Chapter 282: Chapter 193: Qianyuan City! Near Top-Grade Martial Art: Heavenly Gang Dragon Capturing Hand_2
An amount of money many people might never obtain in their entire lifetime wouldn’t even cover a three-day stay in an inn in Qianyuan City. It was an incredible expense.
But every Martial Artist who came to the inn had to accept this price.
This was because Qianyuan City wasn’t a state city with official governance. If one wasn’t a true expert, even renting a small courtyard could very well lead to death within it that same night.
The inn’s high charges weren’t due to superior accommodations, but because the faction backing the inn could guarantee the basic safety of its guests.
For Jiang Shu, who had just arrived, this was extremely important.
I’m in luck this time. In three more days, there will be an auction held by the Black Alliance.
There’s no news of Elder Ming Lei’s Tomb Mansion in Qianyuan City; it seems no one has gotten there before me. After attending the auction, I will head there.
Qianyuan City had no significant clans or families; it was a gathering place for various factions, large and small, making it an immensely intricate and profoundly deep environment.
Ordinary Martial Artists without strength could only survive by aligning themselves with these factions.
If they chose correctly, they could not only preserve their lives but might even soar to prominence, becoming an expert in the Acupoint Passage Realm.
If they chose wrongly, they could be crushed like an ant in the struggles for territory between factions, their bodies never to be found.
Among the numerous factions in Qianyuan City, five major players dominated, occupying the north, south, east, west, and center.
The Black Alliance was the largest among them.
It was said that the first Alliance Hierarch of the Black Alliance had reached the Furnace Fire Realm, left Qianyuan City long ago, and journeyed to a Sect in pursuit of greater opportunities.
No wonder there are more and more Martial Artists rushing in from outside Qianyuan City today. It seems everyone wants to seize an opportunity in this auction: top-grade Cultivation Techniques, Martial Arts... and Treasures unattainable even in state cities!
Jiang Shu’s eyes glinted like stars in the night.
As he circulated the "Crystal Meditation Method," he gradually sank into quiet Cultivation. This continued until the dawn of the third day, when the first light broke through the clouds and a bustling noise arose throughout Qianyuan City.
Only then did Jiang Shu open his tightly shut eyes and rise.
Auctions in Qianyuan City were held much more frequently than in state cities. But not every auction attracted such a large crowd.
Some auctions held by smaller factions could even be traps they had set, where the auctioned items were either high-grade fakes or Cultivation Techniques and Martial Arts that inherently possessed significant flaws.
They specifically targeted the "fat sheep"—newcomers to Qianyuan City.
After one or two such experiences, attendees naturally dwindled; only true gamblers continued to try their luck.
After hurrying through the city for an hour, Jiang Shu finally arrived at its center. Around him were other Martial Artists, rushing along in similar silence.
Each Martial Artist concealed their appearance, their Primordial Power swirling around them like a protective ward, demonstrating their formidable strength.
Outside the auction house, Disciples of the Black Alliance maintained order. Acupoint Passage Realm experts, individuals who in a Dynasty’s county city could establish a major clan, were all queuing here, each submitting a bottle of Essence Yuan Great Pills as an entry fee before entering through the passage.
After receiving a number plate, Jiang Shu found a somewhat secluded seat. He glanced at the two Martial Artists beside him before sitting down. In less than an hour, the vast auction hall, capable of accommodating tens of thousands, gradually filled with a dense, dark mass of people.
However, unlike auctions in the state cities, the Martial Artists here were not boisterous; most remained silent, quietly waiting for the auction to begin.
This wasn’t because these Martial Artists were all good-tempered.
It was because the Black Alliance was overwhelmingly powerful; they boasted no fewer than five Detachment Realm experts!
At every auction, one of these experts would be present to oversee the proceedings and prevent any troublemakers from disrupting the event.
As for what happened after one left the auction house... well, that would be handled according to the rules of Qianyuan City.
CLANG...
As the seats filled, a series of clear bell chimes resonated, and an elder in a black robe slowly ascended the auction stage.
"My surname is Mu, and you may all address me as Steward Mu. It is an honor that you have all come to participate in this auction hosted by our Black Alliance. On behalf of the Black Alliance, I extend our gratitude to everyone present."
His powerful Primordial Power carried his voice to every corner of the auction house.
This was seemingly a courteous expression of thanks, but it also served as a demonstration of strength.
This simple display alone was enough to prove that Steward Mu was an expert in the Acupoint Passage Realm, having opened more than three hundred acupoints.
"You have all been waiting for quite some time today, so I won’t waste any more words. Let’s bring out the first auction item immediately!"
Steward Mu clapped his hands. Immediately, a metal cage was carried onto the stage by two Blood Exchange Realm Disciples of the Black Alliance.
Inside the cage, a young woman was bound, her limbs secured by peculiar Chains.
The cage door opened. Steward Mu waved his hand, and his Primordial Power gently lifted the woman’s chin a few centimeters, allowing everyone present to clearly see her comely face.
"This is a genius from Leizhou of the Great Blue Dynasty. She has an alluring figure and a fiery temperament. At the tender age of twenty, she ranked seventy-third on the Little Dragon Tiger List and successfully joined the official ranks. Such a heaven-favored lady, gentlemen, can be yours through auction, to be trained as a slave and ordered about as you please."
"You should all be aware of how the Black Alliance operates: we handle matters cleanly from start to finish. Of course, whether this fiery genius can be successfully tamed into a slave will depend on your skills, gentlemen. The starting bid is fifty bottles of Essence Yuan Great Pills!"
"Each bid increment must be no less than one bottle of Essence Yuan Great Pills."