Chapter 1268 – Foundation that Exceeds Expectations

The Candlelight Auction’s turnout exceeded everyone’s expectations.

As everyone waited quietly for the auction to begin...

A stalwart-looking man seated in a second-floor VIP room and carrying a greatsword across his back exclaimed, “Boss Sirius, the Candlelight Trading Firm is awesome! Despite this being its first auction, it can already compete with the Dark Auction.”

“Indeed. Although the Candlelight Auction is no match for the Dark Auction, in terms of the number of major powers participating in this auction, I’m afraid that it is already nearing the level of Super Guild’s auctions.” Sirius, who sat beside the stalwart man, nodded. He, too, was surprised.

After his defeat against Shi Feng in the Dark Arena, he had investigated Zero Wing thoroughly. However, while he knew that Zero Wing’s overall strength could rival that of a first-rate Guild, he had never imagined that the Guild would be this powerful.

From the moment he had set foot in White River City, practically every one of his expectations had been surpassed.

Whether it was the business district or the standards of the players in the city, White River City was superior to many kingdom’s capital cities.

In God’s Domain, a Guild’s capabilities weren’t determined by its strength alone. The status of its main city was also important. Oftentimes, the prosperity of a city determined the development of a Guild.

Currently, White River City’s prosperity was not one bit inferior to Star-Moon City. If not for the new expansion pack, which caused Dark Cities to appear near various kingdom’s capitals, White River City’ would’ve most likely surpassed Star-Moon City by a large margin.

If not for the Candlelight Trading Firm’s intention of selling the slots to enter Titan City, he really wouldn’t have discovered that Zero Wing had already developed to such a degree.

Meanwhile, in another room, a handsome man glared, displeased, at the crowded first-floor hall.

“Pavilion Master, my people have finished the investigation into the situation. So many people are attending this auction to bid for Stone Forest Town’s personal housing and the Advanced Mana Armor Kits,” a dignified young man reported.

Although this young man simply stood there, he seemed like the center of the universe. Moreover, he radiated a terrifying aura. Even the man’s companions, who were Level 42 experts, wouldn’t get within 10 yards of him.

This young man was none other than the monster of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion that had grasped a Domain at a very young age—Martial Dragon!

“Zero Wing is actually capable of such a grand auction. No wonder why Rain has such an optimistic view of this Guild. It’s a pity that, even after attracting so many customers with the Holy City’s slots, Zero Wing only has such pitiful items to sell,” Nine Dragons Emperor sneered when he saw Melancholic Smile walking up to the stage.

If this auction were organized properly, it could attract so many more major powers in the future. It would massively boost Zero Wing’s development. After all, these major powers had money. Anyone else would only have spare change.

Zero Wing would never have attracted the true major powers if not for the Holy City’s slots.

As Nine Dragons Emperor fell silent, the auction officially began.

Under the crowd’s attentive gaze, Melancholic Smile, who wore a luxurious, blue dress, approached the front of the stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Candlelight Auction. This auction will have two phases. During the first phase, we will sell items that have been carefully selected by our own auction house. The second stage will be a bartering session with the auction house as an intermediary. However, to ensure the quality of the items offered for trade, we will collect a processing fee of ten Magic Crystals or 3 Gold Coins for each item. For materials specifically, we will charge 15 Magic Crystals or 4 Gold Coins per stack.”

As Melancholic Smile finished explaining the auction’s flow, a commotion swept through the crowd.

“Crap! This is fraud! Even a first-rate Guild’s auction wouldn’t dare charge ten Magic Crystals for every item!”

“That’s right! How can you be this greedy?!”

...

Players in the first-floor hall shouted their indignation. Although many of the major powers present had attended the Dark Auction before and knew about these bartering sessions, Candlelight’s high price was ludicrous.

The Dark Auction only dared to charge a high price because it was the best auction throughout God’s Domain. Only extraordinary existences were invited.

“Hahaha! Zero Wing sure is interesting!” Nine Dragons Emperor could not help but laugh when he heard Melancholic Smile’s explanation. “However, this is a good opportunity to earn some money from the major powers. After all, a few of the superpowers here have come to bid for the Holy City’s slots. Whether it is the adventurer teams, independent players, or Guilds, none would miss such a golden opportunity to trade high-value items.”

Such a shameful behavior would earn the various major powers’ ire. Needless to say, the Candlelight Auction wouldn’t happen again. Even Phoenix Rain’s reputation in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would be soiled for supporting Zero Wing.

...

“Just what is Black Flame thinking?” Yuan Tiexin stared at Melancholic Smile in confusion. “Is he so desperate for money that he’s willing to abandon his reputation?”

The first auction was always the most important.

Asking for such an unreasonable price would only incur the wrath of the various major powers. None of these powers would likely visit the auction house in the future.

Purple Jade, who sat beside Yuan Tiexin, was also confused.

Based on her understanding of Black Flame, he wouldn’t make such a noobie mistake.

...

Meanwhile, as Melancholic Smile saw the attendees’ reactions, she revealed an expression that seemed to say, “As expected.”

Originally, she had planned to set the processing fees at one Magic Crystal or 30 Silver Coins per item. This way, they could more or less guarantee the quality of the items while avoiding such a negative reaction. After all, the Candlelight Auction was relatively small compared to something like the Dark Auction. Players weren’t likely to offer high-quality items for trade. The Candlelight Auction had only attracted so many superpowers and first-rate Guilds due to the Holy City’s slots.

Yet, Shi Feng had insisted on increasing the price. It was obvious he was treating the various attendees like fools.

However, now that things had already developed to this point, Melancholic Smile could only endure the complains while starting the auction.

“We will now begin the auction. The first item we are offering is a Magic Whale Skin!” Melancholic Smile said as she gestured to the semi-transparent screen above the stage.

The screen displayed an image of the Magic Whale Skin as well as its Attribute Panel.

Suddenly, the venue fell silent.

“What?!” Everyone was stunned after reading the item’s introduction.

The various major powers, particularly the superpowers, had already begun to develop their naval forces. Hence, they understood just how important ships were and were madly investing manpower and resources into obtaining high-ranking ships.

These major powers wanted to upgrade their high-ranking ships to ease the fights against sea monsters.

These organizations were even purchasing Bronze rank strengthening items at astronomical prices. However, such strengthening items were extremely rare, no less than the high-ranking ships themselves. Even if one obtained such an item, they’d refuse to sell it. After all, if one could strengthen their own ships, their power at sea would increase by a large margin.

Yet, the Candlelight Trading Firm was actually auctioning off a Dark-Gold ranked strengthening item...