For nearly ten years, Lin Yuan's Law Comprehension had steadily deepened.
He had comprehended 36 of the 72 most difficult mysteries of the Law of Fire Origin, and 20 of the 27 relatively difficult mysteries of the Law of Earth Origin.
Now, when Lin Yuan wielded the third layer of the Burning Universe Flame Wild Axe, "Burning Sky," the area covered by its flames was at least twice as large as before.
He had made almost no progress with the Law of Space Origin, and his cultivation of Ten Thousand Shadow Steps had stalled at Ten Shadow Steps.
The stagnation in his comprehension of the Law of Space Origin also hindered his cultivation of the Burning Universe Flame Wild Axe's Fourth Layer Move. Lin Yuan had tried to study and comprehend it, but hadn't grasped even the slightest bit.
The Thousand Mountain Secret Code didn't demand as much comprehension of the Law of Space Origin as the Burning Universe Flame Wild Axe did, and Lin Yuan had already begun to see the path to its Fourth Layer Move.
As for his willpower, Lin Yuan drank diluted Black Jade Venom once a month. He had already consumed more than half of the barrel of diluted Black Jade Venom.
During this time, his willpower had slowly grown stronger, and he had made an initial breakthrough into the second layer of Ten Thousand Hearts Undying.
That day, Lin Yuan was comprehending the Law of Fire Origin inside the Law Tower.
"Beep! Master, you have a new email," his Smart Optical Brain announced.
Lin Yuan checked the email. It was a notice from the Virtual Universe Company.
"The Intermediate Auction is about to begin!" Lin Yuan had been waiting for this for ages.
At the previous preliminary auction hosted by the Nine Flames Universe Kingdom, Lin Yuan had been dissatisfied with the results. He hadn't found suitable materials for a clone, and he couldn't afford any of the expensive treasures.
But at the end of the auction, he had gambled on the Crystal of Viska without any information and won. The many lottery chances he'd received had earned him enough assets to attend this Intermediate Auction.
Lin Yuan's top priority was still to find suitable materials for a clone. He had also searched the Virtual Universe Network for information on the subject, but his access level was too low to find any details on even moderately powerful biological materials.
Lin Yuan had considered asking his teacher, but he couldn't come up with a suitable reason. He couldn't exactly say that he'd had an incredible stroke of luck and acquired the ability to create a clone, could he?
Since leaving the Great Axe Arena and arriving on Red Flame Planet, Lin Yuan hadn't left the planet even once. Such incredible opportunities were almost always found in Cosmic Secret Realms, so asking his teacher about them wouldn't make sense.
Besides, his teacher, Marquis Yuankun, might be able to afford some of the rare materials from Special Lifeforms, but he still wouldn't have the access to obtain information about them. After all, his teacher was a Marquis Immortal under a Universe Country, not one of the Five Great Giants.
Lin Yuan connected to the Virtual Universe.
Virtual Universe, Intermediate Auction venue.
Lin Yuan arrived early, but the area outside the venue was still packed with people.
Unlike the previous beginner auction, the vast crowd around him this time consisted almost entirely of Immortal Experts. Immortal Military Lords were the most numerous, but there were plenty of Marquis Immortals as well.
Everyone attending the Intermediate Auction was at least a four-star user of one of the two banks.
The auction venue prohibited attendees from releasing Consciousness Pressure, but standing among this crowd still made Lin Yuan feel incredibly insignificant.
Immortals' gazes occasionally fell on him. As the only Universe Level among a group of Immortal Experts, Lin Yuan stood out. Still, almost everyone assumed that this young Universe Level must have an impressive background.
After smoothly collecting his bidder's number, Lin Yuan took his seat. The auction's host was also an Immortal, a middle-aged man who looked full of vigor.
"Welcome to this Intermediate Auction hosted by the Virtual Universe Company. I'm your auctioneer, Greer. To save everyone time, let's skip the small talk and get straight to the first round." The middle-aged man wasted no time, speaking loudly from the center of the auction hall.
"First up is our opening lot: one Medium Fire God Source Crystal! Its explosive power is equivalent to the self-destruction of a Marquis Immortal. The starting bid is three million Hunyuan Units. Let the bidding begin!"
The many Immortals below began discussing the lot among themselves, but ordinary Immortals couldn't afford it.
Even so, having such an expensive item as the first lot certainly succeeded in warming up the crowd.
Lin Yuan was also surprised. This Medium Fire God Source Crystal had to be the one he'd consigned for auction. He hadn't expected it to appear first, as the opening lot.
Normally, an opening lot was more likely to fetch a higher price than the lots presented later.
Lin Yuan began to look forward to the result. The normal auction price for a Medium Fire God Source Crystal was around five million Hunyuan Units. How much would it sell for?
"Four million Hunyuan Units."
"Five million Hunyuan Units."
"Five point six million Hunyuan Units."
In the blink of an eye, the price had surpassed five million Hunyuan Units, and it was still rising.
The final price settled at 7.68 million Hunyuan Units.
"Beautiful!" Lin Yuan was thrilled. The Medium Fire God Source Crystal had sold for more than two million Hunyuan Units above his expectations.
The expert who won it probably wasn't an ordinary Marquis Immortal. What Marquis Immortal would spend most of his wealth on a single Fire God Source Crystal?
"These Immortals are really something!" Lin Yuan began to look forward to seeing how much his other consigned lot would fetch.
The lots in the first round were sold one after another. Lin Yuan hadn't even heard of many of them; they hadn't appeared in the original story at all.
And unlike at the preliminary auction, the host of the Intermediate Auction didn't explain the origins or uses of many of the lots. He only gave the most basic information. If you knew what you were doing, you knew; if not, you were better off staying out of it.
Finally, the Purple Star Vein Leaf Lin Yuan had consigned for auction was brought out. Its normal auction price was around two million Hunyuan Units.
"Next up is a Purple Star Vein Leaf! It's especially suitable for plant-type lifeforms. The starting bid is one million Hunyuan Units. Let the bidding begin!" Greer announced loudly.
Purple Star Vein Leaves were primarily used by plant-type lifeforms. Many Immortals cultivated such lifeforms, and they were usually quite willing to spend money on them.
"One point three million Hunyuan Units."
"One point eight million Hunyuan Units."
"Two point one million Hunyuan Units."
The bidding was just as fierce this time. Lin Yuan was overjoyed. Watching his own treasure fetch a high price seemed even more exciting than buying one.
A short while later, the final price was announced: 2.65 million Hunyuan Units.
Together, these two lots earned Lin Yuan a total of 10.33 million Hunyuan Units.
Once all 1,000 lots in the first round had been sold, every buyer completed payment.
"Beep! Master, two deposits have been transferred to your account," his Smart Optical Brain announced.
Ten million Hunyuan Units had arrived!
Lin Yuan was eager to get started. With these ten million Hunyuan Units, he finally had enough confidence. This time, he definitely wouldn't leave empty-handed!
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