Sean Wu and Baixou Tiangu arrived at the height of the stairway, the second floor was an open space with lined carpet spreading in all directions. A fine, white mist covered the ceiling, preventing one from peering into the third floor. At the far end of the northmost wall were two large doors, carved from marble and limestone. Men and women clad in fine silk veils, beast furs, and linen robes walked in groups or alone across the sparsely populated floor. A small number of merchants from distinct lineages, powerful backings, and quasi-qi condensation cultivation bases set up base at the forefront of the stairway. On the far end of the western side of the room, a lone building sat on top of a lake.

A torrential pillar of water swirled in the center of the room, extending from the foot of the floor up into the white mist covering the overhead ceiling. The sound nearing this spinning pillar was deafening, like the crashing waves of a waterfall at the foot of a basin. Inside this maelstrom of currents was a stairway, leading from the second floor to the third floor, the raging waters encompassing the stairway were indiscriminate, fierce and unfaltering, to the point of tearing apart even bone and muscle in a matter of minutes. Attempting this climb without an incomprehensible cultivation base was paramount to seeking one's own death.

"We are a bit early, but it is better to get some good seats before the auction begins." Baixou Tiangu pointed toward the twin doors at the end of the room. "I once heard from my second brother that some respected seniors often put themselves into a state of suspended closed-door cultivation and will wait an entire blue moon's eclipse cycle in preparations for the following year's auction (TL Note: He means they literally became squatters and sat there for 3 years so they can hold that seat for the upcoming auction)."

"That seems a bit excessive, don't you think?" Sean Wu thought. These guys waited for over three years, just to reserve a seat? Were the items in these auctions actually that impressive? He then remembered. "Wasn't there a line to get into the auction downstairs?"

"The main event, also known as the auction, can be accessed on the first floor as well as the second floor. Guests on the bottom floor can still view the auction from underneath by looking through the glass ceiling in the viewing area, but will not be able to participate in the auction itself unless they entered through the entrance on the second floor." Baixiao Tiangu explained. "Naturally, we are here to bid on items, so we will be attending from the second floor. But the real trouble comes when you are trying to find a seat that can give a good view of the items up for grabs. But you needn't worry, Brother Wu. If we cannot find a good seat, simply snatching one will do."

Baixiao Tiangu pointed his nose toward the sky, as if he were proud of himself for coming up with this idea. "Better yet, if we find some jade beauties in there, we can ask them to sit and drink with us at our table. Bahahahaha."

Sean Wu turned to look at him with a concerned expression. This guy really was acting like an arrogant young master from the novels.

....

The entrance into the auction hall was unremarkably extravagant. Green and blue jade tiles lined the walls and floors, intersected by white stone-carved fountains flooding the floor tiles with water as if it were a bath house. The water covering tiles was ankle-deep, however it did not cling to the clothes nor stain the feet wet. Sean Wu brushed his hand along the water beneath his ankles. It felt wet, however when he retracted his hand, he found that his palm was dry, as if he had not touched anything at all. At the end of the hall was a door that led into the auction room, where the bidding would take place.

Sean Wu entered with Baixiao Tiangu, appearing before an open room, where countless heads sat in rows and seats were spread out across a vast realm. Above the viewing platforms resting overhead the middle rows, the ceiling glittered with a myriad of artificial lights and floating lanterns beneath sparkling rivers, flowing into silver estuaries. Those staring up from beneath could not peer through the clear space into the floor above, as if an invisible array were preventing them from seeing the third floor directly above them. Beneath them, an opaque floor of clear glass separated the two floors. A horned serpent swam underneath the glass floor, occasionally surfacing to blow out some air.

"The most desirable seats are tiered by their approximate distance from the item platform. Naturally, the front row seats will be reserved for important guests and family heads with unfathomable cultivation bases, while the rest of the seats moving down into the middle aisles are where the scheming and competition take place." Baixiao Tiangu pointed toward the center of the room. "Of course, there are also the back row seats, which are nothing to scoff at. Even procuring a seat in the back row is a testament to one's own ability, since the majority of guests stand anyway. Some even move down a floor just to get a better view, at the cost of their ability to bid on items."

"If the front row seats are out of the question, and the middle row seats are always a fierce competition, then by process of elimination, we will be going after some seats toward the back of the room, right?" Sean Wu immediately understood, hitting the palm of his hand with an enclosed fist.

"Of course not." Baixiao shook his head. "We are sitting up front."

下一章

A myriad of voices, both clamorous and minute, echoed throughout the room, spanning 350 Li. The auction had not started yet, however tensions and excitement were already at a high. At the front of the auction room, the seats were already beginning to fill up with notable elders and transcendental figures. In middle section, small and petty conflicts, over seating arrangements and familial feuds were already sprouting all throughout. A young man with a melon-face and defined features smiled at the sight. He was dressed in a green robe with golden accents; a long pin cast from crystal sapphire held his hair together.

Li Tianshao stood upright with his arms folded behind his back, facing the wooden platform. Li Tianshao decided that after the auction concluded, he would treat himself to a bottle of reserve 300-year old purple coffer wine. He had worked hard to get to this point. At a young age, Li Tianshao had not only made a name for himself within the Li family main branch by cultivating to the fifth step of bone refining, he had also amassed a considerable sum of wealth and connections. All of his hard work and determination had culminated into this very moment. He had exhausted nearly all of his personal wealth procuring a seat in the front of the middle section aisle. What little money he had left would be used to buy one of three Century-Drunken Halberd rumored to be auctioned off tonight.

Li Tianshao was very pleased. Despite being seated in the middle area, his seat was still in the front row. Only a handful of rows separated him and the auction platform. Li Tianshao could not hold down his excitement, the auction platform was within clear view. The spacing of the armchairs, the footrest in front of him, the comfy silk covers on the cotton-lined fabric, all of it was perfect! The sounds echoing throughout the amphitheater-shaped outline of the room could be heard loud and clear.

"This is how it should be." Li Tianshao withdrew a copper tin from his vest pocket. Propping off the lid, he closed his eyes and tossed a seven-course hard candy into his mouth. The flavors began to dance and pop in his mouth, melting on the tongue whilst retaining the vestige of a hard surface. As Li Tianshao thoroughoy enjoyed his hard candy, the ambient lighting from the auction platform suddenly grew dim. Two shadows had stepped in between Tianshao and the light from the stage.

"Didn't you say it was about to start?" A whispered voice asked.

"I already told you-- it starts in six incense time." "How the hell am I supposed to know how long that is? An incense time can be anything from 30 seconds and up to 5 minutes!!"

"What do you mean? As I said, an incense time is the time it takes an incense stick to burn."

"Yeah, I know. How long is the stick, what is it's thickness? Is it made from wood or grass straw? What about-"

Li Tianshao opened his eyes. Two figures sat in front of him, blocking his view of the auction platform. Li Tianshao frowned, of the two, the one on the left was ordinary, with no cultivation base whatsoever and no remarkable features. The other was in the first step of qi condensation. Rather, he was probably at a half-step into qi condensation, barely at the cusp of breaking through. Theses two were simply too daring.

'Hmph. Country bumpkins. The front section seats are not for the likes of you two.' Thought Li Tianshao. Any minute now, they would be sent flying to the back of the room for taking an elder's seat.

However, as time went on, the front section seats continued to fill up, and to Li Tianshao's complete dismay, no one found trouble with these two. Everyone in the front section was either an elder, an esteemed family head, or a guest with an unfathomable cultivation base. Was no one going to say anything regarding the likes of these two? The front section seats were even filled up. Surely there had to be someone here with an inkling of awareness, why was everyone just sitting there with arms crossed and a cold expression, staring intensely toward the center stage without so much as a peep?! Are you all just trying to act cold and indiferent for the sake of appearances?!

"Well since we still have some time left, I'm going to look around the downstairs."

"Hey, go for it. If you're ever in trouble just use my Tiangu-family emblem. No one will dare to mess with you."

Li Tianshao watched in disbelief as Sean Wu recieved the emblem from Baixiao Tiangu, before getting up and his seat and shuffling toward the end of the row. The young man even bumped into an elder from a Demonic Sect on the way out, whispering a half-hearted apology, before going on with his business.

Li Tianshao was speechless. It was incomprehensible. If it had been any other disciple, that person would have been sent flying with a slap.

“No! I cannot accept this!” Li Tianshao rose from his seat.

"Hey, shut it! Can't you see some of us are trying to meditate?!" An old man sitting in the front rows shouted.

"...." Li Tianshao sat back down. He felt very wronged.

"Tch. The nerve of some people." Baixiao Tiangu commented, shaking his head.