Misty City was enormous.
Tree-lined streets stretched in all directions, and the sheer number of people made it feel like there could easily be over a hundred million residents. Airships crisscrossed the sky in dense traffic, while vehicles hummed along the roads below.
As for pedestrians, they moved like tightly packed streams, everyone in a hurry, busy with life in this massive metropolis.
Fortunately, Wang Baole's transmission ring came with a map and positioning function. He had plenty of time, so he simply followed the navigation and made his way toward the auction house.
On the way, it felt a bit like sightseeing.
He looked around at the surrounding buildings and shops, absorbing the atmosphere that was so clearly different from his hometown of Phoenix City. It wasn't that everything felt fresh and shocking—but there was plenty to catch the eye.
For example—
He was currently staring at a building in the distance, clicking his tongue in amazement.
At a glance, it looked like a massive ancient Roman coliseum, but on a truly staggering scale—maybe as large as dozens of football stadiums put together. From a bird's-eye view, the entire structure formed the shape of a gigantic fist.
The top of the building was open to the sky, and waves of roaring and shouting surged from within. Clearly, some kind of brutal combat was underway inside.
"That must be one of those legendary free-combat clubs, where people can fight however they want…"Wang Baole watched it a little longer.
He'd seen news reports about this place before.At the main entrance, several burly men in black uniforms stood guard, each of them radiating the aura of the Blood-Qi Realm. Just standing there, they were a powerful deterrent.
"I'm headed to the auction today. Next time I come, I've got to go in and take a look."
Though Wang Baole sometimes acted mature beyond his years, he was still a teenager. Things like hot-blooded, full-contact combat still drew him like a magnet.
With that thought, he gave the arena a few more longing glances, then moved on. Enjoying the sights along the way, he finally reached his destination around noon—
Cloudhawk Auction House.
As one of the four major auction venues in Misty City, Cloudhawk wasn't quite as grand as the main "Misty Auction House," but it was still spectacular.
From afar, the entire structure resembled a giant eagle with its wings spread wide, dominating over thirty li of northern Misty City.
High walls encircled the compound, separating it from the surrounding city. Guards were everywhere. Inside, the auction halls were luxuriously designed, with enough capacity to support more than ten simultaneous auctions, each capable of hosting over ten thousand people.
At the center was the primary grand hall—Cloudhawk's signature venue. Any auction held there was guaranteed to shake the entire city.
The auction Wang Baole was here for didn't qualify for that main hall. Instead, it was scheduled in Hall Three, located in the right wing of the eagle-shaped complex.
He didn't have an invitation, but he had done his homework in advance. Using his identity as a Special Admission student of the Misty Dao Academy, he had preregistered a seat through the spiritual network.
Now, holding his identity jade token, he passed the gate guards' inspection and entered the building smoothly.
He was early, so the place wasn't crowded yet.
A beautiful hostess led him into Auction Hall Three.
Even though it was just "Hall Three," it could still hold over ten thousand guests. Every seat was semi-private, with comfortable chairs, complimentary Ice Spirit Water, and snacks.
From his seat, Wang Baole could see both the other sections of the hall and the high platform in front.
"This is way too luxurious…"He took a sip of Ice Spirit Water, munched on a snack, and decided that the one spirit stone he'd paid as an entrance fee was absolutely worth it.
He was enjoying himself, slowly drinking and snacking, as more people trickled in.The hall grew livelier.
Many of the guests clearly knew each other. Some sat together, laughing and chatting. There were quite a few Misty Dao Academy students as well, arriving in groups of three or five. Most of them were upperclassmen. The rare freshmen were all looking around with curiosity and excitement, talking in low voices.
Among them, as he sipped his Ice Spirit Water, Wang Baole spotted Zhuo Yifan.
Zhuo Yifan noticed him as well.
His previously relaxed, smiling face cooled instantly. The moment he saw Wang Baole, irritation flashed in his eyes. With a cold snort, he turned away and continued chatting with several upperclassmen he'd recently gotten to know.
"Acting all high and mighty…"Wang Baole snorted back, annoyed.
He downed the rest of his Ice Spirit Water in one go and opened a second bottle.
After a long wait, once the hall had mostly filled up, a burst of stirring music resonated through the venue. The noise gradually died down as people settled into silence.
A spotlight ignited on the high platform at the front.
Beneath that bright column, a middle-aged man in a well-tailored suit walked out, face beaming with warmth as he bowed toward the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Cloudhawk Auction House. I am Li Jingtáo, your host for today's session. I won't waste your time with long speeches—let's begin."
His voice carried clearly across the hall. With a wave of his right hand, a virtual projection appeared behind him.
It showed a massive bone.
The bone was deep violet, shining with dazzling light. Even through the illusion, a savage aura leaked out, making many people's hearts pound.
"This," the auctioneer said, "is the lightning bone of a Thunder Bird—beasts that live in thunderstorms and magnetic storms and are ferocious beyond imagination. When they reach maturity, a lightning bone forms inside their bodies. Whether used for pill refinement, armament crafting, or martial cultivation, it is of tremendous value."
"This particular lightning bone came from an ordinary adult Thunder Bird—but acquiring it was no easy feat. The starting price is… twenty spirit stones."
The hall fell briefly silent.
Wang Baole's eyes widened.He'd read about the Beast War. He knew spirit beasts were terrifying.
But this was his first time actually seeing something like a Thunder Bird's lightning bone. He couldn't help but stare.
Bids rang out shortly afterward.To Wang Baole's amazement, the bone's price climbed rapidly and finally landed at sixty spirit stones.
"It's worth that much?"He instinctively touched the small bag on his back, suddenly feeling less confident about his savings.
But then he remembered that his spirit stones had seventy-five percent purity. He regained some confidence. After all, the standard here was fifty percent purity—each additional ten percent in purity doubled the price.
As time went on, item after item appeared in the shimmering projections behind the auctioneer. As the bidding proceeded, some items were passed over, but most were successfully sold.
Wang Baole's horizons broadened.
There were all kinds of spirit-beast materials, pills, artifacts—even cultivation techniques, though most of the latter were incomplete.
A few times, he felt tempted to bid.But he forced himself to resist, patiently waiting for the Purifying Pill.
Finally—
Halfway through the auction, the host smiled, raising his hand again. A new projection formed behind him—
A milky-white pill.
It didn't look particularly crystalline or fancy, but just one glance at it stirred a strong urge to swallow it, as if the body itself were longing for it.
The pill's appearance filled the hall with a faint medicinal fragrance.Many people perked up instantly.Zhuo Yifan's eyes flashed. Several upperclassmen also showed sharp interest.
Wang Baole sat up straight, heart hammering, eyes locked on the pill.
"The Purifying Pill needs no lengthy introduction," the host said with a light laugh. "I'm sure many of you are here today because of this item. The starting price is… one hundred spirit stones."
"One hundred ten!""One hundred twenty!""One hundred thirty!"
Bids erupted almost immediately.
Zhuo Yifan called out as well—he was clearly determined to win.
"One hundred fifty spirit stones!"
Wang Baole's anxiety spiked. He immediately shouted:
"One hundred sixty!"
"One hundred seventy!" Zhuo Yifan frowned, letting out a cold snort.
"One hundred eighty!" Wang Baole didn't hesitate.
Very quickly, the other bidders began to drop out.Within a short time, the only ones still competing were Wang Baole and Zhuo Yifan.
The price climbed from the low hundreds up past five hundred spirit stones.
At that level, even for a rare pill like the Purifying Pill, it was beginning to feel excessive. People glanced at each other, then at the two flushed faces still locked in battle—Wang Baole and Zhuo Yifan.
"Wang Baole, you dare compete with me in spirit stones?"Zhuo Yifan stood up abruptly, his expression dark. "My family has plenty of money. I bid seven hundred!"
He was a scion of a prestigious clan. Spirit stones weren't a problem for him. Combined with how humiliated he'd felt by Wang Baole in running and weightlifting, he found the sight of Baole incredibly irritating.
But he also genuinely needed the Purifying Pill.That made him grit his teeth and throw out such a frightening number.
"Your damn sister…"Wang Baole's breathing grew heavier.
Even with all the spirit stones he'd accumulated lately, converted to the standard fifty-percent purity, he had only around a thousand. He stood up as well, glaring at Zhuo Yifan and roaring:
"One thousand spirit stones!"
The hall went dead silent.Then uproar broke out.
The price was insane.
Even Zhuo Yifan was shaken, his neck flushing red as he shouted again. As a Battle-Martial cultivator on the verge of completing his meridian reinforcement, his voice boomed across the hall.
"One thousand one hundred spirit stones!"
The shout made Wang Baole's ears ring. Scowling, he pulled a large loudspeaker out of his bag, pointed it at Zhuo Yifan, and bellowed:
"ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED SPIRIT STONES!"
The amplified roar made Zhuo Yifan jump.Many people in the crowd sucked in sharp breaths.Even the auctioneer's body trembled slightly as he looked at Wang Baole with an odd expression.
If that had been the end of it, people might have just written it off as Wang Baole being loud.
But before anyone could fully process what had happened, he did something that made the entire hall freeze.
Right there, in front of everyone, under countless watching eyes—
He took out a blank spirit stone, held it in his hand…
And started refining a spirit stone on the spot.
Spiritual energy surged toward him.The blank stone changed visibly, morphing into a true spirit stone right before everyone's eyes.
The impact of that scene on the crowd was overwhelming.
"You want to compare spirit stones with me?""Your damned sister—your grandpa Baole will just make them right here. Come on then, let's see who has more!"
Wang Baole roared through the loudspeaker, staring down the stunned Zhuo Yifan with open contempt.
"He… he's refining them live?""I just remembered—he's from the Armament Department…""How do you even compete with that…"
As bitter laughter spread through the hall, Zhuo Yifan completely lost it.
He had never imagined someone would just start refining spirit stones mid-auction. He knew the Armament Department excelled at refining, of course, but without this kind of direct comparison, he'd never felt the difference so strongly.
Now, though—
What Wang Baole was doing hit him like a direct critical strike.
His family might be rich…but his spirit stones were finite.
On the other hand…
This guy is basically printing money in front of me!
It felt exactly like the running and weightlifting situation all over again.Zhuo Yifan's whole body trembled.
The upperclassmen he had befriended looked at him with sympathy and sighed.
"That's the Armament Department for you…""And you actually tried to compete with him… Didn't you notice that as soon as we saw who he was, none of us joined the bidding? The Armament Department is known as the walking mint. Who can outbid that?"
The other upperclassmen nodded, all showing complicated expressions. Clearly, each of them carried some painful memory of being deeply, deeply traumatized… by someone from the Armament Department.