A Fortune

"Why so surprised?" Lu Yuan assumed an expression of perfect innocence. "My consignments were decent enough — so they offered me a VIP slot."

He'd found out such a thing even existed the second time he'd gone to consign, when he'd brought in the Water Arrow Gene.

Passing through the Auction House's main entrance, they followed a long corridor that opened into a vast, cavernous space. The hall spanned several kilometers across, a black auction stage rising from the center with tiered seating arranged around it on all sides. Above the seats, row upon row of private boxes lined the upper levels, accessible via staircases branching off both sides of the corridor.

Constructs stood guard at the entrance, scanning each attendee's Gene Battle Mark with a beam of light to verify the Spirit Crystals in their Battle-mark Space. Since Constructs represented the Land of Origin itself, no one worried about exposing private information. As consignment sellers, Lu Yuan and Gelin's group needed no verification — they were waved straight through.

The floor-level seats were already filling with people, the hum of conversation rising to fill the space.

"Shall we head up?" Liu Xi said, glancing at Lu Yuan. "Which box are you in?"

He produced a black card. "302."

She smiled. "What a coincidence — I'm in 301. Right next door. Third floor. Let's go together."

A beat later, face perfectly straight: "Since you have your own box, I suppose I won't bother with a formal invitation."

Lu Yuan returned the smile. "You're being too kind, Supervisor Liu."

"Not kind at all," she said — and then the corners of her mouth curved.

Lu Yuan and Gelin's group filed into Box 302. Liu Xi led her team into 301.

The box was roughly forty to fifty square meters. A row of plush brown sofas occupied the center, and the entire wall facing the auction stage was floor-to-ceiling transparent glass, giving an unobstructed view of the seating below and the platform beyond. A small refrigerator stood to one side; snacks and fruit were arranged on the table.

Zhuo Ming turned in a slow circle, eyes wide. "Compare this to the seats downstairs — they're two completely different worlds! This is insanely luxurious!"

He grinned with undisguised relish. "Wang Xiangxiang and Cao Yan have probably never been in a private box. When we get out, I am *absolutely* bragging about this. Zhuo Ming — in an Auction House VIP box!"

The others were equally wide-eyed. Only Gelin managed to keep his composure — though his hand kept drifting absently to stroke the sofa, which told a different story entirely.

They settled onto the sofas and waited. Down below, the seats were steadily filling, the noise of the crowd thickening.

Liu Xi studied Lu Yuan with a curious look. "Lu Yuan... what exactly did you consign? How much could it have been worth to earn you a VIP slot?"

Nothing to hide. Lu Yuan smiled and answered simply: "Just one Elite Grade Transcendent Gene and a few Elite Grade armaments."

Every head in the room turned. Eyes went wide.

Silence.

Then Zhuo Ming's mouth twitched once, twice. His face worked through a sequence of emotions — something caught between the urge to cry and bitter resignation — before he finally found his voice:

"...An *Elite Grade* Transcendent Gene? *Several* Elite Grade armaments?! And you called that '*just*'?!"

*Damn it. He showed off again.*

Liu Xi opened her mouth, then closed it, and let out a quiet, rueful laugh.

About half an hour later, with the seats below almost completely full, a Construct rose slowly from beneath the auction stage and took its position at the podium.

The group sat up straight.

The Construct's mechanical voice rang out, cutting straight to business:

"The auction will now commence. First item on offer."

A holographic projection materialized overhead — a black heavy sword, rotating slowly to display every angle and detail.

**【Iron-Stone Heavy Sword】** **【Grade: Elite Grade Trainee Armament (60% Tempering)】** **【Primary Enhancement: Constitution Defense】** **【Secondary Enhancement: Power Burst】**

"Starting bid: 6,000 Spirit Crystals. Minimum increment: 200 Spirit Crystals. Bidding is now open."

The moment the Construct finished speaking, a holographic panel appeared directly before Lu Yuan. He blinked. It was a bidding display — current price up top, an input field below.

Gelin leaned over. "First auction? That panel shows up whenever bidding opens. If you want to compete for something, just enter your price. Once you've won an item, you collect it after the auction wraps up."

Just as Gelin finished speaking, the bids started coming in.

"A001229: 6,200 Spirit Crystals."

"A234766: 6,400 Spirit Crystals."

"A100023: 7,000 Spirit Crystals."

Lu Yuan glanced around and saw the same panel floating in front of each of them. He nodded. "Got it."

Once the early bids landed, more followed quickly. The price climbed. Around 8,000, the pace began to slow. The final bid settled at 8,400 with no challengers.

"Auction successful. Congratulations to A038234."

Somewhere in the boxes, a broad-shouldered man who had clearly once been a heavy sword user watched the Iron-Stone Heavy Sword's projection dissolve — envy flickering briefly across his face.

Lu Yuan felt nothing. His current weapon was still Common Grade — an Elite upgrade would normally be transformative. But he was already First-Rank and on the verge of leaving Sandy Rock City for higher-tier territory. With his strength, acquiring Elite Grade armaments in the next zone wouldn't be difficult. Buying one here would mean replacing it almost immediately afterward. Pure waste of Spirit Crystals.

*He'd worked out the pattern of these auctions.*

The next several dozen lots were all Gene Armaments. Prices ran similar to the first item, maybe a fraction higher. Lu Yuan watched with complete indifference.

Sandy Rock City was an entry-level zone. The rare materials available here were inherently limited in variety and quality. That was simply the nature of the place.

Then, after one more Elite Grade Gene Armament sold, something new appeared: an ice-blue runic projection shimmered into existence above the stage.

**【Ice Blade Talisman】** **【Grade: Elite Grade Zero-Rank Talisman (90% Tempering)】** **【Effect: Channel Spirit Power to release the Ice Blade Combat Technique once, at the power of a full-force strike from an Elite Grade Trainee Warrior (90% Tempering).】**

Lu Yuan stared at the projection, genuinely caught off guard. *He'd had no idea something like this existed.* The concept was essentially the same as the Water Arrow effect on his Torrent Ring — except Water Arrow refreshed every day, while this talisman was strictly single-use.

Around him, eyes lit up. Gelin and the others leaned forward, hunger barely concealed.

"A single-use Combat Technique talisman?"

Ice Blade hit hard. For anyone whose own strength fell short, a talisman like this was an insurance policy — essentially another life tucked away for emergencies.

Zhuo Ming thought aloud: "Buy the talisman, go hunt an Elite Feral Beast a tier above you — if you're lucky and it drops a Gene Armament or a Transcendent Gene, you could come out way ahead. That's a solid investment."

Gelin's eyes gleamed. "And even if you never use it for hunting — it's still another life in reserve."

"I just don't have that many Spirit Crystals," Zhuo Ming sighed. "Otherwise I'd definitely throw my hat in."

In the end, he shook his head. "Forget it. This thing is not going cheap. No point getting our hopes up."

He was right. Just as Gelin had predicted, the Ice Blade Talisman opened at 5,000 Spirit Crystals — and hammered shut at 10,000, exactly double its floor price.

Lu Yuan felt no pull. If it had been a First-Rank talisman, he might have considered it. Trainee rank was simply too weak for him.

The auction rolled on. More Gene Armaments. High-grade herbs, ores, beast materials.

Then, one by one, Lu Yuan's own consigned items began coming up on the stage. All eight of his Elite Grade genes sold. Both Boss Grade materials went under the hammer without trouble. He even spotted his own Elite Grade spear — starting bid 7,000 Spirit Crystals, final price 9,000.

The single highest-grossing lot was the Ancient Sea Giant Crocodile's Boss hide, which fetched 29,500 Spirit Crystals. Materials for crafting Boss Grade armaments always commanded a premium. No surprise there.

When the final tallies came in, Lu Yuan did the math.

175,000 Spirit Crystals in total.

Even by his own standards, that was a genuine fortune.

Zhuo Ming stared at the number for a long moment. Then, half-laughing and half in disbelief: "Lu Yuan, I always figured you were someone out of the ordinary. When we parted, I told myself — next time we meet, you'll have a nice surprise in store. I never expected you to straight-up terrify me."

What Lu Yuan was most looking forward to, though, was still to come: the Water Arrow Gene, waiting somewhere in the auction lineup.