Broken Sword

The room itself was very spacious, able to hold up to a several hundred people. But this auction only had two hundred at most. There was plenty of seating for Ming Yue and she chose a random spot to sit.

She looked around, curious as to who else wanted the Splitting Moon Blade. Of the competition, she recognized a few people. Some were cultivators who used the sword while others were blacksmiths or collectors, hoping to obtain the blade to study it. After all, this was a divine ranked weapon from hundreds of years ago, there could be many untold secrets within it.

The one she was most familiar with was Gong Chui, the successor of the Gong Family, a clan best known for their forging abilities. He sat at the center while she was in the far right side of the room. Gong Chui must have wanted the blade to study it as well.

Everyone sat and waited quietly. They were all quite excited to see a divine ranked blade as an item of such quality could only exist in one out of several hundred thousand.

They stared intensely at the stage as the announcer along with his assistant walked out. His assistant, a beautiful young woman, carried a case covered in cloth and set it on the table. Doing so, she took off the cloth, revealing the blade within.

Everyone looked in shock!

"What is this suppose to mean?"

"Why is it like this? Are you trying to cheat us out of our money?"

They were furious at the sight of the blade for it was in pieces. The case contained a pristine handle but the blade itself was shattered into thirty pieces.

"Everyone please calm down, I will explain everything!" the announcer pacified the masses with his voice and waited for them to settle down.

"The Splitting Moon Blade, two feet in length, weighing two and a half pounds, and a thickness 4 millimeters. This lower divine blade is one of the sharpest swords ever made. Along with its sister blade, Parting Sun, it has killed many corrupted men and saved an equal number of lives", he said.

"Several hundred years ago, a grandmaster blacksmith made these two swords for his wife and son. An evil government official had asked for these two swords but was refused and killed his family in retaliation. In anger, the blacksmith went on a rampage and killed the official before going of to execute any who he deemed evil. After his death, both blades were believed to be lost but a warrior in the north of the continent had obtained this sword and used it until the blade shattered. Our personnel had traveled through harsh lands to collect the pieces and bring them back. However as far as repairing it goes, it is not our responsibility to do so. As such, the starting price is 400,000 gold."

Finishing his little speech, he looked at everyone and gauged their reactions. Everything he has said was true but it was up to them as to whether they believed him.

The bidders hesitated. Not only would they have to think about the bidding price but also consider the resources that would be needed to repair it. If it was like this, not many would be willing to spend large sums of money for this sword.

Ming Yue was one of the few willing to fight for it. Even if it was broken she would still get it because this was a goal she set upon herself to complete. She had the rest of her life to have it repaired.

Learning from Fengtian, she waited for someone else to start the bid.

"Agh, even if it is broken, it is a lower divine weapon. I can use it in other ways!" someone said before making a bid.

"450,000 gold to #54! Anyone else?" the auctioneer asked.

"Indeed, the Splitting Moon Blade is still a unique item. I must have it!"

"500,000 gold to #185!"

The price slowly increased by fifty thousand gold. Ming Yue waited patiently, the most money she could expend on this auction was 1.3 million gold. All of it saved up from collecting bounties and selling herbs and other items that she had collected. Gong Chui was definitely someone she had to watch for. As the successor of the one of the Five Noble Families, he definitely had access to the family's entire wealth.

The number soon reached 1 million gold and only four bidders continued to fight for the blade. #74, #189, #11, and #56 were all slowly bidding, increasing the price by 10,000 gold every time. By the looks of it, Gong Chui was still bidding for it, a look of desperation was present on his face. Ming Yue studied everyone else and spotted the other bidders. Other than Gong Chui were two young women, a middle aged man, all of which had the same pained look as him. The two women were equally charming but one had a gentle aura while the other had a quality of shrewdness. The former wore purple robes and a lilac shaped brooch on her hair and the latter wore crimson robes with a bronze hair pin. The hair pin had a small tassel on its end, two maroon ribbons dangling in the air.

The middle aged man was the opposite of these women, closer to Gong Chui. He had a rugged appearance, plain and simple. His style was one that focused more on utility and his body was tanned, tempered by the flames of a forge. On his back was a great sword, a double edged blade of large proportions, while it was only four feet in length, less than the Parting Sun Blade, its width was six inches and it had a thickness of 15 millimeters, the handle was long enough to hold with two hands. Beautiful and brutal at the same time, there were no fancy carvings or adornments but the craftsmanship was impeccable and the sword was well kept.

These four were very determined to get the broken sword. Each had their own reasons for doing so but they were all equally desperate.

At 1,060,000 gold, Ming Yue immediately made a bid pushing the number to 1.1 million gold.

"1.1 million gold to #197!"

"Who!?!" the four bidders were shocked.

Who would've thought that someone else had been quietly biding their time, waiting for them. The purple robed woman face was gloomy while middle aged man was clearly angry. Gong Chui and the other woman were not as dramatic as them, their faces only changed slightly. Clearly, this sword did was not as important to them.

Seconds later, Gong Chui stood up and left, having given up on buying the sword. Perhaps this was not a purchase that he felt was worth it. However, the middle aged man gnashed his teeth before making up his mind.

"1.15 million gold to #11!"

The two women turned a bit ghastly at the price. Before they could even think of it, the price had reached a new point.

"1.2 million gold to #197!" the auction announced.

Ming Yue had nothing to lose here, she spent the past year collecting for the sword and went through life and death to do so. She looked only at the man for the two woman had already resigned to their fates. it was between him and her for the Splitting Moon Blade.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" he shouted, his face turned red as veins started to swell from his rage.

"Fine! Take it, you win!" he left the auction room, stomping though the door.

Gong Chui had already left the room and those two women stopped bidding. Now this middle aged man stomped his way out, angry from his defeat. No one else was willing to bid against Ming Yue, this broken blade was not worth it to them.

After counting for ten seconds, the auctioneer had announced the results.

"And the Splitting Moon Blade goes to #197 for 1.2 million gold!"

Just like that, Ming Yue had obtained the sword. It may be in pieces but she had done it. A wave of relief overcame her, she had completed a stepping stone in her life.

Now she just had to find a way to repair it.