Guideline:

1 green copper = US$20

1 blue silver = US$2000

1 White Gold = US$200,000

1 Platinum = US$20,000,000

The display of different items on auction started quickly, but with the high standards of clans and master craftsman, the response for student-made trinkets was lukewarm.

Several items, however, did get some appreciation, and the names of their creators are noted down by the different master crafters.

One thing, however, stood out to the visitors of the academy. For some reason, all the students present in the auction hall dressed like commoners, although their clothes are still rather neat and surprisingly new. However, unlike the robes that many nobles prefer, it is plain of colour.

While this is an odd sight, most of the visitors did not mind this much, since this trade fair is done to bring the student business opportunities and it can either help a poor student discover his talents in the craftsman line or simply earn more money for his cultivating needs. After all their cultivation resources were never enough.

Having a lot of commoners in the auction hall isn’t something strange at such an event.

As the items got revealed one by one, a gleaming and beautifully polished sword that radiated brightly on its own caught the attention of everyone in the hall. Compared to the previous items, this one is obviously a treasure.

“This eye-catching blade was forged with the combined efforts of the heirs of the Angelheart, Blue Frost and Northern Cross families.

Its material is the rare vortex metal (旋鐵) and the grade of the inscription at Beast rank Xuan grade.”

On hearing this, the entire hall gasp in stunned silence.

To inscribe on a high-grade material requires expert skill, not to mention that the blade was forged entirely of the Vortex Metal.

The weapons in Saint Empire are usually crafted from copper, iron, steel, green copper, vortex metal and the expensive black-gold steel, in ascending order of rarity and grade. There may be materials that are a few grades above this, but they are nearly impossible to find in the common market.

Having a created a weapon with the Vortex Metal shows how talented the blacksmith from the Blue frost family is.

The inscriptionists from the Northern Cross and Angelheart families are likewise just as talented since the top ranking inscriptions in the empire are only at the level of Beast rank Heaven grade currently.

Beast rank Xuan grade is something that even adult inscriptionists would find tricky to create.

However, everyone’s surprise was brought to new heights by the next words of the auctioneer, “The inscription is a new type of rune produced by the Angelheart family. Therefore, there is none yet on the market, and the creators have stated that they will not divulge its blueprint onto the market. People who are interested in this weapon, kindly place your bids now. The minimum bid shall start at ten White Gold!”

Like how a hundred Green Coppers are equal to one blue silver, a hundred blue silver is equalled to a single White Gold. But despite the price, the bidding quickly heated up for the first time since the trade fair started.

Many master craftsmen that are eager to learn the new runes placed very high importance on this weapon, however, many clan leaders likewise wished to secure it for their own study. Should they be able to learn a technique or two from this weapon, their own clan’s weapon refinement techniques could be upgraded!

“Twelve White Gold!”

“Don’t fight with me, I am the clan elder of the Purple Turtle! I bid fifteen White Gold!”

With each shout, the device that the person is holding onto glows brightly, indicating their bid.

In the past, due to shouting fake bids to hitch up the prices during the trade fair, the academy has created this device to confirm that the bidders have the sum of money prior to their biddings.

If they were sincere, the auctioneer would be thrilled at the prospect earning more commission, but since this is a very low-level auction made for students, they couldn’t deny parents who may not have money from entering.

Thus, they often met bidders who fake their biddings and troubled others. There were all kinds of reasons behind their malicious intents, from just enjoying the novelty of an auction to needlessly raising prices to take revenge on another bidder. Of course, there were also opportunists that colluded with students to earn a quick buck.

But, nevertheless, it was highly disruptive for the trade fair that wanted to give students a fair opportunity for a brighter future.

The bidding quickly went higher and higher, finally stopping at 52 White Gold before being sold.

A round of applause sounded in the hall for the purchaser of the weapon, congratulating him.

The winner of the bid stood up thanking the people around him.

“I, the elder of the Pink Chicken clan thank everyone here for allowing us to have this weapon!”

He sat down mortified after a few people burst out laughing at his clan’s name. His old face had turned bright red, especially when hearing someone whisper, “Whoever named their clan must have a very interesting background indeed!”

The softness from the tone and the tact of the words seemed to be trying to save him some face, but it only made his face hotter as if someone had slapped him repeatedly.

The elder from the Purple Turtle clan looked at the winner of the bid angrily. He had already told everyone that they would like to purchase this item and yet the item was snatched by another clan’s elder.

“Hahaha, you pink chickens can keep that weapon. After paying this much money, the other goodies in the trade will come to us Purple Turtle clan!”

Upon hearing the second clan’s name, the others that have finally calmed down immediately burst out laughing again, but the elder looked pleased with himself, thinking that they are merely supportively joining in.

The Pink Chicken’s elder glared fiercely at the other elder.

A few more items went up on the stage to be bided, and if there were any items that either of the elders wanted, they would heavily compete against each other, bringing up its price.

The two apparently did not want to let the other have an easy time, and the auctioneer did nothing to stop their rivalry. In fact if possible, she would even encourage them. However she couldn’t help sighing deep in her heart as she felt that the older those elders got, the more their mentality seemed to regress.

For the auctioneer, even if the bidders started competing with their retirement funds, she wouldn’t lift a finger to stop them, since it’s all money into her pockets. She flipped to the next item on her list, as a group of men took the next piece out from their storage and placed it on the auctioneer’s desk at the middle.

Revealing the object that was covered by a cloth, she continued with a pleasing voice, “Now we are displaying the steel sword created by the Snowdrifts. This is a group that has won the top group award for this year!

There are ten steel swords submitted for the bid, all of them have been inscribed with new runes of an unknown origin. Though we have verified them to work, it is a technique completely foreign to the Empire, and we had been unable to test its grade.”

The crowd were in an uproar from hearing that. More than just newly developed, the sword possesses unidentified runes! Despite the low-grade materials, the value of these swords are… priceless!

The auctioneer smiled when looking at their hype. She didn’t even need to stir up the crowd, and the response is already this great. Though this is only a low-level auction, there are plenty of rich people in the midst. If those people got serious, earning enough to buy all the pretty bags that could make her sisters turn green with envy would no longer be a pipedream!

“Pfft… haha…,” the auctioneer couldn’t help but let out a stifled laugh, but she quickly restrained herself before anyone found out. The Principal that invited the auctioneer stared at her with a ferocious glare causing her to clear her throat embarrassedly before continuing, “As we have no description to offer for this product, we will be holding a demonstration of its prowess right now. Please bring out the green copper stone.”

“That’s right, we need to know how potent it is to determine our budget!”

A few higher-ups of prominent clans or families quickly asked their subordinates to prepare their funds first. Then, the crowd turned stoic at this moment as four burly men carrying a large green copper stone walked out onto the stage and placed the rock in front of the auctioneer.

The auctioneer is a young woman in her late twenties looking slim and pleasing to the eyes. For practitioners, she is considered at the prime of her youth, and it is the most attractive age, coupled with her nearly-hypnotising voice, she is highly talented at her profession.

To keep up with the requirements of her job, it is quite apparent she placed emphasis to maintain a lithe body shape, and they could tell she had not trained in the external martial arts but purely relied on internal energy. She held the steel sword created by Kairos gingerly in her hands, and she infused a bit of her Ki into the sword.

Her eyes widened with surprise as she felt how smooth her Ki flowed into the naked blade. It was different from the other weapons she had tried, and in her profession, plenty top-grade weapons passed her hands, yet none could compare. There was no resistance at all, and the weapon felt so powerful that it is as though she is wielding a river.

Suddenly she is extremely tempted to test the limits of the sword, but having been warned that the inscription grade is way above the material of the weapon, she could only curb her curiosity.

Under the influence of her Ki, the sword was enveloped by a fire that grew brighter and brighter, becoming an incandescent golden flame.

She moved the weapon’s flaming edge close to the green copper ore, preparing to take her aim, but before she did the surface of the ore next to the blade started melting off.

“What?!”

“Hey, you guys see that?”

Everyone stared in shock as the unnatural heat from the flames were turning the ore into a puddle.

“Huh?” the auctioneer gasped, flinching backwards as she looked at her weapon in astonishment. The others were in greater disbelief looking at her that even the user had not expected such ferocity.

This kind of power is far too removed from the known standards. She curiously moved the sword forward, and the ore turned to liquid even quicker than before. In that way, she managed to melt through the green copper all the way down to the middle forming a U-shaped mould.

The auctioneer’s face twitched involuntarily, and she looked up with a pale face as if asking the others ‘what is happening?’

“You’re asking us? You’re the organiser here! Didn’t you test it beforehand?”

There were a series of palms smacking foreheads before she quickly recovered herself, “Uhh… I apologise for this… embarrassing behaviour. I had heard beforehand that this unknown grade of inscription is incredibly potent but who will be expecting something like this right? Haha.

Well, what better way to show off an item than the display of its power. Buying this weapon will ensure leaps and bounds in your clan’s future. Just having one of these weapons means that you can challenge someone with a vortex metal weapon just as easily at a fraction of the price.

Each inscribed steel weapon comes at a price of only fifty Blue Silvers, but this bid does not sell individual swords.

This bundle will cost you a low price of five White Gold, but in my humble opinion, even a single Platinum will be too cheap! Kindly ready your bidding device and place your bids now.”

A single Platinum is worth a hundred White Gold. Kairos did not expect the auctioneer to judge their item to be at this value and he sat in anticipation. No wonder this lady is a professional auctioneer. Even when she is shocked out of her mind, she did not forget to make use of this and push up the value of the bid. In fact, the auction house that is working with the academy for this event, had at first deduced Kairos’ weapons bundle to have a starting bid of only fifty Blue Silvers, with a sudden twist, the starting bid is now instead five White Gold.

One must say that the visual display of the flames was effective indeed. Many family heads and clan leaders stood up excitedly at seeing this weapon thinking that the starting price of five White Gold by the auctioneer was too low indeed.

Even if Kairos said nothing about making the deal exclusive, no one cared right now. Instead, it would be much better if no promises are made. Ten steel swords with such ability are hardly enough for any clan or family, and it will only turn into a bidding race.

Those with money are only afraid of others with more money in an auction. However, even so, everyone still eagerly wishes to become the winner of this bid.

Granted, the main use of this auction is merely a tool for marketing the students’ booths during the trade fair. But the items that are up for bidding often provides an advantage that could not be found from the stalls.

For instance, Alucard’s vortex metal sword is a one of its kind that is only available on the auction but not in his booth. While, Kairos confidently chose to auction a bundle of ten steel weapons, a third of all the steel swords he right now. And all these were written down on the auction booklet for all participating bidders.

No matter if it is Alucard’s or Kairos’ item, the interested parties had all frantically flipped to the page on the handbook which introduces the displayed piece and the products available at the booth of the creator.

“I’ll offer ten White Gold!”

Immediately the bid doubled in price, but instead of being impressed, the crowd jumped up with more offers.

“Are you an idiot turtle? Ten White Gold? Even my puppy at home wouldn’t take a second look at that. The Pink Chicken clan will pay fifty White Gold for them!”

“HAH! You just wait! Our Purple Turtle clan will definitely have this item. sixty White Gold!”

“Brothers, Elders, and ladies, please allow our Green Dog clan to have this item. We offer 61 White Gold.”

The gathering hall that was earnest with excitement suddenly burst out with huge laughter.

Why are there chicken, turtles and dogs here? Is this an auction or the market?