Urban Seduction: Housewives Club-Chapter 1349: The Young Master of the Wujin Sect
Chapter 1349: Chapter 1349: The Young Master of the Wujin Sect
After tidying up his things, Ye Fei left the quiet street and turned a corner.
Immediately, he was met with a bustling crowd, a stark contrast to the tranquil street he had just left.
It was clear that the Cuiyan Sect, one of the Ten Major Forces, wielded considerable influence. However, Ye Fei’s starting point was exceptionally high; in just a few days, he had turned his beautiful master, the Sect Leader, into his lover.
Thus, he hadn’t truly felt the full extent of their power.
Since the item he intended to sell was something that could cause a sensation throughout the entire True Emptiness Realm, it naturally required an auction to maximize profit. Although Ye Fei knew nothing about business, he was aware of this fact. So, he began searching the streets for an auction house.
However, after searching the entire territory of the Cuiyan Sect, Ye Fei couldn’t find anything resembling an auction house. He couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
Logically, an auction house, which could be an incredibly profitable venture with little initial investment, should be something everyone would want to get into.
Even if smaller forces were afraid to take the risk, the Cuiyan Sect, being one of the Ten Major Forces, shouldn’t have such concerns.
After inquiring with some people, Ye Fei learned that there was only one auction house in the entire Central City, and it was located within the territory of the Qinglian Sect, operated by them.
Now Ye Fei understood. This was a matter of profit allocation.
The other forces likely knew the benefits of having an auction house, but since the Qinglian Sect was the second-largest force in the True Emptiness Realm, they had essentially handed over this lucrative opportunity to them.
As for the number one force, the Nuwa Palace, they didn’t need it at all, because the entire tax revenue of Central City belonged to them, which was the real big money.
The Qinglian Sect and the Cuiyan Sect were neighbors. Although the Qinglian Sect wasn’t an all-female faction like the Cuiyan Sect, it was still a force predominantly composed of women.
It was said that the two sects had a good relationship and were allies. Given this, Ye Fei didn’t mind sharing some of the profits with them.
In the center of the Qinglian Sect’s territory, Ye Fei found the auction house named "Qinglian Pavilion." Its scale was truly impressive, larger than any shop Ye Fei had ever seen. It seemed that the auction house was indeed a very profitable business.
It made sense. In any industry, once a monopoly was formed, it became incredibly lucrative. This was especially true for an auction house.
Since it was the only one in existence, over ninety percent of all valuable items that needed to be auctioned throughout the True Emptiness Realm would be traded here.
Even if the auction house only took a one percent commission, it would still be an astronomical sum.
In reality, the commission rate was never as low as one percent anywhere.
With these thoughts in mind, Ye Fei walked into the auction house. As soon as he entered, a clerk approached him, eagerly asking, "Young sir, are you here to buy something, or to consign or auction an item?"
This large auction house didn’t hold auctions every day, so naturally, it had other businesses as well. For instance, it sold items from the Qinglian Sect or accepted consignments of items that weren’t valuable enough for auction.
Because of its prestigious reputation, those who had valuable items but were too lazy to find buyers themselves, or simply didn’t want the trouble, were more than happy to consign their items here.
Ye Fei smiled and said, "I have an item that I’d like to auction. I’m not sure where to register it."
"Auction?" The clerk was taken aback. Generally, items that were auctioned were not ordinary goods. He, being just a clerk, couldn’t make such a decision.
So, he said, "Young sir, please wait a moment. I’ll call our shopkeeper."
Ye Fei nodded, signaling for the clerk to go ahead. The clerk then escorted him to a seat, brought him some tea, and left.
After a while, a middle-aged man who appeared to be a typical businessman, slightly overweight, quickly walked over. He politely asked, "My name is Li, and I’m one of the shopkeepers here. I heard that you have something to auction?"
"That’s correct. I’d like to know when I can participate after registration," Ye Fei inquired. This was the most important thing he wanted to know.
If he had to wait for a long time, he’d rather sell it at a lower price. After all, he still needed to figure out how to return to Earth, and he wouldn’t have much time to keep running back and forth.
"Please follow me, young sir," the shopkeeper said. Items that were auctioned were valuable, and naturally, they couldn’t be displayed in the main hall.
As he led Ye Fei to a small room nearby, he continued, "Our shop holds an auction every half month, and the next one just happens to be the day after tomorrow. You’ve come at just the right time."
Ye Fei was very satisfied. It seemed he had indeed come to the right place for the auction.
Once inside the room, Ye Fei wasted no time and took out the heart guard, handing it to Shopkeeper Li. "Please take a look, Shopkeeper Li, and see if this item qualifies for the auction."
"This is?" Shopkeeper Li, who had risen to his current position in the only auction house, naturally had excellent judgment. However, he had never seen the material of this item before.
As he took it with a puzzled expression, his face immediately changed, and he exclaimed in surprise, "This is..."
Before Shopkeeper Li could finish his sentence, the door to the small room, which should have been undisturbed, was suddenly pushed open. Two people walked in, one after the other.
The first was a young man in his early twenties, quite handsome, though his cultivation was lacking, only at the late Soul Infant stage. The second was an unremarkable-looking middle-aged man, who was quite formidable, a peak Transformation of Spirit cultivator.
Seeing these two, Shopkeeper Li was startled and instinctively pressed the heart guard under his hands, then asked, "Young Master Zuo, what brings you here?"
"Shopkeeper Li, I heard someone was selling a pretty good item, so I came to take a look," the young man casually pulled up a chair and sat down, while the peak Transformation of Spirit cultivator stood behind him, clearly indicating that the young man, referred to as "Young Master Zuo," was the one in charge.
Shopkeeper Li was inwardly furious. Young Master Zuo’s action was essentially a provocation to the Qinglian Sect. However, as just a shopkeeper of an auction house, he didn’t dare to offend the other party. So, he hesitated and said, "Yes, but this young sir intends to participate in the auction, not to sell it directly."
"That’s such a hassle, having to wait for the auction. If it’s a good item, I’ll just buy it directly. I won’t let him down," Young Master Zuo said, grabbing the heart guard from Shopkeeper Li’s hand. His expression changed slightly as he glanced at the middle-aged man behind him.
The middle-aged man nodded slightly. Their many years of cooperation meant he understood what the young master was implying: whether this young man was someone they could afford to provoke.
Since he couldn’t discern Ye Fei’s true cultivation, and the middle-aged man had also secretly observed and found that he couldn’t see through Ye Fei’s strength either, there were only two possibilities.
One was that the young man in front of him had a cultivation level beyond his own, having reached the Great Perfection stage.
But that was impossible, as there were only about twenty Great Perfection cultivators in the entire True Emptiness Realm, and he would certainly recognize them.