Winning the Dragon Elephant Longevity Art

When Lu Yuan arrived in Zhenping County, he asked around and quickly learned where the auction was being held.

It was a five-story building, lavishly decorated with gold and jade, its beams and pillars ornately carved.

The auction was being held today. Carriages crowded the street in front, and a steady stream of people flowed through the doors.

The greeters were all pretty young women. Seeing Lu Yuan approach, one politely asked, "Are you here to attend the auction, sir?"

"That's right."

Lu Yuan wore a hood that nearly hid his eyes. He lowered his voice as he answered.

The greeter didn't find his appearance strange. The guests attending today's auction were dressed in all sorts of bizarre ways. Some didn't want to reveal their identities and wore masks; Lu Yuan's getup was downright ordinary by comparison.

"Apologies, sir, but everyone attending the auction must pay an entry fee of ten taels of silver. Once the auction ends, the ten taels will be refunded in full, whether or not you buy anything," the greeter explained.

The Brilliant Merchant Guild naturally set a threshold for its auctions. It wouldn't let just any Tom, Dick, or Harry come in to gawk. A ten-tael entry fee kept most spectators away.

"Fine."

Lu Yuan glanced around. Most people entering had paid the fee; only a few seemed to present something like invitations, allowing them to go straight in.

Since it was their rule, he might as well follow it.

He paid ten taels of silver and received a token. Guided by a staff member, he entered the auction hall.

The venue was spacious, perhaps five or six hundred square meters. A raised platform stood in the center, surrounded by hundreds of seats. Above them were small private boxes where guests could look down on the auction floor.

Lu Yuan guessed the people in those boxes were the wealthy and powerful whom the Brilliant Merchant Guild had specially invited.

When he arrived, only half the seats were occupied. In less than half an hour, they were full.

Before long,

clang, clang, clang, clang!

A bell rang, and a tall, graceful woman in a long dress stepped onto the auction platform.

"Thank you, honored guests, for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend the Brilliant Merchant Guild's auction. I'll be your auctioneer today."

"I won't waste your time. I'm sure you've waited long enough. Let the auction begin!"

Time passed. For the first hour or so, Lu Yuan watched purely for entertainment. A few items tempted him, but thinking of the reason he'd come, he forced himself to wait for the martial arts manual to go up for auction.

"Today's first martial arts manual is the Dragon Elephant Longevity Art!"

A servant came forward with a tray, and the auctioneer raised her voice.

"Legend has it that anyone who masters this art will live as long as the dragon and elephant, perhaps even attain immortality and remain forever young, with inexhaustible qi and blood. They say that at its peak, it can grant the practitioner a body impervious to weapons!"

"Everyone, this is a mid-tier martial art. Forgive my bluntness, but I doubt half the people here have ever been this close to one before."

At her words, Lu Yuan heard several scoffs around him. They sounded dismissive. He turned to a man who looked to be around thirty. "Brother, may I ask why everyone seems so unimpressed by the Dragon Elephant Longevity Art?"

Low-tier manuals were easy to learn as long as you had the money—the only prerequisite was having money.

The Ox Demon Fist and Great Gale Saber Technique he practiced were both low-tier martial arts.

Mid-tier manuals, by contrast, were valuable but rarely available. Even if you had the money, you might not be able to buy one. And if someone was willing to sell, the manual usually stayed within private circles instead of reaching the open market.

As for high-tier manuals, they were the core secrets of the Great Powers and would never be made public.

That was why Lu Yuan couldn't understand why everyone was so dismissive in the face of a mid-tier martial art.

The man looked surprised. "First time here? The Dragon Elephant Longevity Art has been in the Brilliant Merchant Guild's hands for years. It's been through three major auctions like today's and ten smaller ones without selling. Do you know why?"

"Please enlighten me," Lu Yuan said humbly.

The man chuckled. "This auction house only talks up the advantages, and they're all pie in the sky. They never mention the drawbacks. It's true that the art can extend your lifespan, but living as long as a dragon and elephant, attaining immortality, staying forever young, and forging a body impervious to weapons? That's all legend..."

After hearing the man's explanation, Lu Yuan finally understood why the Dragon Elephant Longevity Art was so unpopular.

The art had a long history. It originated at Dragon Elephant Temple, but after the temple was destroyed, the Dragon Elephant Longevity Art was lost. A century later, it resurfaced at an auction hosted by the Brilliant Merchant Guild.

The art could indeed extend one's lifespan, but that was all. Back when Dragon Elephant Temple still stood, monks who lived to a hundred and fifty were common; quite a few even reached two hundred.

But the art's drawbacks were glaring. Those who practiced it were far weaker than others at the same level.

Aside from extending one's lifespan, it seemed to have no advantages at all.

Worse, it was difficult to practice and slow to master. Even though plenty of Dragon Elephant Temple's monks lived to a hundred and fifty or two hundred, a large number only made it to around a hundred.

A martial artist who reached the heights of martial cultivation could live for more than a hundred years anyway. Why choose the Dragon Elephant Longevity Art, which only extended one's lifespan?

If it cost only a few hundred taels, people wouldn't mind buying it just to let it gather dust.

But the Dragon Elephant Longevity Art had a starting price of two thousand taels!

Only a fool would pay that much for a manual just to leave it gathering dust.

The Brilliant Merchant Guild wasn't willing to lower the starting price, either. They had already reduced it from three thousand taels to two thousand.

Once Lu Yuan understood, his spirits lifted. A cultivation art that could extend his lifespan was exactly what he needed.

He didn't care whether the art was powerful. What mattered to him was that it could lengthen his life.

As long as he lived longer, he could improve his aptitude.

Even better, nobody seemed to care much about it, so there would hardly be any competition.

"The Dragon Elephant Longevity Art! The starting price is two thousand taels!"

The entire hall fell silent. No one bid. Seeing no response, the auctioneer awkwardly called out again:

"The Dragon Elephant Longevity Art! The starting price is two thousand taels!"

Still, no one responded.

Just as the auctioneer thought it would go unsold once more, a voice rang out abruptly:

"Two thousand and one taels!"

The auctioneer's heart leaped with joy. "Bidder number fifty-eight offers two thousand and one taels! Does anyone wish to bid higher?"

Lu Yuan was a little nervous, afraid someone might compete with him. But clearly, he'd worried for nothing. No one else wanted to bid.

"Two thousand and one taels, once!"

"Two thousand and one taels, twice!"

"Two thousand and one taels, three times! Congratulations to the guest in seat fifty-eight for winning the Dragon Elephant Longevity Art!"