Transcending Dreams

B2 - Chapter 29: Broke

“As in the past, let’s open the auction a grade one lot, the Blood Essence Pill!”

William blinked in surprise when the wall behind the stage showed a closeup of the blood-red pill. He wasn’t an expert on the appearance of pills, other than the Vitality Restoration Pill, of course, but he did have the opportunity to see other pills in the Treasure Pavilion.

They were all white.

From his minimal reading on alchemy in the library, the white color of pills represented purity.

“This pill is perfect for when you need something more than a standard restoration pill! It will let you recover from more serious injuries, and there is even a chance to regrow a recently lost limb!”

William noticed the excited movements of the people sitting below. He remembered how he regrew his leg by gorging on Vitality Restoration Pills. The description of the Blood Essence Pill suggested that should have been impossible, as he had guessed.

“The Jade Healing Sect can produce five Blood Essence Pills each month. Winning this lot will give you rights to the pills for the next year! Let’s start the bidding at one Spirit Stone!”

The bids poured in.

“Five Spirit Stones to the handsome man on the right!”

“Fifteen Spirit Stones!”

“Forty!”

“Seventy-eight Spirit Stones! Last call for a higher bid!” Xia Qing paused dramatically before clapping, “Sold!”

William watched all this silently, his hands clenched tightly. This was just the first lot.

He glanced at Xu Feng, finding him staring at the stage with longing. This time, he didn’t think it was at Xia Qing, but for the year's supply of pills that had just been sold.

As for Lan Yang, he was still lost in his own thoughts.

“Brother Xu, it looked like you wanted to bid on this.”

Xu Feng finally turned his attention away from the stage to look at him. “I did, but I’m not here for that. My senior brothers and sisters wouldn’t be able to use the pills.”

William noticed that Lan Yang shifted in his seat.

“Ah, I see,” he thought about the pills being classified as grade one, “So they are all of a higher cultivation than you?”

“Yes,” Xu Feng nodded, admiration in his eyes. “They are all in the Core Formation Realm at the minimum.”

William’s eyes widened in surprise. Xu Feng had reason to think that his sect was the best if this was the case.

He implied that there were seniors of his in the Nascent Soul Realm. What did that mean for the cultivation of the elders of his sect?

It was hard for him to believe that the Heavenly Sword Sect wasn’t more well known if all of this was true. Perhaps it hadn’t come into focus in the lesson plan that Zheng Tao had created since it was more focused on the Empire itself.

“All of them?” Lan Yang interjected, surprising both of them. “Even Zhou Chen and Xue Li? It hasn’t been long since I’ve seen those two.”

“… Senior?” Xu Feng stared at Lan Yang in surprise, “You know my senior brother and sister?”

“Saying I know them is a bit of an exaggeration,” Lan Yang corrected, “but I have competed against them in the past.”

“Oh,” Xu Feng still looked stunned.

“Well? Have they advanced to the Core Formation Realm?” Lan Yang prodded, seeming to William like he was too insistent when they were mere acquaintances.

“Yes, Senior,” Xu Feng confirmed. “It was only a few weeks ago.”

Lan Yang fell silent, something neither of them wanted to break. There had to be another reason for the questioning. He spoke again when the next item was ready to be auctioned. “Give them my congratulations.”

Xu Feng nodded and chose to say nothing further.

William cleared his throat when the next lot was displayed on the wall. Another pill.

Unlike the Blood Essence Pill, this was purely white in color. It was set in something similar to a jewelry box, plush fabric surrounding it as it sat securely in the center.

“Up next is a grade three lot, the Soul Tempering Pill!” Xia Qing announced proudly.

This time, he saw all the cultivators on their floor straighten in their seats.

“The last time the Jade Healing Sect was willing to let such a precious pill leave its territory was twenty years ago. Don’t lose your chance to own the pill that can change your cultivation path!” Xia Qing’s eyes sparkled as she stared at the pill, showing how much she desired it.

“The pill is one of the few that can strengthen a cultivator's soul in the Nascent Soul Realm! A necessity to surviving the heavenly tribulation,” She reluctantly tore her gaze from the pill. “The bidding starts from one hundred Spirit Stones! Every bid must be a hundred higher—”

“One thousand,” a voice boomed from above.

Xia Qing didn’t miss a step. “One thousand Spirit Stones from the Gold Floor!”

“One thousand five hundred.”

William looked to his right, staring at an unfamiliar man who put in the bid.

The following bids came in quickly as more and more people started to join in.

“Senior Lan,” William leaned toward him and whispered, “Can you buy any of this in the sect’s catalog?”

Lan Yang was following the bidding intently but still spared him some attention. “No, nothing in the auction can.”

He nodded in thought. That made sense. Otherwise, there was no reason for any sect members to bid on pills that appeared in the auction.

“Five thousand,” Lan Yang suddenly said out loud, shocking William into muteness.

“And five thousand Spirit Stones is the tenth and final bid!” Xia Qing announced, “To the man on the Gold Floor, would you like to beat the bid by a hundred Spirit Stones?”

“Yes,” a voice replied calmly from above.

“Sold!” Xia Qing clapped.

William didn’t pay attention to anything or anyone other than Lan Yang. He assumed the man was well off when he gave Mei Lingxi a blank check, but this was a different level.

Lan Yang met his eyes before addressing the other person in just as much shock, “Sword boy, why don’t don’t you order something from the bar?”

Xu Feng nodded rapidly as he stood up and went to the bar. However, William did see numerous backtakes on his way there.

“You have something to say?” Lan Yang addressed him this time.

“Does the auction house allow you to bid freely?”

“Freely?” Lan Yang frowned, “Do you mean above the ability you have to pay?”

William nodded.

“No, it doesn’t. Nor did I really want to buy this. I recognized that voice as one of the guards that followed Wei Ming. I just wanted to empty their funds slightly.”

“Oh,” he stared. He wasn't sure how wise it was to provoke that man. Still, it was nice to know his mentor was wealthy beyond imagination. “That makes me feel better about what Sister Lingxi is doing.”

“… What do you mean?” Lan Yang asked with narrowed eyes.

“Well, the Grand Elder took us to the Jade Lotus Teahouse. We loved it and wanted to return, but the price was far beyond us. I imagine Sister Lingxi is enjoying that tea daily with the free rein you gave her.”

“JADE LOTUS?” Lan Yang almost shrieked, drawing eyes from others and stopping Xu Feng in his tracks with panicked eyes. The boy was balancing three drinks that looked like shakes.

“How were you even allowed in?” Lan Yang hissed with a much lower voice once he realized the attention he had attracted. “Wait, don’t answer. It’s the Grand Elder.”

William wasn’t sure how to take this. The tea the Grand Elder treated them to was ten Spirit Stones. Even if Mei Lingxi had that twice daily for an entire week, it came to a hundred and forty Spirit Stones.

He shuddered at thinking it was affordable, but considering this was a worst-case scenario, it shouldn’t be devastating for someone with Lan Yang’s wealth.

“Will that affect your bidding, Senior Yang?” William asked carefully.

“No, it won’t.”

He calmed a little, but that was too soon.

“Because I borrowed all of this, Junior Wei,” Lan Yang hissed.

William had many questions. The biggest one was how Lan Yang could borrow this much if the idea of losing a hundred Spirit Stones distressed him.

That wasn’t his business, but he could still satisfy his curiosity.

“… Why would you give Sister Lingxi the freedom to spend whatever she wished?” William had to ask. This could have been easily avoided.

“Because I needed to fix my image after our disastrous introduction!” Lan Yang seemed to be in actual pain at this point.

That shouldn’t have made him smile, but it did.

“It’s not too late to tell Sister Lingxi to stop spending,” William offered. It had only been several hours since they separated, so it wasn’t the end of the world.

“After I gave my word?” Lan Yang said sharply. “No, I don’t think so. But you can forget about me potentially covering your bids, Junior Wei.”

He forgot about that offer. It made him want to protest at the unfairness, but there was no obligation Lan Yang had to buy him something. At least he learned that the man thought keeping his word was a top priority.

… That was good.