Chapter 318: The Bet to Prove Strength

Li Zheng paid no attention to General Ye Ming's furious departure.

If one yields on a matter of principle, the Mingwu Clan will inevitably push further.

In this world, there are no moral constraints; force has always been the only language.

In the eyes of foreign races, your concession essentially signals that, after weighing pros and cons, you deem yourself the weaker party and thus choose to compromise.

This behavior will not only fail to make foreign races restrain themselves, but will instead make them feel they hold the advantage.

Under the survival law of the strong devouring the weak, a compromise is like the scent of blood from an open wound, inviting only more greedy sucking.

Only by standing firm and unyielding can one gain more room for cooperation.

A fearless display is far more substantial than previous verbal alliances.

As for General Ye Ming's anger, Li Zheng did not believe he was truly angry.

From the two prior contacts, he felt General Ye Ming was an exceptionally capable leader, and all seemingly angry displays were ultimately calculated to secure benefits.

Including the extreme pressure tactics earlier, even the anger was a bargaining chip in his calculation of gains.

Even his furious rise just now and his sweeping glance across the hall was merely a performance to extract benefits.

How could this battle-hardened veteran, who once single-handedly turned the Mingwu Clan around from the brink of historical oblivion, be a reckless fool swayed by mere emotions?

As for inviting the General to this auction without disclosing the presence of Rule Fragments beforehand.

it was also a scheme to extract more benefits from the Mingwu Clan.

Disclosing it early would indeed allow the General to prepare resources in advance, enabling the Gold Coin Guild to profit more from this auction event.

But what he wanted was for the Mingwu Clan to proactively attend every future auction.

And to deposit vast quantities of resources at the Gold Coin Guild in advance.

Not publicly revealing the goods for each auction means foreign races cannot know whether Rule Fragments will appear in the next round.

To seize opportunities in advance, one must prepare resources and deposit them at the Gold Coin Guild beforehand.

This binds the interests of all races tightly to the Gold Coin Guild.

Secondly, storing resources incurs a handling fee, which is also a continuous source of resource income.

After this incident, General Ye Ming will surely plan every bidding event in advance, and every time an auction is held, he will undoubtedly summon clan members to participate.

On the other side.

General Ye Ming's figure, like a black lightning bolt, raced swiftly over the sea.

His body skimmed the surging waves; wherever he passed, the seawater parted silently, rising into a mist.

Suddenly, his five fingers clenched forward, instantly tearing space apart as if it were fragile silk, revealing a distorted void rift.

The next second, he had passed through the spatial rift and appeared above Mingwu Island.

Facing this sudden spatial jump, the Mingwu Clan army below looked up, discovered the arrival of the Great General, and their tense expressions immediately vanished.

"Prepare three Soul Stones, three thousand Blood Crystal ores, and two hundred Ghost Soul Grass for me."

His voice was as cold and hard as iron, causing the Mingwu Clan warriors below to kneel and prostrate themselves.

Three elders rose from beneath the island and hurriedly arrived; before they could speak, General Ye Ming's chilling gaze pinned them in mid-air:

"I sent you to prepare resources, not to come ask me what happened."

Upon hearing this, the three elders decisively flew toward the resource storage area to retrieve resources according to General Ye Ming's instructions.

The auction at Dream Island made General Ye Ming gain a new understanding of the Gold Coin Guild's strength.

He realized he could not fathom the true depth of the Gold Coin Guild.

It was certain that the Gold Coin Guild must have an investigation organization stationed in various regions of the sea, gathering information from major sea areas like ghosts.

This was why the Gold Coin Guild's intelligence was so detailed, even knowing the history of the Mingwu.

Secondly, the fact that the Gold Coin Guild could produce a treasure like "Rule Fragments" proved that the power behind them did not care about the potential value of Rule Fragments.

The power behind this might be far stronger than he had previously imagined.

Moreover, the act of initiating trade with various races was likely supported by "Rule Logic."

Otherwise, on the basis of possessing strength far superior to the Mingwu Clan, the behavior of cooperative mutual benefit would itself be a foolish display.

Even enslaving weaker races would align better with the survival laws of this world than mutually beneficial trade.

Without pondering these questions further, he was now more concerned with that Rule Fragment.

Even if it could not be repaired, crafting it into a pseudo-rule artifact could bring strategic advantages to the Mingwu Clan.

This was a trump card that, even as eras changed, would inevitably remain effective at the gambling table of the Monster World.

Perhaps techniques would become obsolete, but rules always occupied the supreme position in the power system.

Ordinary resources can be obtained through mining, farming, plundering, and a series of other means.

But rules are different; they are absolute authority transcending resources, the supreme power that formulates the articles of war.

Their value cannot be measured by ordinary resources at all; the two do not exist on the same dimension.

This was also the reason he considered the Gold Coin Guild's behavior of exchanging Rule Fragments for resources to be extremely foolish.

It was like using a blade capable of severing fate to exchange for a few bundles of firewood; it was simply absurd.

Just then, the departing elders returned, handing over a bracelet storing the resources.

Taking the bracelet, General Ye Ming turned and tore space apart.

After passing through the spatial tunnel, he appeared above Dream Island, then flew directly to the dock of Dream Island.

He intended to transfer and register the resources, then obtain the universal currency of Dream Island: Gold Coins.

From these few contacts, he knew that Li Zheng, the person in charge of the Gold Coin Guild, had a distinct characteristic.

Many issues, in Li Zheng's eyes, left no room for negotiation or compromise.

For instance, just now he clearly stated that funds could be supplemented later, but Li Zheng chose to refuse.

This might be related to the logic chain of the rules; its behavior does not yield benefits according to the rules, so it chose to refuse.

It could also be for other reasons.

In any case, going directly to the dock to register can avoid disputes with Ah Lan over this small issue, thereby wasting time.

Ye Ming's figure, like a black meteor, tore through the sky of Dream Island, carrying the chaotic aura remaining from the spatial rift, and crashed down onto the bluish-gray stone slabs of the dock with a boom.

The shockwave lifted the moored merchant ships, and the players who were loading and unloading cargo were also shaken back by the sudden impact.

After landing, Ye Ming reached out and pulled a player close.

Before the player could react, he found himself staring into a pair of pupils burning with ghostly blue soul fire.

"Register."

As he spoke, Ye Ming swept his hand across the ground, and suddenly ten metal crates appeared on the floor.

"Hey buddy, cutting in line isn't cool, can you at least show some civility?" The player was startled, then said with an displeased expression.

"I told you to register."

Just as this player was about to activate his foul-mouth mode.

A voice from the squad channel rang in his mind, and he then said helplessly:

"Fine, I'll register you for you... mind your manners in the future; this is Dream Island, not your clan territory where you can run wild..."

The soul fire in Ye Ming's head flared violently; suppressing the urge to slap the player to death, he continued listening as the player chattered endlessly while tallying the resources.

What made it curious was the player's method of tallying resources.

There was no need to take out the resource atlas for comparison; just a glance with the eyes, followed by touching the item to store it in an imperceptible space, was enough to know the material's attributes and value.

Even stranger, there was no need to measure the weight at all.

For example, the pricing method for spirit ore resources should be to first determine the category, then appraise the quality, and finally weigh it.

The mining of spirit ore is inherently full of variables.

The raw stones chiseled from the vein vary in size and shape.

Even ore from the same vein can have uneven quality due to different distributions of internal impurities.

Logically, the appraisal process should be tedious.

At the very least, one must first select samples to test the color, then convert the weight based on indicators like energy content, and only then estimate the total value of the entire batch of goods.

Yet this Gold Coin Guild member, who was still chattering endlessly, could know the precise value of all goods with just a glance and then store them in the space.

Curious in his heart, Ye Ming reached out, grabbed a piece of ore, scanned it repeatedly with his perception, and then handed it to the player who was currently testing.

After the player took the ore, he glanced at it, stored it in the space, and then input a string of numbers on the calculator.

"How much is this spirit ore worth?"

"39,292 gold coins."

Ye Ming already knew the value of gold coins and calculated rapidly.

The final number froze in his mind: 39,292.

It matched the value given by the Gold Coin Guild member down to the last detail.

But compared to the Gold Coin Guild member who could derive the price with a single glance, his calculation speed was far inferior, and the Gold Coin Guild calculated in batches, not by counting individual ores one by one. Although curious about the reason, he did not ask.

The Monster World has countless races; seeing all kinds of racial talents is perfectly normal.

However, what Ye Ming did not know was that this method of rapid tallying and pricing was invented by Ah Lan: the Rapid Pricing Method.

The usage is actually very simple.

Mere analysis and scanning cannot calculate the specific value of this batch of resources.

But the player has a very precise value measurer in hand: "Sacrifice to Beneath Di Zhao, big brother."

One only needs to open the sacrifice panel, throw it in, check the sacrifice value, and the total value of the entire batch of goods can be estimated.

Take a Blood Crystal Ore as an example.

The Gold Coin Guild only needs to calculate the market price of this spirit ore on the trading market; next, they simply store the Blood Crystal Ores in bulk into the spatial bag, then sacrifice to Beneath Di Zhao to check the sacrifice price, and they can obtain the accurate goods price.

That is: Actual external market transaction price = Internal sacrifice price × Fixed coefficient.

There are three steps in total.

Step one: Throw the goods into the sacrifice panel (Beneath Di Zhao, big brother, automatically identifies quality and weight to derive the value).

Step two: Record the sacrifice quote.

Step three: Multiply by the fixed coefficient (the ratio listed in the Gold Coin Guild's resource category table; every product has a different ratio value).

The external price of Blood Crystal Ore is 3.3 times the sacrifice to Beneath Di Zhao, big brother; this is the fixed coefficient.

All resources can apply this formula to quickly obtain a clear price, completely skipping complex and tedious steps like quality appraisal and weight measurement.

Beneath Di Zhao, big brother, is the authority.

Although Beneath Di Zhao, big brother, cuts the purchase price at the ankle, and the sacrifice price of some goods can even differ from the external price by more than ten times, the ratio price given is absolutely fair, with no possibility of shortchanging.

This made "Sacrifice to Beneath Di Zhao" the most standard value measurer.

In the early days, the Gold Coin Guild also had complex tallying methods; tallying a batch of goods would consume a huge amount of time.

With the development of the Gold Coin Guild, the early appraisal methods were too inefficient and could no longer keep up with the guild's growth.

Finally, after researching their own functional system, Ah Lan found this shortcut for rapid pricing.

Before long, all resources were tallied.

"Buddy, come collect the payment."

Ye Ming, with a cold face, raised the bidding device in his hand; a beam of Jin Guang shot from the calculator in the player's hand and swept over the surface of the bidding device with a "ding."

Immediately, the gears inside the bidding device turned automatically, and gold coins of equivalent resource value arrived.

But the numerical value inside the bidding device was essentially just a carrier of value.

The first-generation bidding device was too crude; other races, after careful study, were fully capable of tampering with the displayed gold coin values.

So Arlan used a plugin from the Coin Guild's group chat to record transactions; every player who completed a tally would log the resource into the plugin, rendering any external bidder's altered values useless—every transaction required the player's involvement.

Other races might alter the bid display values, but they could never touch the data within the Coin Guild's group chat.

General Ye Ming, having acquired the coins, did not linger; his form shot upward into the sky.

Not long after, he arrived above the auction hall, slowed his descent, and landed back on his original seat.

At this moment, the bidding price for the Rule Shard had reached 48 million coins, with eight minutes remaining until the auction ended.

Seeing General Ye Ming return, Arlan knew he had prepared sufficiently to continue bidding.

As a Ban Shen Jing cultivator, traversing the void with his physical body was no challenge.

Though the distance between Mistveil Island and Dream Island seemed vast, for a Ban Shen Jing powerhouse, with precise spatial coordinates, a round trip could be accomplished in moments.

Seated, General Ye Ming raised his head and twisted his bid device.

The bid device, previously stuck and unable to turn, rotated again after receiving new energy.

【ID 313, Bid: 50 million coins.】

The moment this bid was placed, another bid popped up instantly.

【ID 89, Bid: 52 million coins.】

This time, General Ye Ming did not rage, nor did he act out; he simply twisted the bid device again.

【ID 313, Bid: 55 million coins.】

The price had now reached 5.5 million Shou Shou Jili; players in the livestream were stunned.

The most agonized among them were the members of the squad who had previously listed the Rule Shard on the trading post for 800,000 Shou Shou Jili.

They now had a new understanding of the concept: knowledge is wealth.

Watching the livestream, their inner torment intensified with every rise in the Rule Shard's price.

In fact, before listing the Rule Shard on the trading post, the squad members had thoroughly researched its value.

They had thought 800,000 Shou Shou Jili was already too high, planning to lower the price gradually if it didn't sell—but the moment they listed it, another player snapped it up instantly.

At the time, they assumed the buyer must have been an arms dealer, alchemist, or member of a research-oriented guild.

They figured he bought it for study, but would eventually sacrifice it Beneath Di Zhao.

They never imagined it could sell for such a high price through the Coin Guild.

In stark contrast to the squad's emotions were the members of the warband that had supplied the Rule Shard to the Coin Guild.

The entire warband consisted of seventy-six members.

During their run through the Adventurer Dungeon, they had incredibly lucked out and obtained the Rule Shard; their first action was to search the forums for related data, after which they found Arlan's original post seeking Rule Shards.

Originally, they planned to sell the Rule Shard to the Coin Guild for 1 million Shou Shou Jili.

But Arlan offered them two choices in a private message.

First, the Coin Guild would pay 1.5 million Shou Shou Jili for the Rule Shard.

Second, the Coin Guild would handle the resale, taking only a 10% commission fee.

Arlan clearly explained in the private message that the Rule Shard's value far exceeded 1.5 million Shou Shou Jili; the choice was theirs.

Normal players, faced with 1.5 million Shou Shou Jili, would unhesitatingly choose the immediate payment.

This price was no longer merely in-game currency.

In the real world, it could extend life through the Moon Eclipse Clan and cure all hidden illnesses in the body.

But the warband's leader trusted Arlan deeply—he himself had benefited from past Coin Guild welfare programs.

Thus, after consulting with his guild members, the warband's leader chose the second option: consignment.

For the next half-month, the Coin Guild gave no reply.

During this time, some warband members complained: why had it taken so long to sell? Just sell it for 1.5 million Shou Shou Jili already.

But the warband's leader chose to wait longer.

Now, the prior wait had transformed into overwhelming joy.

Each time the auction screen updated its number, the entire warband resting in the Adventurer Dungeon raised their hands in cheers, every member's face glowing with smiles.

And the thrilling climax of the auction continued.

At this moment, Arlan watched the still-fluctuating coin numbers with calm composure.

In truth, the Rule Shard's value far exceeded several million Shou Shou Jili.

The only thing limiting the Rule Shard's value was the current scale of the Coin Guild.

If the Ascension Clan, Shu Yan, Mingwu Clan, Counterflow Legion, Soul Return Clan, A Le, and other wealthy factions could be gathered on Dream Island to participate in this auction, the Rule Shard's price could climb even higher.

Unfortunately, the Coin Guild was still a fledgling platform, with too few buyers connected.

The Mingwu Clan's resource volume dominated the scene entirely; other races were no match.

Ultimately, the Rule Shard sold for 87 million coins—8.7 million Shou Shou Jili.

"General Ye Ming, congratulations," Arlan rose and smiled in greeting.

"Hand me the Rule Shard directly; no delivery needed," General Ye Ming said gravely.

Arlan fully understood this request.

General Ye Ming, as a Ban Shen Jing cultivator, moved freely across the Cang Star Sea Region; no one could stop him—he was the one who raided other clans; which clan in the Cang Star Sea Region would dare act against him?

But Arlan did not immediately agree; a new idea formed in his mind:

"General Ye Ming, you've always doubted my people's capabilities. How about we play a game?"

"What game?" General Ye Ming turned to face Arlan directly, the soul-fire in his skull flickering.

"The Rule Shard you just won—I, the Coin Guild, will deliver it to you for free. You may deploy all Mingwu Clan methods: ambushes, tracking, even your own direct intervention… If the Coin Guild fails to deliver the Rule Shard to Mistveil Island within three days, I will refund all resources you spent in this auction, and the Rule Shard will be a free gift."

"You are confident."

"Confidence is built upon strength."

"Then let's try." General Ye Ming agreed crisply, then continued:

"I hope the strength of your Gold Coin Merchant Guild is worthy of this confidence."

Having spoken, it turned and transformed into a black mist, flying above Dream Island, vanishing at the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Today's update is here~

(End of this chapter)