Ji Xun wandered around the market, buying some unfamiliar Talung ancient texts and other books.
He then went to Downing Street to find an intelligence merchant to gather the latest information, learning some details about the subsequent battle.
It was pretty much as he expected.
Around eight in the evening, he returned to the Dark Rain Street black market.
...
The front of Big Ivan's Treasure Shop was lit with colorful red and green lights.
A group of alluring women in high-slit dresses greeted guests at the entrance.
Despite the lack of a seedy atmosphere, their sensuality was captivating.
This was a far cry from the seedy establishments on Downing Street and set Big Ivan's shop apart from the hundreds of other stores on the street.
Each guest was greeted with sweet voices: "Welcome, VIP."
Showing his VIP card, Ji Xun was led to the auction site.
Big Ivan's shop had repurposed several previously abandoned basement levels, decorating them to resemble a noble theater. It was elegant and luxurious, with just the right touch of business formality.
Private rooms provided a view of the auction stage while ensuring privacy; guests couldn't see each other, creating a sense of a private chamber.
With the one-on-one attention from a charming hostess, the experience was indeed delightful.
With half an hour before the auction started, Ji Xun took his seat and began to browse the auction catalog.
The snacks and fruits on the table were high-end items rarely seen in Sinless City.
These snacks alone would be worth several thousand coins.
Out of caution, Ji Xun didn't touch a single bite.
The sexy blonde hostess beside him was professional and discreet, speaking little, but regularly refilling his tea and giving massages.
Scanning the auction catalog, Ji Xun couldn't help but marvel: "So many good things..."
As expected, the auction items were rarer and more valuable than those available for regular sale, including many rare warehouse items.
Most were beyond his means.
In addition to the legendary materials advertised as a draw, Ji Xun noticed an item that was a... mysterious disaster item.
[X-099-Useless Greatsword]...
Could something like this really be auctioned?
...
Soon, the lights focused on the stage.
A man in a tailcoat walked up.
He introduced himself: "I am Song Can from Longcheng, the manager of this small shop. I extend my most sincere..."
Ji Xun observed the kindly, cheerful-looking man, meeting Big Ivan's owner for the first time.
Song Can belonged to the Song family of the Black Gold Chamber of Commerce, one of the top federal conglomerates.
Ji Xun hadn't expected the owner to be someone around his age.
Despite his youth, the man's calm demeanor indicated a well-bred background.
Before he could finish his opening remarks, a discordant voice interrupted: "Enough with the nonsense. We're here to buy, not to listen to your drivel. Get on with the auction..."
"..."
Ji Xun's interest piqued; someone was causing trouble.
It wasn't surprising, considering Big Ivan's shop's significant lead in power and business tactics over its competitors, making it destined to become a commercial giant in the city.
Where there are rises, there are falls. Business competition inevitably makes enemies.
While other places might give face to the Song family, Sinless City was full of outlaws.
Cutting off someone's income is a deep-seated grudge.
At this moment, a familiar female voice countered firmly: "Atai, causing trouble here is breaking black market rules."
Ji Xun recognized the voice as belonging to Dong Qi, whom he had met twice before.
The other person was likely "Boxer" Atai, a Brotherhood hall master he had seen three days ago.
Atai retorted mockingly: "What, are you from Honglou going to kick out a guest? I paid good money for this second-level VIP card, is this how you do business?"
Ignoring the obvious provocation, Dong Qi replied: "Atai, we settle matters by the rules of the trade. Acting like this tarnishes the Brotherhood's reputation."
Reluctant to ruin his own name, Atai feigned ignorance: "Dong Qi, I'm just here to buy things. Why are you talking about trade rules?"
Caught off guard by his shameless rhetoric, Dong Qi was momentarily speechless.
Ji Xun shook his head as he listened.
Just moments ago, he had been impressed with the environment, but his enthusiasm waned considerably. It felt like everyone was gathered around a feast, only for someone to deliberately spoil the mood with a foul action, sapping much of the enjoyment.
Continuing in this manner, Big Ivan's auction might not only be disrupted, but its hard-earned reputation could also suffer greatly.
If a merchant couldn't handle even one gang, who would dare to be a major client?
Just as it seemed a fight might break out, a deep voice from an unknown room spoke up: "Atai, take your matters elsewhere. Don't waste our time."
With that, both sides immediately fell silent.
Ji Xun had expected a fight but was surprised at how quickly it ended.
Since both Dong Qi and Atai backed down, it was clear there were many big shots in attendance.
Although the initial commotion was a nuisance, the silver lining was a swift move to the auction without lengthy preliminaries.
The plump man on stage maintained his cheerful demeanor, seemingly unaffected, showcasing a poise beyond the ordinary.
The auctioneer stepped up and began his work.
....
"The first item is a piece of golden material, [Fallen Aetherium], an excellent material for forging golden cards. The starting bid is 5 million..."
"80 million, sold!"
"The second item is a brand-new [P2 Bear Blast Mechanical City Boiler] from the Hargis Munitions Factory. It can mine, serve as a small town's energy core, or a military camp core, essential for pioneering lords. Starting bid 30 million..."
"Box 17 bids 430 million, sold!"
"The third item is a golden lightning spell [Storm Codex]..."
"..."
With items going for tens of millions to billions, Ji Xun didn't have the qualifications to bid.
No wonder there was a VIP2 threshold.
Watching the items, he treated it as an eye-opener.
He noticed that many auction items were pioneering equipment and mechanical devices, generally useful for large forces.
It seemed the federal upper echelons intended to push Sinless City's inhabitants to explore the Old Continent, releasing some high-end goods for the auction.
Item after item was sold, many being rare items not produced in Sinless City.
The hidden big shots at the auction fiercely competed, driving prices up.
Ji Xun eyed several coveted items but had no chance to bid.
Though wealthy by ordinary standards, without considering his relics and disaster items, his net worth couldn't compare to the hidden giants of Sinless City.
Finally, the item Ji Xun was interested in came up.
The auctioneer introduced: "This item is the [Cursed Spade 4], known as the 'non-golden golden' career card. The only one below golden quality to produce a bloody shard... Without further ado, the starting bid is 5 million."
A cracked card was displayed by a showgirl.
Ji Xun looked at it.
[Cursed Spade 4 (Fragmented)]
Quality: Silver
Description: Semi-finished career card; can become a complete career card 'Spade 4 - Mutant Beast Walker' by integrating materials of at least silver quality; requires Card Master's strength and constitution attributes of no less than 9, spell power greater than darkness affinity no less than 40; higher material quality raises fusion conditions; known to have a 100% mutation probability.
The fusion conditions were indeed harsh for a Card Master.
Reaching a single attribute of 9 was already rare among Card Masters.
This card required both strength and constitution to surpass 9, with additional spell power and darkness affinity thresholds, excluding 99% of people.
Revelation displayed information within human comprehension, not indicating why the mutation probability was 100%.
Clearly, some hidden information was unknown.
Ji Xun suspected something and quietly donned his jester mask.
With the +2 cognition aura, he saw additional details.
Revelation added: "This is a career card refined based on a primeval template. It possesses a ferocious enhancement unbearable for most humans. This card incorporates some godly material of the great demon Ouse, causing the Card Master to undergo 'beast-like ancestral transformation' upon transformation. The main material's bloodline tier determines the amplification degree. If the user cannot withstand the transformation's supernatural endurance requirement, their human bloodline will be permanently polluted, mutating into a monster."
"An original template?"
Ji Xun was instantly astonished.
Most card masters wouldn't know what this term meant, but he had just read about it in the "Card Master Encyclopedia."
The "original template" refers to the methods used to create the first batch of profession cards when the curse card system was developed.
It was a brutal era of war between humans and demons. To survive, curse card masters needed extremely powerful extraordinary abilities, so profession cards were made to be very violent, employing any means to enhance combat power, often accompanied by significant risks.
For example, the [Spade 4] card directly used the bloodline of a monster to transform oneself, resulting in combat power far beyond that of the same level.
However, in the chaotic era that followed, something unknown happened, and the gods and demons fell. Humans no longer needed such immense power to deal with crises. Human physique adapted to the more peaceful environment, becoming weaker over time. As a result, profession card templates were modified to reduce violent traits, gradually evolving into the current system that humans could generally endure.
So, the current curse card system is actually much weaker compared to the ancient times.
In simple terms, modern humans are too weak to handle the violent boosts from the original templates.
...
Realizing this, Ji Xun thought, "No wonder the fusion causes 100% aberration; it directly transforms the human bloodline."
With this understanding, the card wasn't cursed at all. It was a top-quality card because of its original template. This was why a silver-quality profession card had remained.
A regular beast master transformation would increase attributes by two to three times, but this card would cause a beast-like reversion, enhancing by several times. This explained why Baron was so powerful.
The downside was that such a boost was too violent for the current human physique, leading to uncontrollable aberrations.
"What a great card…"
Seeing this, Ji Xun's interest in the [Spade 4] grew. He hadn't encountered a profession card more suitable for his situation.
With the Jester Mask's cognitive boost, he completely understood the essence of Baron's aberration. It was due to the extraordinary endurance of the body's demonic mark not being enough to support such a violent attribute increase.
Baron's mark might not have been high-grade, possibly silver or gold? But even gold wouldn't support the "original template profession card's" violent traits.
However, others couldn't, but Ji Xun was different!
The [Mark of Joker] was an epic source card, with attributes like unlimited body accommodation and scalable elemental resistance. It provided superior physical adaptability. Theoretically, he could handle such violent boosts.
Just like how his attributes had skyrocketed through feasting on mediums without any signs of aberration.
With this realization, he decided to bid for the card. He might not encounter it again.
...
"The starting price is 5 million..."
Ji Xun looked bitter. After replenishing his ammunition, he didn't have much cash left and would need to sell some potions to buy it.
He hoped no one else would compete.
Fortunately, there wasn't much interest in the card.
When the bidding started, only one person raised their paddle.
Seeing it about to be taken, Ji Xun decided to try, "6 million!"
The auction went smoother than expected. After he raised the bid, the initial bidder didn't continue.
Ji Xun sighed in relief.
It seemed everyone knew about the [Cursed Spade 4]. The shop put it up for sale as a prelude to the legendary materials, being yesterday's spoils. Despite the card's strength, its 100% aberration rate deterred buyers. Spending millions on a decorative item was common among nobles, but not in the resource-scarce Sinless City.
Ji Xun successfully acquired the card.