There were still five more days until the annual testing day so Mo Yin wasn't in a rush. There was actually an academy located right in the city that she was in right now. The academy's name was Five Year Institute. Like the name suggested, the time that students spend in the academy only amounts to five years. If within five years a student failed to meet with the standards of the academy, then they would be expelled. Not only would they be driven out of the academy, but they would also have to pay the academy back for the resources that they have used during the five years.
For the students that managed to meet with the standards, they would be sent on expeditions that could last anywhere from a year to a decade.
The difference between Meilleur Academy and Five Year Institute was their method of teaching their students. Meilleur Academy is hailed as one of the best academies in the world because it offers an extensive course on anything from ability theories to practical practices and strategic studies. Another reason why Meilleur Academy is so highly regarded is because of its deep roots and extensive wealth that comes from being a school with a long and rich history. All the resources that are provided to their students are top quality.
Five Year Institute, on the other hand, is also a school that has been around for a long time. However, compared to Meilleur Academy where accepted students were patiently groomed, the Five Year Insitute was much more unkind with their methods.
However, the majority of Five Year Institute's teacher was former students who have also attended the academy. This shows that the academy's teaching method does work and can produce strong enough people that are capable of guiding the next generation.
Although Five Year Institute's cutoff rate is high and less than ten percent of each class will pass, many people will still choose to enter the academy because making it through the five years at the academy proves that you are the cream of the crop.
Students of the Five Year Institute also have a high amount of freedom. This was one of the major reasons as to why Mo Yin had chosen this academy to enter.
As the annual testing day was going to be held in five days' time, the city was filled with people who came to either test out their abilities or to enter the academy or both.
Before Mo Yin enters the academy, she wants to establish some connection so that it would be easier for her to conduct her business in the future. The five day period before the annual testing day will be an extremely busy period for her.
"Miss Mo, you're just in time, the auction is just about to start. Allow me to lead you to your room." The attendant had been told by the higher-ups to keep an eye out for Mo Yin so he spotted her as soon as she had entered the building.
Earlier that morning, she had paid a visit to Emerald Corp. which is not only the largest auction house in the city but it also has several other chains at other locations in different cities. The little bird that she had gifted Shen Xiaotong was something that she had decided to make after giving it some thoughts.
First, it was because it would allow her to keep in touch with Shen Xiaotong but if it was just for the convince of communication then Mo Yin has a dozen other ways that are more discreet.
This morning when Shen Xiaotong had still been sleeping, she had gone out to the various market and shops that were in the city. After browsing through the markets, Mo Yin had a rough understanding of what the artifacts in this world were like.
In her world, artifacts were something that was highly sought after. Every cultivator more or less had some sort of life-saving artifact on them in case of emergencies. People of this world for whatever reason didn't place as much of an importance in artifacts. Instead, they leaned more towards potions or miracle herbs that can further strengthen their ability growth or provide aid to them in critical situations during battles.
The artifacts being sold in the markets only had elementary enchantments and attributes to it. It was like they were all made by novice craftsmen who had just started out. Mo Yin supposed it was only natural for the development of artifacts to be subpar since they weren't commonly used by people in this world. However, this was a point that she could exploit.
The little bird was something that she had chosen to make after some consideration. If she randomly made a couple of powerful artifacts and sold them on the market, Mo Yin had no doubt that it would be sold at a high price but at the same time, it would attract unsavory attention.
But in order to catch people's interest in the items that she was selling, it can't be too ordinary. The little bird was an artifact that she created herself a long time ago. Its main function was a messenger bird but it has an additional defensive enchantment with wind attribute inlaid in it. The design of the little bird was also unique. Outwardly it looked and behaved no differently from a live bird. The feeling of freshness it gives off added with its practicality made it a good choice for the market.
Ingenious but not dangerous was her best route of action for now.
"Miss Mo, this is your room. It has one of the best views to the stage and you can hear everything clearly. We hope that you are satisfied with the arrangement."
The attendant respectfully closed the door of the private room as he went out.
The private room had three walls while the fourth wall that faced the auction stage was made of transparent material. Mo Yin could look through it and see everything on the other side clearly but people on the outside wouldn't be able to see her. They would only be able to see a surface that had been tinted black.
In order to get a private room at Emerald Corp., you needed to be a VIP guest. To become a VIP guest there were three ways: status, money or great contribution to the auction house.
Mo Yin belonged to the third option.
She had made a total of five little birds one of which was given to Shen Xiaotong. The remaining four were given to Emerald Corp auction house to be auctioned off. Mo Yin chose to auction her items off rather than selling them at a store because her goal was one, to make money, but more importantly two, to advertise her items. She could borrow the prestige of a largescale auction house like Emerald Corp. to improve her own artifact's reputation. Also, the thrill of the auction house was like gambling to win treasures. It will leave a bigger impact on people if her items were won through an auction. Even for the people that didn't end up getting her item, they will still have an impression of them because of the bidding process.
The little birds were a fresh breath of air in the artifact market. It was certain that they would sell for a large amount of money. However, that wasn't the reason why Mo Yin could get a private room.
Emerald Corp. was a business and after seeing the four little birds, they expressed that they would like to form a long term partnership with her.
The higher-ups of the Emerald Corp. had hoped that if she creates any more items in the future, she will auction them off at their auction house.
Mo Yin didn't promise them that but they came to an agreement that she will only auction the little bird artifact at Emerald Corp. A contract was drawn up and signed and Mo Yin received a hefty pouch filled with their 'sincerity'.
She gave the pouch filled with sincerity to Shen XiaoSheng as she didn't need it.
The private room was also a way of showing goodwill towards her.
The private room was located on the floor above the auction stage, giving her a bird's-eye view of what was happening below.
The people sitting in the ordinary seats in front of the auction stage settled down according to the seat number that they have received while coming in. Mo Yin also settled down onto an armchair and waited for the auction to start.
Not long after, an auctioneer walked onto the stage and started the auction.
"Good day to our dear customers, I am your host for today." The host was a young man with a clear and articulate voice. He motioned his hand and a young lady wearing a white dress walked up to the stage while carrying a tray. On the tray were nine glass vials placed neatly in a three by three rows. Each row had a different corresponding color.
"This is the first item for today is a set of potions. Three stamina recovery potion, three speed boost potion, and three strength boost potion. All of them are high-rank grade five potions. The starting bid starts 1,000 small gold coins."
The auction starts with the items with the lowest price. For a normal scale auction house, just using silver coins would be considered luxurious but for Emerald Corp., anything that can't be sold for gold coins wouldn't even be considered at all. The auction house takes a cut of fifteen percent from the final price. One could imagine just how much they make from a single day.
Emerald Corp didn't lack money at all which is why they could afford to be so generous with Mo Yin.
"1,500!"
"1,700!"
"Anyone else wants to bid? 1,700 going once, 1,700 going twice." Seeing that no one else spoke up to bid, the auctioneer concluded the first bid.
"The sets of three potions goes to Seat 23. Congratulations. Please go the backstage pay for your items once the auction is over."
The young lady carrying the tray of potion vials walked off the stage. The next item was quickly brought up.
"Here we have a set of martial skill that focuses on fast and quick footwork. This set of martial skill is especially compatible with people who had an ability that is deeply sensitive to nature such as plant or earth ability users. The price starts at 1,200."
There weren't as many people bidding for the second item but for those who did have an ability that was compatible with this set of martial art, they bid one after another in an attempt to secure the final price.
Although the previous potions were precious, it only had a temporary effect and was a one-use item. However, a set of martial skill was different, it can permanently increase their own skill.
"1,500!"
"1,800."
"2,100."
The price eventually increased to 2,400 which made most of the competitors give up. In the end, there were only two people left. One was Seat 16 who was a middle-aged man with a stern expression and the other was Seat 57 who was a delicate-looking woman.
Seat 16 raised his hand and increased the price by 300 small gold coins, "2,400."
The delicate-looking woman from Seat 57 also increased the price.
"2,700."
"2,800."
"3,000."
The two duked it out for a while and when the price had reached 3,500 small gold coins, the middle-aged man from Seat 16 finally hesitated.
The middle-aged man revealed a helpless look towards the delicate-looking woman at Seat 57.
"Say, can't you just give this old man some face and let me have it?"
From the way that Seat 16 talks, he seems to be familiar with the delicate-looking woman at Seat 57. Although he was losing, the middle-aged man didn't seem to be mad and was only half-serious when he asked this.
The delicate woman at Seat 57 grinned, "Nope."
She then increased the price by another three hundred small gold coins.