In the end, the three old men decided to buy the VIP ticket for the second auction of the Xing Auction House in order to meet Heero.
The three old men came together and they were wearing a mask to cover their face. They just wanted to enjoy their break in peace, they did not have a plan to buy any item from the auction.
"Welcome to Xing Auction House!" Wearing a black vest with a white shirt inside and black bow ties, Heero greeted the three old men.
The same with the first auction, Heero had a wooden faceless mask on his face. It was a kinda signature mask of the Xing Auction House.
Bai Xian Ming immediately recognized Heero, but not the other two old men.
He gave the printed ticket to Heero and the other two old men followed his course of action.
"Hoho… I heard the rankers went on a rampage on the forum because their reservations were canceled. He sure has big guts to do so, " Kim Jung-Mun let out a hearty laugh when he remembered what happened on the forum.
Don't look at his old age, Kim Jung-Mun was up to date with the tech. Checking the forum was his daily routine.
Of course, the old man did not realize the person he praised was standing next to him.
"Heh, he certainly has good merit for that, but let's see what kind of auction that makes those rankers go crazy!" Wu Shitian also was not stingy with his praise.
"I thought you don't want to buy anything. Moreover, you already have good gears, let the young compete, Shitian!"
"I know! I know! Stop nagging me, Jung-Mun!" Wu Shitian waved his hand annoyedly at Kim Jung-Mun.
Bai Xian Ming was listening from the sideline while the old men chatted. Heero led them to the big hall.
The same with the first auction, eight people would be gathered in one table. There were 25 tables which meant only 200 people could join the auction.
A million for one ticket, meaning Heero already earned 200 million from the ticket sales. Added with the item, 99 sets of armors, 99 weapons, 5 Elemental Weapons, and 1 Epic weapon.
He would be rich overnight. But of course, he had to share the earnings with Blacksmith Huang as most of the gears were made by him. Heero took only a 20% cut for the transaction fee.
When Heero brought the three old men to their table, Wu Shitian frowned, "I bought a VIP ticket, why do you lead me here?"
He thought it was a private room, not an open hall like this.
"This auction house is VIP, only 200 people can join the auction. So you three could be considered lucky to get the ticket while many people are fighting for it, " Heero explained calmly.
"All right, stop it, Shitian! Don't create trouble and just enjoy the show! Our purpose is not the auction!" Knowing his friend's nasty personality, Kim Jung-Mun immediately spoke up.
Bai Xian Ming maintained his silence and took his seat. He deliberately chose to sit next to Kim Jung-Mun.
Not long after they took their seats, the auction started. The lightning dimmed a little while a blank screen appeared on the stage.
After that, Kang Seo-Yeon walked out with the fiery red dress that showed her shape perfectly well.
"The auction is truly VIP, even the host is Gold Class Hero - Rank 1, " Kim Jung-Mun commented.
"Good evening, everyone~ I am the host of tonight's auction~, Kang Seo-Yeon!" Kang Seo-Yeon showed her alluring smile as she greeted the guests.
"Tonight's auction will be divided into four events, three quick auctions and one main event where we showcase our best equipment!"
"Without further ado, let's start with the first quick auction!"
Right after Kang Seo-Yeon finished, the two big blank screens on the stage flashed. Two different screens showed two different items.
33 sets of armors and 33 varied weapons appeared. A picture of the weapon and its class was shown on the screen.
Of course, the auction house also provided a tablet for each guest. They could do their bidding through the tablet.
Piqued by the list on the screen, Wu Shitian tilted his head to Kim Jung-Mun's tablet. He was embarrassed to take his own tablet as he did not know how to operate it.
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Weapon type: Longsword
[Picture]
Class: Superior 2-Star
Highest Bidder: Yang Ming (7,200,000 WD)
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"Superior 2-Star? What's that?" Wu Shitian blurted out.
Even Kim Jung-Mun furrowed his brows in confusion.
"It's the item grade, the Xing District Blacksmith used the Blacksmith Association's standard to classify the item! There's a guide book next to the tablet, you can read that to know more about the Blacksmith Association!"
Bai Xian Ming explained to the two old men. He almost knew everything about the Xing District in and out.
The two old men looked at the table. Just like Bai Xian Ming told them, there was a guide book there.
Wu Shitian took the guide book, the same for Kim Jung-Mun. He put the tablet and got the guide book.
The guide book was about the Blacksmith Association. An association founded by two people, Xing Heero and the famed Huang Jun or known as Blacksmith Huang.
The Blacksmith Association did not follow Blacksmith Alliance, an association under the Central Government. They created their own standards.
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Weapon and Armor Class:
Ordinary [1-Star, 2-Star, and 3-Star]
Superior [1-Star, 2-Star, and 3-Star]
Ancient [1-Star, 2-Star, and 3-Star]
Legendary [1-Star, 2-Star, and 3-Star]
Epic [1-Star, 2-Star, and 3-Star]
Myth[1-Star, 2-Star, and 3-Star]
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That was the Blacksmith Association's standard. The standard was appraised by an appraiser from the Blacksmith Association, meaning the Blacksmith Association held absolute power in appraising the equipment.
"This is basically a scam! What if the appraiser rated the equipment arbitrarily? They should at least let us know the details about their standardization!"
Wu Shitian threw the guide book back to the table. Clearly, he was dissatisfied with how the Blacksmith Association worked.
"Apparently, you have to join the association to know that. Moreover, I am afraid this Blacksmith Association is not as bad as you thought! Look at them!"
Kim Jung-Mun pointed to the other five people who were on the same table as them. The five had their eyes glued at the tablet. They were doing a bidding war through the tablet. No one questioned the standard or so whatever.
"Look at this too!" Kim Jung-Mun picked the tablet and showed an armor to Wu Shitian.
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Armor type: Light Armor
[Picture]
Class: Superior 3-Star
Highest Bidder: Terry (13,500,000 WD)
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Kim Jung-Mun pointed at the highest bidder point. The name kept flashing there, meaning many people were fighting for the armor.
"They trust the Blacksmith Association!"
Trust was the most important thing in the business. These people trusted the Blacksmith Association, meaning the Blacksmith Association never tricked their customers.
Not only that, that meant the standardization was also accepted by these people.
"The Blacksmith Association is doing well. Taking this association under the Hero League…" Before Kim Jung-Mun finished his words, Bai Xian Ming cut him off.
"Don't ever think about it! I have tried once, but I was immediately kicked out by him! He would never agree to that. He would choose to close the association down rather than letting the Hero League take it over!"
Old Ming shook his head bitterly at memories of Heero's extreme reaction when he proposed this.
"There are a few big forces trying to take it over as well, but it resulted in their representative losing a week worth of memories! Don't ever think to take what belongs to him, or you will get an extreme retaliation or even lose your life…"
He remembered about the fate of two Legendary Class Rankers who tried to kidnap his daughter and people who went insane for losing their memories.
"Especially your family, please tell them not to cross paths with him. He is kind all the time, but when you touch his reverse scale…" Bai Xian Ming's body shuddered voluntarily.
Even Old Ming feared Heero to this extent, the two old men responded with a frown.
"Nah, we don't need to take that measure. He has banned the rankers from entering the district. So this place is basically exclusive to heroes!"
Kim Jung-Mun went with "ah" when Old Ming reminded him about this. Indeed, he was afraid the Ranker Alliance would take advantage of the Blacksmith Association, but now he was relieved.
"One minute remaining for the first Quick Auction! Make your mind and do your bidding!" Kang Seo-Yeon's voice rang, making the bidding war getting more intense.
Fifteen minutes for each quick auction, that was how the quick auction worked. Despite the method somewhat new to the people, the quick auction went smoothly.