Chapter 226: Want It?

This kid… is there something wrong with his head?

"So, if you eat the 【Hour-Reversing Clock】, you can absorb its essence and become more powerful?"

Fang Yue said, deeply skeptical.

【Yes!】

That single word, brimming with pride, was as if a little girl with closed eyes was proudly puffing out her chest, answering loudly and with full justification.

"Uh… then why would I give you the 【Hour-Reversing Clock】 to eat? Isn't it just two things merging into one? What's the point for me?"

【I am Fang Yue. I have insulted the great and noble Lord Parchment. I deserve to die!】

Fang Yue:???!

What the hell!

This guy… throws a tantrum if you don't give it something.

Apparently realizing that throwing a tantrum wouldn't get it the 【Hour-Reversing Clock】 either, the Parchment finally started explaining again.

【I am Fang Yue. I obtained the 【Hour-Reversing Clock】, but the 【Hour-Reversing Clock】 is damaged, and the possibility of repairing it is slim to none. And the great and noble Lord Parchment, as long as it devours the 【Hour-Reversing Clock】, can immediately inherit the 【Hour-Reversing Clock】's properties, put them to use, and help me defeat stronger enemies!】

【I feel like I'm about to be invincible!】

These words finally caused Fang Yue's resolve to waver.

Not to mention he had absolutely no idea how to repair a strange artifact. Just repairing something this advanced would require precious materials that the current Fang Yue couldn't get his hands on, let alone the fact that he simply didn't have the skill or technique.

If the Parchment really could smoothly absorb the 【Hour-Reversing Clock】, then he could directly use the Parchment to access the 【Hour-Reversing Clock】's abilities, skipping the problem of repairing the 【Hour-Reversing Clock】.

However…

Fang Yue asked suspiciously, "Is it really that simple? You eat it and you can absorb the 【Hour-Reversing Clock】's abilities?"

【Of course!!】

"Alright, I'll trust you this once."

The interior of the auction was already dim. Taking advantage of Captain Fire's inattention, Fang Yue secretly stuffed the 【Hour-Reversing Clock】 into the Parchment.

Like a hard object being stuffed into a swamp, the Parchment went "ahh ohh uhh" as it swallowed the 【Hour-Reversing Clock】 down.

Putting away the Parchment, Fang Yue nervously asked how things were going, but received no response for a long time, causing Fang Yue's expression to darken.

Good lord, it didn't eat the thing and then run off, did it?

【I am… the Parchment… I need… to hibernate…】

Ah, this…

Feeling the words the Parchment displayed in his mind, Fang Yue felt a bit depressed.

It seemed that the Parchment eating the 【Hour-Reversing Clock】 wasn't as simple as it had claimed.

Fang Yue asked a few more questions, but the Parchment gave no further response.

After confirming that the Parchment had truly fallen into hibernation, Fang Yue sighed in frustration.

Although the Parchment's abilities were bizarre, its personality always gave people an unreliable feeling.

Gathering his thoughts, Fang Yue turned his attention back to the auction.

No choice—his Heart Method still hadn't been secured.

As for the Parchment, it couldn't run away anyway. He'd wait until the auction was over to call it out and ask what happened.

By this time, the host had already begun bringing out some Mortal Grade lower-quality and Mortal Grade mid-quality hard currency items, no longer the counterfeits from the start.

As a result, the atmosphere at the venue, which had been slightly subdued because of the Fatty Luo incident, quickly heated up again.

One bid after another rang out, putting a smile on the host's face.

The atmosphere was high, and Captain Fire began bidding from time to time, occasionally winning some items.

Fang Yue noticed that they were basically all cultivation-related items, along with some strange and unusual rare materials.

Apparently sensing Fang Yue's confusion, Captain Fire said without any concealment, "My cultivation of Martial Techniques requires some special materials to bring out their full power. Some materials can also assist my cultivation progress."

"I recall you only recently entered the Martial Dao, and you're only at the Postnatal Third-rate Realm. Although your strength is outstanding, you still have a long way to go before becoming a true powerhouse."

"The path of cultivation isn't that simple. At a low-level realm like the Postnatal Third-rate Realm, you might be able to improve your cultivation progress just by cultivating Heart Methods and Martial Techniques. But further on, you'll need all sorts of medicines, and even wondrous objects that match your Heart Method and Martial Techniques, to assist your cultivation, in order to effectively improve your strength."

"Otherwise, you'll get stuck at a certain realm for a very long time, or even be unable to advance a single step for the rest of your life."

"Cultivation, cultivation—it's not just about talent. If your financial resources can't keep up, you'll fall behind others step by step all the same."

"On your way here, you've surely passed through quite a few villages. The captains of those villages are mostly not that strong, right?"

"Those people simply didn't have enough financial support, didn't have wondrous objects suited to their attributes, or pills, medicinal soups, and the like to assist their cultivation. That's why their strength remained the same year after year, unable to advance a single step."

"But our Mo Cun is different. As a large village, our Mo Cun has abundant resources, active economic flow, and merchant caravans pass through far more frequently than those remote small villages. So as long as you can become a captain of Mo Cun, the cultivation resources are mostly generous."

"I don't know what Heart Method and Martial Techniques you cultivate, but the master who taught you martial arts should have told you what things can assist your cultivation."

"If any of these things appear at this auction, I suggest you buy them directly. After all, black stones can always be earned again, but good things suited to yourself vanish in an instant. The next time you want to come across them, it won't be easy."

Captain Fire's words were not without reason.

Take a good thing like the 【Hour-Reversing Clock】—if it weren't for attending the Black Crow Auction, Fang Yue might never have had another chance to obtain it.

And this terrifying strange artifact, which the Black Crow Auction had treated as junk, would also be treated as junk by other buyers, tossed into some corner, gathering dust for who knows how many years, and might even be damaged because of it.

So, of course Fang Yue understood that the opportunity of the Black Crow Auction was extremely precious, and that when you came across a good thing, you should strike when the iron is hot.

The problem was…

He didn't have any so-called master to tell him what strange and unusual things he should go after to assist his cultivation.

It really was strange and unusual—Fang Yue had seen Captain Fire even bid on a live creature called a Fire-patterned Snake, which she tucked into her sleeve and let slither around inside her body, giving Fang Yue a serious case of goosebumps.

On top of that, Fang Yue still needed to save money to buy a Heart Method. As for cultivation progress and the like, all his attributes were maxed out; only a Heart Method was his sole need.

Of course, Captain Fire had kindly told Fang Yue so much, so naturally Fang Yue couldn't just say nothing. He nodded in agreement, then asked some more questions about cultivation.

Since Fang Yue began cultivating, it could basically be said he had no master at all—it was all self-taught through trial and error.

After all, Chen Mu died early. Not long after giving him the manual, he passed away.

As for Lin Ling, their relationship was actually pretty good, but the problem was that her approach was all wrong—others played with guns, and her Heart Method was a unique one too, so he couldn't be of any help at all.

As for Hua Wuye, there was even less chance—she had pitifully little interaction with him.

Fang Yue asked in detail, and Captain Huo also explained clearly.

As the two went back and forth with questions and answers, they didn't forget to split their attention to keep an eye on the auction items at the Black Crow Auction, and would bid to purchase auction items from time to time.

Just as Fang Yue was absorbing a large amount of knowledge about cultivation, the host suddenly took a deep breath.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the moment has…"

"Finally, it's time for the last few auction items of our Black Crow Auction."

"These few items are the grand finale pieces of our Black Crow Auction. Many of you may have already gotten insider information and guessed quite a few of them, but I hope you can remain quiet and let me, your humble self, give you a grand and solemn introduction."

"Next, please let my assistant, Yaya Gu Niang, bring out the first finale item!"

The crowd's breathing instantly grew heavy.

Finally, finally, it was time for the final, most important finale!

One could say that most of the people gathered here today came for the final finale items.

The auction items before this were merely appetizers.

Under everyone's anticipation, Yaya Gu Niang pushed up the first finale item covered with a red cloth.

The host pulled off the red cloth—it was a cloak.

Fang Yue showed a disappointed expression, while Captain Huo beside him actually revealed a look of keen interest.

And behind them, Hei Da and Hei Er sat in place without any reaction, clearly this item was not their target either.

Apart from the four of them, the reactions of everyone else at the scene were almost identical—every one of them burst forth with extraordinary enthusiasm, their eager eyes staring fixedly at that cloak.

"Phosphorescent Cloak, Mortal Grade Superior! Made primarily from the phosphorus powder of a Phosphorus Gui, combined with various precious materials."

"The wearer of this cloak can unleash a terrifying burst of phosphorescent light at night! Its power is nearly equal to a single all-out strike from a Black Grade Initial Stage Gui Yi 【Phosphorus Gui】."

"Moreover, this item is reusable. On the nights when Phosphorus Gui appear each month, you can simply leave it outside to be recharged by moonlight…"

A green cloak, covered in all kinds of mottled phosphorescent light—although the design looked a bit green, judging by the effects, it was very impressive.

In a martial artist's hands, a single all-out strike from a Black Grade Initial Stage Gui Yi could be enough to turn the tables at the right moment.

Even in the hands of an ordinary person, it could play a tremendous role.

Without a doubt, the value of this item was extremely great!

The best part was that it could be used repeatedly—truly worthy of being Mortal Grade Superior!

Fang Yue's eyes lit up, but unfortunately, a single all-out strike from a Black Grade Initial Stage Gui Yi was already of little use to him.

Although he was still currently at the Postnatal Third-rate Realm, his strength had long since surpassed what an ordinary Black Grade Initial Stage Gui Yi could compare to.

"…Starting bid, 2 Black Stones, with each increase no less than 10g of Black Ember."

After the host's final words, someone at the scene immediately began bidding.

"2.20 Black Stones!"

"2.30 Black Stones!"

"2.50 Black Stones"

The price skyrocketed, with bids rising one after another.

"3 Black Stones!"

Captain Huo also suddenly placed a bid at this moment.

The people bidding around them recognized Captain Huo's voice, and the bidding briefly paused, followed immediately by…

"3.15 Black Stones!"

"3.25 Black Stones!"

"3.35 Black Stones!"

Before, those people would more or less give Captain Huo some face—even when raising bids to compete, they weren't that decisive and direct.

But now, they didn't hesitate at all, just frantically raising the price.

Captain Huo raised an eyebrow, and also threw out a high bid of 3.55 Black Stones, which was quickly surpassed again.

At this point, she completely lost interest.

"Not bidding anymore?"

"Too ugly, doesn't look good."

……I think it's because it's too expensive.

The Phosphorescent Cloak, as a good item of Mortal Grade Superior, was indeed worth a high price.

But for Fang Yue and Captain Huo, this thing could only be considered a kind of toy—the improvement to actual combat wasn't that obvious, and it had absolutely no benefit for cultivation.

But for ordinary people with low strength, or regular martial artists, this item could be said to be a trump-card level life-saving item, in this world rife with crisis and overrun with Gui Yi.

A good item sufficient to save one's life—no matter how high the price, it wouldn't be excessive, especially given that the people present here were all quite wealthy.

Captain Huo glanced at Fang Yue at this moment.

"You're not planning to buy it? This thing is still quite useful for a little fellow like you at the Postnatal Third-rate Realm."

Fang Yue calmly shook his head—his target, from beginning to end, had always been only one thing: a Heart Method.

And at this moment, another person at the auction reported a high bid.

"5 Black Stones!"

With the high bid of 5 Black Stones reported, many people silently gave up bidding.

Gui Yi were hard to kill, and few people were willing to sell Black Ember.

Even for this group who held extremely high status in Mo Cun and controlled the village's commercial lifeblood, it wasn't convenient to acquire Black Ember.

So the assets in each person's hands weren't as plentiful as imagined—5 Black Stones was already a high price for them.

Moreover, many of them had come with a mission in mind.

The Phosphorescent Cloak was nice, but it wasn't part of the mission objective, so he still had to conserve as much as possible — when the target item appeared, he'd bid high for it!

After that, people still raised the price on and off, and in the end the Phosphorescent Cloak was sold at the high price of 5.55 black stones.

The green cloak was gleefully put on right there by its new owner, causing everyone else to look at him with strange eyes.

Next, the host began to auction the second highlight item — a fiery red ring.

Almost the moment this ring came out, Captain Huo's eyes lit up.

When the host announced the bidding had begun, Captain Huo immediately put out a high price, startling everyone else.

After some hesitation, people gradually began to raise the price, but the increases were all very small.

Captain Huo raised an eyebrow and doubled the bid outright.

"8.80 black stones — anyone bid higher?"

The host shouted excitedly at the top of his lungs, but no one dared to keep bidding.

Because judging by Captain Huo's manner, no matter how high others bid, as long as it didn't exceed her limit, she would follow the price without the slightest hesitation.

8.8 black stones for this ring had long exceeded many people's estimated price — it was a premium sale, so naturally no one was willing to keep competing with Captain Huo.

"Congratulations to Captain Huo on winning the 【Mortal Grade Superior】 Fire Gathering Ring!"

The host announced happily in a loud voice, and personally delivered the Fire Gathering Ring into Captain Huo's hands — when it came to a big client like a Captain of Mo Cun, the respect owed still had to be given.

Fang Yue watched the Fire Gathering Ring on Captain Huo's finger with some envy; according to the host's explanation, this ring could assist the cultivation progress of fire-type techniques.

Fang Yue's Spark Package was a fire-type technique.

The pity was, the Heart Method had hit its ceiling, and he needed to switch techniques to advance further.

"Want it?"

Captain Huo playfully blinked at Fang Yue.

"10 black stones, I'll sell it to you."

"……"

Fang Yue rolled his eyes and ignored her.

Hehe!

Captain Huo covered her mouth and laughed, her eyes narrowing into slits.

And at this moment, the host had already begun introducing the next auction item.

"What I'm about to introduce now is the second-to-last item among our ten highlight auction pieces tonight."

Saying so, the host yanked off the red cloth in one go, revealing what was inside.

It was… a manual with a fiery red cover!

A line of large characters was clearly printed on the cover of the manual — Blazing Fire Heart Method Manual!

(End of chapter)