Chapter 82: The Blessed Auction House
Several Cloud Sect officials were in a side-hall at Drizzle Peak, dispensing elixirs.
At that time there were not too many people getting elixirs. Zen, Nory, and Sean showed their disciple cards and were given several pills.
These grade two energy gathering pills could enhance the speed at which the human body condensed life energy, making them an ideal aid. Besides, even though they were common within the sect, outside the Cloud Sect, the pills could fetch a reasonable price.
After putting the elixirs away, they saw a man walking down from the mountain path, approaching.
The man was fat but walked at a fast pace. There was only one such man at Drizzle Peak, and his name was Wurth. He was injured in the battle ring a few days before.
“Hello, Wurth!” greeted the three men.
Seeing them, Wurth smiled as he walked up to them.
“Wurth, have you recovered from your injuries?” asked Zen nervously. Since his return from Hell Mountain, he'd spent three days in seclusion refining privately and hadn't visited Wurth.
Wurth waved his thick arm, lightly responding, “It was nothing! It's healed!”
Zen nodded and said, “I'm glad to hear that.”
“What's the hurry? It's not an emergency to get the elixir. Do you have something important to do?” asked Sean in curiosity.
“Yes, I am leaving the Cloud Sect for a while. There will be a big move at Blessed Auction House today. My brother asked me to watch it,” answered Wurth.
“The Blessed Auction House?” The eyes of Nory and Sean widened as though something occurred to them. “Wurth, you aren't from the Blessed Zhang family, are you?” they asked almost simultaneously.
Zen was confused at their reaction.
Nodding his head readily, Wurth admitted that he was.
The Blessed Zhang family was legendary in the Burning Sky Empire.
The family had no great talent, and it was not even a noble clan!
What the Zhang family had was a hidden power far beyond that of an ordinary noble clan! That secret power made this family almost as mighty as the top seven noble clans!
All of this Zhang family's descendants were business geniuses which gave them an advantage.
The Zhang clan controlled most of the economic lifeline in the Burning Sky Empire and oversaw many of the exchanges in the empire's largest exchange shops and auction houses.
Even cubic crystals negotiations were set up by the Zhang family.
So, the Zhang family had a unique position in the economy of the whole empire.
The famous Blessed Auction House was one of their many properties.
A majority of the most impressive auctions were conducted through the Blessed Auction House.
“Wow! Wurth, I didn't know you were part of the Zhang family! You are so laid-back!” stated Sean shaking his head slowly as though in shock.
“It's tough for the average person to get into the Blessed Auction House, Wurth, are you able to take us so that we can see it for ourselves?” asked Nory. He didn't want to miss a chance like this because he was interested in this kind of thing.
Nodding, Wurth said, “No problem! That'd be a piece of cake to do!” Then he turned to Zen and proposed, “Zen, will you come with us?”
Zen wanted to turn Wurth down because he had just managed to reach half-step into nature level and he had to work hard to master his technique. He never seemed to have enough time.
He was about to refuse when something occurred to him, and he asked, “Wurth, can anything be sold at this auction?”
“No, not really,” stated Wurth, chuckling. “Common items can't be auctioned at the Blessed Auction House. It has to be valuable,” he explained.
In short, the items sold through the Blessed Auction House were of high value.
Wurth had piqued Zen's curiosity, and he wanted to have a look. Zen had a crystal core from the Fire Scorpion Lion that he'd gotten in the south.
Considering it was useless to him, he naturally wanted to sell it as soon as possible.
Thinking about it, Zen nodded and replied, “Since you're all going, I'll join too, it sounds like fun!”
“Good, wait here. We'll leave after I get my elixirs!” declared Wurth. After he received his elixirs from the administrator, Wurth and the three men headed down Drizzle Peak.
At the bottom of the peak, they entered a Cloud Sect pavilion and Wurth rented a flying chariot at the cost a cubic crystal.
Wurth's generosity left his three companions speechless.
Zen had plenty of cubic crystals and over a thousand points, but, he was reluctant to spend them. A single cubic crystal to hire the chariot was too luxurious for him.
After boarding the flying chariot, it took off, heading away from the Cloud Sect.
Although Zen had been in the Imperial Capital for some time, he hadn't enjoyed the scenery there. Now as the chariot flew over it, he could see the whole landscape.
At full speed, it took nearly an hour to reach the edge of the Imperial Capital because of how large it was.
“Look! It's the Burning Sky Palace!” shouted Nory suddenly, as he pointed to the left.
Turning his head to where Nory pointed, Zen saw tremendous city walls.
Within the walls was a formidable array of various magnificent, massive buildings. Colorful rays of lights covered the walls and exuded a vague overbearing power.
This was the center of the Burning Sky Empire!
Shortly after they passed the Burning Sky Palace, Wurth maneuvered the chariot down and docked in front of a large building.
On the front of the building were large gold leaf letters.
The letters announced The Blessed Auction House.
In addition to Zen and his companions, other flying chariots were continually flying in, stopping nearby.
Anyone who could bid at the Blessed Auction House was either rich, honorable, or was nobly born.
Naturally, Wurth was familiar with his family's auction house, and he led his companions to a door at the side of the auction house.
“We're just in time! My brother said today's auction would be excellent!” stated Wurth over his shoulder as he walked ahead.
“Really? What will the grand finale be today?” asked Sean and Nory excitedly. As outer disciples, they couldn't afford to buy anything, but, it was still fun to watch.
With a mysterious smile and twinkle in his eye, Wurth said, “You'll know soon enough!”
Just as they rounded the side of the building, a snarl came from ahead, “Stop! This is the Blessed Auction House! There is no admission if you have no business here. Please leave immediately!”
It was a man who wore a red brocade robe and carried a long stick.
Wurth calmly stepped forward, took out a token and showed it to the man.
At the sight of the token, the man's expression changed and in a nervous manner, he hastened to explain, “I didn't realize you were our young master. I-I...”
Acknowledging the man's apology, Wurth shook his head, but his voice was cold as he said, “Well since you did not know, I won't blame you. My friends and I will be going in.”
“Yes! Please, right this way!” said the man as he politely ushered the four of them in.
The Zhang family was known as the wealthiest family. The man was undoubtedly a servant of the family, but, he was at the nature level, which shocked Zen, Nory, and Sean.
“Wurth, you're always so good-natured at Drizzle Peak, why are you a different person here?” said Zen teasingly as he looked at Wurth's grave expression.
They weren't used to Wurth being so severe because, at the Cloud Sect, he was always so jovial.
Looking around carefully, Wurth made sure no one was nearby before he relaxed his grim expression and smiled. He explained, “I don't have a choice since it's the family motto. The descendants of the Zhang family need to show their majesty in front of others! But, I'm not cut out for it.”
They followed Wurth into the salesroom.
The room was fan-shaped, with seating that went up the terrace. Zen, Nory, and Sean sat in the wing.
Having settled his companions, Wurth gave them a token, and said, “If you'll excuse me, I have something I need to attend to. You guys sit here and watch.”
With that Wurth walked away. He came today to help his family, so he certainly couldn't remain just sitting there with his friends.
Jumping up, Zen followed Wurth out.
“Hey, Wurth, wait up. I have a question. How do I consign an item to your auction house?” asked Zen in a hushed tone.
With a look of surprise, Wurth asked, “Do you really have something to auction?”
It wasn't that Wurth scorned Zen. On the contrary, Zen was powerful, his potential was unlimited. Plus he was a man the Zhang family would like to win over and even invest in. But, as an outer disciple, what could he possibly have that was valuable?
Nodding and smiling slyly, Zen said, “Yes, I do have an item for sale.”
“Can I ask, what is it?” asked Wurth curious about what Zen had. Wurth knew Zen wasn't one to loosely talk. If his item had no value, he wouldn't bring it for auction.
“A crystal core from a Fire Scorpion Lion,” replied Zen quietly.
The announcement made Wurth's chubby face twitch a few times.
Every member of the Zhang family had a flair for business, and Wurth was no exception. Since he'd been molded from childhood in the family environment, he was highly sensitive to the values that various treasures, and rare materials had.
When Zen said he had a crystal core from a Fire Scorpion Lion, Wurth almost doubted that he'd heard him correctly.
The crystal core from a Fire Scorpion Lion had extraordinary uses and was precious to pill and weapon refiners. Apart from that, the most important thing was that the Fire Scorpion Lion was at the brink of extinction. Wurth searched his memory, and he recalled the last auction with a crystal core of Fire Scorpion Lion occurred three years ago.
That crystal core sold for nearly twenty thousand cubic crystals, and Wurth recalled, it was from a young Fire Scorpion Lion.
If Zen really had a crystal core from a Fire Scorpion Lion to auction off, then Wurth would inadvertently bring great business for the family.
“Zen, follow me!” Zen didn't seem to be joking, so, Wurth took Zen to a secret room in the auction house, and asked, “Can I look at the Fire Scorpion Lion's crystal core?”
The careful manner that Wurth was taking made Zen feel both funny and awkward.
Zen knew the crystal core was highly prized and valuable in the empire, but Wurth's performance was overly cautious.
Zen put his finger on his space ring, and a moment later the crystal core appeared in his hand, glowing with a fiery sheen.
This was a complete, fist-sized crystal core, and obviously from an adult Fire Scorpion Lion.