“Welcome, esteemed guests, to the Shēnyuān Auction House. My name is Zhou De, and I am responsible for all matters pertaining to today’s auction,” the portly man said with grand, sweeping gestures. He had a thing for theatrics.

“Oh? Now this is interesting,” Huǒ Shuchang muttered.

“What is?” asked Wu Jian.

“That man is at the Deva Realm.”

Wu Jian furrowed his brow and looked at the portly man again. He had short brown hair, an equally short beard, and wore an ostentatious hanfu over his corpulent frame. Nothing about him seemed to scream powerful to Wu Jian.

“Before we begin today’s auction, let me remind everyone of our rules,” Zhou De said in a booming voice that reached every corner of the auction hall. “First rule, you cannot use your reputation to force others to stop bidding. This is an auction house. Let your money do the talking if you want something. Second rule, you cannot outbid yourself. Once you make a bid, someone else must bid higher before you can bid again. I know some of you like to show off your wealth, but you should be respectful. The last rule is this, do not place a bid if you don’t have the money to bet with. If I find out that you have been bidding without the necessary funds, I will make sure you can never visit one of the Zhou Clan’s auction houses again.”

“How can you tell this man is at the Deva Realm?” asked Wu Jian.

“Because I can’t sense his cultivation,” Huǒ Shuchang said. Wu Jian raised an eyebrow, prompting the older man to explain. “My cultivation method lets me get a general idea of someone’s strength. I can do this for anyone at least one realm higher than me.”

Wu Jian nodded. “But if that’s the case, couldn’t his cultivation be even higher?”

“No,” Huǒ Shuchang shook his head. “If he was at the Seeker Realm or, heaven forbid, the Realization Realm, there’s no way he’d be manning an auction in the Ming Dynasty. He’d be located in a place where his cultivation talents can be put to better use. The fact that he is here means his talent doesn’t amount of much within the Zhou Clan.”

Wu Jian accepted that explanation with a nod, though he twitched in irritation when the woman sitting on Huǒ Shuchang released a squeal. His companion had just slipped his hand underneath her shirt.

Freaking pervert…

“Now then, let us begin the auction!” Zhou De announced.

A beautiful woman dressed in a luxurious robe that showed ample cleavage walked onto the stage with a sashay of her hips. Many a male gaze were drawn to the lines of her hips. Wu Jian frowned. Was using feminine wiles a tactic used by larger auction houses to make people spend more money? Wu Jian would bet his left arm that Zhou De wanted people to spend money to show off their wealth to the beautiful flower he had brought on stage.

The woman was pushing a cart with a satin blanket thrown over the top to prevent people from seeing what was inside. Wu Jian tried to extend his perception past the blanket, but he blinked when he was rebuffed.

“That blanket is made from Demon Spider silk,” Huǒ Shuchang said, chuckling. “It blocks all forms of perception.”

“You could have told me that,” Wu Jian mumbled.

Huǒ Shuchang shrugged. “What can I say. Watching you get frustrated amuses me--yeowch!”

“Aaaah!”

Wu Jian chuckled when a tail suddenly stabbed Huǒ Shuchang’s left leg, causing the man to throw the girl on his lap to the floor and leap up. The attack hadn’t penetrated skin, but the shock had certainly not been pleasant. Huǒ Shuchang glared at the tail as it disappeared into his shadow.

“I don’t like your cat very much,” he muttered.

Wu Jian shrugged. “What can I say, my cat doesn’t like you either.”

The woman removed the blanket and revealed a gleaming silver sword. A powerful aura that instantly captured Wu Jian’s attention emanated from the weapon, causing him to lean forward. He narrowed his eyes and studied the blade, which gleamed like moonlight and had runes carved into its surface. It was thinner than most blades and possessed a unique elegance.

“That’s a high-grade earth profound spirit weapon,” Huǒ Shuchang informed Wu Jian. “It’s not nearly as strong as my Phoenix Blade, but it’s a good weapon… for women.”

“You mean to say it’s meant to be used by a woman?” asked Wu Jian.

Huǒ Shuchang grinned. “Just listen. He’s about to explain this weapon.”

And indeed, Zhou De smiled as he spoke, “This is called the Moon Blade. It is a high-grade earth profound spirit weapon that responds only to yin chi. It can release powerful blades of moonlight that are able to cut through even the toughest substances. Observe.”

The man tossed a large metal sphere into the air. The woman narrowed her eyes, released her powerful chi, and swung the sword. An arc of what looked like moonlight tore through the space, sliced through the ball, and continued for several lî before dissipating.

The sphere fell to the floor, split into two perfect halves.

“This is but one of the abilities this blade has. It can also create a defensive barrier called the Moon Maiden’s Shield, which can protect its user from any attack from someone below the Deva Realm,” Zhou De continued.

His words caused the many people within the auction hall to mutter. Wu Jian couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the sense of excitement coming from below made it clear how interested these people were in this weapon.

“Since this weapon relies on yin chi, it is not suitable for a man. However, it is the perfect gift for a woman. If any of you have a sweetheart and you’d like to show her how strong your love is, I can only recommend you bid on this item,” Zhou De grinned at the crowd, who was already worked up into a fervor. “Now, then, the starting bid will be two thousand spirit coins.”

“Two thousand one hundred spirit coins!”

“Two thousand two hundred spirit coins!”

“Hey, fuck you! I need this for my girl! Two thousand five hundred spirit coins!”

“I need this to get a girl! Three thousand!”

Several people began bidding down below, their voices so loud that even Wu Jian could hear them. Mentioning how this was the perfect gift for a woman had been the right call. There was little a man wouldn’t do to impress a woman.

“Five thousand spirit coins,” someone from one of the balconies suddenly said. It was Shao Lin, who was smiling at the balcony across from his, where Xiao Yi was sitting. “Would you like me to get this for you? Consider it a gift from the Burning Flame Pavilion.”

Xiao Yi smiled politely as she said, “I appreciate your kindness, Senior Lin, but I do not enjoy being in someone’s debt. If I want something, I shall bid on it myself.” She then raised her hand. “Six thousand spirit coins.”

“Since you want to get it yourself, then I won’t try to bid for it anymore,” Shao Lin said with what Wu Jian thought was a very forced smile.

“Six thousand. We have six thousand spirit coins. Would anyone else like to bid?” asked Zhou De. Silence met him. “Six thousand going once. Six thousand going twice. Sold to the young lady of the Water-Moon Pavilion!”

The young woman who had brought the item to the stage, walked down with the item in hand and left via one of several doors. She was probably heading up to exchange the Moon Blade for the money.

“A weapon just sold for six thousand spirit stones.” Wu Jian closed his eyes. “That’s six years worth of the Wu Clan’s income…”

It was humbling to see how much some people had to spend. The amount of money larger sects had was astounding. It boggled his mind.

He had always known that his clan was small, but watching this auction was making him realize just how small. They had been medium-sized fish in a very small pond. Maybe they were large compared to everyone else, but the size of the pond was tiny compared to the vastness of the ocean.

Zhou Lihua is a part of the clan that owns every auction house on the Xiao Continent. How wealthy must they be to auction off items like this? I’m sure they have even more expensive items to auction off too.

Another woman brought up a much larger cart. It was also covered in a blanket, but the woman quickly removed it to reveal a pair of axes that Wu Jian immediately recognized.

“Looks like they’re going to sell your axes first,” Huǒ Shuchang said. “Not too surprising since it’s not as expensive as the Yang Fire Flower.”

They weren’t the only ones who recognized this weapon. Yin Xuefeng stood up and placed his hands on the railing as he stared at the axes with hard eyes. His lips were drawn into a thin line. He looked like he wanted to say something.

Wu Jian wondered if he would fight to get those axes back. He doubted they were all that important to the Wind-Lightning Pavilion since they had been given away to someone like Mao Yuhan, but they still belonged to the sect.

“These items were brought in just last week,” Zhou De began explaining, occasionally glancing at Yin Xuefeng as he did so. “They are called the Wind-Lightning Axes. One axe controls lightning and the other wind. If you practice wind-lightning techniques, these axes are the perfect supplement to increase your power. The starting bid is one thousand spirit coins.”

“One thousand one hundred!”

“One thousand two hundred!”

“One thousand three hundred!”

The bidding quickly started but soon stopped just as quickly when Yin Xuefeng spoke up in a loud, commanding tone. “Five thousand! I bid five thousand spirit coins!”

Not a single person spoke for the longest time. Many of those at the bottom gazed at the young man above them, who glared at them as though daring someone to make a bid.

“Five thousand one hundred spirit coins,” someone suddenly said.

“Shao Lin, are you messing with me?!” asked Yin Xuefeng.

Shao Lin leaned back, crossed his arms, and chuckled. “You think I’m messing with you? I wouldn’t dare. I’ve merely got an interest in these axes. If you want them, you’ll just have to outbid me.”

Yin Xuefeng gritted his teeth but quickly raised the price by another one hundred spirit coins.

They look like rivals…

All sects competed with each other for resources, since there was a limit to how many cultivation resources this world had. Of course, this meant the members of other sects would do their best to harass, undermine, and otherwise disturb their rivals so they would be unable to acquire the resources needed to succeed.

“Oh ho. Looks like Shao Lin knows that weapon belongs to the Wind-Lightning Pavilion,” Huǒ Shuchang chuckled as he massaged the servant girl’s thighs. “He’s goading Yin Xuefeng to make him spend more money.”

Wu Jian nodded. “My guess is he wants Yin Xuefeng to waste money so he doesn’t have enough to bid on the Three-Layered Red Yin-Yang Pill.”

The Wu Clan had been small, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t engaged in the same kind of behavior as these large sects. They had done the same on a much smaller scale. Wu Jian’s father had instilled in him the same logic and reasoning that these people were using to undermine their rivals.

“You and I are of like mind.”

The bidding continued, going up to seven thousand spirit coins, which was well beyond what those axes were worth. It was a rank lower than the Moon Blade, which had gone for six thousand. The only reason it went so high was because Yin Xuefeng wanted to return those axes to the Wind-Lightning Pavilion.

“Eight thousand one hundred,” Shao Lin said with a cheeky grin. “Well? Are you gonna outbid me? Come on. What’s wrong? Why aren’t you bidding again? Do you not want these axes?”

Yin Xuefeng glared at Shao Lin for several long seconds before, ever so slowly, a grin appeared on his face. The man walked backward and sat back on his chair. He crossed one leg over the other and leaned back.

“No, I think I am good. Since you want those axes so much, they are yours,” he said.

“What?!” Shao Lin’s eyes bulged like a frog’s.

“Ha ha ha!” Huǒ Shuchang clapped several times. “Damn! That guy is actually quite smart! I can’t believe how badly Shao Lin got played!”

I didn’t realize Yin Xuefeng was merely toying with Shao Lin. I underestimated him. He’s a lot more dangerous than I gave him credit for, though Wu Jian.

Wu Jian agreed. “Everyone has to know those axes originally belonged to the Wind-Lightning Pavilion. Shao Lin suspected that Yin Xuefeng would want them returned… and that’s why he failed to realize the trap he was walking into.” Wu Jian glanced at the smirking young master of the Wind-Lightning Pavilion. “He knew Shao Lin would goad him into bidding on this item and used that against him. That was pretty smart.”

“He’s a cunning bastard, that’s for sure,” Huǒ Shuchang said.

“Eight thousand one hundred going once!” Zhou De’s voice rang out.

“Ah. Now just wait a minute!”

“Eight thousand one hundred going twice!”

“Hey! I said wait a--”

“Sold! To the young master of the Burning Flame Pavilion! Congratulations on getting these two axes. I hope you treasure them!”

And just like that, Shao Lin ended up the owner of two axes he had no use for. The man looked like he had swallowed a toad.