"Clang!"
With a crisp ring of silver bells, an elderly wizard suddenly appeared on the high platform below.
He wore golden ceremonial robes, lending him an air of great formality, and beside him, two lovely attendants held silver platters, displaying what appeared to be plant roots for the wizards below to examine. Enlarged images of the item floated in the air around them.
"Tentacle Demon's Hand — taken from a mother beast of genuine Wizard-level strength, most likely. Preserved in solution, in excellent condition. Value: two hundred thousand to five hundred thousand Magic Stones. A pity, but it's of no use to me..."
Leilin merely glanced at the item on the high platform before losing all interest.
"Before the exchange meeting even starts, they have to run through an auction first? How tedious..."
Although Leilin found it tiresome, the items on the platform were clearly a major draw for the first-tier wizards below. Bids rang out one after another, and the atmosphere was electric.
The Iron Crown had assembled a collection of auction items that were truly good value for money, earning them great popularity among the first-tier wizards.
Magical Items, high-grade slaves, rare resources, academic knowledge, and even potions that could enhance Spiritual Power were all brought out one by one for the wizards below to bid on and select.
But none of these held any appeal for second-tier wizards. Not a single bid came from the VIP rooms where Leilin's fellow second-tier wizards were seated.
Leilin simply closed his eyes and rested, secretly using his Chip to simulate second-tier wizard spell models.
Although he had already committed all three second-tier spell models from the Book of the Great Serpent to memory, during the earlier repair of the teleportation array, he had discovered an additional use for the Chip's simulation capabilities.
Through on-site simulation with the Chip, he could actually accelerate his own understanding of spellcasting, making what was previously a mechanical process far more flexible.
This was a function the original Chip had not possessed — it had only been developed after his recent promotion to the second tier.
And through this function, Leilin's comprehension and mastery of second-tier wizard spells had even caught up with and surpassed those of veteran second-tier wizards.
"Still, the number of second-tier spell models I've mastered is far too few..."
After running through Scorching Touch once more, Leilin frowned.
Second-tier wizards would certainly have a massive organization backing them, and within such an organization, there would be no shortage of accumulated spell models.
But Leilin was different. He was currently a lone operator, and the South Coast's control over first-tier wizards was already so strict — let alone second-tier wizards.
Even within the Four Seasons Garden, Leilin had no access to second-tier wizard spell models.
The spoils from killing Koben and Reisman earlier had included some insights and reflections on casting second-tier spells, but what was conspicuously missing were the most crucial spell models! They served as only a minor reference at best.
"Buying these things with Magic Stones is practically impossible. Perhaps, after keeping a low profile for a while, I could try some other means..."
As the auction continued, items capable of catching the attention of second-tier wizards also began to appear, prompting bids from several VIP rooms.
It was at that moment that the auctioneer's voice drew Leilin's attention: "A mid-grade Magical Item — the Light of Dawn longsword! This is a blade recovered from ancient ruins, rumored to have once belonged to an extremely powerful Imprinted Swordsman... Starting bid: five million Magic Stones or equivalent rare resources!"
Leilin opened his eyes and gazed at the high platform below through the transparent glass barrier.
On the platter held by the attendant behind the auctioneer, there now rested a pale gold metallic longsword.
The sword was approximately one and a half meters long, with a blade only two fingers wide — rather diminutive compared to the human-height greatswords wielded by Number Two and Number Three, both Imprinted Swordsmen.
But a look of pleasant surprise appeared on Leilin's face. On the surface of the Light of Dawn longsword, he had spotted several strange symbols, and these runes bore a striking resemblance to the imprint runes he had branded onto the bodies of Number Two and Number Three.
"It looks like the real thing!"
He nodded, and a wisp of Spiritual Power flowed through the communication device as he placed his bid: "Five million Magic Stones!"
A mid-grade Magical Item naturally would not be worth that many Magic Stones, but this longsword clearly held considerable research value, and it had attracted the attention of the second-tier wizards as well.
Soon, a VIP room not far from Leilin's own put forward a price: "Five and a half million!"
Leilin's expression turned cold as he looked toward that VIP room, but unfortunately, all he could see was a blurry haze of light.
The glass in the VIP rooms had all been specially treated, allowing guests inside to see out while preventing anyone outside from observing the slightest detail within.
"Six million!" Leilin immediately raised the bid. Besides Magic Stones, he possessed a massive trove of resources from the secret realm as well as the entire fortunes of two second-tier wizards — wealth that would make any second-tier wizard envious. He was more than flush.
As if sensing Leilin's resolve and formidable financial power, the neighboring second-tier wizard stopped bidding, and the longsword fell into Leilin's hands.