Chapter 126 - 7: Selling the Iron Pot to Learn Martial Arts

Chapter 126: Chapter 7: Selling the Iron Pot to Learn Martial Arts"A worthless wooden bowl, not even worth a single cent." Ah... it really is worthless. Xiao Jie stared at the appraised wooden bowl, whose designation had boldly changed from funerary items to — trash. "An ancient bronze sword, might be worth about one or two hundred cents." Not very impressive either... "A bronze helmet, probably has a history of eight or nine hundred years, regretfully it’s not a special item, and its severe rusting makes it worth about eighty to one hundred cents." Great, just enough to cover the appraisal fee. "An old pottery jug, might be worth twenty or thirty cents." Overall, all these are worthless trinkets, some can’t even recoup the appraisal fee. "A damaged Hidden Jade Cup, devoid of spiritual energy, but with excellent material, it could be worth five silver taels." Okay, finally a bit of a gain. It seems that this is all the tomb robbers have dropped, mostly trash, with the occasional gem, a bit like a lottery. On the whole, not too valuable. Tossing all these items carelessly into the store, Xiao Jie only got back six silver taels in total. Following that, Xiao Jie headed to the auction house. He couldn’t help but search for saber-related items first. Straight Spine Wind-breaking Saber! Nice stuff. Ding Guang Saber! Good stuff right there. Dragon Sparrow Saber! Wonderful. Too bad he couldn’t afford any of them. He then searched for saber skill books. Azure Dragon Saber Technique! Excellent stuff. Thunderbolt Saber Technique! Great stuff. Illusion Demon Saber Technique! Awesome! Still can’t afford them. He then searched for talismans, elixirs, magic artifacts, qinggong, inner strength— the more he looked, the more he drooled; saliva was practically dripping out. Regrettably, one was more expensive than the next, and the handful of silver in his pocket wasn’t enough for anything substantial. Don’t think too much about it, better to see how much the stuff he had on hand is worth. If one were to discuss Xiao Jie’s assets, he actually possessed quite a bit, especially for a Level 10 novice. However, he couldn’t possibly sell the few pieces of good equipment he was wearing; whether it be the Divine Wood Talisman, the Asura Ghost Mask, or the two sabers, all of them were vital for his survival. Only the house deed and spirit stone seal didn’t currently have a use and could be considered for sale in exchange for money. He searched for the keyword "house deed." This item was very rare in the auction house, with only a measly few listings. Anyang Village house deed: 70 taels. Big Wilderness Village House Contract: 80 taels. Hongde County House Deed: 300 taels. Dragon Flower City House Contract: 1,000 taels. It’s clear the price of the house deeds was greatly influenced by the location. His Ginkgo Village house deed could probably fetch seventy to eighty taels easily. However, without knowing the exact purpose of the house deeds, he shouldn’t sell them rashly. He also searched for the spirit stone seal. This item seemed to have a more consistent price, with the most expensive being 100 taels, and the cheapest at 75 taels. Xiao Jie had no intention of running a stall; it was too inefficient and completely immobilizing. But putting it up for auction felt like a bit of a loss, a 10% handling fee was indeed quite costly. Luckily, he was prepared; he directly hung up the house deed and spirit stone seal for auction. The house deed for 500 taels, and the spirit stone seal for 500 taels, both anonymously. At that price, it was basically impossible to sell, but he left a message underneath both — "I’m in Luoyang Town, if you’re interested in buying, we can discuss the price over WeChat." This way, he wouldn’t have to stick around shouting at a stall. Besides, face-to-face transactions didn’t require any handling fee. It wasn’t long before his WeChat started buzzing. "Brother, are you selling the house deed?" "I can, but you have to tell me first what the house deed is actually for." "I don’t know that either." Xiao Jie thought to himself, this guy must be fooling a ghost; if he didn’t know what it was for, why would he buy it? "Then forget it, I’ll wait until I understand it better." "...All right, I got it from hearsay actually, a house deed’s purpose is to register for residency, and with that, you get a local household registration." "Local household registration?" "That’s right, we are currently considered Returning Villagers, like outsiders. Many things are not accessible to us, certain quests are only available to locals, and most importantly, forming a guild requires a local registration, furthermore, if you want to build a nation in the future, this item is indispensable." So that’s what it’s for! Xiao Jie suddenly understood; he could tell that most of what the other party said was true. But it’s very likely there were some hidden truths, like why house deeds from different regions varied so greatly in price, there must be a reason. Plus, even just the uses that were disclosed made the item worth keeping. Compared to that, the spirit stone seal wasn’t as crucial. Having decided he wasn’t going underground any time soon, he might as well sell the seal for money, learn skills, and strengthen himself. Once he was strong enough to move freely in the underground tombs, he could earn more money, and buy it back later. "You’re not speaking straightforwardly, so I won’t sell the house deed, but I do have a spirit stone seal. If you’re interested, I might consider selling it to you." "Alright, sixty taels." "No, one hundred taels." "The market doesn’t bear that price." "But someone has listed it for one hundred taels in the market." "That’s the highest asking price, nobody’s buying it. The lowest price is just 75 taels, and even that’s not moving. To make a sale, the seller won’t even see 70 taels after the fee." "But a buyer would pay more than 80 taels, right? As far as I know, this transaction tax is paid both ways. 75 taels plus 10% is actually 82.5 taels. All things considered, my price of eighty taels for a face-to-face transaction is lower than the auction house’s lowest price." "...How about 75 taels?" "Let’s meet in the middle, 79 taels, final offer." "Damn, the way you do business." "If you’re not buying, forget it." "...Alright, 79 taels then." After a verbal back and forth, they finally managed to close the deal. Xiao Jie controlled his character and arrived at the agreed-upon trading spot, only to find that the other party was a Level 10 alt named Jin Fugui, dressed in a simple blue robe and carrying a long sword on his back, which all seemed more for show than actual use. Xiao Jie wondered, "Eh? You’re only Level 10, buying this is..." "Of course, I’m gonna resell it. Did you think I could use it myself? I’m a professional trader, specializing in flipping goods. If you need anything in the future, just let me know. As long as the price is right, I can get you elixirs, secret martial arts manuals, magic equipment. If you have something you want to sell, tell me too. I’ll give you a fair price." It seemed he was another character akin to Wang Kai. "Cool, let’s add each other as friends then, make friends." They traded the spirit stone talisman, and including the funerary items from before, the total came to 85 taels. Seeking out I Want to Be Immortal, "How’d it go, did you sell it?" "Sold it. There seems to be a lot of generals now, and the long spear combat skill was easy to sell—got 9 taels for it." Xiao Jie then gave thirty taels to I Want to Be Immortal. I Want to Be Immortal was a bit confused, "What’s this for, Feng?" "This is the money from that spirit stone talisman we sold, plus the funerary items and the skill book we found earlier. All of it is our joint property, so the sale proceeds should be split between us. But since I put in more effort, I took a bit more, and this is your share." Back when they had opened a treasure chest together, they got the spirit stone talisman which couldn’t be appraised at the time to determine its value, so Xiao Jie had held onto it. Now that it was sold, he had to share the earnings with his brother. "Quit the chit-chat, let’s hurry and learn some skills. Remember the plan I told you about: inner strength, martial skills, qinggong, riding skills—and yeah, you’d better buy a horse too." Equipment could be makeshift for a while, but he couldn’t skimp on the skills. In this game, skills were paramount. Not only were they the most apparent boost to individual strength, but what was most crucial was that one could use them in real-life as well. This was the so-called Internal Cultivation Methods of legends! Saber skills and qinggong! Once mastered, one would become a legendary martial arts master, how could he not be thrilled? Xiao Jie had already calculated which skills he wanted to learn. Internal Cultivation Methods were a must as the top priority, a core skill that would provide an Inner Power Value to utilize once learned. Having watched so many martial arts movies as a child, he longed for the magical powers of inner strength. Now, he finally had the chance to learn it. Next was a saber skill, to be used in conjunction with inner strength. And according to Ye Luo, by maxing out the saber skill level, one could even comprehend a secret technique from it. This was equivalent to a super kill move with astonishing power. Then a qinggong skill was necessary, whether to flee, dodge, or chase down enemies, it was indispensable. Last came riding skills. Having them made one much safer in the wilderness. If danger arose, one could mount up and flee, and it also made long-distance travel more convenient. Otherwise, relying solely on one’s legs to run would be too exhausting. With all four skills complete, combat effectiveness could increase by at least 30%, which was crucial for leveling with confidence. The 55 taels earned from sales, along with the 24 taels he already had, amounted to a grand sum of 79 taels, which should be enough to learn all the desired skills. With their pockets full, they headed straight for the martial arts school. The Martial Arts Arena in Luoyang Town was located to the north of the town center and covered a large area, bustling with people coming and going. To Xiao Jie’s surprise, there was a smaller Sword Hall directly opposite the Martial Arts Arena. Huh, a Martial Arts Arena? A Sword Hall? Why is there a separate Sword Hall? However, Xiao Jie didn’t dwell too long on this matter, as he eagerly walked straight into the Martial Arts Arena. Martial Arts Divine Skills, here I come! The layout of the Martial Arts Arena was grand. Not only was there a specific NPC instructor for each faction’s martial arts, but there was also a practice area in the courtyard with many training dummies. Several NPC instructors were giving pointers, and numerous players were eagerly engaging in practice, hitting the dummies with swords, spears, and fists. It actually looked quite authentic. Xiao Jie swept his gaze over these instructors. ’Mixed Yuan Qi’ Duan Yu (Qi Gong Instructor) Level 30. ’Golden Blade Guest’ Liu Sanlang (Saber Skill Instructor) Level 26. ’Iron Spear Little Tyrant’ Li Ruyi (Spear Skill Instructor) Level 27. ’Iron Axe Vajra’ Jin Yaotian (Axe Skill Instructor) Level 25... Their names were each more flamboyant than the last, but these NPC martial artists looked the part. Not only were their levels generally over 20, even reaching 30, but they also held titles. I Want to Be Immortal went straight for the Axe Skill Instructor, while Xiao Jie headed directly for the Qi Gong Instructor. "Master, I’d like to learn an Internal Cultivation Method from you. Is that possible?" "Hahaha, why not? Our Martial Arts Arena’s doors are wide open to all, teaching without discrimination. As long as you can afford the tuition, anyone can learn. I know quite a few inner strengths, but I wonder which one you wish to learn." Suddenly, a list of skills that could be learned popped up before Xiao Jie. [Wild Bull Skill (Basic Internal Skill) Base Effects: Every level of skill increases your Inner Power Value’s upper limit by 30 points. Skill Body Effect: Every level of skill grants you +3 Strength. Learning Requirements: Strength 30, Comprehension 10, Silver 30 taels. Flying Goose Skill (Basic Internal Skill) Base Effects: Each level of skill increases your Inner Power Value’s upper limit by 30 points. Skill Body Effect: Each level of skill boosts your jumping, rolling, and qinggong effects by 10%. Learning Requirements: Agility 30, Comprehension 12, Silver 30 taels. Hard Qi Gong (Basic Internal Skill) Base Effects: Each level of skill increases your Inner Power Value’s upper limit by 20 points. Skill Body Effect: Each level of skill increases basic armor by 5 points. Learning Requirements: Constitution 30, Comprehension 8, Silver 20 taels. Body Refining Skill (Basic Internal Skill) Base Effects: Each level of skill increases your Inner Power Value’s upper limit by 25 points. Skill Body Effect: Each level of skill grants you +4 Endurance. Learning Requirements: Endurance 30, Comprehension 8, Silver 20 taels. Qi Nourishing Technique (Basic Internal Skill) Base Effects: Each level of skill increases your Inner Power Value’s upper limit by 50 points. Skill Body Effect: Each level of skill increases your Inner Strength recovery rate by 1 point per second. Learning Requirements: Spirit 20, Comprehension 15, Silver 50 taels.]