Intermediate Auction

As the time drew near, Luo Zhiyuan entered the Virtual Universe.

Bulieni appeared on Luo Zhiyuan's shoulder, patting it as he said, "Kid Luo, get ready. We're about to teleport to the Xuanyi Universe Kingdom. The auction is being held within the Xuanyi Universe Kingdom's sector of the Virtual Universe. Let's go!"

Luo Zhiyuan brought Bulieni to a teleportation point. Because he held an admission ticket for the Xuanyi Universe Kingdom auction, he was able to select the location of the Xuanyi Universe Kingdom within the Virtual Universe. After clicking teleport, he was instantly transferred to the entrance of a massive tower on the "Xuanyi Continent."

This was a nine-story tower, with each level standing over several dozen kilometers high. At the base of the tower, there were eight large gates facing every direction. Luo Zhiyuan was currently standing in front of one of these gates.

In the middle of the tower's structure, several large characters were suspended in mid-air, written in the Universal Common Language: "Virtual Universe Company Auction Center."

Luo Zhiyuan looked up at the towering, massive nine-story structure, but he did not feel a sense of insignificance. This was one of the benefits of reaching the third level of state of mind.

Since his inner world was already infinitely vast, he was no longer affected by ordinary towering architecture. Otherwise, just considering that this tower was countless times taller than the highest mountain on Earth, he would have been overwhelmed by its sheer presence had he seen it in the past.

He turned his head to scan his surroundings, but seeing no other humans, Luo Zhiyuan walked directly into the auction center. The admission ticket in his hand transformed into a layer of blue, ghostly light that flickered above his head.

The first floor of the auction center was a vast, empty hall. Inside the hall were many faint, shimmering cubicles; one could vaguely see silhouettes inside some of them, while others were completely empty.

Just as Luo Zhiyuan stopped walking, a receptionist with cyan skin and a single horn on his head approached him, smiling as he said, "Respected guest, this intermediate auction is being held on the sixth floor. If you do not know the specific location, I can lead you there."

Looking at the receptionist with slight surprise, Luo Zhiyuan was still wondering how the other party knew he was there for the auction when he guessed the reason from the way the receptionist looked at the top of his head. It must have been the effect of the admission ticket, so he nodded and said, "Alright, please lead the way. It is indeed my first time here, and I don't know the exact location."

The receptionist bowed and pointed in a direction: "Very well, guest. Please follow me this way. There is a teleportation point here, and you can teleport directly into the auction venue."

Following the receptionist across the entire first-floor hall, Luo Zhiyuan selected the option to teleport into the auction venue at the teleportation point. In the next instant, he appeared inside a massive room.

Calling it a room might not be entirely accurate, as the space was enormous—100 meters high, and 500 meters in both length and width. In the center was a circular metal platform 1 meter high and 100 meters in radius. Luo Zhiyuan appeared at the front of the metal platform. Behind him was a 5-meter-long sofa, and in front of and to the sides of the sofa were many colorful-looking foods and drinks.

Luo Zhiyuan sat on the sofa, examining the unfamiliar food, feeling his mouth water. He asked Bulieni, "Bulieni, hurry and tell me, what are these foods? Each one looks incredibly exquisite."

Bulieni glanced at them, curled his lip, and said, "How stingy. They only provided some virtual energy fruits and energy drinks. Even if you bought the real versions, they wouldn't cost more than 10 Hunyuan. They're even cheaper here in the Virtual Universe. They aren't anything special; just taste them if you want."

"Wow, even these things that look like fruits and drinks cost 10 Hunyuan outside? Then I really have to give them a try." Saying this, Luo Zhiyuan casually picked up a fruit that looked like a plum and tossed it into his mouth.

Pfft, it was so damn sour! He spat it out immediately. Luo Zhiyuan then picked up a bottle of iridescent liquid and took a small sip. This one was actually quite refreshing and sweet, which suited his tastes better.

Bulieni told him what each item was and what its effects were as he picked them up; most of them were items meant to increase one's physical energy level.

Then, while tasting the various foods and drinks, Luo Zhiyuan said to Bulieni on his shoulder, "This isn't what I imagined an auction would be like. I thought there would be a big hall where everyone sat around in a circle to bid. Being put in a separate room like this, I can't feel the atmosphere at all."

Bulieni lay on Luo Zhiyuan's shoulder, crossing his legs and swinging them back and forth as he said, "A hall? What kind of status do you think people who attend intermediate auctions have? Four-star customers and up!

Those customers are basically Undying-level figures. You want a bunch of Undying-level customers sitting together, getting red in the face and arguing? Don't they have any dignity to maintain? So, whether it's for status or face, these private rooms are the most appropriate."

"That's true, haha. If a bunch of Undying-level powerhouses were arguing incessantly, it would indeed be a loss of face. I know that for Undying-level powerhouses, face is very important. By the way, Bulieni, see if there's an auction catalog or something. We can do some preparation in advance."

Upon hearing this, Bulieni sat up and nodded, "That makes sense. Let me see... ah, there really is a catalog. Come, let's look at it together."

After he finished speaking, Bulieni waved his hand in front of him, and an image of a book appeared before Luo Zhiyuan. It was labeled "Auction Item Introduction" and looked quite thick; it was hard to tell how many items were up for auction.

He felt a bit of a headache and said, "Please, just looking at this, there are clearly a lot of items. How long would it take for me to look through them one by one? Bulieni, you go through it first, then let me see the ones that are useful to us."

"Hmm, that works too. Let me take a look." After Bulieni finished speaking, the thick image of the book in front of Luo Zhiyuan flipped rapidly from beginning to end. It took less than a second. Luo Zhiyuan hadn't seen a thing and just waited for Bulieni to tell him.

After Bulieni went through the auction item introduction, he said to Luo Zhiyuan with a lack of interest, "There are quite a few items, but there isn't anything truly good. The best spaceship is only an E9-grade Machine Race spaceship.

As expected, one shouldn't hold too high of expectations for an intermediate auction. Forget it, I'll just make do with that crappy ship for now."

Luo Zhiyuan said with surprise, "No way? Bulieni, aren't your standards too high? It's still an intermediate auction, and an E9-grade Machine Race spaceship isn't a 'crappy' ship, okay? It's enough for some ordinary Undying-level powerhouses to use.

You can't always look at things from the perspective of my teacher's status. Look again and see if there are any weapons or equipment suitable for me.

The things my teacher left me are all too high-level. Right now, I only have a second-tier mental weapon and a second-tier Force Battle Suit. You can't expect me to reach the World Lord level or even the Undying level relying only on these two things, right?"

Bulieni rubbed his chin with his hand and said, "Oh, that's true. Your teacher really didn't prepare any transitional items for your early stages! In that case, there are indeed things in this auction you could use, such as these three: the flight-type mental weapon 'Flame Light Feather', the Nine Great Divine Weapons of the Controller set, and the Divine Illusion Bead.

'Flame Light Feather' is a flight-type mental weapon suitable for those following the Law of Light to use when breaking through to become an Undying. It can greatly increase the user's instantaneous dodging speed and burst speed, which is quite suitable for you.

The Nine Great Divine Weapons of the Controller are the most suitable weapons for a Spirit Controller. This set includes all nine divine weapons, bundled together, along with basic combat secret techniques.

You can make do with the Shadow Divine Weapon inside for now; it is a mental weapon that fuses the Law of Light and the Law of Time. You can switch to the weapons your teacher prepared for you once you reach the World Lord level.

Didn't you say you like the Illusionist path? This Divine Illusion Bead is a mental weapon suitable for Illusionists. It can enhance the strength of your spiritual force and amplify the attack power of your soul-based secret techniques."

Luo Zhiyuan nodded, feeling a bit more anticipation for the auction, but he immediately thought of something else and quickly said, "Right, Bulieni, there's one more very important thing I almost forgot!"

"What is it?"

"Clones! I need to prepare for my clones. See if there are any suitable materials for them.

Also, since my teacher foresaw that one of my clones would be of the Shadow Race, I definitely have to gestate this Shadow Race clone.

I haven't gestated any clones yet, and I don't know much about this race. You should know something about them, right? You should also see if there is any equipment suitable for this clone.

Oh, and also Xingshuo. After all, teleportation is a very important ability. If I were to gestate a clone of that as well, we could prepare for it now. Opportunities for intermediate auctions don't come around often in the short term, so let's not miss out."

Bulieni slapped his thigh hard and nodded like a mortar pestle, saying, "Right, right, right! I really did forget this major event! I have to look for it immediately."

Luo Zhiyuan said with a wry smile, "Bulieni, are you kidding me? You're an intelligent lifeform, right? How could you forget?"

Bulieni rolled his eyes and said, "It's precisely because I am an intelligent lifeform that I can forget, okay!

Intelligent life is also a form of life, and since it's life, it has seven emotions and six desires; it's not as rigid as a simple computer program.

So, if I'm happy or unhappy, isn't it normal to forget a few things? Aren't you humans the same?"

Fine, that statement left Luo Zhiyuan speechless. He felt like something was wrong, but he didn't know how to refute it, so he could only urge Bulieni to hurry and find the data to see if there was any equipment worth buying.

Bulieni tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said, "I don't actually know much about the Shadow Race and the Xingshuo race either; I only know a few points that Old Mystic mentioned briefly."

Let's start with Xingshuo. They are a form of plant life, but unlike other plant-based lifeforms, they possess bodies similar to the human form rather than a typical botanical shape.

However, the Xingshuo race can extend more than two vines or leaves from their bodies. These vines are quite long and can be used as weapons or draped over their bodies to serve as armor. They excel in the Laws of Space, but that is all I know.

"As for the Shadow Race, they are a special form of energy-based life. They are melee-type combatants who do not fear soul-based secret techniques. Their instantaneous burst power and speed are quite good, and they excel in the Laws of Light, but that is all I know as well."

"It seems there is no way to make targeted preparations. We can only roughly decide to buy equipment related to the Laws of Space and the Laws of Light, but that scope is too broad. Let's see as we attend the auction; it's about to begin."

Luo Zhiyuan nodded. Indeed, the information was too scarce to make specific arrangements. It was better to just watch the auction for now.

PS: I'm too tired today, brothers. There is only this one chapter, my apologies.

I hadn't noticed it before, but being a community volunteer is quite exhausting. I have to continue my duty tomorrow, so I expect there will only be one chapter at this time tomorrow as well.

Brothers, let's stay home for a while and get through these difficult times together. Staying home and reading novels is actually quite comfortable.

Additionally, since I've written so little, I won't have the nerve to ask for votes, but please give me a follow; I'm about to reach my second honor. Everyone, thank you!