truly impressive! In that case, a saber by itself would not pose much danger.

"Good, someone has now bid eight hundred thousand taels. Is there a higher bid? Three, two, one. Good, this sword belongs to the guest in private room number 245. Please have the winner come up to collect this treasured saber." Mr. Wang shouted loudly. It really was hard on him. His martial arts were not much to speak of, yet he had to host such a major event with so many people attending. His throat must have suffered terribly!

A white-robed scholar drifted upward, like a wisp of breeze floating onto the platform. He leisurely turned and gave the attendees below a slight bow in greeting.

"The Wandering Blade!" A voice rose from the crowd.

I looked at the young man in white below, and my heart shook. He was Yuwen Meng, the Wandering Blade, formerly the eldest young master of the Yuwen Family. Because he had no interest in the family's business and only enjoyed lingering among the flowers and moonlight, and because what he valued most was his extreme obsession with the Martial Way—especially saber techniques—he had become a Fourth Rank expert despite his young age.

Yet for that very reason, he firmly refused to take charge of the Yuwen Family. According to the Aristocratic Clan's laws, so long as the eldest son was neither dead nor an idiot, the position of family head had to be given to the eldest young master. In the end, with no other choice, they could only expel him from the family gates. However, to compensate him, the family still gave him two million taels of silver and announced to the world that if anyone acted against him, it would mean becoming enemies with the Yuwen Family, and the Yuwen Family would surely avenge him. Yuwen Meng gladly accepted all this and continued living freely, devoting himself to beautiful women and the Martial Way.

He disdained everything about the Aristocratic Clan. He too had been expelled from his family, but unlike me, his departure was merely nominal. The Yuwen Family still regarded him as one of their own. Even so, as I looked at him, I still felt an unspoken closeness and fondness.

"Everyone, Meng will not say much here. Meng's love for sabers is known throughout the world. Upon seeing this treasured saber, I simply could not restrain myself. Meng will take his leave first and let the gathering continue!" Another gust of wind rose, and the white figure was already upstairs. Watching the white shadow vanish into the private room, many women only then came back to their senses. He truly deserved to be called a maiden killer!

"Everyone, the previous two items were peerless weapons. What comes next is the Golden Silk Armor, legendary in the martial world. It was made from the silk of platinum snow silkworms from the Heavenly Mountains and took ten years to produce. Aside from the craftsmanship, platinum snow silkworm silk itself is extremely rare. Throughout all these years of history, there have only been five such pieces of armor. Every person who wore this treasured garment was a great name that shook the world! The starting price is five hundred thousand taels of silver." Old Mr. Wang had said much, but although this armor was rare, it was not particularly outstanding in terms of protecting the body.

The Mysterious Iron Armor popular in the martial world could rival it in protective ability. Mysterious Iron Armor was simply rather heavy, but Mysterious Iron was plentiful across the continent, and one set of Mysterious Iron Armor cost only around ten thousand taels. The reason the Golden Silk Armor was so expensive was its rarity. Platinum snow silkworms were seldom seen, and they produced very little silk, making it a rare treasure. Added to its extreme lightness, it became the best choice for wealthy men with poor martial arts who still wished to save their lives. That was why it had reached the sky-high price of five hundred thousand taels. One should know that a large estate generally cost only around five hundred thousand taels.

When Zhang Xingfeng bought that former prince's residence, it had cost only two hundred thousand taels because the entire residence had merely a dozen or so rooms and an artificial lake to look at. If the entire prince's residence were counted without the rear garden, then just the several hundred rooms outside and the surrounding environment would likely have sold for one million taels. Zhang Xingfeng truly had good luck!

The Golden Silk Armor really was not all that impressive. Wealthy men nowadays had begun studying martial arts and had also begun cherishing their money. They would rather wear Mysterious Iron Armor weighing dozens of jin—merely vest-sized; if it were actual full armor, would it not weigh several hundred jin? In the end, it sold for seven hundred thousand taels.

I watched the auction proceed, eagerly awaiting the appearance of my Blood Phoenix. Could the Blood Phoenix truly be treated as the finale treasure? That was possible. The Blood Phoenix was the token of the empress of Yuan Mongolia in the previous dynasty, passed through the hands of several generations of empresses. By the Ming Dynasty, the empress's token had changed to the Heirloom Jade Seal, equally as precious as the Blood Phoenix. It had formed naturally, and within it was the shape of a crimson blood phoenix. Its preciousness was perfectly natural.

I came back to my senses. The fellow who had collected the Golden Silk Armor had already gone down. A beautiful woman carried a box onto the platform.

"Everyone, after seeing all kinds of weapons and treasured armor, let us now look at this literary treasure—Along the River During the Qingming Festival. Along the River During the Qingming Festival was painted by Zhang Zeduan of the Song Dynasty and was his crowning masterpiece.

"The painting depicts Bianliang, the Song capital of that time. Bianliang was then the largest and most prosperous city in the world, with houses standing row upon row and splendor like brocade. Zhang Zeduan's 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' truthfully and vividly portrayed this grand historical scene. The image gradually unfolds from the countryside outside the city along the Bian River toward the city's interior. Outside the city were several thatched cottages, little bridges and flowing streams, willows swaying softly, with tender green just emerging on their branches, evoking the atmosphere of early spring. Farmers tilled the fields and vegetable plots, while mules and donkeys carried goods along country paths, peaceful and tranquil. Nearing the inner city, merchants and travelers increased, and the painting gradually became bustling and lively. Good, the starting price for this treasure is eight hundred thousand taels." Old Mr. Wang was clearly thrilled to see this treasure, and his voice rose with passion.

The crowd below immediately erupted into commotion. The greatest divine masterpiece in history had actually appeared.

I too was deeply shocked. Along the River During the Qingming Festival!

"I bid one million taels."

"I bid one million one hundred thousand taels."

.