--- Chapter 52 ---
"Oh my god, how could they even make products like this?!!"
"Dragon Nest is insane."
"I-I had to buy those cosmetics for my wife."
"Fuck your wife! I want all of them for myself."
The guest is arguing with each other because the Dragon Auction Event started with beauty-enhancing products. It makes the women representatives go crazy by listening to the effect after usage.
Huo Yuhao leaned on the sofa and commented, "They are quite lively. There is no better combination than women who are starved for attention and like to be beautiful with beauty products."
"You're playing around with them, Hao'er." A chuckle escaped Huo Yun'er mouth.
Huo Yuhao shrugged his shoulders indifferently because that wasn't his problem for people being dumb enough. They seemed to forget Dragon Auction Event doesn't just have beauty products. And people eliminated themselves from getting a good thing like Rune Stones.
"It was an easy trade." He scanned the item they used to trade the cosmetic kits.
Liu Mei smiled a little when watching some guests enthusiastic about the Auction's goods and introduced them to the second item. She snapped her finger and showed everyone a glass box with a chest plate armor inside.
"This is White Rabbit Plate made from the White Moon's Steel, known for its durability and lightness. It's enchanted with Rune Mastery and makes the wearer's weight like a feather." Liu Mei said with a teasing tone. "And even Spirit Sage can't destroy it easily."
The representatives from Major Factions frowned when hearing "Rune Mastery." from Liu Mei's mouth because that technique was Dragon Nest's specialty. It's remarkably mysterious and could get used in almost every field.
They wanted to. No, they had to buy White Rabbit Plate not because of the effect but to uncover Rune Mastery from the armor itself. If they could reverse-engineer the fundamental understanding of it, they might be able to learn Dragon Nest's secret.
'Young lord is right. They are delusional.' Liu Mei thought while clapping her hand. A couple of guards walked into the podium and showcased White Rabbit Plate's ability for the bidder.
"The guards... They are Spirit Sage." Someone murmured in disbelief, watching a stern-looking guard with seven spirit rings on the podium.
The stern-looking punched his fellow guard that wore the White Rabbit Plate, and everyone was surprised because no damage actually was received. The armor and wearer are fine.
"Now for the bid, we only accept prized treasure equal to 5.000-10.000 years of medicine ingredients or any rare materials." Liu Mei said while commanding the guards to place the armor back in its case.
"Damn, I can't trade my treasure right now. My king ordered me to get the Rune Stone..." A frustrated groan escaped one guest's mouth on the back.
"If only Gold Coins were usable here..."
"I want to trade the Fifth Class Spirit Guidance Tool: Turtle Barrier for that armor," Jing Hongchen's voice suddenly echoed. "It's a defensive tool that could create a 10 meters radius dome barrier and receive an attack from Spirit Sage twice."
"Damn."
"Fucking whale."
"This guy is filthy rich."
"Is there anyone who wants to bid for White Rabbit Plate? Since there was none. Then congratulations to the Sun and Moon Empire's representative for getting White Rabbit Plate." Liu Mei handed the glass case to the nearest servant so that Jing Hongchen could get the item.
Not even a minute later, Jing Hongchen placed a block-looking device on a tray held by the Auction's Servant and received the White Plate Armor. He smiled because he could see faint marks of the Rune Mastery inside the armor.
Liu Mei introduced a few more items around the same grade as White Rabbit Plate, causing Jing Honchen and some people to hog them all. They are unaware that Dragon Nest baited them to waste their treasure here. It's a good trade but not worth it based on Liu Mei's view.
After an hour, the Dragon Auction Event entered a break time, and everyone finally could breathe in relief. The Sun and Moon Empire's VIP room was full of the Auction's goods. Jing Honchen grasped the interior of White Rabbit Plate and used his Spirit Guidance to observe the Rune.
"Hmph! It would take some time to decipher this." He muttered while cleaning his monocule with a clean handkerchief.
Meanwhile, at the Shrek Academy's Vip Room. Sin Lin'er was annoyed and continuously tapped her high heels on the carpet because Yang Shaozhe prohibited her from bidding.
"Why?"
Yan Shaozhe sighed and replied, "You know why already, so Don't make me repeat it. We had to save resources for the Rune Stones and other treasures."
"Tch, fine." Sin Lin'er swayed her head.
"Haa... I hope that Young man's advice is working."
...
...
"Now, let's start the Auction again." Liu Mei placed an ancient-looking wooden box before their eyes. "The next item is a pill created by the Dragon Nest's famous alchemist. It could repair one's meridian and increase the Spirit Rank of Spirit Master under Spirit Douluo Realm by five levels directly. The name of the pill is Earth Breaking Pill."
Silences, everyone was dumbfounded by the effect because raising five levels is not a joking matter. They were unsure, but when Liu Mei opened the wooden box, rich medicinal energy burst out and filled the Auction Hall.
"Holy shit!!"
"It's real!"
"Fuck, what should we do... We traded our resources for other items already."
"NOOO! I should have saved my golden-scaled grass."
Third of the guests are frustrated because they couldn't get a chance to get the Earth Breaking Pill. They could only watch and learn from their mistakes.
"Star Luo Empire wanted to trade Star Essence with Earth Breaking Pill." A calm voice reverberated in the Auction Hall. A purple-haired young woman sat in the Star Luo Empire's Vip room, wearing a bluish-white dress.
Liu Mei glanced at the room and asked, "Esteemed Guest, may I know what Star Essence is?"
The young woman opened her mouth gently and replied, "Star Essence is a rare miracle liquid coming from a meteorite that fell into the Star Luo Empire ten thousand years ago. It could enhance one's physical aspect and have a low probability of causing the second awakening of a martial soul."
Everyone was quiet when listening to the young woman. Even Liu Mei was taken aback for a moment because Star Essence values more than Earth Breaking Pill. After all, having a chance to second awake a martial soul is like evolving the martial soul itself.
"Before that, how low was the probability of second awakening one's martial soul?" Liu Mei asked calmly.
The young woman in Star Luo Empire's Vip room took a while to answer this question. She seemed unsure of the chance because Star Essence hadn't researched properly. The effect only happened after constant consumption through the generation of the Star Luo Empire's royal family.
"2%... It only has a 2% chance of second awakening one's martial soul." She answered firmly.
Liu Mei heard Huo Yuhao's spiritual voice reaching over her head and asked, "Is there anyone who wants to take part in this bid?"
"No? Then, Congratulations to Star Luo Empire's representatives for getting the Earth Breaking Pill." She gently tapped the Auction Hammer and told a servant to send the goods away.
At Huo Yuhao's Vip Room, Huo Yun'er was confused about her son's decision. "Why did you tell Liu Mei to trade the Star Essence?" She asked curiously.
"Mom, don't you think 2% is such a good odd?" Huo Yuhao responded with a confident look because he has several cheating perks that increase the chance of Star Essence's second awakening effect. Not to mention Evo could upgrade the item easily.
Huo Yun'er pondered and said, "I mean... It's only 2%."
"You'll see later, hehe."
Huo Yuhao moved his gaze to the Star Luo Empire's Vip room casually and utilized Kenbunshoku Haki to detect people inside it. "Sometimes coincidence could be freaky." He commented because he knew that young woman was.
[Name: Xu Jiujiu]
[Age: 17]
[Species: Human]
[Cultivation: level 54]
[Description: Star Luo Empire's Princess]
"You know her?" Huo Yun'er narrowed her eyes.
Huo Yuhao nervously coughed and replied, "W-Well, yeah. That young woman is Star Luo Empire's Princess, and I saved her six years ago."
The mother's face darkened because she remembered some annoyance and muttered, "Six years ago... I still won't permit her to become close with Hao'er without any further examination from myself."
'Fuck! I forgot to tell mom about that story.' Huo Yuhao cursed while covering his mouth with a napkin.
As the trade between Star Essence and Earth Breaking Pill was over, Liu Mei clapped her hand to gain everyone's attention. She cut off the light and slowly brought it back after the servant brought several metal boxes onto the podium.
"W-What's that??"
Several guests were confused because only representatives from the Major Factions actually were told beforehand about Rune Stone. Liu Mei clicked something, and a big yet bright screen appeared from the wall behind her.
"This is our final Auction Goods, Rune Stone."
"Inside these metal boxes, we had Rune Stone, an item that could store a Spirit Ring and be absorbed by any Spirit Master regardless of the Spiritual Imprint. It's an item that only Dragon Nest could create after several years of hard work."
"As for the authenticity, we have someone here to demonstrate the Rune Stone's usage." Liu Mei called over a young-looking man in Dragon Nest's Academy Outfit, which consisted of a red blazer, a white shirt with a blue tie, and green trousers.
The young man picked a rune stone from his spatial storage unit and showed everyone a brown rock with purple markings. He crushed it, releasing a deep purple spirit ring on the podium.
Everyone gasped in shock, besides some people who knew this information beforehand. The young man summoned a Dark-feathered Owl and absorbed the spirit ring while adjusting his breathing.
And after several minutes, the young man finished and showcased five purple spirit rings.
"WHAT THE FUCK!"
"HOW COULD HE HAVE FIVE PURPLE SPIRIT RINGS!"
"THIS IS BEYOND LOGIC!!"
"WE WANT AN EXPLANATION!"
An enormous uproar happened in the Auction Hall, and Liu Mei released her Title Douluo's pressure to shut them up. Her spirit ring slowly emerged from the darkness, illuminating the room with crimson light.
ZZT!
"Calm down." Liu Mei's fingers slowly were coated with intense purple electricity. "That's the standard of our Dragon Nest's Academy. We raised powerful Dragons that stand over the common standard."
"Don't lump your weak logic on us." Her cold eyes stared at the guest, sending shivers down their spine.
...
...
Everyone couldn't even respond "properly." because of the pure pressure Liu Mei released. Her Queen of Thunder title wasn't for nothing because their heart literally was electrocuted by getting gazed at alone. Liu Mei unknowingly gained fans outside of the Dragon Nest community.
"Let's start the bid." Liu Mei's cold voice reached their ears.
"Y-YEs, Mommy! I-I mean, Mommy? Sorry. Mommy?"