Chapter 181: Xiaolu Appraises Treasures

「The next day.」

Lu Bai woke up early. Instead of training, he stayed in his room and wrote out three Cultivation Techniques: the Fierce Tiger Stance, the Tiger Subduing Posture, and the Dragon Elephant Skill.

High Grade Cultivation and Martial Techniques could only be found in a few of Jingzhou City’s auction houses.

Winning them required a great deal of money.

His monthly salary as an Evil Exterminator Guard was nowhere near enough.

After returning the previous night, Lu Bai had lain in bed thinking of ways to make money.

The simplest method was to take some of the Cultivation Techniques he had comprehended and sell them at an auction house.

He could trade them for other techniques, or for Gold and Spirit Stones—either would do.

As for his Ultimate Skills, Lu Bai certainly couldn’t bear to part with them. However, he didn’t mind selling a Celestial Tier Technique like the Dragon Elephant Skill. Its cultivation requirements were extremely restrictive, demanding Ancient True Dragon and Elephant Qi, so he wouldn’t feel the loss.

He spent the entire morning writing and finished all three Cultivation Techniques.

Including the Water Splitting Blade Skill and the Breath-Holding Skill, that made a total of five techniques.

Lu Bai left the Evil Extermination Bureau and found an auction house in Jingzhou City.

The Ten Thousand Treasures Tower was the largest auction house in Jingzhou City and had ties to the Imperial Court.

"Lord Lu, you’ve arrived."

The moment he stepped through the door, someone recognized him and hurried over, beaming.

"Is the Chief Shopkeeper in?"

Lu Bai got straight to the point. "I’d like to sell a few Cultivation Techniques."

"He is. I’ll go get him right away."

The steward led Lu Bai to a quiet, elegant private room on the second floor where the scent of sandalwood lingered. He ordered a subordinate to serve hot tea, fruit, and pastries before bowing and excusing himself.

A short while later, a slightly stout, middle-aged man dressed in a dark purple brocade robe knocked and entered.

The man wore a warm, pleasant smile and was slowly rolling a pair of dark Jade Gallbladders in his hand. Their gentle luster flickered as they turned, giving them an extraordinary appearance.

"My apologies for the wait, Lord Lu. I am Gao Zicong."

The middle-aged man cupped his fists in salute and smiled. "Lord Lu, after your battle at the Jingshui River yesterday where you slew the Water Ghost, your fame has skyrocketed. It is a great shame that I was preoccupied with trivial matters and unable to witness it firsthand."

’These businessmen are all the same, one compliment after another.’ Lu Bai didn’t take the flattery to heart. He offered a few brief replies before stating his purpose directly.

"May I ask about the grade and the required Realm for these techniques? The value differs depending on these factors, as well as the rarity of the technique itself."

Gao Zicong smiled. "If it’s a lost technique, its value will naturally be higher."

"Yellow Tier, Profound Tier, Earth Tier, and Celestial Tier. I have some of each."

Lu Bai took several manuals from within his robes and placed them on the table.

’Earth Tier and even Celestial Tier?’

Though Gao Zicong’s expression remained unchanged, he was inwardly stunned.

Very few people were willing to auction off Cultivation Techniques of the Earth Tier, and especially not the Celestial Tier.

They were typically passed down to family or personal disciples, treated as priceless heirlooms.

Gao Zicong picked up one of the manuals. The title read: *Fierce Tiger Stance*.

"Hmm, this is a Profound Tier Pile Skill."

Gao Zicong nodded, flipped through it briefly, and said, "The Ten Thousand Treasures Tower already has a copy of this technique, so we don’t need it."

Lu Bai said, "Then look at the next one. The Earth Tier *Tiger Subduing Posture*."

"We don’t have this one."

Gao Zicong nodded, musing, "However, it is a technique for the Root Bone Stage, after all. The valuation won’t be too high."

"How much, roughly?" Lu Bai asked.

"Let me take a look at the others first."

Gao Zicong didn’t answer directly, instead picking up another manual with a smile.

The *Water Splitting Blade Skill*, a Yellow Tier Martial Technique of average value.

This was the Martial Technique Lu Bai had looted from Zhao Wuji’s body after killing him in the ruined temple. He had always considered it too low-grade to practice.

Gao Zicong then picked up the last two manuals.

The *Breath-Holding Skill*, a Profound Tier Technique.

The *Dragon Elephant Skill*, a Celestial Tier Technique.

Gao Zicong gave them a cursory glance and said with a faint, unreadable smile, "Lord Lu, while this *Dragon Elephant Skill* is a Celestial Tier Technique, its cultivation requirements are exceedingly harsh. As for the price..."

Lu Bai said, "Let’s hear your offer. If the price is right, I’ll sell all of them."

Gao Zicong fell silent, deep in thought.

’Judging by his demeanor, he seems desperate for money,’ Gao Zicong thought. ’I should be able to press the price down a bit.’

Just as Gao Zicong was about to state a valuation, he caught a glimpse of his own fingertips and froze.

There was a smudge of ink on his fingertip.

He rubbed his fingers together, and the ink smudged. It was obviously fresh!

Gao Zicong looked down at the *Dragon Elephant Skill* manual in his hands. He lightly brushed a finger over one of the characters, and the writing smudged instantly.

’That was a close one! I nearly got swindled!’

Gao Zicong fought back the urge to start cursing. He forced a smile and said, "Lord Lu, you’ve only just written these, haven’t you? The ink on them isn’t even dry..."

"That’s right." Lu Bai nodded.

"Heh."

Gao Zicong gave a hollow laugh. "Lord Lu, I’m afraid we can’t accept these techniques. My apologies."

"Why not? Are you afraid they’re forgeries?"

Lu Bai said, "You can rest assured on that point, Shopkeeper Gao. I have practiced most of these techniques myself. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with them."

Gao Zicong hesitated. "Well... if I may be so bold, Lord Lu, where did you acquire these techniques?"

Lu Bai replied, "Some I saw at an Auction House, some I comprehended on my own, and some I just... found. Is there a problem?"

"Do you have the original copies?" Gao Zicong asked.

Lu Bai shook his head. "No, I don’t."

Gao Zicong cleared his throat. "Lord Lu, perhaps you should try another establishment?"

When it came to things like Cultivation and Martial Techniques, especially High-Tier Martial Arts, confirming their origin was paramount.

In a Martial Arts manual, a single wrong word or a mistaken sentence could lead to devastating problems during cultivation.

High-Tier Martial Arts were either passed down by family masters, inherited through a Sect, or backed by an institution like the Imperial Court or the royal family.

So for someone like Lu Bai to show up with several techniques at once, with unclear origins, no originals, and freshly copied manuscripts... who would dare to buy them?

Seeing that Gao Zicong refused to buy them, Lu Bai was decisive. He gathered his manuals and turned to leave.

There were several other auction houses in Jingzhou City.

Lu Bai visited them one by one.

Aside from the *Water Splitting Blade Skill* and the *Breath-Holding Skill*, which two auction houses were willing to purchase, no one dared to buy the other techniques he had handwritten.

Furthermore, the prices offered for those two techniques were incredibly low.

’A bunch of blind fools, valuing the casket over the pearls! To think they’d look down on my hard work!’

Indignant, Lu Bai turned and walked away.

He had walked through half the city and wasted half a day without earning a single coin.

Lu Bai looked up at the sky and sighed.

’Making money is so hard.’

’Looting corpses and placing bets are much faster ways to make money.’

Lu Bai wandered aimlessly through the city, racking his brain for a way to make money.

Before he knew it, he found himself near Wangjiang Tower.

The street below was bustling with a dense crowd of people. Numerous small merchants and peddlers had set up shop nearby, and business was booming.

An idea suddenly struck Lu Bai—a way to kill several birds with one stone.

Excited, Lu Bai rushed to several shops, bought a few items, and had them delivered to an open spot for a stall across from Wangjiang Tower.

He set out a wooden table and erected a pole beside it. A banner hanging from the pole bore two large words: Xiaolu’s Appraisals.