While Zhang Xuan was slightly dumbstruck from the content of the book, that old man had already recovered from his bizarre condition. With a pale face, he surveyed the surroundings and said, “I understand the purpose behind why everyone wishes to buy the Soulless Metal Humanoid. If any of you can bring me the treasure I want, on top of this Soulless Metal Humanoid, I’ll bring him to the place where I unearthed the metal humanoid as well so that he can explore the secrets of the soul oracle!”
“What?”
“Legend has it that the Soulless Metal Humanoids will accompany their soul oracles’ side, buried along with them even upon death… If it’s the place where he unearthed the metal humanoid, doesn’t it mean that it’s the tomb of a soul oracle?”
“After the soul oracles were destroyed by the Master Teacher Pavilion, their heritage disappeared from the world. Even if we can’t obtain their heritage, as long as we manage to uncover some information on that ancient occupation, there will surely be many people who would be willing to buy that information for hefty sum.”
“More importantly, soul oracles were known for being the most lucrative occupation in ancient times due to the nature of their powers. Even appraisers aren’t a match for them. If we were to unearth the tomb of a soul oracle, we would surely obtain a massive fortune.”
“Indeed, anyone who gets this opportunity will strike it rich!”
…
Initially, everyone was rather displeased with the old man due to his ridiculous auction proposal. However, after hearing those words, everyone began trembling in agitation.
The responsibility of the Master Teacher Pavilion was to enlighten the world, and they believed in equality in education as well. Unless truly necessary, they would never make a move against other occupations. Back then, it was due to the soul oracles pushing things too far that they were exterminated.
Even if someone were to obtain their heritage now, as long as they didn’t use it for malicious intentions, the Master Teacher Pavilion wouldn’t interfere in the matter.
In fact, if one were to make use of this opportunity well, one might even be able to win the grooming and protection of the Master Teacher Pavilion.
Besides, given that an intact Soulless Metal Humanoid was dug up, the soul oracle buried in the tomb was likely to be extremely powerful before his death. If they were to find the tomb, even if they failed to obtain the soul oracle’s heritage, they would at least be able to find a whole mountain of treasure that was sufficient to send others frenzied.
“I must obtain it!”
“Indeed. But… so many invaluable treasures have been turned down already. The other party doesn’t seem to be interested in anything at all! Does he expect us to give our entire clan away?”
“Give our entire clan away? That is provided he’s willing to accept it first…”
…
After a short moment of excitement, the crowd fell back into a dilemma, and they rubbed their glabella in stress.
That fellow simply refused to say what he wanted. Everyone here had already offered about everything that could be offered. Was it because the artifacts they offered weren’t valuable enough, and he wanted to go for something better?
“I have the seedling of a Thousand Leafed Tree here. Would you be interested in making a trade for this?”
Just as the crowd was in a dilemma, an impassive voice sounded from one of the suites.
“Thousand Leafed Tree?”
“That legendary spirit tree that can fight and guard over a clan?”
“On the single trunk on a Thousand Leafed Tree, there are a thousand branches, and on each of those branches, there are a thousand leaves. After it reaches maturity, just like any Spirit tool, it’ll instinctively protect its owner. On top of that, the Thousand Leafed Tree possesses an astonishing cultivation that is on par with even a Transcendent Mortal 4-dan Clarifying Turbidity realm expert!”
“If one were to plant the seedling in one’s clan, a hundred year later, the clan will be blessed with a Transcendent Mortal 4-dan guardian which would devote its life to protecting the clan. This is an ultimate treasure that all big clans are vying over!”
“This is way better than those Spirit weapons, pills, and cultivation technique manuals. Who is in that suite? To think that he would be willing to bring out such a valuable treasure!”
…
There was a limit to a person’s longevity; no matter how powerful one was, there would eventually come a day which one would have to die. As such, it was impossible for an expert to watch over his clan forever.
But the Thousand Leafed Tree was different. In a hundred years, one would gain a powerful guardian that could ensure the prosperity of the clan for the next hundred years.
It was no different from having a powerful expert looking after one’s clan at all times.
Given such, how could the crowd remain calm before such a treasure.
To trade it for a Soulless Metal Humanoid… This was truly a losing deal.
“This… He can’t possibly reject this as well, can he?”
The crowd turned to the old man on the stage, curious to see how he would react.
The Soulless Metal Humanoid was valuable, but it wasn’t anything much compared to the Thousand Leafed Tree.
Given the vast difference in the value of the two artifacts… Even a fool would know what to choose.
“I apologize but I’m not interested in the Thousand Leafed Tree.”
Just when everyone thought that a new owner of the Soulless Metal Humanoid had been determined, the old man shook his head once more.
“He’s not interested?”
“He rejected it outright? This… If it was me, I would have definitely made the trade immediately!”
“Such a waste…”
…
Clearly, the crowd didn’t expect that even a Thousand Leafed Tree seedling would be insufficient to move the old man. At this moment, they felt a little frenzied.
What in the world did he want?
“I’ll repeat my words once more. As long as anyone can bring out an object that interests me, I’ll trade for it immediately. This is a competition over the value of the objects!” The old man shook his hands.
“Interests?”
Hearing those words, everyone fell silent. For a long while, no one made any offer.
You asked for us to offer something that would interest you, but yet, you refused to tell us what is it that you want. Even if we were to continue making offers like that, who knows whether or not we will ever be able to find something that’ll interest you. Why in the world did the auction hall bring such a weirdo in?
Glancing at Luo Qin, Elder Chen said, “Manager Luo, in my view, this fellow is here to cause trouble. Besides, I don’t think that the auction can benefit from a trade of goods. So, why did the auction hall take up this deal?”
The other party was clearly here to cause trouble!
Who in the world auctions items like that?
Besides, under normal trades, the auction hall would usually claim a small commission from the sales to earn a profit. However, given that the other party was trading the Soulless Metal Humanoid for another artifact, how was the auction hall supposed to claim a commission off the price?
“He isn’t causing trouble, he has already paid an advance of 5,000 spirit stones!” Luo Qin shook his head.
“He has already paid even though his item hasn’t been successfully auctioned yet?” Elder Chen was taken aback.
Even he was unable to take out so many spirit stones in a single go! To pay this sum in advance… Wasn’t he worried that the Soulless Metal Humanoid might not be sold?
“Indeed. So no matter how he auctions his item, the auction hall won’t make a loss at all.” Luo Qin said.
“Then… What does he really want?”
Elder Chen was perplexed.
Since the other party was able to produce 5,000 spirit stones in a single go, it was highly likely that he didn’t lack money at all. On top of that, all of the artifacts offered previously were invaluable treasures that had encompassed all sectors, and yet he turned down all of them, even the Thousand Leafed Tree… So what was his goal in conducting this auction?
“I have no idea either. Ever since his arrival, he has spoken less than ten words to me so how could I possibly know what he’s thinking of!”
Luo Qin smiled bitterly.
He was the manager of the auction and the sales of the Soulless Metal Humanoid was mainly arranged by him. However, his interactions with the seller were terribly limited.
They had barely traded more than a few words.
And thus, the other party’s thoughts and wants remained an enigma to him.
…
“To turn down even the Thousand Leafed Tree, interesting!”
The young man from Suite 23 chuckled lightly.
He was the one who made the offer for the Thousand Leafed Tree previously. This object was of great value, and even three Soulless Metal Humanoid couldn’t match up to a single one of it. Only a top-notch genius of a prestigious sect like him was able to take out an item of such quality easily.
But it was a pity that the other party wasn’t interested in it at all.
“Young master, it doesn’t seem like he’s trying to hike up the price,” the elder beside him said.
Previously, the young master said that the reason why that fellow refused to reveal what he wanted was so as to hike up the prices, but from the looks of it, that didn’t seem to be the case.
After all, in terms of price, what else could beat the Thousand Leafed Tree?
To turn down even this object, this only went to show that his motive could be to find something that he really needed.
“Regardless of what he needs, he surely won’t be able to turn this down!”
Flicking his wrist, a jade token appeared in the young man’s hand.
Upon seeing the item, the elder was taken aback. He uttered in shock, “Young master, this item is incomparably valuable. Are you sure… that you want to make an offer with it?”
“That’s right!”
A glint flashed across the young man’s eyes, and his lips curled up slightly, “Since he has even refused the Thousand Leafed Tree, I can’t think of anything else that might interest him.”
The elder hesitated. “But… this item is useful to you too…”
“If I have any problems, I can consult teacher straight. So in truth, this item isn’t of much value to me!”
The young man waved his hands and said, “Make the offer!”
“Yes!”
Seeing the determination on the other party’s face, the elder knew that it was impossible to convince him out of it. Thus, nodding his head, he stepped forward to the windows and bellowed, “A half 5-star master teacher long-range Tutelage Jade Token!”
…
Everyone in the auction hall was wracking their brains to fathom what that fellow on the stage want when the voice sounded. A short moment of silence, and a huge uproar was suddenly generated.
“Half 5-star master teacher? What does that mean?”
“When a master teacher reaches 4-star and above, the difficulty to advance through the ranks would become exponentially more difficult. As such, there were many people who ended up being stuck at 4-star pinnacle their entire life, unable to make a breakthrough. However, there are clearly masters teachers who possessed teaching capability above ordinary 4-star pinnacle but simply haven’t reached 5-star yet… Thus, this rank was born!”
“There isn’t a half 5-star master teacher in the Myriad Kingdom Alliance. Even though half 5-star master teachers are, in the truest sense, 4-star pinnacle master teachers, the value of their Tutelage Jade Tokens far surpasses those of ordinary 4-star pinnacle master teachers… Putting everything aside, even the 21 Tutelage Jade Tokens offered before cannot compare up to this in value!”
“I see. Then what is a long-range Tutelage Jade Token?”
“When one obtains an ordinary Tutelage Jade Token, one can look for a master teacher and request for two hours of his time for a one-to-one guidance session. However… finding this master teacher is likely to expend a significant length of time. On the other hand, a long-range Tutelage Jade Token isn’t restricted by this limitation. A sliver of the master teacher’s soul has been infused into the jade token, and when one drips a droplet of blood on it, one will be able to enter an illusionary classroom where one’s problems can be solved.
“In other words, as long as one possesses this item, it’s as good as having a half 5-star master teacher around you. No matter what cultivation problem one has, one can enquire about it at any moment. Even though it’s just a one-time use object, its value is unimaginable!”
Being able to undergo the guidance of a half 5-star master teacher on the spot and running around the world with the jade token in hand to look for the specific half 5-star master teacher were two vastly different concepts.
The value of this jade token definitely far surpassed that of the previous 21 jade tokens.
Having understood this, everyone turned to the old man on the stage to see how he would choose.
If he were to reject this as well, then no one here would probably be able to produce a treasure to his liking.
“This…”
The old man also clearly didn’t expect the person from the suite to take out such a valuable object. Hesitation clearly surfaced on his expression, and after a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, “Alright, I’ll agree to the trade!”
“He agreed to the trade?”
“Well, I can’t imagine him doing otherwise…”
Hearing that the other party had agreed to it, even though the crowd was a little disappointed, they knew that the value of this jade token was simply too great for anyone to resist.
“This is more like it…”
The young man from Suite 23 chuckled lightly upon hearing the old man agree to it.
He had even gone to the extent of taking out this treasure. If the other party still continued to turn him down, there would be nothing else he could do.
Just as he was preparing to go down and conduct the trade with the old man, a nonchalant voice suddenly sounded from Suite 1.
“There’s no need to rush into an agreement, I haven’t made my offer yet!”
“You? Do you think that you can produce something even more valuable than my Tutelage Jade Token?”
The young man stood up in displeasure.
“I can’t say for sure whether the thing I can offer is of greater value because my offer is only a single sentence…”
A calm voice sounded, “I can help you… get it out!”
“What did you say?”
Hearing those words, the old man standing on the stage suddenly froze and his face paled. Then, he began to tremble non-stop.
It’s not that clear in English but the phrase that Zhang Xuan used can both be innocent or is an innuendo. It isn’t necessarily an innuendo but it can be interpreted as such.
