Chapter 37: Flame bearers.

So cheap!

So cheap!

So cheap…

His voice echoed in the hall. Hearing this, many felt perplexed. What did he mean, just one was enough? What did he mean, so cheap? Hearing him, were the two ladies as well. They could not understand the exact meaning of his words… Did he really mean they were being generous, actually refusing to trade the two weapons for that herb?

…

Wait, if that was the case, did they not just let go of such a great opportunity? Did they just let such a fortune slip by? Did he mean…

To trade the two weapons for that one herb?

Huh?

…

As their thought were reeling, the lightning sword was delivered to them. Actually seeing it close, touching it, feeling its tranquil qi form…

“No doubt, we made the right choice. This one… is way better than we hope for!”

“That right! Even I want to use this baby for myself,”

Such doubt was cleansed from their mind. No way in Heaven he actually meant it, nope. Only a crazy man would offer this kind of baby out, two at once…

For it was such a magnificent weapon!

Channeling their Qi in, they felt warmth. The weapon was not overbearing, welcoming them as if a dear friend welcoming them into her house… And such a large house too, mansion even! The energy they could store within could make the weapon beneficial even to them, experts at Heavenly Stars stage!

At the time, any lingering regret of rejecting Patriarch Sha Yu’s last offer diminished. They knew they made the right choice.

The amount of energy a Spirit Weapon held matters, since most Spirit Weapons could not be used together with others. They would often clash, as though two bitter women meeting the cheating husband at the same time in their night chamber, they would claw each other’s flesh out.

…

As soon as they thought so, they heard a cough.

An awkward cough, as if covering a mistake;

“Ehem, excuse me, I should not say cheap… I misspoke. I meant to say, so generous… Thank you both ladies for your generosity, to reject taking both at once. Unnecessary, hm, I admire your generous nature,”

It was An Shan’s voice. Hearing what he said, the crowd, no matter how dim-witted, could finally understand…

The heck!

He really was offering the two weapons together!

Hearing this, the two ladies almost spurted out blood… Especially so for the older one, seeing such a great weapon in front of her, her mind blanked out, her body bending over all of a sudden.

“S-sister, c-calm down…”

“Eh, w-we should’ve asked as you said… Foolish Shao Na, foolish Shao Na, foolish—”

“Sister, stop…”

Berating herself, she slapped her cheeks twice before her younger sister stopped her. Keeping face? Don’t ask the client? What the heck, to lose such a generous offer, just what did they do to deserve this… Did they kill some Heavenly Dragons in their past life? Had she known, she would have grabbed the chance!

Greedy?

Who cares about some face, hmph!

Meanwhile, An Shan continued pouring oil, flammable oil…

“To find such reasonable ladies in this time and age, I renewed my hope for you youngsters… So generous, free from the entanglement of the material world, truly conducting yourself with fairness… I’m impressed,”

Hearing him, the lady called Shao Na could not keep her tears in…

Alright enough… We’re not generous, okay? We’re simply ignorant fools! You too, why didn’t you clarify to us beforehand! Now that the transaction had taken place… Huhu, even if we wanted to, we cannot!

So… Stopped pouring your oil, it’s hot enough in here!

It’s burning—

“Hm, tell you what, I’ll remember you two. Should you face any tribulations later, I cannot guarantee help, but at least,”

An Shan threw something out. It came out from his room’s veil, going straight into the two sisters’ room. Formations within the room activated, stopping that thing from going in. It, however, hovered outside…

Slowly, it inched its way inside.

Seeing this, Host Li had his eyes widened, and his body trembled. He was about to continue the auction, but the sight was too much to see. That thing the VIP threw out… was inching its way into the ladies’ room!

While the crowd was wondering what was happening, as the host, elder Li truly knew what was happening. The thing the VIP threw out so casually, was ignoring the defense formation within! Something outside could not enter into it without breaking it first, but this thing... Did not damage the formations at all!

Soon, it entered their room, gently hovering by them. Raising her head, Shao Na could see the item. It was a thick brown wood, carved with some formations.

“A… token, a communication token?”

“A gesture of goodwill… If I can help, I will. If I could not, at the very least, I will offer advice. Use it when you have an emergency,”

An Shan commented.

He truly could not believe he had the fortune to meet such good ladies, not tempted at all by his generous offer. Hm, people like them were rare even during his time… Glad people like this were still around.

With such thought, he closed his eyes…

…

Meanwhile, the Sha clan, closing their veil, had a gloomy atmosphere within.

Patriarch Sha Yu had lost the auction. He was silent, so his men were silent as well, lest they provoked him. Only the sobbing of his spoiled son reverberated in the VIP room.

…

“Well then, shall we continue?”

With the weapons on stage returning to their respective owners, Elder Li started the next auction. He introduced the item, the Ying-Yang Purple Moonlight Flowers. One side of it was a glaring purple, while the bottom was faint purple. Its nectars were glowing faint, attracting attention to its splendor. It had many usages, but one of the most prized ones would be to help a superior cultivator conceive. Many elders seemed interested in this, as having successors meant very much for a clan.

“Like before, the seller also wished for a Heaven-rank Spirit Weapon. Dear Sirs, present your offers!”

The elders made their bids. This time, however, Patriarch Sha Yu made no offer. To his side, his son had lost all tears. It was as if he had lost his spirit, becoming completely pale like that of a Yin-element ghost…

…

"I offer this,"

A gentle voice belonging to a young lady, reverberated.

Shaa--

As the bidding came to a climax, a fiery sword came from a VIP room in the second floor, to the right of An Shan’s room. A glaring flame surrounded the sword, showing its might and brilliance!

It was as if a firebird descended into this lower realm, bringing with it Heavenly Sun! Seeing the sword, the elders were taken aback. Specifically, to the emblem carved into the sword’s holder…

“T-this sword…!”

“That’s… a Phoenix emblem?”

“Forged by the Phoenix Hall…!”

The crowd turned to the VIP room. Who on earth would have a weapon forged by the Phoenix Hall? The answer was simple, almost every one of them was a member of the Fiery Phoenix Imperial Clan! And not ordinary members too. One had to be at least Core Disciple to possess one.

While it was not banned from being exchanged, it was rarely done so. That was because it was considered a treasure even by members of the Fiery Phoenix. And anyone who exchanged it, ought to gain permission from the Phoenix Hall first, else they would be punished! After the exchange, they had to remove the emblem, otherwise, would face heavy punishment.

The crowd, realizing that this was indeed a genuine treasure, buzzed with discussion. What the heck was going on? Could it be… A core disciple from the Fiery Phoenix Imperial Clan?

Following their realization, a soft voice echoed in the hall.

“Dear Sirs, I really need this herb…”

Such a short sentence, yet the crowd could feel her determination. It was as if saying, not in so many words, don’t stand in my way!

“T-this voice! That sword!”

Hearing such a heavenly voice, Sha Yu’s son, Sha Zhongyu, had his lost soul returned. He recognized it, as well as that sword... Their meeting was just a few days ago, afterall. While she did not utter a word for him, he was fortunate enough to hear her wonderful voice back in the Shining Cloud Pavillion… Such a voice, he would never forget it, ever!

His blood rushed so much down below whenever he heard it!

…

Sensing the ferocious Fire Sword, the two ladies gulped. It was indeed a great weapon. While it looked ferocious, its qi would not injure the user unless one was careless. Moreover, with the reputation of the Phoenix Hall, it had immense value! Why would this be…

“…This sword is called Little Flame. I’ve been using it for the last twenty years, I can guarantee its performance. I’ve also kept it well-maintained, so you should have no worry. Its special attribute is rare too, I can inform the sellers directly if they so wish,”

Behind the veil, the phoenix lady explained.

She did not make the sword’s special attribute known, but everyone understood why. It would be better if the public did not know a Spirit Weapon’s special attribute, as it could be used against the wielder by their enemies.

The less people knew, the better.

Though she knew the seller had high demand, she had confidence they would not reject this. It was after all, forged by the famed Phoenix Hall. If one was to sell this for money, it could go as far as 300 million… Enough to build several huge mansions in this city!

…

Elder Li looked up. It seemed they were still hesitating. The two ladies turned to An Shan’s room. Shao Na asked;

“…Would dear Sir make his offer this time too?”

Hearing her, the crowd realized the reason. Still impressed by An Shan’s weapons, they still hoped he would put forth an offer. Was the sword he offered that impressive? It was enough to disregard a sword from a Phoenix Hall? Such thought lingered among the crowd. Yet after her question, the VIP room was still silent…

…

For some time, when finally, the sound barrier was lifted.

…

“Ehem, excuse me. I’ve fallen asleep. Did you ask something?”

“…”

Cough, cough… You fall asleep?

“I— I asked whether or not you’re offering something?”

“Is one still enough?”

Sending out the Lightning Blade from before, the crowd gulped. Still with its glorious lightning, it continued to enchant them. They had seen it for some time, yet it charmed them still…

“…Only one?”

“Hm? A blade isn’t to your liking? Too bad, I only have—”

“E-ehem, we’ll take— we’ll take it!”

“—One lightning blade… Oh, good,”

Hearing they would take it, An Shan did not bother telling them he still had two more, with a different element though. He still did not finish turning the other two new Qi Weapons into a Spirit Weapon. Then again, he still had the two from Absolute Aegis.

Both weapons were originally Qi Weapons. Since both had a solid foundation, he chose them. Taking them two weeks ago, he slowly infused his Spirit. In one week, they turned into Spirit Weapons. And in just two weeks, the quality already passed Advance-class, reaching Peak-class.

Well, since there was no need for it, then he did not bother offering them.

…

Several rooms away from An Shan’s, was the room of the phoenix lady. Hearing the seller agreeing to exchange for his sword, the lady paled. She had traveled this far for this herb, she was not about to give up now!

“W-wait, dear sellers, and my fellow bidder…” She turned to An Shan’s VIP room, the same level as hers, eyes pleading. “I really need this herb. It concerned life and death of a dear one to me, so please,”

Hearing her plea, before the two could respond, Host Li interrupted.

“My lady, it seemed you’re from a respectable family, so I dared not tell you off. With that in mind, as a respectable lady, I do hope you could observe this establishment’s rule. If you desire to win the bid, you ought to offer something more valuable— or more desirable in return,”

He clasped in respect. Though he was likely many years her senior, she was still a client. It was a gentle warning from his side, as he did not wish to be offensive to anyone.

“This…”

Her offer, Little Flame, was already her treasure. In fact, it was her personal treasure since childhood. It was hard to get the Phoenix Hall’s approval to trade this, she had to pull some strings, and had to report to the hall the whole process as well. While she did have another one, it was her best weapon. Moreover, she did not have the hall’s approval. So to offer that one here, she would incur terrible punishment!

“If you don’t have one, then the winner would again be the dear Sir from room five…”

“Wait!”

As Elder Li was about to conclude, another voice interrupted. He frowned. It seemed today, was a day of interruptions… The day of last-second interruptions, hm, what a nice name.

Host Li turned to Patriarch Sha Yu.

And as he did, two familiar weapons flew towards the stage…