Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Of course, Harquess and Manson weren’t the only ones who were interested in the magic scroll that Lin Li had put up for auction. King Bradlor of the Gilded Kingdom wanted to keep the scroll for himself too. Hence, he immediately placed his bid as well. “60,000,000 gold coins!”
Bradlor didn’t take part in the bidding for the sake of doing Lin Li a favor, but because he had been enticed by the power of the magic scroll. Others were interested in the magic scroll because the power it contained could shake even the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier, while Bradlor was keen on acquiring it because he knew exactly how powerful the defensive powers of the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier was.
Based on the scene just now, Bradlor could deduce the level of power the magic scroll had exerted. Although the magic scroll had not been fully unrolled, Bradlor was certain that the power that it exerted was definitely enough to crush a mountain, submerge a fleet of alchemical battleships, and sink an entire island to the bottom of the sea.
The magic scroll was definitely a great war weapon that was powerful enough to replace a fleet of alchemical battleships, and building a fleet of alchemical battleships would cost far more than 60,000,000 gold coins. How could Bradlor be willing to miss such a powerful weapon?
After a few rounds of bidding, the price of the magic scroll had already exceeded 80,000,000 gold coins, which was naturally peanuts compared to the price of the Heart of All Evil. However, it was considered extremely expensive for a Master-level magic scroll. After all, although this magic scroll was rare, there seemed to only be one function to it, and it was far from comparable to the Heart of All Evil that could suppress a sacred land.
Seeing that the price had exceeded 80,000,000 gold coins, Harquess, who was in the private room, began to panic. He wanted to offer a higher bid, but he didn’t know if the magic scroll was worth a higher price or not. However, if he chose not to do so and ended up missing out on a good item, it would cause him to be reprimanded by his father and elders.
When Harquess was caught in a dilemma, the door of the private room suddenly opened. Immediately afterwards, Great Monarch Hegel and Grand Elder Hayes strode in from outside.
“Father, Grand Elder,” Harquess hurriedly greeted as he went forward to salute his father and Grand Elder gleefully. After both of them were seated, he told them about the auction of Lin Li’s magic scroll.
For the past few days, Hegel and Hayes had been studying the mageweath stone slab that Harquess had brought back. Ultimately, the base of that mageweath was Harquess’ creation, and it had become a high-level mageweath with the enhancement of some additional material. Hence, it was extremely difficult to find the laws within.
Therefore, when Hegel and Hayes heard that a magic scroll that Lin Li had drawn was put up for auction, Hegel and Hayes immediately rushed over to take a look.
Although Grand Duke Vidi had rolled up the magic scroll, Hegel and Hayes had already gained some understanding of the magic scroll after hearing Harquess’ description. At this moment, Grand Duke Vidi had already begun asking if there were any higher bidders according to the rules of the auction. When Hegel and Hayes heard that the price had exceeded 90,000,000 gold coins, they looked at each other before saying to Harquess, “Let’s buy it, regardless of how much it costs.”
Others valued the magic scroll because of the power it possessed, but for a Master of Inscription like Hegel, the real value of Lin Li’s magic scroll lay in the inscription knowledge that it contained. In the mageweath of the stone slab that they looked at previously, they saw a trace of the power belonging to the Divine-Smith-level; hence, the magic scroll was much more valuable to them than to the others.
“100,000,000 gold coins!”
The bid coming from the private room of the Octopus Clan immediately made the guests in the auction hall fall silent. Many people raised their heads and turned to look at the private rooms on the second floor. It was an extremely unbelievable price. Although they knew that what they had just seen was only a portion of the power contained in the magic scroll, they still didn’t think that it was worth 100,000,000 gold coins.
They couldn’t figure out why the Octopus Clan, which had unparalleled attainments in the field of inscription, would offer 100,000,000 gold coins. Everyone knew that the Octopus Clan was highly talented in the field of inscription as they not only had many Masters of Inscription, they were also presided over by Grand Elder Hayes, who was a Guru of Inscription. Given the Octopus Clan’s abilities, there wasn’t a need for them to spend so much money on a magic scroll that was at the peak of the Master-level.
Of course, there were some smart people who figured out that the magic scroll definitely wasn’t as simple as it seemed to be on the surface based on the Octopus Clan’s actions. However, they were well aware that they probably wouldn’t be able to get anything from the magic scroll even if they paid such a huge price to acquire it. After all, not everyone had the same attainments in inscription as the Octopus Clan.
After hearing the price of 100,000,000 gold coins, Grina of the Giant Shark Clan couldn’t quite believe his ears. He thought, Isn’t it just an ordinary Gravity Mageweath? How can it be worth 100,000,000 gold coins?!
“Grina, could it be that there is really something special about Felic’s magic scroll? Should we…?” Zorro, one of the Four Divine Generals, asked with some hesitation. In terms of financial power, there was probably no one who could compare to the Giant Shark Clan in the entire auction house. Hence, if there was really something impressive about the magic scroll, the Giant Shark Clan would definitely be confident in clinching it.
However, Grina was not a generous person. Not to mention that the item belonged to his enemy, the sheer price of 100,000,000 gold coins was already making him feel extremely frustrated. After hearing Zorro’s words, he waved his hand, and furiously hollered, “Forget it, I bet the Octopus Clan are in cahoots with him. It’s just a magic scroll, how can it be worth such a high price? Do they take us for fools?!”
Grina didn’t want to believe that one of Lin Li’s magic scrolls could really be worth that much money, and he naturally thought of another possibility. Perhaps, the Octopus Clan is just pretending to bid to deliberately push the price higher so as to fool those who don’t know much about mageweaths.
Despite disagreeing with Grina, Zorro and his peers didn’t dare to say anything else. Even though the Four Divine Generals were Sanctuary powerhouses, they were subordinate to the prince of the Giant Shark Clan, and everyone knew that Grina was the future helmsman of the Giant Shark Clan. Hence, they wouldn’t try to offend him.
The price of 100,000,000 gold coins for a Master-level magic scroll was already far beyond what it was worth. As opposed to fixed mageweaths that were carved on certain spots, magic scrolls might be portable, but the power was greatly inferior to that of a fixed mageweath because fixed mageweaths would often have a special mana source, while magic scrolls could only rely on the mana that was infused during the drawing process. Hence, its power was naturally far inferior.
Hence, after the Octopus Clan placed a bid of 100,000,000 gold coins, everyone in the hall fell silent, and those who’d wanted to acquire the magic scroll at first had no choice but to reconsider carefully.
“100,000,000 gold coins. Seems like there are still people here who know their stuff. The price of your magic scroll has actually reached 100,000,000 gold coins!” Connoris said with a straight face, not at all surprised by how high the price had risen.
On the other hand, there wasn’t a single trace of joy on Lin Li’s face as he remained composed, and asked, “100,000,000 gold coins, huh? The Octopus Clan has saved a ton of money.”
If the people outside heard Lin Li’s words, they would probably be agitated to the point of vomiting blood. There were many other things they could do with 100,000,000 gold coins, such as buying a large island or building a powerful fleet. However, the Octopus Clan chose to spend it on a magic scroll, and yet Lin Li still said that they had saved a ton of money!
However, that was only based on the fact that it was a “Master-level mageweath” according to Grand Duke Vidi. If it was really only at the peak of the Master-level, 100,000,000 gold coins would definitely be called a sky-high price. Even if Masters of Inscription and Master-level mageweaths were rare, 100,000,000 gold coins was enough to hire a Master of Inscription.
However, those who knew nothing about inscriptions didn’t know what level the magic scroll named “Mount Tai” should be, nor did the Octopus Clan. Only Lin Li, the person who’d created it with his own hands, knew the value of the magic scroll.
Mageweaths below the Master-level could be described as a manifestation of the usage of laws, while Master-level mageweaths involved the manipulation and control of laws. For example, if the wind was considered laws, raising the sails of a ship to drive it forward would be the use of laws. If there was no wind that day, but a person could create wind to drive the ship forward, what the person did would be considered the manipulation of laws.
When one reached the Divine-Smith-level, which was above the Guru-level, they would have reached the realm of law creation and broken free from the dependence on the laws of this world. Just like a powerhouse at the Divine-realm, they wouldn’t be bound by the laws of the world, and a single word or thought of theirs could allow them to create laws as they wished.
One of the reasons that Lin Li named the mageweath ‘Mount Tai’ was, of course, his nostalgia and sentiments for his hometown. However, it was also because Mount Tai was nonexistent in this world, which also meant that the laws used in the mageweath did not belong to Anril. They were laws that belonged to Lin Li, and were involved with the Divine-Smith-realm.
Of course, Lin Li was still far from reaching the Divine-Smith-level; hence, the laws he created weren’t extremely powerful. However, even then, the power contained in the Mount Tai magic scroll was not comparable to the power of an ordinary Sanctuary-level mageweath. If the Mount Tai magic scroll was completely unrolled, the capital of the Gilded Kingdom would probably be destroyed.
If the fact that the magic scroll was near the Divine-Smith-level and contained the laws that Lin Li had created was revealed, the people would probably fight for it at all costs, even if the price went up to a billion gold coins, let alone 100,000,000 gold coins. However, Grand Duke Vidi had now mistaken it for a peak-Master-level mageweath, which naturally made it seem a lot less attractive to others. The Octopus Clan would definitely get the better end of the deal if they bought it at just 100,000,000 gold coins.
Bradlor originally planned to give up. After all, a peak Master-level mageweath was not rare in the Gilded Kingdom. However, after hearing the Octopus Clan’s offer of 100,000,000 gold coins, he couldn’t help but be tempted. If even the Octopus Clan that was extremely talented in inscription was so interested in the mageweath, it probably wasn’t as simple as it seemed to be on the surface.
Bradlor did not suspect that the Octopus Clan would pretend to bid for Lin Li. Only someone like Grina would project his shortcomings on others. Hence, when Bradlor saw that Grand Duke Vidi was about to ask for the third time, he raised his bidder sign, and exclaimed, “120,000,00 gold coins!”
“120,000,000 gold coins?” Manson of the Thunder Eel Clan could not help but frown after hearing the price which was far beyond his evaluation of the scroll.
After hesitating for a moment, Manson put down the sign in his hand and gave up on bidding. With 120,000,000 gold coins, he could buy an Epic-level staff or other powerful magic equipment that could allow him to increase his personal strength. That would be far better than having a scroll with a single function.
And hearing this price, Harquess, who was in the private room of the Octopus Clan, couldn’t help but hesitate too. He turned to look at his father and the grand elder. Even for the wealthy Octopus Clan, 120,000,000 gold coins was still a considerable sum of money, and if the mageweath turned out to be different from their expectations, they would have wasted their money.
However, Hegel, the Great Monarch of the Octopus Clan, glared at him and hollered, “Continue to bid for it, did you forget what I just said! If we don’t get our hands on this magic scroll, I’ll teach you a lesson when we go back!”
Taken aback, Harquess cringed in horror, and quickly raised the bidder sign in his hand as he yelled, “130,000,000 gold coins!”
According to what Grand Duke Vidi had just said, the minimum bid increment for this item was 1,000,000 gold coins. Hence, in Harquess’ opinion, an increment of 10,000,000 gold coins at once was already very high, and would stop him from suffering major losses. However, his action aroused the displeasure of Hegel, who glowered at him again.
“140,000,000 gold coins!” Bradlor had already made up his mind to buy the magic scroll. Anyway, the power of the scroll alone was equivalent to that of a large fleet of alchemical battleships. Even if the mageweath wasn’t as mystical and full of secrets as he had thought, he definitely wouldn’t make a loss.
