"Two hundred and fifty thousand?" Zen slowly grew excited. Last time at the Blessed Auction House,
he had watched the heavenly essence get sold at a price of one hundred and twenty thousand. Did the
price double up this time because of Wurth's business acumen?
Wurth laughed and said, "Two hundred and eighty thousand!"
"That high?" At the figure, Zen's face showed gleeful surprise. How could the price of the same
heavenly essence shoot up to two hundred and eighty thousand this time? That was a large margin
compared to the one hundred and twenty thousand last time. For the life of him, Zen could not figure it
out.
"It went for a lot more than I expected. The auction turned out to be so competitive this time." Wurth
shook his head and locked his eyes on Zen. He went on with a smile, "You were in luck! Just happened
to sell the goods when two great clans were engaged in refining their fairy weapons!"
"Two great clans?" Zen was still at a loss.
The two great clans that Wurth just mentioned were the Yu and the Yun clans.
It was assumed that the two clans were trying to polish their fairy weapons, so as to convert the low-
grade ones into medium-grade.
From refining it to molding it into shape, each weapon had only one chance to get condensed. The
condensation directly determined its grade.
Zen could condense the Streamer Sword back then because Chase was unable to do it. He left the
chance to someone from later generations, who happened to be Zen.
When a weapon was already condensed and in shape, it could get difficult to upgrade it. One way was
to melt it down, which was basically starting over again. Another was to embed crystals into it so as to
enhance its power, but that enhancement was rather limited.
The last option was to infuse the heavenly essence into the weapon through secret means, upgrading it
forcefully.
But the heavenly essence was so rare that it was possible for it not to be available for several years in
a row. Plus, to make a low-grade fairy weapon into a medium-grade one, it normally required dozens, if
not over a hundred drops of the heavenly essence, and that still could not guarantee a successful
upgrade.
After so many decades, the Yu, as well as the Yun clan had in their possession three or so low-grade
fairy weapons, but neither of them had a medium-grade one. In fact, the remaining five of the top seven
noble clans owned one medium-grade fairy weapon each.
That was why the Yu and the Yun clan wanted the heavenly essence: to upgrade the weapons they
possessed!
Last time, fifty drops of heavenly essence were bought by the Huang clan. And this time, with the hype
surrounding the Blessed Auction House, how could the two noble clans miss out on the opportunity?
Since the start of the auction, the two families were hell bent on trying to outbid each other—raising the
price up to one hundred and thirty thousand cubic crystals, which immediately blocked outside bidders.
Next, the Yu clan and the Yun clan began to bid between themselves. They even sent their men to
each other's tables to offer some give-and-take conditions, persuading the other to give up the bid in
exchange for other monetary compensations and the like.
Unfortunately, the heavenly essence was too precious. Neither side was willing to let go of it. So, they
had to compete with each other head-on.
Consequently, the auction turned out way fiercer than the last one. The price did not stop soaring. It
finally went up to two hundred and eighty thousand cubic crystals. In the end, the heavenly essence fell
in the hands of the Yu clan.
As Zen listened to Wurth's account of the above, he imagined how hot and vehement the auction must
have been. He could even visualize the Yu clan bickering with the Yun clan, and if they had no scruples
about maintaining their images as noble clans, he was sure they would have come to blows.
Wurth took out a small card from his pocket. The card was fully transparent and gleamed with a hint of
green light. "Give me your token," he said to Zen. "After deducting the auction service charge, you're
left with two hundred and fifty-two thousand cubic crystals. I'll transfer them to your token."
The service charge of the Blessed Auction House was separate for different persons. For normal
people who wanted to auction off some items, the charge was twenty percent, or even thirty percent of
the sale. It was the largest source of profit for the Blessed Auction House. However, Wurth helped Zen
apply for the minimum charge, which only deducted ten percent of the sale.
Even though the charge was set at a ten percent rate, this single deal earned the Blessed Auction
House twenty-eight thousand cubic crystals!
The deal would go down as an outstanding record in Wurth's file. So in reality, Wurth should be the one
thanking Zen.
Zen took out his token from the space ring swiftly and tossed it at Wurth.
Wurth put the transparent green card and the token of the Blessed Draft Bank on each other. As
pneuma started to surge from his hands, the transparent card gradually began to melt, soon combining
into the token of the Blessed Draft Bank.
This transparent card was refined with the crystal core of a supernatural beast. It recorded the crystal
quantity of the Blessed Draft Bank and was encrypted with special measures of security, so it was
convenient and safe to use.
As the card enjoined into the token, the two hundred and fifty-two thousand cubic crystals worth of
balance was recorded onto it.
"It's done! This was a successful deal. But Zen, last time you said you were in possession of more
heavenly essence. Do you really have more..." Wurth asked his friend tentatively.
He knew Zen seldom lied. If Zen said he had some, it must be true. However, it was still rather difficult
to believe that someone could provide so much of heavenly essence at any given moment. Unless
Wurth saw it with his own eyes, he wouldn't be confident about it.
It would be great if Zen was truly in possession of it. Heavenly essence was the most elusive item in
the Burning Sky Empire. Wurth could sell for Zen as much as he had, but... Did Zen truly have more?
A mysterious smile played on the corners of Zen's mouth. After he put away the token of the Blessed
Draft Bank safely, he sidled Wurth into a secluded place and fished out a small bottle.
"Here are one hundred more drops of the heavenly essence. Whether it should be sold all at once or
twice in parts, is your call," Zen told him, chuckling lightly.
Wurth's eyes widened to two round saucers. "You do have more! And these are a hundred drops..."
Wurth was rendered utterly speechless. Truthfully, he started to suspect that the amount of heavenly
essence Zen actually had was far more than the one hundred drops he currently held in his
hand.
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