Wu Jian had been to a number of auctions before already, so he thought he was prepared for this one as well. A single spotlight appeared on the stage. Music began playing in the background. The sound of concussion instruments echoed throughout the auction house as the spotlight moved, until it revealed a person standing near the back.

This person had bright orange hair, marking him as a member of the Huǒ Clan. His hair had streaks of gray and his face was lined with wrinkles. Yet his molten eyes burned with the vivasciousness of life and he stood with his back straight. Wu Jian could not tell his cultivation, but it was clearly quite high. Adorning his body was a red and orange hanfu with tassels that trailed down his backside like the tail feathers of a phoenix. Whatever the fabric was made of must have been expensive, for it sparkled like it was composed entirely of precious gemstones.

“That’s Huǒ Wěndìng,” Huǒ Yujie told them. “He’s one of the thirteen feath'rs, which is the strongest, most elite fighting force within the xia dynasty. I hath heard yond coequal though he’s powerful, he’s more of a follower than a leader. That gent belike did get roped into taking hosting this auction by Elder Huǒ pō.”

“What’s his cultivation at?” asked Wu Jian.

“He’s at the Seeker Realm’s second subrealm,” Hua Xue announced with certainty.

“That’s right! You’ve quite the sharp sense, do you not? What’s thy cultivation at?” asked Huǒ Yujie. Several seconds passed in silence. Huǒ Yujie puffed out her cheeks. “Thou art not going to answer me? Fine. Prithee ignore thy inquiry. I shant pay further attention to you. Hmph!”

Wu Jian smiled. “Hua Xue doesn’t really like answering questions like that. Please forgive her.”

Huǒ Yujie pouted for a moment before sighing. “Well… if thou art vouching for her, I shall be magnanimous and forgiveth this woman for her insolence.”

“Looks like the auction has begun,” Mei Xilan said.

She was right. Huǒ Wěndìng had walked to the center of the stage and spread his arms wide. While his gesture was theatrical, the strained smile he wore made Wu Jian think this man wanted to be anywhere but up there.

“Welcome, one and all, old faces and new, to the one and only Phoenix Auction! For those of you who attend regularly, welcome back. It is good to see you again. I hope you won’t mind if I explain this auction for those who are attending for the first time.”

Huǒ Wěndìng paused for a moment as if waiting for someone to object, but no one did.

“This auction is hosted fairly irregularly. We only host an auction when we have enough items we believe are worth selling. Everything we auction off is a rare treasure that you are unlikely to find anywhere else. I dare say even the Zhou Clan’s Auction Houses will not have what we do. That is also why the prices for each auctioned item starts off so high. Every item here begins with a base price of forty thousand spirit stones.”

Wu Jian felt like someone had punched him in the gut. 40,000 spirit stones?! Sure, he had seen that much money being bandied about during the auction in the Shang Kingdom, but most of the items in question hadn’t gone anywhere near that high. Just what sort of treasures were being offered in this auction that were worth so much money?

“The Xia Dynasty lives up to its reputation as a wealthy nations,” Mei Xilan murmured. Perhaps he was imagining it, but something about the way she spoke sent a chill down his spine.

The first item was soon brought out. It looked like a normal sword. The sheathe was unadorned and plain, the hilt wrapped in simple leather, and the pomel a mere sphere. Wu Jian furrowed his brow. Was that really a treasure worth 40,000 spirit crystals? He didn’t think so, yet even as he thought that, Hua Xue stood up from her seat.

“Elder Xue?” asked Mei Xilan.

“I see what that man meant when he said they only sold real treasures here,” the woman said after a moment. She took a deep breath, sat back down, and placed her hands on her knees. “That item he’s selling is a high-tier Heaven Rank Profound Spirit Weapon. It’s powerful enough that it’s almost pushing into the Immortal Rank. I can’t believe something like that exists in this small world. It must have been left by an expert who wound up here long ago.”

Wu Jian and Mei Xilan once more glanced at the weapon, and though he couldn’t see anything unusual about it, he trusted Hua Xue’s judgement. That made him wonder what kind of power this weapon possessed. He expected the Huǒ Wěndìng to show off what the weapon did, but his expectations were soon dashed when he immediately began bidding. Wu Jian didn’t think anyone would start bidding when they had no idea what this weapon could do. His expectations were destroyed immediately after this thought occurred.

“45,000 spirit coins!”

“50,000!”

“70,000!”

“100,000!”

The bidding quickly skyrocketed. It reached such absurd numbers that Wu Jian wondered if he was hallucinating. While he was dizzy from the amount of money being bandied about, the sword sold for 1,000,000 spirit coins. Truly absurd. He understood this was a Heaven Rank Profound Spirit Weapon, but was that really good enough? Apparently, it was to these people. Watching so many people bid money like it was candy made him feel like a plebian.

Several other items were bid and won for absurd prices. Wu Jian finally realized how small the Shang Kingdom was. How was their tiny kingdom even supposed to survive when monstrous nations like this existed? Well, obviously it was because they were allied with the Heavenly Sword Sect, but at the same time, seeing how wealthy the Xia Dynasty was depressed him. Was there any way he could increase the Shang Kingdom’s power?

I suppose I can do that if I reach the perfection realm, but who knows how long that will take… I don’t have a clue.

Wu Jian was snapped from his reverie when something tugged at his consciousness, making him look back at the stage. A pair of beautiful young women in skimpy hanfu pushed a cart on the stage. The cart had an object sitting on it, and the object was covered by a cloth. He narrowed his eyes and stared at the cloth, wishing he could somehow see through it.

What is this feeling?

“Now for the next item we’re auctioning. If you’d please.”

The sheet was removed, and Wu Jian found himself drawn to the item. It looked like a mat? Was that a mat? It was some kind of thick fabric that had been rolled up and sealed inside of a large glass container. Seals had been placed all over the fabric, and yet, even through all that, Wu Jian could feel something drawing him toward it.

“This item is something we discovered only recently in a legacy tomb that appeared off the coast. It’s a carpet that has been imbued with the Dao of Space. Anyone who is looking to glean inside into this mysterious dao can’t go wrong with this item. As always, the starting price is forty thousand spirit coins.”

“50,000!”

“51,000!”

“52,000!”

Wu Jian bit his lip as the price began rising. It wasn’t rising as much as some of the other items had, but he assumed that was because the Dao of Space was too mysterious for most people to comprehend. Everyone and anyone would love to learn more about this esoteric power, but few would actually be able to comprehend it. In the end, anyone who didn’t already have some understanding into the Dao of Space would just waste their money buying it.

I really want this carpet. This might be just what I need to increase my cultivation and understanding into the Dao of Space… yet I don’t have enough money.

Wu Jian had been given an allowance of sixty thousand spirit coins, which was a lot by his standards, but the carpet had already surpassed that number. He clenched his hands in frustration as he helpless listened to the price continue to rise.

“Doth thee wish to acquire this item?” asked Huǒ Yulie.

“Ah.” Wu Jian felt his cheeks grow hot. Glad for the mask, he nodded. “I do. My cultivation method is heavily reliant on learning the Dao of Space, but I haven’t been able to find an item that can help me.”

Huǒ Yulie nodded several times, then smiled. “Verily well. Do not fret, for I shall acquire this item for you.”

“Eh?”

Huǒ Yulie stood up under the watchful eyes of himself, Mei Xilan, and Hou Jingshu. The young girl planted her hands on her hips and grinned as she sucked in a deep lungful of air.

“140,000!”

Her words reverberated across the auction house and caused everyone to stop shouting. As one, heads turned to look in their direction. Wu Jian was grateful that no one could see through the windows, which were designed to be one way so as to provide the guests with privacy. Even so, he thought he saw something within Huǒ Wěndìng’s eyes that made him pause.

The last bid before Huǒ Yulie’s had only been 100,000, meaning she’d pushed the bid much higher than anyone else would have. No one spoke for the longest time. Wu Jian thought that meant they had won, but then…

“141,000,” a voice said from one of the VIP booths.

“Tch. That damn Huǒ Pànguó,” Huǒ Yulie growled. “142,000!”

Huǒ Pànguó? Was that Huǒ Pànguó? Now that I think about it, that voice did sound familiar…

Wu Jian only had the displeasure of meeting Huǒ Pànguó once. It had not been a good first encounter. The young man had left a horrible impression on Wu Jian. He was arrogant, overbearing, and treated his younger brother like a lesser human being. Typical young master behavior. From this little exchange, it sounded like he hadn’t changed much.

“143,000.”

“144,000!”

The price continued to climb and soon reached 200,000 spirit stones, far more than it was worth. Wu Jian wanted to tell Huǒ Yukie to stop, but when he glanced at her and saw the fierce look on her face, he found himself unable to say anything.

“210,000!” Huǒ Yulie shouted.

Silence reigned for several seconds. Wu Jian wondered what this meant. Had Huǒ Pànguó given up, or was he merely trying to draw out the suspense. He thought that might be the case at first.

“I see you really want this item. Very well. I’ll give it to you. I concede defeat,” he said.

Wu Jian’s ears pricked at the arrogant tone, but he closed his eyes and stretched out his senses to discover which VIP booth that man was in. Sound carried through the air via vibrations, which could be pinpointed in space if you knew how. He followed the vibrations to the booth on his immediate left. So Huǒ Pànguó was in there. He pursed his lips. Huǒ Yulie had recognized his voice, so there was a chance he recognized hers. They would have to leave as soon as this auction was over--no, leaving before the auction ended might be better.

Huǒ Wěndìng coughed into his hand. “210,000 going once. 210,000 going twice. 210,000 going thrice! Sold for 210,000 spirit coins. Young miss in the third VIP booth, please have your spirit coins ready by the end of the auction.”

“Excuse me,” Wu Jian suddenly said. His sudden voice caused even more people to pay attention, but he couldn’t be bothered now. “Is it possible to have the item delivered now?”

“… It is. We will have the item brought up to you. Please, have your spirit coins ready by the time my attendant arrives with it,” said Huǒ Wěndìng.

“Thank you.”

Wu Jian sat down with a heavy sigh. He didn’t want to confront Huǒ Pànguó or any member of the Phoenix Clan while in Huǒ Yulie’s company. Nothing good would come of that, so it was in their best interest to leave before someone decided to pay them a visit.

“Well, we hast thy item anon. Art thee joyous?” asked Huǒ Yulie.

“I suppose I am. Thank you,” Wu Jian was tired, but he knew to display gratitude when someone did something nice for him. “Though I’m curious to know why you went so far for me.”

“A simple questioneth hast a simple answer.”

Wu Jian, Mei Xilan, and Hua Xue waited for the girl to continue.

“Because thee smelleth valorous,” Huǒ Yulie concluded.

All three other occupants fell off their seats at the same time.