Chapter 6: The Auction
In the private training forest of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, Ning Bei looked at the Red Cloud Elk, which had become quite servile, and nodded in satisfaction. After being nurtured by the pill fragrance for a month, the little elk had successfully reached 130 years of cultivation. It had only recently become a 100-year-old soul beast when it was first captured.
It was estimated that the pill fragrance emitted by the first layer of the Pill Tower could increase a soul beast's cultivation by one year per day.
During this period, Ning Bei's soul power level had also reached level 13. Thanks to the sales of the pills, he had received more pocket money from his parents. His storage necklace now contained several thousand gold soul coins.
At the Seven Treasure Trading Association, Ning Bei's pills were sold for 3 gold soul coins each, and they were still in high demand. It was expected that prices would rise in the future. While this amount of money might not be much for the wealthy Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, it was a no-cost business venture.
Adding in the New Year's money his parents had given him, Ning Bei could now be considered a small fortune holder, especially considering that the average monthly expenditure for an ordinary civilian family was only about 1 gold soul coin.
Long periods of cultivation were a form of torture for Ning Bei, who had experienced the bustling nightlife of his past life.
However, with the high expectations from his parents and the two offerings, Ning Bei couldn't afford to slack off. Still, the restlessness in his heart grew more difficult to suppress.
Taking Xiao Tao with him, Ning Bei went to Gu Rong's residence and, without knocking, directly entered.
"Grandpa Gu, I haven't left the sect for a month. Take me out for a stroll."
"Oh? How's your cultivation been these days?"
Gu Rong looked at the two of them with amusement.
"I've reached level 13 a few days ago. As soul masters, we should practice with a balance of work and rest!"
Gu Rong thought for a moment. Ning Bei had indeed been working hard at his cultivation, and keeping a six-year-old kid confined to the sect every day was indeed a tough task. The other children from different sects often only practiced half-heartedly.
Even normal children didn't go through such a rigorous routine, not to mention that Ning Bei was the sect's precious treasure.
"Alright, Grandpa Gu will take you out for a walk. But remember, stay close to me and don't wander off."
Ever since Ning Bei awakened his martial soul, his parents had become stricter with him. Before, he could sneak out to Seven Treasure City with Xiao Tao, but now, before even reaching the sect's gate, Chen Xin and Gu Rong would catch him and bring him back.
"Great! Let's go, Grandpa Gu!"
Xiao Tao, who had been silent, was also smiling, showing that she, too, was bored of staying within the sect for a whole month.
The three of them left the sect and arrived at Seven Treasure City, which was privately owned by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
It was hard not to be impressed by the wealth of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. Seven Treasure City was a bustling metropolis, with voices calling out from the vendors in the streets.
"Young master, let's go check out the Seven Treasure clothing store!"
It's well-known that women, regardless of age, love shopping for clothes. When Ning Bei had secretly snuck out with Xiao Tao before, he had accompanied her on a shopping trip. The experience was a huge shock to Ning Bei, who had never been exposed to such consumerism. He could only marvel at Xiao Tao's full ability to shop—truly the talent of a sensitive attacker soul master.
Xiao Tao's father was from a branch of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and her mother was from another family. Xiao Tao didn't inherit her father's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Tower, but instead followed her mother's Wind Spirit Cat martial soul.
Her parents were killed by a powerful 10,000-year-old soul beast during a soul hunting mission. Originally, with her innate soul power of level 5, she would have been sent to work at one of Seven Treasure City's subsidiary businesses when she came of age. However, Ning's mother found Xiao Tao to be cute and, since Ning Bei had been born around that time, she decided to keep her by her side as a maid.
Due to Ning Bei's position in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, no one dared to treat Xiao Tao lightly.
"Ning Tao, stop it. There's no way I'm going with you to look at clothes. Don't you know how difficult it is to go out right now?"
Ning Bei nearly shook his head off after hearing Ning Tao's words.
Ning Tao gave a regretful nod.
"Got it, young master. So, where are we going then?"
Ning Bei thought for a moment and then looked at Gu Rong.
"Grandpa Gu, is there an auction at the Seven Treasure Trading Association today?"
Gu Rong smiled and nodded.
"You're in luck. The weekly auction is happening today. But it's still early. Let's stroll around first."
"Great! We'll go to the auction later. How about it, Taozi?"
"Whatever the young master wants."
Gu Rong accompanied the two children as they wandered around Seven Treasure City. Before long, they had their hands full with snacks and had filled their storage soul tools with various trinkets.
Soon after, Gu Rong led them to the entrance of the Seven Treasure Trading Association.
"Let's go in, Bei'er. The auction is about to start."
The guards at the entrance saw Gu Rong and Ning Bei and quickly ran to notify the manager. The manager hurried over to greet them respectfully.
"Offering, young master, what brings you to the trading association today? Please follow me."
"Ning Bei is a bit bored with his cultivation, so I brought him out for a walk. Arrange a private room for us."
"Yes, of course."
They were led to the private room usually used by Ning Fengzhi. The manager instructed the servants to bring tea and snacks and left a maid behind before bowing and exiting.
Ning Bei looked at the luxurious decorations of the private room and the beautiful maid standing nearby, silently complaining, "The old man sure knows how to enjoy himself."
Looking outside the private room, Ning Bei noticed that people were steadily entering and taking their seats. Soon, the entire auction hall was filled.
Before long, the auction officially began. A young and beautiful woman, dressed in rare clothing, walked onto the stage.
"Esteemed guests, welcome to today's auction. I am your auctioneer, Ya Fei."
"Next, I will introduce the items for this auction and begin the bidding."
Upon hearing the auctioneer's name, Ning Bei looked a bit puzzled. Was there a mix-up again?
Soon, the first item for auction was brought onto the stage: a beautifully crafted evening gown.
"This is the first item of today's auction, an evening gown hand-made by the chief designer of Seven Treasure Fashion, Master Meites. The starting price is 500 gold soul coins, with each subsequent bid increasing by no less than 50 gold soul coins. Gentlemen and ladies, please start the bidding."
"550 gold soul coins."
"600."
"1050."
"Alright, VIP 302 has bid 1050 gold soul coins. Is there a higher bid? If not, this evening gown will belong to this esteemed guest."
Ning Bei, watching the elegant evening gown, thought of his mother back home. It was time to show some filial piety.
Since the awakening of his martial soul, he had been nearly grounded. While he understood his parents' concerns, there were times he longed to go out, and at those times, he needed someone to help him make a little request.
With that in mind, Ning Bei waved at the maid in the private room.
"Oh! VIP 1 has bid 1200 gold soul coins. Is there a higher offer?"
"1200 gold soul coins, once."
"1200 gold soul coins, twice."
"1200 gold soul coins, three times."
"Congratulations to VIP 1 for winning this evening gown, made by Master Meites."
The auctioneer, Ya Fei, struck her hammer, announcing the successful bid.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Johanssen10
Friends can now purchase any novel with a 30% discount. This promotion ends on October 7th.