Chapter 99: The Qianwu Auction

In the virtual universe, on Black Dragon Mountain Island, Jiang Chen and Luo Feng sat together in a quiet chamber, waiting silently for the auction to begin.

“This auction has a threshold of three-star customer status. If we don’t count the account our teacher left us, the two of us only just meet the requirement,” Luo Feng said with a sigh as he glanced at Jiang Chen. “I wonder how many treasures will appear this time, and how much we’ll manage to get.”

“How much of the wealth from the Realm within a Realm did you spend?” Jiang Chen asked with curiosity.

Back then, when the spoils had been divided, Jiang Chen and Luo Feng had taken sixty and forty percent respectively. But most of Luo Feng’s share had consisted of treasures; the cash portion had been very small, barely enough to clear the threshold for a three-star customer.

Luo Feng shook his head. “Not much. I bought some slaves, cultivation resources, and the like. Altogether it didn’t even amount to one universal unit. I did hand some of it to Luo Hua for investment, but I haven’t asked about it in years, so I don’t even know whether it’s been a loss or a gain.”

After a pause, he continued, “Right now I only have nine universal units left. That’s just enough to keep my bank rating from dropping for the time being; otherwise, I wouldn’t even have the qualification to attend this auction.”

The banks of the universe were not like those on Earth before the cosmic era, adjusting customer levels all the time.

After all, even the concept of time was different.

For an immortal, for instance, one might forge a priceless treasure, spend all the funds in the account, then leave no adventures or training outside, and remain shut away in one’s lair cultivating secret techniques for tens of thousands of years, or even far longer, without a single large sum ever entering the account.

Then, after venturing out on an expedition, one might suddenly obtain a treasure, sell it, and in an instant receive a huge fortune.

With such long cycles of money going in and out, the banks naturally would not recklessly adjust a customer’s level.

Under normal circumstances, the Universe Galaxy Bank and the First Bank of the Universe would upgrade a customer the moment the account balance reached the standard.

But if the balance fell below the required level, they would not downgrade it immediately. A downgrade would only occur if the balance remained below the threshold for a long period of time.

And the higher the star rating, the longer that period became.

For a five-star customer, even if the account balance was zero, there would be no downgrade for a full hundred million years.

Luo Feng had only been below the three-star standard for a few years. He was still a long way from any forced downgrade.

“If you see a treasure you like but don’t have the money to buy it, you can always sell that mechanical race spaceship of yours,” Jiang Chen teased.

The E9-class mechanical race spaceship on Earth, Jiang Chen had never competed with Luo Feng for.

Not long after the treasures of the Realm within a Realm had been divided, Luo Feng had taken his slaves and gone to collect the ship.

The E9-class mechanical race spaceship was indeed extremely valuable, but to Jiang Chen it was not something he had to have. There was no need to fight over it.

A few hundred universal units, that was all.

In the outer orbit of the solar system, the number of Space Furnaces Jiang Chen had deployed had already reached twenty-one, and their annual profit alone could hit nearly 150 universal units.

To buy an E9-class mechanical race spaceship would only take four or five years of income.

If he continued as before and kept “rolling the snowball,” reinvesting the money he earned into building more Space Furnaces, that time could be shortened even further.

Hearing Jiang Chen’s words, Luo Feng could not help laughing. “Unless I come across a treasure I absolutely must buy, I’d never bear to sell that mechanical race spaceship.”

After a pause, Luo Feng said, “Thank you for letting me have it. When I grow stronger in the future, I’ll find a way to make up for your loss.”

Luo Feng knew very well that if Jiang Chen had not yielded, the mechanical race spaceship would never have fallen into his hands.

At the very least, they would have had to split it fifty-fifty.

Luo Feng had no intention of letting Jiang Chen suffer a loss. This E9-class mechanical race spaceship was indeed very important to him, and for the moment he could not offer compensation of equivalent value.

Still, he had taken it to heart, and planned to compensate Jiang Chen with something worth half the ship’s value once he had the ability to do so.

“There’s no need to talk about compensation. If you feel bad about it, then why not let me have that insect hive nest instead?” Jiang Chen said half-jokingly. “You won’t be able to use it for the time being anyway. When you’re strong enough to enslave it, I’ll buy you a new one.”

Most of the treasures on Earth did not tempt Jiang Chen that much.

There were quite a few things he found appealing, but not enough to make him fight Luo Feng over them.

The only thing Jiang Chen truly wanted was that insect hive nest.

It was not that he had any special interest in an insect army. The real reason was simply that he wanted to sell the hive nest for a massive sum of money, to prepare for building a mechanical legion in the future.

By Jiang Chen’s estimate, once the genius battle ended and he entered the Virtual Universe Company, it would be about time to begin considering the creation of his own mechanical army.

Of course, whether the mechanical legion enhanced by alchemy and arcane technology should be given another name was not something Jiang Chen was thinking about.

Under any world or system, a legion-style path was extraordinarily powerful, but also extraordinarily expensive.

In the Swallowing Stars world alone, the mechanical legion path of the machine race and the swarm of the insect race both required enormous resources to sustain.

Their combat power was certainly formidable, but without sufficient money and resources, they were simply impossible to maintain.

To Jiang Chen, the insect hive nest on Earth was the startup capital for forging his first mechanical legion.

Several million universal units were more than enough, at the stage of universe-level or domain lord-level, to build a legion of terrifying scale and strength.

“The insect hive nest?” Luo Feng frowned. “That’s a world lord, after all. Even if it’s asleep, the poisonous mist around its body alone can kill a domain lord, and it can corrode D-grade metal. Do you have a way to take it away?”

“Not right now, but that doesn’t mean I won’t have one later,” Jiang Chen replied. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to joke with my own life.”

Luo Feng held back Babata, who had been about to jump out and demand answers, and smiled at Jiang Chen. “If you’re sure of yourself, then go ahead and take it. As for compensation, there’s no need to calculate it so precisely.”

“Even between brothers, accounts should be settled clearly,” Jiang Chen said with a shake of his head. “The insect hive nest is the inheritance your teacher left you. By rights, it belongs to you. I’m just borrowing it for now. When you’re able to control it in the future, I guarantee I’ll give you a new one in return.”

Having heard that much, Luo Feng did not refuse any further. He nodded. “Then let’s do it that way.”

“The time’s about right. Let’s head to the auction hall,” Jiang Chen said, checking the time as he rose to his feet.

Luo Feng stood as well. The two of them activated the teleport function, and their figures vanished.

—

On a beautifully elegant landmass suspended among the clouds, in the center of a floating city, stood the immense, radiant building that served as the venue for this Qianwu Auction.

At the entrance to the auction hall, a long line had already formed.

A stream of human figures, each with a different appearance, moved slowly along the queue.

Although everyone’s physical condition was the same here, the thing called “will” could not be restricted by the virtual universe.

Through eyes, breathing, and other subtle signs, experienced experts could clearly judge another person’s true strength.

The auras radiating from the surrounding powerhouses made even Jiang Chen and Luo Feng feel a faint shiver.

Ahead of them stood a powerhouse whose entire body was wrapped in ice, his appearance obscured, speaking with his companion.

They had not bothered to lower their voices, so Jiang Chen and Luo Feng could hear them clearly. They were talking about a very special item in this auction: a comprehension slot for the Initial Universe.

From what they said, these slots for the Initial Universe were extraordinarily precious, so much so that they had drawn many powerhouses who ordinarily would have had no interest in attending an auction at all.

Nearby, many other familiar experts were chatting as well, though much of what they discussed was incomprehensible to Jiang Chen and Luo Feng.

The line was long, but it moved quickly.

At last, it was Jiang Chen and Luo Feng’s turn.

At the entrance, a staff member aimed a device at them, scanned them briefly, then took out two tokens and handed them over. “Good day, gentlemen. Welcome to this year’s Qianwu Auction. These are your seat numbers.”

Jiang Chen picked up his token and glanced at it. Comparing it with the one in Luo Feng’s hand, he confirmed that their seats were next to each other.

As they entered the auction hall, both Jiang Chen and Luo Feng felt a slight sense of awe.

“This place is huge!”

Luo Feng could not help exclaiming.

The structure of the entire auction hall was similar to a colossal stadium, with the surrounding stands rising layer upon layer, dense beyond count, stretching out of sight.

“No need to look any further. There are a total of three million seats here,” Babata urged. “Go to your seats quickly. The auction is about to begin.”

“HZ sector, this way,” Luo Feng said.

He and Jiang Chen quickly found their section according to the seat numbers.

The seats, six meters wide and ten meters high, were far too large for Jiang Chen and Luo Feng’s build.

Even lying down on them like beds, they still looked absurdly enormous.

Within the whole venue, the voices of countless powerhouses mingled together in a constant, low roar.

A few hours later.

“Everyone!”

A clear voice rang out, echoing through the entire auction hall.

In the vast hall, everyone instinctively fell silent.

At the center of the auction stage stood an old man with a bald head and a black, shell-like substance growing from his back. Above him floated a giant projection of the entire stage.

“Welcome, everyone, to this year’s Qianwu Auction! First, allow me to thank the Virtual Universe Company, the Great Axe Fighting Arena, the Universe Mercenary Alliance, the Universe Galaxy Bank, the First Bank of the Universe, and the Qianwu Universe Nation for their strong support of this auction!”

The old man smiled, but his voice was thunderous: “I believe many of you know me. You may call me Old Barto. Once again this year, it is I, Old Barto, who will host this grand event for you all!”

…

After a string of irrelevant opening remarks, the turtle-shelled elder finally came to the point.

“Enough idle talk!”

“By the old rules, before the official auction begins, we’ll start with a warm-up auction!”

The turtle-shelled elder pointed a finger.

A huge screen immediately appeared beside him, displaying a breathtaking star system.

The perspective shifted, and one star system after another flashed across the screen before vanishing again.

“I believe many of you have already guessed it. This is the Tana Star Region!”

“One of the smaller star regions in our Qianwu Universe Nation, ranked toward the lower end among more than 13,000 star regions. This entire region contains 668 star systems and once belonged to an immortal god. Now, that immortal god is preparing for a life-and-death adventure and needs funds to purchase treasures, so he has decided to sell the entire region!”

“The first warm-up auction of this year’s Qianwu Auction will therefore be this entire star region: the Tana Star Region!”

The turtle-shelled elder shouted loudly, “A complete, independent star region! So long as no nation is founded there, it will remain under the permanent protection of the Qianwu Universe Nation!”

“With a star region like this, one could establish the foundation of a family for billions of years. Whether for training warriors, developing resources, or raising slaves, it is an excellent choice!”

“The total number of connected star regions within the Qianwu Universe Nation is only so many, and those that can be brought out for auction are exceedingly rare. If this interests you, you must cherish this opportunity!”

“Now, the Tana Star Region enters the auction. Starting price: 300 universal units! Each bid increase must be in whole multiples of universal units!”

The turtle-shelled elder’s voice rapidly spread throughout the hall.

Luo Feng’s eyes widened in disbelief. “They’re auctioning off an entire star region? Starting price three hundred universal units? That’s so expensive!”

In theory, the price of a star system could range from one billion to ten billion universe dollars.

The Tana Star Region contained 668 star systems, and if sold separately, the total would probably only come to a little over two hundred universal units at most.

Yet the starting bid was already 300 universal units, clearly above that amount.

More importantly, judging from the figures on the giant screen, in just a very short time the bidding had surged upward. It had already leapt past 600 universal units and was still climbing.

Luo Feng found it hard to understand.

“How much can a single life planet even cost? How much does a star system with tens of thousands of life planets cost? A connected star region like this is the same. Its price cannot be calculated simply by the number of planets or star systems,” Babata explained. “A whole star region is an integrated whole. If it is well organized and the internal powers support one another, then outside forces will find it very difficult to oppress. But if the star systems are split apart and scattered, they can easily be bullied by powerful neighboring forces. The situation is different, so naturally the price is different too.”

“So that’s how it is…” Luo Feng said thoughtfully.

Looking at the constantly changing bids on the giant screen, Jiang Chen could not help but sigh inwardly.

What a pity. He could not afford it.

Otherwise, he would also have been very interested in a star region that was all connected together like this.

Simply developing the resources within the star region would of course not recover the investment.

Besides, this region had already been developed for who knew how many years under that immortal’s hands, and the valuable resources were surely long since exhausted.

But just the fact that it would make a suitable lair for a faction was enough to make Jiang Chen very interested in the Tana Star Region.

Unfortunately, his financial power was insufficient, and he had no way to join this contest.

Even if he could buy it, the funds in his hands would not be enough to develop the region afterward.

That was the nature of auctions. There would always be treasures that stirred the heart, yet remained beyond one’s means.

Jiang Chen suppressed his impatience and watched the numbers on the giant screen continue to leap upward, patiently waiting for this warm-up auction to end.