Hoary Dragonet

Several-zhang drum had been removed early.

On the central platform, the auctioneer seized the mallet and swung it hard. The gong thundered deafeningly.

"Heavenly Dragon Gold! Mystic Weapon Material—sold for sixty-eight thousand liang!"

What the hell?

The very first auction item cost nearly seventy thousand? Xu Zishuai craned his neck, peering at the dark gold nugget on the red-lacquered tray.

The so-called Mystic Weapon Material, Heavenly Dragon Gold, was only the size of a thumb—perhaps even half a thumb. If used to make nail clippers, one would still have to scrimp on the material.

"Senior Brother, is Heavenly Dragon Gold really that expensive?"

"Since it is called Mystic Weapon Material, its price is naturally extraordinary." Lu Gang nodded. "Do you remember the Ink Dragon Gold Junior Brother Liang used before to augment Fubo? The two are born together, but Heavenly Dragon Gold is a notch better."

Liang Qu sat up straight.

Though auction items had no hard-and-fast rules, there was an unspoken convention of progressing from lesser to greater. There was no such thing as low-grade items serving as the finale or superior-grade items appearing first. Auctions in Pingyang Prefecture generally began in the range of a few thousand.

This auction was expected to last three and a half shichen, with at least several hundred items. By the time it reached the later stages...

There were as many as three auctions of this scale every year!

Lu Jia said with a smile, "Brother Liang, it is your first time in the Imperial Capital, so you do not know the inside story. These are merely items meant to warm up the crowd. Imperial Capital auctions favor this approach—the opening items may be high in quality, but their quantities are often insufficient. Unless one already has some stockpiled, half a finger's worth