A Bidding War

A Legendary Relic!

A genuine Legendary Relic!

A Legendary Relic that could only be glimpsed through storybooks and obscure historical rumors had actually appeared right before their eyes!

Yaoshi Yuan, Ying Ru Shi, and even Shang Xin Lei instinctively tried to stand. If Thieves' Den hadn't forcibly kept their buttocks glued to their chairs, they would definitely have started fighting by now.

It wasn't that they wanted to claim it for themselves. They simply wanted to get closer and admire this Legendary weapon!

For messengers like them, who had grown up listening to all kinds of historical tales and knew Relics like the back of their hands, merely touching a Legendary Relic—or even just looking at it and smelling it—was enough to delight both body and mind and extend their lives!

"What incredible authority..." Yaoshi Yuan's voice trembled. "As expected of Emperor Zhou's sword... It's actually a Legendary Relic..."

"Is this what legendary means?" Ying Ru Shi murmured. "Even though it's only a first transformation, it's far more powerful than any third-transformation Relic I've ever seen."

"Black Wolf, you know you were wrong now, right?" Shang Xin Lei suddenly said. "Yellow Dog already said there'd be a Legendary Relic as a reward, but you didn't believe him!"

It sounded as if Shang Xin Lei were standing up for Yan Qing, but Yaoshi Yuan and Ying Ru Shi immediately realized something was off—right, Yan Qing had been absolutely certain that a Legendary Relic would be awarded. How had he known?

But Yan Qing was actually even more surprised than they were.

"You understand Thieves' Den so well. Don't you know that Thieves' Den transforms stolen items into Legendary Relics?" Yan Qing asked. "Has no one ever completed a mission successfully before?"

Yaoshi Yuan and the others exchanged glances.

"I only know that Thieves' Den can travel anywhere under heaven."

"Me too. Everyone suspects that mastering Thieves' Den is equivalent to being able to descend anywhere in the world, including the Outer Domain beyond the Central Plains..."

"I really have never heard of Thieves' Den successfully stealing anything..."

Yan Qing was stunned as well. According to them, Thieves' Den had appeared many times, to the point that many people knew all kinds of details about it. Yet after so many Thief missions, had no one actually completed one successfully?

But then he thought about it and realized that this might be the truth.

After all, judging by their drooling reaction to the Legendary Relic, if even one previous Thief mission had succeeded, the information that "Thieves' Den can transform items into Legendary Relics" could never have remained hidden. The messengers' understanding of Thieves' Den would never have been "a functional secret realm that can teleport you anywhere," but rather "a resource secret realm that reliably produces Legendary Relics."

As for why Yan Qing knew that Bingzi Jiaolin would transform into a Legendary Relic...

Wasn't it obvious? He had designed this dungeon himself!

That was also why he had restricted this dungeon's level range to 10–39. Once players reached Foundation Establishment at level 40, they could acquire Legendary Relics very easily. Thus, a dungeon that produced Legendary Relics wouldn't hold much attraction for them.

But for low-level players between levels 10 and 39, obtaining a Legendary Relic through conventional means was extremely difficult. The only exception was Yan Qing's newly designed dungeon!

Moreover, to increase its appeal, Yan Qing had suggested in the design proposal that the authority entries of these low-level Legendary Relics be drawn from the T0 entry pool rather than the T2 or T1 pools.

The Legendary entry pool had three tiers, from lowest to highest: T2, T1, and T0. Most Legendary Relics had one entry from each tier. A fully optimized Legendary Relic had two T1 entries and one T0 entry. As for a Legendary Relic with one T1 entry and two T0 entries, such things didn't exist—it was simply too difficult to balance their power.

However, the Legendary Relics produced by Thieves' Den would only be first- to third-transformation Relics. No matter how powerful their effects were, they would still become junk once players reached their fourth transformation. Since that was the case, why not give Thieves' Den's Legendary Relics three T0 entries? The first three transformations were merely a transitional period for players. No matter how powerful a three-T0 Legendary Relic was, it was still nothing more than a toy.

Fortunately, Yan Qing discovered that his suggestion had been adopted.

Every one of Bingzi Jiaolin's effects could serve as the main entry of an ordinary Legendary Relic. "Enfeoffment" could greatly strengthen his teammates, "Pillar of the State" could greatly strengthen himself, while "Covering the Heavens" was the most outrageous of all. Even within the T0 entry pool, it was top-tier: increased attack power, increased attack range, and an unshakable super-armor state. Although it lasted only one battle, it was enough to completely turn the tide.

The troublesome part was that the scene he had imagined had also appeared.

The greed on Black Wolf, White Fox, and Red Snake's faces was almost impossible to conceal. Everyone stared at Bingzi Jiaolin longingly. Yan Qing had no doubt that the moment they managed to touch Bingzi Jiaolin, they would immediately run back to their rooms, "log off" to return to reality, and never come back to Thieves' Den.

In other words, they were going to snatch the loot and run.

As the saying went, once the Brotherhood's Sword appeared, there would be no brotherhood left.

That was why Yan Qing had suggested making the mission rewards so absurdly extravagant—only rewards outrageous enough could cause players to turn against one another. The core gameplay of this dungeon was to make players scheme against one another and stab each other in the back. On the surface, it was PVE, but in reality, it was PVP.

Yan Qing genuinely thought his design was a stroke of genius.

It would have been even better if he hadn't had to participate in the dungeon himself.

"I learned some information about Thieves' Den from other secret realms." Yan Qing gave them a perfunctory answer.

"Yellow Dog," Yaoshi Yuan suddenly said, "there's no doubt that you contributed the most to this mission."

Yan Qing sighed inwardly when he heard that.

For someone like Black Wolf, arguing was the norm. If she thanked you, you could be sure that nothing good was coming.

"But if you want to compete with me for Bingzi Jiaolin, I won't hold back." Yaoshi Yuan swept her gaze around. "The same goes for all of you."

Ying Ru Shi smiled without saying anything and silently gripped the hilt of Brave General Sword.

Shang Xin Lei seemed to have been frightened by Yaoshi Yuan and began to tremble. However, while trembling, she took out her weapon, Flying Ring. She looked both timid and vicious.

"Put your weapons away." Yan Qing spoke calmly. "You won't be able to use them."

As if echoing Yan Qing's words, new text appeared on Thieves' Den's light screen:

"Bingzi Jiaolin Theft"

"Mission Difficulty: Extremely Easy"

"Mission Completion: Meritorious Service (ratings, from lowest to highest: Inconsequential, Fell Short, Meritorious Service, Extraordinary, Monumental Achievement)"

"Mission Completion Reward: 30 Thief Points"

"Thief Points can accumulate and may only be spent in Thieves' Den. They cannot be traded. Once you lose the qualifications to enter Thieves' Den, your Thief Points will also be reset to zero."

At the same time, a line of numbers appeared before each person. Each one read 30, representing their current number of Thief Points.

Then the light screen continued to change, but this time it was different for everyone. Yan Qing could only see his own:

"Yellow Dog's Mission Settlement"

"Expose Anguo Temple's Underground Prison: 5 points"

"Rescue the Innocent: 5 points"

"Burn Anguo Temple: 10 points"

"Milestone Progress: Suspect 1/10, Demolition Team 1/1"

"You have additionally obtained 20 Thief Points"

The number of Thief Points before Yan Qing's eyes rose to 50. He glanced at the others. Red Snake had 30 points, meaning she had received no additional points. After all, besides fanning the flames, she hadn't contributed much to this mission.

White Fox had 33 points, probably because she had provided the snake-skin rope.

Black Wolf had 40 points, clearly because Black Wolf had killed four martial monks head-on, completing the mission's only battle.

Everyone looked at their own and each other's Thief Points, then at Bingzi Jiaolin in the center of the stone table. They vaguely guessed what was coming.

Clack.

The "disc" on Thieves' Den's ceiling that provided the light suddenly opened. Three items fell from within: a ring, a manual, and a bottle of pills.

"Based on the thieves' mission performance, Thieves' Den has selected three items from the treasury as additional rewards."

"Storage Ring"

"Rank: First-Transformation Common"

"Effect: You gain a quick-access slot and can take items out of the Storage Ring at any time."

"Evaluation: Better than nothing."

/

"Random Advanced Skill Beginner's Manual"

"Usage Requirement: Must possess any basic skill"

"Effect: Immediately grants you comprehension of an advanced version of a basic skill"

"Evaluation: A master can lead you through the door, but cultivation depends on the individual. If the master doesn't lead you through the door, you'll never figure it out in your lifetime."

/

"Comprehension Pill"

"Quantity: One"

"Effect: Increases Comprehension by 30 points for seven days."

"Evaluation: You'll regret eating it."

Each of these three items had its own use. Although the Storage Ring was the lowest-ranked, Storage Relics that could provide a quick-access slot were rare items—not just in this world, but even in the game. Moreover, unlike players, who had system storage, the people of this world had no such convenient means of storage. Thus, a Storage Ring capable of holding critical items was extraordinarily valuable.

The advanced skill referred to by the manual wasn't some common skill like Swift Thunder Saber Technique, but a genuine Advanced Blade Technique or Advanced Movement Technique. Many high-level Relics would require advanced skills before they could be used, so they couldn't be passed up whenever one appeared.

The Comprehension Pill was the simplest and most direct. Thirty points of Comprehension meant a 30% experience bonus, and it lasted for seven days. If one was willing to grind, this pill might even be worth more than the first two items.

But no matter how good these three items were, none could compare to the Legendary Relic, Bingzi Jiaolin!

"All reward items for this mission are as follows: Bingzi Jiaolin, Storage Ring, Random Advanced Skill Beginner's Manual, Comprehension Pill"

"The bidding phase will now begin. You may bid Thief Points for the items. The minimum bid is 5 points, and each increase must be at least 5 points. Thieves who have won an item will have priority to bid in the next round."

"The first item is Bingzi Jiaolin. Thieves, please place your bids."

After Ying Ru Shi read the rules, a glint flashed through her eyes. She immediately called out, "Black Wolf—"

But before Black Wolf could open her mouth, Yan Qing spoke first:

"I bid 36 points!"

"Yellow Dog bids 36 points for Bingzi Jiaolin"

"No one present can exceed 41 Thief Points. Bingzi Jiaolin belongs to Yellow Dog."

Under the other three people's practically blazing gazes, Bingzi Jiaolin slowly floated in front of Yan Qing. He reached out and grasped it!

Bingzi Jiaolin was his!