Mittel Auction House

Mittel Auction House

After looking around the resplendent hall, Xiao Ling spotted a room with several dazzling golden characters written above it in bold, sweeping strokes: "Treasure Appraisal Room." He headed toward it.

Upon entering the Treasure Appraisal Room, he found it somewhat spacious and empty. An old man sat beside an antique tea table, leisurely reading a book. Xiao Ling lightly probed with his Soul Power and found that he could not discern the man's cultivation at all. Either he was an ordinary person, or his cultivation was higher than Xiao Ling's.

Seeing someone enter, the refined old man set down his book and revealed an amiable smile. "Are you here to have a treasure appraised?" His eyes, however, sized up the figure beneath the black robe. Finding nothing noteworthy, he withdrew his gaze.

"Pills." A hoarse voice came from beneath the black robe, its age impossible to discern. Xiao Ling had deliberately disguised it.

He then patted his belt and took out a white jade bottle from Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlight Night. Inside was the Fourth-grade Pill, Qi Gathering Powder, that Xiao Xun'er had given him. Since Xiao Ling had drawn one from the system himself, he had no use for this extra one.

I've wronged Xun'er a little this time. I'll have to apologize to her when I get the chance, Xiao Ling muttered inwardly.

The old man picked up the jade bottle and was about to inspect it when Xiao Ling's hoarse voice rang out.

"Inside is a Fourth-grade Pill, Qi Gathering Powder. It can guarantee a cultivator's breakthrough from Dou Qi Stage Nine to Dou Zhe. Hurry and find someone suitable to examine it." Familiar with the original story, he could not be bothered to waste words on a minor character.

"Please wait a moment, sir. I will invite the manager over to appraise it." The old man set down the jade bottle, turned, and headed into the inner room.

Before long, the old man returned, followed by another elderly man with graying hair.

Xiao Ling gave him a brief look. An alchemist's robe, and two silver ripples on the Pill Pattern badge at his chest. Could this be Gu Ni from the original story? I wonder whether Ya Fei has arrived in Wutan City yet. Probably not. She might not even be an adult at this point.

"Sir, this is Master Gu Ni of our auction house. He is a Three Star Great Dou Shi, as well as a distinguished Second Grade Alchemist."

After Gu Ni sat down, he picked up the jade bottle from the table and examined it carefully. Opening its stopper and looking inside, he indeed saw a smooth, lustrous Fourth-grade Pill: Qi Gathering Powder.

Putting down the jade bottle, Gu Ni said, "Sir, this is indeed a Fourth-grade Qi Gathering Powder. May I ask whether you intend to sell it directly or put it up for auction? A direct sale will fetch a lower price, but payment can be settled immediately. An auction will bring a higher price, but it will take some time. Our auction house will need time to promote it. After all, in Wutan City, apart from the three great clans, no other force can afford a Fourth-grade Pill."

Rubbing his chin, Xiao Ling pondered for a while before speaking. "Sell it directly. My time is limited, so give me your price quickly."

Gu Ni lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying, "In that case, the price can only be three hundred thousand Gold Coins. It may be somewhat troublesome for us to sell it on."

The moment Xiao Ling heard that the old fellow was trying to fleece him, he was immediately displeased. Having read the original story, he knew that a Qi Gathering Powder was worth around four hundred thousand Gold Coins. In larger cities, it would certainly sell for even more.

The Mite'er Family and I are heart to heart, yet the Mite'er Family wants to play tricks with me?

Xiao Ling tugged at his black robe, lowered his voice, and said to Gu Ni, "Don't take me for some ignorant fool who knows nothing about the market. And this Qi Gathering Powder comes from a perfectly legitimate source. Four hundred thousand Gold Coins at minimum. If you sincerely wish to make this deal, your auction house may exchange Beast Fire of equivalent value for this Fourth-grade Qi Gathering Powder. I happen to need Beast Fire for cultivation right now."

Gu Ni frowned and began to deliberate. At first, he had assumed that this black-robed man had merely stumbled upon a Qi Gathering Powder through luck and intended to sell it for some Gold Coins. Now, however, it seemed that he was someone who knew his goods.

"Then we will purchase this Qi Gathering Powder for four hundred thousand Gold Coins. If you need Beast Fire, we will have to transfer it from some higher-level auction houses. This amount of Gold Coins can purchase three portions of Fourth Order Beast Fire. As for Fifth Order Beast Fire, from what I know, only the family headquarters seems to possess it." To earn himself some extra merit, Gu Ni gritted his teeth and agreed. After all, in tiny Wutan City, a Fourth-grade Pill was an extremely rare sight. He himself was merely a Second Grade Alchemist and could not refine a pill of such quality.

Hearing the answer he wanted, Xiao Ling revealed a mild smile. "That will do. About when will the Beast Fire arrive? Also, I do not need any with a Poison Attribute."

"It should arrive in Wutan City in about a week. Just bring this token and come find me next week." Smiling, Gu Ni took a standard golden token from his robes and handed it to Xiao Ling.

Xiao Ling accepted the token and tucked it at his waist. "I'll await the good news. I'll come again at noon one week from now."

With that, he turned and walked straight outside, soon vanishing from Gu Ni's sight.

Watching Xiao Ling's departing back, Gu Ni muttered, "What a strange fellow." When his gaze shifted to the jade bottle containing the Qi Gathering Powder, his eyes became heated. Picking up the bottle, he hurried toward the inner room. He had to store this pill properly. If anything happened to it, the Mite'er Family would punish him severely.

After leaving the Mittel Auction House, Xiao Ling let out a long breath. Fortunately, there had been no surprises and no unnecessary trouble. He only needed to return next week to collect the Beast Fire. Fen Jue should be able to evolve to Yellow Tier Advanced then, right? Shaking his head and no longer dwelling on it, he headed toward the Xiao Family.

As he entered the Xiao Family, the clan members greeted Xiao Ling one after another.

"Cousin Xiao Ling, your aura has grown stronger again. Your cultivation has improved too!"

"Cousin Xiao Ling, did you just get back from outside?"

"Cousin Xiao Ling is getting more handsome by the day. Can you come to your cousin's room tonight and teach me how to cultivate?"

Xiao Ling did not put on any airs or look down on them, greeting them warmly in return. When he heard that one of his older female cousins wanted to invite him to her room at night to cultivate, the corner of his mouth twitched. Pah! Is this really about having me teach you cultivation? You're after my body, you shameless woman!

Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Xiao Ling spotted someone outside the crowd carefully heading toward the Back Mountain. Looking more closely, he saw that it was Xiao Yan. What was he sneaking around for? Wasn't he heading toward the place where the girls bathed? Could it be...