Half a Black Token

While Lin Ming was lost in thought, the second Auction Item was brought up.

"The second Auction Item: a Profound Tier Mid-grade Earth Attribute cultivation method—Dark Earth Art."

After Jiu Jiu's words fell, the hall, which had calmed somewhat, stirred up once more. On the Dou Qi Continent, cultivation methods were always ranked first in importance.

Although cultivation methods were divided into four tiers—Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow—the one appearing now was only a Profound Tier method, second from the bottom. However, Heaven Tier Cultivation Methods were basically kept by ancient clans, and perhaps only the most Top Factions in the Middle Continent possessed them. Earth Tier cultivation methods were likewise held by those Top Factions.

For those who did not belong to Top Factions, Profound Tier cultivation methods were the highest they could come into contact with. Lin Ming dared to say that the vast majority of people present were still using Yellow Tier cultivation methods.

So when a Profound Tier Mid-grade cultivation method appeared as the second Auction Item, how could they not be excited? Even if they failed to win it, merely having seen it was better than never seeing one at all.

Seeing that the atmosphere had been stirred up again, Jiu Jiu spoke once more. "Profound Tier Mid-grade Earth Attribute cultivation method—Dark Earth Art. Starting price: 120,000 Gold Coins. Each bid must increase by no less than 100 Gold Coins. The auction now begins."

"125,000."

"130,000."

"140,000."

The bidding price for the Dark Earth Art cultivation method rose even faster than the Soft Water Silk from the first auction. Before long, it broke through the 200,000 mark, and its momentum showed no sign of slowing.

"350,000!"

As that shout rang out, the auction hall fell silent.

Seeing that no one else was bidding, Jiu Jiu began the count.

"350,000 Gold Coins, once!"

"350,000 Gold Coins, twice!"

"350,000 Gold Coins, three times!"

Bang!

"Sold! Congratulations to this gentleman for obtaining the Dark Earth Art cultivation method!"

With the strike of Jiu Jiu's auction hammer, the second Auction Item was sold.

"Next, the third Auction Item: a 4th Grade Wind Attribute Magic Core. Starting price: 200,000, with a minimum increase of 100 per bid. The auction now begins."

"220,000."

"Sold! Congratulations to this gentleman for acquiring this 4th Grade Wind Attribute Magic Core for 430,000 Gold Coins."

"Next, the fourth Auction Item..."

Lin Ming watched as one Auction Item after another was sold, yet none of them were anything he needed. But after thinking about it, he realized he did not actually need much at the moment.

He could not replace his cultivation method. As for fighting skills, he had not even mastered the Blazing Sun Saber Technique yet. Unless something as rare as a Flying Fighting Skill appeared, Lin Ming would not learn any other fighting skills. As for pills, he had only just finished taking the Liquid Energy Pill that raised his cultivation, and there were no other pills that interested him.

After thinking it over, Lin Ming felt that unless a Medicinal Cauldron more High-Grade than the Three-Mouth Bronze Cauldron he was using appeared, or one of several rare items such as Spirit Absorption for storing Heavenly Flames after absorbing them showed up, he had no intention of Making a Move for ordinary items.

"The next five Auction Items are all the same thing," Jiu Jiu said. A Woman carrying a tray then walked onto the stage.

Jiu Jiu lifted the cloth covering the tray once again, revealing five Jade Bottles resting on it.

"Seeing these Jade Bottles, I believe everyone can guess what is inside. That's right, pills."

"I believe the effect of these pills is what every warrior who cultivates dou qi desires most: raising one's cultivation. After taking one, a Dou Master can raise their cultivation by One Star within half a month. Furthermore, after an interval of three months, they can take another pill and once again raise a Dou Master's cultivation by One Star."

"If anyone doubts the medicinal effects of these pills, please put those doubts aside. These pills were refined by Alchemists from the Jia Nan Academy Alchemy Department, and they entrusted us with auctioning them. Therefore, any guests who doubt the pills' effects or origin may rest assured."

After hearing the introduction, Lin Ming knew that these were Liquid Energy Pills refined from the pill formula he had provided. Bringing them out for auction now was likely meant to use this auction to introduce the Liquid Energy Pill, letting all the academy's teachers and students know about it so they could be sold within the academy later.

"Alright, Jiu Jiu will stop keeping everyone in suspense. The pills in these Jade Bottles are called—Liquid Energy Pills. They are Third-Grade Pills."

"Jiu Jiu has already explained their effects, so I will not repeat myself. The starting price for each Liquid Energy Pill is 50,000 Gold Coins. The auction for the first pill begins now." As soon as the words fell, someone called out a bid.

"55,000 Gold Coins."

"58,000 Gold Coins."

"100,000 Gold Coins."

"Good. This distinguished guest from Jia Nan Academy has bid 100,000 Gold Coins. Is there anyone else who wishes to raise the bid? If not, Jiu Jiu will begin the count."

"100,000 Gold Coins, once!"

"100,000 Gold Coins, twice!"

"100,000 Gold Coins, three times!"

Bang!

"Sold! Congratulations to this distinguished guest from Jia Nan Academy for winning the first Liquid Energy Pill!"

"Next is the second Liquid Energy Pill. Its starting price is also 50,000 Gold Coins. Everyone, bidding begins now."

"95,000 Gold Coins."

The second Liquid Energy Pill was immediately bid up to the high price of 95,000 Gold Coins, leaving those who wanted to bid speechless. They thought, Brother, do you even know how to bid? The previous round only sold for 100,000 Gold Coins, yet you opened with 95,000. How are we supposed to play this?

This was like Fight the Landlord. You came right out with four twos—should I use the Rocket in my hand to bomb you, or not?

If I bombed you and failed to play out all my cards before you took control, I would have no high cards left to play. If I did not bomb you, judging by how aggressive you looked, Might Be you would play out all your cards right away.

That was exactly how everyone felt now. Bidding was not an option, but neither was staying silent.

"Ninety-five thousand Gold Coin, first call!"

"Ninety-five thousand Gold Coin, second call!"

"Ninety-five thousand Gold Coin, third call!"

"Bang!"

"Sold! Congratulations to this honored guest for winning the second Liquid Energy Pill!"

"Next, we will be auctioning the third Liquid Energy Pill."

"Class Leader, you're also a Dou Master now. You could use a Liquid Energy Pill too, so why haven't you made a bid?" Han Yue's voice sounded beside Lin Ming as she asked why he was not bidding.

In response to Han Yue's question, Lin Ming thought, I'd have to be crazy to bid for one. The Medicinal Material cost of refining a Liquid Energy Pill would not exceed twenty thousand Gold Coin. In the beginning, the Failure Rate might be higher due to unfamiliarity, but even then, the Medicinal Material cost per pill would not exceed thirty thousand Gold Coin.

Yet these pills had been auctioned for nearly a hundred thousand Gold Coin. Lin Ming would not do something so wasteful. Thus, he replied to Han Yue, "If I want to take Liquid Energy Pills, I can just refine them myself. There's no need to compete with these people at auction."

"Hehe, Class Leader! So there are things you don't know after all! Only alchemists can successfully refine pills. Ordinary people like us can't refine pills." Han Yue laughed after hearing Lin Ming's reply.

Within their class, their Class Leader had always seemed capable of anything, yet he had things he did not know too. She suddenly found him more approachable this way, rather than distant beyond reach, like a god.

"Oh! But I am an alchemist." Looking at Han Yue, Lin Ming spoke in an even tone.

"Cough, cough, cough. Class Leader, what did you say? I laughed so hard that I choked and didn't hear you." When Han Yue heard Lin Ming say that he was an alchemist, she immediately choked on her breath.

After she stopped coughing, she felt that she must have misheard and wanted Lin Ming to repeat himself.

Naturally, Lin Ming saw through that little thought of hers, so he said irritably, "You didn't hear wrong. I said that I'm an alchemist."

After receiving Lin Ming's confirmation again, Han Yue's mouth fell open wide enough to fit a fist inside. At that moment, she completely forgot whether this would ruin her image at the Academy.

After quite a while, Han Yue asked Lin Ming with a solemn expression, "Class Leader, were you adopted by your family?"

Seeing her ask such a question with such seriousness, Lin Ming's mind filled with question marks. He had no idea what she was trying to pull. Unable to figure it out, he asked Han Yue in confusion, "Why would you ask that?"

"Class Leader! Because I think you're the biological child of some Dou Di. You were sealed inside a Secret Realm from birth and only emerged into the world at this point in time." Han Yue spoke with complete seriousness.

"What do you even think about all day?" After hearing Han Yue's words, Lin Ming rolled his eyes at her.

"Then tell me yourself, Class Leader. We're all the same age. It would be one thing if your cultivation were one realm ahead of ours—after all, that could be explained as Exceptional Talent."

"But now you're saying that while your cultivation is one realm ahead of ours, you're also an alchemist. And according to you, you can refine Liquid Energy Pills yourself, which means you have to be at least a 3rd Grade Alchemist."

"We started coming into contact with Dou Qi when we were four or five, and now we're fourteen or fifteen. In just ten years, you've pulled so far ahead of us. Other than calling you the child of a Dou Di, I truly can't think of any other way to describe you, Class Leader."

Looking at Han Yue's perfectly logical analysis, Lin Ming felt that if she had not been talking about him, he might have believed her. But unfortunately, she was talking about him.

Of course, he knew exactly what his own situation was like, so he felt there was no need to dwell on it. He simply said, "Enough, stop making wild guesses. Cultivate diligently, and your cultivation will improve too."

While Lin Ming and Han Yue were talking, the remaining three Liquid Energy Pills were auctioned off as well. Every one of them sold for over a hundred thousand, especially the final pill, which fetched the high price of one hundred and twenty thousand.

Next came several Auction Items that Lin Ming had no use for.

"The next Auction Item is somewhat special. First, it is incomplete—only half of it remains. Second, the only function we have discovered so far is that it is somewhat helpful in improving Spiritual Strength Intensity. However, it has no effect on those whose Spiritual Strength Intensity exceeds that of a 2nd Grade Alchemist."

After Jiu Jiu finished speaking, half of a Black Token was placed upon the auction stage.

When Lin Ming heard that the half Black Token could help improve Spiritual Strength, he became interested. But after Jiu Jiu added that it had no effect on those whose Spiritual Strength exceeded the second grade, Lin Ming was greatly disappointed. After all, his current Spiritual Strength was no weaker than that of a 4th Grade Alchemist.

The others were not particularly interested after hearing this either. Ordinary martial artists had little need for it, while the alchemists who did need it wanted to use it to improve their Spiritual Strength beyond the third grade, allowing themselves to break through the bottleneck from 3rd Grade Alchemist to 4th Grade Alchemist. But since it could not improve that level of Spiritual Strength, they immediately lost interest.

"Of course, it is currently incomplete, so it only possesses these functions. But if someone can find the other half of this Black Token and restore it, then Might Be it could improve even greater Spiritual Strength."

"Moreover, judging by its appearance as a token, it is likely also a key to opening some specific item or Secret Realm. This world does not lack such Secret Realms. If your fortune is sufficient, Might Be you could obtain the inheritance of a great expert."

"Therefore, the starting bid for this half token is fifty thousand Gold Coin. Any honored guests who are interested may now begin bidding."