Given that the shield could be one of the items being auctioned, it must have some qualities. If not, the Beast King Sect would never allow fakes and useless pieces of equipment to be auctioned.

Ou Yangming had only subconsciously shouted his bid earlier. Due to his experience of exchanging his flying carpet for the Interspatial Spiritual Tree, as well as the fact that he was drawn by the shield, he yelled without being fully aware of what he was doing.

Nonetheless, he knew something was off the instant he shouted.

He was prepared to be reprimanded, but Mao Jianbi somehow ignored it. In fact, the top-grade SPiritualists, who had unknowingly surrounded him, reacted the same way too.

The powerhouses were top-grade Spiritualists, such that any of them would be feared by everyone. When several of them said the same thing, nobody else in the square dared to raise the bid anymore.

Ou Yangming never expected to bag a piece of ancient equipment with just 600 spirit ores.

The only thing was that he had owed those top-grade Spiritualists a favor without him knowing. He vaguely understood their intentions and could repay them, but he would be lying to say that he was not worried.

Pieces of so-called ancient equipment were also a type of equipment. Nevertheless, those pieces of equipment had longer histories, some even older than most of the middle-scale and small-scale sects.

Needless to say, those pieces of equipment were only collectively known as pieces of ancient equipment; it did not mean that they were really smithed during ancient times.

It would be quite unlikely to acquire those old antiques in this kind of auction.

When Ou Yangming's mental conception came into contact with the shield, he was slightly stunned. Due to his mighty Military Fire, he could easily identify a piece of equipment's specific properties.

Besides, his mental conception had become one with his Military Fire, hence he naturally possessed all of the fire's wonderful effects.

Even so, he somehow did not receive information about the shield when his mental conception touched it.

Ou Yangming blinked in confusion. 'Is this thing really from the Generation of Chaos? It's said that only pieces of equipment from that generation can't be appraised.'

The young fellow was puzzled when he looked at the shield in his hands.

Judging from its quality, it looked like it was made some time ago but… He did not believe that something like this was preserved for such a long time.

After pondering for a brief moment, a white light flashed from Ou Yangming's hands.

It was appraisal art—this was his first time performing the art in the Spiritual Realm.

Following that, a notification appeared in his mind.

[Item: Ancient shield]

[Equivalent Rank: Magic Tool, Fine Grade, Rank Three]

[Attributes: Toughness +28, Durability +28]

Ou Yangming twitched his mouth because the equipment's properties were really out of his expectations.

It was not that the equipment was too great; it was terrible. Ou Yangming had a good eye, and he was also a potent blacksmith, thus he would more or less estimate a piece of equipment's quality and worth.

According to Ou Yangming's estimation, the shield should at least be a High Grade magic tool. Despite that, after sensing its properties, he must say that he made a mistake this time.

'No wonder none of them fought for this. Other than the fact that they were obstructed by the few top-grade Spiritualists, it's also because this thing's real worth still awaits confirmation.

'Perhaps its name as an ancient shield is its biggest worth.'

Having said that, Ou Yangming was not frustrated at all. After all, 600 spirit ores were not considered much for him.

Just as Ou Yangming wanted to put the shield away, he was struck with a thought.

'Why could I pry its properties through appraisal art but not my mental power?' He was extremely curious.

"Brother Ou."

Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows. He turned around and asked, "What is it?"

The person that spoke was Tian Yinghao, who was standing next to him. He noted with a smile, "You intercepted some people just now."

"Intercepted?" Ou Yangming was bewildered.

Tian Yinghao lowered his voice and explained, "This ancient shield's actually one of the pieces of equipment that's collected by our sect. It's called a piece of ancient equipment, but it's actually not that powerful."

Ou Yangming nodded and thought, 'What do you mean that it's not that powerful? It's a scam!'

"We normally won't sell something like this, but 2 of our subsidiary sects are interested in it, which is why it was being auctioned," Tian Yinghao continued. He made eyes in 2 directions and said, "Those are the 2 sects. Heh, I initially thought that there's going to be a good show and that our sect will earn more spirit ores. Who knew, you intercepted halfway, and they dared not raise the bid too."

Ou Yangming could not help but laugh when he saw Tian Yinghao smiling faintly.

He had intercepted the bidding process earlier, but the item turned out to be different from what he had expected, so he did not benefit at all.

When he turned to look at those 2 sects, sure enough, a few of them were secretly checking him out with hostile looks. However, when he looked at them, they immediately looked elsewhere as if they were not paying attention to him at all.

Struck with a thought, Ou Yangming turned to look at the shield again. He vaguely sensed that it was not as easy as it seemed.

The auction continued, but Ou Yangming no longer bid for anything.

This was because he could tell from the expressions of the few top-grade Spiritualists around him that they would support him if he was interested in any of the items. Since other people would not dare to offend those powerhouses, one could imagine the outcome if the young fellow were to bid for anything.

It would be fine if he only bid once or twice, but he might make countless enemies if he kept bidding for something.

※※※※

The auction finally stopped after half a day.

Ou Yangming sighed a breath of relief. Just as he was going to leave with Tian Yinghao without a sound, a sturdy figure blocked his path.

Bear Li smiled with its eyes squinted, "Master Ou, can I have a word with you?"

The formidable top-grade spirit beast had tried its best to look friendly, but its naturally- ferocious look still caused others to stay away from it.

Tian Yinghao's face changed. He knew the powerhouse would not harm him, but his legs still went jelly, and he almost lost his footing.

On the opposite, Ou Yangming was calm. The top-grade spirit beast looked tough, but it was not like he had not met one before. Back when Ghost Mo from the Insects pursued him, he and Big Yellow managed to escape by joining hands. Now that he had also conversed with Venerable Ones, why would he fear top-grade spirit beasts?

Ou Yangming nodded and was going to head to somewhere quiet when someone said, "Brother Bear, this isn't very appropriate, is it?"

A middle-aged man with a golden silk scarf on his head paced toward them. While being stared at by Bear Li, which looked like it was going to eat him up, he introduced himself, "I'm Yong Lesheng. Greetings, Master Ou."

Ou Yangming could sense the fearsome aura released by him, so he dared not delay his response. "Greetings, senior."

Ying Lesheng waved his hand and replied to him, "Master Ou, you don't need to be so polite. Heh, since you could refine a flying carpet, we don't deserve being addressed as seniors."

Bear Li was dumbfounded. It rolled its eyes as if it was pondering.

Ou Yangming looked around and noticed several beings around him. They were either humans or beasts, but they were all top-grade Spiritualists. Moreover, they were fixing their gazes on him.

Although he should be delighted about being valued by so many top-grade Spiritualists, when they naturally released their oppressions, even the most ignorant and generous person would not look too well.

The young fellow cleared his throat and asked, "Seniors, have you come to find me for flying carpets?"

"That's right!" Bear Li clapped its large hands. "Master Ou, you're a straightforward man. We came to find you for flying carpets!" It paused for a second before it added, "As long as you refine a flying carpet for me, I'm willing to pay any price."

Yong Lesheng's face changed. "Brother Bear, Master Ou's a human, after all, so he wouldn't serve the Beasts before he solves problems for the Beasts."

"Pfft, nonsense!" Bear Li roared. "Yong Lesheng, you're not a cultivator from the Beast King Sect, so how dare you speak nonsense here and try to instigate disharmony between the Humans and the Beasts? You deserve to be punished!"

Several other top-grade Spiritualists looked on coldly, but they did not choose sides.

Given their cultivation bases, why would they care about something as trivial as this? That said, even they did not know how they should negotiate with Ou Yangming anymore.

It would be easier if only one of them was dealing with Ou Yangming. When a few equal-ranked powerhouses were eyeing a flying carpet each, none of them dared to say that they would be the lucky one.

Just as Bear Li and Yong Leshen were glaring at each other, causing the atmosphere to tense up, Mao Jianbi arrived all of a sudden and questioned fiercely, "Are you going to fight here?"

Bear Li and Yong Leshen fell silent for a brief moment. They glanced at each other tacitly then backed away.

A white-faced man chuckled and suggested, "Brother Ou, we're at the Beast King Sect, and you're the great elder here. We'd like to request flying carpets, so please set some rules for us to follow."

Mao Jianbi looked at Ou Yangming, who was completely helpless. He responded after some thought, "Master Ou's a blacksmith that was acknowledged by Sir Venerable One himself, so I can't get involved even if I'm the great elder."

"What? Sir Venerable One?"

The top-grade Spiritualists looked at each other. They felt like 10,000 alpacas had just galloped in their hearts, causing them to have ghastly looks on their faces.