Chapter Nine: The Turning of Heaven and Earth

“I bid forty thousand gold coins!”

The call rang out in the hall, and everyone looked toward the source of the voice with various expressions. The bidder was a prominent local merchant whose tea business had reached the level of monopoly. Although he wasn't on par with the Lie family, he was still a figure of some standing.

To be honest, back when alchemists were still around, the price of a Firecloud Ganoderma was extremely high—usually at least one hundred thousand gold coins. But now, with no one able to refine high-grade pills from it, its price had dropped considerably; fifty or sixty thousand gold coins was already quite a sum.

After a brief lull, the bidding resumed with fervor. To an outsider, it might seem that these people were desperate to have the Firecloud Ganoderma, but a closer look at their eyes would reveal that most were actually fixed on Meiya’s alluring figure.

Every man in Changling City wanted to pursue this beautiful woman, but those who knew her understood she was not easy to win over. Maintaining a simple friendship with her was not difficult, but to take even the slightest step closer was nearly impossible.

No matter how great the power or wealth, they seemed insignificant in Meiya’s eyes. That air of indifference made people both mad with desire and gnash their teeth in frustration. How could anyone hope to win this goddess’s heart?

Blinded by love, they cared not whether the Firecloud Ganoderma was worth so much; if Meiya so much as glanced at them during the bidding, it was worth every coin.

After several rounds, the Firecloud Ganoderma was finally sold for eighty thousand gold coins to the city’s weapons magnate.

In the hall, Auburn Mountain, the patriarch of the Auburn family, turned to Lie Chen and smiled, “Patriarch Lie Chen, you don’t seem very enthusiastic today. You haven’t placed a single bid. Is something troubling you?”

News of the Lie family being robbed had already spread throughout Changling City that morning. Auburn Mountain had rejoiced upon hearing it. As rivals, the Auburn family had always been overshadowed by the Lie family and had suffered losses at their hands. Naturally, he harbored resentment, though until now, he had been powerless to act.

Who would have thought that the high and mighty Lie family would one day fall prey to such a blow? While Auburn Mountain was secretly delighted, he also felt a trace of dread toward the mysterious perpetrator.

Fortunately, it wasn’t his Auburn family, he thought gleefully, his words laced with barely concealed schadenfreude.

But Lie Chen, shrewd as he was, saw through Auburn Mountain’s feigned concern at once. His expression darkened, and he replied coldly, “Auburn Mountain, just mind your own business!”

Auburn Mountain’s face stiffened for a moment, then he forced a cold smile and said no more. Inwardly, he thought this was the perfect time to suppress the wounded Lie family—let’s see how long they can remain arrogant!

Beside him, an elder frowned slightly and said in a low voice, “Patriarch, Lie Chen isn’t at home cleaning up the aftermath, but has come here instead. And now he’s not even bidding. That’s a bit odd…”

Auburn Mountain nodded and glanced at the two items left beside Meiya, which had yet to be auctioned. He mused, “Perhaps the real show is about to begin…”

After the Firecloud Ganoderma was sold, Meiya clapped her hands, her beautiful eyes sweeping the room. “Ladies and gentlemen, the next item up for auction is extremely practical. If you want it, you’ll have to try a little harder…”

“Hey, Boss Li, what do you think is being auctioned off this time?”

“Well… judging by its length, perhaps a weapon?”

“The next item is this Broken-Edge Sword!” Meiya removed the black cloth, revealing a long sword which she held elegantly in her hands. Sword and beauty together, the scene was captivating. “This sword was forged by a skilled alchemist, its blade sharp enough to cut through iron as if it were mud. Furthermore, a third-tier magic core is perfectly embedded in the hilt, and it carries both wind and fire attributes. If wielded by someone with matching attributes, its power would surely multiply…”

What a stunning woman, thought Su Yi, watching Meiya from afar as she spoke with such poise. He himself was not accustomed to using weapons, especially not ones with magic cores of attributes different from his own ice-based energy, so he wasn’t particularly interested.

The only thing that piqued his curiosity was the third-tier magic core set in the sword’s hilt.

Magic cores, or magic crystals, were energy crystals found within magical beasts—in fact, only those of the third tier or above possessed them. Just as human cultivators could release energy externally upon reaching the Douluo realm, magical beasts only formed magic cores at tier three. Still, not all beasts were the same: some formed cores as soon as they reached tier three, some took longer, and some not until tier four.

A third-tier magical beast was so formidable that it often surpassed a Douluo-level cultivator in strength, making it incredibly difficult to obtain such a core.

Within every magic core was a violent energy. If one could absorb it, the benefits would be immense. However, unlike other medicinal ingredients, the core’s wild nature and differing attributes made it impossible for humans to absorb directly.

That’s why, in their quest to harness the energy of magic cores, humans eventually produced alchemists—masters who could refine out the violent properties and create astonishing pills. Thus began the Golden Age of Alchemists that once illuminated the entire continent.

Now, though magic cores still had some market value, their former glory was gone.

All because the age of alchemists had ended. The passing of an era, Su Yi lamented inwardly.

“A third-tier magic core Broken-Edge Sword, starting bid: one hundred thousand gold coins!” Meiya’s voice rang out across the hall.

Everyone’s hearts clenched.

One hundred thousand gold coins was no small sum; even the Lie family’s annual profit was just over one hundred and eighty thousand. Few could afford such a price.

Hearing this, the leaders of smaller powers, who had been quite active earlier, fell silent and surreptitiously glanced toward the wealthy big shots.

Most eyes were drawn to the city’s weapons monopolist. Given his profession, he should be very interested in the Broken-Edge Sword.

Sure enough, he seemed both excited and hesitant, his hands clenching and unclenching, lips parted as if about to bid.

“I offer one hundred thousand gold coins!”

This call immediately drew all eyes. Who could make such a bold bid? Was it the Lie family?

“Oh, it’s Arena Master Qina.”

“I heard he’s made a fortune running casinos these past years. Looks like the rumors are true…”

As whispers spread, Meiya smiled sweetly and swept her gaze across the hall. “Arena Master Qina offers one hundred thousand gold coins. Any higher bids?”

Her gaze was as mesmerizing as ever. Those she looked at felt their hearts race, nearly lost in her eyes, and suddenly one hundred thousand gold coins didn’t seem so daunting.

“One hundred and ten thousand gold coins!” The weapons magnate, after much hesitation, gritted his teeth and named his price. He valued not only the sword’s power, but also its craftsmanship—if he could unravel its secrets, his own weapons’ quality would soar, and so would his profits.

“One hundred and twenty thousand gold coins!”

It was once again Arena Master Qina, apparently determined to win. The weapons magnate turned to him helplessly. “Arena Master Qina, if you need a weapon, I’ll gift you one another day. Let me have this sword.”

Qina shook his head. “Running a casino, I need something to keep order. I really have no choice.”

Not far away, Geli leaned toward her father. “Dad, is this Broken-Edge Sword really that powerful?”

City Lord Chute smiled. “A good weapon can make a crucial difference in battle, especially when opponents are equally matched. Take me and Auburn Mountain, for example—we’re both fourth-rank Douluo, and I’ve been at this level a bit longer, so I should have the edge. But if Auburn Mountain, who cultivates wind energy, wielded the Broken-Edge Sword, he might very well defeat me.”

“Really?” Geli was surprised by the sword’s power. “I heard Arena Master Qina is at the peak of level eighteen Dou Practitioner. Wouldn’t this sword let him challenge a newly advanced Douluo expert?”

“He could probably achieve a mutual defeat, if he fought ruthlessly,” City Lord Chute murmured.

“Then if you had the sword, you could be evenly matched with Lie Chen, right?” Geli glanced at Lie Chen and Lie Feifei seated across the hall, her voice low.

City Lord Chute’s eyes flickered. He shook his head with a smile, patting his daughter’s head. “Your father doesn’t have that much money to spend.”

Meanwhile, the elder beside Auburn Mountain muttered, “Patriarch, with this sword, we needn’t fear Lie Chen so much.”

“Indeed,” Auburn Mountain nodded, then looked with some puzzlement at Lie Chen, who sat calmly not far away. “But why is Lie Chen so composed? He hasn’t bid at all since he arrived. Is he just putting on a show?”

“Perhaps the robbery hit him too hard,” the elder replied. “But in any case, this is the perfect chance to suppress the Lie family—Patriarch, you—”

Auburn Mountain cut him off with a shake of his head. “If that were so, Lie Chen wouldn’t be here. He must have a purpose. Let’s wait and see.”

On the other side, Lie Feifei was fidgeting. Seeing her father make no move to bid, she couldn’t help but whisper, “Father, aren’t we bidding? Aren’t you worried about the Auburn family—”

Lie Chen shook his head calmly. “A single Broken-Edge Sword isn’t enough to threaten our Lie family. Let them have it.”

Since the city’s three great powers abstained from bidding, the Broken-Edge Sword finally went to Arena Master Qina for one hundred and twenty thousand gold coins.

After handing over the sword to the staff, Meiya’s elegant smile remained as she announced, “Everyone, the last item up for auction is sure to pique your interest.”

As the crowd looked on curiously, Meiya removed the final black cloth. On the silver tray lay a brown scroll, its silver and brown hues mingling, exuding a mysterious aura even from a distance.

“High-tier Profound-grade Combat Skill: Universal Reversal!”

Martial Peak Chapter 9: Universal Reversal, complete.