Chapter 23 - Beginning Of The Auction "Hello, esteemed guests! Welcome to the Azure Phoenix Auction House! I will be your main host today, Qing Qing!" A beautiful young lady appeared on the stage with a dazzling smile and a cheerful attitude, brightening the atmosphere despite the dimmed lights. "Before we begin, allow me to remind you of the rules for this auction house! First of all, once you have made a bid on an item, it will be final and you cannot reclaim the offer! Rule number two, you are not allowed to pressure others with your background! This is an auction house, not the streets! After one warning, we will ask you to leave! And lastly, if you bid on an item and cannot afford it in the end, we will take whatever you have on hand until it’s enough to pay the debt! If the debt is not paid, we will hold you until someone pays the debt!" After announcing the rules, Qing Qing clapped her hands. A moment later, another beautiful lady appeared on the stage while pushing a cart covered by a thick cloth. "Then without further ado, let me reveal the first item for today’s auction — an Earth-grade medium quality chest plate made of silver metal, allowing it to have nearly no weight while retaining high defenses! As long as this armor is on your body, all damage dealt by those below the Spirit Master realm will be reduced in half!" As Qing Qing announced the item, her assistant removed the cover on the cart and revealed the silver armor under it. "50% damage reduction as long as their Cultivation is below the Spirit Master level? How powerful!" Yuan gazed at the armor with wide eyes. If he had such equipment, it would greatly increase his survivability in this world! Xiao Hua noticed his desire for the armor in Yuan’s eyes and spoke, "Brother Yuan, although it may sound powerful, it’ll only work if your opponent is below the Spirit Master level. With your talent, you’ll be fighting Spirit Masters in no time! What’s more, with Xiao Hua here, nobody will be able to hurt you, even if they are a Spirit Grandmaster!" Yuan chuckled at her confident face and nodded. Meanwhile, the Du Brothers sitting on the other side of his table were glaring at the silver armor with drooling eyes. "This is a must-have item! As long as we have this, we will be near-invincible within the Inner Court!" They laughed loudly. "Relying on treasures too much will affect your Cultivation, Du Bai, Du Hai." Xuan Wuhan reminded them after seeing their excited expressions. However, as though they did not hear her, the Du Brothers continued to stare at the armor. "The starting price for the armor will be 100,000 Gold!" Qing Qing announced. "100,000 Gold!" Yuan could feel his heart skip a beat after hearing the price, and it was just the starting price. It’s no wonder why they refused to accept his Monster Cores that would only sell for a measly 100 Gold. "110,000 Gold!" The Du Brother immediately bid. "115,000 Gold!" "118,000 Gold!" "120,000 Gold! "130,000 Gold!" The price went up by thousands with each call, and within minutes, it raised to 280,000 Gold! "280,000 Gold... Even if there are players here, I doubt they’ll have enough money to buy it..." Yuan thought to himself. "280,000 Gold going once... going twice... and sold!" "Yes! We got it!" The Du Brothers hugged each other with joy after winning the bid. "Their family must be filthy rich..." Yuan thought as he watched them celebrate. "We will keep the item for now. After the auction ends, the winners may retrieve the item after paying the debt," said Qing Qing as she called for another assistant to go onto the stage. "The next item will be a Spirit-grade Martial Technique, Fire Lotus Palm Strike! The ability packs devastating power and will also burn everything it touches! The starting price will be 10,000 Gold!" "A single Spirit-grade skill costs over 10,000 Gold?!" Yuan was shocked. Since all of his skills were either self-taught or taught by Xiao Hua, they were all free. He simply cannot imagine paying for an Earth-grade skill, much less a skill at the Divine-grade. "Ummm... how much would a Divine-grade skill normally cost?" Yuan decided to ask Xuan Wuhan. Xuan Wuhan looked at him with wide eyes. "Divine-grade? You cannot buy that kind of technique even with all of the money in this world! Hahaha!" she laughed afterward. Yuan’s jaw dropped to the ground after hearing her words. Cannot be bought with money? To think Xiao Hua would be so generous that she’d give out something like that for free! He suddenly felt the urge to wrap his arms around her and embrace her tightly! A few minutes later, the Fire Lotus Palm Strike was bought by an old man in the VIP Room for 48,000 Gold. "The third item is a Tier 3 pill, Soul Strengthening Pill with 80% purity, crafted by the renowned 3-Star Alchemist, Bai Ming!" "Xiao Hua, what’s an Alchemist? Do they turn things into gold?" Yuan asked her. "Alchemists are medical experts that craft special medicine with their Cultivation, usually in the form of pills. Every pill has a different effect. Some can increase your strength while others can boost your stamina. Pills are usually expensive, so it’s not an exaggeration to say they make gold..." "I see..." Yuan nodded as though he understood something. "Soul Strengthening Pill... it has a mind-calming effect, allowing you to achieve greater results during Cultivation. I want this!" Xuan Wuhan gripped her hands into a fist. "Senior Bai personally crafted 15 Soul Strengthening Pill for today’s auction, enough to fill three pill bottles, and we will be selling them separately. For the first bottle that contains 5 Soul Strengthening Pills, the starting price will be 5,000 Gold!" Yuan’s eyes nearly popped out of its sockets after hearing the price. "Mother of fortune, 1,000 Gold for one tiny pill?! If I want to earn money quickly, it seems like becoming an Alchemist is the only way!" Yuan’s interest in alchemy was piqued. He thought that if one day he has a chance to learn alchemy, he would definitely give it a try. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮 However, Xiao Hua also noticed this and quickly lowered his expectations of being an Alchemist by saying, "Although pills can be sold for good money, it’s also incredibly hard to craft pills, and they usually end in failures unless you are a very skilled Alchemist. Even a single Tier 1 pill will require hours of effort to complete, not to mention that the supplies needed to craft the pill will also cost a lot of money. What’s more, even geniuses will need to train for years before they can become a proper Alchemist. If Brother Yuan wants to become an Alchemist, you will need a lot of money, talent, and patience." "..." Yuan’s hype for Alchemists immediately dipped after hearing Xiao Hua’s ’encouraging’ words. ’Life is hard even inside a game, huh...’ he sighed inwardly.