God of Thunder Book 9 - Chapter 1 – Ban

The people in the underground trade gathering quickly dispersed to the sides. Every one of them are practitioners with at least three or four Rings. They’re used to fights breaking out, so it was instinctive by that point to run when there’s trouble, to avoid being drawn in.
After the huge sound and shockwave, they saw two people staring each other down, but neither continued to fight.
Lei Xinfeng was curious. “Those two are so brave. Are there any powerful people here to guard?”
Xin Zhaolun laughed. “Look at them closely.”
Lei Xinfeng then noticed that something was wrong. Those two were sealed by a power he doesn’t recognize. At first glance, there was nothing wrong with the two of them, but upon a closer view, he could see that they couldn’t move a single muscle.
It was because they weren’t moving that Lei Xinfeng realized something was wrong. After a single blow exchanged, the strange binding power immediately sealed their movements.
“Who did that?” he asked.
“Nobody,” Xin Zhaolun replied. “It was an automatic response by a ban some Monarch set up. No matter who fights in here, even me, their movements will be sealed.”
“And after they’re sealed…who deals with them?”
Xin Zhaolun laughed. “Nobody. But if they want to escape, they will take at least two days and nights.
“That’s a pretty cruel punishment. Ah, what kind of skill is that? The ban.”
“I don’t know either, except that only Monarchs and above can grasp it. It comes from another continent, not from us.”
A skill that only Monarchs can use. Although he didn’t know what to make of it, Lei Xinfeng still had another question. “What if they decide to fight again the moment they escape the bind?” he asked.
“They won’t. If they do, then they can still only make one attack, and they will be sealed for another two days. They’re probably smart enough that only one punishment is sufficient.”
“It seems that because it’s their first time here, they don’t know all the mysteries here.”
In the meantimes, Miaolin was staring at the two of them. “Little Lin, don’t stare at them. You’ll make them mad,” Xin Zhaolun said.
“Who cares! It’s not like they can move even if they’re mad.”
“It’s not like they’re stuck there forever. If you make them mad, they can still make trouble for you outside.”
Miaolin stuck out her tongue at him and spun behind Hongjie, hanging onto her arm. “Hongjie, you’ll protect me, won’t you?” she asked, whispering.
Hongjie sighed and peeled her off. “Alright, alright, don’t act so spoiled. You’re already this age, yet you still act like a child that won’t grow up,” she scolded jokingly.
After going a circle around the gathering, Lei Xinfeng didn’t see anything that he wanted to trade. It was a bit disappointing. “There’s nothing here,” he said to Xin Zhaolun.
“Well, you’d have to get lucky. There will be more people coming, so just wait a while.”
“Hm, alright. I’ll go around again,” he said. Fengying and Shihu followed him. Miaolin had Hongjie, and they went off to a side, chattering. Xin Zhaolun also went off with Xiao Diya.
The people who had something they wanted to trade all sat on a spread beast skin with wares stacked up atop it. There are many kinds of materials with many that Lei Xinfeng didn’t recognize. It was fortunate he had Fengying and Shihu with him; their knowledge was admirable and they could identify the majority of the items Lei Xinfeng couldn’t recognize between the two of them.
After another circle, they met up with Xin Zhaolun again. “Did you find anything you want?” Xin Zhaolun asked.
“No, there wasn’t anything special,” Lei Xinfeng admitted, smiling bitterly.
“Then you should head that way. There’s something quite interesting,” Xin Zhaolun said.
“What is it?”
“Meat of the Ice Beasts here. They probably just finished a hunt.”
Lei Xinfeng listened, and lost interest. “I have lots of meat. I don’t need anymore.”
Xin Zhaolun laughed. “This meat is different. It will raise your resistance to the cold if you eat it.”
“Oh, that’s not bad. Alright, we’ll go trade some. Also, is it expensive?” Lei Xinfeng asked. He had no idea how expensive something was around here.
“You can trade it with other kinds of food.”
Lei Xinfeng followed Xin Zhaolun to a stall. There was a few chunks of white colored meat on the pelts, with a chunk weighs around one jin. “How much is it?” Lei Xinfeng asked.
The owner of the stall was a Sage with eight Ring Bodies. He scanned Lei Xinfeng and said, “There’s plenty of it here. No matter how much you want, I will have it. You can trade for it with flour, rice, or other kinds of food. One jin for one jin.”
“One for one? I want at least two for every jin I give you,” Lei Xinfeng countered.
“Sure. At least one thousand jin. We lack food.”
Lei Xinfeng almost shook his head. The owner of the stall was too honest; he even let leak that they lacked food. He didn’t take the effort to negotiate a decent price for himself either. Lei Xinfeng brought a lot of food too, so he thought it was worth it to trade it for some Ice Beast meat from here.
A thousand jin of rations for two thousand jin of Ice Beast meat — the transaction concluded quickly. Just by touching, they could instantly transfer the proper amount between their Hidden Wheel spaces.
The man looked very satisfied with his trade. “I also have some Ice Beast blood. How about it? I’d prefer dried vegetables, jin for jin.”
The blood was blue, congealed into ice. A fist sized chunk weighed one jin. Xin Zhaolun pitched in his opinion. “Not bad. The blood is very flavorful, and can be used as seasoning. It’s a speciality here.”
As a result, Lei Xinfeng used dried mushrooms to trade for another several thousand jin of blood. The transaction concluded with both of them happy, and the other person even introduced himself.
“I am Chenwu, eight Ring Bodies. If you ever need Ice Beast blood or meat, come find me.”
Lei Feng’s group introduced themselves in turn, and then bid each other farewell.
For the past three days, Lei Xinfeng and his group all wandered around, sometimes trading. The problem was that there wasn’t many especially valuable or rare materials for them to trade up until the fourth day, when Lei Xinfeng, Fengying, Xin Zhaolun, and Jin Daya came back to the trade gathering. Miaolin stopped coming on the second day, always huddled in her room cultivating. It was cold outside, and she was unwilling to walk even ten minutes in the freezing weather.
After they came to the gathering, Xin Zhaolun turned and said, “There’s a small auction today. The only attendees are Ninth Ring Sages. Of course, I can bring one person, and so can Daya. That way, all four of us can enter.”
“I heard there’s going to be a few Monarchs?” Jin Daya asked.
“Yeah. Maybe you can trade for quite a few Yin Rings,” Xin Zhaolun said.
Jin Daya was relying entirely on Yin Rings to extend his life. To him, there was no treasure or material more valuable than Yin Rings.
There was no way that he will ever pass up a chance to attend an auction with Monarchs present. Only Monarchs can create Yin Rings, and Monarchs are rarely seen.
When Lei Xinfeng entered the auction house, he can’t help but be slightly disappointed. It wasn’t like any auction house he’d ever imagined. There wasn’t an auctioneer, or someone managing the items to sell. As long as someone had something to sell, then they can go up on stage to display it and state a price. If someone in the audience agreed, then the sale was a success.
Of course, trading for only Yin Rings was a valid decision. It just wasn’t common, as the norm was trading item for item. Yin Rings were more common here because of the presence of Monarchs.
Lei Xinfeng already decided that he would trade a little of his Purple Crystal for Yin Rings, and then trade those Yin Rings for items he fancied.
The auction house wasn’t a very large room. There was a small stage in the center while stools were scattered everywhere else. People who came in simply sat where they wish. Lei Xinfeng and his group found a spot near a corner and sat there, waiting quietly for the auction to start.
Soon, an old man appeared and stood onto the stage, speaking softly. “We’ll used the old rules. If there’s someone who wants to display any items, just stand forward. Of course, don’t bring any trash items. Does anyone understand? Yes? Then let’s start.” He turned and left.
“That’s it?” Lei Xinfeng asked, shocked at the simplicity.
“What did you expect?” was the answer he got from Xin Zhaolun.
There was roughly forty people in the room, with almost thirty of them Ninth Ring Sages because most of them didn’t bring people with them. There are also Monarchs present, but no one can tell which one is a Monarch; all of them were quietly mixed among the other people.
A middle aged woman walked up. “I’ll start then. Meiyi, Ninth Ring Sage.”
She put a material the size of a fist on the stand. “Linsi brightstone. A total of seventy two pieces, all around this size. I don’t want to trade for anything else; I only take Yin Rings. The top bidder can have it!” She then fell silent.
Lei Xinfeng watched, and commented quietly to his group. “Whoa. She’s so directly. No introduce, no applause, no nothing. This is rather interesting.”
Someone called out, “I’ll trade Ou Gold for it, one for one!”
Meiyi scowled. “I have no interest in Ou Gold.”
That person smiled bitterly. “Then one Yin Ring for two Linsi brightstones.”
Meiyi’s scowl deepened. “The price is too low!”
Lei Xinfeng rubbed his forehead. This kind of auctioning simply doesn’t generate enough excitement to produce the required competition.
As he expected, there was no further bids. Meiyi sighed and shook her head. “If it was one for one, then we can still negotiate, but never mind. Never mind this time.” She put away the brightstone and left the stage.
Lei Xinfeng stared. “Even though there was already a bid, she can still take back the item without selling? What kind of auction is this?”
Xin Zhaolun looked at him strangely. “That’s how auctioning works. What’d you think?”
You know, I feel kind of sorry for those that hit their limits of cultivation. They have to rely on Yin Rings to extend their life.
Also, this author has terrible naming sense for chapters. The ban was relevant for like the first half of the chapter and disappeared, never to be seen again.
Thanks for reading!