Chapter 300: The Nine Heavens Are No Cause For Fear, And The Abyss Can Also Be Devoured
“What exactly does this Obsidian Martial Arts Hall want to do?”
“Long-term auctioning of guard robots, and even planning to teach that level of martial skill, this is insane!”
“Is this Obsidian Martial Arts Hall not afraid their martial skills will leak, raising more competing factions?”
“Could it be they think they have stirred up big trouble this time and intend to use this method to confront Earth Star Pharmaceuticals and Smiling Skull?”
…
Inside the auction venue, all the major factions were completely puzzled by Obsidian Martial Arts Hall’s move. Previously, Obsidian Martial Arts Hall had already been exaggerated enough when it defeated the attacking Earth Star Pharmaceuticals squad and killed Mo Xiao, one of the Seven Guardians of Smiling Skull.
They had not expected that now, for the sake of some energy crystals, Obsidian Martial Arts Hall would go this far. Even the Sequence Transcendent Martial Skills that all major factions treated as treasures, and the Limit Breaking Level Martial Skill that obviously surpassed Sequence Transcendent Martial Skills, were being taken out to be taught to others. This was simply trying to overturn the sky of the Wushan Region and even the Four Regions.
“Senior sister, what exactly does Hall Master Lin want to do? Even if he wants to oppose Earth Star Pharmaceuticals and Smiling Skull and cause them trouble, there’s no need to go this far!” Precia looked at Lin Qi on the stage, utterly stunned. “That is a Limit Breaking Level Martial Skill, and he actually plans to just casually teach it?”
Auctioning guard robots could still be understood. After all, everyone knew that among the data inside guard robots, very few had truly great value. Obsidian Martial Arts Hall probably would not sell the truly valuable guard robots. Everyone was bidding mostly for some combat data and for the chance to dig into the memory of guard robots in the future.
Such auctions of guard robots did not have a big impact on the major factions.
But auctioning training quotas was different. Martial skills were the core competitiveness of a faction and were never easily taught. Those who could receive instruction were all core figures of a faction who would not easily betray it.
Now Obsidian Martial Arts Hall planned to casually teach Limit Breaking Level Martial Skills to outsiders. For factions with no bad intentions, that was one thing. But for any faction with ulterior motives, once they learned a Limit Breaking Level Martial Skill, they would definitely teach it widely within their own ranks, crazily strengthening their faction.
The resources in each region were limited and usually already insufficient for the major factions. Once these factions grew stronger, while they would seize resources from other factions and cause trouble for Earth Star Pharmaceuticals and Smiling Skull, in turn these factions dealing with Obsidian Martial Arts Hall would also not be impossible.
This was also why, in each domain city, only elders in the city were qualified to teach Limit Breaking Level Martial Skills. The best martial skills ordinary students could learn were Sequence Transcendent Martial Skills. Even if enemy factions managed to steal them, the impact would not be great. After all, every major power had several Sequence Transcendent Martial Skills. Even if they learned one more, the improvement would not be that big.
In contrast, teaching Limit Breaking Level Martial Skills to the major factions was different. The boost this provided to a faction was absolutely enormous. If this method was used to cause trouble for Earth Star Pharmaceuticals and Smiling Skull, it would undoubtedly be the worst option.
“I cannot guess what he is thinking either.” Xie Feina looked at Lin Qi’s figure and shook her head, but soon added, “But this is a good thing for us. At least we only need to spend some energy crystals to directly learn that Limit Breaking Level Martial Skill.”
She did not know what Lin Qi was thinking.
To give all major factions the chance to learn Limit Breaking Level Martial Skills merely for some energy crystals, no matter how you looked at it, brought a hundred harms and not a single benefit to Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
If it was said that Obsidian Martial Arts Hall wanted to increase its influence over the major factions, then just by destroying the attacking team of Earth Star Pharmaceuticals and killing Smiling Skull’s Mo Xiao, it was already enough. There was no need for this extra step.
If it was for energy crystals, let alone five thousand, even for one hundred thousand energy crystals, many factions would be willing to pay. After all, as far as was currently confirmed, only the domain cities of the Four Regions possessed Limit Breaking Level Martial Skills.
Therefore, Obsidian Martial Arts Hall doing this would also arouse considerable ill will from the domain cities of the Four Regions.
The domain cities of the Four Regions treated such things as treasures, while Obsidian Martial Arts Hall slashed the price for a big promotion that everyone could buy into. Even though the Limit Breaking Level Martial Skill being taught was not one held by the domain cities, it would make the Limit Breaking Level Martial Skills of the domain cities seem cheap, and would undoubtedly strip away one of their advantages over other factions.
Although this would not shake the absolute status of the domain cities or cause them to take direct action, in the future, if Obsidian Martial Arts Hall were targeted by forces from outside their domains, they should not expect the domain cities to stand on their side.
If the goal was to raise the temperature in the Four Regions and cause trouble for Earth Star Pharmaceuticals and Smiling Skull, Obsidian Martial Arts Hall would face the same trouble in turn. It could be said to be an action of hurting the enemy a thousand while damaging oneself eight hundred, only benefiting the major factions.
In the venue, not only were the major factions exclaiming and baffled, even the senior officials of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall were dumbfounded.
“What is the hall master trying to do? Can that level of martial skill really be casually taught to people?”
At this moment, Wu Zhuoqun looked at Lin Qi, who had already begun auctioning training quotas, and felt on the verge of going crazy.
The martial skills mastered by the grey-robed disciples were definitely Obsidian Martial Arts Hall’s greatest trump card and the foundation for its future expansion. After all, the resources of a mere Chiyue Town could not possibly cultivate many experts, let alone future Blood Condensing Realm masters.
Teaching Limit Breaking Level Martial Skills to the major factions like this, regardless of whether it actually pressured the enemy Earth Star Pharmaceuticals and Smiling Skull, was absolutely fatal for the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall that planned to expand.
Moreover, this time he had released fifty training quotas in one breath. He truly meant to give all these factions a major power-up.
“Interesting. He dares to take out that kind of martial skill to teach, looks like I really came at the right time.” Tie Mu watched Lin Qi start auctioning the training quotas first and could not help but laugh. “If the other four old fellows find out about this, they will be dying of envy.”
As he spoke, Tie Mu had his people raise their paddle to bid without a trace of hesitation.
In just a moment, the bidding price rose from five thousand energy crystals to thirty thousand, and more and more people joined in.
“Fifty thousand! Our Holy Blood Mercenary Group is taking this training quota!” Zhuo Gu stared at the training quota on the stage, his gaze blazing.
“Zhuo Gu, you are really willing to spend. Your Holy Blood Mercenary Group only earns about that much in a year, right?” Hu Lei looked at Zhuo Gu, who had raised the bid by ten thousand in one go, and could not help clicking his tongue. Then he raised his own paddle. “Sixty thousand!”
“You are really not polite.” Zhuo Gu looked at Hu Lei, speechless, but quickly raised his paddle again. “Seventy thousand!”
Although the Holy Blood Mercenary Group had allied with Star Tower City, a training quota was something that absolutely could not be yielded. It was the capital for a faction to become strong, and the guarantee for breaking through that realm. It simply could not be given up.
“One hundred thousand!” Xie Feina spoke almost without wasted words, directly calling out one hundred thousand.
The venue fell silent. Although one hundred thousand energy crystals was not unbearable for the major factions, seeing Xie Feina, the currently dazzling prodigy of Mist Mountain Domain City, they did not have much confidence competing with her. Moreover, for this visit, the factions had not brought many energy crystals. To spend them all at once on a single quota was really not cost-effective.
There were quite a number of training quotas this time, a full fifty. The more people entered Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, the greater the collective chance of learning the martial skills. After all, the more advanced the martial skill, the higher the difficulty of learning it. Not everyone could master it. Only when more people studied it would there be a greater chance that someone succeeded.
“First call, no higher bids!”
“Second call, no higher bids!”
“Third call, no higher bids! Let us congratulate Miss Xie Feina!”
Lin Qi felt a slight regret after hearing the bid of one hundred thousand, but still had someone hand Xie Feina the badge representing Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
With the first successful deal done, the subsequent bidding became even more intense. The second quota was also taken by Xie Feina, but it cost her as many as one hundred and twenty thousand energy crystals.
Then, five quotas in a row were taken by Tie Mu of Black Steel Heavy Industry, astonishing everyone with Black Steel Heavy Industry’s financial power. While everyone else had come unprepared, Black Steel Heavy Industry had brought so many energy crystals. If they were not rich to a certain level, they would never have carried such an amount.
After that, seeing the quotas grow fewer, each major faction went all in. Even Hu Lei, the city lord of Star Tower City, spent nearly one hundred and twenty thousand energy crystals to finally secure one. Zhuo Gu, who had even deeper pockets, spent over two hundred and forty thousand energy crystals to seize two quotas.
In the venue, Dona watched the major factions frantically fighting over training quotas, her beautiful eyes wide, and could not help asking Igor, “Brother, is it still in time for me to join Obsidian Martial Arts Hall now?”
“Um… it should be.” Igor looked at the still-bidding factions, now unsure.
Originally, with Dona’s talent, joining Obsidian Martial Arts Hall as a core disciple would have been extremely easy. Aside from those grey-robed disciples, Obsidian Martial Arts Hall had very few Bone Forging Realm experts, let alone such a young genius as Dona.
But now, with the major factions scrambling desperately for training quotas, it was foreseeable that the moment they walked out of the auction hall today, Obsidian Martial Arts Hall would definitely become the target that countless geniuses wanted to join.
A single training quota tied to the status of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall core disciple had been auctioned for at least one hundred thousand energy crystals. He had never seen so many energy crystals in his whole life.
In other words, joining Obsidian Martial Arts Hall and becoming a core disciple was equivalent to earning a net gain of one hundred thousand energy crystals.
Such a huge amount of energy crystals was astronomical even for geniuses in the largest cities. For those who did not yet understand the benefits and value of joining Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, this one hundred thousand energy crystals was a very direct incentive.
While Igor and Dona chatted, the members of the Martial Arts Hall Guard Corps maintaining public order at the venue felt their pride swell and straightened their backs.
The members of the guard corps were talents carefully selected by Obsidian Martial Arts Hall. Their identity and status were equivalent to core disciples of the hall.
Many who had joined the guard corps had once been considered the abandoned children of their families and clans. Unexpectedly, as the status of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall rose, even those geniuses who had once been admitted to the cities’ Genius Training Camps would now probably have to look up to them.
By the time the auction ended, all fifty training quotas and twelve guard robots were sold out.
The fifty training quotas averaged more than one hundred and ten thousand energy crystals each, earning Lin Qi nearly 7 million energy crystals in total. That was an amount a city lord could not earn in a lifetime, but Lin Qi had achieved it in a single auction.
The twelve guard robots were traded for seven Early Heavenly Human Realm cultivation methods and thirty-four Blood Condensation Cultivation Methods, which also made Lin Qi feel he had gained a lot.
In Chiyue Town, inside the Obsidian branch hall.
Lin Qi directed large numbers of disciples of the hall to carry the dismantled sky battleship wreckage. He had the disciples carry the wreckage while using machine tools to recut and reshape it. Part of this C6-grade alloy would be used to renovate the hall’s rooms and to remodel intermediate gravity chambers and intermediate training rooms. Another part would be stored in the warehouse to be sold to players later for profit.
“Hall master, this time we released fifty training quotas at once. Many major factions in the Wushan Region have bought one, and some of them have ties to Smiling Skull. If their people really manage to learn those martial skills, we may face a lot of trouble. How about setting some restrictions on trainees inside the hall, such as forbidding them from using the meditation rooms? That would greatly lower their chances of mastering the skills, while we would not really be going back on our word.” Yinuo looked at the auction list in her hand, frowned slightly, and took the initiative to suggest.
“Also, for the nearly 7 million energy crystals we earned, I suggest we organize manpower in remote areas to synthesize energy blood essence. That way we would not need to hand any energy blood essence over to the domain city. The only problem is that we would no longer be able to purchase synthesis equipment from the domain city.”
“But I once heard City Lord Di Luoya say that such equipment can be purchased from other domains. The price is indeed higher, about two million energy crystals, one and a half million more than the five hundred thousand in Mist Mountain Domain City, but compared with the long-term value of producing energy blood essence, it is still very cost-effective.”
As the former leader of the City Guard of City of Light Chasing, she understood how cities operated and knew something about the relationship networks around Smiling Skull. Although she did not understand why Lin Qi was wildly selling training quotas and giving all major factions the chance to learn such martial skills,
she was very clear that if Smiling Skull’s people mastered those martial skills, it would be a disaster for Obsidian Martial Arts Hall. After all, Obsidian Martial Arts Hall had killed one of the Seven Guardians, which was a grievous blow to Smiling Skull.
“No need. Give all trainees normal treatment.” Lin Qi refused without hesitation.
“Hall master, if the people from those factions learn them, it will not be long before large numbers in Smiling Skull have mastered them.” Yinuo hurriedly explained, “Smiling Skull has been able to stand in the Mountain of the Dead for many years, and Mist Mountain Domain City has had no good way to deal with them. This is because Smiling Skull has countless geniuses and one generation of experts after another. They do not just select talents internally but secretly recruit from across the Four Regions. The number of geniuses they recruit is not less than that of a domain city. You simply cannot kill them all. Among these geniuses, there will be many who can learn that level of martial skill.”
Even if other major factions learned them, the number of people who could truly master them would not be large. After all, not many could grasp Sequence Transcendent Martial Skills, let alone Limit Breaking Level Martial Skills.
But Smiling Skull was different. With so many geniuses, if other factions only had a few or a dozen people who mastered them, Smiling Skull might have hundreds or even thousands. At that point, even if they only sent a group of Bone Forging Realm experts, it would be enough to cause the current Obsidian Martial Arts Hall massive trouble.
“That is fine. The path of martial artists is like sailing against the current; if you do not advance, you retreat. Only under pressure do you have motivation. If they want to learn, let them. Our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall will be here waiting for them.” Lin Qi smiled, his tone carrying an air of pride.
He had long considered the issue of trainees privately teaching others and understood the danger.
But from the very beginning, his purpose in auctioning the training quotas, aside from earning energy crystals to synthesize energy blood essence, was to get more people to study those martial skills. Otherwise, how could he spread the name of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall and attract more people and more geniuses to join?
Only when all the major factions sent their geniuses to Obsidian Martial Arts Hall to study, and even paid a huge price to do so, would others truly understand the benefits of joining Obsidian Martial Arts Hall. After all, in the future he needed many experts to garrison and develop cities. This was not something the current number of players could accomplish.
Moreover, his administrator permissions were now less than two hundred thousand people away from the next upgrade. This wave of advertising through the major factions would quickly help him reach that goal.
Not to mention the difficulty of learning Limit Breaking Level Martial Skills. Even with players carefully teaching them, they could not be mastered overnight, and might even cost lives. By the time many people within Smiling Skull had learned them, who knew how long it would be. By then, the strength of the players would be far beyond what it was now.
“The path of martial artists is like sailing against the current; if you do not advance, you retreat…?”
Yinuo was stunned when she heard this and realized she had somehow grown timid. Since her youth she had risen by competing with countless geniuses, hacking her way through thorns to reach where she was today. Now, with such a superior cultivation environment in Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, she was actually afraid others would surpass her and use those martial skills against her?
In contrast, Hall Master Lin Qi had walked his path through seas of blood, fearing no challenge, which had led to his current strength and achievements. He had even killed Smiling Skull’s Mo Xiao, growing at a speed that defied belief.
“Hall master, I understand now!”
Yinuo could not help looking at Lin Qi with admiration, feeling that she had grasped enlightenment.
“Good.” Lin Qi nodded as he looked at Yinuo, who himself did not know exactly what she had understood.
Elsewhere, after the end of the Crimson Moon Auction, the major factions returned home. News that the Earth Star Pharmaceuticals team had been annihilated and that Mo Xiao, one of Smiling Skull’s Seven Guardians, had died spread throughout the entire Wushan Region.
For a time, from wilderness nomads at the bottom to senior officials of the major factions across the Wushan Region at the top, everyone was shaken.
PS: Thanks to DARIUS___ Taixuan for the alliance leader reward. There will be extra chapters tomorrow /(ㄒoㄒ)/
