A Cunning Pervert in the Cultivation World Chapter 626: The Bidding Start.

"Well... The Righteous Sword... Since they have already given me that title..."

"I might as well act like one."

After those words,

Han Wei waited, expecting more.

When nothing else came, he blinked in confusion.

He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again before scratching his cheek.

"...Master, I still don’t understand."

Li Feng finally glanced at him from the corner of his eye, the corner of his lips curling slightly.

Just as he was about to explain—

A soft chime rang out from the auction hall below.

The atmosphere in the private room shifted slightly as everyone’s attention was drawn toward the stage.

Below,

An old gentleman in elegant dark robes slowly walked onto the platform, his white hair neatly tied behind his head and a calm, professional smile resting on his wrinkled face.

He stopped at the center of the stage and cupped his hands toward the audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back. I am honored to have all of you with us today, and I sincerely thank everyone for taking the time to attend our auction."

He paused briefly, allowing the crowd to settle before continuing.

"I hope everyone has found something worth their time so far. Without further delay, let us begin the first round of bidding!"

As soon as his voice fell, a wave of cheers and excited chatter erupted from the audience.

"Good! I’ve been waiting for this for a while now!"

"Finally! I was starting to wonder when the bidding would begin!"

"Let’s get started! I want to see what they have prepared this time!"

The lively atmosphere quickly spread throughout the auction hall.

Li Feng’s eyes narrowed slightly the moment the old man appeared.

He slowly licked his lower lip before letting out a quiet, almost childish complaint under his breath.

"...Why is it always an old man who comes out to do the auction?"

Li Feng had attended two auctions so far, and both times the auction host had been an old man.

He couldn’t help but feel that the image of a beautiful woman hosting an auction, like the ones he had read about in stories, was nothing more than a fantasy.

Yao Xin, still leaning against him, let out a soft small and fed him another piece of fruit.

"Hehe, Master, that’s actually quite normal. Auction hosts need to be experienced enough to control the atmosphere, recognize the value of the items, and deal with all kinds of cultivators. Most people who have enough experience for that are older cultivators."

She paused for a moment before continuing with a small smile.

"Besides, auction houses usually choose hosts based on their reputation and ability to handle the guests. It would be rather troublesome if someone inexperienced were put on the stage just because they were beautiful."

Li Feng blinked.

"...So you’re saying beautiful women aren’t qualified?"

Yao Xin shook her head and giggled.

"That’s not what I mean, Master. It’s just that hosting an auction isn’t as simple as standing on the stage and introducing the items. You need to know how to judge the atmosphere, deal with all kinds of guests, and keep the bidding under control."

She glanced toward the old man on the stage.

"Someone like him has probably been doing this for many years, so the auction house can trust him to handle everything properly."

Li Feng looked back at the old man.

"...I see."

The old auctioneer waited until the excitement in the hall had settled down before raising his hand.

"Now, let us begin with the first item of this round."

Two attendants immediately walked onto the stage carrying a long wooden box between them.

The box was placed carefully on the table in front of the auctioneer.

The old man smiled as he looked across the hall.

"I believe this first item will be of particular interest to cultivators who specialize in weapon refinement."

He slowly opened the wooden box, revealing a dark piece of metal that shimmered faintly under the lights.

"This is a piece of Blackstar Iron."

A murmur immediately spread through the auction hall.

"Blackstar Iron?"

"That’s a rare refining material!"

"It’s actually quite large. How did the Autumn Pavilion manage to get their hands on this?"

The old auctioneer smiled before continuing.

"For those who may not be familiar with it, Blackstar Iron is said to have first been discovered several thousand years ago in the Blackstar Mountains of the Desolate Southern Region, where the barbarians roam. According to the records, a powerful meteorite fell into the mountains and created a massive crater. Strange black ore was later discovered buried deep beneath it."

He gently tapped the wooden box.

"Since then, Blackstar Iron has been regarded as one of the more valuable materials for weapon refinement. It is naturally extremely tough, but its greatest advantage is its ability to withstand and conduct spiritual energy without easily breaking apart."

Several cultivators in the audience nodded as they listened.

"Of course, finding it is not easy. The deeper deposits of Blackstar Iron are usually guarded by powerful demonic beasts, and even after it is mined, transporting it is dangerous because of the evil barbarians who roam the region. Not to mention, the ore requires considerable skill to refine properly."

The old man paused for a moment before smiling.

"And the piece in front of you is particularly special. Its purity has been tested by our own artifact refiners, and it is suitable for refining weapons up to the Golden Core level."

The moment those words were spoken, the crowd became noticeably more excited.

"A Golden Core-level weapon?"

"That piece is actually pure enough for that?"

"It seems the Autumn Pavilion really brought out something good this time."

The old auctioneer waited patiently as the discussions gradually died down.

Once the hall had quieted, he finally announced,

"The starting price is one hundred thousand spirit stones."

As soon as his voice fell, several voices immediately rang out from the audience.

"One hundred and twenty thousand!"

"One hundred and fifty thousand!"

"One hundred and eighty thousand!"

The bidding quickly became lively as the price continued to rise.

Li Feng watched the bidding below with a little more interest than before.

Although Blackstar Iron wasn’t particularly useful to him at the moment, he understood why the cultivators in the hall were willing to spend so much on it.

After all, Li Feng was a Rank 2 Artifact Refiner himself, so he had some understanding of the materials used to refine spiritual weapons.

Apparently, spiritual weapons were also divided into different ranks, much like cultivation realms.

The lowest level was the Qi Refinement-level spiritual weapon, followed by Foundation Establishment-level, then Golden Core-level, and Nascent Soul-level, with the higher levels continuing to correspond to the cultivation realms above them.

In other words, the quality of a spiritual weapon was generally classified according to the level of cultivator it could support.

’A Golden Core-level spiritual weapon...’

Li Feng rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

As a Rank 2 Artifact Refiner, he could already refine weapons suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators, but refining a weapon capable of reaching the Golden Core level was clearly a completely different matter.

Then, for some reason, his thoughts shifted to himself.

Li Feng suddenly realized something rather embarrassing.

’Speaking of weapons...’

He looked down at his own free hand.

So far, he had barely used a weapon at all.

Ever since he had started cultivating, most of his fights had been settled with his fists.

He had become a Rank 2 Artifact Refiner, yet he had never properly refined a weapon for himself.

Li Feng couldn’t help but wonder if it was finally time for him to make one.