Chapter 345 - Moonlight Metal Ore

"I'm sorry, Grandmaster Tiequan," Young Master Xuan Hao said with a tinge of guilt. "I just can't bring myself to stand by and watch."

Grandmaster Tiequan let out a helpless sigh.

He had guessed as much.

The person who just made a bid was none other than Young Master Xuan Hao.

In his eyes, Young Master Xuan Hao might be a talented youngster, but he was far too inexperienced when it came to the affairs of the world. It was fortunate that he had yet to run into any serious trouble after coming out to adventure on his own.

Regardless, he was still considered an outsider.

He had already given Young Master Xuan Hao whatever advice he could. Since the latter refused to listen, so be it then.

[Bidding Card #146: Twelve mid ranked beast cores]

Young Master Xuan Hao frowned.

It seemed like Grandmaster Weiwo was not intending to give up just yet.

[Bidding Card #4132: Thirteen mid ranked beast cores]

[Bidding Card #146: Fourteen mid ranked beast cores]

[Bidding Card #4132: Fifteen mid ranked beast cores]

...

Lu Tianzi shook his head in disapproval.

He agreed with Grandmaster Tiequan's point of view.

Then again, Lu Tianzi's personality was completely different from that of Young Master Xuan Hao, and he would not even consider helping the young girl.

Of course, that was unless doing so would not cost him anything, or if it would benefit himself in some other way.

[Bidding Card #4132: Twenty five mid ranked beast cores]

This time, there was no longer any action from Grandmaster Weiwo.

Sold!

Young Master Xuan Hao let out a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, it appeared that Grandmaster Weiwo did not place much emphasis on this one girl, and had given up earlier than Young Master Xuan Hao had expected.

Because of that, he still had sufficient resources left to at least try for other items.

The auction staff rolled the cage off stage after the bidding closed.

Unless specially requested, successfully bidded items would not be immediately sent over to the bidders for two reasons.

One reason was to help the bidders maintain their anonymity, though it did not apply to people like Grandmaster Tiequan who held a permanent bidding card number.

People like him already had a certain reputation in the city, and nobody would dare to eye their belongings anyway.

Another reason was to prevent inconveniencing the bidder.

It was one thing for people who had their private rooms, but those seated among the crowds might find it troublesome to tend to bulky items, especially if these items were not suited to be stored away in spatial rings.

The auction continued.

One by one, all sorts of rare items were revealed on stage.

There were raw materials, weapons, armour, accessories, beasts, technique manuals, treasure maps, and all sorts of other items.

It was a true eye opener for Lu Tianzi, who listened intently as Juekang patiently introduced each of these items.

The young host tempted the hearts of the guests by making every auctioned item sound like they were one-in-a-million. Under his facilitation, not a single one ended up being sold for less than twenty mid ranked beast cores.

"This is a Moonlight Metal Ore. I think most people present would not need much explanation for this. Just like its name suggests, it is a precious raw material capable of harnessing the power of the moon, perfect for making equipment or accessories of the Yin attribute. Not just that, its durability far surpasses that of most other metals, making it an even better choice as a main material for weapon forging. Of course, the Sacred Lotus Treasury runs an upright business will not scam our guests here. While telling you of an item's strengths, we will also let you know its weaknesses. Because of its durability, only the top artificers or smiths are capable of using the Moonlight Metal Ore to forge an equipment, so please do not complain if you fail to do so in the future."

Just like before, Juekang's soothing voice incited the ancitipation within everyone's hearts while he pulled off the curtain that covered the current item on stage.

In stark contrast to how precious Juekang made it out to be, the Moonlight Metal Ore looked rather unimpressive.

This piece of Moonlight Metal Ore was around the size of a person, and was dull grey in colour with rough edges all over. One could not feel any energy undulations from it whatsoever.

Even so, looks of excitement immediately appeared on the faces of the crowds.

Regardless of its lackl.u.s.tre appearance, it was obvious just how much they valued the Moonlight Metal Ore.

"Moonlight Metal Ore... this is quite a rare material," Grandmaster Tiequan grinned.

As a Grandmaster Artificer, his standards were far above most others, and this was the first item today that was able to catch his interest.

"Is Grandmaster Tiequan planning to bid for this?" Young Master Xuan Hao asked.

"That will depend on the price," Grandmaster Tiequan replied vaguely. "The size of the ore is decent, so many others will definitely be interested in it as well, especially that Weiwo. The Moonlight Metal Ore is perfect for what he is planning to forge."

"The starting bid price is fifty mid ranked beast cores, and each raise has to be by at least five mid ranked beast cores," Juekang announced.

[Bidding Card #2315: Sixty mid ranked beast cores]

[Bidding Card #12143: Seventy mid ranked beast cores]

[Bidding Card #28: Seventy-five mid ranked beast cores]

...

Right after Juekang mentioned the starting price, bids started to come in without pause.

Before a minute had passed, the price had already tripled, and was well past a hundred and fifty mid ranked beast cores. At this point, the rate at which the bids came in finally started showing signs of slowing down.

Even so, this easily made it the highest priced item up till now.

"A hundred and fifty mid ranked beast cores!" Ruan Ling exclaimed in astonishment. "Just how high will this go?"

"How extravagant..." Young Master Xuan Hao was in disbelief as well.

To think that a mere metal ore could fetch such a high price. Just what kind of incredible equipment could be made from it?

"Hahaha! You younglings don't know anything. Two hundred mid ranked beast cores is about the right price for it," Grandmaster Tiequan laughed. "After all, the Moonlight Metal Ore is a precious raw material that can be used to make equipment at the very peak of the Origin Core realm. An ore of such size could even be used to make a few pieces of equipment!"

His words shocked the rest of the people in the room.

Peak Origin Core rank treasure!

The Thunderfire Armour sold at the very beginning of the Sacred Lotus Auction was also a Peak Origin Core rank treasure, and it had been sold for eighty mid ranked beast cores.

If this piece of metal core could really be used to make several of such high grade items, then it was understandable why Grandmaster Tiequan would value it at two hundred mid ranked beast cores.

The others in the auction hall who understood the value of the Moonlight Metal Ore continued bidding in excitement.

But at this moment, the most excited person in the entire auction hall was actually none other than Lu Tianzi.

He had found the Moonlight Metal Ore familiar the moment it was revealed on stage. After double checking, Lu Tianzi finally confirmed that he had this same Moonlight Metal Ore in his possession as well!

Back when he was still at the Scarlet Moon Kingdom, the Scarlet Moon Overlord had rewarded him for his contributions in the war against the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom.

Among these rewards was an orb-like object around the size of his torso, which his master Xihuang Yuanfeng had identified as a metal ore.

Lu Tianzi had always been trying to figure out the true identity of this metal ore since then, but who knew that he would learn of it in such an accidental manner?

Moonlight Metal Ore... something that could be made into a Peak Origin Core rank treasure. It seemed like the Scarlet Moon Overlord had been rather generous with him!

Of course, the piece of Moonlight Metal Ore in his possession was only around half the size of the one currently on stage, but that was good enough for Lu Tianzi.

While Lu Tianzi's thoughts started to wander, the bidding war in the Sacred Lotus Auction continued.

"As I thought, he is looking to create a set of Yin based equipment," Grandmaster Tiequan mused. "Even if not the entire set would be Yin based, there would at least be an equipment of the Yin attribute within."

Everyone else immediately understood who Grandmaster Tiequan was referring to.

Bidding card #146 had already made multiple bids by now, testament to how much Grandmaster Weiwo wanted the Moonlight Metal Ore.

"Is Grandmaster Tiequan not interested in the Moonlight Metal Ore?" Young Master Xuan Hao asked.

The price had already gone up to two hundred and ten mid ranked beast cores, slightly beyond the price that Grandmaster Tiequan had estimated it to be at, and he had still not made a single bid.

"Which artificer would not be interested in the Moonlight Metal Ore? It might be a challenge using it to forge equipment, but it is bound to produce a great product in the right hands. However, these people certainly do not look like they will be stopping anytime soon. Since I am in no urgent need for the Moonlight Metal Ore, I might as well sit out this time," Grandmaster Tiequan shook his head helplessly.

He might want the Moonlight Metal Ore, but others did as well. It was simply not worth competing for it with these many people.

His words immediately caught Lu Tianzi's attention.

"Does that mean that if I were to bring Senior a piece of Moonlight Metal Ore, Senior would be willing to forge an equipment for me?" Lu Tianzi asked.

"Hmm?" Grandmaster Tiequan looked at Lu Tianzi for a good two seconds before suddenly breaking out in laughter. "Hahaha! My apologies, kid, but I only make equipment for Overlords. It is not that I want to say this, but at your current cultivation level, you would never be able to effectively wield any equipment that I forge anyway. Of course, since you are a friend of Young Master Xuan Hao, I can task one of my best disciples to forge an equipment for you if you need one!"

As a Grandmaster Artificer, Grandmaster Tiequan had tons of people waiting in line for him to forge items for them.

Why would he waste his time forging an equipment for a mere Second Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist?

"Is that so?" Lu Tianzi let out a faint smile. "That is good enough. When I do get my hands on something like that, I would have to trouble Senior for the help then."

Lu Tianzi could obviously feel the condescendence in the other party's voice, but Lu Tianzi did not feel too offended.

He understood that he was only invited to this private room as a friend of Young Master Xuan Hao, and not because he had any real ties with Grandmaster Tiequan.

On top of that, it was true that his cultivation level was relatively low, so it was no wonder that Grandmaster Tiequan did not think much of him.

Lu Tianzi only thought that it was a shame.

If Grandmaster Tiequan had agreed, Lu Tianzi would have saved himself some time and effort, not having to look for another established artificer to handle his Moonlight Metal Ore.

As for leaving things to Grandmaster Tiequan's disciples, Lu Tianzi decided to put that thought aside for now.

After all, who knew how qualified they were in their field?

It would be a huge loss for Lu Tianzi if the Moonlight Metal Ore ended up being wasted in the hands of an inept artificer!

Just like how Lu Tianzi could feel Grandmaster Tiequan's condescendence, the latter could feel that Lu Tianzi was rather insincere in his reply as well.

However, Grandmaster Tiequan cared not about it.

In his eyes, Second Cycle Origin Core realm martial artists like Lu Tianzi were a dime a dozen.

If not for Young Master Xuan Hao, there was simply no need for him to associate with Lu Tianzi at all.

He simply turned his attention back to Juekang, who was just announcing the winning bid for the Moonlight Metal Ore.

"Sold!"

In the crystal above the stage, the winning bid could clearly be seen.

[Bidding Card #146: Two hundred and seventy-five mid ranked beast cores]

With a price five times the starting bid, Grandmaster Weiwo had successfully obtained the Moonlight Metal Ore.