The black-robed man did not answer, but sat on the chair next to him. Shortly after the middle-aged man left, a beautiful maid came over to serve tea.
The black-robed man was aloof, so the maid obediently stood a little further away and served silently. Not long after, the middle-aged treasure appraiser led an old man with white hair and beard but a very energetic look into the room.
Mr. Zheng first nodded to the black-robed man, then carefully examined the golden crown. After a while, he put down the tools in his hand, "Sir, this thing should not be passed down from our ancestors, but it must have been obtained not long ago!"
The black-robed man's voice sounded calm, "Mitel Chamber of Commerce, do you still need someone to explain the origin of this thing?"
"No, no, no, sir, you misunderstood. This is just a small guess of mine."
Mr. Zheng said with a smile, "Judging from the style and shape of this golden crown, it should be the crown of the ancient nobles in the area where the Mulan Empire is located. It is a very valuable antique.
Many big families in the Mulan Empire like this kind of historical antiques to add to their heritage. In the Mulan Empire, the starting price is at least 200,000 gold coins.
However, in our Jiama Empire, the value of this thing is probably much lower. Only some special families will spend a lot of money to buy it.
Our Black Rock City auction house has an auction in three days. If you hand over this golden crown to us, it will be great. "I dare say it's more, at least 150,000 gold coins."
The black-robed man was silent for a moment, then his hoarse voice rang out again, "I heard that the Miter family also collects things!"
Mr. Zheng was a little surprised. "Sir, are you going to sell it to us? But the price of recycling this kind of thing is not as high as the auction price. It's only around 120,000 at most."
The black-robed man spoke again, "I don't need gold coins, but something else. Can you ask the person in charge of your auction house in Black Rock City to come over?"
Mr. Zheng's face straightened and he winked at the middle-aged man standing next to him. The middle-aged man immediately ran out to find someone, and Mr. Zheng exchanged pleasantries with the black-robed man.
The greetings lasted only a moment before a well-dressed middle-aged man walked into the treasure appraisal room. "My
dear Sir, I am Mittel Green. Nice to meet you, sir! I wonder what you want to exchange the golden crown for by calling me here." "Martial arts, I need martial arts, at least a high-level Xuan-level wood-attributed cultivation technique, preferably with matching fighting skills!"
The man in black robe flicked his sleeves while speaking, and three more treasures appeared on the table, sparkling under the bright lights. "These are deposits. If the Mittel family can satisfy me, I can take out at least ten of these treasures in exchange."
Mittel Green looked at the four treasures on the table, a hint of heat flashed in his eyes. Mr. Zheng checked them one by one, walked to him and spoke in a low voice. Mittel Green's expression became even more fiery, but then his eyes dimmed again.
Mitel smiled bitterly and said, "Sir, it's not that I'm unwilling to do this business, but I'm afraid I really can't make the decision.
I'm afraid you're not familiar with the situation within the Gama Empire. The Gama Empire is renowned for its wind attribute. The only high-level Xuan-level techniques available on the market are those of the wind attribute. For the other attributes, the strongest are only at the intermediate Xuan-level..."
Mitel Green recounted a secret of the empire. On the Dou Qi Continent, it wasn't talent or anything else that determined the upper limit of a person's achievement, but rather their cultivation method.
Dou Qi Continent's cultivation methods were divided into four levels: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. These were practiced at the lowest levels of the continent, while commoners and those of ordinary backgrounds could only access high-level Huang-level techniques.
Techniques above the Xuan-level were blocked by the combined efforts of various sects and families. The difference between the Huang-level and the Xuan-level, a single level, meant at least a tenfold difference in energy recovery speed and several times the quality difference.
This was why common fighters could easily be defeated by fighters from powerful families. They simply didn't have the advantage in any way.
Theoretically, acquiring high-level techniques was practically impossible for ordinary people. Of course, nothing is absolute. The Dou Qi Continent is vast, home to countless races, and it also harbors many unknown and unknown hermits.
Before their deaths, these hermits might have hidden their skills somewhere, waiting for someone with a destiny to claim them.
A saying runs throughout the Dou Qi Continent: If one day you fall off a cliff or into a cave, don't panic. Take two steps forward, and perhaps, you will become a powerful being.
This is certainly true; the continent's history is filled with stories of those who rose to power through fortuitous encounters. Yan Qingshan's advanced martial arts and fighting skills also came from this source, but they are rare. Auctions and the black market are more reliable sources for this purpose.
Yan Qingshan hasn't considered the second-tier of Heaven and Earth martial arts yet. Xiao Yan's ability to repeatedly defeat Dou Zong masters in this area with his advanced Earth-tier fighting skills suggests that even within the nearby empires, or even in the Black Horn Region, there aren't any martial arts and fighting skills beyond the Earth-tier.
Yan Qingshan had originally considered trading his wealth for combat techniques. After all, the techniques contained in the Lionheart King's Secret were somewhat weak, making them vulnerable to countermeasures.
However, he learned from Mittel Green that the upper echelons of the Gama Empire had long since reached a consensus that advanced techniques had been monopolized and blocked by a few major factions to ensure their dominance. The Gama Imperial Family
was known for its Earth attribute, the Jiang clan's Wood was king, the Alchemist Association possessed the strongest Fire attribute, the Yunlan Sect possessed unparalleled Wind attribute, and the Mittel Family was renowned for its Ice attribute.
Of these major factions, the Yunlan Sect, founded by a Dou Zun, possessed several Earth-grade Wind-attributed combat techniques and was not afraid of challenge. They maintained the least monopoly on Wind attribute techniques, allowing even advanced Profound-grade Wind-attributed techniques to circulate freely.
The Yunlan Sect allowed the circulation of advanced wind-attributed Xuan-level skills, but the other major forces did not have such confidence. They subconsciously joined forces to ensure the monopoly of a certain attribute of their respective forces, leaving the geniuses of these attributes with only one choice for upward mobility, which was to join their forces.
"Sir, to be honest with you, the most powerful wood-attributed martial arts in the Gama Empire is the advanced Xuan-level. The few wood-attributed Xuan-level martial arts that have been released in recent years have basically been acquired by the Mu family."
Miter Green continued, "The Miter family has indeed handled advanced Xuan-level wood-attributed martial arts, but they have reached an agreement with the Mu family that family members can practice it, but they cannot pass it on at will.
Although the value of your treasure is high, it is not enough to make the Miter family take risks... If you can lower your requirements, I can use my authority to mobilize a mid-level Xuan-level martial arts from the imperial capital, and the accompanying fighting skills can reach the advanced Xuan-level."
Generally speaking, the accompanying martial arts and fighting skills are basically of the same level, but there are also some cases where the accompanying fighting skills are one level higher than the martial arts. This is not uncommon, because fighting skills are easier to create than martial arts, and the evaluation of the power of fighting skills is also very flexible.
"No thanks!"
The black-robed figure suddenly shook his head. Mittel Green felt a little disappointed, but then he heard the man speak again: "You just said that it was the cultivation technique that was blocked, right?
I've changed my mind. The deposit remains the same, but you, the Mittel family, will help me find a wood-attributed Earth-grade fighting technique. That's not a difficult condition, right?"
"That... is fine!"
Mittel Green thought for a moment before saying, "To be honest, sir, Earth-grade fighting techniques are extremely rare no matter where they are. Even with the power of the Mittel family, finding a suitable one will take time."
Mittel Green was actually filled with excitement. While Earth-grade fighting techniques might not be as valuable as cultivation techniques, their price far exceeded that of high-level Xuan-grade techniques. For example,
the low-level Earth-grade body technique, Three Thousand Thunder Movements, sold at the Black Horn Domain auction had fetched a whopping ten million gold coins.
Of course, Earth-level combat skills are far more valuable than ordinary combat skills. The Earth-level combat skill the black-robed man needed was naturally just an ordinary Earth-level Wood-attributed combat skill, but for this particular deal, it would surely be worth no less than a million.
The black-robed man considered for a moment, then raised a finger and said, "One year! Leave me a token. I'll contact your Mitel family again in a year. I trust you wouldn't compromise your reputation!"
"The Mitel Chamber of Commerce trades nationwide, and reputation is paramount!"
Mitel Green stepped forward and bowed, leaving behind a jade token. "This is my identity token, representing the Mitel Chamber of Commerce throughout Black Rock City."
"I also need a fourth-level Ice-attributed magic core!"
the black-robed man spoke again, this time pulling out a pile of gold coins.
"I'll send someone to get it!"
Mitel Green nodded quickly. The Mitel family, emphasizing the ice element, naturally collects ice-attributed materials and rarely trades them. However, thanks to their previous exchange, this transaction went very smoothly.
"
Sure enough, high-level cultivation techniques are blocked and monopolized. The Mu family..."
On the streets of Black Rock City, Yan Qingshan, having obtained a fourth-tier ice-attributed magic core, was not particularly happy. He was somewhat disappointed not to obtain a more suitable high-level wood-attributed cultivation technique. He
had already reached a high level in his Lion Heart King Technique cultivation. After experiencing the Lion Heart Baptism, his Dou Qi cultivation speed was now comparable to that of a high-level Xuan-tier wood-attributed cultivation technique. However, the properties weren't perfectly aligned, and there were still some issues with its operation.
Of course, he wasn't desperate to change his cultivation technique; he was just trying to give it a try, only to receive such unpleasant news.
However, he had been prepared for this and wasn't completely disappointed. The Empire's top brass had a joint monopoly, and the highest cultivation techniques currently available were only Xuan-tier. However, compared to cultivation techniques and secret fighting techniques, the restrictions were more relaxed.
A cultivation technique could be mastered by anyone who wasn't too slow-witted, though the results varied from person to person. However, practicing a high-level cultivation technique generally guaranteed a high level of achievement.
Fighting skills really depend on talent. Even if someone is lucky enough to obtain a high-level fighting skill, they may not be able to master it. Therefore, even ordinary people have the opportunity to obtain high-level fighting skills through various channels.
His current means of fighting against enemies is only the Wild Lion's Chant fighting skill, which is a bit too simple. He needs a stronger trump card. Although the ground-level fighting skills are difficult to cultivate, he has a glimmer of hope, and once he masters it, he will have another trump card.