It's perfectly reasonable for me, a fisherman, to catch a Georgios, right?

Chen Junliang chuckled and said, "The reason I asked you to bring instant noodles is because I was worried you wouldn't be able to find anything to eat over there."

"Butter hot pot? That's not something a pure Cantonese like you can touch!!"

"Forehead…"

Qin Ming was speechless for a moment. People from Guangdong Province eat everything, whether it flies in the sky, swims in the water, or runs on the ground, but there is one thing that people from Guangdong Province do not eat, and the purer the species, the less they can eat it.

That's spicy.

Qin Ming spoke up somewhat guiltily, "It's not like I can't handle any spice at all. I can eat mild spice, okay...?"

"Mildly spicy?"

Chen Junliang sneered, "Your standard for mild spiciness is different from that of people in Chongqing. If people in Chongqing consider mild spiciness to be 100, then you can only tolerate mild spiciness at 5."

"Even if you're just stir-frying some vegetables, you have to add chili peppers. Even if you're eating tofu pudding, you have to add chili oil and chili powder in Chongqing."

"Think about why the best proctology hospitals in the entire country are concentrated in Chongqing; there are reasons for this."

Hearing this, Qin Ming's heart skipped a beat. He immediately decided to follow Chen Junliang's advice and prepare to buy a few packs of instant noodles when he went out, so that he wouldn't be unable to hold out.

"Brother Qin, Chen Junliang, stop chatting, the live auction is about to start!!"

Sitting in front of the computer, Li Shiwei shouted, "Everyone come and see!!"

What kind of auction?

Upon hearing the calls, Qin Ming and Chen Junliang both went to the computer to watch the live stream together.

On the computer screen, a Christie's auctioneer, dressed in a suit, holds a small wooden gavel and shows the camera a diamond-shaped stone in a transparent glass case next to him.

The stone's surface shimmered with a flowing light, reflecting a dazzling brilliance under the illumination of the light. Even through the screen, one could feel the frequent flow of energy within it.

[Dragon Gem: Contains a large amount of Dragon-type Laws; when used by a Dragon-type Pokémon, it can greatly enhance the Pokémon's strength.]

Although others did not possess Qin Ming's comprehensive scouting eye, they were able to discern the immense value of the Dragon Gem on the screen.

"After testing and identification by various institutions, the gemstone has been confirmed to be a rare dragon gemstone."

"According to experts, if the Dragon Gem is used on a regular Dragon-type Pokémon, it can raise the potential of that Dragon-type Pokémon to Champion level."

"If the Dragon Gem is given to a Champion-level Dragon-type Pokémon, that Dragon-type Pokémon may have the potential to break through to the Master level."

"I believe you all know the value of the Dragon Gem better than I do, so I won't presume to teach you."

The auctioneer struck his gavel and explained the auction rules: "Dragon Gem, starting price 6 billion, minimum increment 100 million, please place your bids."

As the auction began, the bidding officially commenced.

"Number 50 on the field raised their bid to 61 billion, currently at 61 billion!!"

"Number 98 on the field raised their bid to 65 billion, currently at 65 billion!!"

"A phone bid of 70 billion has been placed, currently at 70 billion!!"

"Online bids reached 75 per share, currently totaling 75 billion!!"

In less than a minute, the price of Dragon Gem soared to a high of 75 billion, and the price continues to climb.

In the tense and exciting auction, the auctioneer brought down the gavel, and the Dragon Gem was finally sold for 135 billion Alliance Coins.

Qin Ming and the others watching the live stream on their computers were all shocked.

Money-grubber Chen Junliang counted on his fingers: "135 billion is equivalent to 1.35 million 100-yuan bills. Each 100-yuan bill weighs 1.25 grams, which means that all this money adds up to 168749000 grams. That's equivalent to 168749 tons of money to buy this Dragon Gem!"

"Damn, how many buildings could you buy with that much money?!"

"It's no exaggeration to say that the interest generated by 135 billion a day is enough for me to buy several metal coatings to evolve Scyther!!"

Is it expensive?

"I don't think it's expensive at all," Li Shiwei said casually. "If you convert it into money, it is indeed a lot, but the problem is that the attribute gems are worth the price!"

"And this is a precious dragon gem, not an ordinary fire gem!!"

Do you know what this Dragon Gem means?

"This means that with just this one gem, we can raise a Pokémon that is guaranteed to be at least Champion-level!!"

"If we're lucky, or if our destiny is in our favor, we might even be able to cultivate a Dragon-type Pokémon that's at the level of a sect leader!!"

"A sect leader level! That's someone who can rival the Three Sacred Birds!!"

"Compared to these improvements, money is utterly worthless!!"

"Basically, families or certain forces that buy attribute gems use them on their Champion-level Pokémon in order to help them reach the higher Master level."

Sun Pengcheng then chimed in, "But it's not to say that using a Dragon Gem guarantees a breakthrough. There have been instances where Pokémon absorbed attribute gems, yet still couldn't break free from their limitations and raise their potential to the Master level."

"If it fails, the 135 billion will be wasted."

"Who says it's not!"

Li Shiwei said, "But 135 billion can buy us a chance to take a gamble. If we succeed, the resulting improvement will be enormous."

"Putting everything else aside, if a Pokémon's strength reaches the level of a sect leader, it would be more than enough to become the champion in a small country!"

Chen Junliang sighed, "Indeed, becoming stronger comes at a price!"

"It's said that the trainer who found this Dragon Gem was a 29-year-old guy, and he could make more money than he could spend in several lifetimes after selling it."

"The secret realm is truly a wonderful place; I should visit it more often when I have the time!"

"Yes, the secret realm is full of treasures!" Sun Pengcheng and Li Shiwei exclaimed.

Qin Ming was quick-witted when it came to attribute gems.

Previously, during the Whirlpool Island Secret Realm, they obtained the Silver Feather, which was even more precious than attribute gems, successfully raising Milotic's potential to the level of a leader.

However, apart from Milotic, Lucario and Saga have only the potential to reach Champion level, while Snivy is slightly higher and is at the Champion level.

As time goes by, Lucario, who has already reached the mid-level of the Quasi-Elite Four, will soon reach his bottleneck, and the situation for Shakiras will be similar.

Bottlenecks are not insurmountable. Just like Guo Jianguo's Blastoise and Principal Xu Ruping's Pidgeot, their Pokémon broke through their own limitations to reach higher levels.

However, how long they will be stuck at the bottleneck, and how long it will take to break through their own limitations, are all unknowns. Therefore, we must plan ahead for the elves.

And as the three of them said, the secret realm is a place where gold is everywhere.

"Once this university league is over, it's time to head to the secret realm again. First, to max out my fishing progress, and second, to gather attribute gems for my Pokémon!!"

While planning for the future, Qin Ming packed his luggage, went out, and took a bus to the airport to Chongqing.

Before that, I didn't forget to buy a few bags of instant noodles to put in my luggage.

……

The flight from Shenzhen Airport landed smoothly at Chongqing Airport. Upon arriving in Chongqing, the air itself seemed to smell of hot pot.

People from Chongqing, who love spicy food, are also exceptionally enthusiastic. After taking a bus from Chongqing Airport to Chongqing Elf Stadium, citizens were already queuing up at several entrances of the stadium to have their tickets checked and enter.

It's clear that the fiery people of Chongqing have a great fondness for the passionate e-sports competition.

As soon as you step off the bus, you can see the giant poster hanging above the stadium.

One of the images features the familiar Qin Ming, accompanied by a Shakiras whose size has been specially enlarged.

Another giant photo shows a boy with a bright smile and a refined appearance, with a giant red praying mantis behind him.

Next to the poster is a line of text: "Shen Tianyu, the future successor of the Chongqing Gym, the face of Chongqing University, and skilled in using Bug-type Pokémon."

As Guo Jianguo entered the stadium through the athletes' entrance, he shared the information he had gathered.

"The Chongqing area is mostly mountainous, and many of the Pokémon living here are Grass, Bug, or Rock types. Most of the trainers here also use Pokémon of these types."

"Chongqing University has a good doubles team, so Song Yun and Lü Wanyun, you two will play in the doubles match later. You two performed very well in the last doubles match."

"In the team competition, Luo Yongbin, you will lead the charge. Your fighting style is more suited to the opening, using strong clashes to intimidate the opponent. Nong Junzhe, you will temporarily hold the fort, but if things don't go well, you might be put on the field earlier, so be prepared!"

"Qin Ming, the one-on-one match is up to you."

"Shen Tianyu's main battle Pokémon is his Scizor. The other Pokémon are of average strength. Taking down his Scizor will make things relatively easy."

Guo Jianguo's deployment of troops made everyone on the Shenzhen University team understand their responsibilities.

"Compared to Guangzhou University, Chongqing University is a formidable force in the Southwest region, so please don't underestimate it!!"

"Also, this match is an away game for us, so everyone needs to be prepared for the disadvantages of playing away from home!!"

"clear!!"

"clear!!"

"clear!!"

Qin Ming and the others nodded in agreement.

At 10 a.m., the lights in the Chongqing Gymnasium dimmed, and the host, dressed in formal attire, took the stage to introduce the teams competing in the match. After briefly enlivening the atmosphere, the match began.

"Please use the big screen to draw the next match venues and order for us."

After a draw, the battlefield was set as a grassy area, and the order of matches was team battle, doubles match, and singles match.

After a while, the event staff knocked on the door and came in to remind everyone: "The match preparations are about to begin. Shenzhen University players, please proceed to the player entrance to prepare to go on stage."

"Ok."

"We're coming right now." Guo Jianguo waved his hand, and the group from Shenzhen University set off in his footsteps.