Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Yang Kai’s reactions weren’t missed by Yang Yan and, seeing that he seemed somewhat interested in this Spirit Storage Bead, she smiled and said, “Although this thing is indeed a good treasure, it has a number of limitations to it, so you don’t have to feel bad about missing it.”

“Oh? What kind of limits?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.

“Hmph, although this is no doubt a good thing, no matter how Nephew Ren promotes it, this bead must have some kind of limits to its use, correct? Why don’t you explain about it clearly!” Before Yang Yan could answer Yang Kai’s question, a majestic voice from one of the other private rooms echoed loudly.

[It seemed Yang Yan is not the only one who knows about this Spirit Storage Bead,] Yang Kai mused to himself.

Ren Tian Rui looked over towards where the voice came from and smiled slightly, cupping his fists as he said, “So it is Thunder Typhoon Sect’s Senior Cheng. Senior’s vision is indeed profound. Although this Spirit Storage Bead is very convenient to use, it does have some limitations. Even if Senior Cheng had not brought this up, Junior would have properly explained so these friends would properly understand the value of the item they were bidding on. After all, this Ren must uphold the reputation of Treasure Trove Pavilion.”

Hearing this, the cultivator surnamed Cheng snorted dismissively. Whether he believed Ren Tian Rui’s words or not, only the Heavens knew.

Many people secretly suspected that Ren Tian Rui would not have said anything about this Spirit Storage Bead’s limitations if no one had questioned it. At most, after the auction was over, he would quietly inform the new owner of this Spirit Storage Bead as a minimum courtesy.

This wasn’t the first time Treasure Trove Pavilion had done something like this.

“Who was that?” Yang Kai asked Qing’er as he gazed in the direction of the previous voice.

Although Qing’er’s cultivation was not high, she was born and raised on Shadowed Star so she naturally would have some idea about this speaker’s identity. After hearing Yang Kai’s inquiry, the young girl’s eyes flashed with slight surprise, seemingly puzzled about why Yang Kai would ask her this, but she still replied quickly, “If Junior is not mistaken, this should be Senior Cheng Peng Xuan of the Thunder Typhoon Sect. After all, in the Thunder Typhoon Sect, he is the only master surnamed Cheng.”

Yang Kai gently nodded, satisfied with her answer.

At the same time, Ren Tian Rui had begun explaining the restrictions on the use of the Spirit Storage Bead.

The story was not too disappointing. It seemed this Spirit Storage Bead had inadvertently been acquired by a small declining family and sold to Treasure Trove Pavilion. According to the one who sold it, this Spirit Storage Bead had a limited capacity to store Saint Qi, roughly equivalent to the total amount an average Third-Order Saint King could hold in their body.

In other words, it could not accept any more Saint Qi beyond what a Third-Order Saint King cultivator could hold; once it did, it would simply leak that energy into its surroundings.

This was not a major problem though. For Saint King Realm cultivators, this was not even a restriction at all. As for Origin Realm cultivators, as long as they paid attention to this storage limit, and didn’t pour too much Saint Qi into it, this Spirit Storage Bead could still play a useful role.

What it really meant was that, in a moment of crisis, an Origin Realm master would not be able to use this thing to completely restore their Saint Qi reserves.

Overall, this limitation was harmless.

However, the second limitation greatly diminished the value of this Spirit Storage Bead.

This was an artifact that stemmed from ancient times and had already been used many times. According to what the previous owner of this Spirit Storage Bead told Treasure Trove Pavilion, this bead could only be used five more times at most before too much damage was done to it and it became useless.

Hearing this, the heat in the eyes of many cultivators immediately cooled. Although five uses was not an insignificant amount, spending a lot of Saint Crystals on something which was not helpful for improving one’s fundamental strength wasn’t worth it.

“Besides these two limitations, there is nothing else one needs to concern themselves over with this bead,” Ren Tian Rui didn’t seem to care about whether this item sold for a high price or not, continuing to smile as he said, “The starting price of this Spirit Storage Bead is 500,000 Saint Crystals and each new bid must increase the price by no less than 10,000. Everyone, please!”

In fact, such a starting price was not remarkably high considering the purpose and value of this Spirit Storage Bead; after all, as the first item to be auctioned, Treasure Trove Pavilion intended for it to generate some excitement.

However, half a million Saint Crystals instantly precluded about ninety percent of the cultivators in the hall from bidding.

A Saint King Grade High-Rank artifact normally sold for about 300,000, so with this bead’s reserve price being 500,000, even if some technically had enough Saint Crystals to purchase it, most could not afford to.

Of course, this was not the case for everyone. Since they had come to attend this auction, these people had gathered enough Saint Crystals for their own use, so immediately after Ren Tian Rui’s voice fell, someone bid the base price.

Swiftly, more voices rang out throughout the hall.

Each price increase was modest, but with gathering momentum, in less time than it would take to make a cup of tea, this Spirit Storage Bead had already risen in price to 820,000 Saint Crystals.

By this time, the competing bids inside the auction hall had become somewhat sparse, with only two or three people still raising the price.

“This old master bids one million!” The booming voice of Cheng Peng Xuan suddenly called out from Thunder Typhoon Sect’s private room.

When Ren Tian Rui heard this voice as he stood atop the centre platform, he just smiled lightly, not showing the slightest surprise. It would be strange if those from the great Sects did not participate in this competition.

The few cultivators who were sitting in the main hall bidding on this item heard this and all wore dark expressions before letting out deep sighs. Since someone from Thunder Typhoon Sect had made a bid, they no longer had any hope of obtaining this Spirit Storage Bead. One by one, these cultivators silently cursed Cheng Peng Xuan for not speaking up sooner. If they had known he would bid for this item, why would they have futilely plowed the air all this time?

[Such awful luck!] Each of them grumbled to themselves.

“Haha, Old Ghost, you’ve already reached the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, why would you want this Spirit Storage Bead? Did you feel like brazenly competing with these Juniors?” Another voice suddenly laughed and called out from a different private room, a thick meaning of sarcasm and taunting apparent in its tone.

“Hmph, this old master may not need it, but can he not give it to the disciples of his Sect?” Cheng Peng Xuan coldly snorted, “Aren’t your words a bit misplaced, Brother Mo? Since this is an auction, this old master making a bid is perfectly reasonable, how is that in any way brazenly competing with these Juniors?”

“En, en, what Brother Cheng says makes sense!” The person man from the other private box replied carefreely before slowly adding, “Good, then this Mo will also join in the fun. We cannot have Brother Cheng enjoying the spotlight all on his own. 1.1 million!”

“Old Ghost Mo, do you know what you’re doing?” Cheng Peng Xuan called out in an unhappy voice, “1.2 million!”

“Brother Cheng just said that this was an auction, so naturally the highest bidder will win, 1.5 million!”

“Good, then let’s see who will come out on top here, 2 million!”

…..

These two seemed to be old enemies and immediately took to fighting one another both verbally and financially, neither one of them willing to back down. As a result, the price of this Spirit Storage Bead had increased several fold in the blink of an eye, and judging from the ongoing competition, it seemed like the final price was going to reach an outrageous number, causing all the cultivators in the hall to stare dumbfounded.

“Surnamed Mo?” In private room B-13, Yang Kai frowned as he glanced towards the private room which was competing with Cheng Peng Xuan.

“It should be Elder Mo Xiao Sheng of Heaven Battling Union!” Qing’er quickly explained.

Yang Kai gently nodded. This time, even if Qing’er had not explained, Yang Kai could have guessed the identity of this man because he had heard many others talk about Mo Xiao Sheng of Heaven Battling Union. Yang Kai himself had paid more attention to this person because, like him, Mo Xiao Sheng cultivated Space Force!

Even considering all of Shadowed Star, only Yang Kai and Mo Xiao Sheng studied this esoteric field, there was no third individual to be found.

Regarding the Dao of Space, Yang Kai was confident he was not inferior to this Mo Xiao Sheng. In fact, if it was just a contest of Space Force, Yang Kai estimated that he could easily crush the other party; after all, Yang Kai’s Space Blade was an incredibly lethal technique, one that not just anyone could understand.

However, this Mo Xiao Sheng had lived many more years than Yang Kai, so he may have his own unique comprehensions about the Dao of Space. Therefore, he should not be underestimated. If Yang Kai could find an opportunity to have an exchange with this Elder Mo, he might be able to obtain some positive results.

But that was clearly impossible. With Heaven Battling Union’s arrogant and aloof behaviour, if Yang Kai exposed his proficiency with Space Force, it would only bring him trouble.

So as quickly as Yang Kai had this thought, he also dismissed it.

Meanwhile, standing atop the high platform, Ren Tian Rui lightly fanned himself with his paper fan, a gentle smile adorning his face as he carefreely listened to the two Elders from these two great forces argue back and forth. Every time one of them spoke, it made Ren Tian Rui all the happier.

Heaven Battling Union and Thunder Typhoon Sect had always been somewhat incompatible, so this competition for the Spirit Storage Bead was not just a financial competition but also one for the face of their Sect. As such, neither of these two was willing to show weakness.

After an incense stick worth of time, Cheng Peng Xuan shouted a sky-high price of 10 million Saint Crystals, causing all the cultivators in the hall to audibly gasp.

In all fairness, the Spirit Storage Bead was an excellent treasure, but 10 million Saint Crystals had obviously far exceeded its true value. If Mo Xiao Sheng of Heaven Battling Union had not stepped forward to compete with Cheng Peng Xuan, the price would never have reached such an outrageous level.

By now, whether it was Cheng Peng Xuan or Mo Xiao Sheng, both were feeling quite annoyed. The two of them naturally knew that fighting like this would only result in Treasure Trove Pavilion profiting, but both were riding a tiger now with no way to vent their anger, so they could only choke down their bitterness and continue to bid.

10 million Saint Crystals was not a big deal for their respective Sects, but it was also not a figure to casually be wasted. This many Saint Crystals would be sufficient for several elite disciples to cultivate for a lifetime, but the Spirit Storage Bead could only be used by a single person a few times.

Both Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters ground their teeth while cursing at each other.

After the price reached 10 million, Heaven Battling Union remained silent. It seemed that Mo Xiao Sheng was weighing the gains and losses of continuing this struggle.

It was at that moment that another voice suddenly called out.

“Ten million ten thousand!”

In an instant, almost all eyes in the hall gathered on this new bidder and were shocked to discover that the one who had called such a grand price was not from any of the private rooms but was instead a young cultivator in the main hall.

This cultivator’s realm was not too high, just Third-Order Saint King Realm, and the clothes he wore were quite ordinary. This young man was the very definition of a generic Shadowed Star cultivator and from the fact that he was sitting in the main hall to participate in the auction, it was clear his background was not high.

Still, simply calling out such a price made many in the hall admire this young man’s guts and courage!

One had to know that the two who were competing fiercely just now were Elders of Thunder Typhoon Sect and Heaven Battling Union, two people no one wanted to offend, but now this young man had suddenly stepped in and outbid them.