Chapter 829: Yuan Shi

The formcast models had no starting price, which was a decision that Lu Yin had personally made. 

The person who started the bidding directly opened with a bid that left many in despair: 30,000 star essence. This was ten times the price that average natural treasure had been sold for in the last auction. 

The Lu’s Grand Auction used star essence for their bids, and this was a house rule. 

Gerlaine was curious. “Star essence? What’s the exchange rate of that for star crystals?”

Lu Yin softly answered, “One to 100,000.” 

Gerlaine was struck speechless. “That much?”

Lu Yin nodded.

Gerlaine remained stunned for quite a while before finally managing to utter, “You’ve developed your looting into a civilized form. This is true quality.” 

This time, Lu Yin was the one left speechless. 

“Hahaha! Seventh Bro, this brat is right! An auction is basically just looting, but with class,” the Ghost Monkey commented with a laugh. 

Jeraldine was trying to restrain a smile. 

The bidding contest escalated quickly, and those who were bidding were basically all people with private rooms, and only Lu Yin knew who was in each room: Shamrock Enterprises, Mavis Bank, and other such well known powers all had representatives in the auction hall’s private rooms. There were also people from the Neo-Vestige Sect, guiding powers of the central Outerverse weaves, and even some people from the Wei family present. 

Not unexpectedly, the competition for the first formcast model ended up being mainly contested by the financial behemoths. The first formcast model was snatched by Shamrock Enterprises for an exorbitant price of 150,000 star essence. 

Lu Yin was excited. Even though he had already known that the formcast models would sell for steep prices, he had never thought that they would be bought for so much. 

However, with Shamrock Enterprises’ foundation, they should not be lacking for five-stage formcast models, which was strange. 

Within a private room of the auction, Xiao Qin was speaking to Shen Fu. “It’s been bought.”

“Good.”

“I don’t understand. You already have a five-stage formcast model, so why did we still buy this one for such a high price?” Xiao Qin was puzzled.

“Chairman Yu behaved quite tyrannically, and he offended the Great Eastern Alliance. Thus, we must now express our goodwill.” 

“Is this really necessary? With Chairman Yu around, our Shamrock Enterprises doesn’t have to lower our heads to anyone,” Xiao Qin asked. 

“Let’s discuss this another time. Besides, this bit of money isn’t much.”

…

Gerlaine was still fiddling with her fingers and trying to understand how much 150,000 star essence was worth. She knew that it was a lot, but she had no concept of exactly how much.

This was a question about one’s level. At her level, she still tended to use universal currency rather than star crystals. One star crystal could be exchanged for one million universal currency, which made Gerlaine’s calculations reach extremely exaggerated heights. It was quite natural that she could not really fathom the amounts being exchanged here. 

At Lu Yin’s level, he basically only used star essence anymore, so universal currency was basically trash to him. 

This was also why the Mavis Bank hung universal currency from the trees outside their branches and allowed the money to float down for people to simply pick up. When one’s level was different, one’s focus would also be different. 

Following the sale of the first item, the auction fell into a more typical pattern, as these next set of items were all goods that had been provided by others, and the auction only took a small commission from the sales. 

This included some items with unknown origins or even objects that were better off left hidden, but not a single item was left unsold. Quite a number of wealthy people had gathered to participate in the auction, and for some of them, money was nothing more than mere numbers. 

Moreover, the items put up for auction tended to be sold for no more than 1,000 star essence. Many of the attendees felt no motivation to bid on such items, as they had come only for the premium goods being sold by Lu Yin. 

Before long, the next featured item appeared, which was an arrow. This was one of three that Lu Yin had upgraded. 

Many people could use a weapon like the arrow, and the most famous was naturally Neo-Vestige Sect.

Back when Lu Yin had chosen three divine arrows on Arrow Mountain, he had sold several of them back to Neo-Vestige Sect for 20,000 star essence each. The three arrows that Lu Yin was selling here had all been upgraded to the point where they could pose a threat to Enlighters, which meant that they could also be technically considered divine arrows. 20,000 star essence was not excessive as a base price for such weapons. After all, this was an auction, and there were many wealthy people gathered. 

However, an arrow was still just a dead object. The people bidding were not able to see an object’s rune lines, so they could not really judge its quality. 

Lu Yin had thought that somebody would question the description put forth for the arrows, but as soon as the first one appeared, someone in a private room instantly bid 25,000 star essence. 

Lu Yin knew that the people in that room were from the Neo-Vestige Sect. While others might not be able to determine the quality of those arrows, these people definitely could. 

To the Neo-Vestige Sect, good arrows were of similar value as powerful battle techniques or arts. 

Most people would not bid on the arrows, but those who did would have an attitude that these arrows were must-have items, especially the Neo-Vestige Sect. Each time they placed a bid they raised the price by 5,000 star essence, until the price reached all the way to 45,000 star essence. 

This price was already extremely high. When Lu Yin had sold the divine arrows he had found on Arrow Mountain back to Neo-Vestige Sect, each one had only been sold for 20,000 star essence. 

Once the price reached such a high number, nobody else dared to continue competing with Neo-Vestige Sect, and the arrow was finally sold for 45,000 star essence. 

Lu Yin smiled. The final price was not bad, and he started considering whether, next time, he should upgrade and sell a whole batch of arrows to Neo-Vestige Sect wholesale, which would make him quite rich. Arrows were, after all, a neglected branch of weaponry for most of the universe.

After another round of items were sold, the second formcast model appeared. This time, the formcast model was sold for a high price of 120,000 star essence, and the successful bidder was Amethyst Exchange. Only organizations at their level would be willing to buy a formcast model for such prices, as they had money but no super powerhouse who was able to produce such formcast models. 

Gerlaine stared on in wonder as the auction unfolded, dumbfounded at everything that she witnessed. Every item sold here had been bought for a price that was simply impossible for her to gather herself. If these prices were converted into universal currency, then she wouldn’t even be able to move such an amount of money. 

Meanwhile, Jeraldine had a complex expression on her face, as this was clearly not the Great Yu Empire of the past. If any one of the people below had appeared in the Great Yu Empire of the past, then they would have been treated as honored guests with His Majesty personally entertaining them, and they would have been able to casually obtain all sorts of privileges. Now, these powerful people could only sit in a crowded room and angrily fight each other for the goods being sold off without even qualifying to enter one of the private rooms up above. 

This was the change that Lu Yin had brought about. This person, who had actually been struggling alongside her in life and death challenges more than seven years ago, was currently standing at the top of the universe. 

When the gun was introduced with a base price of 60,000, no introduction was even required, as some people in the private rooms had already begun bidding on it. 

A powerful gun was practically Lu Yin’s calling card. When he had killed Enlighters in the past, it had been with an abnormally powerful gun, and so, nobody doubted the power of this gun. 

There was absolutely no meaning to the base price, as the first bidder instantly bidded 100,000 star essence. This person was a complete stranger, and so, Lu Yin had Bei Qing check on the person’s background, only to unexpectedly discover that this man was from Millions City. 

Lu Yin first thought of the Zhu Family since the Zhu family’s ancestor, Zhu Tiezhu, had died during the Neohuman Alliance’s attack on Millions City. After this attack, Qiong Shanhai had become suspicious of the Zhu family, resulting in the Zhu family’s recent days not being very pleasant. Although they still had their money, they no longer had the strength to protect themselves. Due to the tremendous pressure they must be facing from the Qiong family, the Zhu family would naturally want to buy something to protect themselves with. 

Various powers started fighting over the gun, especially those that were more focused on technological research, as they wanted to buy it for its experimental value. 

However, in the end, the gun was nonetheless bought by the Zhu family, and it was sold for 220,000 star essence. 

This price far exceeded Lu Yin’s expectations. He had not imagined that the gun would sell for such an astronomical price, and he could only say that the Zhu family was indeed very nervous. 

220,000 star essence was an exorbitant amount to a great portion of Outerverse powers, and everyone started guessing what the background of the person who had just spent such a sum could be.

***

Time quickly passed, and at the same time that Lu Yin was watching the auction, Elder Lohar left Ironblood Weave and traveled to a desolate area of the universe. At a glance, this region was filled with chaotic stars, meteorites, fragments of shattered planets, and all sorts of space junk. 

This place was like an astral cemetery, and occasionally, strange cosmic phenomena would sweep through and envelop the entire area. 

Upon arriving, even Elder Lohar would need to proceed carefully. 

“Junior Lohar requests to meet Teacher.” His voice reverberated and spread into the depths of the universe. 

Before much time passed, an ancient voice called out, “What’s the matter?”

This voice sounded somewhat illusory, and it was impossible to determine where it came from, but the moment he heard it, Elder Lohar felt as if his entire body had been exposed to an indescribable terror. Additionally, this entire region of the universe changed the moment the voice sounded out, and the strange cosmic phenomena also vanished. 

As these words were uttered, the entire local space responded to the voice, and nothing dared to create the slightest disturbance. 

“Teacher, the Sixth Mainland may pass through the Technocracy to invade the Outerverse. I request that Teacher please investigate,” Elder Lohar spoke in a reverent tone as he bowed deeply with an expression of terror on his face. 

The entire area of the universe suddenly trembled, and Elder Lohar’s heart skipped a beat. The next moment, the feeling of being exposed to extreme terror vanished. His teacher had left. 

The Hall of Honor was the strongest power in the entire Human Domain, and it had an immeasurable background. How could the Outerverse be overseen by just Elder Lohar alone? 

Elder Lohar was the person operating in the open, while the true hidden powerhouse had been remaining hidden in this place. 

On Zenyu Star, the auction ended, and Lu Yin was ecstatic at the results. He even gave Gerlaine and Jeraldine ten star essence each at the end. 

Ten star essence was the same as a million star energy crystals, which was an astronomical sum to them. However, to Lu Yin, this tiny bit of money didn’t really matter.  

During this auction, just the featured items that Lu Yin had put up for sale had sold for 765,000 star essence, and he was rich again. This was not even counting all the commissions that he had made off of the other auctioned items. 

His wealth had again risen above two million star essence, and he felt like he could compete with Yuehua Mavis in terms of wealth. 

When all of his profits were gathered together, Lu Yin felt his spirits soar, and he felt as though he was standing at the top of the universe. 

The only part that left him dissatisfied was the matter concerning the latter two arrows, which had also been picked up by the Neo-Vestige Sect. However, they were only sold for 30,000 star essence each. The rest of the attendees had realized that the Neo-Vestige Sect was determined to obtain all of the arrows, and no one had any intention of competing against such a powerful organization. Thus, the Neo-Vestige Sect had been able to grab the other two arrows for a relatively low price. 

Them getting the arrows for cheap meant that Lu Yin was losing out on money, which made him uncomfortable. He decided to not sell any arrows he upgraded in this manner in the future. Rather, he would instead conduct a bulk trade. He planned on upgrading dozens of arrows in one shot and then selling them all to the Neo-Vestige Sect. This would allow him to sell his arrows more efficiently while also making himself look more impressive. 

Although the auction had already ended, it had given the rest of the Outerverse a great deal to gossip about, especially about the person who had bought the gun. He had ended up being ambushed in an attempted robbery, but with a single shot from the gun, he had blasted away a Hunter whose power level was actually above 200,000. At least, that was what the rumors said. This astonished many people, and this botched mugging attempt also made many people feel extremely excited, as this had verified the items sold in the Lu’s Grand Auction as authentic. 

On Zenyu Star, the branch manager of Mavis Bank was quite upset. Every time the Lu’s Grand Auction organized an auction with their featured goods, the branch’s star essence reserves would be completely depleted. He had already concentrated all of the star essence in all of the Mavis Bank branches in the Great Eastern Alliance’s territory into his branch, but it was still not enough to keep up with the rate of depletion. 

If the Outerverse were not currently isolated from the Innerverse, then some random, one-off auction of exceptional items would never be able to deplete the bank’s reserves. In fact, he wouldn’t care even if such an auction was held on a daily basis. 

However, the Outerverse only had so much star essence, and even the Mavis Bank’s reserves did not have much left. He hurriedly reported to his superiors so that the upper management could think of a way forward. Perhaps they could negotiate with the Lu’s Grand Auction and have them allow star crystals to be used in the auctions.

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