I am the young master

(A/N: Discord link: discord.gg/SC9HNKVj5e )

"Winner of the three-headed snake fang is the Li family with a bid of eight hundred and seventy-five thousand high-grade spirit stones." The auctioneer announced, and Li Huang took a deep breath with gratitude.

He had been bidding on the three-headed snake fang for a while, and he was worried that the price might really get higher than what he expected. The starting price of this item was 100,000 high-grade spirit stones, so you can imagine how many cultivators had their eyes on it.

The acceptable price for this item outside of an auction is something between three to five hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones depending on the condition of the fang and season. With this, you could say that Li Huang has overspent on it, but that's not really true. This item is not something you can find easily and the main issue with it is the availability. You might be able to save a couple of hundred thousand high-grade stones if you wait for it to be available, but Li Huang wasn't willing to trade his time for money.

'Now I just need a few common herbs in large quantities, but I can get them from the Sect.' Li Huang concluded. He could directly exchange for the items in the sect and if there weren't enough herbs available for his continuous use, he could issue a mission for the outer sect members to gather herbs for a suitable compensation.

He didn't plan to ask his family for the herbs because of the simple fact that they were about to start a war. They might not have a problem with this request as Li Huang is one of their bright talents, but Li Huang felt it would be selfish of him to do so when he had other methods to procure the herbs.

Li Huang was determined to be at the very least self-reliant in his quest for herbs. He believed that relying on his family for resources would not only be selfish but also undermine his growth as a cultivator. As a member of the Heavenly Sword sect, he understood the importance of perseverance and resourcefulness. Gathering herbs on his own or issuing missions to fellow sect members would ensure a steady supply of herbs and strengthen his skills and connections within the sect.

Li Huang was pleased with the profits he had made in this auction and did not have anything in particular in mind that he felt compelled to purchase. He decided to relax and take in the auction from their balcony. Naturally, he would place a bid on anything that struck him as a good deal, but other than that, he wasn't going to pay any attention to what was being auctioned off.

While Li Huang was musing internally about his training, the auction continued and soon the next item was carried to the stage.

"The next item is a unique find that should be put up for auction in a separate auction if it happened to be in any other auction house." The auctioneer said with pride.

"It's rare for us to have the opportunity to see any of Master Hou Yi's work in an auction but this is one of those rare chances." The auctioneer said with genuine excitement in his voice.

Hou Yi was a name that was all too familiar to all the people present in the auction house. Every powerful family on the Divine Central continent has, at some point or another, made the effort to add this great craftsman to their ranks, but they were ultimately unsuccessful in doing so.

His reputation precedes him as the creator of some of the most formidable armor, weapons, and other kinds of accessories that cultivators clash for. Through the years, he has developed tools for a multitude of cultivators, many of whom have gone on to become influential figures in the world of cultivation. This provided him with a higher level of protection because for one, no one was willing to insult him out of fear of missing out on the tools that he develops, and secondly, they were also terrified of the retribution they would face from those powerhouses who recognized him as their benefactor. 

The more experience Hou Yi gained dealing with a wide range of materials, the higher his expectations were for the work that he produced. He was unwilling to sell a tool that he had been selling only a few years earlier because, in his opinion, it was nothing but a failed product at this point considering that he had gained more experience.

As a result of this change in his assessment of his inventions, nearly nothing that Hou Yi has made would ever be placed on the market to be purchased. Who in their right mind would be willing to give up something that Hou Yi had deemed to be deserving of his name? There are some things that money can't necessarily buy, and one of those things is Hou Yi's works.

"The item we have today is a prototype of a piece that Master Hou Yi has been working on for the past years." Seeing the audience getting restless, the auctioneer clarified. The audience calmed down a bit, but no one really expected it to be anything other than a prototype.

In spite of the fact that Master Hou Yi was unwilling to sell the things that he judged to be defective, the Feng family was able to devise an alternate arrangement that even Master Hou Yi couldn't turn down since it was satisfactory to him as well.

It is only inevitable that Master Hou Yi's masterpieces would be expensive given the high quality of those items. In the matter of fact, it was generally so expensive that people would begin saving as soon as they heard that Master Hou Yi was working on a new piece. Even though the work requires a few years to be finished, not even the richest individuals in the world might be able to afford to purchase it when it's done. The cost of the many cycles of trial and error that went into the production of a flawless masterpiece of this caliber was the main contributor to the overall cost. 

Bearing this in mind, the Feng family devised a plan that would not only assist Master Hou Yi in covering the cost of the materials but would also enable them to increase their profits. In the creation of each tool, there are steps that can be seen as milestones toward the final product. The Fang family would get the prototype of each milestone and put it to auction. This way, even if you could not afford the final product, you could get your hands on a "simpler" version of it.

"This is the latest iteration of the [Sun Piercing] arrows that Master Hou Yi is working on." The auctioneer announced as he was pointing toward the arrow that was now being displayed on stage.

The arrow didn't seem that complicated to the naked eye but if one were to focus on it, they could see the intriguing patterns on it. It was even more evident for Li Huang because he was looking at it with his Peeping Eye of Heaven.

"…It returns?" Li Huang blurted out in astonishment.

Just as Li Huang uttered those words, the auctioneer continued his explanation, "This prototype of the [Sun Piercing] arrow has the ability to return to the user." He said and the auction house was filled with audible gasps, "The return is not perfect yet, but it has such a small error that you can easily recollect it with your Qi." He added.

"It also has been graded as a rank 8 peak Spirit Treasure." The auctioneer said and the gasps now turned into murmurs in the crowd. Not everyone was interested in this item, but no one could deny its usefulness and danger.

'It would be a good tool for assassination.' Li Huang thought. An arrow is much harder to detect and an arrow of such a high quality can be very deadly to many cultivators. Li Huang took a mental note to add to his precautions as this was something he hadn't considered before.

"The starting price for this item is 20 million high-grade spirit stones." The auctioneer calmed the crowd before speaking, "The auction starts now."