"Oh?"
After hearing Chu Feng's words, Xianhai Shaoyu fell into deep thought.
"Could it be more ancient powers?" Little Yu also grew curious.
At first, neither she nor her brother had taken those people seriously.
But after hearing Chu Feng's analysis, they realized that the origins of those people might not be so simple.
After all, they were well aware of Chu Feng's keen powers of observation.
"Regarding the ancient powers that still exist — do you know much about them?" Chu Feng asked.
"Because most ancient forces are hidden deep underground, or sealed within special ancient ruins…"
"Our understanding of them is limited."
"If it weren't for our trip to the Summit of Nine Heavens, I wouldn't have even known there was an ancient power bearing the surname Huangfu."
"But judging from the way those Huangfu Heavenly Clan juniors behaved, their clan's strength is likely far from simple."
"What concerns me most is that among the ancient powers, there may be ones even stronger than the Huangfu Heavenly Clan."
"Given the hostility they've shown toward us — the current generation of martial cultivators…"
"If more ancient forces truly manage to break free from their seals…"
"The balance of the entire Martial Cultivation World may really be about to change," Xianhai Shaoyu said.
At this, Little Yu fell silent.
It was the first time Chu Feng had seen such a grave expression on her face.
After all, she was a member of the Xianhai Fish Clan.
She was likely worried about the safety of her clan.
As one of the great overseers of a Heavenly River, if the ancient powers truly moved against the forces of the current generation, the various Heavenly River overseers would almost certainly become targets as well.
"Whatever — we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Xianhai Shaoyu noticed his sister's worry and grinned cheerfully: "Don't worry, sis. You've got your big brother and your big brother Chu Feng watching over you."
Hearing this, a smile returned to Little Yu's face: "Stop bragging, brother. Who knows who'll end up protecting whom?"
"But Big Brother Chu Feng is definitely more reliable than you."
"Hard to say what the future holds, though." With that, Xianhai Shaoyu turned to Chu Feng. "Brother Chu Feng, don't slack off — I might overtake you at any moment."
At this, Chu Feng simply smiled and said nothing.
Before long, the auction commenced.
It was indeed a high-end affair.
The very first item was an ancient artifact of immense value.
Each subsequent lot was rarer than the last, with prices climbing accordingly.
Fierce bidding erupted among the various factions, making for a truly lively spectacle.
Unfortunately, none of the items managed to catch the interest of Chu Feng and his companions.
Towards the end, a divine weapon even appeared — though for some unknown reason, it had sustained damage to a portion of its form.
While the damage would have some effect, it still technically qualified as a divine weapon, so it ultimately sold for ten million guild gold ingots.
For reference, a single ordinary exalted weapon could be exchanged for only one guild gold ingot.
Which meant this damaged divine weapon was worth the equivalent of ten million exalted weapons.
Such was the value of a divine weapon.
"Brother, how much is a normal divine weapon worth?" Little Yu asked.
"At least forty million guild gold ingots. For one of higher quality, it could reach fifty million."
Hearing this, Chu Feng recalled how he had previously tried to exchange a divine weapon for guild gold ingots.
The price Manager Ma Qiang had offered him was exactly fifty million guild gold ingots.
This showed that Xianhai Shaoyu wasn't talking nonsense — he truly knew his stuff.
"So our divine weapons are really that valuable?" Little Yu said.
Although she wasn't especially familiar with the Martial Commerce Guild and had never exchanged anything for guild gold ingots, she had gained a rough sense of their purchasing power from the items that had been auctioned off earlier.
"Ah, my dear sister — our divine weapons aren't even worth that much."