Chapter 31: Another Windfall

Two pills were exchanged for 1.6 million silver coins. After the Windward Trading Firm took its commission, Wu Tian received 1.5 million. For the first time, Wu Tian had a bit of money, no longer as destitute as before.

Hu, the patron, and the Windward Trading Firm behind him were very satisfied with the current situation. Although Wu Tian’s pills were indeed rare in the world, the auction price of 1.6 million was unheard of, and only someone as reckless as Nie Huixiang would bid so high. In fact, the Windward Trading Firm auctioned Wu Tian’s pills mainly to build momentum, to show that they had a master alchemist in residence. Clearly, their goal had been achieved.

“Well then, the first item has been auctioned. Next is the second—an earth-grade cultivation manual suitable for women, ‘Mystic Maiden Divine Art.’ The starting price is fifty thousand, and each bid must increase by at least ten thousand.”

A servant girl carried the manual out, and the bidders below began to compete. An earth-grade mid-level manual was good, but since it was only suitable for women, its value was greatly diminished, and the bidding was lukewarm. When the price reached one hundred thousand silver, it stalled.

Bored, Wu Tian used the system to appraise the ‘Mystic Maiden Divine Art.’

Ding!

“Mystic Maiden Divine Art: earth-grade mid-level manual. Hidden within is a divine skill suitable only for women—‘Invisibility.’”

Hearing the system’s prompt, Wu Tian perked up. “An earth-grade manual with a hidden divine skill, ‘Invisibility’! Incredible! This divine skill alone is worth far more than one hundred thousand. Apparently, no one has discovered the invisibility skill. Ha! I’ve struck gold!”

Thinking this, Wu Tian raised his hand and called, “One hundred and ten thousand.”

Everyone turned to look in Wu Tian’s direction, their eyes filled with amusement.

“Who is this guy? No one wants to bid anymore, yet he keeps raising the price. Must be rich and feverish.”

“So what if he’s rich? This earth-grade manual is already at its limit.”

“One hundred and ten thousand is a loss. It’s only for women—the range is too small.”

Everyone thought Wu Tian was overspending, and discussed it below. No one else bid, and Wu Tian won the ‘Mystic Maiden Divine Art’ for one hundred and ten thousand.

“A huge gain, buying a divine skill for one hundred and ten thousand. This skill is perfect for Xiao Hui’s self-protection,” Wu Tian thought happily, finally finding a manual suitable for Xiao Hui.

After obtaining the manual, Wu Tian used the system to inspect it.

“Player Wu Tian, would you like to unlock the hidden skill ‘Invisibility’ in Mystic Maiden Divine Art?”

“Unlock.”

Instantly, a red light flashed in Wu Tian’s hand, vanishing in a blink. Then, the system panel in his consciousness displayed the details of Invisibility.

Invisibility: Divine skill, suitable for women. Eight ranks in total. First rank allows invisibility after three seconds, lasting half a minute, with a cooldown of one hour.

“Divine indeed! Even the first rank allows half a minute of invisibility. Unless the opponent is overwhelmingly strong, it’s enough to escape without a trace. Pity it’s only for women, or I’d be tempted to learn it myself,” Wu Tian mused.

He then checked the system shop for the exchange value of ‘Invisibility’ and was startled—a single ‘Invisibility’ required five hundred exchange points, which was five hundred taels of black gold, equaling fifty thousand taels of gold, or five million taels of silver.

Exchanging one hundred and ten thousand silver for five million was a tremendous profit, though only Wu Tian knew it.

Contentedly, Wu Tian stowed the ‘Mystic Maiden Divine Art’ in his bag and continued watching the auction. The next few items were good, but he wasn’t interested.

The auction continued for a while, and Wu Tian, bored to the point of dozing, decided to leave early.

“Distinguished guests, the next item is a treasure map. We’ve had it authenticated—it’s a map to an ancient relic. According to the clues on the map, you can find treasures in the ruins of the ancient battlefield. As you know, treasures in such places are at least divine-grade…”

“Hu, stop bluffing! If the map was so amazing, why don’t you go find the treasure yourselves? Everyone knows such maps are ten out of ten fakes. Bringing it out for auction—just take it back!”

“Exactly, at most it’s an ordinary treasure map. How could it have divine treasures!”

“Ancient battlefield ruins? Ordinary people can’t even get close. Even if there are treasures, no one can get them. What use is a treasure map!”

“…"

The crowd expressed their disdain. Although everyone wanted treasures, the bidders were shrewd, and wouldn’t be fooled so easily.

“You may not know, but our Windward Trading Firm is good at business, not treasure hunting. So we’re looking for a fated owner for this map. It’s not expensive—the starting price is one hundred thousand silver, each bid no less than ten thousand!” Hu responded with a smile, unaffected.

“Your words are better than a song. Fine, one hundred thousand isn’t much—I’ll buy it for fun. One hundred thousand!”

“One hundred and ten thousand—no higher!”

The response was tepid, and the price stalled at one hundred and fifty thousand.

At that moment, Wu Tian stared at the treasure map on stage and used the system to scan it.

“What kind of treasure map is this?”

“According to system analysis, this is indeed a map to the ruins of the ancient battlefield. It contains a divine seal. Unlocking the seal will reveal clues to divine or higher treasures, but with the player’s current cultivation, it cannot be unlocked.”

“Damn! It really is a map to the ancient battlefield, with clues to treasures above divine grade. Tsk tsk… I must buy this. Even if I can’t unlock it now, I can do so later when I’m stronger,” Wu Tian thought, astonished by the system’s revelation.

“One hundred and sixty thousand!” Wu Tian called out, and with no further bids, he secured another bargain.

“Again, it’s Pavilion Six’s fool. Why does he bid on things no one wants? Is he too rich?”

“Those in the pavilions are wealthy and powerful—maybe he just likes to play, haha!”

“Can’t he buy it to use as a painting canvas?”

“…"

Once more, the crowd looked at Wu Tian’s pavilion as if watching a clown, dubbing him the king of fools who bought only worthless goods.

But what they didn’t know was that Wu Tian had truly struck it rich.

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