Mingxin Square, located near Tanyang Apricot Garden, was contracted by Yaoyuan Book Club to host a five-day Exchange Meeting event.
For five days, young masters and ladies of all ages from both inside and outside the city would gather here to exchange old books, antiques, and miscellaneous items.
Such gatherings also attract many booksellers and collectors, as well as young men and women who want to curry favor with those in power.
Through layers of connections, networks, favors, and money, this Exchange Meeting attracted many handsome men and beautiful women who wouldn't normally be eligible to participate.
Similarly, the beauty of the woman also attracted a wider circle of playboys and the like.
The increased number of participants made this Exchange Meeting even larger in scale.
As a result, the influence of Yaoyuan Book Club has expanded time and time again.
"My Great Ling, from top to bottom, love all kinds of gatherings the most."
Cocktail parties, tea parties, dance parties, music parties, housewarming parties, farewell parties, parties held on special occasions, parties held before and after study abroad trips. In addition, there are birthday parties, apology parties, Zaju show performances, and harvest parties.
Beside Mingxin Square, there are rows of long, narrow houses.
Sun Chaoyue was leading a group of people to inspect the various preparations the servants were making for the Exchange Meeting.
Food and drinks, reception staff, security patrols, and external liaison—nothing can be overlooked.
It's important to understand that so many people are gathered together, and many of them come from wealthy families.
Even Sun Chaoyue dared not underestimate the power they had gathered.
She was wearing a light blue dress, with a sleeveless top that revealed her fair arms like lotus roots, and her thighs were also partially exposed.
A bright red silk belt with gold thread cinched her waist, making it appear slender and graceful.
Her long hair reached her waist, and she wore only a purple jade headband around her forehead.
As she moved, the colorful beads hanging from the hem of her dress reflected the sunlight, making them bright and eye-catching.
At this moment, she was making her rounds while talking to a handsome young man beside her.
The young man was dressed in a white shirt, with a black jade pendant hanging from his waist, and the cuffs were decorated with Supreme Ultimate and white yin-yang symbols.
He had a handsome face, clear eyes, and skin that was even whiter and more delicate than a woman's.
This man, named Zhong Yuran, is the son of the Palace Master of the Tianxuan Palace True One Sect. At the age of twenty-four, he has already reached the Fourth Grade. In the entire Tanyang City, he is only slightly weaker than Sun Chaoyue.
"As the saying goes, what the superiors do, the inferiors follow Ling Ting enjoys gatherings, so we below will naturally follow suit. Why did Asagi suddenly bring this up?"
"It's just that I've had to attend six meetings in five days these past few days, and I'm really exhausted." Sun Chaoyue frowned slightly. "I didn't want to go, but I had no choice."
"In life, we are always busy with these trivial matters. Even someone as high-ranking as the State Governor or my master is not immune to them." Zhong Yuran nodded.
"Since you're tired, how about I accompany you to the prefectural Prefectural City for a stroll later?" he said softly.
"Never mind. I can't let this interfere with your current cultivation." Sun Chaoyue gently shook her head.
The two walked to a corner where several people were organizing scrolls.
One by one, names were recorded, indicating who would be attending the meeting.
"Put aside the actual attendees and the inviters. List the peripheral attendees separately."
A man who appeared to be a supervisor was directing several people to do their work. When Sun Chaoyue and her companion approached, the man stepped forward and bowed.
"Sun Li greets Miss."
"How is it?" Sun Chaoyue asked casually.
"Everything is arranged, but we need to recheck the background information of some attendees. The order of their names must not be wrong," Sun Li replied respectfully.
Even in this Exchange Meeting, one's status must be reflected.
Otherwise, the weak would feel uneasy if they were placed in high positions.
When a strong person is placed in a low position, they will feel dissatisfied.
That will inevitably offend people.
"Let me see the list." Sun Chaoyue reached out and took the list, scanning it from top to bottom.
"Xie Zhanfei's position is too low. He officially received his admission permission from the Ningde Academy three days ago. He will be moved up three seats."
"Yes."
"Xun Nuo's position has been raised too high. He is just relying on the Xu Family's power to bully others. He has been demoted by five seats."
"Lin Qixiao?" Sun Chaoyue pondered for a moment. "She's been demoted by three seats. She's already ruined. Even if her injuries heal, she won't be able to practice martial arts. Besides, she's not a good person. I don't like her."
"Okay, then, what about the Lin Family at the Tianxuan Palace?" Sun Li asked in a low voice.
"If anyone has a problem, they can come to me," Sun Chaoyue said calmly.
"Yes."
Sun Chaoyue continued looking down and subtly adjusted the positions of the candidates one by one.
Before long, she saw the name of someone she cared about.
"Zhang Ying." Thinking of Li Huoyun's bottle of Mystic Aroma, she pursed her lips, "Transfer her to a position closest to the sisters of the book club."
"I've heard my uncle mention Zhang Ying before. He was the one who managed to snatch back the Moon Chasing Blade in the end. He's courageous and resourceful, and he should have been promoted by now."
Zhong Yuran spoke up from the side, a hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes.
"Then promote him by two positions." Sun Chaoyue nodded.
She didn't care much about Zhong Yuran's evaluation.
Zhang Ying, a mere Third Grade official, no matter how courageous or resourceful he may be, could hardly be involved in a life -Third Grade- death battle involving Ninth Grade fugitive and Eighth Grade special envoy. It's obvious there's something fishy about it.
Third Grade would be instantly killed by an Eighth Grade official.
Therefore, it's obvious to anyone with eyes that this promotion is a way for the Li Family to cultivate and support their subordinates.
If it weren't for the Li Family's efforts and sharing of the credit with him, this person would never have been promoted so quickly.
Of course, she was too lazy to mention such things to her friends. She knew Zhong Yuran's personality well; once they disagreed, they would argue seriously.
This is truly exhausting.
"Next, Han Yuchun will be promoted two positions. Huo Liang will be demoted ten positions; this guy is a habitual braggart."
She assigned seats to each name one by one, Zhong Yuran by, occasionally interjecting with her comments.
On the other side.
Zhang Rongfang and Li Huoyun's carriage finally arrived at the entrance of Mingxin Field.
After handing the invitation to the guard at the gate, the two got off the carriage and stepped into the arena.
The tables and chairs in the venue were neatly arranged in rows and columns, and some of them were already occupied.
Some books of varying heights were piled on the table, and people sat behind them, waiting to exchange them.
Just like those legitimate secondhand book markets in Zhang Rongfang's previous life.
"Come on, let's go inside first. There's an auction." Li Huoyun pulled him along as they walked inside.
Passing through rows of tables and chairs, you enter a larger open-air courtyard.
The difference here is that the tables and chairs are much larger than those outside.
The seats were occupied by maids and servants.
But the real main attraction is in the wooden huts at the very back.
The main person was resting in a small hut, separated by a beaded curtain, while servants and maids helped with the exchange.
Li Huoyun led Zhang Rongfang to his seat and they sat down.
"Brother Zhang, I'm going to my spot. Take it easy on yourself, and don't actually come over to buy books," he said meaningfully.
"Go ahead, go ahead, I understand." Zhang Rongfang had no reply.
After he sat down, he looked around. To his left was a beautiful young woman in a dark green dress, holding a calligraphy brush and practicing her writing.
To the right stood a tall, handsome man, dressed in blue, his long hair tied up with a Ruyi hairpin. He was carefully sorting through stacks of old books he had brought.
It now appears that this place is divided into two areas, an inner and an outer one.
The outer area is of a lower standard, while the inner area is for young masters and ladies.
People of higher status have their own private rooms.
Those at a lower level sell books themselves in front of their seats.
Of course, it's also possible that some people prefer to come alone, while others don't want to show their faces in public.
Shortly after, a gong sounded.
First Squad people emerged from one corner, carrying various items on silver trays.
Sun Chaoyue walked at the very back, alongside a tall and handsome man, and sat down in the first two seats on the left.
"The first auction in the inner hall will now begin."
Zhang Rongfang waited somewhat boredly.
A woman in a green dress stepped forward.
"The first book up for auction today is Wang Yuanzhi's 'Landscape Painting Records,' which records Wang Yuanzhi's many insights into painting. The starting price is one hundred taels. Each bid must be at least ten taels higher."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Rongfang lost interest.
He wasn't interested in anything these young masters and ladies liked.
But since he was already there, he couldn't just get up and leave right away.
Sitting down, he glanced around the room. He recognized several familiar faces.
Among them was Team Lin Qixiao, whom he had previously crippled.
Her face was now gloomy and cold, as if everyone owed her money.
There were also several young faces I'd seen in the Mingjing Palace. They were all daughters of high-ranking disciples.
Soon, bidders emerged one after another, and the old books were auctioned off one after another.
Prices range from a hundred taels to a thousand taels.
Zhang Rongfang was secretly amazed; it truly lived up to its reputation as the largest Exchange Meeting in the entire Tanyang.
They really are all rich people.
He touched the few silver notes in his purse and felt that he probably wouldn't have enough to buy anything on this trip.
He brought all the funds he had available this time, a total of two hundred and fifty taels.
Just as I was getting worried, the Green Skirt Girl quickly changed the trays again and picked up something from one of the plates.
"Next up is our section on rare and exotic items."
She held up the object in her hand; it was a bronze-colored metal part, and she didn't know what it was.
It is about the size of a palm, and its surface is like a Rubik's Cube with cracks indicating assembly.
"This is a consignment sale by Young Master Tong from Xiao Xiang, featuring a missing part of a Foreign God Statue. The starting price is one hundred taels, and the minimum bid is ten taels each time."
Zhang Rongfang's gaze sharpened. He hadn't expected to find something similar in a shop outside, only to encounter another one here.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again, and the Attribute Panel was now open.
Looking from afar, it was clear that the object had indeed revealed new information.
'Unknown God Statue Part, weight unknown.'
' Intuition Warning: There seems to be a hidden secret inside this object; you need to collect all the parts before you can explore it.'
Before Zhang Rongfang could examine the documents closely, the bidding process began quickly.
There seemed to be few people interested in this item; only three people made an offer, and it was sold.
Zhang Rongfang hesitated for a moment, but still remained silent.
This item is clearly not a component of the one he found before.
Next, more items such as antique vases and carved jade were brought up.
Those same parts have been delivered twice more. They're all other components.
This raised a question in Zhang Rongfang's mind.
These parts and components seem numerous, and although precious, they do not appear to be rare.
He kept the Attribute Panel open, staring at each item up for auction.
Until the twelfth item was taken out and held high.
"The next item is a fragment of a Daoist Dao Gate Statue. We found this damaged part in an underground tomb not long ago."
Everyone knows the purpose of these parts; they are extremely hard and difficult to destroy. They have very high collectible value.
Now, the starting price is two hundred taels, and each transaction must be at least ten taels.
This item is a statue of a Statue that is missing its head and half of its body.
Because of its significantly larger size, the starting price is also higher.
Zhang Rongfang originally thought it was something similar to the things mentioned before.
But upon seeing this, his expression subtly changed.
Because the prompts in the Attribute Panel are completely different from before.
'The Unknown Dao Gate Statue; their parameters are unknown.'
' My Intuition Warning: this item and the part I collected before seem to be a set. Perhaps I could buy it and try assembling it.'
"They're here!!" Zhang Rongfang felt a surge of anticipation.
But a question also flashed through his mind.
Previously, the secret component that the Ling Ting had hidden inside the Ling Ting Moon Chasing Blade had attracted various attempts to kill them.
Why are similar parts here being auctioned off so openly without any regard for the consequences?
What exactly are the differences between these parts? "Two hundred and one!" Without hesitation, he blurted out, simultaneously raising the auction paddle on the table to indicate that he was placing a bid.