“Venerable Guardians, how many spots will be on the quota?”
It took a single brave soul to voice the question lingering on everyone’s hearts.
The words were uttered in a timid voice devoid of any courage or solidarity, yet the crowd could be seen nodding their heads in approval and praise.
An Fei was naturally no exception, her hands gently tightening around the strap of the leather bag slung around her shoulder.
The little raven cocked its head in confusion towards the inadvertent tension welling up in the atmosphere, unable to comprehend exactly why these mortal humans were already on the brink of tears prior to any event.
“At ease.”
The single wave of a hand clad in golden cloth instantly silenced the buzzing crowd, and the lavishly dressed man took a step forwards to assert dominance over the multitude of people. The Heavenly Guardian silently cupped his fist as a display of respect commonplace of the Jianghu.
“Due to the unusual circumstances… there has been a need to cut down the quota to five members per each major transference,” the man intoned with a heavy yet sonorous voice.
“Everyone, fret not. The Hundred Clan Coalition will be strictly impartial regarding the distribution. All citizens of Great Yong will be qualified to bid for the seats of the quota.”
Without waiting for those of the crowd to sufficiently digest the golden-robed man’s words and come to a comprehensive understanding, the man dressed in the violet robe took his place to the right of the former.
His hand spread wide towards his side, the powerful man willed his spiritual essence to empower his voice, permeating throughout the entire plaza with ease.
“The auction will begin starting now for the first destination, Ju Yuan Jian District! the spots of the quota will be distributed towards the five highest bidders of the auction!”
The roar was the powerful stimulant that stabbed deeply into the veins and arteries; though there was a delay before the effects displayed their majesty, the feverish scream of assent and agitation soon caused the ground underneath their feet to shake.
Amidst the young girl’s screams, the crowd of people around her on all sides began to stamp their feet, some even raising ragged signboards into the air.
“Fifty silver taels!”
“Sixty – no, seventy silver taels!”
“Scram, peasants! This Young Master will bid a golden coin!”
“A gold tael!? You think you can bluff your way with a gold tael – who do you think you are!? This Young Master bids fifteen, what are you going to do about it?”
“Idiots with no background can scram before this Daddy slaughters you all! Thirty gold taels – let’s see who in Tianfeng City can contest with this Daddy!”
Those with servants who attained some achievement in the path of cultivation instructed them to pledge their masters’ bids for the quota of the transference array; those who were alone, could only scream until their throats begged for them to stop.
The cacophonous din caused the sky above the plaza to flicker with multi-colored light, streaks and pulses of spiritual essence dying the virgin sky with a blotch of pollution and noise.
Alas, though the young girl wasn’t that impressed by the sea of noise welling from all directions, the magnitude of the bids indeed carried with them a tremor of unease.
“Thirty golden taels for a spot on the quota?” An Fei echoed with with her irises brimming with disbelief.
“Thirty golden taels can feed several hundreds of families, and they’re spending it without a single thought to obtain usage of the transference array? What even is this Ju Yuan Jian District?”
The question was innocent, posed by someone who possessed little to no knowledge regarding the demographics of the Shattered Star Continent.
It was reasonable for An Fei to pose the question, for her knowledge of her surroundings was limited to a forest and two cities.
The elderly shopkeeper standing directly next to her couldn’t help but suppress an intense, awkward cough.
Nonetheless, as her self-proclaimed Master, Wang Qinian couldn’t stand in silence.
He had to sacrifice his dignity and shame to answer the rare questions posed by his “disciple”.
“Let’s see here, Lingxue… Er… Ju Yuan Jian District is located within the eastern region of Great Yan… the most apt description would be that it is a district that can satisfy all desires…”
The elderly and hoarse voice diminished in volume with each successive word that left his lips, and by the end of his sentence, Wang Qinian had given up speaking altogether.
Unfortunately for the wizened shopkeeper, the young girl who had not been paying attention to the raucous auction and instead his voice, had captured all of the words.
“A district that can satisfy all desires? Just how can that even be possible?”
“Er… Lingxue, here, all people on this earth possess a certain set of primal instincts and desires…” the “saintly” elder suppressed his nuances and expressions with a mixture of coughing and spluttering.
“Du Yuan Jian District is a magical territory that not only can satisfy these desires, while improving the physique of those who seek its services.”
The glorified Earth Guardian of the Hundred Clan Coalition deeply begged for his “disciple” to avoid asking the next question held within his heart.
As he anxiously awaited the periodical musing that he had witnessed from the young girl over the course of their travels, Wang QInian directed an envious glare towards the five men directing the various auctions of the transference array’s quota.
They were both Guardians of the same organization, so why did he have to stand amongst the stinky, noisy, and irritating crowd of mortals and cultivators?
Not to mention, the gap between them was a single change in naming regarding their cultivation states.
Really, this treatment was inconsiderate and discriminating.
“One hundred golden taels! Dare argue back!?”
A powerful voice suppressed all others, the subsequent shockwave containing sufficient source to knock down the weaker-willed members of the crowd onto the ground. Once the bid had been raised, all noise had ceased within the plaza of Tianfeng City.
A hundred golden taels.
Just what kind of exorbitant sum of wealth did that constitute?
A hundred copper coins constituted the value of a silver coin of the Shattered Star Continent. Moreover, a hundred and fifty silver coins equaled that of a golden coin.
The conversion between raw material to refined currency was simple: a tael equaled a coin of the respective value.
If the purity of the material was deficient or overly rich, the value received in the conversion reflected such discrepancy.
However, a hundred golden taels?
In either of the three empires, a copper coin a day could effectively feed a family of three without much trouble, given that they rationed their penchant for luxury and consumable purchases.
If a cultivator arose from their midst, the necessary herbs until the final verges of the Body Tempering Realm could be covered by an additional fifteen copper coins a month.
A dozen silver taels allowed the continent’s most lavish, luxurious man to enjoy a scrumptious, wasteful meal at the most expensive restaurant open to the public. Those who could enjoy such pleasures were commonly from aristocratic clans or from distinguished cities.
A single golden coin or two was sufficient to cover the majority of a cultivator’s expenses up until the initial stages of the Spirit Building Realm, where more precious herbs and refined medicines were recommended to maintain the steady pace of advancement.
A hundred golden taels… could be utilized to purchase an overwhelmingly precious or rare cultivation technique, a weapon sufficient of a cultivator of the Core Formation Realm, or feed a province for several months.
Alas…
A youngster was discarding such a mountain of treasure to sate their desires.
As if to rub salt into their wounds, when the five Heavenly Guardians silently motioned for the prestigious bidder to step onto the wooden platform to receive the plaque representing a spot of the five-passenger quota, the crowd couldn’t believe their eyes.
Ju Yuan Jian District, known by the cultivators and aristocrats of the Shattered Star Continent as the district to sate all desires conceivable by man. Though the men standing in the crowd couldn’t dare voice their thoughts, the rumors floating around were sufficient to cow any unwary listener.
Any activity or desire that was ever banned by Great Yong’s codification of law, it was permitted in the Ju Yuan Jian District.
Likewise, all nefarious, wretched thoughts were allowed to take fruition in the infamous district within Great Yan.
It was slightly acceptable for the aristocrats to indulge in their dark fantasies by wasting their wealth, but the buyer of the quota was a young woman?
Ju Yuan Jian District had services for female customers?
“…the auction for the quota for Jiang’an, the capital city, will begin now…”
…not even the Heavenly Guardians could recover their composure. As such, the violet-robed man’s voice had quieted considerably, his dignity having taken a grievous blow.
Fortunately for the injured soul of a Heavenly Guardian, the crowd was equally speechless.
It was only until a certain young girl’s ears registered the soft words barely forced beyond the lips, and her heart bloomed with an arduous excitement.
Jiang’an?
The next destination was the capital city of Great Yong?
“A hundred golden taels!”
The excited cry of another young girl caused the crowd to fall onto their knees in worship and shock.
As their bodies limply lay on the ground, their brains struggled to reorient their understanding to the current times.
Just where had these two rich tycoons come from?
And why were they both young women?
