A Martial Saint Among Men: From Joining a Martial Arts School

Chapter 171 I Avoid His Edge?

There are plenty of people who hate me, so who does he think he is?

Chu Xuan simply smiled faintly after hearing Liu Chengzhi's words.

He doesn't even care about a good-for-nothing who can't even make it into the top ten of the popularity charts and has to rely on his family for support.

As for the Situ family behind Situ Jin, they are very strong with a Core Formation expert in charge, but he is still a prodigy ranked ninth on the Wind and Cloud Ranking.

If the Situ family's patriarch dares to make a move against him, then he should be prepared to be wiped out by the Xuan Yang Sect!

"That's Lu Changge, he joined the class in the same batch as you, and he was always the top newcomer—"

"That's Xiao Ran, ranked tenth on the Popularity Ranking—"

"That's Qin Chuan, seventh on the popularity ranking—"

Liu Chengzhi then gave Chu Xuan a brief introduction of the group, all of whom were top talents on the Fengyun Ranking.

Soon, the auction hall was full, and the auction began.

This time, the auction was hosted not by the same elderly man as before, but by Liu Donglin himself.

"My name is Liu Donglin. Enough with the pleasantries, the auction shall begin!"

Liu Donglin cupped his hands in greeting to the crowd, without any formalities, and directly announced the auction.

Soon, the first item for auction was brought out.

It was a square lump of iron, completely black, with every surface perfectly smooth, seemingly without a single gap.

"1000 Boxes, starting bid 1000 contribution points! Each bid must increase by at least 50 contribution points —"

Liu Donglin said directly.

Chu Xuan had already seen the auction catalog and knew that this thing was not actually a lump of iron, but a mechanical container from the Thousand Machines Sect eight hundred years ago. It could only be opened with a special secret method, and once forcibly dismantled, it could not be restored.

The Thousand Machines Sect has been destroyed for two or three hundred years now, and the secret method to open the Thousand Machines Box has long been lost.

Therefore, almost all the thousand-machine boxes circulating today are unique items!

Many people have opened the Thousand-Mechanism Box and found elixirs, precious medicines, and even peerless martial arts manuals. Of course, most of the time, it's just an empty box or a box with pills that have long since expired; otherwise, the Thousand-Mechanism Box would have fetched astronomical prices long ago!

Therefore, buying a cheat box is almost equivalent to gambling!

Win the gamble and become rich overnight!

If you lose the bet, you'll suffer a huge loss!

A thousand contribution points is no small amount. Looking at the entire outer sect of Xuan Yang Sect, not many people can afford it, let alone in Lingxiao City!

Chu Xuan only glanced at it before losing interest!

He only bets, he doesn't gamble!

Moreover, if there were truly any treasures inside this Thousand Machine Box, Wanbaolou would have opened it long ago; it wouldn't have waited until today.

If others can't do it, surely Wanbaolou can too?

Chu Xuan didn't believe it!

The others clearly shared Chu Xuan's sentiments and weren't buying into his act at all.

Moreover, although the Thousand Machine Sect was destroyed, quite a few Thousand Machine Boxes have survived, and they appear at auctions from time to time as a gimmick.

As a result, most people ended up empty-handed.

Nowadays, very few people fall for it; it's only good for fooling inexperienced newbies.

The result was that the first item sold out!

As a result, Liu Donglin on stage felt somewhat awkward.

He wasn't a professional auctioneer to begin with, but he personally hosted the auction today mainly because of the Heavenly Essence Pill. Unexpectedly, the auction ended awkwardly right from the start!

Liu Donglin asked twice, but received no response.

"Junior Brother Chu————"

Sitting next to Chu Xuan, Liu Chengzhi looked at Chu Xuan with a wry smile and a pleading expression.

Chu Xuan naturally understood Liu Chengzhi's meaning and was somewhat surprised.

Wanbaolou didn't arrange any shills?

This shouldn't be!

But now is not the time to ask these questions. If we delay any longer, Liu Donglin will probably lose face big time!

"1100 points!"

Chu Xuan immediately raised his hand and said.

His shout immediately drew the attention of many people.

Everyone looked surprised, but when they saw Liu Chengzhi sitting next to Chu Xuan, they immediately understood.

So it was a shill!

Situ Jin scoffed, "You peasant!"

There was no price increase!

Although he resented Chu Xuan, the Situ family's money didn't come from thin air, and he wouldn't be foolish enough to engage in pointless competition just to spite Chu Xuan.

Liu Donglin on stage finally breathed a sigh of relief and continued to ask if anyone had bid, but still no one responded.

Finally, Liu Donglin quickly announced that the thousand-piece set belonged to Chu Xuan.

"Junior Brother Chu, thank you very much!"

Liu Chengzhi wiped the sweat from his forehead and said gratefully, "Don't worry, you won't have to bear this loss. I'll buy it back at the original price after the auction ends."

"It's nothing! Senior Brother Liu, there's no need for that. Actually, I'm quite interested in this Thousand Machine Box myself," Chu Xuan said insincerely.

A mere 1,100 contribution points is nothing to him now.

Let's just give Liu Donglin some face!

He asked in surprise, "Senior Brother Liu, didn't your Wanbaolou arrange anyone—"

He glanced around.

Liu Chengzhi immediately understood and said with a wry smile, "Arrangements were made—of course, they were made. But they were only for use in crucial moments; if used too often, they wouldn't work. Who could have imagined that the Thousand Machine Box would fall so drastically now?"

It's worth noting that the Thousand Machines Sect was once even more glorious than the Profound Sun Sect. A few years ago, a single Thousand Machines Box could fetch tens of thousands of contribution points at auction, and people would fight tooth and nail to get one.

You might not believe it, but Wanbaolou really didn't tamper with the Thousand Machine Box, nor could we! But nobody believes it, not even myself!

"Hehe~"

Chu Xuan smiled noncommittally.

While the two were talking, several more items were put up for auction.

This time, they didn't bother with any of the fancy stuff; it was all real pills, weapons, and cultivation techniques, along with a few spiritual herbs. Finally, there was no more awkward silence.

Chu Xuan chatted idly with Liu Chengzhi.

At halftime, he finally got to what interested him.

"The complete ancient formula of the Dragon and Tiger Returning to Origin Soup is specially made for martial artists who practice external martial arts. The medicinal bath can temper the body and can increase the cultivation speed by up to 30%."

Even without specializing in external martial arts training, it can be used to strengthen muscles and bones and repair hidden injuries. Starting bid: 10,000.

Liu Donglin's words were concise and to the point.

"Eleven thousand!"

"Twelve thousand!"

"Thirteen thousand!"

Soon, the price was chased down to 15,000 contribution points.

"Twenty thousand!"

At that moment, a voice suddenly rang out, instantly raising the price by a significant margin.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the one who spoke was Qin Chuan, who was ranked seventh on the popularity list!

"So it's Senior Brother Qin. Since Senior Brother Qin is interested in this prescription, then we'll have it for you—"

"Hehe, we can't compete with Senior Brother Qin—"

The competitors spoke one after another, their faces beaming with obsequious smiles.

Qin Chuan said indifferently, "Since it's an auction, the highest bidder wins. If anyone is interested, feel free to bid; there's no need to give me face!"

Clearly, he didn't appreciate the gesture at all.

However, upon hearing this, the group of people all shook their heads with smiles.

"Twenty-one thousand!"

Seeing that no one was bidding, Chu Xuan immediately spoke up.

"Um?"

Qin Chuan's expression changed slightly. He was just saying it casually, but he didn't expect that someone would actually dare to compete with him.

When he saw that it was Chu Xuan who spoke, his eyes narrowed immediately.

Ninth on the popularity chart? That's quite audacious!

"Twenty-five thousand!"

Qin Chuan spoke again, adopting a posture of certainty.

"Thirty thousand!"

Chu Xuan raised the price again.

He was equally determined to obtain this medicinal bath formula.

As for contribution points, that's not a problem!

"Forty thousand!" Qin Chuan raised the price again.

"fifty thousand!"

Chu Xuan spoke again.

Qin Chuan's face immediately turned ugly.

This medicinal bath formula for external strength training is actually quite niche, and it's only effective for martial artists who practice external strength training. As for Liu Donglin's claims about strengthening muscles and bones and repairing hidden injuries, those effects are actually minimal.

If you truly want to strengthen your bones and muscles, or repair hidden injuries, you can simply buy specialized elixirs; they're cheaper and more effective. Where can I buy any medicinal bath recipes?

Therefore, although this formula is rare, its audience is also very limited. Its value is at most around 30,000.

Qin Chuan cultivates both physical and external martial arts, which is why he bought this recipe!

Fifty thousand contribution points isn't a lot for him, but if the price goes up again, he probably won't have a chance to compete for the Heavenly Essence Pill later.

"Junior Brother Chu, I am Qin Chuan, as you probably already know. How about giving me this formula?" Qin Chuan said directly.

Chu Xuan refused without hesitation, saying, "Sorry, I'm determined to have this formula!"

A surge of anger flashed in Qin Chuan's eyes: "Fifty-five thousand!"

"Sixty thousand!"

"Sixty-five thousand!"

"Seventy thousand!"

The scene erupted in uproar; no one expected that Chu Xuan would actually clash with Qin Chuan.

"Interesting! Two of the top ten geniuses on the popularity charts are actually going head-to-head. This is going to be good!"

"What a load of nonsense! I think Chu Xuan is more like asking for death! The top ten of the Popularity Ranking are all incredibly different! Chu Xuan is only ranked ninth, two places behind Qin Chuan. How dare he challenge Qin Chuan?"

"Qin Chuan is not a magnanimous person—"

A murmur rippled through the audience.

Qin Chuan's face had darkened. He stood up and angrily rebuked Chu Xuan, "Kid, are you really going to mess with me?"

Chu Xuan asked in surprise, "Senior Brother Qin, have you forgotten what you just said? Since it's an auction, the highest bidder wins, and I don't need to give you face! What, now that you can't compete on price, it's become that I'm going against you?"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

A murderous glint flashed in Qin Chuan's eyes as he coldly stared at Chu Xuan and said, "I'm telling you this now: if you dare to raise the price again, you're going against me!"

"Seventy-one thousand! You've got the guts, try adding that again?!"

The atmosphere immediately became tense!

It was obvious to everyone that Qin Chuan had already decided to kill Chu Xuan.

At this moment, Liu Chengzhi couldn't help but pull Chu Xuan aside and whispered, "Junior Brother Chu, now is not the time for a fight of pride!"

While prescriptions for external martial arts techniques are rare, they do exist. Why don't you let him have it for now—to avoid direct confrontation? As for the prescription, I'll keep an eye out for it for you later.”

Should I avoid his sharp edge?

Chu Xuan smiled noncommittally, and the next moment, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

"Seventy-two thousand!"