Chapter 89: The Refined Steel Rod

He knew that in the world of cultivation, many raw materials, once processed, could be forged into remarkable items. For example, ironwood was one of the materials used to craft puppets; millennium ironwood, in particular, was the raw material for ancient nascent-soul level puppets. Refined copper, extracted from pure copper by cultivators at or above the Core Formation stage using true fire, served as a special material for magical artifacts. Cinnabar was used for making lower-grade talismans, while dreamstone was a material for teleportation arrays...

At this moment, the auction item being displayed was clearly something valuable; Zhang Pu immediately recognized that if he obtained it, he could forge it into a treasure of exceptional quality.

On the surface, the item looked like an ordinary stick, so unremarkable that some people lurking in the corners of the auction hall began to mutter mockingly. Yet the female auctioneer insisted it was a treasure, even specifying that the seller had stressed it was an heirloom. If the seller’s family hadn’t fallen on such hard times, they would never have entrusted it to the auction house.

Zhang Pu, however, saw through it at a glance. As a cultivator, he had a sharp and discerning eye. Ordinary people might not recognize its value, so it was inevitable that some scoffing would occur.

But the disdain of these ignorant folk did nothing to affect the female auctioneer’s performance. She continued to introduce—and even exaggerate—the item’s merits with practiced fervor.

To Zhang Pu, the more people dismissed the item, the better it was for him. With less competition, he could save more spirit coins—why not?

This special material was no less valuable than some of the rare raw materials of the cultivation world. Although it wasn’t the spirit stones or medicinal herbs he had come to seek, he found himself longing for it.

He suddenly realized he didn’t possess a weapon yet!

He wanted a personal weapon.

The reason he so suddenly desired a weapon was because, in a flash of insight, he saw that this “wooden stick” could be refined into something supple yet strong.

For this was not a stick at all; to someone with his discerning gaze, it was clearly a type of special steel—no ordinary steel, either! In the hands of a cultivator like himself, such material could be forged and tempered until it became both unyielding and flexible: a weapon, yes, but not just any weapon.

What did it mean for a weapon to become as supple as a ribbon?

To put it simply: owing to its unique properties, Zhang Pu could apply certain forging techniques from the cultivation world to turn it into a magical implement, one that could shift between rigidity and flexibility at will. This “steel rod” could be wielded like Sun Wukong’s golden staff in battle, hard and deadly, but when not needed, it could be compressed into something as soft as a jade belt, worn decoratively around the waist like an ornamented sash—utterly convenient!

Even before the auction began, Zhang Pu had already mapped out in his mind how he would use it, as if it were unquestionably destined to be his.

He was truly fond of this item.

Moreover, he was already developing a unique combat technique based on staff arts—something suitable for this very weapon. In the cultivation world, Zhang Pu knew of many advanced martial disciplines, and among them were staff techniques he could adapt into a style uniquely his own.

His plan was to acquire this material, forge it into a weapon, and then develop a set of deadly moves tailored to its strengths.

As the auction for this special material began, Zhang Pu finally made his move.

Owing to the widespread ignorance of its true value, there were only a handful of genuine bidders—much like the earlier bidding war for the first auction item, the art piece “Beautiful Town.”

Zhang Pu could not help but feel a secret joy. This way, he wouldn’t have to spend extra just because someone else was driving up the price.

However, because the female auctioneer insisted on the item’s worth, the auction house had set a higher starting price than that of the struggling young artist’s work—she announced that the base price for this “steel essence rod” was ten thousand spirit coins. Evidently, the auction house had already given it a name.

Despite her best efforts to sing its praises, as soon as the starting price was announced, people in the back corners cursed the auction house under their breath, convinced that this scrap metal was being used to muddy the waters.

Their scorn, however, did nothing to dampen the auctioneer’s enthusiasm. In such a large venue, she was confident that there must be a few discerning souls present.

Even if most people dismissed the item, as long as a few raised the price, the auction house would still turn a tidy profit.

The bidding for the steel essence rod began—although it lacked the excitement of the previous two lots, it wasn’t long before a few voices pushed the price up to fifteen thousand.

Earlier, in his excitement, Zhang Pu had also placed a bid.

But now, he planned to change his bidding strategy. After a thousand years in the cultivation world, he had attended countless auctions and knew that to win a treasure at the lowest possible price, one had to apply a little psychology. Not only did you have to study the other bidders, but you also had to read the auctioneer, and avoid being led by the nose at a crucial moment. Some auctioneers were quite cunning, using psychological tricks to lure bidders into raising the price, just to fatten the auction house’s commissions.

So Zhang Pu stopped bidding for now, determined not to let the woman on stage manipulate him.

He would wait until no one else was willing to bid, until the auctioneer was about to bring down the hammer, and then make his decisive move.

“Fifteen thousand! Any higher offers?”

Seeing the price stall, the auctioneer was clearly anxious, though she did her best to maintain a calm and composed facade. Watching her struggle to keep her composure, Zhang Pu almost laughed aloud.

But he wouldn’t raise his bid until she was utterly out of options and on the verge of closing the deal. After a thousand years of life experience, he knew the ways of auction houses all too well. In a sense, they were much like vampires—though those in the cultivation world who practiced necromancy drained the blood of living creatures, auction houses sucked the wealth of buyers and sellers alike. In truth, the difference was minimal.