Chapter 8

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

A lower-grade Spirit-level martial technique is not something that 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 beautiful attendant came forward. Seeing Zhang Ruochen's mysterious attire, she was not at all surprised and said very politely, "Sir, what assistance do you need?"

"I want to see the chief steward of your central auction house!" Zhang Ruochen slightly altered his voice, making it quite deep, 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, receiving VIP clients, 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, just standing in the hall and waiting quietly.

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

The chief steward looked at Zhang Ruochen, who was wearing a black cloak, from a distance, 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 be coveted by others. With his current martial arts 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 yet powerful enough, it is necessary to pretend to be powerful to intimidate others.

"Quite a significant figure!"

The chief steward, looking at the boots on Zhang Ruochen's feet, thought to himself.

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!"

"Hmm!"

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.

Climbing to 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 superior tone, "I have a treasure that I want to consign to the central auction house for auction. Call your top appraiser to help me appraise it."

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

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

The old man, who looked to be in his seventies or eighties, had bright eyes. He glanced at Zhang Ruochen and found that he could not discern his cultivation, which startled him.

The old man immediately bowed respectfully to Zhang Ruochen, "This old man is the chief appraiser of the central auction house. May I ask where the item you wish to auction is?"

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

The second is that the other is practicing a cultivation method that is much more advanced than his own.

For example, a martial artist practicing a human-level cultivation method generally cannot discern the cultivation of a martial artist practicing a spirit-level cultivation method, and can only roughly guess the other's cultivation from some details and the aura they display.

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 has a treasure that can conceal their cultivation.

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

After all, Zhang Ruochen was practicing the "Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture," an extremely profound cultivation method. Unless he deliberately revealed the meridians in his body, probably no one in the Yunwu Kingdom could discern his martial arts cultivation.

Moreover, in his previous life, Zhang Ruochen was a peak Tianji Realm martial artist. Although he was reborn in an ordinary person's body, his understanding of martial arts and the essence and spirit carried by his soul were no different from those of a peak Tianji Realm martial artist.

To discern his cultivation, the other party's martial arts realm would have to be above the peak Tianji Realm.

Zhang Ruochen reached into his sleeve, touched the time crystal, and his hand directly entered the inner space of the time crystal, taking out the "Tianxin Sword Technique" manual and handing it to the old man with white hair.

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

The chief appraiser had just taken the "Tianxin Sword Technique" manual when he heard Zhang Ruochen's words, his heart 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 beside him, also immediately went over to examine the "Tianxin Sword Technique" manual.

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

"Indeed, it is the manual of a lower-grade Spirit-level sword technique. May I ask how many sword moves you have mastered?" the chief steward asked.

The manual 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 "Tianxin Sword Technique" manual, without the corresponding sword moves, the memorized manual 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 'Tianxin Sword Technique' I have is a set of sword move diagrams drawn by a peak Tianji Realm martial artist, which is no different from the original version."

The chief appraiser pondered for a moment and said, "In that case, the starting bid for the 'Tianxin 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 manual. 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 rules!"

The auction of the "Tianxin 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 sent the news to the major families in the capital.

Important figures from the major families rushed to Wushi with large sums of money, all hoping to bid for the complete lower-grade Spirit-level sword technique.

Zhang Ruochen was not concerned with the auction process, only with 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 "Tianxin Sword Technique" was raised to 1,240,000 silver coins, and it was finally won by the head of the Lin family.

"It's actually the Lin family!" Zhang Ruochen was slightly surprised when he heard 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 the Yunwu Kingdom, Lin Ningshan, walked in from outside.

"Head of the Lin family, this gentleman is the owner of the 'Tianxin Sword Technique'," the chief steward said with a smile, pointing to Zhang Ruochen, who was sitting at the top.

Lin Fengxian's gaze lingered on the "Qilin Inlaid Gold Boots" on Zhang Ruochen's feet for a moment, then he nodded slightly and bowed slightly, saying, "I am Lin Fengxian, head of the Lin family. May I ask how to address you, sir?"

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

Therefore, when he entered, Lin Fengxian took the initiative to lower his status as the head of the Lin family.

Seeing Lin Fengxian and Lin Ningshan, Zhang Ruochen became even more cautious to prevent them from recognizing him.

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

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

Lin Fengxian did not inspect the "Tianxin Sword Technique" manual; he trusted that the central auction house had already appraised it before the auction.

He unfolded the "Tianxin Sword Technique" sword move diagrams 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 figures holding long swords seemed to come to life, performing the sword technique on the paper.

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

"This set of sword techniques is absolutely top-notch among lower-grade Spirit-level martial techniques. It's truly worth the price!" Lin Fengxian was extremely excited.