Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Lin Li thought about the Bellerophons, and realized that he was rather interested in their talent of blowing the conch, and would love to interact with the Bellerophons if he had the chance. He even had thoughts of hiring some of them just to know them better.
Lin Li had been observing the auction for a while. He knew that while the Coral Staff was a weapon that belonged to Sanctuary powerhouses, it was lacking as compared to his Helios’ Scepter. He was also not interested to know the secrets of immortality, as he saw no practical use for them.
Yet, the Bellerophon quoted the price of 65,000,000 gold coins, and although his voice was not loud, it generated a racket within the conference hall. That was because people were not only astonished by the hefty price the Bellerophons were willing to pay, but also shocked by the boldness of the Bellerophons to challenge the Sea Serpents.
Falth from the Sea Serpent race was extremely furious. He seemed like he could flip the table at any point now. If he had not remembered where he was, he would have sprung out of his seat to tear the midget from the Bellerophon race into pieces. However, knowing that it was the setting of an auction event, Falth continued to stay as civilized as possible. He was just like Grina from the Giant Shark Clan, who had to admit his loss when their dragon armor was snatched earlier.
“S-sure, sure,” Falth muttered in agreement. Then, he raised the sign in his hand and gritted his teeth. “70,000,000 gold coins!” said Falth.
Unlike the Bellerophons, Falth had already reserved many items at the auction, and spent tens of millions of gold coins. Moreover, this was not the only auction in the sea market. While there had been lots of quality items from the beginning, it did not mean that there wouldn’t be better things at the end.
Hence, one could say that Falth used his last 70,000,000 gold coins. If not, he would have talked less and displayed his wealth by quoting a larger sum.
There was an uproar after Falth quoted his price. To them, it wasn’t about how much a person could afford. It was about whether one might be spending it in a worthy manner. They definitely thought that 70,000,000 gold coins was an exaggeration for the purchase of an immortal secret that might not even exist.
“72,000,000 gold coins!” someone said in a very decisive tone. It was definitely not expected of the Bellerophon, who was still trembling and hesitant when he raised his name plate. It was obvious that he had decided to go to the extreme. Since he had already offended the spiteful Sea Serpents, he did not intend to call it quits right now. Furthermore, that Coral Staff and its secrets concerned the fate of the entire Bellerophon. This had to be the moment he was waiting for!
POM! Falth slammed his hand into the glass cup, and shattered the cup that was placed on the table. He coldly glanced at that dwarf-like Bellerophon below him, and was skeptical that such an unsightly race could have so much money. He could not help but wonder why they’d still lived such pitiful lives for the thousands of years if they had such a great amount of wealth.
Falth had considered letting the Bellerophons win the auction and rob them after. But, he wasn’t certain that there wouldn’t be other people with similar intentions. He was also worried that he would lose the opportunity to do that if the Bellerophons continued staying in Gilded Kingdom after they acquired the Coral Staff.
The Coral Staff was particularly important to the Sea Serpents. Falth would not want to take the risk of losing it if he could. Hence, he thought that the most assuring way was to acquire it himself by legal means.
This helped to boost Falth’s determination. “50,000,000 gold coins and 10 Legendary magical crystals,” said Falth as he raised the sign in his hands and turned to face the auction table.
Crystals of the Legendary-level could easily cost up to tens of millions of gold coins. They usually weren’t something that could be bought with money. Yet, such crystals would definitely need to have a price if they were to be offered at an auction.
Of course, this was not an uncommon sight at auctions. Just like pawning, one would have to offer their magical crystal at a much lower price at an auction if they could not offer immediate cash. Auction was a race against time.
Soon, the auctioneer gave an estimate of the value of the crystals. After all, the crystals were different in their standards. There were crystals as low as level-21 to crystals as level-24. The value the auctioneer estimated for the 10 Legendary magical crystals was 35,000,000 gold coins.
This value was definitely very low. It meant that on average, one Legendary magical crystal would only cost 3,500,000 gold coins. While he would be able to sell the crystals for a higher price in the market, Falth had no other choice here. The auction would not wait for him. Hundreds of millions of gold coins would not be able to change the outcome of the auction after the three knocks of the hammer.
The price of the item had already reached 85,000,000 gold coins the moment Falth offered 50,000,000 gold coins as well. It had surpassed the price offered by the Bellerophons by tens of millions of gold coins. Falth was growing anxious.
“O-one more, one more Sanctuary-level magic crystal!”
Falth had originally thought that the item would be his to take away. He did not expect the person from the Bellerophon Clan to raise his sign after him. Sanctuary-level magic crystals were absolutely priceless treasures. It would be no exaggeration to say that hundreds and thousands of Legendary magic crystals would not have matched up to the value of one Sanctuary-level magic crystal.
Although this Sanctuary-level magic crystal was at the beginning of the Sanctuary-level, the energy within it was certainly not within the reach of any Legendary-level crystal. Hence, the value of a Sanctuary-level magic crystal was not to be determined by the amount of mana it encompassed. What was more important was the unique knowledge about the Sanctuary-realm it contained.
One would be abusing the gift of God if he were to use a Sanctuary-level magic crystal as the source of mana. As long as mages meditated around a Sanctuary-level magic crystal, they would recover 100 times faster and enhance their abilities by 100 times. The laws within Sanctuary-level magic crystals were like guiding lamps that would allow anyone who managed to gain any amount of enlightenment to reap great benefits.
A Sanctuary-level magic crystal was like an inexhaustible treasure. The 70,000,000 gold coins from the Bellerophon alone were definitely nothing compared to it.
Although the Endless Sea was rich in resources, Sanctuary-level magic crystals were extremely rarely found there. After all, magical marine creatures of the sea were considered divine existences. They were not easy to deal with. Moreover, even if one were to have the ability to defeat Sanctuary-level marine beasts, they might not even find them as easily as they wanted. The Endless Ocean was not Geresco’s meditation ground. He wouldn’t nurture that many Sanctuary-level beasts for the people of the sea to hunt them.
Although the seven great masters of the sea had split many benefits during the ocean dynasty, and might have collected Sanctuary-level magic crystals, it would be impossible for them to use the crystals for other matters.
What surprised the crowd was who the owner of the Sanctuary-level magic crystal was. As the Bellerophons were an incredibly weak force among the Sea Clans, no one would ever believe they would have the ability to defeat a Sanctuary-level magical beast. Their abilities would not even allow them to slay Legendary-level magical beasts.
Another possibility surfaced in the minds of these people. Since it was impossible for the Bellerophons to kill a Sanctuary-level marine beast in the Endless Ocean, their Sanctuary-level magic crystal had to have been passed down from the previous dynasty. Although the standing of the Bellerophon was rather low among the other forces at the Endless Ocean, they had been once even more formidable than the seven overlords under the past dynasty.
No matter what, it was a fact that the Bellerophons had taken out the Sanctuary-level magic crystal in exchange for the Coral Staff. The audience was now eagerly awaiting the response from the Sea Serpents.
Falth from the Sea Serpents became extremely troubled when he heard what the Bellerophons offered. He knew that the Sea Serpents had one Sanctuary-level magic crystal that was employed in their Desolate Sea Palace. He neither had the power nor the time to retrieve that Sanctuary-level magic crystal, however.
Seems like I would have to think about another plan. But, it’s great that the staff has only fallen into the hands of such an insignificant race. This thought managed to calm Falth’s frustration down greatly. He threw the sign in his hands away, and plopped back into his seat.
Now, the only thing Falth was thankful for was whom the Coral Staff ended up with. He was confident that he would be able to use a little trick to snatch the Coral Staff from the Bellerophons. If it was with the other powerful forces or their close allies, the Sea Serpents would definitely not be able to do anything about it.
The Sea Serpents were not the only ones who had decided to take a back seat in the auction now. No other forces had the capability to rival the value of a Sanctuary-level magic crystal. They all shook their heads in resignation. Of course, some of them perhaps had the same thought as Falth. Then, it would depend on the fastest fingers.
Auctioneer Vidi asked for more offers according to the auction script thrice. He did not try to hype up any hearts in the middle now. That was because he knew that no one would ever pay a price higher than a Sanctuary-level magic crystal. Of course, he was extremely satisfied that the Coral Staff could be raised to such a price in the auction.
After warning three times, the hammer in Vidi’s hand landed hard on the table. “The deal is set. The ultimate buyer of this Coral Staff is Patriarch Molix from the Bellerophon Clan!” he announced loudly.
Vidi’s announcement invited some scattered applause among the audience. To be honest, none of them thought that it was something to be celebrated. They knew that they wouldn’t be the only ones who would target the Bellerophons after this auction.
Patriarch Molix from the Bellerophon Clan did not show any expression when he heard Vidi’s words. He returned to his seat quietly, as though he was unaffected by the discussions and gazes around him. He only appeared to return to earth when the management from the auction approached him to confirm the deal. Molix was seen trembling when he handed the Sanctuary-level magic crystal in exchange for the Coral Staff, which he later clutched tightly in his arms.
Instead of taking his leave immediately after acquiring the Coral Staff, Molix returned to his seat and closed his eyes. He muttered something under his breath while he gently rubbed his hands on the Coral Staff.
In fact, the deal was not a loss for the Bellerophons. Magical crystals at the Sanctuary-realm were of no use to them. Their lifespan was the biggest constraint to their development. They would not have been able to surpass the Legendary-realm within 30 to 40 years even if they had the Sanctuary-level magic crystal. Since it was useless holding on to it, why would they not use it to exchange for some hope?
Falth from the Sea Serpent Clan gritted his teeth when he saw Molix embracing the Coral Staff. After trying really hard to suppress his rage, he turned to one of his men to whisper a few words before dismissing him.
“What’s coming next is another mysterious piece of art. Let’s invite the piece up the stage,” announced Vidi enthusiastically after the hustling crowd calmed down.
With that, a cubical box was carried up the stage. The box was not big; it was around one meter in dimension. Yet, it took four men to carry it. Everyone could see how the structure that supported the weight of the box bent. It was as if they were carrying a mountain.
After placing the box on the stage, the four men got down the stage. Auctioneer Vidi paced towards the box and lay his hand on the red cloth that covered the box. “Guys, get your number plates ready. You are about to see something great,” he announced as he gazed at the audience.
With that, he grabbed and pulled the red cloth off the box. Everyone could see a cubical box underneath it. The box was made of crystal and seemed to have extremely thick walls. The actual space within it was only the size of a human head. In it, there was an irregularly shaped black object. While it seemed like a piece of coal, there was something blood-red in its core, and it also emitted a faint golden glow.
“What is this…?”