Chapter 69: You’re Hiding From Me... Am I Right?

"It came from an S-Rank dungeon?!"

"They’re actually willing to put something like this up for auction?"

Noticing the sudden chaos happening within the crowd, Jiang Zihan leaned over to the side. "Isn’t this just an A-Rank core crystal? Although it’s pretty rare in certain cases, its value shouldn’t be that high for high-rank Hunters, should it?"

Shen Qingyi leaned closer and lowered her voice. "It’s most likely because the core crystal came from an S-Rank dungeon. The concentration of magic energy within S-Rank dungeons is super high, so there’s a high possibility that the A-Rank core crystal could evolve into an S-Rank one. If it really did, then its value would double."

"So they’re all betting for that chance?"

Shen Qingyi gently nodded before she raised her bidding paddle after Mu Jingling announced that the starting bid was twenty-three thousand Star Dust.

Jiang Zihan: "...?"

Noticing the confusion on his face, Shen Qingyi explained that the core crystal could help her upgrade her weapon. Just like the first item, the bids continued to increase until it finally reached forty thousand Star Dust.

"Forty thousand Star Dust, going once," Mu Jingling called out. "Any higher bids?"

Shen Qingyi hesitated for a moment before raising her paddle again.

"This lady bids fifty-five thousand Star Dust! Anyone willing to go higher?" Mu Jingling announced. Seeing that there was no response, her voice sounded a bit more joyful as she said, "Everyone, don’t forget that there’s a very high possibility that it could evolve into an S-Rank~"

"After she said that, the price is definitely gonna go higher," Chen Tianyu remarked. Just as he expected, there was another person who called out a bid of sixty thousand Star Dust right after that.

"Qingyi, would you like to continue? If you need, I still have some money," Jiang Zihan asked.

Shen Qingyi gently shook her head and lowered her paddle. "There’s no need to spend so much money on a crystal core. It’s actually a good thing that someone else bid higher. Fifty-five thousand is actually a bit over my budget."

"Sixty thousand Star Dust. Sold!" Mu Jingling said before she brought down the hammer. "Congratulations to this lady for getting this A-Rank core crystal!"

As the auction continued, the bidding started to become intense, while the four of them continued to wait for items that they were gonna be interested in.

"Now let us introduce our next auction item, an A-Rank weapon—Frost Moon."

This time, a large, rectangular wooden box had materialized in front of Mu Jingling. When she opened the lid, a light-blue sword lay quietly inside.

The sword was long and delicate, as if it was forged from pure snow. As it shifted, there seemed to be ice crystals that twinkled like stars following along the moon. The hilt was wrapped in an icy-blue frost pattern, with a deep blue ice crystal embedded at the top.

"This sword was forged from the spine of an A-Rank ice-type monster, and could greatly enhance the power of ice-type skills," Mu Jingling explained.

Then suddenly, the smile on her face turned deeper as she continued, "Some of you might be wondering—why would an A-Rank weapon appear near the end of the auction?"

"That’s because..." she slowly said as she gently waved the sword. In the next second, the temperature in the entire auction hall immediately decreased, with a soft layer of ice forming on the floor. "...the A-Rank monster it came from possessed the ability to open a Domain. Coincidentally, this sword had also inherited that ability and could also activate the same Domain~"

"The Hunter who eliminated this monster did not fully understand what the domain’s effect is, but no matter what, for a weapon that can activate a Domain, doesn’t that move anyone’s heart?" she asked.

Then, before anyone at the auction hall reacted, she announced that the starting bid would be one Star Crystal.

One Star Crystal was equivalent to one million Star Dust.

The moment Jiang Zihan saw the sword, the space within his body seemed to resonate with the sword, which ached his heart. He placed a hand on his chest, sweat rolling down his forehead.

Mo Shiyan was the first one to notice that something wasn’t right. He turned his head and immediately asked, "Is there anything wrong?"

Jiang Zihan gently shook his head. The strange resonance had only appeared for less than a second, causing him to think that it might just be his imagination, but he knew that was definitely not the case.

He turned his head and whispered in Mo Shiyan’s ear. "Shiyan, what do you think about this weapon?"

The warm breath seemed to brush against Mo Shiyan’s ear, causing him to subconsciously recall what had happened that day. The tips of his ears were painted red before he answered. "It’s pretty nice. But you still need another weapon?"

Jiang Zihan was thinking so deeply into his thoughts that he didn’t notice that change. "Not really... but I somehow have a feeling that it might be very suitable for my fighting style. My main role on the team is control and a bit of support, and if I could enhance my control-type abilities, it would be a lot more helpful, especially since the Freshmen Showcase Tournament is coming up soon."

"...It does look pretty suitable for your ability. But how much money do you have right now?" Mo Shiyan asked.

Jiang Zihan: "..."

He glanced at his wallet, feeling as though an invisible arrow had struck through his heart. Seeing his expression, Mo Shiyan couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle. Then, just before Jiang Zihan’s anger rose, he immediately took out something from his spatial ring before handing it over to him. "Take this then."

Jiang Zihan instinctively lowered his head and realized that Mo Shiyan had handed him a card. "This is for...?"

"Ahem... It’s my savings. You could use it for what you want," Mo Shiyan explained as he reached his hand out further.

Seeing that Jiang Zihan was just staring at the card without moving, he reminded him and said, "Take it."

"...I don’t need this. I have money myself," Jiang Zihan replied when he pushed his hand back.

"You’re sure about that?" Mo Shiyan asked as he raised an eyebrow.

That look made Jiang Zihan feel that all of his secrets were exposed totally in front of Mo Shiyan, which he subconsciously moved a little further away. The back of his neck felt a bit heated up.

The next moment, Mo Shiyan suddenly grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back, causing him to almost bump into his face. Jiang Zihan instinctively lowered his head to avoid that happening.

"You’re hiding from me... why is that?" Mo Shiyan asked with a low, hoarse voice.

"I... I don’t understand what you mean," Jiang Zihan said when he turned his head to the side. The next second, Mo Shiyan cupped his cheeks and forcibly turned his face back. Jiang Zihan immediately fell into his clear blue eyes when he met his sight; he could even see his figure reflected through those eyes.

Mu Jingling was still introducing the weapon, and the sounds of bidding rose and fell throughout the auction hall. However, at this moment, Jiang Zihan couldn’t hear any of those sounds.

He had been drowned in Mo Shiyan’s eyes, and just as the atmosphere was about to change, Shen Qingyi’s voice suddenly brought him back to his senses.

"Brother Jiang, are you planning to buy this weapon?"

Jiang Zihan’s cheeks blushed red, and he immediately pushed Mo Shiyan over to the side. At the same time, he pulled Mo Shiyan’s bank card from his hand before raising the bidding paddle and calling out, "Two Star Crystal."

The second his voice landed, the audience immediately fell silent. Those who originally planned to raise their bidding paddle slowly lowered it, as they didn’t think that it’s worth it for them to pay so much for just an A-Rank weapon. Even if it had the ability to activate a Domain, no one knows exactly what the Domain is about. If it is a useless one, then it’s totally a waste of money.

Although there are some people who want to bet, using that high of a cost to risk a chance is not worth it for them.

However, to Jiang Zihan, none of that is important, since his target wasn’t the weapon itself from the very beginning. He wanted to know why this sword had caused the space within his body to resonate, so it doesn’t really matter to him if the Domain is useful or not.

Seeing that Mu Jingling had brought down the hammer, Jiang Zihan let out a long breath before he started to worry if he had enough money in his account to pay for it. However, he was still happy that he was about to get it.

Looks like I would be able to examine the sword when I get back to the academy.