Chapter 297: Virtual Items Can Also Be Auctioned?

"Boss! I want to buy a wand over at the Royal Guild! Help me facilitate the trade!"

"Boss! I'm buying a Sacred Armor manual, help me process the transaction!"

"Boss..."

Over the past few days, Fang Qi had been feeling rather beset by these relentless requests, the root cause being the cross-regional trading issues that arose as virtual commerce began to spread.

With the prices of secret manuals steadily climbing, the various treasure troves that yielded these manuals naturally became the centers of ceaseless conflict, and whenever a boss capable of dropping a level-thirty-or-above manual, such as the Wooma Guardian, was about to respawn, it would almost invariably ignite a bloody tempest.

By now, the elites of the major vanguard factions had already secured most of their necessary manuals, so their gaze naturally shifted toward the acquisition of equipment.

Though equipment could not bring direct enlightenment like a secret manual, it was indispensable for killing rivals to seize treasures and for wrestling away world bosses; it was inextricably bound to the interests of every player, and thus, gear capable of enhancing one's strength within the game became equally sought-after.

Even the mindset of many players was undergoing a gradual and subtle transformation.

For instance, because Black Demon currently brandished an exquisite wand, every member of the Black Demon Guard took immense pride in being able to carry one themselves, thinking after all, "Our boss carries this very same weapon!"

...

"Guild Leader, tell me... just how high do you think the price of this Magic Shield manual will soar? And then there is the Wu-Ji Staff; I feel like if we keep it for too long, its value will drop..." Unlike Ruan Ning, whose warehouse was stocked with guild resources, Xi Yue still possessed a few items she had acquired privately.

"I intend to sell one or two things."

"How will you sell them?" Fang Qi frowned slightly, offering a word of caution. "There are a lot of profiteers out there right now!"

"If we wait... who knows how long we will have to wait..." Xi Yue replied. "I think we could try putting them up for auction."

The Inner City of Half-City was the gathering place for the entire metropolis's upper echelon, the true center of absolute power.

Every faction in the Outer City had to be officially registered in the Inner City to be considered recognized by the authorities, and this was merely the baseline, the fundamental requirement to establish a foothold in the entire city.

Even an entity like the Coiling Dragon Manor was merely a faction leaning toward the lower tiers of the Inner City's hierarchy.

Rumor had it that in the deepest recesses of Half-City, there lurked terrifying old monsters one after another, and it was precisely their ominous presence here that made the factions of the Morning Star Sea detest them to the bone, yet none dared to eradicate them.

Half-City welcomed all cultivators and martial artists who were willing to abide by its regulations and reside within its borders, regardless of whether they were notoriously vicious or inherently virtuous before entering; once they stepped into this city, they became outlaws under its singular protection.

The city had once been half-destroyed, yet the remaining half was preserved perfectly intact, and likewise, its ancient laws endured, remaining unshakeable through the ages!

The Inner City of Half-City boasted that as long as one possessed enough wealth, a sufficient fortune, they could purchase any renowned item in the world.

It could even be items that one would normally never dare to imagine.

Therefore, the Grand Auction of Half-City enjoyed immense prestige, so much so that even some of the great masters of the Morning Star Sea occasionally found themselves forced to come here to purchase rare treasures seldom seen elsewhere.

"So, you plan to take it to the Half-City Grand Auction?" Fang Qi asked in astonishment. "The problem is... the items in my shop do not exist as physical goods, so what exactly are you going to present for auction?"

"That is quite simple," Xi Yue said. "Among the commodities traded in Half-City in the past, there have been unusual items before, some of which could not be handed over to the Inner City for safekeeping, but only needed to be managed by an Inner City deacon. For example, we could create an alternate account to serve as an intermediary warehouse, and wouldn't it be solved once the item is delivered into their hands?"

"You people certainly know how to find a way..." Fang Qi pondered for a moment. "It seems worth a try. When will it be sold?"

"There is still a brief period of time remaining."

...

Owner Fang discovered that when it came to music, classical melodies were fine, but trying to get people of this alternate world to play rock music was somewhat absurd, to say nothing of their appreciation, even their basic comprehension was lacking.

Take Su Tianji, for instance; every day in her personal space, she would play classical tunes like "Wind in the Pines" or "High Mountains and Flowing Water," and she would even hum along idly when she had nothing else to do.

As for the young Song Qingfeng, he preferred listening to pieces like "Ambush from All Sides" or "The Prince of Qin Breaking the Battle Array"...

Rock music? Ha!

If you discussed the lyrics with him, he would disdain you for not being subtle enough; if you discussed subtlety with him, he would disdain you for lacking elegance, to say nothing of how Owner Fang had been mocked the last time he tried.

Owner Fang simply stopped arguing with them and contented himself with blasting songs like "Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies" and "The Glorious Years" in "My Space." Coming to play King of Fighters? Listen to it once. Coming to scrounge some tea? Listen to it again.

So at this very moment, Song Qingfeng, Lin Shao, and the others were walking down the street in front of the shop, humming a completely mangled, phonetic approximation of the Cantonese lyrics.

It was for no other reason than the melody was mysteriously looping in their heads.

"Dark Thrust!" Beside him, Lin Shao mimicked Iori Yagami's signature move, shouting aloud as a burst of martial qi shot forth, striking a small pebble by the roadside and sending it flying high into the air.

Far away in the Morning Star Sea, during the early morning at the Nanhua Sect.

At this time, Liu Ningyun was strolling along the forested path leading to the elders' cultivation quarters, clearly in a pleasant mood, and she unconsciously hummed a few lines: "Hum-hum-hum-hum... So it turns out that in this life, I am unruly, untamed, and love my companion..."

A mouthful of highly inaccurate Cantonese unaccountably slipped out.

"..." Looking left and right, she saw several younger disciples staring at her in sheer dumbfoundment, causing Liu Ningyun to instantly freeze in awkwardness, her fair face flushing crimson.

"...Damn it!" She stomped her foot fiercely, thinking, "How did I suddenly hum that out loud..."

She instantly felt that her pristine image had been completely utterly ruined!

Most importantly, at this very moment, she ran straight into someone who was currently staring at her with a thoroughly darkened expression.

Before her stood a woman who appeared to be in her early thirties, with an oval face, looking considerably more mature than Liu Ningyun, and within that maturity was a trace of chilly austerity, bearing an aloof coldness that kept people a thousand miles away.

"Ma... Master!?"

"Do you still recognize me as your Master?" the woman said severely. "The day before yesterday, I sent your second senior sister to look for you, and you were not within the sect. Yesterday, you did not return from Half-City until late at night. I hear that these past few days, far from cultivating in the sect, you visit Half-City every single day and do not return until the sun has set, is that not so?"

"...It is." Liu Ningyun secretly cried out in dismay. "Your disciple went there to..."

"To do what?" the woman demanded coldly. "Could it be that you went to a place like Half-City for bitter cultivation? As the Heavenly Maiden of Nanhua, have you already forgotten the responsibilities you shoulder?"

"...Your disciple would not dare!" Liu Ningyun felt a wave of exasperation. Could she really argue at this moment that she had gone there precisely for bitter cultivation? Everyone was watching right now; wouldn't such a retort be a public slap to her own master's face?

Regardless of whether she was in the right, one could guess the consequences without even thinking.

"Enough," the woman said coldly. "For the next few days, you will stay properly within the sect to cultivate."

This...

Liu Ningyun, who had been just about to head out to surf the internet, felt a surge of frenzy in her heart.

What was she supposed to do now?!

...

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Suffering from a bit of writer's block, my apologies everyone... I have only just finished writing this chapter.