The Black Market existed outside the Capital City, nestled in an unnamed valley. From the outside, no one would discover that a desolate valley actually contained it. But after passing through a thorny passage, Shen Changqing suddenly realized that the so-called black market was far more bustling than he had imagined.
"So this is the black market!"
Surveying the teeming scene before him, astonishment filled his face. Had he not been aware of its origins, he would have almost mistaken it for some small town within Great Qin.
"Lord Shen, follow me."
Ji Qu led Shen Changqing towards the auction house. Along the way, he looked around and whispered quietly, "Lord Shen, there are some rules to the black market. The most important one is not to casually inquire into others’ backgrounds, otherwise it will invite unnecessary trouble."
Shen Changqing nodded. Whatever rules the black market had, they were of no importance to him. What he cared about now was just how much the Martial Arts he had brought with him could sell for.
Before long, Ji Qu had brought Shen Changqing to the Yuanyang Auction House.
As soon as they entered, an attendant approached. Without any superfluous words, Ji Qu immediately presented two gold-embossed invitation cards. Upon seeing the gold-embossed cards, the attendant’s face changed drastically, and he hurriedly said, "Please wait in the private room, I will go and report immediately."
The two didn’t say much, following the attendant to the private room to take a seat. Before a quarter of an hour had passed, a middle-aged man in luxurious clothes strode in from outside.
His gaze first lingered on Ji Qu for a moment, finally settling on Shen Changqing. "I am Steward Number One at the Yuanyang Auction House. I apologize for making you wait."
"It’s no trouble." Shen Changqing’s expression remained composed. Ji Qu, sitting beside him, also said nothing.
Steward Number One took a seat opposite them, his gaze fixed on Shen Changqing the whole time. "This must be Lord Shen Changqing from the Demon-Subduing Division, a true exceptional figure of our time. The Yuanyang Auction House holds great admiration for Lord Shen’s feat of slaying the Barbarian Clan General."
"You’re too kind. I also hadn’t expected the Yuanyang Auction House’s Steward Number One to be a powerhouse who has entered the Physical System," Shen Changqing said, scrutinizing the man intently. Through his perception, he could sense a vitality from the man as terrifying as that of a Fierce Beast. He had only ever felt such a level of vitality from the people of Hidden Heart Pavilion.
Clearly, if Steward Number One cast aside his identity as a steward of the auction house, he would also be a late-stage Grandmaster in the Jianghu.
Ji Qu, beside him, showed no outward change, but inwardly, he was slightly shocked. If Shen Changqing had not spoken, he would have been unaware that the man before him was a late-stage Grandmaster.
Despite his strength being revealed, Steward Number One still wore a gentle smile. "Lord Shen possesses a discerning eye; I am truly impressed. I, however, have merely immersed myself in the Martial Dao for decades and grown older by many years to barely reach this realm. Compared to Lord Shen, I am truly far behind!"
After speaking, he coughed lightly, cleared his throat, and assumed a serious expression. "Let’s get back to the matter at hand. Besides the three Grandmaster Martial Arts provided by Lord Shen, all the other auction items have been prepared. If Lord Shen has brought the Martial Arts with him, then we can officially begin the auction."
"Naturally, I’ve brought them."
Shen Changqing took out the transcribed Martial Arts from his bosom and placed them on the table. The eyes of the other two individuals immediately fell onto the Martial Arts texts.
Invincible Golden Body!
Heavenly Martial Divine Qi!
Hundred Battle Saber Technique!
Both Steward Number One and Ji Qu wore puzzled expressions; with their level of knowledge, they had not heard of the names of these three Martial Arts techniques before. However, it was precisely because they had not heard of them that Steward Number One was truly reassured.
"If Lord Shen feels reassured, then please entrust the Martial Arts to Yuanyang Auction House. In half an hour, the auction will officially begin."
"Since I’ve come to the Yuanyang Auction House to auction these, of course, I trust it."
"That’s good to hear." The Number One Steward smiled, gathered up the three sets of Martial Arts, and then stood up. "The auction is held on the third and fourth floors. I will now have someone lead you both up there. If there’s anything you wish to bid on during the auction, you can participate."
After speaking, Steward Number One clapped his hands, and an attendant entered from outside.
"Escort the two distinguished guests to the fourth floor to wait for the auction to commence. Ensure there is no discourtesy."
"Understood." The attendant bowed. "Distinguished guests, please follow me!"
Yuanyang Auction House covered a substantial area, with the first and second floors primarily dedicated to the sale of ordinary items, while the third and fourth floors were focused on auctions.
Upon reaching the fourth floor, an attendant arranged a private room for the two of them and then withdrew.
The private room wasn’t large, able to accommodate roughly seven or eight people. Inside the room was a transparent window, which offered an unobstructed view of the auction stage below.
It’s worth mentioning that, due to the auction’s setup, the third and fourth floors were open to each other, so looking down from the windows on the fourth floor gave a clear view of the third-floor ground level. The auction stage was positioned right there on the ground level of the third floor.
Then, Shen Changqing retracted his gaze from the view below and shifted it to the other private rooms. However, the windows of each private room were covered with a layer of something akin to the glass from his previous life, making it impossible to see clearly inside.
Ji Qu said, "The material on the windows is called Glaze. It initially came from Dayue and allowed two-way viewing, but after improvements, it became one-way. It’s because of this feature that it’s used by many auction houses."
As he said this, Ji Qu pointed at the small holes in the walls of the private room, which at first glance resembled tiny honeycombs. "Those holes allow the sound from inside the room to be transmitted out. If Lord Shen wishes to place a bid, shouting within the room will naturally be heard by others."
Hearing the explanation, Shen Changqing’s expression remained calm. He wasn’t some country bumpkin unfamiliar with the world and didn’t share the astonishment others might feel on their first visit to an auction house.
After allowing the other party to finish speaking, he then showed a smile. "Brother Ji seems quite familiar with the auction house. Do you come here often?"
"Haha, from time to time I do visit, as some good items are hard to come by on ordinary days. It’s only during auctions that one might have a chance of obtaining them." Ji Qu squeezed an awkward smile onto his face. Although the human-skin mask was good, it couldn’t perfectly replicate a normal person’s expressions of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. At first glance, it appeared quite bizarre.
After giving a brief explanation, Ji Qu picked up the teapot from the table, poured Shen Changqing a cup of tea, and then poured one for himself. "Yuanyang Auction House ordinarily doesn’t hold auctions, only doing so once at the beginning of each month. If someone wishes to auction something and misses that time, they have to wait until the next month. This auction shouldn’t have started so early, but Lord Shen’s reputation, as well as the importance of the three Grandmaster Martial Arts, persuaded Yuanyang Auction House to make an exception," Ji Qu said with a smile.
The three Grandmaster Martial Arts, combined with the reputation of the Demon-Subduing Division, were enough to pique the interest of a Jianghu power.
Seeing that Shen Changqing didn’t respond, Ji Qu continued, "Some people in the Jianghu who obtain precious treasures they can’t use, or who want to exchange them for silver taels, generally choose to auction them here to get a higher price. However, not just anything can be auctioned. The item must undergo evaluation and be deemed worth no less than 10,000 silver taels to qualify. This way, worthless items that waste everyone’s time are entirely avoided in the auctions. If Lord Shen has any interest, you can bid directly on anything you fancy later. After the event, the cost will be deducted from the proceeds of your three Grandmaster Martial Arts."
Having finished speaking, Ji Qu picked up his teacup and took a small sip. Just as Shen Changqing had surmised, he was a regular at the auction house; otherwise, he wouldn’t have received the Yuanyang Auction House’s esteemed guest status. However, most of the time, Ji Qu only observed others bidding and rarely participated himself.
There was no helping it. The Demon-Subduing Division’s stipend was limited, and even when a Demon Hunter like him occasionally earned some extra money, it was hardly enough to cover expenses. To participate in an auction without at least tens of thousands of silver taels meant having practically no right to speak. In this regard, he was truly a pauper.
Lord Shen also picked up his teacup, his gaze settling on the auction stage below. "Items that are useful to Grandmasters must be rare at auctions, I presume?"
"Indeed, they are rare," Ji Qu nodded in agreement. "Most of the time, the items auctioned are useful to Pulse Condensation Warriors and Innate Martial Artists. Items beneficial to Grandmasters seldom appear. Yet whenever they do, they cause quite a stir. This time, with Lord Shen auctioning three Grandmaster Martial Arts, the commotion is much greater than usual. To my knowledge, many martial factions from various prefectures have already arrived. If not for the short notice of only half a month, I suspect that even people from other nations might have come to participate."
"Other nations—you mean Great Zhou and Dayue?" Shen Changqing asked, surprised.
Ji Qu nodded. "That’s right. For the vast majority of people in the Jianghu, Grandmaster Martial Arts are treasures capable of changing one’s fate, even transforming the destiny of a sect or power. In the Great Qin Jianghu, Grandmaster Martial Arts are scarce, and the same applies in places like Great Zhou and Dayue. Whenever Grandmaster Martial Arts appear anywhere, people flock to them. Even with only half a month’s notice this time, a considerable number of Jianghu powers have already shown up. Martial factions from neighboring Guangyuan Prefecture, South Nether Prefecture, and the like have almost all arrived."
From Ji Qu’s words, Shen Changqing suddenly realized he had still greatly underestimated the appeal of Grandmaster Martial Arts.However, the more people there were, the higher the final auction price was likely to be.
A smile surfaced on his face. "The more who come, the better. I’d be worried about getting a low price if there were no competition!"