20 Chapter 17 : Overview, Auction Begins.

"Clear Sword Sect?" muttered Zhang Feng under his breath. "Is there a Sect here?" asked Zhang Feng to the man. The man looked at Zhang Feng strangely. "Sorry, I am new here so I don't know much about Matterhorn City. " Oh, it turns out that you are new here. Well, I can tell you but the food here is really expensive these days..." said the man with gleaming eyes. Zhang Feng understood the man's hint and motioned the servant to bring some delicacies for the man. The man nodded in satisfaction. " I hope that brother will now tell me more about Matterhorn City and Clear Sword Sect," asked Zhang Feng politely. "Haha, sure. Let me tell you about the general situation first. Matterhorn City is one of the leading cities of Greystone Prefecture. Even though its size is small compared to other counties, it still has more capital and strength. The city lord of the Matterhorn City has a cultivation of the 11th Door of Purple Mansion." stated the man. Zhang Feng eyes showed a slight shock after hearing the words of the man.

"The Ye Family Ancestor only had the peak of True Energy Realm of cultivation. But the City Lord has opened the 11th door of Purple Mansion. There is a vast difference between them" thought Zhang Feng as he signed in amazement. "The Matterhorn City has 2 prominent families aside from the City Lord Mansion. The Zhong Family and the Lin Family. Both the families have been at odds against each other for a long time. The majority of Medicine and Alchemy shops are owned by Zhong Family and the majority of the Armouries( Weapon shops) are owned by the Lin Family." Zhang Feng suddenly thought of the Auction House 'Gentlemen's Paradise' and he asked, "Is the Gentlemen's Paradise' owned by the Lin Family?" He remembered that the name of the stunning woman who he had met in the Auction House was called as Lin Qin. The man smiled and said, "No, the Gentlemen's Paradise has a mysterious origin but the force behind it also is strong. Even the city lord has to be polite to them."

Zhang Feng was secretly shocked but he didn't show it on his face. He just gave a nod and asked the man to continue. The man continued, "Now about Clear Sword Sect....Little Brother should know that Greystone Prefecture is extremely vast. There are various factions, forces and sects in Greystone Prefecture. However, there are 4 major forces that are the stronger compared to other forces. They have a considerable deep heritage and disciples. They are Pure Heart Sect, Vajra Sect, Sun-Moon Pavilion and Clear Sword Sect. Every three years, children under the age of 15 can go and take part in the assessment and become disciples of the respective Sects. The assessment is taken place at major places in Greystone Prefecture. Matterhorn City happens to be one of those places. The assessment will begin next month. Elders of all factions will come and select candidates suitable to cultivate. Yesterday, the people of the Clear Sword Sect arrived. Soon people from all the other sects will arrive too. At that time, the assessment will begin. Oh, and one more thing, the cultivation should be above the 6th Qi Refining Realm," said the man. The man then started digging into the food.

Zhang Feng soon got lost in thought and forgot to eat the dishes in front of him. He was 12 years of age this year. Judging by the age, children his age should have a cultivation of 5th Stage of Refining. But he was already far above that. "I should hide my cultivation and only show enough power to earn me a decent spot." Zhang Feng has always been low key. He didn't like necessary trouble. "First, let's wait till the auction gets over. Then I will participate in the assessment." Zhang Feng decided as he began to eat.

A week passed in the blink of an eye as the day of the Auction approached. Zhang Feng dressed and went to Gentlemen's Paradise. He stepped into the building after showing the pass he had got when he visited the first time. Many people had already arrived. Zhong and Lin Family people had taken the VIP boxes. Although there were a few VIP boxes were available but they were either filled by important figures or strong men from other counties.

Zhang Feng took a seat and sat there quietly and got lost in his own thoughts. He attracted a lot of attention just by his temperament. Zhang Feng looked like a young master but he was seated in the common people's section. "So handsome!" muttered a maiden who had come in the common section. Zhang Feng was only 12 years old but looked like a 14-year-old boy. He had maturity and calmness of mind beyond his age. His eyes always revealed a detached look. A courageous girl approached him and asked, "I wonder if the Young Master can join us in our seat?" Zhang Feng looked up and saw a girl standing beside and looking at him. The girl was about 15 years of age and looked pretty. She had a dainty face and petite figure with big, dove like eyes.

The girl's voice trailed off as soon as Zhang Feng looked straight into her eyes. "Handsome...." muttered the girl looking dazed. Zhang Feng gave an odd look to her. Zhang Feng politely declined the girl saying that he was waiting for someone. "Oh...." the girl said looking disappointed. She then repeatedly told him that he could find her anytime and gave Zhang Feng her address. Zhang Feng's face turned black as soon as she went. "Is my charm too much? But I'm only 12 years old. I need to change my face in future." thought Zhang Feng as he decided to practise the 1000 Faced Transformation Technique. This technique was made by Gu Di and it helped him a lot during his days. It can literally create multiple identities. And with Zhang Feng's ability to hide his cultivation, it was a perfect match. He could show his real power using a different identity and remain out of suspicion.

"Heh, it's only pretence! Such pathetic ways to attract attention" sneered Zhong Fei. Zhong Fei was the son of the Patriarch of the Zhong Family. He had been spoiled since he was a kid so he never refrained from being rude and impolite to others. Zhong Fei got jealous of the attention Zhang Feng received. So he decided to put Zhang Feng in an uncomfortable position.

"Tsk, looks like that kid offended Young Master Zhong Fei. His days are numbered now." sneered a man.

"Haha, I hope something interesting will happen today," joked another man.

"Blame yourself for standing out too much kid. If you don't have sufficient strength or background, you will always suffer from injustice." said the man.

Zhang Feng coldly glanced at Zhong Fei and the men who spoke. Zhong Fei had a cultivation of the 8th Stage of Qi Refining. And seemed like he was 14 years of age. He might be called a genius in Matterhorn City but he wasn't even qualified to lift Zhang Feng's shoes. Zhang Feng was never an easy person to bully. If Zhong Fei continues to provoke him, Zhang Feng didn't mind killing him. No matter what background a person has, as long as he touches Zhang Feng's bottom line, Zhang Feng will make sure that the person won't have an easy death.

"What? Are you angry brat? That's all you can do!" sneered the man. Zhong Fei scanned Zhang Feng's body and checked his realm of Cultivation.

He was a little surprised to see that Zhang Feng was at the 6th Stage of Qi Refining. Although it was much less than himself, it could be regarded as above average in Matterhorn City.

"Boy, I am giving you a chance to change your life. You can follow me. You can get whatever you want. Food, wine, women....you name it. Not to mention the status you will have in Matterhorn City. After all, I will soon go to Clear Sword Sect after I pass the assessment. Now, if you want to follow me, just kowtow 5 times and I will accept you by your sincerity." said Zhong Fei proudly. He really liked the feeling of looking down on everyone. He had expected to see Zhang Feng getting excited and running towards him and kowtowing. But the next scene made Zhong Fei growl in anger.

Zhang Feng lightly glanced at him and looked away. It looked as if he was looking an ant or a pesky fly. The indifference which his eyes carried wasn't something that could be pretended. Aloof and detached. These were the words that came into the minds of the people when they saw Zhang Feng. "Damn brat..." gritted Zhong Fei.

"You bastard! How dare you ignore Young Master Zhong's words! You should be rolling down here and kowtowing!" yelled the man as he tried to curry the favour of Zhong Fei.

"Yes, it is your good fortune that Young Master Zhong wants you to serve him." agreed the other man.

Zhang Feng gave both the men a cold look. The gaze was so chilling that the men stuttered while speaking. "Th-This....we are not afraid by such small means. This won't threaten us. Now quietly confess your wrongs before Young Master Zhong."

Zhang Feng was about to teach them a lesson just when a voice rang. " Gentlemen, please take your conflicts outside the Auction House. Here, you need to abide by the rules of the auction. There will be no further fights during an auction. If anyone breaks the rules then he/she won't be allowed to attend further auctions of Gentlemen's Paradise." Zhang Feng immediately recognized the voice. The speaker of the voice was Lin Qin.

"Now let the Auction begin." saying that a beautiful girl came onto the dais and started the auction.

The first few things didn't garner Zhang Feng's interest. Soon it was the turn of Silver Poison Basilisk' Fangs, Venom Sac and skin.

"Next, we have a unique and rare item. It's the Fangs, Venom Sac and some skin of a Silver Poison Basilisk! The monster was at Mid True Energy Realm when it was killed. So the items are quite rare and precious, must I say! The initial price is 100 low-grade Spirit Stones. Each time the price will increase by 5 low-grade Spirit Stones." said the auctioneer.

"What! Fangs and Venom Sac! That's good stuff! If the monster is at Mid True Energy Realm then its poison can at least injure a Initial Purple Mansion Door Realm cultivator! I must get this!" muttered Zhong Fei.

"Haha! This shall be taken by me! Lin Fan!" laughed the Young Master of Lin Family.

Various exciting whispers rang through the hall as the betting began.

"100 Low-grade Spirit Stones!"

"105!"

"110!"

.....

"150!"

"160!" yelled Zhong Fei. "I must get this. Having this is like having another hole card. I absolutely can't let Lin Fan get this! The Fangs can be used to cast a weapon of Low-Profound Grade if the refiner is good. A High-Yellow ranked blade is guaranteed to be cast." muttered Zhong Fei with a fanatic look on his face. Lin Fan had the same look on his face too.

Zhang Feng was extremely happy in his heart after seeing the rapid rise in betting of his item. He still had nearly 200 low-grade spirit stones left from the storage ring he had found. The middle-grade spirit stones remained the same, i.e. 100. He had saved them for future cultivation.

"180 Low-grade Spirit Stones!" gritted Zhong Fei.

"190!" said Lin Fan.

"200!" yelled Zhong Fei. This was his limit. He couldn't pay more than the original price of the item. 200 Low-Grade Spirit Stones were already worth a lot more than the item.

Lin Fan didn't bid anymore as he too understood. "200 going once! Twice! And sold to Young Master Zhong! Congratulations of acquiring the item!" said the auctioneer with a smile. This sale was a lot more than she expected. The Auction house takes 10% of the money on which the item was sold. So Zhang Feng would get only 180 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Zhong Fei heaved a sigh of relief after getting the Fangs and Venom Sac. "I should use this Snake Skin to make a beautiful dress for Li Ruo. She might like it and approve of me." thought Zhong Fei. Li Ruo was the daughter of the City Lord of Matterhorn City. She was hailed as the first genius of the city. Li Ruo had a cultivation of the 9th Realm of Qi Refining. Even an Elder of Clear Sword Sect had already planned to accept her as a disciple.

Zhang Feng got bored as nothing interesting was getting auctioned. Just as he was about to leave Zhang Feng heard the auctioneer say," Here we have an incomplete Body Refining Technique called as 4-Bronze Bell Body! The first two layers are lost but the 3rd and 4th layers are there. So those who have the Physical Strength of True Energy Peak can practice it! The starting price is 50 Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

Quote: "I would rather be known as an honest sinner than a lying hypocrite..."