Chapter 6…… Additional Items
After the Celestial Spirit Elixir was sold, the next item was brought onto the stage.
However, its value was nowhere near enough to draw the same attention as the first.
In the tradition of the Southern Auction House, it was common to place a mid- to high-grade treasure as the very first item to raise tension among the bidders.
The items that followed were practical things—small pills, standard-grade weapons, and supplementary materials.
The fever had cooled somewhat, but Nam Yeongwol’s seasoned hosting skills were still dazzling.
“This item is more about its usefulness than its price! We’ll begin at five hundred gold taels!”
Her smooth tone and enchanting smile.
With just a word from her, the bidders naturally followed along.
Every single one of the dozens of auction items sold that day was bid on—without a single failure.
It was proof of Nam Yeongwol’s skill as an auctioneer.
Her beauty certainly helped, but few could so easily control the mood of an auction hall with just a smile or a glance.
Yet, standing in the middle of the hall, Cheonui shook his head and sighed faintly.
‘Nothing but trifles.’
To him, even the coveted auction items were no more than a pile of scrap metal.
His discernment was already set at the standard of his former peak in his previous life.
At that moment, Nam Yeongwol spoke again from the stage.
“Now, I will present the additional items newly registered for this auction.”
At those words, the slightly subdued atmosphere in the auction house suddenly stirred again.
Additional items.
Even in a Southern Auction, such special procedures were exceedingly rare.
These were unexpected treasures, absent from the original catalog—without prior information or predictability.
But that was exactly why they inspired such high anticipation.
All eyes turned toward the stage.
Cheonui’s gaze flickered.
‘…Perhaps.’
This time, there might actually be something worthy of his attention.
The unveiling of “additional items” at the end of an auction was always an unpredictable twist.
No one knew what they were—and that only heightened the anticipation.
Both Cheonsanhang and Cheonui raised their heads.
The bids they’d placed earlier had been mere tests of the waters.
Their true objective lay in the additional items.
Of course, they weren’t the only ones with such thoughts.
From now on, the real competition would begin.
“There are two additional items in this auction. No words are needed—these are today’s true stars! Miss them, and you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!”
As Nam Yeongwol waved her hand with a radiant smile, the crimson curtain at the back parted quietly.
At that moment, an attendant walked out carefully, carrying a silver tray.
Every gaze in the auction house fixed on the tray.
On it lay an ancient scroll adorned with azure patterns.
A faint glow hovered around the scroll.
‘An Entry-Level Technique…!’
A bidder’s eyes widened.
“An Entry Technique! To think something like this would appear here…!”
The hall erupted in commotion.
“An Entry Technique?! That’s something you’d see maybe once in ten auctions at the Mokgun Castle!”
“That’s mine! Don’t even think about it!”
As soon as the scroll appeared, the hall ignited.
Eyes burned hot, breaths grew heavy.
Everyone’s attention was fixed solely on the azure-patterned scroll upon the tray.
Cheonsanhang and Cheonui were no exception.
Cheonsanhang looked indifferent, but his eyes gleamed. Cheonui muttered softly.
“…An Entry Technique.”
As the voices rang out across the hall, he lightly stroked his chin.
Techniques.
The foundation and cornerstone every cultivator must master.
The very thing that directly determined combat strength.
Techniques were broadly divided into two types:
Non-Entry Techniques, used by most cultivators, and above them, the rare and supreme Entry Techniques.
Entry Techniques were so scarce that even great clans such as the Cheon or Wang families possessed no more than one or two.
And yet, one had just appeared on this very stage.
Cheonui’s gaze gradually sharpened.
It was no wonder the entire hall was in such a frenzy.
Nam Yeongwol lifted the scroll and slowly surveyed the hall.
“This Entry Technique is the Blue Wind Formula!”
Her voice echoed across the auction house.
“The Blue Wind Formula has two stages. The first allows one’s spiritual energy to transform into wind. With it, you can ride the wind and move several times faster.”
“Ooooh!”
The hall stirred with excitement.
After pausing briefly, Nam Yeongwol smiled and continued.
“When you cultivate it to the second stage, your energy becomes pure blue wind. If woven into blades, they can cut a person from a hundred paces away.”
“—!”
For a moment, a strange silence fell across the auction house.
Then someone shouted:
“How much is the starting bid?! Tell us already!”
Nam Yeongwol nodded.
“The starting price for the Blue Wind Formula is two hundred thousand gold taels. Bids will increase only in increments of ten thousand.”
“Two… two hundred thousand?!”
“Are they insane?! That’s just the starting price?!”
Gasps and groans burst out all at once.
But not a single gaze was one of resignation.
They all desired the scroll more than anything.
The instant the price was announced, many competing bidders flinched and went silent.
Not twenty thousand, but two hundred thousand.
Even among the Mokgun Castle, it was a colossal sum.
For a small clan, even pouring out their entire fortune wouldn’t come close.
But the bidding didn’t stop entirely.
“Two hundred and ten thousand!”
“Two hundred and twenty thousand!”
“Two hundred and thirty thousand!”
Like climbing a staircase, the bids rose cautiously, step by step.
But that didn’t last long.
“Three hundred thousand.”
A heavy, commanding voice.
At once, the hall fell silent.
Every eye turned toward one figure seated in the front row.
Wangseong.
The head of the Wang clan himself had spoken.
Immediately, the faces of the bidders who’d been competing began to stiffen.
But none yielded so easily.
“Three hundred and ten thousand!”
“Three hundred and twenty thousand!”
“Three hundred and thirty thousand!”
Even against Wangseong’s bid, they clenched their teeth and endured.
An Entry Technique.
A once-in-a-lifetime chance that could transform one’s destiny.
Even if it meant opposing the Wang clan, no one wished to give it up.
If one could seize the Blue Wind Formula, even a nameless minor family could soon rise to rival the great Cheon or Wang clans.
Between Entry and Non-Entry Techniques, the difference was one thing: power.
At the same realm, the one who mastered an Entry Technique would always overwhelm the other.
Why were the Cheon and Wang clans the two strongest houses in Mokgun Castle?
Because they possessed masters wielding Entry Techniques.
“Hmph!”
Wangseong snorted, rising from his seat.
His cold gaze swept across the hall.
“Four hundred thousand!”
His thunderous bid split the auction house.
Wangseong knew well.
His clan’s prestige alone wasn’t enough to scare everyone away.
Here and now, the only true weapon was wealth.
“Four hundred and fifty thousand!”
Another bid erupted.
Wangseong’s brows twitched faintly.
This time, it was Cheonsanhang.
And Wangseong knew—this was his true rival.
“Five hundred thousand.”
He immediately shouted back. There could be no hesitation. To pause, even for a moment, was to fall behind.
“Five hundred and fifty thousand.”
Cheonsanhang countered instantly.
“Six hundred thousand!”
Wangseong’s voice roared across the hall.
His gaze was locked solely on the scroll.
A brief silence.
Cheonsanhang did not open his mouth. His brows quivered slightly, his fingers trembling like a dried leaf.
But that was the end.
“Six hundred thousand! Sold!”
Nam Yeongwol’s clear and decisive voice severed the final echoes in the hall.
Cheonsanhang nodded silently, a faintly bitter smile flickering at his lips.
But it was not resignation.
‘One still remains.’
The Blue Wind Formula was out of reach.
Now it was time to await the final item.
Compared to the formula, this last item was shrouded in even greater mystery.
Not a word of it had been disclosed by the Southern Auction beforehand.
But for it to be placed after an Entry Technique—there was no way it would be ordinary.
Cheonsanhang steadied his breathing.
‘Perhaps… missing the Blue Wind Formula will prove a blessing in disguise.’
“The next and final item of this auction!”
As Nam Yeongwol’s voice rang out, the crimson curtain at the back was slowly drawn aside.
This time, it wasn’t a beautiful attendant.
A bare-chested, muscular man strode confidently onto the stage.
His entire frame was sculpted from rigorous training, a long sword slung across his back.
“Haah!”
With a low shout, he drew the blade—clang!—and with a roar, dazzling silver swordlight split the air.
The sheer momentum made those in the front row instinctively squint.
On stage.
The man slowly sheathed the sword again.
Yet even then, the sword aura clinging to his body lingered, chilling the air.
The audience’s gaze fixed on the weapon in his hand—then drifted to the scroll that followed behind.
‘Don’t tell me… a martial art this time?’
Someone’s hushed whisper rippled across the auction house.
Bang!
With a heavy sound, the man fully sheathed the blade.
The silver-engraved weapon gleamed brilliantly, like a spirit of the moonlight.
“This is the final item of today’s auction—the Silver Spirit Sword!”
Nam Yeongwol’s voice shook the entire hall.
“This Silver Spirit Sword is a Spiritual Armament!”
For a moment, silence.
Then—explosion.
“A spiritual armament?!”
“An energy weapon?! Is that real?!”
The auction house instantly devolved into chaos.
Eyes filled with shock, desire, and greed locked onto the Silver Spirit Sword.
Cheonsanhang narrowed his eyes.
Cheonui, too, fixed his gaze upon it, breathing slowly as he thought inwardly.
‘A spiritual armament… this isn’t just a weapon.’
Such an armament was no mere blade.
It was a weapon crafted by an alchemist, designed for cultivators.
Called “energy armaments” because they could absorb the wielder’s energy and unleash it themselves.
Possessing just one raised combat power by at least thirty percent.
Cheonui gazed calmly at the Silver Spirit Sword.
But deep within his eyes, faint ripples stirred.
‘…The Silver Spirit Sword. Its rarity is in no way inferior to an Entry Technique. Some even say it surpasses them.’
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
Those who could forge such armaments could be counted on one hand across the entire Southern Domain.
To meet one required not just luck, but destiny.
On stage, Nam Yeongwol spoke again, a faintly knowing smile on her lips.
“The true value of a spiritual armament… I needn’t explain further, do I?”
Even before she finished, nods spread throughout the hall.
“As you just witnessed, obtaining the Silver Spirit Sword will raise your combat power by no less than thirty percent—and as much as fifty percent.”
Nam Yeongwol stepped back.
At once, the curtain behind her was drawn aside again.
From it emerged the attendant from earlier—this time holding a tray.
Upon it lay the sword’s scabbard, along with a talisman designed to accelerate energy cultivation.
Once more, the crowd’s eyes burned with heat.
This wasn’t just a “sword.”
It was a complete, battle-ready spiritual weapon set.
“…Hm?”
For the first time that evening, Cheonui’s serene expression wavered faintly.
He lifted his head, fixing his gaze squarely on the tray atop the stage.
