Chapter 29: Auction of Martial Arts Techniques
Four Seas Trading Company
In the auction hall, all three hundred seats were filled, and the sixteen private rooms surrounding it were also packed. Each person held a list with detailed information about tonight's auction items, including all the basic information about the martial arts being auctioned tonight.
The list clearly stated the name, grade, characteristics, and requirements of each martial art.
Lin Jiang had already obtained a copy of this list. It wasn't a secret. What caught Lin Jiang's attention was a martial art called Sitting Zen Classic.
Sitting Zen Classic was the most famous martial art in the cultivation world, with no equal. Some even said that Sitting Zen Classic was the foundation of all martial arts, the first martial art to appear in ancient times.
This martial art emphasized balance and moderation, avoiding extreme paths. It cultivated a rich spiritual energy and was suitable for practitioners with the Five Elements Spiritual Root of gold, wood, water, fire, or earth. It didn't require any additional talents and was highly renowned in the cultivation world.
However, the original version of Sitting Zen Classic had long been lost. Now, there were almost a hundred variations of Sitting Zen Classic circulating in the cultivation world. These variations were created by later generations based on their own cultivation insights.
Therefore, the grades of these Sitting Zen Classics varied. Some were lower Heaven-grade, some were Earth-grade, some were Mysterious-grade, and there were even some yellow-grade ones. The grade depended on the creator's level of skill and the upper limit of the martial art.
The Sitting Zen Classic being auctioned by Four Seas Trading Company this time was created by a Soul Changing Ancestor two thousand years ago. Its upper limit of cultivation reached the late stage of Soul Changing, and its grade reached middle Earth-grade.
The earth grade cultivation method was outstanding. Even top sects like Zhonghang Sect and Cloud Sword Sect had few earth grade cultivation methods. They were not something ordinary disciples could practice. Among independent cultivators, those who possessed earth grade cultivation methods were rare and exceptional.
Besides the Sitting Zen Classic, Lin Jiang was also interested in a sword cultivation secret technique called One Sword Flying Immortal. It was created by the grandmaster of swordsmanship, Xiao Jian, who had achieved perfection in the Nascent Soul stage. He relied on his amazing swordsmanship skills, and One Sword Flying Immortal was one of his most famous techniques, very powerful.
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"Good evening, fellow Taoist friends. I am Zhang Ruohai from Four Seas Trading Company, and I am the auctioneer tonight. Our company, along with seven other trading firms, is hosting today's auction. We have a total of sixteen cultivation methods and twenty-eight secret techniques, all of which have been jointly appraised by the evaluators from our eight companies. We guarantee the quality and characteristics of these cultivation methods based on our combined approval and the reputation of our companies."
The auction began, and Zhang Ruohai, the manager of Four Seas Trading Company, took the stage to assure everyone that the origin and grade of these cultivation methods were reliable and had been appraised by them. They were guaranteed by the reputation of their trading company.
"Alright, enough with the small talk. Let's start the auction. The first item up for bidding is the Qingzhou cultivation method called 'Qing Thunder Art.' This cultivation method is of high quality and requires a thunder-based spiritual root to practice..."
Then, Zhang Ruohai introduced the first auction item, a cultivation method from another province, specifically a thunder-based cultivation method. Thunder-based spiritual roots were one of the three major rare spiritual roots, besides the five elements spiritual root.
The five elements spiritual root was the most common, but these three rare spiritual roots, wind, thunder, and ice, were extremely powerful. Each had its own unique qualities.
As soon as Zhang Ruohai finished speaking, people immediately started bidding. Though the number of bidders was not many, the competition was intense. The bid quickly skyrocketed from fifteen thousand spirit stones to forty thousand spirit stones, ultimately ending at fifty-one thousand spirit stones.
After the first item was auctioned, the second item quickly followed. However, the auctioning of martial arts techniques was different from other items. Other items were unique, such as pills, ores, and elixirs. Whoever owned them, they belonged to that person. But martial arts techniques were different; they could be duplicated.
So, there was another way to auction off martial arts techniques secretly. For example, if one martial arts technique was duplicated ten times, then the secret bidding method was where everyone bid together, but could only bid once. The top ten bidders would win and share the item.
This method had its pros and cons. The advantage was that the auctioneer could earn more spirit stones. The disadvantage was that if the martial arts techniques were too widely spread, their value would decrease.
For example, if there were too many copies of an ordinary Sitting Zen Classic, it might only be worth ten spirit stones outside, and it could not be auctioned.
One Sword Flying Immortal, which Lin Jiang was interested in, was ranked eighth in the auction. It was also auctioned secretly. The auctioneer duplicated fifteen copies, and as long as the bid was higher than the top fifteen, it could be won.
Lin Jiang wrote down "5,000 spirit stones" but quickly erased it and wrote "8,000 spirit stones" instead, handing it to the staff.
In the time it took to finish a cup of tea, Zhang Ruohai announced the results. The fifteenth highest bid was 7,500 spirit stones. Those who bid higher than this number could contact the staff of the company to pay and obtain the technique.
Some people didn't need to bid on the next items and left directly after paying. Lin Jiang still wanted to bid on the Sitting Zen Classic and stayed put.
One item after another, they finally came to the auction of the Sitting Zen Classic. Zhang Ruoxu held up a jade scroll and said, "I believe everyone is familiar with the Sitting Zen Classic. Many sects and families have at least eight of the ten versions. The Sitting Zen Classic in my hands comes from our Yun State's former ancestor, Soul Changing Ancestor Yun Xu. So, our appraisal rates it as an earth-grade medium-quality item."
The way this item is being auctioned is still through a secret auction. There are a total of thirty copies, with a starting price of 30,000 spirit stones. Please, my Taoist friends, make your bids, and take your time to consider it while drinking a cup of tea."
When Zhang Ruoxu spoke, Lin Jiang immediately wrote down the maximum amount he could offer, which was 80,000 spirit stones. If it went over that amount, he didn't think it was worth it anymore.
There were many people bidding this time. More than half of the cultivators in the field made bids because an earth-grade cultivation method could add strength to their own influence, even if they didn't practice it themselves. Just in case their future generations needed it, you know?
"The auction for the Sitting Zen Classic is now over. Taoist friends who bid 78,000 spirit stones or more, please contact the representative of the company to pay and receive the cultivation method."
Zhang Ruoxu quickly had someone tally up everyone's bids. When Lin Jiang heard the prices, he immediately felt relieved and got up, ready to leave.
"Taoist friend, I am willing to offer 50,000 spirit stones. Could you do me a favor?"
"Taoist friend, I bid 45,000 spirit stones. Could you make a copy of the cultivation method for me?"
"Taoist friend····"
As soon as Lin Jiang stood up, he immediately received more than ten voice transmissions, all of them wanting to buy the cultivation method through him. It wasn't just him; other people were experiencing the same thing.
But Lin Jiang didn't say a word and just left. The others did the same. Why did Lin Jiang and his friends refuse to sell their techniques to these people? In theory, techniques could be endlessly copied and sold, making them a lot of money.
The reason was for their own safety. Each technique had its own strengths and weaknesses. By studying the techniques, they could find the weaknesses of others. If they were to fight against someone, they could use these weaknesses to defeat them. So, for the sake of their own lives, they didn't want to sell their techniques for just a little money. Who could guarantee that they wouldn't have to fight against these people in the future?
Could there be people who intentionally make money by not practicing these techniques? Yes, there could be, but they were very few. If Lin Jiang didn't practice the Sitting Zen Classic and sold the technique, that was also possible.
However, by doing so, Lin Jiang would offend the other twenty-nine people. His actions had already put their safety at risk. In the world of cultivation, when faced with such situations, there was no reasoning; it became a matter of swords and knives. Unless you had the ability to not fear those twenty-nine people, you shouldn't easily do such things.
Lin Jiang went backstage where the staff of the store were already waiting. He started trading spirit stones. Besides the price, he also had to pay an additional 5% fee. Nearly one hundred thousand spirit stones were exchanged.
After acquiring the technique, with the store staff escorting him, Lin Jiang left through a secret passage. Instead of going straight home, he went to the market, moving through the dense crowd, constantly checking if anyone was following him. Once he made sure no one was tracking him, Lin Jiang went back home.
"The Sitting Zen Classic is definitely different from the others."
In Lin Jiang's home, there were thirteen copies of the Sitting Zen Classic in front of him. Besides the one he just bought, the other twelve were purchased from elsewhere. The most expensive one was only thirty spirit stones.
All thirteen copies of the Sitting Zen Classic had the same content during the Qi Refining Period, but above the Foundation Building Period, they were completely different. The techniques were full of personal style and had powerful unique features.
This also proved that the Sitting Zen Classic had a strong shaping effect. It also confirmed the safety of practicing this technique. Since there were so many variations of the technique, unless someone knew you very well and purposely found a way to counterattack using the same technique, no one would know which version you were practicing and they wouldn't be able to exploit your weaknesses.
"After the celebration ends, I'll immediately start improving the Sitting Zen Classic. Until I reach the Soul Changing period, I don't have to worry about the technique anymore. But if I have the chance, I should look for even more powerful techniques."
Lin Jiang made up his mind to improve his skills. He decided to start after the celebration ended. In the meantime, his main focus was on making money. If he missed this opportunity, he would have to wait another hundred years.
