Heroes' Prison

Chapter 246 - 241 Old Friends Reunite

"No wonder!" Huang Yi suddenly realized. Although he had never had direct contact with the Sand Thief King, he had encountered Guifu Heilang (Ghost Axe Black Wolf) twice, who was also one of the three Great Generals under the Sand Thief King. He deeply understood how powerful Black Wolf was, and he estimated that Lord Black Serpent was likely a figure of similar stature.

However, he was not afraid. He had evolved once again, and his appearance and aura were different from before. Lord Black Serpent would not recognize him.

Huang Yi glanced at the attendant and said, "You’re so smart, I trust you won’t reveal my identity." His tone was calm, but the threat within was unmistakable.

"Dare not! Dare not! I will certainly keep tight-lipped!" The attendant, just a regular NPC with no significant strength, could have borrowed the prestige of the auction house before knowing Huang Yi’s identity, but now he did not dare to even breathe heavily.

Next, the attendant respectfully led Huang Yi to the auction house, pleasingly bringing him to a private box on the second floor. The box was fitted with magic glass, which allowed a clear view of the scene below, yet those at the lower floors couldn’t see inside the box—effectively protecting one’s privacy.

"Mr. Slaughter, I will take my leave now! Should you need anything, just ring the bell anytime, and a service member will come to assist you!" The attendant said tremblingly, and quickly left the area, not daring to stay with Huang Yi for another second.

"Brother, I’m sorry, I’ve compromised your identity!" At this moment, Xiao Chunzi finally took human form, clung to Huang Yi’s neck, and spoke apologetically.

"It’s okay." Huang Yi shook his head with a smile, gently patting her small head.

About half an hour later, the densely packed seats below the box were filled with people, much like a sports arena during a star-studded concert. At last, the curtains on the stage were drawn, and an auctioneer came out, smiling slightly at the eighty thousand people below, and began with a rousing speech, "Welcome to the Tiantai City Auction House. Today, we are honored to host the exclusive auction of the Zi Wuya Adventure Group. The Zi Wuya Adventure Group is one of the top ten adventure groups on the continent. It rose to prominence a year ago and has since unearthed several large treasures and ancient tombs..."

The auctioneer’s opening speech was lengthy, highlighting some of the achievements of the Zi Wuya Adventure Group.

Groups in The Second World generally fall into one of three categories.

The first category consists of instance groups, such as the Yanhuang Legion, Heavenly Group, and Angel Legion, specializing in raid instances with a strict system in place and often a predictable setup. Instance Groups are the most stable among the three types of teams, with a fixed income and scheduled raid times, akin to a regular job.

The second type is the Battlefield Group, for example, within the Xuanyuan Clan, Dragon Dominates the World is the leader of their Battlefield Group. The Battlefield Group mainly handles wars, sieges, PK kills, and the like. They might not be strong in instances, but their skills in PK against other players are top-notch, thriving in a life on the knife’s edge and reveling in it. However, the Battlefield Groups consume resources heavily; after every war, they deplete massive amounts of assets, and generally, the members lack methods to earn money, making them generally poor with little savings.

The last type is the Adventure Group, such as the one under Yun Sihai from the Xuanyuan Clan, one of the top ten Adventure Groups, comparable to the Zi Wuya Adventure Group. Adventure Groups mainly roam the continent embarking on adventures and exploring for treasures. This requires the team members to have strong survival skills and a wide array of unique skills, as they often encounter sudden and rare events in the wild. Without diverse abilities, they would be unable to continue their adventures. Their levels might not be high, and their PK skills might not be sharp, but they are formidable in the wilderness. They can survive without returning to human towns for a year or two. Of the three, they are the most unstable; sometimes they might not find work for months, and luck plays a significant role. However, once they discover a large treasure, relic, or ancient tomb and successfully clear it, they could become rich overnight. This time was a stroke of luck for Zi Wuya, having discovered a large treasure.

"Next up, the first item up for auction!" After completing the opening speech, the auctioneer brought out the first item, a stone with some symbols engraved on it—a rune stone.

"This is an Intermediate Arcane Attribute Mage rune stone that can grant a single-target attack skill for Arcane Mages under level 50, a 1-second dizziness effect. The starting bid is 20,000 Gold Coins! Each bid must increase by at least 5,000 Gold Coins!"

"25,000!"

"30,000!"

...

The first item was just an appetizer and nothing quite special, but it still sparked fervent bidding. Runes are in high demand and even the lowest-level rune stones can attract the enthusiasm of many players, not to mention an intermediate one.

Eventually, this rune stone sold for 160,000 Gold Coins. Players nowadays were much wealthier than before. As levels and strengths increased, Gold Coins became easier to earn.

Following that, the auctioneer sold several more Intermediate rune stones, each fetching around 150,000 Gold Coins.

"Next is a batch of High-level runes. First is a Critical Damage Rune. This rune can grant a single-target attack skill for Warrior-Type Classes under level 100, an additional 30% damage based on the skill damage! The starting bid is 100,000 Gold Coins, and each bid must increase by at least 10,000 Gold Coins!" the auctioneer announced, presenting a blood-red rune stone to the crowd.

"110,000!"

"130,000!"

"150,000!"

...

The atmosphere on the floor immediately got livelier, as advanced rune stones were exceedingly rare treasures, not to be found in ordinary auctions. Even when Huang Yi attended the special auction held by the first rune master of the continent–Master of Law. Longwen, there were only five advanced runes available, and they were placed in the grand finale segment.

"300,000!" The next moment, Huang Yi called out his bid, suddenly raising the price by a notch.

"310,000!" Someone in the crowd continued to bid.

"400,000!" Huang Yi once again increased his bid significantly. He was determined to secure this rune stone, as he had recently learned the skill "Heavy Judgment," a super high damage single-target skill. With this rune stone, that skill would become even stronger!

"410,000!" The bidding continued in the room.

...

After a long competition, Huang Yi finally won the rune stone for 700,000.

Afterward, he did not bid again so readily, as most of the following rune stones auctioned were not suitable for him.

"Next up, we’re starting the auction for a top-level rune!" After auctioning a batch of high-level rune stones, the auctioneer raised his voice a notch, igniting the enthusiasm of the entire audience, "Everyone is aware of the value of a top-level rune stone. Across the entire continent, only a few top rune masters like Master of Law. Longwen can create them, and it requires a tremendous amount of energy, physical effort, and wealth. It might take one or two years to produce even a single rune."

As the auctioneer spoke, he slowly brought out a rune.

This rune emitted a pale blue glow, radiating white cold air, appearing to be quite extraordinary. It was smaller than the rune stones just auctioned, but the symbols on it were more refined, exuding a sense of prestige.

"This rune, called the Burst Killing Rune, can double the damage of a single-target Ice Attribute skill below level 80! This rune will not be sold for Gold Coins! It can only be auctioned with Holy Crystal Stones, starting at one Holy Crystal Stone."

The first highlight of the auction had finally arrived; this top-level rune instantly overshadowed all the previous rune stones. But its value couldn’t be measured in Gold Coins—it could only be exchanged for Holy Crystal Stones, similar to the last rune auction Huang Yi attended. At that time, Dugu Lengcang had obtained the only top-level rune with a single Holy Crystal Stone.

"Why isn’t it being auctioned for Gold Coins? What in the world is a Holy Crystal Stone?" Immediately, a flurry of puzzled murmurs arose from below, as many players had not yet encountered treasures like Holy Crystal Stones and hadn’t even heard of them.

"You don’t know about Holy Crystal Stones? They’re a type of Crystal that is condensed from the Essence of Life by warriors from the Holy Domain. They are extremely precious," explained some of the more knowledgeable players instantly.

"I don’t have Holy Crystal Stones, but I’m willing to offer 10 million!" At that moment, a strange voice emanated from the VIP area, startling everyone. This person’s bid started at 10 million, a whole different level compared to the bidding of the other players.

"I also don’t have Holy Crystal Stones, but I bid 20 million!" Then another unfamiliar voice rang out, once again shocking everyone’s nerves.

"I have neither Holy Crystal Stones nor money, but I can exchange a Dragon Blood Stone for it!"

One after another, unfamiliar voices suddenly emerged from the boxes in the VIP area. These people had stayed silent until now, but once they made their move, it was with bids of over 10 million Gold Coins, totally overshadowing the earlier runes. It was evident that they weren’t interested in the previous runes at all; only this rune had piqued their interest.

"Sorry, the leader of the Zi Wuya Adventure Group has specifically requested Holy Crystal Stones, and we are not accepting anything else," lamented the auctioneer, shaking his head.

"Give it to me! I have Holy Crystal Stones." Just then, a lazy voice suddenly came from the box next to Huang Yi’s.

"Hmm?" Hearing this voice, Huang Yi was immediately taken aback. He was very familiar with it, having heard it many times at the previous Thornbush City auction.

It was none other than Dugu Lengcang’s voice!

He had actually come to attend this auction!

Dugu Lengcang had recently won the Best Wealth Award at the second annual grand ceremony, and he had basically become indifferent to wealth, willing to spend lavishly as long as it was for good treasures.

Speaking of which, Huang Yi still owed him a debt of gratitude. During the award ceremony, Dugu Lengcang had fought for Huang Yi’s last bit of time, directly deciding the ownership of the Best Newcomer Award.

This was a debt of gratitude that Huang Yi was obliged to repay.