Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain

Treasure Trove Pavilion held an auction every two or three years, but few auctions were ever as competitive as today.

Many of the cultivators who sat on the main floor had their jaws dropped and were unable to close them for a long time. The numbers called out from the private rooms made all of them unable to believe their ears.

Had they not happened to participate in this auction, they would never have known just how deep the heritage of these great forces really was.

After 60 million was called though, many sighs could be heard from the private rooms as the masters inside had to bow out of the competition.

This number was like a watershed. After which, 80 percent of the forces on Shadowed Star lost the qualification to participate.

In the private room of Coloured Glass Sect, Yin Su Die’s pretty face was filled with absolute shock. Coloured Glass Sect had already been forced to withdraw when the price exceeded 50 million, causing the middle-aged woman sitting next to Yin Su Die to sigh heavily and smile bitterly, “Let’s just watch the liveliness.”

“Second Aunt… has everyone gone insane? Even if an Origin Condensing Pill that formed Pill Veins is valuable, isn’t it impossible to be worth so much? Why is everyone competing so crazily for it?” Yin Su Die turned her head towards the middle-aged woman and asked.

Not just Yin Su Die was wondering about this though; most of the talents from the young generation who were sitting in the private rooms were asking the same question, none of them understanding why their Elders were willing to spend so much money to win this Origin Condensing Pill.

An Origin Condensing Pill could only increase the chance of a Third Order Saint King Realm cultivator breaking through to the Origin Returning Realm, it wasn’t an Origin Nirvana Pill. If it was an Origin Nirvana Pill, that could increase the chances a Third Order Origin Returning Realm master could break through to the Origin King Realm, was what was being auctioned, all of them could understand such a price being shouted, but this was clearly just an Origin Condensing Pill!

Fang Tian Zhong, Qu Chang Feng, Wei Gu Chang, and Dong Xuan’er, all stared curiously towards their respective Elders, hoping that they could dispel their doubts.

In Shadow Moon Hall’s private room, after Qian Tong bid 65 million, he solemnly said, “Do you think everyone is bidding for this Origin Condensing Pill? You’re wrong; this Origin Condensing Pill that has formed Pill Veins can guarantee a Third Order Saint King cultivator breaks through to Origin Returning Realm, but if that was its only value, it wouldn’t be worth such a price. Perhaps 2 or 3 million Saint Crystals would be enough. This pill’s true value is that it is rumoured to assist a cultivator to fully condense their own Shi. If you think about it carefully, if a cultivator who takes this Origin Condensing Pill is able to smoothly condense their Shi, perhaps when they reach the Third Order Origin Returning Realm, they will be able to break through Shadowed Star’s shackles and reach the Origin King Realm!”

Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er both trembling in shock, the former anxiously asking, “What Elder means is, they aren’t bidding for a pill that can allow the birth of an Origin Returning Realm, but they are bidding for an opportunity to break through to the Origin King Realm?”

“Exactly!” Qian Tong nodded, “You younger generations have yet to understand the real value of this pill, but that’s not your fault. On the other hand, we old masters, and the Seniors who came before us, have spent hundreds, if not thousands of years studying methods to reach the Origin King Realm. Taking an Origin Condensing Pill that has formed Pill Veins is one of the methods that was discovered. Whether this method can yield success is still unknown, but even if it is just a glimmer of hope, we must grab hold of it!”

There was no Origin King on Shadowed Star, but once one appeared, they would be able to dominate all of Shadowed Star! For such a possibility, what did a few tens of millions of Saint Crystals matter? As long as one could become the supreme leader of Shadowed Star, these Saint Crystals could be made back at any time.

“Disciple understands,” Wei Gu Chang nodded.

Qian Tong glanced over at him and smiled, “An Origin Condensing Pill can only be used by a Third Order Saint King, we old masters are now bidding for the young disciples of our Sects. In Shadow Moon Hall, you and Xuan’er are the most qualified to take it, but your aptitude is slightly better than Xuan’er, so if we can win it, this Origin Condensing Pill will be yours.”

Wei Gu Chang however just grinned, “Disciple was not concerned about this. If it can be won, it doesn’t matter whether Xuan’er or I take it.”

He spoke in a calm and carefree manner, without the slightest pretence, only exchanging a glance with Dong Xuan’er, both of them smiling lightly.

Qian Tong nodded with satisfaction. He was very satisfied with these two disciples. He believed that even if he won this Origin Condensing Pill, these two would only try to push the other to take it. It was impossible for this Senior Brother and Junior Sister pair to have a falling out over a pill.

[That being said… is it possible for us to even win it?] Qian Tong wasn’t confident.

There were only five Sects left in the bidding, Star Emperor Sect, Heaven Battling Union, Thunder Typhoon Sect, Sea Temple, and Shadow Moon Hall, all others had dropped out.

If Qian Tong had not collected so many road tolls just now, Shadow Moon Hall would have exited long ago, but even with these extra Saint Crystals, he wasn’t sure how long they could persist. The price of this Origin Condensing Pill had already reached 68 million, and Qian Tong only had 80 million available to him, so it wouldn’t be long before he too reached his limit.

Qian Tong frowned deeply, and as he glanced over at Luo Qing who was standing nearby, he felt a deep urge to beat this bastard again.

Feeling his Elder’s malevolent gaze, Luo Qing couldn’t help shrinking his neck. He didn’t know where he had offended Elder Qian, but it was like the latter found him particularly unpleasant to the eye today.

“70 million!” A loud voice from the private room of Heaven Battling Union called out. It belonged to one of the Sect Elders as, at this level of bidding, juniors like Qu Chang Feng weren’t eligible to participate.

“75 million!” Heaven Battling Union’s bid was immediately followed by one private room A-1, without the slightest of hesitation or unease.

In private room C-13, Yang Kai was completely stunned, even if he had mentally prepared himself for this somewhat, he was still shocked by the price.

Like Wei Gu Chang, Dong Xuan’er, and the other young talents in the hall, he didn’t understand why these people were bidding so frantically, almost to the point where he questioned their sanity. Since Treasure Trove Pavilion used this Origin Condensing Pill as the final auction item, Yang Kai was certain it would sell for a higher price than the Dragon Striker Whip, but this was far too high.

Yang Kai realized once again he had miscalculated the value of the items he had entered into this auction.

However, facing such an exaggerated situation, Yang Kai didn’t believe the problem lay with him, but rather that there was some hidden story behind this that he didn’t understand.

How could he have known that the cultivators on Shadowed Star had theorized that an Origin Condensing Pill that formed Pill Veins would help them pursue the Origin King Realm by fully condensing their Shi?

At this moment, Yang Kai was secretly rejoicing that he had not refined two Origin Condensing Pills with Pill Veins. At that time, for the purposes of this auction, he had deliberately refined an ordinary Origin Condensing Pill and one with Pill Veins.

His original intentions were to acquire a few Saint Crystals to allow Yang Yan to purchase enough materials to slightly enhance the Spirit Array around Dragon Cave Mountain, but now it had actually acquired a massive sum of money.

“Yang Kai, don’t tell me this Origin Condensing Pill was brought to auction by you…” Wu Yi bit her red lips and whispered to Yang Kai.

“Haha…” Yang Kai let out a hollow laugh and didn’t respond directly.

Wu Yi and Yang Yan covered their little mouths as their beautiful eyes filled with shock. Compared to the price of this Origin Condensing Pill, the ten million or so Saint Crystals they had previously obtained were truly not worth mentioning.

The price was still rising, causing Yan Pei’s face to show a rare ruddy complexion, standing atop the auction state with a big smile.

There were only five Sects still bidding, each of them unwilling to yield, but after reaching a price of 80 million, Sea Temple and Shadow Moon Hall had no choice but to withdraw, deep sighs coming from their respective private rooms.

Such a price had exceeded their bottom lines.

After these two great forces bowed out, only Shadowed Star’s top tree Sects, Star Emperor Sect, Heaven Battling Union, and Thunder Typhoon Sect remained, drawing the attention of everyone in the hall.

The amount these three Sects increased the price now was considerably smaller than before, with the representatives from Heaven Battling Union and Thunder Typhoon Sect often hesitating for a long period of time before making a new bid.

However, the A-1 private room which belonged to Star Emperor Sect always increased the price decisively, fully demonstrating their boldness and wealth.

Yang Kai has long ago taken note of this private room, as from beginning to end, its occupants had only bought some Origin Grade artefacts and pills.

After asking Wu Yi, he naturally learned that this private room belonged to Star Emperor Sect.

According to Wu Yi, although Star Emperor Sect was the greatest force on Shadowed Star, their people rarely showed up outside. It also seemed that there were very few people who belonged to Star Emperor Sect, and almost all of them remained on Star Emperor Mountain in secluded cultivation.

The founder of Star Emperor Sect apparently obtained some inheritance from the Starry Sky Great Emperor himself and claimed to be a disciple of the Star Emperor.

Under normal circumstances, Star Emperor Sect was aloof to any conflicts on Shadowed Star, maintaining a relatively peaceful appearance.

But no one dared to underestimate them, because it was rumored that there were many top level Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters in this Sect.

After a stick of incense worth of time, the price of Origin Condensing Pill climbed to 90 million Saint Crystal, the price quoted by Thunder Typhoon Sect.

“100 million!” The voice from private room A-1 then directly raised the price by ten million, showing its great determination to win this pill.

Inside the private room of Thunder Typhoon Sect, the master who had quote the 90 million price grinned bitterly, knowing that even if he increased his bid again, Star Emperor Sect would still snatch this Origin Condensing Pill from them, so he simply declared, “Thunder Typhoon Sect withdraws from this competition!”

As soon as this master had made this announcement, Heaven Battling Union also declared it was giving up.

Spending a hundred million Saint Crystals on the uncertain possibility of being able to reach the Origin King Realm wasn’t something these two Sects could afford. On top of that, even if it were successful, it would be a hundred, or possibly several hundred years before any results could be seen. Who knows what could happen over the course of a few hundred years? Perhaps a more effective method would appear by then.

Considering all this, Thunder Typhoon Sect and Heaven Battling Union no longer tried to bid.

Yan Pei also knew that no one was wealthier than Star Emperor Sect, so he immediately started the three count and the auction soon ended with Star Emperor Sect winning the final victory.

From the other private rooms, congratulations were spoken aloud to Star Emperor Sect for winning the finale and soon after, the people from Treasure Trove Pavilion delivered the price to room A-1.

Yan Pei stood atop the stage and announced the end of the auction, once again thanking the great forces for their support, drawing loud cheers and applause from the audience.

The people sitting on the main floor of the auction hall rose and left one after another, with the masters from the private rooms also getting up and leaving.

Yang Kai however didn’t move. Qian Tong had asked to speak with him after the auction was over, so he wasn’t in a rush to leave. Yang Kai also happened to have something he wanted to discuss with Qian Tong, so naturally he remained.