The Heavenly Dragon Auction House was an enormous organization whose influence stretched throughout the entirety of Dongtai Prefecture, with its primary headquarters established within the prefectural city, and the moment news of the upcoming Decade Auction spread, martial artists from every corner of the prefecture began pouring into the city like a tide.
By the time the appointed day arrived, the number of visitors had increased so drastically that almost every inn was filled to the brim, courtyards that normally remained vacant had been rented out at outrageous prices, and even ordinary residences near the center of the city had begun accepting temporary guests, while the Yamen found itself facing an entirely different kind of headache as maintaining order among thousands upon thousands of martial artists, merchants, cultivators, and wandering experts became increasingly difficult.
The martial halls were suffering their own problems, because countless young martial artists had arrived with ambitions far greater than their cultivation, believing that the Decade Auction would attract enough experts for them to make a name for themselves, and as a result, numerous challengers began visiting the martial halls, hoping to defeat established disciples and use those victories as stepping stones toward greater fame.
Naturally, not everyone possessed enough restraint to keep their ambitions within the boundaries of the rules, and several fights broke out throughout the city, some beginning over insults, others because two martial artists happened to compete for the same woman, while a few were simply caused by the arrogance that often accompanied young people who had suddenly found themselves surrounded by countless peers.
Fortunately, the Yamen reacted quickly, sending patrols throughout the busiest districts, and whenever the clash of weapons or the roar of Qi erupted from an alley, armored officials would arrive before the situation could escalate into something serious, suppressing the offenders and reminding everyone that the prefectural city was not a place where martial artists could act without consequence.
By the time the gates of the Heavenly Dragon Auction House opened, the streets surrounding the enormous building were packed with people, yet the atmosphere remained strangely orderly, because everyone understood that entering the auction house itself was already a symbol of status.
The ordinary auction hall occupied the lower section of the building, where countless martial artists sat according to the tickets they had obtained beforehand, and those tickets were not something that could simply be purchased with ordinary silver, because an invitation had to be obtained directly from the Heavenly Dragon Auction House, sufficient wealth had to be demonstrated, or an item of adequate value had to be submitted for auction, meaning that even the people sitting in the lowest section possessed backgrounds or resources far beyond those of ordinary citizens.
Above them was the VIP section, separated from the lower hall by layers of restrictions and formations, and the atmosphere there was entirely different, because those seated within it were at least Marrow Cleansing or Xuan Gang experts, with several figures possessing cultivation that made even the experienced attendants lower their voices when speaking near them.
The lower section contained martial artists ranging from Body Refinement to the Innate Realm, and many of them had spent years saving their wealth precisely for this opportunity, while the experts above had come for something else, they weren't interested in ordinary treasures unless those treasures possessed enough value to catch their attention.
The lights within the auction hall gradually dimmed, the conversations slowly disappeared, and countless gazes converged upon the enormous stage at the center.
A graceful figure walked onto it.
She wore a flowing crimson dress that accentuated her elegant figure without appearing vulgar, her long black hair falling behind her shoulders like a waterfall, and her every movement seemed effortless, yet there was an indescribable charm accompanying her presence that caused many of the younger martial artists below to instinctively straighten their backs.
Several young men swallowed nervously.
Some even flushed.
The woman smiled when she noticed the reactions but didn't comment on them.
"Welcome to the Heavenly Dragon Auction House's Dongtai Decade Auction," she said, her voice clear and pleasant enough to carry throughout the enormous hall, "I am Lady Fei, and I will be serving as today's auctioneer."
The crowd immediately became quiet.
Lady Fei turned slightly and gestured toward the elderly man standing behind her.
"And beside me is someone whose reputation should require no introduction, our chief appraiser."
The old man stepped forward.
He possessed a long white beard that reached almost to his chest, his robes were simple, and a closed folding fan rested within his hand, yet the moment he appeared, several experts within the VIP section narrowed their eyes.
The old man's name had long been known throughout Dongtai Prefecture.
His ability to distinguish treasures, pills, paintings, cultivation resources, and even obscure artifacts had earned him an extraordinary reputation, and more importantly, he had rarely made a mistake in his evaluations.
Lady Fei smiled before turning toward the first item.
"Let us begin."
Two attendants carefully carried a jade-colored flower onto the stage, placing it inside a transparent protective case.
"This is a Jade Meridian Flower."
The moment the name was announced, the lower hall immediately became lively.
Lady Fei continued, "The Jade Meridian Flower possesses the ability to cleanse and nourish the meridians, gradually removing impurities accumulated through cultivation while strengthening the meridian network, and for cultivators in the Innate Realm, this can improve the efficiency of Qi circulation and, over time, slightly increase the quality of their cultivation foundation."
Several young martial artists immediately became interested.
For someone who had already reached a high realm, a small increase in meridian quality might not sound impressive, but for an Innate cultivator, the difference between possessing excellent meridians and ordinary ones could accumulate over years of cultivation.
A stronger meridian network meant smoother Qi circulation, fewer bottlenecks, greater efficiency when refining resources, and ultimately a higher chance of reaching the next realm.
"The starting price is two hundred taels of silver."
"Two hundred and fifty!"
"Three hundred!"
"Four hundred!"
The bids quickly climbed.
"Six hundred!"
"Seven hundred!"
The competition became increasingly fierce, until finally, a middle-aged man sitting among the Innate True Essence experts calmly raised his bidding token.
"One thousand taels."
The hall fell quiet.
No one continued.
The middle-aged man leaned back with a satisfied smile, clearly pleased that he had managed to obtain the treasure without paying an excessive price.
Lady Fei smiled.
"One thousand taels, sold."
The attendant immediately removed the Jade Meridian Flower.
The second item was brought forward almost immediately.
This time, ten bottles appeared on the stage.
Lady Fei opened one of them, allowing a rich medicinal fragrance to spread through the hall.
"This is a Qi-Blood Nourishing Pill, high-grade quality, and the auction house will be selling the ten bottles in five separate lots, with each lot containing two bottles."
The old appraiser opened one bottle and examined the pills carefully before nodding.
"Each bottle contains six pills."
The moment those words were spoken, the lower section became restless.
Twelve pills for a single lot.
For Body Refinement martial artists, that was an extremely attractive amount of cultivation resources.
Lady Fei smiled.
"These pills can rapidly replenish and nourish Qi-Blood, allowing Body Refinement martial artists to accelerate their cultivation while reducing the time required to recover from strenuous training, and the starting price for two bottles is five hundred taels."
"Five hundred!"
"Six hundred!"
"Seven hundred!"
The bidding immediately became fierce.
The first lot quickly climbed to one thousand taels, then another hundred was added, followed by another, until someone finally shouted the winning price.
"One thousand taels!"
Lady Fei struck her small hammer.
"Sold!"
The next lot began immediately.
The same scene repeated itself four more times, and by the time all ten bottles had been sold, the auction house had collected a total of five thousand taels.
The lower section was already becoming excited.
The treasures being presented were useful, practical, and, most importantly, affordable enough for the wealthier members of the younger generation to compete over them.
But the auction had only just begun.
The third major item soon appeared.
A small jade bottle was placed upon the stage.
"This is a Dragon Lock Pill."
The old appraiser's eyes narrowed slightly when he examined it.
Lady Fei explained, "The Dragon Lock Pill is primarily used by internal martial artists to nourish and stabilize their Innate foundation, while also assisting in the purification of Innate True Qi, making it especially useful for martial artists who have reached the later stages of the Innate Realm and wish to refine their foundation before attempting the next breakthrough."
The reaction was immediate.
Unlike the previous treasures, this one attracted considerably more attention from the Innate experts.
Several bidding tokens rose almost simultaneously.
Lady Fei smiled.
"Let the bidding begin."
The atmosphere became heated once again.
Yet even this competition was merely an opening.
Because shortly afterward, Lady Fei returned to the center of the stage with an expression that was noticeably more serious.
The old appraiser beside her also opened his fan for the first time.
A painting was carried onto the stage.
It was sealed within several layers of protection, yet even through those restrictions, the people in the VIP section could faintly sense something unusual emanating from it.
Lady Fei looked around the hall.
"Our next item is somewhat different."
Her voice became solemn.
"This is a Grade A Martial Concept Painting, acquired directly from the Temple."
The entire auction hall fell silent.
Even the VIP section, which had remained relatively composed throughout the previous items, suddenly became restless.
Several Xuan Gang experts leaned forward.
A few Marrow Cleansing experts stared at the painting with widened eyes.
The old appraiser slowly waved his fan.
"Grade A."
His voice carried throughout the hall.
"Everyone here should understand what that means."
A Martial Concept Painting was not merely an ordinary painting containing artistic beauty.
It was a record of phenomena. It's also quite different from the diagrams with True Scriptures.
The diagrams inside True Martial Scriptures are created by the martial artist who authored the scripture. They represent that martial artist's own comprehension, Martial Intent, Momentum, or eventually Martial Concept, and their quality depends on how deeply the creator understood what they were depicting.
The Martial Concept paintings sold by the Temple, however, are different. They are created directly by Daoists of the Temple, who use their own methods to capture and preserve phenomena and conceptual principles within paintings. So even though both function as comprehension aids, their origins and underlying methods aren't the same.
However, every reproduction degraded the original.
The further removed a copy was from the source, the weaker the conceptual aura became, and after enough generations, what remained might possess nothing more than ordinary artistic value.
But a Grade A painting was different.
It retained an extraordinarily rich conceptual imprint.
A Grade A painting could allow a martial artist to comprehend Martial Will.
A Grade B painting could assist in comprehending Martial Intent.
A Grade C painting could help a martial artist comprehend Momentum.
The distinction between them was enormous.
To ordinary people, they were simply paintings.
To martial artists, they were cultivation resources.
The VIP section had already become completely silent.
Even those who had no intention of bidding understood that an item of this level was enough to attract the attention of powerful martial halls and major families.
Lady Fei slowly unveiled the protective covering.
The painting appeared.
For a moment, no one spoke.
The atmosphere within the auction hall became heavy as countless martial artists stared at the image, each person attempting to determine what kind of Martial Concept had been recorded within it.
And somewhere within the crowd, a pair of eyes narrowed slightly.