Sun Lotus City, City Lord's Office

Ding Shuren caressed his long beard as he pondered in his office. He held a rank five storage type gu worm, his will exploring its contents.

This storage type gu worm was filled with valuable cultivation resources. If anyone in Sun Lotus City saw its contents, they would be shocked and astonished at the number of rare gu worms inside.

There were thousands of Wood Origin Gu, it could raise the aptitude of wood path gu masters. Hundreds of relic gu of various ranks, mostly rank one and rank two. There were many other miscellaneous gu worms that could help gu master cultivation one way or another.

Ding Shuren had a strange expression. The contents baffled even him. This gu worm was given to him by Bao Xu Lian's will as a part of the gu master development plan.

"Immortals are... unfathomable."

Ding Shuren sighed to himself. If he had even a small fraction of these resources as a young gu master he could have spared decades of tireless cultivation.

But now these rare aptitude and cultivation raising gu worms were useless to him. Time has passed over him as the spring wind, now only blowing autumn leaves in his wake. He was old already, over a hundred years old in fact. His cultivation has plateaued at rank five peak stage. But the method of immortal ascension was a well-kept secret he wasn't privy to, he could only rely on Bao Xu Lian.

"There are no lifespan extension methods among these... These are clearly only intended to support the younger generation."

He felt glad that the immortals showed some care towards the mortal gu masters. It made him hopeful of getting in favor of Bao Xu Lian. Thinking of him, he recalled Bao Xu Lian's words of advice:

"How much resources you take will also affect your evaluation, remember the clan values results over excuses."

The more Ding Shuren thought about this the less he felt he understood its meaning.

"Why would I take the resources? They are of no use to me already."

"Or does it simply mean the amount used by the younger generation?"

"These are worth more than a whole year's yield of Sun and Brilliance Lotus gu the city produces... I can't be careless to splurge it."

"For now it is still too early to hand out rewards in the academy. There needs to be an occasion and proper reason, I can't just hand these out unilaterally."

With this train of thought, he decided to take out a small portion of each gu worms for now and auction it away to the masses. This way he would support the wealthy families to reinforce his good relations with them and also bolster the affluent prodigies before he rolled out the plan further.

Satisfied with his decision, Ding Shuren contacted the city's auction hall and influential families about the good news.

* * * * *

Sun Lotus City, Auction Hall

There was a huge commotion around the city's auction hall. Gu masters and servants were crowding the street near the entrance. It was hard even to get near it, people were trying their best to participate in the auction as soon as the list of items was publicized.

"Let me go! I represent the Luo family, who dares to block my way?"

"Just the Luo house? Since when does my Dong family submit to lowly houses? Know your place and get in line!"

"I need to get in. This opportunity doesn't come often."

"Praise the city lord's benevolence, he offered up so many cultivation resources."

"It's not about the quantity, these are rarely seen precious gu worms. You might not see another in your whole lifetime!"

People were clamoring and arguing, nobody wanted to get left out. They felt like an opportunity of a lifetime was dropped in their laps.

Bao Zhi was also among the crowd. He was surprised at the scale of commotion at first. Wasn't this auction held every month, why be so agitated?

He could only forcefully make way for himself. Nobody would inconvenience themselves to make way for a rank one student. He parted the people standing before him like he was brushing aside wheat in a field.

"Watch where you are going!" - Berated one of the disgruntled men Bao Zhi as he was pushed aside. But as soon as their eyes met, he didn't dare scold him further as the man cast his eyes down.

Bao Zhi was inching closer and closer, he could already see the entrance under the golden letters getting nearer.

"Make way to the head of Zhao! Move aside!"

A well-built servant shouted at the people ahead of him while he flailed his arms left and right. The commotion quieted for a moment as the people raised their heads to look toward the voice's origin.

Zhao Feng was attending the auction personally. Two servants were accompanying him. The crowd parted ways to form a straight path. Nobody dared to offend one of the prestigious families in Sun Lotus City.

"Tsk, so it is the Zhao..."

"They act like royalty as if gold runs in their veins."

The commoners complained under their breath about the preferential treatment the elite enjoyed.

Zhao Feng walked with confidence, he had an air of arrogance and indifference in the observers' eyes. He had a room reserved in advance, he could enter without any issues.

Just as the crowd was getting back to its previous fervor, just as Zhao Feng went in, an even bigger commotion erupted.

"It is City Lord himself!" - Someone exclaimed.

Indeed, the old city lord has decided to pay a visit personally. He did not announce his arrival, but the people recognized him instantly. He enjoyed a great reputation among his subjects.

"I'm just passing by. Don't mind me." - He waved to the crowd of people with a grin on his face.

Ding Shuren, the old city lord had great charisma. The people made way for him as well, without even being instructed. The people were cheering and greeting him enthusiastically.

"Seems like some important figures will be present as well." - Noted Bao Zhi to himself. Shortly after, Bao Zhi made it into the building finally.

The main hall was already full, every seat was taken or reserved. Only those could get in now who had arranged seats or a room beforehand.

"Sir! Esteemed customer, please this way." - One of the attendants recognized him and directed him to one of the VIP rooms.

"Originally, your items would have been the main attraction of today's auction. Let me apologize on behalf of the Auction Hall. We could not foresee that the City Lord would steal the show, please understand."

"Mm. I'm also just a small figure, I don't deserve such attention."

Bao Zhi was secretly relieved. He wanted to avoid scrutiny if he could. It also pleasantly surprised him, that the city lord would put up such mortal treasures for sale. He sat down in his private room.

It was a gallery overlooking the main auction hall below.

"Esteemed guests of our Auction Hall, the auction now officially begins!" - Taking the stage, a female gu master announced.

The crowd was waiting impatiently. They followed the announcement with perked-up ears.

"The first item is a rare gu worm. Known to everyone, it is a rank one green copper relic gu. It can raise a gu master's cultivation realm. The initial bid is one hundred primeval stones."

"One hundred and fifty primeval stones!"

"One hundred and eighty!"

"Two hundred!"

"Two hundred and ten primeval stones!"

...

The people competed viciously, they often spent more than the gu worms would be sold for. But these were rare gu worms. They were sold like cabbages now, who wouldn't want to grasp this chance even if the price was a bit inflated? It was useless to have good prices if the supply was nonexistent.

"The tenth item is also no less exceptional than the previous ones. It is a gu worm capable of changing one's fate itself."

Bao Zhi perked up as he heard this, he scoffed to himself. Changing fate? What a joke, even if it was just a figure of speech.

"This gu worm is the consumable rank three Reform gu. It can raise one's aptitude even from D grade up to B grade. The initial bid is eight thousand primeval stones."

Bao Zhi: "Although that is not wrong, raising the aptitude from D to B grade would take not just a single Reform gu." - Bao Zhi saw through this simple ploy.

The announcer purposefully omitted such information.

The bidding continued.

"Ten thousand!"

"Twelve thousand!"

"Twelve thousand once..."

"Twelve thousand twice..."

"Twenty thousand primeval stones!" - A middle-aged man with grey hair shouted.

"Oh, old master Ye made a bid. I bet, he wants this gu for the young master. I heard his aptitude didn't even reach B grade."

"Shh! Are you tired of living? Don't spread such nonsense, someone might take notice of you."

Nobody else dared to make a higher bid.

...

"Twenty-ninth item coming up. This is one of the highlights of our auction. This item is an inheritance of a rank four wood path gu master. The methods inside cover all aspects, including movement, attack, defense, recovery, and information gathering."

Upon hearing this the people's clamoring raised a notch higher. The practical significance of a rank four inheritance was monumental. With this, they could rise above others and establish a faction no weaker than the Ye or Zhao houses.

"There is one important detail I have to mention. Although the inheritance is only complete in the aspects it covers, it is incomplete as it contains no gu worms."

"What a scam! No gu worms?"

"Selling empty air nowadays at the auction hall?"

Some participants yelled in anger.

It was like cold rain, washing away their sudden ambitions of ascending the heavens in one step.

Others felt that this gave them a better chance to get the inheritance if others let go of it. They could collect the gu worms on their own.

"This inheritance has been verified by independent experts. It is genuine." - The host tried to salvage the situation.

"I have a question. Does the inheritance contain techniques that require rare gu worms?"

"No, all gu worms mentioned in the inheritance are considered common. The starting bid is thirty thousand primeval stones." - Replied the host of the auction with a smile.

Bao Zhi noticed the man who asked the incisive question and committed him to his memory.

The audience's fervor was reignited. Common gu worms were easy to gather!

"I pay thirty-five thousand!"

"Forty thousand!" - Called out the man who asked previously.

"Forty-three thousand."

"Forty-four thousand primeval stones!"

"Forty-five thousand!"

The increments have shrunk to the single thousands. Most of the bidders were already eliminated, and only a handful of affluent bidders were left now.

"This is a good time as any. I can't let this inheritance land in just anybody's hands." - With this thought, old master Ye exclaimed:

"Sixty thousand primeval stones!"

"..."

The competition was swept aside. Old master Ye won this auction as well.

In the meanwhile, a letter gu has arrived at the Zhao house. It landed directly before patriarch Zhao. This letter came from Zhao Feng. It mentioned the two suspicious inheritances.

"It must be them! Buy the inheritance. We need to contact the Scholarly Merchant Association." - Replied patriarch Zhao as he sent the letter gu back.

"Damn you, Ye clown!" - Thought Zhao Feng as he crushed the letter gu in his anger. He had some bad blood with old man Ye, and now he snatched the inheritance he was supposed to get.

"The other one, I need to get the other one!"

...

Bao Zhi was satisfied with the final price. This sum could last him for a good while, but considering he would rise in cultivation ranks, this might as well be a drop in a bucket. He already had an indifferent attitude toward material gains and his sight was set at distant goals. He coldly evaluated:

"There are only two kinds of quantities. Enough and not enough."

"This is not enough!"

* * * * *