We're Rich!

The auction featured many items Mo Fan had never heard of, and Zhao Manyan patiently explained each one to him as they went.

Quite a few genuinely caught Mo Fan's interest — Magic Weapons with attached effects, for instance.

Enchanted Gear and Magic Weapons were two distinct things.

Enchanted Gear generally referred to combat equipment capable of bonding with a mage's soul — once activated, it could manifest special powers. Magic Weapons, by contrast, were mostly items with supplementary or nourishing properties, the majority of which couldn't be activated at all.

Take one item up for auction, for example — something called the Poison Fire Ring.

This ring was classified as a Magic Weapon. It would add a fire-poison effect to every Fire Element spell Released. Unfortunately, its price ran higher than a Spirit Grade fire seed, placing it thoroughly beyond Mo Fan's reach.

"The next item will surely interest many of you," the auctioneer announced with focused intensity. "This is an egg of the Blue Velvet Giant Bird, specially appraised and confirmed to be one hundred percent viable for hatching. Summoning Element mages — your bids are welcome. Oh, I almost forgot — this Blue Velvet Giant Bird carries the bloodline of the Penglai Skylark, and once raised to adulthood, its strength should be no less than that of a fully grown Battle-General-class Demon-Beast. The Blue Velvet Giant Bird is fully capable of carrying a rider in flight, making it an unparalleled flying mount. The starting bid is 70 million. Bidding is now open!"

The moment the Blue Velvet Giant Bird egg appeared, the entire auction hall erupted in commotion.

Despite the staggering 70-million price tag, bidders were seemingly everywhere.

Mo Fan was nearly bowled over by the sheer wealth on display. In his old worldview, a hundred million was a number he hadn't even dared dream about — and yet here was a Blue Velvet Giant Bird egg selling for 70 million, and that was just the starting bid!

"You're a Summoning Element mage too — don't you have any plans to get yourself a young pet?" Zhao Manyan asked beside him.

"Do I look like someone who can afford that?" Mo Fan let out a wry laugh.

Only two types of mages could tame beasts: Mind Element mages and Summoning Element mages.

The Intermediate-Level magic of the Summoning Element was — Contract Summoning.

Contract Summoning was fundamentally different from Dimensional Summoning. Dimensional Summoning called forth a wandering creature from a dimensional plane that bore the mage's Spirit Imprint to fight — but such creatures could only linger in the human world for a limited time, and you could never know when they might perish in the dimensional plane or begin showing obvious signs of reluctance to fight.

Contract Summoning, by contrast, was the true core skill of Summoning Element mages.

A Summoning Element mage could seek out any wild Demon-Beast and forge a contract with it. Once the contract was established, that Demon-Beast would become the mage's phantom beast entirely — loyal without reservation, following them for life.

Put plainly: Dimensional Summoning was like hiring a temp worker. While the summoned creature fought, it continuously drained Magical Energy, and the longer it stayed on the battlefield, the more it consumed.

A Contract Summoned beast, though — that was your own flesh and blood. You forged a contract with a Demon-Beast that already existed in this world, and once the contract took hold, that creature was essentially tamed for good. A companion for life.

"Wasting resources on dimensional creatures is pointless — they'll never be long-term battle partners. But a contract phantom beast? Every bit you pour in tends to come back as returns. If you ever get your hands on any beast-refinement resources, I'd strongly suggest saving them for your real partner," Zhao Manyan said.

"Seventy million. That's nowhere near my budget."

"Come on, why go after a Blue Velvet Giant Bird specifically? Flying-type Demon-Beast cubs are absurdly expensive to begin with," Zhao Manyan said.

"Fair enough."

His Summoning Element Stardust still needed a fair amount of time to advance to the Star Nebula stage. Adding a Summoned Beast would more than double his combat power — that much was undeniable — but seeing the price of the Blue Velvet Giant Bird, Mo Fan had no idea when he'd ever manage to get his hands on a decent cub.

Everything here was just too expensive.

He was still at the Intermediate-Level Mage stage, and most of these items were catered toward Intermediate-Level Mages at that — so when he eventually reached High-Level Mage, how expensive would things get? Hundreds of millions for everything?

No wonder people always said: *if you're broke, don't become a mage.* Words of pure, unvarnished truth.

"The next item up for auction is an unscheduled addition — please don't be impatient, everyone. I believe this is something you'll all want."

The auctioneer waved a hand, signaling the hostess to bring the new treasure up to the podium.

"I think the moment you see this container, you'll already know what we're auctioning," he said with a faint smile.

"Spirit Essence!!"

"What grade? If it's only Servant-class, that hardly seems worth the interruption!"

The auctioneer deliberately drew out the suspense, letting the crowd murmur for a moment before continuing: "This is a Battle-General-class Spirit Essence, harvested from a parasitic Demon-Beast. As you all know, the more unusual the Spirit Essence, the greater the probability of crafting a Star Nebula Artifact. Stardust Artifacts and Star Nebula Artifacts have always been in far shorter supply than demand — and I trust that their most critical ingredient, Spirit Essence, is something every one of you desires. Bidding for this Battle-General-class parasitic Spirit Essence now opens at 12 million!"

You could always tell which auction items were guaranteed to sell by the number of bidders who surged forward.

Something like the Blue Velvet Giant Bird egg was mostly of interest to the wealthy few who happened to have a Summoning Element mage in the family — bidding competition wouldn't be too fierce, and the potential buyers were limited.

But Spirit Essence was directly tied to Stardust Artifacts and Star Nebula Artifacts. What mage in existence didn't need those?

The Battle-General-class Spirit Essence wasn't priced as staggeringly high as the Blue Velvet Giant Bird egg, but the competition was every bit as fierce. The moment word spread that it came from an exceptionally rare parasitic Demon-Beast, bids flew without a second's hesitation.

"Spirit Essence is always a hot commodity," Zhao Manyan told Mo Fan. "If you ever collect more in the future, go straight to today's appraiser — he's one of ours, from the Zhao family. He won't fleece you."

Mo Fan was genuinely taken aback. This Battle-General-class Spirit Essence was worth tens of millions at minimum, and yet every single person in the hall seemed to have raised a hand to bid.

The demand was staggering — no wonder it could skip the queue entirely.

As luck would have it, the little Loach Pendant could collect shards and Spirit Essence. Maybe he could make a living from selling Spirit Essence from here on out.

And now that he thought about it — his Loach Pendant seemed to have some special ability he still hadn't fully unlocked. Why else would others slay countless Demon-Beasts without obtaining a single Spirit Essence, while he'd already acquired two?

He'd have to sit down and really study the Loach Pendant when he got the chance.

In the end, the Scale-Skin Mother Demon's Spirit Essence sold for 29 million.

The true market value of a special Spirit Essence was roughly 20 million — and this one had been driven up nearly 10 million beyond that. Proof, if any were needed, that this was truly the most sought-after commodity on the market.

*We're rich — this time, we're actually rich!!*