Chapter 124: The Trade Fair (1) Fierce Competition

“Now, let’s introduce the first item of this trade fair!” Seeing everyone’s enthusiastic expressions, the old man on stage nodded and smiled before speaking.
As soon as he finished speaking, two demonclan men carried a table to the center of the stage. On the table lay a large silver-white sword that gleamed under the light. Its presence seemed to lower the temperature around it by several degrees, giving people a sense of chill.
The appearance of the sword immediately drew many exclamations of admiration. Even Rod felt several sharp gazes fixed on it right away—truly a stunning opening act.
“Everyone is surely familiar with this sword. That’s right—it’s the ‘Snow-Treading Sword,’ forged over ten years by our master Teğru with great effort. It’s made entirely of thousand-year-old cold iron and underground crystals.
It appeared three years ago, first drawn from its sheath by the god-tier master Bi Xiu that year, summoning heavenly thunderstorms, which it shattered with a single strike! Two years ago, in Bi Xiu’s final battle, he used it to confront three other god-tier warriors, destroying their three precious weapons without a trace! Everyone must have heard of it—unbreakable, capable of cutting through iron like mud. After Bi Xiu’s death last year, the sword came into our hands!
Now, let’s begin our trade fair. The highest bidder wins. Bid freely!” Clearly deeply admiring the sword as well, the old man introduced it with a hint of envy in his eyes.
In simple terms, this trade fair was an auction—just one without a minimum bid. Everyone bid as they wished, and competition was fierce.

“Great weapon!” A glint appeared in Rod’s eyes upon seeing this great sword, and he muttered to himself. Describing this long sword as a divine weapon was by no means an exaggeration. Such a treasure, if it appeared on the continent, could rival what’s known as the Ten Divine Weapons. Having used a sword like Dark Dragon for years, Rod had considerable expertise in weapons. Ordinary weapons couldn’t even catch his attention. After experiencing so much and meeting so many people, he had only seen three items that could compare to this sword. The first was, of course, his own Dark Dragon. The second was the staff held by that god-tier mage he saw in Iron Bar Town, which contained terrifying energy. It was said to be one of the Ten Divine Weapons—the Dragon Head Magic Staff, crafted using a mid-tier god-tier Water Dragon’s magic core along with countless precious materials. The third was the sword the master blacksmith in the imperial capital wanted in exchange for his crimson long sword when he bought the Black Flame Armor, but it seemed slightly inferior to both this sword and his Dark Dragon.

“It’s actually the work of Master Teğru, Step on Snow! It seems this trade fair is no ordinary affair!” Lucy whispered on the side.

“Who is he?” Rod asked, looking at Lucy in confusion. Someone who could create such a divine weapon surely wasn’t an ordinary person.

“He’s the top blacksmith within the Dark Source. How could you not know? Never mind, let me tell you. His strength already surpasses the god tier; he’s one of the top experts in the Dark Source. His forging skills are envied by countless people. He forged three weapons: one is his own Thunder God Mace, said to be invincible and extremely powerful, and one of the Ten Divine Weapons in the Dark Source. The other is the Nine Nether Wolf Fang Staff, now in the hands of the Scorpion King’s eldest elder. It’s incredibly sharp and powerful, truly a divine weapon. Although it’s not on the list of the Ten Divine Weapons, it’s still on par with them. And then there’s this Step on Snow sword, which appeared three years ago and attracted the Nine Heavens’ Mysterious Thunder. Some have already included it among the Ten Divine Weapons. Over these three years, Step on Snow has become even more famous. I never expected it to be put up for auction after Lord Bixiu passed away. This trade fair truly has remarkable reach!” Hearing Rod’s question, Lucy looked at him strangely with admiration as she explained. Clearly, she found it unbelievable that Rod didn’t even know Master Teğru.

“It seems there’s competition ahead!” Rod was shocked inwardly. He hadn’t expected Master Teğru to be so formidable. Step on Snow hadn’t failed to live up to its reputation—it truly was a divine weapon. Sensing the fervent looks from those people, Rod reflected silently.

“Thirty mid-stage sacred-grade magical beast cores!” After a moment, the first person started bidding.
“Thirty mid-stage sacred-grade magical beast cores? How dare you bring them out? I’ll bid fifty!”
“One hundred!” In the blink of an eye, the bid reached one hundred. Hearing the excited bids, Rod frowned deeply. Did his possessions seem useless here? Clearly, this price was just the beginning. Everyone knew that divine weapons were priceless, and the competition had just started, with the climax approaching soon.
“Two hundred!”
“Three hundred!”
“Five hundred”…
“Nine hundred!”
Finally, after some fierce bidding below, fewer and fewer people were bidding. Although this place was the Source of Darkness and magical beast cores weren’t as valuable as outside, thanks to the existence of the magical beast clans, high-tier cores weren’t as terrifying as expected! Nine hundred mid-stage cores was already a limit for many small clans.
Looking around, the remaining bidders seemed to be from those small clans—two elders and a middle-aged man. These three had the strongest competitiveness.
Seeing this, Rod couldn’t help but shift his gaze to the private room on the second floor. Those people hadn’t started bidding yet, so it seemed they hadn’t reached their bidding threshold. Who wouldn’t want divine weapons? But Rod didn’t need to compete. Firstly, his own resources were insufficient, and secondly, Step on Snow was useless to him, so he didn’t care about it!
“One hundred late-stage sacred-grade magical beast cores!” Finally, as the noises below gradually faded, a calm voice came from a private room upstairs. Hearing this, Rod thought to himself that the protagonist had arrived.
According to Lucia’s explanation, five early-stage imperial-grade magical beast cores equaled one mid-stage core, ten mid-stage imperial-grade cores equaled one late-stage imperial-grade core, and fifty late-stage imperial-grade cores equaled one early-stage sacred-grade core. The quasi-sacred-grade cores had all been classified under late-stage imperial-grade cores!
After reaching the sacred grade, the ratio between early-stage and mid-stage cores was 10 to 1, while the ratio between mid-stage and late-stage cores was 30 to 1. As for the ratio between late-stage sacred-grade cores and quasi-divine-grade cores, it was said to be as high as 100 to 1!
For the quasi-divine-grade category, the ratios of early-stage, mid-stage, and late-stage cores were 300 to 1 for early-stage to mid-stage, and 500 to 1 for mid-stage to late-stage!

As for the core nuclei of divine-level magical beasts, they are quite rare even among the Dark Source faction. On one hand, 90% of divine-level magical beasts have their own clans, which would never allow their core nuclei to be exposed in the market. On the other hand, magical beasts at this divine level—especially those in the initial stage—either join another clan or choose to cultivate on their own, so they are quite uncommon. When faced with opponents stronger than themselves, they tend to avoid confrontation. With such wisdom, it’s extremely difficult to hunt them, let alone those in the intermediate or advanced stages of divine level.

The core nuclei of these magical beasts are extremely expensive—not only as excellent materials for crafting weapons but also as highly sought-after treasures by martial artists. For them, a divine-level core nucleus can provide tremendous help, enabling them to break through layer after layer. Even if they possess such nuclei, they rarely use them unless in dire circumstances.

The ratio for each stage of divine level is 1000 to 1—that is, 1,000 core nuclei of divine-level initial-stage beasts can be exchanged for one of intermediate stage, and 1,000 of those can be exchanged for one of advanced stage! After all, it becomes increasingly difficult and scarce to obtain core nuclei as one progresses further at this level. As with anything rare, such high prices are quite reasonable!

As more people joined the bidding, the scene reached another climax. The disappointed expressions of those who hadn’t won anything vanished instantly, replaced by excited screams. With the protagonist’s appearance, everyone knew who these people were, and the real excitement overshadowed their disappointment.

As soon as the first bid was made, almost half of the people in the private room started bidding fiercely. Rod noticed that the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle clan was leading the charge, and in no time, the price had risen to the level of 1,000 core nuclei of saint-level advanced-stage beasts.

“The Dragon clan and the Scorpion King clan should be entering the bidding now. Heh, it seems the Demon clan doesn’t intend to participate!” As the bids kept rising, Rod felt increasingly frustrated—everyone here was wealthy. Lucy beside him spoke up at just the right moment, causing Rod to turn and look at her in confusion.

“If the Demon clan wanted to participate, they would have done so by now. Besides, they are too fragmented. Although their overall strength is great, they act independently and cannot compete against the four major clans.”

Among the four major clans, the Black Phoenix Clan focuses on magic; even those who practice martial arts mainly use swords and do not favor knives. Only the Dragon Clan and the Scorpion King Clan are physical-attack races that need such powerful weapons to produce top warriors within their clans! Watch—bidding is about to begin!
“Twenty demi-god-level magical beast cores!” As expected, it was the large private room that had remained silent so far that made the next bid. When the window was opened, Rod saw the people inside—members of the Scorpion King Clan. Their aura and appearance made it possible to roughly identify them.
“Fifty!” A cold voice came from the sword beside him, carrying an oppressive feel. Fifty—what kind of amount is that?
“Two hundred!” To everyone’s surprise, it was the members of the Purple Wing Thunder Eagle Clan! They boldly persisted in their bid even after the two major clans had made their offers, living up to their reputation as the Sixth Clan.
“The Purple Wing Thunder Eagle Clan has remarkable talents, excelling in both magic and martial arts. There are quite a few among them who practice martial arts. Their Fifth Elder is an expert with knives. It seems they are determined to win. But it’s hopeless for the two major clans to join them. Though they are strong, how can such a clan with only a false reputation compare to them?” Lucy replied indifferently, scoffing at the Purple Wing Thunder Eagle Clan’s bid.
Rod stared at this girl in confusion, wondering even more. She seemed to know a lot. Rod was sure that even those born and raised within the Dark Source might not know as much about these things or analyze them as clearly as she did. Once again, he doubted her identity.