Chapter 1635 – Auction of the Heavenly Fire Symbol
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"Big Brother Lin, you've put up all of the money you have… aren't you scared that fly won't follow you?"
Xiao Moxian asked Lin Ming with a true essence sound transmission. She knew that Lin Ming was trying to con Duke Fullmoon, but since Lin Ming had put forth such a high price now, she feared that Duke Fullmoon wouldn't follow up with another bid. If so, Lin Ming would have struck himself in the face!
Lin Ming laughed. "I really am a little scared, but Duke Fullmoon is too obsessed with winning that spear. He shouldn't be too fearful of following up. 2 billion, when compared to the 1.6 billion he was willing to pay before, is only 400 million more."
Lin Ming believed that since Duke Fullmoon was willing to shout out 1.6 billion to buy the Violet Gold Spear, then he should definitely have more than 1.6 billion in wealth. He definitely had the resources to follow up with 2 billion!
But before this, in order to buy that spear at the price he wanted, Duke Fullmoon didn't even hesitate to offend the Divine Runic Masters Guild. This proved that Duke Fullmoon had an unsurpassed desire for the Violet Gold Spear!
Stepping back, even in a worst case situation where Duke Fullmoon no longer bid, Lin Ming still found it acceptable if he won the Violet Gold Spear. This spear could indeed be extremely useful to him and Lin Ming could rapidly earn the points needed for it.
"1.99 billion, is there anyone willing to place a higher bid?" Song Wen shouted out. His voice remained calm and frenzied, because there was no need for him to stir up the current tense situation.
Everyone looked towards Duke Fullmoon's VIP Suite, many of them sympathizing with him.
"This damned madman!" Duke Fullmoon gripped his fists together as if he were crushing something in his palm. As Lin Ming thought, his total wealth did exceed 2 billion, but he had other uses for it. If he were to spend it all on the Violet Gold Spear then he would really lose everything.
"1.99 billion going once!" Song Wen began to count down. Even the worldly and sophisticated Song Wen really thought that Lin Ming wanted to buy the Violet Gold Spear. In truth, he was also rooting for Lin Ming because Lin Ming was a part of their Divine Runic Masters Guild. But as the auctioneer, he needed to follow rules and make sure each countdown lasted for at least five breaths of time.
"1.99 billion going twice…"
Song Wen trailed off.
At this time, a somber voice sounded out from Duke Fullmoon's room.
"Two… billion…"
In shouting out this price, Duke Fullmoon seemed to have exhausted the last dregs of his strength. For this spear he had really used up everything!
However, when comparing spending all his money to losing the Violet Gold Spear, losing the Violet Gold Spear was absolutely a greater attack on Duke Fullmoon. He could slowly save up his wealth but if he missed out on obtaining the best result he could in the final trial, that would have a direct effect on Duke Fullmoon's strength and future.
Hearing Duke Fullmoon shout out this price, Lin Ming grinned. In this battle between Lin Ming and Duke Fullmoon to see who could con the other, Lin Ming had thoroughly won.
This was not because Lin Ming was smarter than Duke Fullmoon, but because Lin Ming accurately predicted that Duke Fullmoon had to obtain this Violet Gold Spear no matter what, while not needing the nameless ancient pill.
As for Duke Fullmoon, he only knew that Lin Ming needed the nameless ancient pill; he didn't know that Lin Ming didn't have any interest in winning the Violet Gold Spear.
Thus, Duke Fullmoon was doomed to be the one cruelly swindled by Lin Ming.
At this time, a woman's voice echoed out in Lin Ming's ear. "Sir Lin, he really did bid 2 billion. If you wish to bid further I can lend you some more points…"
This was Suya's sound transmission. After Lin Ming had revealed himself to the public he didn't reactivate the isolating array formations around his room, so it was easy for Suya's voice to penetrate into his quarters.
Lin Ming smiled. "No need. I never planned on buying the Violet Gold Spear to begin with. 2 billion points should be the limit. If I bid again then Fullmoon really might give up."
After the dust settled, Lin Ming had no need to hide anything from Suya. From start to finish, his voice remained calm throughout, as if he hadn't been in a dramatic auction that involved 2 billion points but was only playing a little numbers game.
Suya nearly choked on herself as she heard Lin Ming's response. After being stunned for a long period of time, the normally elegant Suya lost her demeanor and stammered out, "You… you… you are trying to trick Duke Fullmoon!?"
She didn't dare to believe that Lin Ming would make a bluff of 1.99 billion points just for tricking someone! Wasn't he afraid that Duke Fullmoon wouldn't follow him? But, the reality was that Duke Fullmoon had fallen for the bait and had been thoroughly ruined by Lin Ming.
In addition, Suya also felt a tad aggrieved. She had withstood a tremendous deal of pressure to lend a billion points that Lin Ming actually didn't need.
Hearing Suya's awkward reaction, Lin Ming chuckled. "I apologize Miss Suya. I didn't anticipate that Duke Fullmoon's response would be so intense that he would actually label me a bid manipulator and even involve you in the mess. But since things already happened, I figured I might as well continue until the end.
As Lin Ming spoke, Suya actually laughed. She had no idea why she was laughing but she continued laughing for a long period of time. Then, she blinked her eyes and said, "Is this considered you owing me a favor?"
"Uh…" Lin Ming's froze. "If Miss Suya needs help in the future, then I will surely help as long as it is within my ability to do so."
At this time, Song Wen had already counted to three. The Violet Gold Spear was successfully won by Duke Fullmoon!
Hearing Song Wen announce the end of the auction, Duke Fullmoon let out a long breath of relief, feeling weak throughout his body.
This was a purchase that involved a massive amount of his total wealth!
But in the end, he had been the one to win!
He shakily stood up, slowly wandering towards the windows and looking out in the direction Lin Ming was in. Lin Ming seemed to sense this and looked towards Duke Fullmoon.
In contrast to each other, Duke Fullmoon was the victor. Although it was a bitter and hard fought victory, he was still the one who won. He wanted to temporarily suppress the pain in his heart and put on a victorious pose.
But just as Duke Fullmoon was almost prepared to smile, the touch of a smile froze on his face.
He saw Xiao Moxian appear from behind Lin Ming. Compared to the relatively indifferent expression on Lin Ming's face, Xiao Moxian was giggling as if she could barely contain her mirth.
Her two shiny canines, beneath the lights of the magic arrays, shimmered like diamonds.
This caused a bad premonition to rise within Duke Fullmoon's heart!
Xiao Moxian's smile was filled with an unmistakable taunting, as if she were laughing at an idiot.
Then, Duke Fullmoon saw Xiao Moxian's cherry red lips move as she uttered words. Even though she was silent, with Duke Fullmoon's eyesight he was able to clearly read her lips.
She was saying, "You stupid dead fly, congratulations for spending 2 billion points on an inferior item with defective runes. If you need to fix the Heavenly Dao patterns in the future, then our Lin Ming will surely be willing to help you. The fee isn't too expensive and we'll make sure that you are satisfied with the service!"
Listening to these words, Duke Fullmoon felt his blood bubbling within him. His mind was overcome with a daze as he nearly fell over!
"Defective!?"
Duke Fullmoon didn't believe Xiao Moxian's words. The Violet Gold Spear was already confirmed to be an Empyrean spirit treasure. How could the weapon that an Empyrean spent so much time and effort to raise be a defective item!?
However, whether or not Xiao Moxian's words were true, Duke Fullmoon had almost affirmed that Lin Ming never wanted to buy this Violet Gold Spear to begin with. He had simply been tricked!
Realizing this point, a brilliant killing intent burst out from Duke Fullmoon's eyes. However, standing not too far away from the increasingly gloomy Duke Fullmoon, Xiao Moxian was smiling, extremely happy and pleased with herself.
Lin Ming reluctantly pulled on Xiao Moxian's hand and simultaneously activated the room's isolating array formation, cutting off the murderous gaze of World King Fullmoon.
He used his finger to tap on Xiao Moxian's nose, jokingly saying, "You really are too childish, are you not happy unless you tell him off? Well this is enough for now. He was a mad dog originally and now he's been upgraded to a crazy wolf."
Although Lin Ming's words seemed as if he were admonishing Xiao Moxian, his smile clearly indicated he wasn't scared of Duke Fullmoon's revenge.
In the past when Lin Ming was only a small figure at the Houtian realm, he had caused Xuan Wuji, the ruler of the South Sea Demon Region, to vomit blood in anger. Afterwards when he was at the Life Destruction realm he had been targeted by Yang Yun. Even when he flew up to the Divine Realm he had ruined the Great World King Tian Mingzi's hand at the Divine Sea realm.
All of the opponents Lin Ming offended in the past had been far more powerful than he had been. And, these people had all been slowly killed off using various methods.
Now that Lin Ming faced Duke Fullmoon who he wasn't much weaker than, he simply didn't care at all.
After being 'admonished' by Lin Ming, Xiao Moxian only laughed out loud once more. She clucked her tongue and said, "Hey, if we didn't tell that big head what happened then how would he be angry at us? Otherwise, that idiot might have thought he profited here."
The auction continued on. Lin Ming closed his eyes in meditation. Following this, there weren't any items able to arouse his interest.
The last auction item for this first round of the auction event was a set of Empyrean spirit treasure flying swords.
Empyrean spirit treasures were rare, and a complete set of Empyrean spirit treasures was even rarer.
This set of flying swords had a total of seven swords and was bought at a final price of 2.8 billion by three Great World Kings working together. Compared to the Violet Gold Spear, this wasn't much more expensive. This caused Duke Fullmoon to be even angrier at what happened.
Like this, the first round of the auctions ended. From start to finish, the two Empyreans hadn't bid on anything at all. It was clear that none of these treasures were able to arouse their interest. The most valuable items of the first auction round had been Empyrean spirit treasures and pills. Even that final set of flying swords wasn't too tempting to an Empyrean. What an Empyrean was mostly interested in was rare and precious materials and heavenly treasures.
After the first round of the auctions ended, Lin Ming found Song Wen and requested that he place the Heavenly Fire Symbols up for auction.
To sell promissory notes, if it were an ordinary person who suggested this, Song Wen would have already told him to screw off to the far edges of the world.
But Lin Ming was different. He had considerable status in the Divine Runic Masters Guild and everyone could see that he had an extremely bright future awaiting him. It was possible that he might even become the next president of the Divine Runic Masters Guild!
Towards this type of person, Song Wen could only give them a little leeway. Moreover, the Heavenly Fire Symbols that Lin Ming put forth were apprised by several divine runic masters, and when it came to the runic patterns within, they could only sigh as they didn't understand many parts of it. Without a doubt, the Heavenly Fire Symbols that Lin Ming took out were extraordinary.
After combining all of this together, Song Wen finally reluctantly agreed to allow Lin Ming to auction off the 10 finished Heavenly Fire symbols. If the final price of them surpassed 40 million then he would allow Lin Ming to auction off promissory notes. This was to avoid everyone making a joke of Divine Rune City's auction.
And Song Wen had one final condition. This was that the promissory notes couldn't have a base price. In other words, the base price had to be zero!
Chapter 1636 – Test
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To have a zero base price on promissory notes, the truth was that Divine Rune City didn't want the associated infamy. The general meaning of it was that all transactions for this auction were completely voluntary. The base price would be set to zero and whoever wanted to bid could bid whatever they wanted and the Divine Rune City Auction House would take on no responsibility for this matter.
Although the Divine Rune City Auction didn't publicize the auction of the 'promissory notes' and had no intention of doing so, they had still made it explicitly clear that the auction of the promissory notes would not take place if Lin Ming's 10 Heavenly Fire Symbols sold for less than 40 million. Even so, news of this auction still spread through the city!
Moreover, this news spread like wildfire!
Many martial artists and many influences learned that the Divine Rune City Auction, which was famed throughout the entire inner Asura Road for having anything up for sale as long as one had the money, was actually selling promissory notes.
Moreover, what left one dumbstruck was that the person selling these promissory notes was a Divine Lord realm junior who was less than a hundred years old!
And, this Divine Lord realm junior also didn't have any great influence backing him. He was nothing but a loner, and although there was said to be an amazing master standing behind him, this master had never appeared.
He had seemingly produced a mysterious divine runic symbol and was considerably well known in the world of divine runic arts. But outside of this small community, there hadn't been anyone who had heard of him.
If such a junior were to write down a promissory note and sell it, then others would definitely say that whoever bought this promissory note was an idiot.
If one could sell empty promises at an auction then they too would want to do the same!
They could write down a promissory note for 10 Empyrean spirit treasures, 10 transcendent divine pills, or even 100 seventh grade divine runic symbols, and would they be able to sell this note for 10 billion points?
Many other colleagues in the auction industry were waiting to have a good laugh at Divine Rune City Auction House's expense.
The business of auction houses was highly competitive. The more transactions an auction house had, the more sky high prices they could sell items for, then the more clients and bidders they could attract! Clients would always want to go to an auction house that would auction off their items at the highest price possible! There were many auction houses that could find buyers but not a source of goods!
Divine Rune City Auction House was extremely reputable and even if other auction houses worked together and hired a batch of bid manipulators, they still couldn't shake the iron-fisted monopoly that Divine Rune City Auction House held over the auction business. And now, these other auction houses were all waiting for the Divine Rune City Auction House to fail.
However, no matter what the news was or how many people were waiting to see this bumbling failure occur, the second round of the auctions began on time.
This time, there were even more bidders on the scene.
Many people heard about the sale of promissory notes and wanted to join in on this new experience.
Lin Ming and Xiao Moxian had already entered the auction arena earlier. As they were about to enter their private room, Lin Ming could feel a swift and violent cold light shoot towards them. Lin Ming turned to see Duke Fullmoon appearing like a vengeful ghost in the windows of his VIP suite. The light inside his room was dark, causing Duke Fullmoon to look especially grim and ghostly.
"This stupid fly also came early. But he's already gone bankrupt so what's the point of putting on airs." Xiao Moxian pouted her lips, speaking with disdain.
Lin Ming faintly smiled. "He's also representing his sect to purchase items, so he likely still has many points in his hands."
Lin Ming didn't bother with Duke Fullmoon and went straight to his private room. As he flew up into the skies, many people were looking towards him. By this time, Lin Ming had already become famous!
Today, if he could sell the Heavenly Fire Symbols for at least 40 million then he would be able to accomplish the unprecedentedly magnificent feat of selling promissory notes. But if he sold the Heavenly Fire Symbols for less than 40 million he would become an utter joke.
The first item in the second round of the auctions was 10 zenith black level god runes.
Zenith black level god runes were necessary materials for crafting seventh grade divine runic symbols. There were even some peak sixth grade divine runic symbols that required zenith black level god runes. Thus, these 10 zenith black level god runes were in high demand. In the end, they were bought by a peak sixth grade divine runic master in the VIP suites.
Following that, all sorts of different items were sold. At the sixth auction, Song Wen calmly took out a jade box. After opening it, one could see 10 light and thin symbol papers within.
These were Lin Ming's Heavenly Fire Symbols!
During the previous round of auctions, Lin Ming had taken out the Heavenly Fire Symbols once, thus many people were able to recognize what these 10 symbol papers were.
"It's here! Haha, to sell promissory notes, I came today just to watch this event!"
"He's been crazy after thinking of money too much; to think he actually dares to sell promissory notes!"
All of these words came from spies sent from other auction houses in the inner Asura Road. Now they mixed themselves into the crowds of bidders and their mission was to gather as much information as they could so they could later propagandize this ridiculous matter.
Towards these people beneath the arena stage that had ill intentions, Song Wen ignored them all. He indifferently said, "Ladies and gentleman, these are fifth grade divine runic symbols, Heavenly Fire Symbols produced by a young and rising talent of my Divine Runic Masters Guild. In the last round of auctions you all saw that these were not ordinary Heavenly Fire Symbols. These Heavenly Fire Symbols have undergone many improvements and their effects are far superior to normal. For these 10 Heavenly Fire Symbols, the base price is 20 million points and each increase cannot be any lower than one million points."
Song Wen lightly spoke these words that had no persuasive power at all. Young and rising divine runic master, many improvements, effects far superior to normal, all of these words seemed untrustworthy to the audience.
And, the most absurd point was that these 10 fifth grade divine runic symbols were being sold for a total scam price of 20 million points!
Fifth grade divine runic symbols usually sold for tens of thousands, and buying 10 of them for a million points was already a tremendous loss. Yet, Song Wen listed the base price of these 10 divine runic symbols as 20 times that ridiculous price.
Setting up such a starting bid was simply a death wish. Many people were looking to see which idiot would bid on these.
However, Song Wen didn't start the auction. Rather, he pressed some switch on the auction stage and with a loud rumbling sound, the entire auction stage was split apart as the ground sank in.
At the same time, a massive black altar slowly rose from the ground!
This black altar was an array formation!
Its use was to test the various characteristics, might, and attributes of a divine runic symbol.
In the Divine Rune City Auction House, sometimes there would be special divine runic symbols sold. At this time, these divine runic symbols would need to be tested in order to demonstrate the various aspects of a divine runic symbol.
Hu - !
With a powerful grinding noise, the array formation activated!
The entire altar was shrouded in a shimmering white light. A chubby old man with a white beard guffawed as he hopped onto the altar. This old man was no one else but Lin Ming's old friend – Old Xue.
At this auction, Lin Ming specifically asked Old Xue to test the divine runic symbol!
Chapter 1637 – Heavenly Fire Symbol
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Old Xue's appearance immediately attracted the gazes of everyone present.
"Who is that old man?" Most of the audience didn't know who Old Xue was.
"He is Elder Xue of the Divine Runic Masters Guild, a sixth grade divine runic master."
The reputation of a sixth grade divine runic master was irreproachable. To have a sixth grade divine runic master test a fifth grade divine runic symbol, this left everyone waiting for the results with wide eyes.
Although they didn't know if these fifth grade divine runic symbols could sell for tens of millions of points, if Lin Ming had dared take them out in this auction then they should be spectacular.
At this point, Song Wen took out a soul crystal and placed it in the eye of the testing array formation. In that instant the brilliant light around the altar became even more blazing, shooting up into the world like a column of evanescent light, scattering out everywhere.
The auction arena was extremely broad, but after the array formation on the auction stage activated, the dazzling light covered the entire auction hall arena!
This was a titanic illusory magic array. Once it started, every person within the auction hall arena would fall into the illusory magic array and would find it difficult to discern between reality and illusion.
Boom - !
The scenery in front of everyone suddenly changed.
What entered the eyes of everyone was an endless sea of green foliage that stretched to the furthest horizons.
They were surrounded by dense grass that brushed against the waist, vast and limitless.
Every guest in the auction house, including those in the ordinary rooms and VIP suites, instantly arrived in an ancient primal grassland!
Here, the scene was like the endless Great Desolate that parted the inner and outer Asura Road.
And within these grasslands, the earth began to tremble.
From far away, one could see massive forms appear on the horizon. These forms were like mountains as their vague figures solidified as they closed in.
Rumble rumble rumble!
As these giant monsters approached, the audience discovered they were all vicious beasts.
Their bodies were as heavy as mountains. Every time they stepped forwards the ground would shake like a beating drum, incomparably horrifying.
"That… that… that is a deep blue crystal beast. I heard that two Divine Lord squads from the Blue Lotus Holy Lands perished, and it was likely they encountered a deep blue crystal beast…"
"Seafall beast…"
"Mystic thunder beast…"
That… that is a Golden Phoenix Crow… it is a variation God Beast that has existed since ancient times and is said to be able to contend with a Great World King and emit true essence heavenly flames…"
As each vicious beast appeared they were soon identified by the audience. With each new creature that arrived, the audience became increasingly pale. These vicious beasts were all found within the Great Desolate!
In particular, the giant Golden Phoenix Crow whose wings blocked out half the sky. As the audience saw this beast, their complexions became even uglier.
Although everyone was well aware that these vicious beasts were only phantoms produced in the illusory magic array, each one of these phantom beasts had extraordinary strengths.
Each bidder was able to clearly perceive the aura of these vicious beasts. They could judge that these vicious beasts were not superficial fakes. Rather, by relying on the accurate simulation of the large-scale array formation, the defensive powers of these vicious beasts were almost the same as in reality.
"Elder Xue, please test the divine runic symbol." Song Wen was a bit surprised as he saw that Elder Xue had stepped forth to test the divine runic symbol. To ask a divine runic master like Elder Xue to personally test his creation, Lin Ming must be confident in his works.
Elder Xue nodded and happily took a divine runic symbol from Lin Ming who had already flown down from his room. He asked, "Before the test begins, are there any special instructions you need to tell me?"
Lin Ming thought for a moment and said, "During the test it's best to be careful. When the input of power reaches through the 2320th tiny rune, increase the flow of energy. The effect will be much better."
"2320th tiny rune?" Elder Xue was startled. After a brief pause he nodded.
Standing on the side, Song Wen's complexion immediately changed. Although he didn't understand how to draw up divine runic symbols himself, he was still the president of the Runic Pill Trading Organization. Even if he had never eaten pork meat before he would still know how a pig ran.
He had seen sixth grade divine runic symbols before, and the average peak sixth grade divine runic symbol would have around 1500 tiny runes, yet this mere fifth grade divine runic symbol had over 2000 tiny runes?
It seemed this Heavenly Fire Symbol was well worth anticipating.
However, the spies that came from other auction houses, as long as they understood even a little about divine runic arts, were surprised by Lin Ming's words. Shadow Overflow frowned. This brat, the divine runic symbols he drew up were always so ridiculous!
"I want to take a good look and see just what sort of effect a divine runic symbol with so many tiny runes will have!"
Judging the value of a divine runic symbol, especially an extraordinary divine runic symbol, was an extremely complex and burdensome process.
The average person only knew whether a divine runic symbol was strong or weak, and that was by looking at its grade. But when looking at those especially amazing divine runic symbols that had special effects, although the grade of the divine runic symbol was important, it wasn't the most important factor.
The reason that Elder Xue agreed to help Lin Ming and test out his divine runic symbol was the shockingly special Nirvanic Tribulation Flame Symbol that Lin Ming produced before. He wanted to see what was so special about this new divine runic symbol.
Like an entertainer preparing his show, Elder Xue began to take out all sorts of strange magic tools and array discs in front of everyone.
One of these magic tools was a set of black gloves, knit with mysterious silken threads.
"I shall begin." Elder Xue nodded towards Lin Ming.
As Song Wen heard this he drew some circles in the air. Then, ripples began to appear in the void.
Thick and viscous bubbles surrounded everyone, covering them within.
The reason for this was that there was always some risk that came with testing a divine runic symbol. As the auctioneer here, Song Wen had to minimize all chances of an accident occurring as much as possible.
Once all the preparations were complete, Elder Xue no longer bothered with the others. He completely immersed his mind into the fifth grade divine runic symbol in his hands, carefully filling it with his energy.
Looking in from the side, as Lin Ming saw Old Xue earnestly testing his divine runic symbol, he felt a bit unsure in his heart. Although he was confident in the improved Heavenly Fire Symbol that he created, the true might and value of it would depend on the actual results of this test.
Everyone's eyes focused on Elder Xue's body, all of them waiting with breath abated.
They were all aware that if this test wasn't a joke, then they would be witnesses to the birth of a miracle.
As Elder Xue was inputting his energy into the improved Heavenly Fire Symbol, his complexion began to gradually become more dignified over time. After such a long period of time, there was actually no movement from the Heavenly Fire Symbol!
Shadow Overflow grinned a gloating smile. Smelly brat, this time it was his turn to suffer…
But that gloating smile soon froze on his face. Deep in concentration, Elder Xue flicked a finger upon the divine runic symbol, seeming as if he were pulling out a string. Then, a blazing red trail of fire rushed out from the divine runic symbol.
This power of fire flew in the skies like a phoenix, a beautiful vision in the air. Suddenly, the surrounding space seemed to bubble up like boiling water.
Shadow Overflow felt that something wasn't right. At this time, five of the giant vicious beasts that Song Wen created suddenly started rushing towards Elder Xue together.
"Deep blue crystal beast, bone devouring beast… these are all peak Holy Lord level beasts, even beasts that approach a World King. With these several vicious beasts together, even an ordinary World King would feel fear!"
As the vicious beasts wildly rampaged forwards, the entire audience could feel a dreadful pressure. Even if they knew these vicious beasts were formed by the illusory magic array, their aura was still horrifying.
This was also the fierceness of an auction house's array formation. This array formation could be called the most realistic simulation testing array within the entire inner Asura Road.
At this time, a brilliant light exploded from Elder Xue's eyes. The Heavenly Fire Symbol in his hand suddenly scattered out. With a loud rumbling sound, a pillar of flames shot into the skies, forming a mushroom cloud as a sea of flames surged out in all directions.
As a vicious beast broke into the midst of these flames, it suddenly emitted a miserable howl.
Another pained howl sounded out from a different direction. Everyone turned towards this cry. As their eyes focused on what was happening, all they saw was a column of flames shoot straight into the sky.
Under the watchful gaze of everyone, the vicious beasts that seemed as if they could tear open the heavens were drowned in this sea of raging flames. At a speed visible to the eyes, these vicious beasts were slowly charred into a pile of skeletons.
The people looking on were panic-stricken. For a time, the entire arena was left silent, without a single word spoken.
The only sound was the tumbling waves of flames burning in the distance. Even the earth below was melted away into shining lava, shimmering like metal.
It was like an apocalypse of heavenly flames had descended from above.
Shadow Overflow's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. Even a lofty and conceited dark divine runic master like himself, one of the giants of the dark world, was shocked by this scene.
"This… is this really the might of Lin Ming's fifth grade Heavenly Fire Symbol?" He clenched his fists together. After the shock passed, an unexpected surge of bitterness and jealousy filled his heart… he feared that even a medium sixth grade Heavenly Fire Symbol might not possess such might!
A sixth grade Heavenly Fire Symbol was one produced by a World King! A peak sixth grade divine runic symbol was one created by a Great World King and could be used to contend with Great World King enemies!
Xiao Moxian also gripped her fists tightly, her smile as beautiful as a fire. Her cute canines glittered beneath the light of the raging flames. With this, all of the worries in her heart disappeared, replaced with nothing but pride. As she looked at Lin Ming with both eyes, her eyes shined like little stars.
After some time, the shocked people began to regain their composure.
But, before they could say anything, a deafening phoenix cry filled the air.
Everyone was stunned once again. Above them, the skies suddenly turned overcast, dimming down to shadows.
They looked up and nearly cried out. The hell!? That Golden Phoenix Crow couldn't resist waiting and was rushing out!
Seeing the Golden Phoenix Crow diving downwards, many people paled from fear.
Then, another strange sound caught everyone's attention.
They saw the raging sea of flames that scorched those five vicious beasts to nothing begin to stir up once more. The flames wildly burned, revitalized with new life as they began to swallow all of the power of fire from within a hundred miles.
Every pillar of flames danced like flame phoenixes in the skies, their strength amazing.
Within this cataclysmic crimson sea, a brilliant runic symbol shined like a star from within the center of the seething flames.
This was the fifth grade Heavenly Fire Symbol that had just been used!
The Heavenly Fire Symbol actually reformed itself!
"This… this powerful Heavenly Fire Symbol… can actually reform itself and be reused!" At this time, even Elder Xue who was responsible for the test couldn't help but cry out in praise.
Chapter 1638 – Fire Symbol Reborn
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Old Xue could clearly feel that the newly reformed Heavenly Fire Symbol contained an even more terrifying strength!
Before this, Old Xue hadn't discussed matters with Lin Ming so he didn't know what revisions Lin Ming had done to this divine runic symbol. What he wanted was to experience a pleasant surprise during this test, thus Old Xue had agreed to test this completely unfamiliar Heavenly Fire Symbol.
Old Xue had originally seen the miraculous might of this Heavenly Fire Symbol and thought this was the change that Lin Ming had made. And that with such an abnormal increase in its strength, it was impossible to increase the number of times it could be used.
He never thought that Lin Ming could modify two aspects of the divine runic symbol; this was extremely abnormal!
The surrounding audience also saw the Heavenly Fire Symbol reform itself in Elder Xue's hand. They weren't able to respond for some time. In their eyes, a divine runic symbol was a one-time use item. As for the divine runic symbol in Elder Xue's hand, it was just something that had a similar appearance.
For instance, there were some one-time use array discs. After these array discs were used they wouldn't shatter but everything within would be destroyed, leaving it as nothing but an ornament.
As everyone was thinking this, from high up in the sky, that Golden Phoenix Crow could clearly feel the threat of the burning hot flames beneath it. It was different from those other vicious beasts; this Golden Phoenix Crow was a master in manipulating fire energy.
With a cry that refused to admit inferiority, the wings of the Golden Phoenix Crow erupted in flames as it went hurtling downwards.
Old Xue laughed. He poured his energy into the Heavenly Fire Symbol that had just experienced a nirvanic rebirth, quickly galvanizing the 2000 plus tiny runes!
In that moment, the divine runic symbol emitted a blinding light!
Beneath the stunned gaze of everyone, the already used Heavenly Fire Symbol evaporated once more in a hundred-foot high sea of raging flames!
Within these flames, there seemed to be a phoenix being reborn. Its body was surrounded by flames hot enough to melt divine gold, and with a resonant cry it swept towards that Golden Phoenix Crow.
Bang!
The two divine birds formed from the extremes of the power of fire violently crashed into each other, both leaving a burning red tunnel in their wake.
A massive shockwave erupted out from where the two divine birds crashed and spread out through the world. In the aftermath, waves of flames struck the ground, creating tyrannical flame tornados like red dragons shooting to the heavens.
Finally, the collision between the Golden Phoenix Crow and the Heavenly Fire Symbol became increasingly intense, forming a sea of flames around them.
But at this time, in this desperate battle the Heavenly Fire Symbol was able to incredibly swallow the power of fire, growing larger and larger, becoming increasingly solid as it dripped lava from its body.
In the increasingly lopsided battle, the power of fire was being rapidly drained and annihilated from the Golden Phoenix Crow's body…
Bang!
With another loud explosion, the most dense power of fire around the Heavenly Fire Symbol formed into a flaming meteor that viciously smashed into the Golden Phoenix Crow.
The Golden Phoenix Crow was a fire-attribute vicious bird beast and yet at this moment a gaping hole was formed in its body. With a devastating cry it flapped its massive wings, whipping up a hurricane as it fled to the heavens.
As everyone saw this, all of them were left petrified. The Golden Phoenix Crow with strength comparable to a World King was actually severely wounded by a peak fifth grade Heavenly Fire Symbol!
In other words, this Heavenly Fire Symbol could threaten the life of a World King!
"The newly reborn Heavenly Fire Symbol can display a strength even greater than the first time!" Elder Xue was astonished. Although he had great hopes for Lin Ming's Heavenly Fire Symbol, these hopes had now become a great surprise that far surpassed his imagination.
And in fact, when Lin Ming created these Heavenly Fire Symbols he had used Xiao Moxian's nirvanic flames, joining the rules of a phoenix nirvana into the Heavenly Fire Symbol itself. After many rounds of experimentation, he had finally been successful!
A phoenix went through nine nirvanas, becoming more powerful after each one. Similarly, this Heavenly Fire Symbol would become stronger after every use! Of course, it was impossible for the increase in power to be as terrifying as that of a true phoenix's nirvana.
For a time, the entire auction arena was left in utter silence. Everyone's eyes were wide open and their throats twitched.
Completely forgetting the amazing fact that this peak fifth grade Heavenly Fire Symbol could severely wound a World King spirit bird, just the fact that it could be used at least two times was more than enough to leave everyone dumbfounded!
Moreover, the second use was even stronger than the first!
As everyone was at a loss for words, at this time the flames howled in the skies once more as they gathered together. Countless Asura Heavenly Dao lines danced in the center of the flames. Within several breaths of time, these flames reformed into a divine runic symbol!
This divine runic symbol lightly fell into Elder Xue's hand.
"What!? It fused back again!?"
"There's even a third time!!"
The bidders present were all greatly experienced individuals. But yet, today's Heavenly Fire Symbol completely surpassed their comprehension, upending everything they knew.
This caused their minds to shake and to be left utterly speechless!
"This Heavenly Fire Symbol… how many times can it be used?"
Many people realized that if the Heavenly Fire Symbol could reform a third time, then perhaps it might even be able to reform a fourth or fifth time!
For a time, the eyes of everyone in the audience were focused on Lin Ming!
Elder Xue let out a heavy breath and said, "Hey brat, be honest with me, how many times can this Heavenly Fire Symbol be used? Don't tell me that it's over ten or even dozens of times…"
Elder Xue joked. This Heavenly Fire Symbol was vastly different from the Nirvanic Tribulation Flame Symbol; the amount of energy consumed was far too great. If it were able to be used several times then that would truly be heaven-defying.
Lin Ming stood at the balcony of his room and chuckled, "Elder Xue, you're being a bit too dramatic here, how could it possibly be used that many times? The Heavenly Fire Symbol I drew up contains the fires of a phoenix nirvana. My original intention was to copy the nirvana of a phoenix and have it be reborn nine times in a sea of flames! However, it's a pity that my skills are too crude so I was only able to reach six or seven times in the end. If someone who doesn't understand the divine runic arts were to use this divine runic symbol then they might not even be able to use it six or seven times but only five times. And, according to the user's cultivation, every one or two times they use it they must resupply it with energy."
Lin Ming shook his head, as if he were feeling regretful he couldn't perfectly fuse the rules of a phoenix's nine nirvanas into the Heavenly Fire Symbol.
However, Lin Ming's regretful tone and motions left everyone speechless. If this was called crude skills then how could anyone still live?
"Smelly brat, you calling your own skills crude is the same as slapping me in the face!" Old Xue mockingly scolded. Seeing Lin Ming awkwardly cough and about to apologize, Old Xue waved his hands and said, "It's fine, I don't need you to pretend to apologize. Speak honestly. This Heavenly Fire Symbol, after being used, will it be stronger the next time?"
Let alone Old Xue, everyone in the audience realized this point.
Everyone's ears pricked up as they leaned forwards to listen to Lin Ming.
Lin Ming nodded. "Yes, just like a phoenix going through their nirvana, every time the symbol is reborn it will be stronger. At the last use, the Heavenly Fire Symbol's potency will increase just less than 30%. This is enough to cause severe wounds to a World King but a Great World King won't be threatened at all."
Lin Ming had only produced a peak fifth grade divine runic symbol. In order to severely wound a Great World King, that would require a peak sixth grade divine runic symbol. With Lin Ming's current strength, he was still far from being able to contend with a Great World King.
After listening to Lin Ming explain all the different characteristics of the Heavenly Fire Symbol, the entire arena was left silent except for the occasional gulp.
Even Song Wen who had seen countless treasures before was shocked. He looked towards Lin Ming with respect in his eyes. With his status and age, he had never looked towards a junior with these eyes before.
"Junior-apprentice Sister… I was a fool. Looking at the might of this Heavenly Fire Symbol it would have been well worth it to lend Lin Ming a billion points! My mouth was too greedy!" Suya's senior-apprentice brother gripped his fists as he recovered from his daze.
If he hadn't prevented Suya from lending a billion points just now then he would have gained a massive advantage from that investment.
In the end, the whole lending scene had been nothing but an act. Although Lin Ming hadn't lost anything, it was not the same as honestly placing his bet on Lin Ming. As Suya's senior-apprentice brother thought of this, he regretted his decision until his intestines turned blue. A rare opportunity was placed right in front of them and yet he had been unable to take hold of it. From this moment on, it was likely that Lin Ming would rely on the fame of this Heavenly Fire Symbol to become even more famous. At that time, wanting to win him over would be vastly more difficult.
"It's no problem. Although it was only an act, Lin Ming promised he would help me." Suya faintly smiled, not blaming her senior-apprentice brother. Her senior-apprentice brother's reaction had been perfectly rational and was the way things should normally have been done.
As some rejoiced, others despaired. In another VIP suite, Duke Fullmoon and Shadow Overflow's two faces were as black as the bottom of a pot!
They were waiting to see Lin Ming make a joke of himself, but the end was that he had created a mira
but the end was that he had created a miracle!
The power of this Heavenly Fire Symbol was countless times greater than the Nirvanic Tribulation Flame Symbol!
"This sort of divine runic symbol, how could it be transformed to such a degree!?" Duke Fullmoon gnashed his teeth. Beside him, Shadow Overflow remained silent. What was there to say? Anything he said right now would be nothing but an incoherent mass. In the Asura Road world, there was actually a fifth grade divine runic symbol that was able to stir up so much attention; this far surpassed his imagination.
From just the power alone, this fifth grade divine runic symbol surpassed the strength of a general sixth grade divine runic symbol!
This Lin Ming was truly a monstrously talented freak of the divine runic arts!
After the entire auction hall arena fell silent for half an incense stick of time, many people began to develop greedy thoughts. All of them were waiting for the auction of the divine runic symbols to begin!
It had to be known that if a fifth grade divine runic symbol had the strength of a medium sixth grade divine runic symbol, then its strength far surpassed that of a sixth grade divine runic symbol!
A general sixth grade divine runic symbol required one to be at least a half-step World King to use. And in order to display its full strength, one would need to be a true World King.
But a peak fifth grade divine runic symbol was different. A peak Holy Lord could display its strongest might!
In other words, this sort of divine runic symbol would give a peak Holy Lord powerhouse the capital to survive in the face of a World King!
If an enemy possessed a power that was able to severely wound someone, then even if that power could only be used once in a short period of time, that person would have to carefully weigh whether it was worth it to continue attacking.
This difference in the restrictions for the Heavenly Fire Symbol caused its value to rise several times over!