The Grand Heaven Auction House stood like a golden monolith in the heart of Cloud Mist City's merchant district. It was a place where fortunes were made and lost in the blink of an eye, and where a man's worth was measured solely by the luster of his Spirit Stones.
Lu Chen stood before the towering obsidian doors, his simple, faded teacher's robes fluttering in the evening breeze. Behind him, Su Lan followed closely, her eyes wide with apprehension.
"Teacher Lu," she whispered, clutching the hem of her sleeve. "Are you sure about this? This is the Grand Heaven branch. Even the Academy Principal has to show his invitation to enter the VIP hall."
Lu Chen didn't look back. His eyes were fixed on the building's structure. To anyone else, it was a masterpiece of architecture. To his Architectural God-Interface, it was a map of vulnerabilities.
[Target: Grand Heaven Auction House - Branch 104]
[Structural Flaws: 2,103]
[Detection: Hidden Defensive Array – 'Five Element Shield'. Flaw: The North-West pillar is 0.3 inches misaligned, creating a blind spot.]
"Don't worry, Lan'er," Lu Chen said, a small, confident smirk playing on his lips. "Invitations are for those who follow the rules. Today, we are the ones who write them."
As they approached the entrance, two guards armored in silver scales stepped forward, their spears crossing to block the path. Both were at the Stage 2: Bone Strengthening Realm, their auras pressing down on the commoners nearby.
"Halt. State your business and show your entry token," the lead guard commanded, his eyes filled with disdain as he took in Lu Chen's humble appearance.
Lu Chen didn't reach for a token. Instead, he reached out with his hand and tapped a specific point on the left guard's armored shoulder, right at the joint of the silver plates.
"Your 'Flowing Water' breathing technique is leaking energy at the third meridian," Lu Chen said casually. "If you continue to force your Qi during the midnight patrol, your left arm will be paralyzed within three months."
The guard froze. His face went from arrogant to ghostly pale in a heartbeat. "How... how did you know about the pain in my shoulder?"
Lu Chen ignored the question and turned to the second guard. "And you. You've been consuming 'Fire Spirit Pills' to speed up your breakthrough, but you didn't know they were contaminated with Earth-Core impurities. Your Dantian feels like it's burning every time you sneeze, doesn't it?"
The second guard's spear clattered to the floor. "G-Grandmaster! Please, have mercy!"
In this world, a person who could see through your cultivation flaws with a single glance was either a legendary Physician or a High-Star Master Teacher. To these guards, Lu Chen was now a hidden dragon.
"Open the door," Lu Chen commanded.
The guards didn't just open the door; they bowed so low their foreheads touched the stone. "Please, honored guest! Enter! We shall inform the Manager immediately!"
The VIP Appraisal Room
The interior of the auction house was a labyrinth of silk tapestries and jade-carved pillars. Lu Chen was led into a private room scented with expensive sandalwood.
Sitting behind a desk of polished spirit-wood was a woman who looked to be in her late twenties. She wore a deep purple dress that accentuated her curves, her eyes sharp and intelligent. This was Manager Qin, a woman known for her icy temperament and her legendary ability to spot a fake treasure from a mile away.
"I am told a 'Grandmaster' has arrived to sell a treasure," she said, her voice like velvet, though her eyes were skeptical. She looked at Lu Chen's worn-out robes. "I hope you are not wasting my time, Teacher Lu. I know who you are. The 'Trash Teacher' of the Cloud Mist Academy doesn't usually possess things worthy of my attention."
Lu Chen pulled the dull, grey 'pebble' he had taken from Mo Feng's broken saber and tossed it onto the desk. It rolled unceremoniously across the wood.
Manager Qin stared at it for a moment, then let out a sigh. "A weight-stone? You came here to sell a common river stone?"
"Is that all you see, Manager Qin?" Lu Chen leaned forward, his Sovereign Eye activating.
[Target: Manager Qin]
[Bloodline: Fallen Frost-Phoenix (Partial)]
[Primary Flaw: Frozen Soul-Veins. Cause: Attempted to cultivate the 'Crimson Sun Art' while possessing a Frost bloodline.]
[Current Condition: Internal organs are 15% crystallized. Death within 1 year.]
"I see a woman who is dying because she is too stubborn to admit her family's legendary 'Crimson Sun Art' is actually poison for her body," Lu Chen said softly.
Manager Qin's expression shattered. The quill in her hand snapped in half. "How... who sent you? Was it the Zhang Clan? Or my brother?"
"No one sent me," Lu Chen replied. "Just like no one told you that the 'pebble' on your desk is actually a Stage-3 Earth-Core Essence trapped inside a layer of calcified Spirit-Lead. Use your 'Phoenix-Sight' to look inside the stone, not at the surface."
Manager Qin's hands trembled as she picked up the stone. She closed her eyes, and a faint, icy blue glow emanated from her fingertips. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, filled with shock.
Beneath the dull exterior, a pulsing, golden liquid was visible—energy so dense it made the air in the room hum.
"Earth-Core Essence!" she gasped. "This is a Rank-3 ingredient! It can be used to forge a Spirit-Grade weapon or refine a 'Great Earth Pill'. Its value is at least 50,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones!"
"I'll sell it to you today," Lu Chen said, "But I don't want just stones. I want a seat in the VIP booth for tonight's auction, and I want the 'Origin Spirit Pen' you have in your vault—the one your appraisers labeled as 'unusable junk' because it wouldn't conduct Qi."
Manager Qin looked at him with newfound terror and respect. That pen had been in their vault for a decade. Every master who tried to use it found it to be as heavy as a mountain and completely unresponsive to energy.
"How do you know about the pen?" she whispered.
"Because," Lu Chen said, standing up, his Halo of Infinite Knowledge shimmering almost imperceptibly, "The pen isn't broken. The world's understanding of it is. Now, do we have a deal, or should I take my business to the Moon-Pavilion across the street?"
"Deal!" Manager Qin stood up and bowed deeply. "From this moment on, you are a Platinum Guest of the Grand Heaven Auction House."
The Auction Begins
Lu Chen sat in the luxurious VIP booth, Su Lan beside him, still dazed by the sudden turn of events. Below them, the auction hall was packed with the elite of the city—clan leaders, high-ranking officials, and even the Principal of the Cloud Mist Academy.
"The next item," the auctioneer shouted, pulling a cloth off a large cage, "is a Thunder-Claw Tiger Cub! Captured from the Forbidden Forest. Starting bid: 5,000 Mid-Grade Stones!"
The crowd went into a frenzy. A Thunder-Claw Tiger was a formidable beast.
Lu Chen looked at the cub.
[Target: Thunder-Claw Tiger (Mutated)]
[Status: Dying. Reason: The 'Thunder' in its veins is actually 'Heavenly Tribulation Lightning' from its mother's failed breakthrough.]
[Value: If cured, it will become a Legendary 'Heaven-Shaking Lightning King'. Current Value: Zero.]
"10,000 stones!" a voice shouted from the opposite booth. It was the City Lord's son, a notorious bully.
Lu Chen pressed the communication jade on his table. "Don't buy it. It will be dead before you reach your home."
The hall went silent. Every eye turned toward Lu Chen's booth.
"Who dares to speak such nonsense?" the City Lord's son roared. "This beast is full of vitality!"
"Vitality?" Lu Chen's voice echoed throughout the hall, infused with his Holy Origin Qi. "The sparks coming off its fur aren't power—they are the beast's soul being burned away. If you touch it with your Qi, it will explode, taking your arm with it."
"Lies! You're just trying to drive the price down!" The City Lord's son ignored the warning and threw a Spirit Stone into the cage to 'mark' his purchase.
The moment the stone touched the cub, the blue sparks turned a violent purple.
BOOM!
A shockwave of lightning erupted from the cage. The City Lord's son screamed as he was blasted back, his expensive robes scorched, his face blackened by soot. The cub lay on the floor of the cage, smoke rising from its fur, barely breathing.
The crowd gasped in horror. Lu Chen stood up and looked down at the stage.
"500 stones," Lu Chen said calmly. "I'll take the dying beast off your hands. Think of it as me cleaning up your mess."
The auctioneer, terrified of another explosion, nodded frantically. "Sold! To the guest in Booth 7!"
Lu Chen sat back down. Su Lan looked at him, her eyes shining with admiration. "Teacher... why did you buy a dead beast?"
"Because, Lan'er," Lu Chen said, as the Architectural God-Interface began to map out the 'Lightning King's' recovery path, "In the hands of an Architect, nothing is ever truly broken. Tonight, we have our first mount. Tomorrow, we find your fellow disciples."
As the auction continued, a shadowy figure in the back of the hall watched Lu Chen with narrowed eyes. This was a man dressed in black robes with a faint, obsidian mist clinging to his skin—a Possessed Demon.
[Warning: Abyssal Glitch Detected in Sector 4...]
Lu Chen's eyes sharpened. The first enemy had appeared.