Chapter 8

Walking into Wushi, Zhang Ruochen headed straight for the central auction house.

A lower-grade Spirit-level martial technique is not something ordinary shops can handle. Only by bringing it to the central auction house and auctioning it to the major families can the value of the martial technique be maximized.

As soon as Zhang Ruochen entered the auction house, a neatly dressed and pretty attendant came up to him. Seeing Zhang Ruochen's mysterious attire, she was not at all surprised and politely said, "Sir, do you need any assistance?"

"I want to see the chief steward of your central auction house!" Zhang Ruochen slightly altered his voice, making it quite deep and resonant, sounding like a man in his thirties or forties.

Who is this person? Asking to see the chief steward right away, he must be someone important.

"The servant will inform the chief steward immediately, but the chief steward is usually very busy and may not have time to see you. Please wait a moment!"

After saying this, the attendant immediately walked through a large door to inform the chief steward.

Zhang Ruochen was not in a hurry and just stood in the hall, waiting quietly.

Not long after, the attendant led out a plump old man dressed in luxurious robes, pointing to Zhang Ruochen and saying, "Chief Steward, it's that person."

The chief steward glanced at Zhang Ruochen, who was wearing a black cloak, and his gaze fixed on Zhang Ruochen's feet. His old eyes narrowed slightly, a glint of sharpness flashing in them.

The boots Zhang Ruochen was wearing were called "Qilin Inlaid Gold Boots," and only people in the royal palace had the right to wear such boots.

Zhang Ruochen naturally revealed his boots on purpose. After all, he was going to auction a lower-grade Spirit-level sword technique, which might attract covetous eyes. With his current martial cultivation, he could not protect a lower-grade Spirit-level sword technique.

But if people knew he was a big figure in the palace, there would probably be few who would dare to have designs on him.

When one's strength is not strong enough, it is necessary to pretend to be powerful to intimidate others.

"Quite a significant figure!"

The chief steward thought to himself as he looked at the boots on Zhang Ruochen's feet.

The chief steward's attitude towards Zhang Ruochen immediately became respectful, treating him as a big figure from the palace. He walked up to Zhang Ruochen and said in a low voice, "Sir, this way, please!"

"Um!"

To intimidate the other party, Zhang Ruochen crossed his arms behind his back, displaying a dignified demeanor, and nodded slightly.

The martial artists in the hall, seeing the chief steward's attitude, were all secretly speculating. It seemed that a significant figure had come to the central auction house.

On the third floor of the central auction house, Zhang Ruochen sat steadily at the top, took the teacup handed to him by the attendant, and said in a tone of a superior, "I have a treasure that I want to consign to the central auction house for auction. Call your top appraiser to appraise it for me."

Seeing Zhang Ruochen's demeanor, the chief steward was even more convinced that the other party was an important figure in the royal palace and immediately ordered someone to invite the appraiser.

A moment later, an old man with white hair walked in.

The old man looked to be in his seventies or eighties, but his eyes were sharp. He glanced at Zhang Ruochen and found that he could not discern the other party's cultivation, which startled him.

There are only three situations where one cannot discern another's cultivation: the first is that the other party's martial cultivation is higher than his own.

The second is that the other party's cultivation method is much more advanced than his own.

For example, a martial artist cultivating a Human-grade cultivation method generally cannot discern the cultivation of a martial artist cultivating a Spirit-grade cultivation method, and can only roughly guess the other party's cultivation from some details and the aura they exude.

Of course, if the cultivation methods are of similar levels, a person with higher cultivation can still discern the cultivation of a person with lower cultivation.

The third is that the other party has a treasure that conceals their cultivation.

The second and third situations are not common, so the old man instinctively assumed it was the first situation, thinking that Zhang Ruochen's cultivation was above his own, and thus immediately bowed respectfully to Zhang Ruochen.

Zhang Ruochen reached into his sleeve, touched the temporal crystal, and his hand directly entered the inner space of the temporal crystal, retrieving the oral transmission of the "Heavenly Heart Sword Technique" and handing it to the old man with white hair.

"The treasure I want to auction is this lower-grade Spirit-level sword technique!" Zhang Ruochen said calmly.

The chief appraiser, upon hearing Zhang Ruochen's words, was slightly startled. He was actually going to auction a lower-grade Spirit-level sword technique!

The chief appraiser immediately unfolded the rolled-up paper and began to study it carefully.

The chief steward, standing nearby, also immediately went over to examine the oral transmission of the "Heavenly Heart Sword Technique."

Both the chief appraiser and the chief steward were martial experts and quickly appraised the item, nodding in agreement.

"Indeed, it is the oral transmission of a lower-grade Spirit-level sword technique. May I ask how many sword moves does the adult have in your possession?" the chief steward asked.

The oral transmission and the sword moves must be used together to unleash the true power of a lower-grade Spirit-level sword technique.

Even if the chief steward and the chief appraiser forcibly memorized the oral transmission of the "Heavenly Heart Sword Technique," without the corresponding sword moves, the memorized oral transmission would be useless.

Zhang Ruochen said, "The entire sword technique consists of twelve moves. The original version of the sword technique has been lost, and the 'Heavenly Heart Sword Technique' in my possession was drawn by a Heaven Extreme Realm expert, with no difference from the original version."

The chief appraiser pondered for a moment and said, "In that case, the starting bid for the 'Heavenly Heart Sword Technique' will be set at 200,000 silver coins. However, there is one condition: after the auction, the buyer must inspect the sword moves and the oral transmission. If it is not a lower-grade Spirit-level sword technique, the auction result will be invalid."

Zhang Ruochen nodded and said, "Everything will be handled according to the auction house's rules!"

The auction of the "Heavenly Heart Sword Technique" was scheduled for that evening and became the highlight of the night at the central auction house.

Before the auction began, the central auction house immediately informed the major families in the capital city.

Important figures from the major families rushed to Wushi with substantial funds, all hoping to acquire the complete lower-grade Spirit-level sword technique.

Zhang Ruochen was not concerned about the auction process but only about the result.

After about two hours, the auction ended, and the result was announced.

In the bidding war among the major families, the price of the "Heavenly Heart Sword Technique" was raised to 1,240,000 silver coins and was ultimately won by the head of the Lin family.

"It's actually the Lin family!" Zhang Ruochen was slightly surprised upon hearing the result.

Not long after, led by the chief steward, the head of the Lin family, Lin Fengxian, a clan uncle of the Lin family, Lin De, and one of the four young beauties of Yunwu County, Lin Nianshan, walked in from outside.

"Head of the Lin family, this adult is the owner of the 'Heavenly Heart Sword Technique'," the chief steward said with a smile, pointing to Zhang Ruochen sitting at the top.

Lin Fengxian's gaze lingered on the "Qilin Inlaid Gold Boots" on Zhang Ruochen's feet for a moment, nodded slightly, and bowed slightly, saying, "I am Lin Fengxian, head of the Lin family. May I ask how the adult should be addressed?"

Before entering, Lin Fengxian had heard the chief steward describe this mysterious person, knowing that he was someone significant, possibly a big figure in the royal palace.

Therefore, after entering, Lin Fengxian took the initiative to lower his stance as the head of the Lin family.

Seeing Lin Fengxian and Lin Nianshan, Zhang Ruochen became even more cautious to avoid being recognized.

Zhang Ruochen cleared his throat, his voice becoming deep and resonant, "You do not need to know my name. Here is the oral transmission and the sword move diagrams of the 'Heavenly Heart Sword Technique.' Head of the Lin family, please inspect them."

As he spoke, Zhang Ruochen took out the oral transmission and the sword move diagrams from his sleeve and placed them on the table.

Lin Fengxian did not inspect the oral transmission of the "Heavenly Heart Sword Technique," as he trusted that the central auction house had already appraised it before the auction.

He unfolded the sword move diagrams of the "Heavenly Heart Sword Technique" and saw twelve small figures drawn on the paper.

If an ordinary person looked at the twelve figures, they would not see anything special, but when Lin Fengxian's gaze fell on the paper, the twelve sword-wielding figures seemed to come to life, performing the sword technique on the paper.

Each sword move was exquisitely brilliant, containing profound martial arts concepts. Even learning just one move would be immensely beneficial.

"This sword technique is absolutely top-notch among lower-grade Spirit-level martial techniques. It was worth every bit of the price!" Lin Fengxian was extremely excited.