Chapter 40: Time for auction (1)
["As for me,the lowest I will recognise you to get for your personal use is an alloy of two powerful rare metals that are was also imbued with spiritual energy.
But for now, you need to make money. Contact Jiro and Mei, it's been awhile you guys have talked.
So my plan is ,you and your former gang that is going to be active again will create pills and sell it in the school auction hall."]
"What is the need for Mei? Can you concoct pills that needs arrays?"
["Don't worry just watch"]
With this, Clinton gathered his former group members,Jiro, Ren, Mei and Suyin.
Jiro in alchemy department with Clinton, Ren in martial department with Suyin, Mei was an array student, remaining a blacksmith which Clinton was about to become.
—————
"What! You want to do that?" Jiro, Ren and Mei exclaimed simultaneously.
"I am no more surprised by Clinton's actions again." Suyin remarked.
"I trust you guys, that's why I am telling you this, I want all of us to benefit from each other, we are just 5, it's very easy for us."
"Aye aye captain, what's the plan?" Mei asked.
"I am sure you would have been taught some basic alchemy arrays" Clinton asked.
"Sure." Mei replied.
"Cool, so now the pills me and Jiro are making first is the Qi recovery pill. The ones we were taught in class are just basic recovery pills but I can concoct I think intermediate Qi recovery pill so I am going to teach Jiro."
An okay was the reply.
"Jiro, which flame do you possess?" Clinton asked.
"Lava core flame". Jiro replied.
"Hmph, that's an Earth flame.Okay." Clinton remarked.
"Narvek,the Qi recovery pill refining technique, can you convert it to a lava core flame version?" Clinton asked Narvek in his mind.
["Sure, let me start now"]
🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲
50 pill bottles was already filled to the brim with Qi recovery pills, a mixture of ones with lava core flame and those with whispering flame. Normally the effects of Clinton's pills would be better than that of Jiro's,but they are in a business here, to get more profits, the pills were mixed in each bottle.
"Finally done." Mei said joyfully.
Suyin entered suddenly"Not done you still need these." She said as she dropped some black clothes on a mat.
The others knowing it did not bulge.
Clinton picked a cloth which was a cloak that has an good. It was the same as others.
Soon,they were on there way, even though it was at a distance,they could feel the atmosphere of the auction house.
At the heart of the sprawling martial school grounds stood a colossal structure known as the Golden Ember Pavilion, the official auction house of the sect. Unlike the rugged training fields or the serene meditation gardens, this building pulsed with energy—a blend of ambition, desire, and fierce competition.
Its exterior gleamed with red-gold jade tiles, each enchanted with a mild flame inscription, giving the entire structure a subtle, ever-burning glow—as if the building itself were alive with fire qi. Towering dragon-carved pillars lined the entrance, their obsidian scales inlaid with silver spiritual threads that shimmered when students walked past, whispering echoes of past bids and forgotten treasures.
Two massive crimson bronze doors, etched with the sect's crest—a phoenix coiled around a heavenly flame—guarded the entrance. Whenever they opened, a wave of rich spiritual pressure would rush out, as if the air inside was thicker with opportunity and danger.
Inside, it was a different world entirely.
Rows of ascending seats, forming a grand amphitheater, spiraled up around a central crystal platform. That platform, infused with array formations, could magnify the displayed items with illusory projections—allowing every bidder to view treasures as if they were within reach. The atmosphere was tense, sacred—like a battlefield of wallets and wits.
Floating attendants, dressed in sect-issued robes marked with the sigil of fire and trade, moved silently with grace, ready to register bids, summon appraisal elders, or call in guards should things go... wrong.
Above, a massive celestial lantern hovered, pulsing with soft golden light, suppressing any violent intent within the hall—no matter how rare the item, no one dared act recklessly inside.
Beneath the glittering opulence of the main auction hall lay a forbidden level, spoken of in hushed tones: The Ember Veins. Hidden behind a shifting wall of spirit-stone bricks and protected by a seven-layer formation array, this sub-level auction was accessible only to those with Special Flame Tokens—a rare item issued by the auction house's inner circle.
The students strode in.