Chapter 21 Visitors from the Auction House

Throughout the vast world of the Primordial Desolation, five Great Emperors were, in name, the supreme rulers. The kings they promoted and relied upon were, in fact, the most powerful administrators—every word they uttered carried immense weight. No other force could be compared to them. Even the Battle Alliance, formed by gathering over a hundred kings, had to yield and remain beneath them.

The power of the emperors was the highest order, the true orthodoxy. Other forces, such as the Corps Alliance or the various auction houses, all had to bow and scrape, living cautiously under the shadow of these emperors. Even healers and artifact forgers held higher status by virtue of their professions—especially artifact forgers, who had become so rare that the discovery of even a newly initiated one would spark a mad scramble among all the factions to recruit them.

Of course, the final choice always depended on the artifact forger’s own will.

In this regard, the Tongtian Auction House excelled. They were willing to invest, supporting promising apprentices from the earliest stages and eliminating all their worries.

After all, people have feelings. Artifact forgers are human too; they are not immune to the pull of emotion and desire. Over time, bonds formed often proved decisive.

Thus, the Tongtian Auction House could deploy forces—many of them—at will.

Other auction houses simply couldn't compete in business.

Anyone who knew of the Tongtian Auction House would sing its praises, and its history was well worth recounting.

It began as an alliance of five small families from the Central Desolation, who traveled together through the Five Desolations as a corps. Because their families had ties with various artifact forgers and frequently engaged in trade, they often passed through regions with their forces. Gradually, their influence grew. With their broad experience, they eventually founded an auction house, establishing branches throughout the Five Desolations, each family managing its own territory.

The family in charge of the Eastern Desolation was the Liu family, and in the current generation there was only one son, named Liu Tong.

Liu was the family surname, and Tong was taken from “in harmony with the dust,” symbolizing humility and integration.

His late father gave him this name with an obvious intention: wishing for smooth business for the auction house and the flourishing of the family line. Liu Tong did not disappoint his deceased father’s hopes; in recent years, he had achieved greater and greater success, thriving and suppressing other auction houses in the Eastern Desolation to the point of utter despair.

With everything going smoothly and no troubles to vex him—and being a man of restless disposition—Liu Tong often traveled far and wide. Consequently, much of the auction house's affairs were managed by his cousin.

This cousin, Liu Zhen, was the one who once received the envoy of the Butterfly Queen—the vice dean of Butterfly Academy, Wuying—and “cordially” negotiated terms for the deployment of forces.

Liu Zhen, born in the Central Desolation and only joining the Liu family in the East after turning twenty, had grown quite arrogant. When Wuying’s attitude displeased him, he deliberately made things difficult by adding conditions.

He was not without cunning; knowing he might have offended the Butterfly Queen, he hurriedly urged the auction house to redeploy its forces and build good relations with two other kings in the Eastern Desolation, just in case.

Sure enough, soon after, all the Tongtian Auction House branches within the Butterfly Queen’s domain suffered threats and destruction.

Liu Zhen was alarmed at the severity of the situation. He immediately notified his cousin Liu Tong and reached out to contacts with the two kings, hoping for their protection.

But the results left him chilled to the bone.

Both kings responded graciously, but, as if by prior arrangement, each gave the same reply: “The Six Kings of the Eastern Desolation share honor and disgrace as one.”

There might be conflicts among the six, but on external matters, their stance was united.

Liu Zhen could not understand why things were different in the Eastern Desolation compared to the Central.

For two days, he was at a complete loss, bombarded by ever more bitter news, until Liu Tong finally returned.

Upon learning what had happened, Liu Tong was so furious that he coughed blood several times. He immediately stripped Liu Zhen of all authority, mobilized the family reserves, and within half a month assembled a new force. Then, personally leading the group, he respectfully requested an audience with Wuying at Butterfly Academy.

…

For more than half a month, aside from the initial days spent contemplating how to deal with the Tongtian Auction House, Wuying’s mind had been preoccupied with the Storm Arena and the Storm Rankings in the plaza for Generals.

Regardless of one’s true cultivation, as long as one met the Arena’s rules, one could advance in rank—a system quite different from the real world. Thus, even a mere Soldier, by frequent participation, could become a General or even a Commander. This had once happened, becoming a notorious tale.

Now, in the second-year class, nearly all the Generals had accumulated sufficient victories to ascend as Commanders. Meanwhile, the first-year students under instructors like Coldshade had, after much combat training, seen a few reach the rank of General—those with special techniques or skills, usually from prominent families or factions.

Little Blossom and Wolf, along with others who occasionally benefited from Du Gu Bieli’s guidance—such as Zuo Fang and Yu Yu—also advanced successfully. Hearing news of the Storm Rankings, they all went to challenge them, but none prevailed.

After several attempts, Wolf only managed to claim rank 967. Little Blossom was less fortunate; though she once reached 940, she was soon challenged and knocked off the rankings.

Wuying watched the changes on the rankings intently, counting how many came from Butterfly Academy and how many did not.

In the end, just ten.

…

“Despicable scoundrels!” Wuying cursed, exiting the Storm Arena’s space.

Only after experiencing it personally did he realize why so many from other factions, families, and academies were on the rankings: senior students deliberately stagnated. A single victory on the Storm Rankings counted as twenty ordinary wins, but if one wished not to be challenged, one could choose to receive a cultivation insight instead.

This insight was the accumulated wisdom of the Six Kings of the Eastern Desolation in their own cultivation—a priceless reward. Normally, who would have such an opportunity?

He knew he was suffering a huge loss, yet had no grounds for complaint. This frustration only fueled Wuying’s anger. Just then, someone reported that a representative from the Tongtian Auction House sought an audience. Wuying sneered coldly. “Perfect timing, how coincidental!”

While speaking, his thoughts shifted. He instantly sent his divine sense searching for Du Gu Bieli, finding him in a state of insight on the second basement level of the storage room.

“So, you’re clever enough to discover the second level already. I wonder if you’ve found the small treasury as well, where there are quite a few Divine Tear Stones, Demon Blood Stones, and Heavenly Dao Stones.” Wuying mused, then sent a message: “Du Gu Bieli, wake up.”

“Who is it?” Du Gu Bieli had spent these days deeply immersed in the Path of Artifact Transformation, pondering each step and refining his methods, nearly reaching perfection—he only lacked an elusive final spark. He resented the interruption.

“It’s this old man,” Wuying said gravely. “Pause for now—don’t ask why. Do as I say, and you’ll be well rewarded in the future…”

He gave a series of instructions, and, seeing Du Gu Bieli agree, finally smiled in satisfaction. He then told his people to bring the envoy from Tongtian Auction House to be received by the headmaster.

When Liu Tong entered, an ominous premonition stirred deeply within him, as if something terrible was about to happen. The feeling only grew stronger upon seeing the headmaster and Wuying. Without waiting to be asked, he put on a humble smile, adhering to the principle of polite business and humility, and stated directly, “Liu Zhen was born in the Central Desolation, reckless and insensitive by nature, always overestimating himself and acting without regard for consequences. If he has caused any offense, I beg your forgiveness… Of course, as a token of apology, Tongtian Auction House has specially assembled a batch of forces…”

“Forces?” The headmaster and Wuying exchanged glances and then burst into unrestrained laughter. As Liu Tong’s anxiety mounted, Wuying’s expression turned fierce as he said, “Boy, are these forces you speak of for sale to Butterfly Academy, or are you offering them as tribute?”

Liu Tong was taken aback.

[Editor’s recommendation: Click to bookmark the collection of hit novels on the Zhulang website.]