I Am Overlord c1-962
Page 81
"Greetings, Elder Tao." Even the commander had to get off his mount to salute Tao Ran. Everyone else did the same.
Tao Ran was a top blacksmith of the Cloud Margin Pavilion. Thus, he had a high status in the pavilion, and even their pavilion master had to show him a certain degree of respect. After all, a true tier-4 blacksmith had a great rallying power. With his ability to forge king-grade weapons repeatedly, he could befriend many King Realm experts. Nobody could afford to overlook someone like that.
When Tao Ran arrived, he did not even bother giving anyone else a glance. He went straight toward Xiang Shaoyun and said, "Kid, do you really have more than 100 catties of top-quality goldsteel stone?"
That's right. Tao Ran's appearance had been part of Xiang Shaoyun's plan all along. After sending Gong Qinyin to ask for the Gong Clan's help, he also had her send someone to inform the Cloud Margin Forging Pavilion about him having more than 100 catties of top-quality goldsteel stone.
As for the timing of their appearances, everything had been in accordance to his plan. Xiang Shaoyun replied seriously, "Yes I do. Unfortunately, someone is trying to rob it from me."
"Who dares?" Tao Ran roared and scanned the crowd. That roar of his nearly caused Wen Jinnuo's heart to pop out in fear. He had never expected that even this elder would be implicated in this conflict. Now, it would be hard for him to back off.
"He claimed that the top-quality goldsteel stone was stolen from his Wen Clan and nearly killed me here on the streets," said Xiang Shaoyun while pointing at Wen Jinnuo. He paused for a bit and continued, "In truth, after our previous transaction at the pavilion, someone called Wen Hong tailed me and requested that I trade with their clan instead. He even offered a higher price than you! But since I had already agreed to conduct the trade with you, I naturally rejected their offer. I did not expect them to be so shameless as to try robbing it from me instead. If it wasn't for my relative's help, the top-quality goldsteel stone would have been lost."
"Bullshit! You are clearly the thief!" Wen Jinnuo had no choice but to continue lying to cover up for what he said earlier.
"Elder Tao, I am Gong Lianda from the Gong Clan. I can guarantee with my own life that this distant relative of mine has definitely not stolen the goldsteel stone from anyone. Look, he is only a Transformation Realm cultivator. How can he even steal from the Wen Clan? Isn't that suicide?" Gong Lianda took the chance to show himself in front of Tao Ran.
"I am not blind. I am naturally aware of who's telling the truth here." Tao Ran frowned. He then glared at Wen Jinnuo and said, "I have long heard from the disciples that your Wen Clan has been stealing our business right in front of our pavilion. I never planned to do anything about it, but you guys are pushing it more and more! I guess your Wen Clan is getting tired of life in Cloud Margin City. Since that is the case, I hereby declare that from today onward, anyone caught buying weapons from the Wen Clan will be considered an enemy of the Cloud Margin Forging Pavilion!"
Chapter 180: Earthcore Fire Search Preparation
Wen Jinnuo felt a chill all over his body when he heard Tao Ran's words. The other Wen Clan members were feeling extremely terrible as well. Offending a high-level elder of the Cloud Margin Pavilion was almost a guarantee that life would be hard for them in the future. As for Gong Lianda, he heaved a sigh of relief and felt completely relaxed. Inwardly, he was overjoyed, Finally, it's time to reap the harvest of my bet!
This time, he had brought a group of people to fight the Wen Clan. If it did not achieve his desired effect, his position in the clan would henceforth suffer suppression. At the same time, he would also be a target of Wen Clan's revenge. Thus, it was obvious how pressured he had been.
Now, everything was fine, as he had placed his bet correctly. In fact, this feat was so significant that his chance at being the next in line to inherit the patriarch position had grown even larger. He kept looking at his daughter lovingly, not forgetting that his daughter was the main reason for this feat.
Tao Ran did not do anything else to the Wen Clan. Those words he uttered alone was punishment enough. Instead, he left with Xiang Shaoyun to take a look at the top-quality goldsteel stone. As for Gong Lianda and Gong Qinyin, they naturally followed.
The people from the city hall did not dare to stop the Gong Clan people. Instead, they went to mess with the Wen Clan, demanding compensation for the damages they had caused during the fight. The Wen Clan did not dare to voice any objections and immediately headed back so they could start thinking of a way to deal with the Cloud Margin Forging Pavilion.
Xiang Shaoyun returned to the restaurant with Tao Ran and took out a 150-catty-heavy goldsteel stone before showing it to Tao Ran. Tao Ran was a tier-4 blacksmith who had the potential to become a tier-5 blacksmith in the future. Thus, he was a person who longed greatly for all sorts of emperor-grade materials.
Now that a top-quality goldsteel stone was before him, he was flooded with joy, feeling like he had gained a precious treasure.
Tao Ran lightly knocked the goldsteel stone and exclaimed in excitement, "It really is a top-quality goldsteel stone! This quality...is truly excellent!"
A top-quality goldsteel stone this size was enough for him to forge a few emperor weapons. Thus, this purchase was extremely important for him. He was glad that he had decided to make the trip himself. If this stone had been snatched by the Wen Clan, he would most certainly feel extremely distressed.
"Lord, let us trade according to the market price instead. Without you, I might have lost my life there," Xiang Shaoyun offered tactfully.
Everything he had done up until now, such as gifting Gong Lianda a small piece of top-quality goldsteel stone and the discount he was currently giving Tao Ran, was for the sake of buying Tao Ran's favor at a cheap price. Although that little discount he gave was nothing for Tao Ran, the display of gratefulness had still won Xiang Shaoyun a favorable impression in Tao Ran's heart.
"I already promised to pay you 10 percent above the market price. I will not go back on my words," Tao Ran insisted. In truth, he had promised 20 percent above the market price. Now that the 20 percent had become 10 percent, one could say that he was already getting a discount.
But Xiang Shaoyun was also right. If Tao Ran had not arrived when he had, Xiang Shaoyun would have ended up dead in the Wen Clan's hands. Thus, Tao Ran considered them even. Of course, he was completely unaware that his actions were all completely under Xiang Shaoyun's manipulation.
Xiang Shaoyun did not care about the 10 percent. He only cared about dealing with his problem. Selling this piece of 150-catty, top-quality goldsteel stone at the price of 100 low-grade spirit crystals per catty, he would earn a total of 165,000 low-grade spirit crystals. After converting them all to 16,500 mid-grade spirit crystals, he kept them all away.
This was a massive income, one that anyone would be envious of. After all, a lot of people had no chance of earning such a large income. Only a King Realm blacksmith like Tao Ran would be able to afford such a sum easily.
From this incident, Xiang Shaoyun had profited in terms of wealth. On the other hand, Gong Lianda had gotten an opportunity to officially form a connection with Tao Ran. As for how well he could preserve the connection, that would have to rely on himself.
That no longer had anything to do with Xiang Shaoyun.
Toward the end, everyone except Gong Qinyin left. She had a whole new respect for Xiang Shaoyun. A young man who was a year younger than her was already capable of scheming against those big shots undetected. He was truly too smart.
She would have never dared to even dream of doing something like that. Apart from his smart mind, Xiang Shaoyun also possessed astonishing combat prowess. If the Cloud Margin Pavilion knew the extent of his talent, a large number of elders would immediately start fighting to take him as a disciple.
She was also finally convinced that Elder Zhen Peng was sincere in becoming Xiang Shaoyun's follower. In fact, even she was starting to have the urge to become Xiang Shaoyun's follower.
"What are you thinking about?" Xiang Shaoyun walked over and interrupted her thoughts.
"Nothing. Since everything is solved, shouldn't we leave for the earthcore fire?" Gong Qinyin asked.
"No, we can't rush. We must make all the necessary preparations before leaving. Otherwise, we will only be wasting our time," Xiang Shaoyun said.
"What preparations do we need to make?" Gong Qinyin asked in confusion.
"Things to subdue the earthcore fire," Xiang Shaoyun said seriously. He then added, "Also, we need to increase your strength."
"Increase my strength?" Gong Qinyin blanked out.
Xiang Shaoyun did not waste his breath and took out a tiny bottle of earth star spring liquid and gave it to her, "Senior sister, you are not weak, but we will definitely encounter Cloud Margin Pavilion disciples during the trip. Your current strength is insufficient to deal with them. Consider this earth star spring liquid my repayment to you."
Gong Qinyin did not argue and accepted the bottle. "What a surprise. Turns out you are quite rich, huh? I won't be holding back, then."
Xiang Shaoyun rubbed his nose and said, "Don't worry about it. We are friends, right?" He paused for a bit and added, "Try to grow stronger while I make some preparations. When you come out of your seclusion, we will start our search for the earthcore fire."
Gong Qinyin nodded and left. After she left, Xiang Shaoyun brought Mo Mo away from the restaurant and headed toward the business district. Now, he no longer needed to worry that the Wen Clan would come looking for him.
He needed to first purchase some healing materials and fire protection materials. However, they were not his topmost priority. What he required most was an item of utmost cold. Only then would he be able to even approach the earthcore fire.
He entered the city's largest herb store and asked the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, do you have any millennium icecold jade or something with similar properties here?"
"You are probably going to look for the earthcore fire as well, right? Too bad it's already sold out," said the shopkeeper with a helpless smile.
Xiang Shaoyun was disappointed to hear that. Without an item of utmost cold, how was he supposed to subdue the earthcore fire?
Just as he was about to leave, the shopkeeper said, "Maybe you can try your luck at the auction hall. You might be surprised at what you find there."
Chapter 181: Before the Auction
An auction house was something that was present in all major cities. Items sold in the auction house would generally be rare and top-end items. Naturally, through auction, the price of the items sold would also be much higher than the market price.
The Cloud Margin City's auction would be held once per month. According to the shopkeeper, the next auction would be held in two days. Thus, Xiang Shaoyun was left with no choice but to wait.
He continued having Mo Mo visit the various stores and search for an item of extreme cold, but it was too bad that they did not find any. After all, a lot of people were eying the millennium earthcore fire. The people planning to go searching for the fire would naturally make their preparations as well. Nobody would be so stupid as to go without preparing and throw their lives away.
Regardless of whether an item of extreme cold could be found during the auction, Xiang Shaoyun would have to first ensure that he had sufficient wealth on hand. Thus, he took out some vicious gold stones and sent Mo Mo to ask Gong Lianda if the Gong Clan was interested in them. If the Gong Clan showed interest, he would sell the stones to them as a way to allow them to benefit in some way.
The vicious gold stones were similarly obtained from the Golden River Valley. These stones contained vicious gold energy within, and cultivators practicing vicious gold energy would be able to rely on one of these stones to increase their comprehension of vicious gold power, increasing their combat prowess.
These stones were no less valuable than regular goldsteel stones. After seeing the vicious gold stones, Gong Lianda bought all of them without any hesitation. He was clear on what the stones could do. If he sold them at the auction, he would also be able to earn a large sum of wealth. After all, these stones were comparatively rare as well.
Xiang Shaoyun made 1,500 mid-grade spirit crystals from the vicious gold stones. Now, he had a total of 18,500 mid-grade spirit crystals on him. But that wasn’t enough for him. Thus, he took out almost all the regular goldsteel stones he had and sold them all to the Cloud Margin Forging Pavilion.
This time, he sold no less than 1,000 catties of goldsteel stones and made over 10,000 mid-grade spirit crystals, increasing his wealth to about 30,000 mid-grade spirit crystals, which made him richer than even some regular King Realm cultivators. It was a sum of wealth the smaller clans would never be able to take out.
That was the benefit of gathering a large number of materials. After selling all the stones, a large space was emptied in Xiang Shaoyun's astral cosmos sea. He was very pleased with the result.
Two days passed in a flash. Today, Xiang Shaoyun arrived at the auction house with Mo Mo.
The auction was also considered a business of the Cloud Margin Pavilion, and a large number of cultivators had arrived to take part in it. Numerous cultivators mounted on various different beasts could be seen, and roars filled the air. The place in front of the auction house was bustling.
This time, a lot of young cultivators had arrived as well. The men were handsome and heroic, while the women were elegant and graceful. They were all young Transformation Realm experts. They were naturally here for the same reason as Xiang Shaoyun—to look for an item of extreme cold at the auction.
At this time, a young man riding a flame wolf charged over. He emanated a dreadful aura, and his rushed approach caused the nearby cultivators to scatter in panic. The young man was extraordinarily handsome, dressed in a flaming red armor with a flaming red spear hanging on his back. His entire person looked like a dazzling sun. His appearance caused an uproar among the nearby cultivators.
"It's Xie Sanqian! He's here as well! He is a freak in terms of cultivation!"
"Yeah, he is a genius with a six-star physique, capable of battling those above his cultivation realm. It is said that he will enter the King Realm before 30 years old."
"His purpose here at the auction is pretty clear. He had already declared some time ago that the earthcore fire would definitely be his."
Xie Sanqian was an inner disciple of Cloud Margin Pavilion. At the young age of 17, he was already a fifth-stage Transformation Realm cultivator. He had recently caught the eyes of an elder. The moment he entered the late stage of the Transformation Realm, he would be accepted as that elder's personal disciple.
From a different direction, a young woman was also riding over on a red-scaled elephant in a carefree manner. This young woman had an even more astonishing background. She was a personal disciple in the Cloud Margin Pavilion and was already an eighth-stage Transformation Realm cultivator.
Her name was Li Yaxuan. She was 20 years old and was the granddaughter of a King Realm elder. She lounged gracefully on the red-scaled elephant with a lazy expression, her posture showcasing her seductive figure, which attracted the gazes of all the men.
"Even Li Yaxuan is here? I thought she has a Skysoar Realm grandfather? Why is she even here?"
"Maybe she's only here to join in on the fun? Or maybe she's here to look for a man! She once declared that any man her age capable of defeating her will be her cultivation partner."
"How many people her age can defeat her, though? She has a combat prowess comparable to a peak Transformation Realm cultivator. Apart from the few freaks in the Cloud Margin Pavilion, nobody her age is her match."
"Li Yaxuan is totally a seductress. Just the sight of her causes my blood to boil."
...
Apart from Xie Sanqian and Li Yaxuan, the renowned Bamboo Swordsman, Ye Xuan, had also arrived. Ye Xuan was not a member of the Cloud Margin Pavilion. It was rumored that a Cloud Margin Pavilion elder once wanted to accept him as a
disciple but was rejected.
At that time, a lot of people insulted him for being stupid for letting go of such a large opportunity. But he eventually relied on himself and cultivated a mighty combat prowess. Apart from these people, some decently powerful Transformation Realm disciples of the Cloud Margin Pavilion and other organizations had also arrived.
Xiang Shaoyun watched on as everyone arrived. Inwardly, he thought, Looks like it won't be easy to get the earthcore fire. But nobody can hope to stop me! When Xiang Shaoyun and Mo Mo were about to enter the auction hall, a few people suddenly blocked their way.
"Big brother, it's him!" one of them pointed at Xiang Shaoyun and shouted.
The person blocking their way was none other than Wen Jinnuo. Standing beside him was a person Xiang Shaoyun remembered clearly, Wen Jinrui. At Wu Town, Wen Jinrui once fought Xiang Shaoyun over a tiger's tooth at the business district. He was ultimately scared off by Elder Zhen Peng. After that, he even fell victim to Xiang Shaoyun's scheme and was forced to leave the Wu Town in a sorry manner.
Back then, he was only a peak Astral Realm cultivator. Now, he was already a fourth-stage Transformation Realm cultivator and was much stronger than Wen Jinnuo. Reaching that level in the span of one year could only prove that he had gotten quite lucky in his cultivation.
Now, Wen Jinrui was an inner disciple of the Cloud Margin Pavilion, causing him to be even more haughty than before. After hearing about the incident between their clan and Elder Tao Ran, he was forced to leave the pavilion and figure out what was going on. As for why they were here, they were naturally here for the item of extreme cold. Meeting Xiang Shaoyun was merely a coincidence.
Wen Jinrui glared at Xiang Shaoyun and berated, "Kid, you dare to scheme against the Wen Clan? Do you think we don't dare to do anything to you?"