"Next up is a legendary inner force secret manual that everyone is familiar with. Of course, whether it's real or fake, we can't be sure after our appraisal. After all, inner force is something that requires a long period of practice and judgment. We can't tell whether it's real or fake in a short period of time. However, after our appraisal of the book's material, we can determine that the material on which this secret manual is recorded is more than a hundred years old! "
The emcee chuckled. Seeing that the atmosphere had been stirred up by him, everyone's gazes were focused on him.
Only then did he continue.
"This secret manual is called Black Fury Skill."
Two midgets slowly lifted a brass tray, swaying as they made their way onto the stage.
On the tray was a book made of pitch-black cloth.
"This Black Fury Skill has a total of thirty-two levels. According to the records, every level of improvement will allow one to train one's body. This secret manual here is the first to the fifth level. "
"Tsk, so it's an incomplete copy."
Immediately, someone below made a sound.
"Inner Qi is hard to cultivate in the first place. It's an illusory thing, and an incomplete one at that. Who would dare cultivate it? If it's been modified by someone, cultivating it would be courting death! "
Someone mocked.
"Then you can choose not to buy it," someone else mocked.
"Everyone, please be quiet," the emcee said with a smile, pressing his hands down.
"This Black Fury Skill manual was actually put up for sale by a customer at our auction. As for its authenticity, that customer also verified a portion of it for us. Others aside, the first three levels can be cultivated. "
His words were expected to cause a commotion, but the faces of the people below remained impassive.
Lu Sheng shook his head slightly, understanding the reason.
Zheng Xiangui was puzzled.
"Brother Sheng, what's going on? This reaction isn't right? "
"It's not wrong. This is normal," Lu Sheng said calmly.
"Inner force secret manuals take years to cultivate. It's really too long. Whether there's a demonstration or not, no one dares to bet on the possibility of failure. Moreover, I've heard Uncle Zhao mention that inner force isn't as powerful as the rumors say. Unless one cultivates it to the pinnacle, the power of inner force is sometimes not even comparable to a full-force blow from an external expert. "
"Why is that?"
Zheng Xiangui was even more puzzled.
"Young Master might not know about this." One of the guard captains who had been standing behind them spoke up.
This person's name was Chen Wude, and he was one of the two most powerful guard captains of the Zheng Clan. Because this Dark Meeting was too important, he was also sent over to maintain order.
Like Uncle Zhao, he was also a Strength Proficiency external martial artist of the city.
Chen Wude glanced at Lu Sheng and continued.
"Both inner and outer martial arts are actually training strength.
External martial arts used muscles and external training to stimulate the growth of the body's strength. Although this was harmful to the body, the increase in strength was extremely fast.
Internal Martial Arts used the internal organs to regulate and train the internal organs and nourish the Qi and blood. This method was much slower, and the increase in strength was also slower. However, it would not harm the body and could even prolong one's life.
This was the difference between inside and outside.
In reality, the top experts of the external sect were not inferior to the internal sect.
The truly formidable ones are those who cultivate both internal and external energy … "
"I see …" Zheng Xiangui nodded.
Lu Sheng also nodded.
"I heard Uncle Zhao say the same thing."
"Then why is everyone still so passionate about inner force? Anyway, the increase in strength isn't much. "Zheng Xiangui was puzzled.
"To prolong one's life … External martial artists are strong, but after thirty they start to decline. Once they have inner force, their peak state can even be extended to fifty or sixty years old. It's completely incomparable. "Chen Wude sighed.
At this moment, Lu Sheng's attention was also focused on the secret manual on the stage. The bidding was about to begin.
The host pointed at the black secret manual on the tray.
"The bidding starts now. The starting price is one hundred taels!"
"One hundred thirty taels."
"One hundred fifty!"
"Two hundred!"
"Three hundred thirty!"
"Three hundred thirty taels!"
One by one, the prices climbed rapidly.
Among them, even the person who had mocked them earlier was bidding.
It was clear that although everyone was not very convinced of the secret manual, they still trusted the Dark Meeting's appraisal standards and credibility.
"Someone is purposely raising the price."
Fatty muttered softly.
Lu Sheng squinted his eyes at the stage.
"Five hundred taels!"
He raised his hand and shouted.
Suddenly adding a hundred taels, the crowd quietened down.
In this era, the purchasing power of five hundred taels was equivalent to five hundred thousand RMB.
All for a secret manual whose authenticity was unknown, and whether there were any errors or omissions.
"Five hundred fifty taels."
A voice rang out again.
Lu Sheng looked over. It was a yellow-skinned man with drooping eyes.
His face, which was covered by a black mask, looked dry and skinny, as if he had no flesh. His eyes were fierce. One look and anyone could tell that he was not a kind soul.
Lu Sheng had expected such a situation. How could an inner force secret manual go uncontested?
He was unconcerned, and continued raising his hand.
"Six hundred taels."
"Seven hundred taels!"
It was that person again. As soon as Lu Sheng made his bid, he followed suit.
"Eight hundred taels!" Lu Sheng said calmly. His dad, Lu Quanan, had given him two thousand taels a month. Even if he had to spend it all, he had to get this secret manual.
After all, he had the Modifier. As long as he had the slightest chance of mastering it, he could find the name of the martial art on the Modifier and directly modify it to the limit.
"Nine hundred taels!"
The man glared fiercely at Lu Sheng.
"One thousand taels," Lu Sheng said calmly.
"… One thousand one hundred taels!" the man said reluctantly. "Friend, I'm from the White Jade Zhang Family. Please give me some face."
White Jade Zhang Family?
Lu Sheng's expression changed.
This Zhang Family was not from Nine Links City, but the number one aristocratic family in the nearby Zi Hua City. It was the family of Zi Hua City's magistrate, Zhang Song.
"White Jade Zhang Family, they actually came to my Nine Links City to search for goods …" Zheng Xiangui looked surprised.
His Zheng Family was in charge of the Dark Gathering, and was only in charge of the auction. As for where the guests came from, they did not care.
"One thousand two hundred taels!"
Lu Sheng raised his hand again.
The man from the Zhang Family was instantly enraged. In the vicinity of Nine Links and Zi Hua City, he had never seen anyone so disrespectful to the Zhang Family.
The Zhang Family did not only have Magistrate Zhang Song. They were also proud of another person, Zi Hua City's number one expert, Zhang Songxi.
One in the black and the other in the white, both had their own forces. This was their greatest reliance on running amok in the outside world.
"Ignore him. The highest bidder wins at the Dark Gathering. Even the Zhang Family would not dare to break the rules. Otherwise, who would cooperate with them in the jade business? "
Zheng Xiangui said gloatingly.
The man from the Zhang Family was called Zhang Jundong. He had come to Nine Links City this time to collect inner force secret manuals that might appear.
They had their eyes on all the inner force secret manuals on the market. Before they were put up for auction, they would intercept them in advance.
This was the only one in Nine Links City that had slipped through the net. It was basically a guest who had suddenly arrived and was looking for the Dark Gathering to sell. Without going through the proper procedures. That was how he managed to avoid being intercepted.
"One thousand three hundred taels!" Zhang Jundong gritted his teeth and raised his hand again.
"One thousand four hundred!" Lu Sheng did not back down.
At this moment, there were only two people competing. The rest had no intention of interfering.
"One thousand five hundred taels!" Zhang Jundong stared fixedly at Lu Sheng. "Friend, when you're outside, one more friend means one more path. Let me have this secret manual today. My Zhang Family will remember your favor. "
Lu Sheng's expression did not change.
"One thousand six hundred taels."
He raised his hand and bid again.
Zhang Jundong was thoroughly enraged. He had originally come for this Black Fury Skill and had expected to get it for a thousand taels, stuffing the rest into his own pocket. Little did he expect that a weirdo would appear out of nowhere, unceremoniously bidding against him until now.
"One thousand seven hundred and fifty taels!" He stood up abruptly and placed all his money on the bid in one go.
"One thousand eight hundred!"
Lu Sheng was expressionless.
Zhang Jundong turned his head abruptly and stared fixedly at Lu Sheng.
"Good! Very good! "
He said no more, scrutinizing Lu Sheng fiercely, as if trying to memorize him from top to bottom.
With a swoosh, Zhang Jundong stood up and left in a huff.
"Congratulations, sir." The emcee was beaming from ear to ear on the stage. An inner force secret manual could actually be sold for such a high price without being able to discern its authenticity. His share of the profit was at least several times more than under normal circumstances.
He received the secret manual and handed over the banknotes.
Lu Sheng did not look at the last item. After bidding farewell to Zheng Xiangui, he left first.
With the item in hand, he did not have much money left.
Chen Wude followed him, even bringing along two bodyguards to protect him, for fear that something might happen to him.
Retracing his steps and exiting the cave, Lu Sheng looked at the sky outside. It was already late at night.
The Zheng Family's carriage was already waiting outside.
It was inconvenient for Chen Wude to leave, so he had a few bodyguards accompany Lu Sheng while he himself returned to continue watching over Young Master Zheng Xiangui.
With three bodyguards in tow, Lu Sheng walked out of the stone house, intending to board the carriage.
"Whoosh."
Suddenly, a gust of wind came from around the village.
One of the bodyguards' eyes turned alert. He looked around but did not find anything amiss.
"Swish!"
With a slight sound of friction, a black shadow suddenly bypassed the bodyguards.
It went straight through the encirclement of the bodyguards and rushed towards Lu Sheng who was the innermost.
The black shadow was extremely fast. The bodyguards were completely unable to react in time, and their formation was broken through.
Clang clang clang!
With three consecutive crisp sounds, the black shadow's short knife quickly cut the hands of the three bodyguards.
The three of them grunted and quickly retreated, holding their wrists.
They were only bodyguards hired by the Zheng Family, not death warriors. Naturally, they would not fight to the death for the Zheng Family.
Seeing that the black shadow was unstoppable, they simply dodged. After all, their wrists were injured, so they could at least account for it.
With that thought in mind, the three of them immediately spread out in formation, completely exposing Lu Sheng within.
"Go to hell!"
A deep voice came from the black shadow's mouth.
He raised his short knife and ruthlessly slashed at Lu Sheng's chest.
Although his strength and speed had dropped significantly after consecutively wounding three people, it was still a piece of cake for him to deal with an ordinary rich young master.
Moreover, even if the other party was a martial artist, it did not matter to him. Apart from a handful of people in Nine Links City, the rest were no match for him.
Before Zhang Jundong made his move, he had carefully identified that the other party was not one of them.
Although he was a member of the Zhang Family, he had another identity at the same time.
That was one of the leaders of the infamous Wolf Bandits outside of Zi Hua City.
Since the secret manual had failed in the auction, he might as well snatch it by force. After all, it was not the first time he had done something like this. No one in the Dark Association would guarantee the safety of the bidder.
After killing and snatching it, he could even save a thousand taels of silver for his own use. Why not?
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