Auction House, A Strong Start

Early the next morning, Yun Tian got up.

He did not disturb the sleeping Tang San and Xiao Wu. After quietly washing up, he tucked the brown crystal he had condensed the night before into his pocket and left.

After a night of meditation and recovery, his soul power had already been replenished. Before leaving, he spent another half hour condensing a second crystal.

The two thumb-sized earth-element crystals gave off a gentle sheen in the morning light, their pale golden patterns flowing within like sleeping rivers.

Two crystals—one for testing, one for auction.

Yun Tian carefully put the crystals away and strode toward Notting City's busiest district.

Although Notting City was only a small-to-medium-sized town home to a junior soul master academy, it sat along a major transportation route. Soul masters and merchants came and went in an endless stream, so the city naturally had several decent trading venues.

Before returning to the academy last night, Yun Tian had already scouted the streets and learned of the Nuoding Auction House. It was Notting City's largest trading center for soul master goods, backed by the Empire and reasonably reputable.

The Nuoding Auction House stood on the main street in the eastern part of the city, a three-story blue-brick building with a black plaque bearing golden letters hanging above its entrance. The calligraphy was bold and forceful.

Two guards in matching uniforms stood outside, standard short swords hanging at their waists as their wary eyes swept over passing pedestrians.

When Yun Tian approached, both guards turned their eyes toward him. A child who looked only seven or eight years old, dressed in plain coarse clothing and entering the auction house alone—no matter how they looked at it, it was strange.

"Kid, who are you looking for?" one guard stopped him. His tone was not harsh, merely puzzled.

Yun Tian looked up at him calmly. "I'm here to sell something. Does your auction house buy items?"

The guard froze for a moment and looked him over several times. In the end, he stepped aside and let him pass. "Go in and turn left. Ask for Manager Li at the appraisal department."

Yun Tian thanked him and stepped through the doors of the Nuoding Auction House.

The first-floor hall was far more spacious than he had imagined. All kinds of soul beast materials and low-grade soul tools were displayed in several rows of glass counters, while beast hides and skeletal specimens hung on the walls.

Several well-dressed customers were speaking with attendants by the counters. When they saw a child enter alone, they all looked over curiously.

Yun Tian ignored those gazes and followed the guard's directions, turning left until he reached a half-open door.

A wooden plaque on the door read: Appraisal Department.

He knocked.

"Come in."

He pushed the door open. Inside was a modestly sized room. Behind a broad rosewood desk sat a middle-aged man in his early forties. Slightly plump and dressed in a silk robe, he wore round-framed glasses on his nose and was looking down at a thick ledger.

When he looked up and saw Yun Tian, his brows furrowed slightly. However, his professional restraint kept him from immediately throwing the boy out.

"Little friend, what can I do for you?" Manager Li set down the ledger, his tone still polite.

Yun Tian walked to the desk, took out the brown crystal intended for testing, and gently placed it on the tabletop.

"I'm here to sell this."

Manager Li lowered his head and glanced at the thumb-sized stone, initially paying it no mind.

He had worked in this trade for more than a decade and had seen all kinds of ores, soul bones, and medicinal herbs. An ordinary brown stone was hardly anything rare.

But after his gaze lingered on the crystal's surface for three or four breaths, his brow suddenly twitched.

He reached out and picked up the crystal. It felt warm and smooth to the touch, unlike the coldness of an ordinary stone.

When he brought the crystal closer for a careful look, his pupils contracted slightly. The pale golden patterns inside slowly flowed beneath the light as if alive. An extraordinarily pure and rich earth-element aura radiated from the crystal's core—warm, dense, and carrying the tranquil, enduring strength of the depths of the earth.

Manager Li's breathing stalled for a moment.

He had seen quite a few heavenly treasures in this business, but this was the first time he had encountered such a pure crystal condensed from elemental energy.

Ores and gemstones also contained elemental energy, but most of it was mixed and impure, requiring refinement before it could be used.

Yet the energy within this crystal was astonishingly pure, almost directly absorbable, as though it were essence stripped straight from the earth's veins.

"This thing... where did it come from?" Manager Li's tone became noticeably more serious.

Yun Tian answered calmly, "I condensed it. I'm a two-ringed Grand Soul Master, and my martial soul has the earth attribute. This is an earth-element crystal condensed from the energy of my innate martial soul. The energy inside can aid the cultivation of soul masters with earth-attribute martial souls. It is especially effective for low-level soul masters, significantly improving their efficiency in sensing the power of the earth."

Manager Li's eyes widened. "You condensed it? You condensed it yourself?"

"Mm." Yun Tian nodded. "But these are difficult to condense. I can only produce one a week. Each one consumes a great deal of soul power, and I need nearly a week to recover. You can keep this one for testing first. Find a soul master with an earth-attribute martial soul and verify its effects. If it truly works, I plan to auction the second one here."

As he spoke, he took the second crystal from his pocket and placed it on the desk.

The two crystals lay side by side, glimmering with a gentle sheen in the morning light. The golden patterns within flickered as though breathing.

Manager Li stared at the two crystals for a long while before suddenly rising to his feet. "Wait here. I'll invite our chief manager."

With that, he hurried out, moving so quickly that he even forgot to close the door.

Yun Tian leaned back in his chair, looking perfectly composed.

He picked up the cup of cold tea on the desk, took a sip, crossed one leg over the other, and waited.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, Manager Li returned with an elderly man behind him, his hair grizzled but his spirit sharp.

The old man wore a dark gray robe, its cuffs embroidered with a ring of dark golden patterns. One look was enough to tell that he was someone of standing within the Nuoding Auction House.

The chief manager's eyes immediately fell upon the two crystals on the desk as soon as he entered.

He did not speak in a hurry. Instead, he walked over, picked up one of the crystals, and examined it closely. Then he held it beneath his nose and sniffed it before finally closing his eyes to sense its energy fluctuations for a moment.

After a long while, he opened his eyes. His gaze toward Yun Tian now carried a greater degree of gravity.

"Young man, this really is a good item." The chief manager gently placed the crystal back on the desk. "Its purity is extremely high, and the elemental energy is pure. It truly benefits the cultivation of low-level earth-attribute soul masters. You said you can only produce one per week?"

"Yes." Yun Tian nodded. "The consumption is too great. My current soul power rank cannot support faster production."

The chief manager pondered for a moment, exchanged a look with Manager Li, then asked, "How do you wish to sell it?"

"At auction." Yun Tian was concise. "You can use this one to verify its effects first. Find a suitable soul master with an earth-attribute martial soul and let them try it. If it truly works, auction the second one publicly here. The starting price... two hundred gold soul coins."

"Two hundred?" Manager Li sucked in a cold breath.

The chief manager's expression did not change. He merely picked up the crystal again for another look, then nodded. "If its effects are truly as you say, a starting price of two hundred gold soul coins is not unreasonable. The Nuoding Auction House takes a ten percent commission, and the rest goes to you. If this test crystal proves effective, I will purchase it from you at eighty percent of the auction price, so the Nuoding Auction House can keep a sample for ourselves."

Yun Tian was delighted inside, but he merely nodded without revealing it. "Reasonable. Then I'll trouble you with the arrangements, Chief Manager."

"It's no trouble." The chief manager smiled. "If you can steadily produce these items, the Nuoding Auction House welcomes a long-term partnership with you."

By the time Yun Tian left the Nuoding Auction House, the sun had already risen higher.

He stood by the roadside and stretched, in a fine mood.

The test crystal had been left at the Nuoding Auction House. They said they would find a suitable earth-attribute soul master and complete the verification within three days, then send someone to Nuoding Academy to inform him of the results.

Whether the test succeeded or failed, he would not lose out.

Success would naturally be best. Once the auction began, gold soul coins would flow in without end.

And if it failed, it did not matter. The crystals required no cost to make, so at most he would waste a few days.

Still, he had confidence in his own creation.

If the elemental crystals condensed by the Earth Shadow Stone did not even have this much effect, then his three months of training with the Earth Tiger Armor would have been for nothing.

Yun Tian hummed a tune as he headed back toward the academy, his steps light.

After coming to Soul Land for several months, he had finally found the key to his first pot of gold.

His financial future was bright.