Several more auction items were successfully sold. One worth mentioning was a few pieces of top-grade thousand-year-old Whale Rubber, but neither of them participated in the bidding. In the end, they were bought by people from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Ordinary Whale Rubber was useless to Yang Fan now, while Ning Rongrong had the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—the largest merchant clan—supplying her.
Yang Fan guessed that, unless they were simply indulging themselves, the people in that box were probably direct descendants of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. After all, not many people knew the secret of Whale Rubber yet.
The later items were mostly luxurious indulgences, such as catgirls and other strange creatures. Yang Fan didn't meddle. If one of them had decent talent, taking her in and training her wouldn't have been a bad idea.
But without Soul Power, she would only be a burden. Besides, her eyes had already lost their light. She had clearly been trained well, and it would be difficult to save her.
To people at their level, she had no value anymore.
Changing something like this required changes to the economic system, culture, and social climate. A single act of kindness or mercy wouldn't be enough; it would only end up helping the wicked.
It wasn't until another item appeared that Yang Fan's interest was finally piqued again.
The lights above the auction stage gathered into a brilliant beam, landing precisely on the purple sandalwood tray at its center.
The auctioneer, Yanran, raised her jade-white hand and lifted the red velvet cloth covering it.
In an instant, a strange fluctuation spread through the hall. Even the air inside the private boxes seemed to freeze for a moment.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please take a look. This item is a piece of 'Mutated Blue Pregnancy Copper' that our auction house has just acquired."
Yanran's voice held just the right amount of excitement.
"Although it has the deep blue hue of Blue Pregnancy Copper, silver patterns like rippling water cover its surface. After examination by several senior appraisers from our merchant clan, we confirmed that this is a rare type of Blue Pregnancy Copper that absorbed an excessive amount of water-element energy during its formation."
"Although its Soul Power conductivity is somewhat reduced, it can produce an unexpected amplification effect when used to create a Mimicry Cultivation Environment. The starting bid is forty thousand Gold Soul Coins, with each increase no less than five thousand!"
As soon as she finished speaking, bids rang out one after another throughout the hall.
Unlike Extraterrestrial Meteorite Iron, this kind of ore rich in elemental energy was highly sought after by Soul Masters.
A Soul Master's cultivation speed depended not only on innate Soul Power, age, and meditation techniques, but also, most importantly, on their Mimicry Cultivation Environment.
This ore was ideal for constructing a Mimicry Training Ground, making it an object of desire for many Soul Masters.
Yet Yang Fan, seated in a second-floor VIP box, stared fixedly at the metal. At some point, he had put his Martial Soul, a Monocle, over his right eye.
Just as I thought! How could this be Mutated Blue Pregnancy Copper? It's clearly its associated ore—Magic Silver, and top-grade Magic Silver at that.
Under normal circumstances, even extracting it at high temperatures from dozens of tons of Blue Pregnancy Copper wouldn't guarantee a piece this large. Naturally occurring Magic Silver this pure is even rarer.
In the era of Legend of the Dragon King, there might be mining methods and artificial purification techniques, but in this era, this is definitely naturally occurring.
Those silver patterns on the surface aren't water-element energy at all. They're the natural markings of Magic Silver, an innate imprint that gives it an extreme affinity for the elements of heaven and earth.
It must have come from somewhere near a body of water, though. That's why it's picked up a faint trace of water-element energy.
"Fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins!"
In the hall below, a portly middle-aged merchant held up his bidding paddle.
His daughter possessed a water-element Martial Soul. Perhaps this would let her come home to visit him more often.
Yang Fan took a deep breath, concealing the hint of delight in his eyes. He knew that if he seemed too eager now, he would invite trouble he didn't need.
He had to put on an act.
"Eighty thousand."
Yang Fan spoke in an even tone. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly throughout the hall through the Amplifying Soul Tool in his box, as if he were only adding a few chips on a whim.
The middle-aged merchant below paused, then glanced up at the royal box draped in layers of gauze. He gritted his teeth but didn't bid again.
In Heaven Dou City, antagonizing the royal family was hardly wise.
"Hundred thousand."
Just then, a clear, pleasant voice came from the secluded box diagonally across from him, the one that had been secretly probing with spiritual power.
Yang Fan raised an eyebrow. Had someone else recognized the Magic Silver?
"One hundred and twenty thousand."
Yang Fan announced the number without hesitation, his tone as casual as if he were buying a head of cabbage.
The other box fell silent for a full three seconds.
"One hundred and fifty thousand."
The clear voice spoke again, carrying a hint of uncertainty.
Yang Fan leaned back against the sofa and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest. After a moment, he drawled, "Two hundred thousand. It's only a piece of Mutated Blue Pregnancy Copper."
He played the part so convincingly that even Ning Rongrong beside him couldn't help rolling her eyes.
She had asked around about Yang Fan. He was generous with his subordinates and ordinary people, but stingy with himself. The Treasure Appraisal Pavilion had only been established half a year ago, and two hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins was no small sum for him.
The box opposite fell silent again.
Clearly, the other bidder was weighing whether the item was worth two hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. In the end, they gave up.
"Two hundred thousand once, two hundred thousand twice, two hundred thousand three times! Sold!"
Yanran's gavel rang out, crisp and clear.
When a servant respectfully brought the metal into the box, Ning Rongrong leaned over, curiously inspecting the Mutated Blue Pregnancy Copper that had cost Yang Fan a fortune of two hundred thousand.
"Hey, don't tell me you really misjudged it. Why have you only been buying junk metal today?"
She reached out and poked the cold metal with her fair finger.
"Why does this feel... only a little harder than ordinary Blue Pregnancy Copper?"
Yang Fan slapped her little hand away. This was a treasure. If he could find Secret Silver or Adamantine, he might have a chance to Fusion Forge it into Jade Silver or Spirit Gold.
The former suited owners of holy-attribute Martial Souls, while the latter was suited to owners of elemental Martial Souls.
A weapon made from Jade Silver would also be perfect as Xue Qinghe's coming-of-age gift.
This piece of Magic Silver was quite large. He estimated that a third of it would be enough, and he could save the rest for himself or Na'er to make Battle Armor.
By rights, as a three-ring Soul Master, he should already have had a few pieces of Battle Armor. But there was no helping it. Half a year was too short. He had devoted most of his energy to Soul Spirits, a creation with far greater significance for the age, and hadn't had time to develop his second profession.
He had chosen blacksmithing as his secondary profession—not because the protagonist in the original story had chosen it and it was therefore especially impressive, but because it was easy to learn!
Mastering blacksmithing was difficult, but learning the basics was easy. With a bit of strength and practice, one could readily advance to a Level Four Blacksmith.
Although he didn't have the Golden Dragon King Bloodline, he had consumed several pieces of Whale Rubber. He believed his strength was no worse than that of others at the same level, and things had gone as he'd expected. With systematic instruction from several seniors at the Spirit Pagoda, he'd learned Thousand Refinement without much effort.
However, he had been stuck at the threshold of becoming a Level Five Blacksmith. His foundation was still too shallow. Besides, Yang Fan believed that breaking through to Level Five in Douluo Continent might offer better value for his effort.
In most fantasy worlds, pioneers received heaven's help, and Douluo Continent was no different.
If Lou Gao from the original story hadn't been so old, and hadn't sacrificed his life, he would have had a good chance of earning the favor of a deity associated with blacksmithing or metals.