Apotheosis – Ascension to Godhood

Chapter 83: Too Expensive

Wurth could not remember how many years it had been since the crystal core of an adult fire scorpion lion had last appeared.

After all, he was less than 20 years old. And from his earliest memory of the Blessed Auction House, they had never auctioned the crystal core of an adult fire scorpion lion.

So, Wurth was very curious about where Zen got this crystal core of a fire scorpion lion. What was more surprising was that it was from an adult lion. However, he managed to keep his curiosity to himself and did not ask his questions. As a legitimate successor of the Blessed Zhang family, he was familiar with the rules of the auction house. The first rule was not to ask about the origin of goods brought by customers. It was taboo in the auction industry. He soon calmed down and acted very professionally.

“Zen, this crystal core of an adult fire scorpion lion can be auctioned for an excellent price. It is very precious and rare. Do you want to sell it in this auction, or wait for the next? If you wait for the next auction, we, the Blessed Auction House, can help you release some information in advance to attract those who are particularly interested in the crystal core of fire scorpion lion. Then, the price will be higher than it is today,” Wurth commented.

This crystal core was so precious that ordinary people might not be able to afford to buy it. If given some time, the Blessed Auction House could attract those who not only had an interest but could also afford to buy the object during the auction. Then the price would be much higher than now.

“How about today? I don't mind if we sell it today.” Zen decided without hesitation. He was not tempted by the potential of getting a higher price.

Wurth did not insist when he saw Zen's determination. Instead, he nodded and said, “That's fine. In this auction, we plan to sell some precious refining materials and alchemy materials. And these have already appealed to many old, powerful refiners in the Imperial Capital. I believe that the crystal core of fire scorpion lion could also fetch a very good price.”

After reaching this agreement with Zen, Wurth led Zen to the back hall of the auction house.

Once they had entered the back hall of the auction house, Zen felt a burst of dazzling energy.

In the rooms behind each door of the back hall stood nature-level powers. And the stress of these nature creatures tingled Zen's senses. He could feel that they were dangerous. Their strengths were equal to or even stronger than Randall's.

And in the center of the back hall, Zen saw that the auction house's staff were carrying bundles of valuable medicine, articles, treasures, and weapons back and forth.

Zen glanced at these goods and found that almost all of these items were rare treasures. The value of any of these items perhaps equaled the Luo Clan's wealth, which had been accumulated for hundreds of years.

“Nestor!” Wurth shouted after he entered the back hall.

On hearing his name being called, an old man who stood not far away put down his work, bowed down and then came toward Wurth. When he walked closer, Zen noticed that the old man was slim, and his appearance was shrewd. The old man bowed to Wurth and said, “Young master, what can I do for you?”

“Where is my brother?” Wurth asked.

“The young master went to the front hall to welcome the guests,” Nestor answered.

“That's fine. You can help me in his stead. My friend wants to auction an object. Please help him to identify the object and then add it to the auction list. We can combine it to the auction later,” Wurth instructed the old man before pointing at Zen.

Nestor glanced at Zen. He revealed a rather disapproving look when he found that a teenager of 16 or 17 stood before him. Nestor was the chief auctioneer of the Blessed Auction House. He had seen and identified many valuable or rare treasures and could not believe that such a young man could have any special treasure that would need his expertise. Nestor assumed that the young man needed Wurth's help as his object could not be very rare.

Even though Nestor did not have any interest in helping Zen, he did not want to reject Wurth, his young master's orders.

As an experienced auctioneer, Nestor soon replaced the disapproval on his face with a professional expression and asked, “Yes, young master. And what does your friend want to auction? May I have a look?” Nestor turned to look at Zen.

Zen sensed Nestor's attitude. He did not say anything. Instead, he took out the crystal core of fire scorpion lion from his space ring. He handed it to Nestor as if it were an ordinary object.

Unlike Zen's calm demeanor, when Nestor saw the crystal core of fire scorpion lion, his eyes widened. Next second, he narrowed his eyes and started to scrutinize the crystal core.

Compared to Wurth's reaction, Nestor's reaction was much stronger.

After all, Wurth was an heir of the family and was not a professional auctioneer. He only had superficial knowledge when it came to evaluating treasures.

But Nestor was different. He became the chief auctioneer of the Blessed Auction House after having been in this industry for a lifetime. During this time, he had identified countless treasures of genius, magic weapons, and magical medicines.

Hence, he only needed one glance to know the value of the crystal core of fire scorpion lion. It was definitely a priceless and rare treasure!

“Nestor, what do you think of this crystal core?” Wurth asked. Even though he knew the value of the object, he wanted to confirm with Nestor, the most experienced auctioneer in the Blessed Auction House.

“This is the crystal core of an adult fire scorpion lion. This fire scorpion lion would be around 30 feet high and 60 feet long. Such a big fire scorpion lion hasn't appeared for many years. So, this crystal core is valuable enough to be used as the final and best treasure during the auction!” Unlike his indifference at the beginning, Nestor was now very excited. His shrewd, little eyes were full of astonishment and happiness.

On hearing Nestor's description, Zen admired the man. Nestor had indeed been correct. The height of that Fire Scorpion Lion was exactly like what Nestor had said, about 30 feet. The fact that he could draw such a conclusion only by looking at the crystal core was enough to show that Nestor was experienced and had sharp eyes.

“What kind of basic price do you think we can set for this crystal core?” Wurth asked.

Nestor laughed loudly and said, “As with any exceptional treasure, when it appears in an auction, you never know how many people will rush and fight for it. Especially at this time when the Shura Battlefield is about to restart. The clans never feel like they have sufficient good weapons. And the crystal core of fire scorpion lion is a superior material for refining weapons. Based on this information, it is hard to estimate the final price of this crystal core. If we have to set a basic price for it, I think about thirty thousand cubic crystals is appropriate.”

“Thirty thousand cubic crystals!” Zen was surprised to hear the price and could not help crying out in astonishment.

Zen's reaction took Nestor and Wurth by surprise. They looked at each other before Wurth turned to Zen and asked, “Zen, do you think the basic price is too low? Rest assured. Once the auction starts, the final price would be much higher than this number.”

Zen shook his head and explained, “No. Wurth, you have misunderstood me. The price is very appropriate!”

Zen did not think the price was low. Instead, it was much higher than his expectation.

Although he knew that the crystal core of fire scorpion lion was very precious, he had never presumed that the price would be this high.

The crystal core of a queen blade locust was exchanged for only 1000 points, which was equal to two thousand cubic crystals. And he had thought that the crystal core of fire scorpion lion would be valued at a similar price.

But the basic price, as he heard, was 15 times higher than that of the queen blade locust! That was totally beyond his calculations.

This lack of understanding of how the market worked showed how little experience Zen had.

After all, the blade locust was known for its rapid reproduction rate. Every year, dozens or hundreds of queen blade locusts were killed at Dragon Fort. And this productivity, of course, lowered the price of the crystal core of a queen blade locust.

A fire scorpion lion, however, was not the same. They had been hunted to the verge of extinction throughout the whole Eastern Region. It was rare to see a fire scorpion lion, not to mention an adult one. And its crystal core had special effects in the refining of weapons or medicines. Thus, the value of these two kinds of crystal cores was very different, and the gap was huge.

Hearing that Zen did not reject their proposed basic price, Nestor continued to say, “But if we add this to the lot today, we will have two outstanding treasures at this auction. So, I think it would be better to present the crystal core of fire scorpion lion in the next auction, where it will fetch a higher price... ” Nestor had the same idea as Wurth. It would be worthwhile to conduct an auction for this crystal core only.

“No need to wait for the next auction. My friend thinks that it is okay to combine it in today's auction. Nestor, please put away this crystal core of fire scorpion lion and prepare for the auction later,” Wurth calmly instructed.

“Okay, young master, I will do that,” Nestor now knew that the timing for the auction of the crystal core was nonnegotiable. With a quick shake of his head, Nestor asked an assistant to bring a luxurious box. He then carefully put the crystal core in it and sealed the box.

After completing all the arrangements for the crystal core's auction, Wurth walked back to the auction room with Zen. As it was a busy time for the auction, he managed to exchange simple greetings with Sean and other friends, and then went out.

By this time the auction room was full of people and refiners.

The participants present were very different. Some of them were individual refiners who had journeyed here alone. Some were from noble clans and had been accompanied by their acquaintances in hopes of sharing information and advice.

However, most of them were nature creatures.

Judging from their breaths, Zen estimated that the people in the VIP rooms had greater strength. Although those people could cover or suppress their level, Zen still could feel their strength. It was not hard to figure out that these refiners had already exceeded the nature level.

Zen did not have much time to look around the auction house. Within a few minutes, Nestor came to the high platform.

The people of the Imperial Capital knew Nestor as the chief auctioneer of the Blessed Auction House. Generally, Nestor only presided over some large auctions. Since Nestor was here, it meant that rare treasures would be auctioned.

After a brief introduction, Nestor clapped his hands. Then an assistant came to the stage with a luxurious box in his hands. The assistant carefully put the box on the big table on the stage and left. On seeing that the assistant had exited, Nestor walked to the table and started to introduce the first auction item with a calm tone. “Here is the first item for auction today. It is very special. There are three pieces of purple epiphyllum. They require a small amount of life vitality and can blossom overnight! The basic price of these three pieces of purple epiphyllum is 300 cubic crystals. You can bid at any price higher than that!”

After completing his short introduction of the first lot, Nestor opened the luxurious box and showed it to the audience. Three pieces of purple epiphyllum were in the box.

At this time, some delicate ladies in the field cried in surprise. They were obviously attracted to these beautiful flowers.

“Purple epiphyllum?” Zen murmured when he heard the name of the flowers. His eyes lit up with the enthusiasm that he felt. He asked around, “This kind of flower can only be used as an ornament, isn't it?”

Sean commented, “Yes, it has only ornamental value. The purple epiphyllum is very rare. It is also known as the world's most beautiful flower. And someone once said that if he could see the blossom of this flower just once in his lifetime, it would not be a pity.”

Nory could not understand this saying and shook his head. Then he said, “The flowers can only be used as an ornament and cannot be used as medicine. Even though they are beautiful, they are still useless. I am afraid that only arrogant and wealthy people from noble clans will buy these to send to their women as presents.”

Zen nodded in agreement. “A few hundred cubic crystals might be expensive for many normal families. But noble clans can afford the cost and will find it worthy to amuse their lovers.”

Zen was right. Although the purple epiphyllum had no help in refining, it still attracted a lot of young people's interest. The price went up from three hundred cubic crystals to eight hundred. Then it was bought by a noble clan member.

Zen, Sean, and Nory had accompanied Wurth to the auction house with the purpose of broadening their vision and seeing what an auction was for. Of course, they did not have any interest in luxurious flowers that had no benefits in refining.

They did not have the money to buy these flowers either. Even if they could afford it, they would not spend their money on something which could only be used as an ornament.

After the deal of the purple epiphyllum had been completed, Nestor started to introduce the next lot.

“The second item is a spiritual weapon. Now, the Shura Battlefield is about to reopen. If you are armed with a spiritual weapon on the battlefield, you would feel it is easier to fight with Ogres and other monsters. This weapon is called the Heaven-shaking Dagger-axe. Though it has a rough shape, it is made of purple jade. The Heaven-shaking Dagger-axe is ranked as a low-level spiritual weapon, but its power is similar to that of a middle-level spiritual weapon. The base price is 2000 cubic crystals. You can start to bid now.”

'Two thousand cubic crystals? That is not so expensive!' Zen thought. He was a little interested in this spiritual weapon.

This Heaven-shaking Dagger-axe was a low-level spiritual weapon. Zen did not care much about its power. Instead, he wondered about the iron essence he could obtain from such a weapon after refining it.

He knew that a top-grade mysterious weapon usually generated five or ten drops of iron essence. Since a spiritual weapon was a level higher than a mysterious weapon, maybe it would generate 50 drops of iron essence, or, perhaps even 100 drops.

On thinking of this possibility, Zen became excited. He wanted to bid.

As long as he could light up one dragon scale, his strength would grow. If ten dragon scales were lit at the same time, his strength would be doubled in a short period. Such an increase was definitely a significant improvement for him.

If possible, Zen planned to participate in the auction for this spiritual weapon.

But the bid price increased so much that he abandoned his plan.

“Two thousand and five hundred cubic crystals,” one refiner shouted excitedly.

“Two thousand and seven hundred,” said another.

“Three thousand cubic crystals!”

Even though the Heaven-shaking Dagger-axe had a powerful name and it was indeed a spiritual weapon, its shape was rough and heavy. Zen had thought that the bid would not be competitive. However, to his surprise, many refiners were interested in this weapon, and the price shot up in a short time.