Chapter 100: A Treasure Trove Of Skills

"Damn it! 1.8 million Low-Grade Origin Stones! Silent Lowell, you’ve gone insane!"

The fat man in luxurious robes could no longer maintain his composure. His face had turned an ugly shade of red, and his eyes burned with undisguised fury as he glared at the man in the bamboo hat.

He had initially believed that, with his considerable wealth, acquiring the Black Flame Leopard would be a straightforward matter. Even if he had to pay slightly above the market price, it would still be worth it.

But 1.8 million Low-Grade Origin Stones?

That was an outrageous sum!

After taking several deep breaths, he finally suppressed the anger threatening to erupt from his chest.

"You’re ruthless, I’ll give you that. I admit defeat this time!"

Having said that, he shot Silent Lowell one last resentful glare before turning his attention to the Black Flame Leopard.

The beast stood quietly inside its enclosure, its dark fur gleaming beneath the auction hall’s brilliant lights. The faint traces of black flames flickering around its body only made it appear more majestic.

The fat man’s expression twisted.

It had taken him considerable effort to find a suitable Natal Beast candidate. A beast with the right bloodline, sufficient potential, and the compatibility required to become a Bloodline Fighter’s Natal Beast was never easy to come by.

Yet, just when he had finally found one, some lunatic had appeared and driven the price to nearly twice its usual value.

He could afford to spend more, but that didn’t mean he was willing to throw away his wealth.

After all, he still had other resources to acquire, and his cultivation couldn’t advance on Origin Stones alone.

In the end, he could only swallow his frustration and walk away.

"Unbelievable..."

The beautiful woman in palace attire shook her head as she watched the fat man leave.

Although she had also been interested in the Black Flame Leopard, the final price had far exceeded what she considered reasonable.

She had no intention of allowing her desire for a suitable Natal Beast to cloud her judgment.

Turning toward Elena, she offered a graceful smile.

"Elena, I’ll take my leave as well. If you come across any other good items, remember to let me know."

"Of course. I’ll make sure to inform you if anything suitable comes along."

Elena returned her smile with a courteous nod.

The woman in palace attire glanced at the Black Flame Leopard one final time. A trace of reluctance flashed across her beautiful face before she sighed inwardly and turned to leave.

’What a pity.’

She had finally encountered a beast that suited her requirements, only to watch someone else claim it at an absurd price.

Still, she had no regrets about withdrawing.

There would always be other opportunities. There was no point in ruining her plans for the sake of a single beast.

Once the two competitors had departed, the atmosphere around the auction platform finally relaxed.

"Phew..."

Beneath his bamboo hat, Silent Lowell released a long, almost inaudible breath.

Only now did he realize how tightly he had been holding himself together.

His Origin Stones were already running dangerously low. If either of those two had continued raising the price, he might have been forced to empty his entire fortune just to secure the Black Flame Leopard.

That would have been an extremely unpleasant outcome.

Fortunately, they had finally backed down.

However, the relief in his heart quickly gave way to excitement.

He had won!

No matter how much he had to pay, the Black Flame Leopard was finally going to be his.

He had spent a considerable fortune on this auction, but as long as the beast was worth the investment, he would eventually make up for it.

Besides, a Tier 3 Black Flame Leopard wasn’t something one could encounter every day.

If he allowed this opportunity to slip away, he might spend years searching for another one of comparable quality.

He had no intention of taking that risk.

"Congratulations, Sir Lowell, on acquiring your desired treasure."

Elena’s gentle voice interrupted his thoughts.

She stood beside the auction platform, her expression as composed as ever, as though the fierce bidding war that had just taken place were nothing more than an ordinary occurrence.

"Winters Tower will charge a ten-percent commission on the transaction. Please proceed with the payment."

"Of course. Naturally."

Silent Lowell nodded repeatedly.

He had already spent 1.8 million Low-Grade Origin Stones. Compared with that sum, the commission was hardly worth complaining about.

With the formalities settled, he turned toward the blurred figure seated opposite him.

"Now, then, let’s discuss our transaction."

His voice carried an unmistakable eagerness.

He had been waiting for this moment ever since the auction began.

The Black Flame Leopard was within reach, but the deal would not be complete until both parties had exchanged their goods.

And he had no intention of allowing some unexpected complication to ruin everything at the last moment.

Without wasting another second, Silent Lowell reached into his spatial ring and retrieved a thin wooden slip.

He held it between his fingers, channeling his Mental Awareness into it for a moment before extending it toward Ryan.

"Here. This is an introductory wooden slip containing a record of the treasures I currently have available for trade."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"I’ve recorded all the Skill Stones, skill classics, combat artifacts, secret treasures, and other items I can part with. I wasn’t certain which ones would suit your requirements, so I decided to include everything rather than make assumptions."

His tone was unusually accommodating.

For someone who had just spent 1.8 million Origin Stones on a single beast, he was remarkably eager to complete the next transaction.

But that was understandable.

Silent Lowell had not spent such a staggering sum merely to admire the Black Flame Leopard from a distance. He wanted to acquire the beast, integrate it into his own cultivation path, and make full use of its potential.

The sooner the transaction was completed, the sooner he could take it away.

"As for the prices, we can discuss them after you’ve made your selection. If you find something you like, we can negotiate the details."

He gave Ryan a slight nod.

"Take your time. There’s no need to rush."

Despite his words, the eagerness in his voice was difficult to conceal.

Ryan glanced at the wooden slip before accepting it.

"Alright."

He didn’t bother with unnecessary pleasantries. Instead, he steadied his mind and injected a trace of Origin Energy into the object.

CHH!

A soft white light emerged from the wooden slip.

In the next instant, lines of information unfolded before Ryan’s eyes, revealing the detailed descriptions of the treasures Silent Lowell had recorded.

The amount of information was considerable.

Ryan quickly realized that the man in the bamboo hat had not been exaggerating. The wooden slip contained a surprisingly extensive inventory, with descriptions of each treasure’s grade, properties, and intended use.

There were nearly twenty Skill Stones alone.

Ryan’s eyes flickered with interest.

He couldn’t tell whether Silent Lowell had personally imprinted all these skills or had accumulated them through various encounters and battles. Either way, the man’s collection was considerably more diverse than he had anticipated.

Apart from the Special Type, which was notably absent, the inventory contained skills belonging to the other four attribute types.

Unfortunately, the overall quality was somewhat disappointing.

Most of the Skill Stones were of Ultimate Grade Origin Realm or Spirit Rank Low Grade. There wasn’t a single Spirit Rank Middle Grade Skill Stone among them.

Ryan wasn’t particularly surprised by this.

After all, Skill Stones of higher grades were valuable resources, especially those containing powerful combat techniques. Bloodline Fighters who possessed such treasures would rarely sell them unless they had a compelling reason.

Some skills represented a fighter’s greatest advantage in battle. Others were closely connected to their bloodlines or had taken years to acquire.

No reasonable person would casually sell such an advantage for a handful of Origin Stones.

It was also possible that Silent Lowell had previously owned higher-grade Skill Stones but had already sold them.

Whatever the explanation, Ryan couldn’t change the contents of the inventory.

He simply continued reading.

Aside from the Skill Stones, there were several skill classics, a number of Ultimate Grade Origin Realm and Spirit Rank Low Grade combat artifacts and secret treasures, a few D-Grade Bloodline Essence Drops, and various elixirs and miscellaneous items.

Although the collection wasn’t as impressive as Ryan had initially hoped, it wasn’t without its surprises.

In fact, several items immediately caught his attention.

He carefully examined their descriptions, comparing their potential usefulness against the resources he already possessed and the direction in which he intended to develop his strength.

He wasn’t going to spend his hard-earned wealth on things that merely looked impressive.

Every purchase had to serve a purpose.

After a considerable period of deliberation, Ryan finally raised his head.

"I’ve made my selection."

Silent Lowell immediately straightened.

"Please, go ahead."

Ryan spoke without hesitation.

"I’ll take the Skill Stones for Wandering Body Eight Trigram Palm, Wandering Body Footwork, and Burning Blood Art."

Silent Lowell nodded, mentally noting the three items.

Ryan paused briefly, then added two more selections.

"I also want the Thunder Impact Skill Stone, along with the Ice Soul Pills and Earth-Leaving Pills."

Having named the items, he looked toward the man in the bamboo hat.

"How about 100,000 Low-Grade Origin Stones for everything?"

Silent Lowell fell silent for a moment.

He hadn’t expected Ryan to select quite so many items, but the request was hardly unreasonable.

More importantly, he had no intention of allowing a relatively small difference in price to jeopardize the transaction.

After a brief calculation, he nodded.

"Alright. We have a deal."