The long queue in front of the Sanyuan Pavilion moved slowly, and finally it was Xiao Chen and Shi Tou's turn.
The guide was a woman in her early twenties, dressed in a moon-white long dress. Her hair was styled in a high bun, adorned with a jade merchant emblem. She had delicate features, but her eyes held a sharpness born of worldly experience.
Seeing that Xiao Chen and Shi Tou were dressed plainly and their auras were not top-tier (Xiao Chen deliberately concealed his peak Tribulation Transcending aura, only revealing fluctuations of mid-Tribulation Transcending), a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, but she still maintained a polite smile: "Do you two want to test your strength, or do you have family tokens?"
"To test your strength," Xiao Chen said.
The woman nodded and gestured for them to come with her: "Please follow me, both of you."
She led the two to an open space to the side of the group, where a special testing area was set up. The ground was paved with smooth white jade, and a simple bronze bell was suspended in the center. Nine pigeon-egg-sized gems were inlaid on the bell, arranged from bottom to top, and they were all dull at the moment.
“This is a ‘force measuring clock’,”
The woman explained professionally, "The bell is forged from star bronze and can withstand a full-force attack from an early-stage Creation Realm cultivator. The nine gems on the bell correspond to different levels of strength—starting from the bottom, the first lit gem indicates early-stage Inquiry Realm; the second, mid-stage Inquiry Realm; the third, late-stage Inquiry Realm; and the fourth, peak Inquiry Realm."
She paused, her fingertip tracing the fifth gem: "The fifth gem shines, early stage of Dao Attainment; the sixth, mid-stage of Dao Attainment; the seventh, late stage of Dao Attainment; the eighth, peak of Dao Attainment; the ninth gem shines... that is the early stage of Creation."
She looked at the stone with a hint of anticipation in her eyes—this burly man possessed a refined aura, almost like a cultivator, and might bring some surprises.
Shi Tou glanced at Xiao Chen, and seeing his senior brother nod, he flexed his wrists, his knuckles cracking. He walked to the strength-testing bell, took a deep breath, and slowly circulated his spiritual energy—Xiao Chen had instructed him not to use his full strength, just enough to reach the threshold of the "late stage of Dao Proving," so as not to attract too much attention.
"drink!"
Shi Tou let out a low shout, clenched his right fist, and smashed it hard towards the force measuring bell with a whooshing sound!
"Bang!"
The fist collided with the bell, producing a dull thud that made all the cultivators queuing around turn their heads to look.
Immediately afterwards, the jewels on the clock began to light up—
The first one is lit!
The second one is lit!
The third one is lit!
The fourth one is lit!
The fifth one, lit!
The sixth one is lit!
The seventh one is lit!
Seven dazzling rays of light surged from the gem, illuminating the surrounding open space as if it were daytime! The strength of a late-stage Dao Proving cultivator!
A murmur of amazement rippled through the line of cultivators: "This burly man looks unremarkable, but he's actually a late-stage Dao-proving body cultivator!" "No wonder he dared to come for the test; he's got some skill!"
The smile on the woman in the white dress became more genuine. She had originally thought that the two were at most at the middle stage of the Dao Proving Realm, but she did not expect them to have the strength of the late stage of the Dao Proving Realm. Especially the strong man, whose aura was steady and unyielding when he punched, obviously still holding back his strength.
Her gaze fell on Xiao Chen behind the stone—this white-robed cultivator seemed ordinary, yet he could command the obedience of a late-stage Dao-proving body cultivator, indicating he was no ordinary person.
The Sanyuan Chamber of Commerce is best at recognizing people, and she knew that this was a worthy connection to cultivate.
“Both of you have met the requirements, please follow me.” The woman led the two to the testing platform and took out a black token from her storage ring. The token was engraved with the words “San Yuan” and had a silver wire inlaid around the edge, exuding understated luxury.
“This is the Sanyuan Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Mysterious Character Token’,”
The woman handed the token to Xiao Chen, her tone much gentler, "With this token, the two of you may enter the rogue cultivator section of this auction."
Moreover, any of the Three Elements Merchant Guilds in the Xuanqiong Realm will not obstruct you upon seeing this token, and can even provide you with intelligence and consultation—as long as you can afford the price, the Three Elements Merchant Guilds' intelligence network is sufficient to cover ninety percent of the Xuanqiong region.
She paused, then added meaningfully, "On the path of cultivation, it's always better to have one more friend than one more enemy. Although the Sanyuan Chamber of Commerce is in business, it also values talent."
Xiao Chen took the token. It was slightly cool to the touch, and he could feel the fluctuations of the array attached to it—this token was not only a pass, but also a symbol of identity.
He understood what the woman meant: she had seen through Shi Tou's earlier act of holding back, and the Sanyuan Chamber of Commerce wanted to establish a good relationship.
In the cultivation world, there aren't that many unwarranted acts of goodwill. Ultimately, it comes down to strength. The potential that Stone displayed made the Sanyuan Chamber of Commerce willing to lower its stance.
"Thank you." Xiao Chen put the token into his storage bag without much formality or refusal.
Xiao Chen accepted the good intentions but not the favor. He knew that Shi Tou had earned the favor through his own efforts and it had nothing to do with personal favors. After all, favors are the hardest debts to repay.
He knew this was a gesture of goodwill from the Sanyuan Chamber of Commerce, and that was all he had to do. As for what would happen next, he would leave it to fate; there was no need to deliberately curry favor, nor to keep them at arm's length.
Seeing his composure, the woman in the white dress looked at him with even greater admiration—neither humble nor arrogant, he was quite a character. She gestured for him to enter: "The auction will begin in half an hour. Please follow me inside."
Xiao Chen and Shi Tou followed her through the side door and into the interior of the Sanyuan Pavilion.
Unlike the bustling outside, the interior of the pavilion was quiet and solemn. The floor was covered with a thick spiritual carpet that made no sound when stepped on. The display cases on both sides contained various rare treasures, filled with spiritual energy, which were obviously samples of the auction items.
The cultivators coming and going all exuded a calm and composed aura, most of them being at the Dao Proving Realm. Occasionally, there were a few elderly men with unfathomable auras, presumably the ancestors of various major forces.
The woman led them to the second-floor area for independent cultivators. This area was mostly occupied by powerful individuals who had come alone. They kept their distance from each other, their eyes wary, yet they couldn't hide their anticipation for the upcoming auction.
"Please have a seat, both of you. Tea will be served shortly." The woman bowed respectfully and turned to leave.
Xiao Chen and Shi Tou found a seat by the window. Through the window, they could see the main venue on the first floor, where dozens of tables and chairs were set up, and the people sitting there were all richly dressed cultivators, who were obviously representatives of various forces.
"Senior Brother, the chairs here are all soft!" Stone touched the seat with curiosity. "They're much more comfortable than the stones we sat on before."
Xiao Chen smiled and glanced across the main hall, landing on the front few seats—the elderly men sitting there had auras that faintly reached the Creation Realm, clearly the main buyers of this auction.
He withdrew his gaze, realizing that the Sanyuan Chamber of Commerce's auction was indeed extraordinary.
Half an hour later, with a clear chime, the auction officially began.
As for Xiao Chen and Shi Tou, these two rogue cultivators from the "small world," no one knew what kind of opportunities and storms they would encounter at this auction.
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