Chapter 510: Returning Laden with Spoils

Not to be an adopted son, not to be a disciple.

To be a Master?

Senior brothers and sisters exchanged glances.

Never heard of such a thing!

Xu Xu Yue carefully counted.

In ten years, Liang Ashui will be twenty-eight or twenty-nine? The Grand Wu Sheng's grandson will be around fifteen? Perfect match. With Liang Ashui's cultivation progress, he'll likely already be a Tiger-Hunting Great Martial Artist—perfect to serve as the Grand Wu Sheng's grandson's martial mentor.

Martial enlightenment.

Whether the Grand Wu Sheng comes or a Great Martial Artist comes, the difference won't be great—only minor details.

If he becomes a Master, it'll be even more extraordinary—enough to rival, even surpass, the Da Shun Records!

The youngest Grand Wu Sheng in Da Shun was Zhang Zhang Longxiang, who began cultivation at fifteen and entered the Grand Wu Sheng realm at forty-eight.

But the youngest Master was not him, but another man: Bai Bai Guangyi.

He entered the Master realm at only thirty-one, yet at seventy-two still had not reached Grand Wu Sheng—he won at the start, lost halfway.

"Not bad, kid! You've made it!"

Xu Xu Yue was overjoyed.

Disciple of the King of Xu Yue.

Master to the Heir Apparent.

Either one carries extraordinary status.

The latter may not seem impressive for now, but with this agreement, Liang Qu as a recorded disciple will surely hold a different status from others!

Lu Gang asked: "Will you teach him in ten years? When will you take him as your disciple? Now? Or nine or ten years from now?"

"Now!" Liang Qu replied. "The King of Xu Yue calculated the auspicious day—tomorrow is perfect. He's set it for tomorrow. The Heir Apparent must serve me tea!"

First take a four-year-old brat as disciple, formalize the bond, then teach him ten years later.

This feeling was utterly strange.

It opened one's eyes wide.

Besides marriage alliances, master-disciple bonds, and sworn kinship, there's now a fourth… no, still a master-disciple bond, just reversed in order.

"Watch out—he's a demon child!"

"Senior brother, are you jealous?"

"It's a senior brother's warning!"

"Lot 12: Tear of the Twenty Jiaoren… starting bid: eight hundred taels of silver, each raise no less than one hundred taels!"

"My item's up!"

Liang Qu heard Zhu Zhu Bingcan announce the bid, shoved off Xu Xu Yue's arm, and leaned out the window railing.

Since he stepped out of the private booth, the dazed bidders snapped back to attention and began bidding—the entire auction hall gradually came alive.

"One thousand two!"

"One thousand four!"

"Two thousand!"

Many bidders. Last year's merchant guild had over a hundred items; this year's number doubled. The auction pace must be faster to avoid dragging on.

In moments, all five were sold!

"First one: five thousand three hundred taels."

"Second one: five thousand one hundred taels."

"Five thousand three, four thousand six, four thousand two."

Simple, no commission deducted—twenty-five thousand taels in hand!

Even with commission deducted, one item barely lost compared to direct sale—the rest were pure profit!

Buyers can pick any three items with no commission—wonder if sellers get the same exemption?

Zhu Zhu Bingcan came in a hurry that day; he probably didn't know Liang Qu had consigned items.

Xu Xu Yue, hearing the prices, nearly drooled, eyes bloodshot.

"Senior brother, don't look at me like that—you look just like Liu's grandson with his sickness."

"Cough, cough." Xu Xu Yue choked on his saliva, wiped his mouth, glanced around, and whispered, "Brother, tell me honestly—how much silver do you have now?"

Liang Qu held up three fingers.

"My heavens—thirty thousand!"

Liang Qu looked down his nose.

"Three hundred thousand! Well, two ten thousand short."

Two hundred eighty thousand!

Xu Xu Yue's pupils trembled, stammering.

"You—how—how did you earn this?"

Several senior brothers were utterly baffled.

Liang Qu had no steady business; his only farming was still in investment, yielding nothing—where did he get so much surplus wealth?

"Last time we went to the Great Marsh to observe the anomaly, Xu Xu Tiling collected boat fares, right? You didn't pay—I split it seven-three with him and took twenty." Liang Qu waved his hand. "All floating wealth—not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning."

"…."

"Twenty…" Xu Xu Yue whispered carefully, "you got seven?"

"Think bigger—if I wanted the big share, would I have only twenty? Seven percent is his!"

"Damn! Xu Xu Tiling got seven?!"

"Then he made over forty?"

Xu Xu Yue stared blankly.

Same surname.

How could their wealth differ so much?

Bidding continued.

"Lot 21: Mottled Stone…"

"Wealth-Cat Eye Flower…"

"Qi-Blood Harmonizing Pill—calms medicinal conflicts, even enhances potency. Starting bid: one thousand taels!"

Qi-blood harmonizing.

At home, a pile of precious plants were unusable due to medicinal conflicts.

Liang Qu needed it exactly.

"Four thousand seven—taken!"

"Withered-Renewal Twin Lotus—a mutated variant of the Withered-Renewal Twin Lotus. Slightly weaker effect, but its age is immense. Starting bid: five thousand taels!"

Withered-Renewal Twin Lotus?

Liang Qu watched briefly.

Much larger than what he'd eaten before.

Precious plants that resemble yet differ cannot be missed.

The Seven Stages of Dragon-Tiger Golden Body.

Golden light surges, golden figure appears, five limbs solidify, five forms float, adorned in treasure robe, alive as a human, seated in divine posture!

Liang Qu is currently stuck at Stage Four: Floating Five Forms. With the two Life Flowers at home, he should burst straight to Stage Five: Adorned in Treasure Robe!

When the Golden Body wears the "Treasure Robe," it radiates half an inch outward—its strength increase is self-evident.

"Thirty-one thousand—taken!"

"Jade Green Water, three Great Qian—water-element treasure fluid, nourishes internal organs…"

Six thousand taels—taken!

"Pulse-Marrow Jade Fluid—helps Smoke-Wolf Martial Artists open meridians."

Two vials.

Fifty-six thousand taels—taken!

Xu Xu Yue, Xiang Xiang Zhangsong, and other senior brothers lost focus, dazed and numb.

Other Smoke-Wolf Martial Artists would need to save for years—yet the junior brother spends silver like water.

Less than half an hour, one hundred thousand taels of silver flowed out.

Did he come to the auction to stock up?

To be fair—

Fast cultivation has its logic…

The auction items reached one hundred, with total prices ranging from ten thousand to thirty thousand taels; after two hundred items, all exceeded thirty thousand taels.

Master Yang only bought one item: fifty-five thousand taels.

After waiting a long time, Liang Qu did not encounter the same unusual golden-eyed creature or any other sentient remains as before.

After waiting, Liang Qu didn't get another strange Golden Eye like last time, nor any other resonant biological remains.

On the pomelo wood platform, a delicate white robe was placed on a tray and presented.

"Lot 263: Dragon Spirit Silk! Made from the colored scales of the Twenty Jiaoren's waist and abdomen—only tribes with over five thousand Twenty Jiaoren can produce it! Immersing in water doesn't wet it, transforms endlessly, countless forms and colors—one robe equals a hundred garments. Starting bid: ten thousand taels, each raise no less than three hundred taels!"

Dragon Spirit Silk?

【101】 Inside the private booth, Yu Dun and Lu Gang both turned their gazes toward it.

It was well known that Liang Qu owned a Long Dragon Lingxiao.

To think a single garment could cost so much!

Xu Xu Yue's mouth turned sour—he had long envied this garment, which never needed replacing and let him wear any style he pleased each day.

Now, seeing another one with his own eyes, he lamented his meager fortune.

He cursed his lack of wealth!

"Fifteen thousand taels!"

Starting at ten thousand, the price leapt to fifteen in the blink of an eye.

From the voice, it sounded like Ke Ko Wenbin.

As for who coveted the Long Dragon Lingxiao most, it was naturally the Heposuo men who saw Liang Qu wear it daily.

At the opening, several bidders drove the price straight to thirty thousand.

In the end, Xu Xu Yuelong still won it at the high price of fifty-eight thousand taels.

"Quite valuable indeed."

Liang Qu stroked the Long Dragon Lingxiao as if draped in silver notes.

After three hundred auction items, most were bought by families.

Mostly just watching.

Nothing suitable.

Many were used by Great Martial Masters, and some ores and demon beast cores were even sufficient for True Masters to forge spiritual weapons—each item priced into six figures.

Compared to last year's single longevity-enhancing material, this year there were two.

One was won by Magistrate Jian Magistrate Jian Zhongyi, the other by the Weng family, both prices soaring above four hundred thousand taels.

With the longevity-enhancing material sold, this year's auction ended, and buyers gradually left their seats.

"Magistrate Jian's Lord has a particular fondness for longevity-enhancing materials," said Xu Xu Yue.

Liang Qu nodded silently—last year and this year combined, spending over eight hundred thousand taels on longevity—absurd.

"I thought there'd be some special treasure, something fetching a million taels!"

"Unlikely. Before the auction, Pingyang Prefecture had only one True Master—the Weng family—so preparation likely lacked both quantity and quality."

Liang Qu passed through the corridor to the backroom transaction area, pulled out a thick stack of silver notes, inspected his purchases, and claimed his discount.

The three items with the highest value and commission rate were tax-exempt.

One vial of Mai Sui Yuye, one pair of Ku Rong Sister Lotus flowers, and one precious plant from Yang Yang Dongxiong—three tax-exempt, fifteen percent discount.

The rest, including items his senior brothers didn't need but were happy to use, were all discounted ten percent.

His senior brothers never let Liang Qu suffer a loss—they each fully reimbursed him at half price.

Effectively, Liang Qu gave them a five percent discount and pocketed part of the rebate himself.

Altogether, the total cost came to less than seventy-six thousand taels of silver.

"Pity, I didn't score any cultivation techniques this year."

Liang Qu scanned the room but saw no sign of Wei Shao—perhaps he'd finally learned from his mistakes.

At least he'd gotten the precious plant for free.

Guan Guan Congjian's figure surfaced in his mind.