CHAPTER 205: CHAPTER 202- START OF THE AUCTION

The venue, the Alchemy Pavilion, which was holding its auction, was owned by one of the three strongest Sects in Pearl City, the Azure Dragon Sect.

It was a large indoor arena-like building that could hold several tens of thousands of people.

Currently, this arena was being packed with people from the various Sects and Clans in Pearl City.

Unlike the auctions held by the other Pavilions of the Martial Alliance Academy, this auction by the Alchemy Pavilion was more massive in scale.

The arena was separated into the VIP section and the Open section.

The VIP section was on the second floor, and only those who could afford it could purchase an open booth here. As for the Open section, it was located on the ground floor of the arena, and it was free for anyone who wanted to view the auction.

One thing to note was that the Open section was mostly filled with Mortals and low-level cultivators from smaller Sects and Clans.

The cultivators who purchase a VIP booth wouldn’t enter the same way as them on the ground level.

The arena had an outer balcony on the second floor that was big enough to accommodate them flying in on their Spirit Treasures.

After showing their VIP jade slips to prove their purchase, they would be led to their booths. This was very convenient as they could avoid the crowd of Mortals and low-level cultivators on the ground floor.

Among these VIP cultivators, there were some who flew in on Spirit Treasures, but some were seen flying on their own.

Everyone would stop to look each time.

These were powerful Cultivators in the Spiritual Realm and were Leaders of the most influential Sects and Clans in the city.

They drew attention anywhere they went in Pearl City.

Among these influential figures flying towards the arena were Park Yong and Sang-Hun.

After arriving on the outer balcony and showing their VIP jade slip to a yellow-robed Alchemy Disciple, they were led to their booth.

However, a small commotion occurred when two figures appeared right behind them.

Park Yong and Sang-Hun both turn to see who it is, but they immediately snort after seeing the two figures.

They were Clan Leader Lan Yoo and Clan Leader Lin Hyun.

Both men scowled at Park Yong and San-Hun when they heard their snorts.

"You two brats, when are you going to learn to respect your Elders?"

Lan Yoo said, and Park Yong instantly rebutted.

"Old thing, Lan Yoo, when are you both going to pass on your Clan Leader positions to your Eldest sons? How many generations has it been since you two have clung to your positions with your decrepit fingers?"

Park Yong and Sang-Hun were of the previous generation, and they had succeeded their father in taking over the Clan and becoming Clan Leaders.

But Lan Yoon and Lin Hyun had become Clan Leaders of their respective Clans two or three generations ago, even before Park Yong and Sang-Hun were born.

In Cultivation Clans, it was common for cultivators to have children when they had reached the peak of their power, or when they had reached a bottleneck, and they were unable to pass.

So, when they died due to inability to move on to the next Realm or voluntarily abdicate their positions to go into seclusion to attempt a breakthrough to increase their lifespans, their children would take over their positions.

So, one could see that Clan Leader Lan and Clan Leader Lin were an anomaly. They’ve long passed their primes, which was obvious from their inability to keep their youthful appearance.

Compared to Park Yong and Sang-Hun, who looked to be in their late thirties to early forties, and were filled with vigor, they had wrinkles covering their faces, while their hair had all turned gray.

They were both hunched over as well. Overall, they looked like they could collapse at any moment.

If not for the fact that they were a part of the Lan Clan and Lin Clan, where they could use their Clans’ power to acquire precious medicinal pills, maybe they would have kicked the bucket a long time ago.

It was perhaps because of this that the two groups did not get along. The old refused to be replaced by the young, while the young saw the old as shameless individuals who didn’t know when to move on.

After arguing like usual, Park Yong and Sang-Hun left for their booths fuming in anger.

Meanwhile, Lan Yoo and Lin Hyun were cackling at them. They were too experienced to be losing an argument with a bunch of juniors.

This situation was quite a common occurrence, which could be seen by how casual the surrounding spectators were while watching them argue.

Park Yong and Sang-Hun chose to room together to watch the auction.

"Since they’re here, do you think they’re planning to sell medicinal plants and herbs in the auction?"

Sang-Hun asked as he poured himself a cup of wine that was on the small table next to his chair. He couldn’t help but glance at the strange red ruby in the middle of the table, but he didn’t pay too much attention to it.

While looking at the bustling crowd over the edge of the booth, Park Yong responded.

"That’s probably the case. Those old things wouldn’t have given up the opportunity to acquire those medicinal plants and herbs from that brat. I just hope they’re in more debt than us because of their greed to live longer."

"Hm, I hope so too."

After taking down his cup of wine, Sang-Hun changed the topic.

"How many medicinal plants and herbs did you put up for auction, and what Tier are they? I put up some of the Tier 8 ones so I could quickly pay off this looming debt a bit sooner."

Park Yong nodded.

He also put up some Tier 7 and Tier 8 medicinal plants and herbs for auction. That was along with a few more from the lower Tiers.

He realized that this was the best solution to decrease the debt. It was quite counterintuitive since he was just giving back the medicinal plants and herbs he had purchased, but he made sure to keep the valuable ones for his Clan when they left Pearl City to start fresh.

"It’s starting."

Sang-Hun said as he sat up in his chair.

Park Yong came out of his thoughts and looked at the large podium in the center of the arena. However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. This feeling irked him to no end, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

Maybe it was something about this auction that was causing his instincts to go off. But after not being able to find the cause, Park Yong could only ignore it and focus on the auction.

Standing on the large center stage was a disciple who looked extremely familiar to some of the people in the crowd.

He stood with his hands folded behind his back while a dignified aura radiated from his body. Everyone could sense the pride he was exuding.

After waiting for the crowd to calm down, this young man smiled and introduced himself.

"Greetings to everyone. My name is Chun Byeong-Ho."

"WHOA!!"

"I knew it was him!"

"Wah, I didn’t even recognize that it was him. How blind of me to not immediately realize?!"

"No wonder he gave off such an aura, so it was the number one genius in Jianghu, Disciple Byeong-Ho!"

The arena immediately went into an uproar.

One could see the amount of fame Byeong-Ho had outside his Sect, as both the common Mortals and the highly respected Sect Leaders who were in the Spiritual Realm reacted the same way when he introduced himself.

He was still alive, but he had already become a living legend. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that he was going to rule the Martial World for years to come.

Byeong-Ho smiled and lifted his hand to calm everyone down. After a minute or two, the crowd finally settled down.

"I was invited here by my friend to host this auction, and I saw no reason to refuse. I hope to do well and entertain everyone."

The crowd all broke out into a round of applause after Byeong-Ho spoke.