Records of Heavenly Craftsmanship

As the heir to one of the world’s top financial conglomerates, he had come to the black market today for only one purpose.

To spend money!

To buy the finest equipment!

“Now, for the first major item of the auction!”

The auctioneer suddenly whipped away the red cloth.

A suit of battle armor, dark gold from head to toe and radiating an intense, violent surge of vital energy, appeared before the crowd.

“Peak War General–tier battle armor—the Mad Lion!”

“Starting bid: five billion!”

The instant the words left his mouth,

Wang Teng’s lazy voice rang out from a private room on the second floor.

“Ten billion.”

He had doubled the price outright!

The entire venue fell silent for a moment.

Then, several private rooms unwilling to back down began raising their bids.

“Twelve billion!”

“Fifteen billion!”

Wang Teng let out a cold laugh and set down his wineglass.

“Twenty billion.”

Those three casually spoken words instantly crushed all the competition.

After all, battle armor was currently divided into the War General tier, the Pojun tier, the Heavenly Vault tier, the Nation-Suppressing tier, and the legendary Mythic tier.

Although War General–tier armor was precious, it was merely the entry threshold of the high-end battle-armor system.

Its rank was not particularly high.

Spending the astronomical sum of twenty billion on a suit of War General–tier equipment was simply far too great an overpayment. For a rational martial artist, if they had that kind of fortune, it would clearly be far more cost-effective to spend it on top-grade pills and rare treasures to build up their vital energy and improve their own physical strength.

Other than a wealthy young heir like Wang Teng, who cared only about the prestige of flashy equipment, no one was willing to keep playing the fool and bid against him.

“Twenty billion! Sold!”

Inside the No. 1 Heaven-Class private room,

Su Yu sat before the one-way glass, watching the War General–tier battle armor that had just sold for the astronomical price of twenty billion.

A thoughtful glint flashed through his deep eyes.

War General–tier battle armor.

According to the military’s rating system, it was merely the lowest tier.

Yet it had actually sold for twenty billion?

One had to know that back at the shores of Nameless Lake, Vice Principal Nie Changkong had casually tossed him a Heavenly Vault–tier suit of battle armor!

It was several major ranks above War General tier!

How much would that be worth?

Three hundred billion? Or five hundred billion?

And the Nation-Suppressing–tier battle armor Huo Zhenshan had promised him, as well as that illusory divine mecha he might receive in the future—

What kind of terrifying astronomical figures would they represent?

No wonder.

No wonder that when he had suggested converting the Nation-Suppressing–tier battle armor into cash, Huo Zhenshan and Vice Principal Nie Changkong had looked at him as though he were a complete idiot.

Su Yu rubbed his chin.

He had not participated in the bidding for the battle armor.

There was no need.

With his current explosive power of nine million units of Dark-Gold Divine Blood, even a War General–tier suit of armor would be unable to withstand so much as a trace of the shockwaves generated by his battles.

Buying it would simply be a waste of money.

The auction continued.

All kinds of rare treasures and Emperor-tier weapons appeared one after another.

The prices steadily climbed higher.

Suddenly,

the auctioneer brought out an exquisite tray.

Resting on it was an ancient book with yellowed pages.

“Everyone!”

“The next item is somewhat special.”

The auctioneer cleared his throat.

“This is a Heaven-tier, upper-grade forging manual!”

“‘The Record of Heavenly Craftsmanship’!”

“Starting bid: three million Dragon Coins!”

The moment those words were spoken,

the entire venue stirred briefly. But the commotion quickly faded, and the hall fell silent.

A deathly silence.

As for the title of a “Heaven-tier, superior-grade” technique, everyone was naturally eager to get their hands on it. But those present were all shrewd veterans. Who didn’t know what a pitfall forging was?

It was common knowledge throughout the martial world.

The path of forging was extraordinarily profound and obscure.

To even get started, one had to spend an enormous amount of time painstakingly studying materials science, energy circuits, and the intricate inscription of arrays.

To high-level martial artists, time was life. Their own martial cultivation was the foundation of everything! Unless one was a professional forger, an ordinary martial artist who tried to learn this stuff would severely hinder the progress of their vital energy cultivation. It would be putting the cart before the horse.

Who would waste their precious cultivation time just to hammer metal?

As a result, this Heaven-tier, superior-grade forging technique occupied an extremely awkward position.

It was tasteless to consume, yet a pity to discard.

“Three million five hundred thousand.”

An elderly voice tentatively called out from the auction hall.

It seemed that some low-level forger was trying to pick up a bargain.

Just as the auctioneer was about to bring down the hammer—

Inside the VIP Box Number One in the Heaven Suite,

Su Yu’s eyes lit up instantly.

A waste of time?

Profound and difficult to understand?

That only applied to ordinary people!

With a pay-to-win system at his disposal, as long as he had enough money, even the most obscure cultivation technique could be deduced to perfection in an instant!

The cost of a mecha was terrifyingly high.

If he maxed out this Heaven-tier forging technique,

then he could forge his own weapons and build his own mechas in the future!

Wouldn’t that save him countless middleman markups?!

He might even be able to sell equipment himself and print money in reverse!

“Nine million.”

Su Yu pressed the amplifier and calmly called out a number.

The old man who had placed the bid in the hall let out a sigh and gave up on the auction.

Nine million for a forging technique that would hinder one’s cultivation? Only those bored, idle nobles on the second floor would do something like that.

“Nine million. Sold!”

Leaning back on the sofa, Su Yu’s lips curled into a satisfied smile.

He had taken it down with ease.

He would bring it back and have a look.

If he could master it, this nine-million investment would definitely bring him returns worth tens of thousands of times more in the future.

The auction gradually entered its final stage.

The atmosphere was pushed to its climax.

“Distinguished guests!”

The auctioneer’s voice suddenly rose by an entire octave.

“The next item up for auction is tonight’s grand finale!”

“Two items, bundled together for auction!”

Whoosh!

The red cloth was pulled away.

A lotus radiating a faint violet glow and an ancient jade slip lay quietly on the display stand.

“A three-hundred-year-old, supreme-grade Nine Nether Soul-Nourishing Lotus!”

“And!”

“A Heaven-tier, superior-grade spiritual attack technique—the <i>Formless Tribulation Blade</i>!”

Boom—!!!

The entire auction hall erupted at that very instant!

Everyone sprang to their feet.

Countless burning, greedy, and even frenzied gazes locked onto the two items on the display stand.

A spiritual treasure of heaven and earth!

A Heaven-tier spiritual technique!

Together, these two items were practically a miraculous medicine tailor-made for high-level martial artists stuck at a bottleneck in their spiritual power!

The physical body and the spirit complemented each other.

Once one’s spiritual power broke through, one’s martial cultivation would inevitably undergo a qualitative leap!

“Wait!”

Suddenly,

an old man shrouded from head to toe in a black robe let out a startled cry.

“The Formless Tribulation Blade?!”

“Isn’t that the secret art passed down exclusively within the Chen family of Kyoto?!”

“How did it end up at a black-market auction?!”

“Did the Chen family go bankrupt? Or were they wiped out?!”

The bombshell sent the entire venue into a brief, stunned silence.

Then—

An even more frenzied uproar erupted!

The secret art of the Chen family of Kyoto!

If they could buy it, not only would it improve their strength, but they could also use it to uncover the Chen family’s trump cards!

It was practically priceless!

“The starting bid!”

The auctioneer took a deep breath and brought the gavel down hard.

“Ten billion Dragon Coins!”

“Each bid must be at least one billion higher!”

“Begin!!!”

The moment his voice fell, bids surged through the auction hall like a tsunami.

“Fifteen billion!”

“Twenty billion!”

“Thirty billion!”

The price skyrocketed at a dizzying speed.

The auctioneer didn’t need to stir up the atmosphere at all.

These wealthy bidders, their eyes bloodshot with greed, hurled out prices as casually as if they were mere numbers.

On the second floor, in the Earth-Class No. 3 private room.

Wang Teng abruptly rose to his feet and crushed the wineglass in his hand.

Crimson liquor trickled down his fingers.

His eyes had turned completely red.

The Formless Tribulation Blade!

The Nine Nether Soul-Nurturing Lotus!

If he could bring these two treasures back to his family, it would unquestionably be a tremendous achievement!

“Fifty billion!”

Wang Teng roared out his bid.

“Sixty billion!” another private room called back without giving an inch.

“Eighty billion!”

“One hundred billion!”

In just a few short minutes, the price broke past the one-hundred-billion mark!

And the momentum showed no sign of slowing!

“One hundred and thirty billion!”

Wang Teng gritted his teeth and called out the figure.

Cold sweat had already covered his forehead.

He regretted it!

He regretted it immensely!

If he had known the final lots would be treasures of this caliber, he never should have spent twenty billion on that lousy warlord-grade battle armor!