The Mirror Master

After a short while, once most of the guests had arrived, the Drunken Flower House auction officially began.

The auction was divided into several categories: Cultivation Techniques, Spiritual Elixirs and Herbs, and also Weapons and Magical Treasures.

Second Master Jin walked onto the stage, scanned the crowd, and smiled slightly. "I know many of our esteemed guests have come for the two Profound Tier Inner Strength techniques," he announced. "So, this time, we won’t waste time with any Yellow Tier Cultivation and Martial Techniques as a warm-up. We’ll get straight to auctioning the *Wild Bull Skill* and the *Celestial Horse Technique*!"

"Boss Jin doesn’t mess around!"

Someone from the audience exclaimed in admiration.

Soon, two beautiful women with graceful figures glided in, each carrying a tray. On each tray rested a slightly yellowed book.

Another auctioneer with a dignified bearing stepped forward. She briefly explained the origins of the two techniques to the crowd, confirming their reliable provenance and that the manuals were complete.

The auctioneer said, "First, we will auction the *Wild Bull Skill*. The starting bid is one thousand gold, and each increment must be no less than one hundred gold."

Lu Bai was secretly speechless.

’Just an Inner Power Heart Method for the Martial Arts First Realm, and a Profound Tier one at that, has a starting bid of a thousand gold.’

The one thousand seven hundred taels of silver he had on him would be considered a huge fortune for an ordinary family, enough to live comfortably for a lifetime.

’But in the Martial Arts World, it wouldn’t even make a splash.’

Lu Bai was not in a hurry.

’The most valuable thing he possessed wasn’t that one thousand seven hundred taels of silver.’

"One thousand one hundred gold."

Someone in the crowd quickly made a bid.

"One thousand two hundred gold."

"One thousand three hundred gold."

After the first person called out a price, others in the audience began to raise the bid one after another.

"Two thousand gold!"

At that moment, Luo Tianxiong slowly spoke up.

The originally noisy hall instantly quieted down.

The size of the increase not only showed his determination but also dissuaded many others.

"Two thousand one hundred gold."

Patriarch Sun of the Sun Family, Sun Xuan, finally spoke.

"Two thousand five hundred gold!"

Luo Tianxiong’s face was expressionless.

Sun Xuan said coolly, "Two thousand six hundred gold."

"Three thousand gold!"

Without hesitation, Luo Tianxiong continued to raise the bid by a large margin.

"Three thousand one hundred gold."

Sun Xuan immediately followed with his own bid, never adding much, just enough to stay one step ahead of Luo Tianxiong.

The members of the Luo Family frowned privately.

The price of a Profound Tier Inner Strength technique was typically around three thousand gold.

A more famous Profound Tier Inner Strength technique might sell for as much as five thousand gold.

Seeing the Sun Family’s posture, it was clear they were deliberately picking a fight.

Luo Tianxiong was silent for a moment before saying, "Four thousand gold!"

"Four thousand one hundred gold," Sun Xuan bid in response.

By now, only two people in the Drunken Flower House were still constantly raising the price.

Luo Hongyuan whispered, "Father, let it go. It’s not worth it to keep bidding."

Luo Tianxiong’s face was grim as he slowly said, "Five thousand gold!"

A stir went through the surrounding crowd.

"Heh."

Sun Xuan chuckled and said, "Five thousand one hundred gold."

Luo Tianxiong did not bid again, looking as still as an old monk in deep meditation.

’He had expected from the start that it wouldn’t be easy to win the two Profound Tier Techniques.’

’Since the Sun Family wanted to compete, he would let them bleed a little first.’

’His real target was the other technique!’

After the auctioneer confirmed three times that there were no further bids, the *Wild Bull Skill* went to the Sun Family.

The auctioneer announced, "Next up is the *Celestial Horse Technique*. The starting price is again one thousand gold, with increments of no less than one hundred gold."

After several people in the audience made their bids, Luo Tianxiong spoke up again, bidding three thousand gold directly.

"Three thousand one hundred gold."

Sun Xuan’s voice rang out once more.

"Four thousand gold."

"Four thousand one hundred gold."

"Five thousand gold."

"Five thousand one hundred gold."

The two of them kept raising the price, which soon exceeded five thousand gold.

In reality, this price had already surpassed the inherent value of the *Celestial Horse Technique*.

After all, the Inner Strength Realm was only the Martial Arts First Realm.

Even by cultivating a Yellow Tier Inner Strength technique, as long as one’s constitution and comprehension weren’t too poor, had sufficient resources, and was supplemented with some Spirit Pills, plenty of people could still break through to the Innate Realm.

The only differences would be the time it took and the strength of their Inner Strength.

The two of them bid against each other without ever exchanging a word, or even a glance.

Only now did Luo Tianxiong finally look toward Sun Xuan and say, "Younger Brother Sun, one *Wild Bull Skill* should be enough for the younger generation of the Sun Family to cultivate, shouldn’t it?"

"Heh, not necessarily."

Sun Xuan smiled.

Luo Tianxiong said, "If we keep raising the price like this, it’ll just be a lose-lose situation, only benefiting others."

"That’s fine by me."

Sun Xuan said, "Regarding the matter we discussed with your family before, if Brother Luo agrees to it, I’ll let the Luo Family have the *Celestial Horse Technique*. The grudges between the younger generation can also be written off."

Luo Tianxiong fell silent.

After a long moment, Luo Tianxiong bid again: "Five thousand five hundred gold."

Raising the bid was his way of stating his position: he would not cooperate with the Sun Family.

Sun Xuan gave a slight, cold smile and said, "Five thousand six hundred gold."

Luo Tianxiong took a deep breath and shook his head.

’There’s no point in bidding any higher.’

’This price has already exceeded the value of a Profound Tier Inner Strength technique.’

Both Profound Tier Inner Strength techniques went to the Sun Family.

"Next, we will be auctioning a Celestial Tier Inner Strength technique!"

Second Master Jin personally took the stage and announced slowly, "This Celestial Tier Inner Strength technique is called the *Dragon Elephant Skill*. It is a top-tier Inner Strength technique passed down from ancient times.

"Once cultivated to Great Success, the Inner Strength it generates is comparable to the power of a dragon and an elephant! Even among Celestial Tier Inner Strength techniques, it is considered a pinnacle technique!"

"The *Dragon Elephant Skill* again?"

Luo Tianxiong murmured softly.

Luo Qing asked, "Grandfather, have you heard of it?"

Luo Tianxiong nodded. "Many years ago, this Celestial Tier Inner Strength technique was auctioned off several times. I remember the major powers in the city, like the Sun Family and the Zheng Family, all won it at some point."

"However, the technique must be extremely difficult to cultivate. I’ve never heard of anyone successfully mastering it."

Lu Bai had been observing the whole time.

After this Celestial Tier Technique appeared, the people present showed surprisingly little enthusiasm.

The calm was almost abnormal.

Second Master Jin said, "A Celestial Tier Technique is priceless. So this time, we are once again auctioning viewing time. The bidding starts at two thousand gold per stick of incense, for a total of twelve hours until tomorrow morning."

Lu Bai did a quick calculation.

’A stick of incense is about fifteen minutes.’

’A traditional two-hour period would cost sixteen thousand gold.’

’Viewing for the full twelve hours would be nearly one hundred thousand gold!’

’What a great business. A truly massive profit from a small investment.’

Luo Tianxiong remarked, "The price is actually cheaper this time. I remember when the *Dragon Elephant Skill* was auctioned many years ago, the bidding started at four thousand gold per stick of incense."

An idea sparked in Luo Xiao’s mind. "Grandfather," he asked, "if someone has a good memory, shouldn’t they be able to memorize the entire contents in twelve hours?"

"It’s useless."

Luo Tianxiong shook his head. "When it comes to techniques of the Celestial Tier, they are abstruse and complex. Most of it cannot be conveyed through words and can only be understood through insight. They are stored in special items like Memory Jade Slips."

"Even if you memorized all of the content and wrote it down, it would lose its original spiritual charm and essence."

"Take the famous Celestial Tier Pile Skill, the *Mountain Monarch Bone Forging Technique*, for example. By the time it was passed down to the present, it had degenerated into the Profound Tier Pile Skill, the *Fierce Tiger Stance*."

Luo Xiao nodded.

Luo Tianxiong continued, "Some Cultivation and Martial Techniques might just be a few drawings, or even just a single sword mark. How much you can comprehend depends entirely on your own innate understanding."

"If your understanding is insufficient, forget twelve hours; you could hold onto a Celestial Tier Technique and cultivate it for decades and still not grasp a single move."

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