Chapter Twenty-Nine: A Stronger of the Human Realm

Just as Yi Tian was preparing to head to Black Dragon City, news reached the tribe.

Half a month from now, the famous Black Dragon Auction would be held at Gathering Moon Tower in Black Dragon City—a grand event hosted by the Myriad Treasures Pavilion of Jingmu Prefecture, occurring only once every decade.

Whenever the Black Dragon Auction took place, all the surrounding powers of Black Dragon City would stir in response. Even factions from beyond the city would hasten their arrival.

The Myriad Treasures Pavilion was the largest trading firm in Jingmu Prefecture, with businesses spanning all thirty-five cities in the region. Its wealth was vast, and all manner of cultivation resources could be purchased there. Every ten years, the Pavilion would select a city in Jingmu Prefecture to host an auction, bringing together rare treasures, secret manuals, weapons, and elixirs amassed over the years, all to be sold and to enhance the Pavilion’s prestige.

This year, the Pavilion chose Black Dragon City as the venue, dubbing it the Black Dragon Auction. Their foundation was formidable, being jointly established and invested in by several major powers of Jingmu Prefecture. Every year, they amassed vast resources, and few dared provoke them.

When Yi Tian and his companions received this news, they immediately decided to set out. Every item at the auction was a masterpiece, found nowhere else, not even in the Pavilion’s own shops.

The six members of the Reincarnation Squad rose and departed. Even the tribe’s Great Chieftain, Yi Ke, led more than ten tribal warriors to attend, especially since they had recently mined a large elemental vein and obtained a great stockpile of elemental stones.

Yi Tian and his group soon arrived at Black Dragon City.

By then, the entire city was crowded—martial artists from all directions flocked in, and the presence of various factions, emanating powerful auras, could be felt everywhere.

Yi Tian and his companions waited in an inn, seizing every moment to cultivate.

For this trip, the six of them packed most of their elemental stones into iron chests, binding them securely to their beast-drawn carriage—at least one hundred thousand lower-grade elemental stones in total.

For safety’s sake, they even rented an entire courtyard, storing their load of stones inside.

Such boldness bordered on recklessness. If anyone discovered their carriage was filled with nothing but elemental stones, even major powers might be tempted to act in secret and seize the prize.

“If only we had some middle-grade stones! We wouldn’t have to lug this whole carriage around!” Yi Kuang complained in frustration.

Yi Feng, Yi Hong, and the others all nodded in agreement.

Every elemental vein contained upper, middle, and lower-grade stones, but in smaller veins, upper and middle grades were exceedingly rare.

A single middle-grade stone could be exchanged for a hundred lower-grade ones. If only they had brought middle-grade stones, each person would only need to carry a few, making travel easy.

Yi Tian spoke up, “There’s no need for all this self-pity. We came for the auction, didn’t we? With any luck, there may be storage treasures up for bid. If each of us wins one, we’ll have no more worries; just toss everything inside, and it’ll be incredibly convenient.”

That’s right!

Yi Kuang, Yi Feng, and the others brightened at once.

They immediately added storage treasures to their auction wish list.

It was well known that such items were exceedingly valuable, costing several thousand lower-grade stones at the very least. Black Dragon City’s shops rarely had any for sale. Only the heads and elders of major powers typically owned such treasures.

These storage items were said to have originated from the great sects, who possessed the methods to craft them, along with top-grade elixirs and powerful artifacts. These would be consigned to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion for auction, in exchange for a constant flow of elemental stones and other cultivation resources.

Now, each of them had a fortune of several tens of thousands of lower-grade stones—purchasing a storage treasure would not be an issue.

Yi Tian and his companions remained within their courtyard, cultivating without stepping outside.

For every martial artist, cultivation time was precious; they seized every spare moment. What’s more, with their abundance of elemental stones, they could feel their strength growing with each passing moment, their true energy being continuously refined.

Meanwhile, the Wu family—one of the city’s eight great clans—received word of the Yi tribe’s arrival within a day. They quickly discovered Yi Tian’s whereabouts.

“Father, hurry and capture that brat! I want to torment him slowly, make him die in agony!” In the Wu family’s main hall, a spoiled young master spoke to his father, Wu Shigong, head of the Wu family.

“Shut your mouth, you disgraceful fool! Get back to your room and don’t show your face for half a month, or I’ll break your legs!” Upon hearing Wu Yan’s words, Wu Shigong vented his anger on his son. In recent years, their family had become the laughingstock of Black Dragon City, largely thanks to this wastrel of a son.

Seeing his father’s wrath, the third young master of the Wu family quickly fled.

“Hmph, I’ll spare you for now. But after the Black Dragon Auction, you’ll die for sure!” Wu Shigong’s eyes flickered coldly.

He cared little for whether Yi Tian was the one who beat his son. Because of Yi Tian, he’d retreated without fighting and become the butt of jokes among the city’s other powers, a blow to his reputation. Regardless, he held Yi Tian entirely responsible.

Besides, this period was extremely sensitive. He would not act rashly at such a critical moment.

He also needed to keep the Wu family’s forces on high alert, wary of the experts and factions drawn by the Black Dragon Auction, especially those hoping to exploit the chaos.

The day of the Black Dragon Auction arrived as planned.

Gathering Moon Tower was packed; everyone wished to attend the event.

However, entry was not so easy—one needed to pay ten lower-grade elemental stones for a seat.

That price was only for an ordinary seat. A private room cost five times as much—fifty stones. Above private rooms were luxury suites, VIP suites, and supreme suites, each tier exponentially more expensive.

Martial artists, upon learning the costs for private rooms, cursed roundly. A single suite could cost several hundred or even a thousand lower-grade stones—an astronomical sum, far beyond the means of most.

Yi Tian and his group each paid ten stones and received their number plates to enter.

In the past, such a fee would have been excruciating, and even now, each of them felt a twinge of pain at the cost.

The six of them entered Gathering Moon Tower and, guided by the staff, found a table on the first floor and sat down.

On the table were several plates of delicate pastries and wine.

They nibbled at the snacks as they waited for the auction to begin.

Around them, the seats gradually filled. The crowd soon swelled to a thousand or two. Each attendee was at least a mid-level martial artist, with some wealth to their name, their auras mingling—some strong, some weak.

Yi Tian could especially sense, from the second and even third floors, the concealed presence of powerful individuals in private suites—at least rank-nine martial artists.

By his reckoning, there were over a hundred such formidable auras.

Some of these experts, harboring old grudges, let their auras clash and probe, the resulting thunderous booms making many present shudder, fearful of being caught in the crossfire and suffering calamity.

Yi Tian could do likewise. When he fully unleashed his Pure Yang Art, the surging, unyielding energy would fill dozens of yards around him like a blazing furnace, overwhelming all but the strongest martial artists.

High-level martial artists, with their profound reserves, could also project their energy in battle. Though Yi Tian was only at the peak of the sixth rank, his true energy was so dense, it was not far from that of a ninth-rank expert.

Just then, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted within Gathering Moon Tower, enveloping the entire space. In that instant, all the martial artists felt as if they were adrift on a raging sea, utterly powerless.

A cold snort echoed through the hall, and everyone felt their true energy thrown into chaos, nearly coughing blood.

When the aura subsided, all were left in shock.

Even the rank-nine experts in the upper suites grew subdued, casting wary glances toward the depths of the tower. None had expected the Myriad Treasures Pavilion to dispatch a Human Rank powerhouse for this Black Dragon Auction.