The few people following Li Xu all exuded a scorching aura. Their complexions were dark, clearly a result of frequently working in sweltering environments.

When Li Xu stepped out, everyone present grew excited. They all crowded around him, greeting him respectfully.

Judging by how the crowd addressed Li Xu and those behind him, it was apparent that this group were all disciples of Master Lu Li.

"Senior Brother Li Xu, can we begin?"

The people behind Li Xu just smiled in response to the crowd’s greetings and then looked toward him.

"Let’s begin," Li Xu said nonchalantly. The people behind him immediately stepped forward.

Soon, a counter appeared before each of them, and they seemed to be arranging something.

Only then did Li Xu speak in a measured tone, "Today is the Artifact Refining Workshop’s monthly opening. I assume everyone knows the rules, so I won’t waste your time. Every item is priced. If you see something you like, feel free to bid. The highest bidder wins."

The moment Li Xu finished speaking, the Artifact Refiners had already placed a variety of treasures on the counters before them.

The first Artifact Refiner immediately began, "I have three items to present this time. The first is a Fifth-level Profound Soldier, the Li Huo Sword. I’ve engraved it with multiple Fire Element array patterns and integrated several Fire Element materials. For a Martial Artist who cultivates Fire Element Profound Power, it can enhance their attack power to the greatest extent."

"The price for the Li Huo Sword is twenty million Profound Coins. In terms of Profound Stones, that’s one thousand five hundred Lower Grade Profound Stones or thirteen Mid Grade Profound Stones. If you have valuable materials, they can be used as part of the payment. The bidding starts now."

As the Artifact Refiner spoke, he placed a longsword, dark red from pommel to tip, on the counter. A dense wave of Fire Element power immediately spread out, raising the temperature in the entire hall by several degrees in an instant.

"Twenty million Profound Coins. I’ll take it."

"I bid twenty-one million."

"Twenty-three million."

The initially quiet scene instantly erupted. Bids flew back and forth, and the price quickly soared to twenty-five million Profound Coins.

"I bid twenty-eight million," Qin Yu barked, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"Twenty-nine million," another young man said coolly.

"Thirty million," Qin Yu glared at him.

"Since Brother Qin is so eager, I see no harm in letting you have it," the young man said with a faint smile, completely unfazed by Qin Yu’s glare.

In the end, Qin Yu bought the Li Huo Sword for thirty million.

After producing a check for thirty million Profound Coins, Qin Yu took the longsword in hand, his face alight with excitement.

"My second item is a Fifth-level Profound Soldier, the Sky-Splitting Saber. This saber has been infused with Void Melting Crystal, giving it a space-rending effect. As a result, its sharpness is at least thirty percent greater than an ordinary Fifth-level Profound Soldier."

"As for the price, the starting bid is also twenty million, or one thousand five hundred Lower Grade Profound Stones, or thirteen Mid Grade Profound Stones."

The moment the Artifact Refiner’s introduction ended, another round of bidding began.

In the end, the Sky-Splitting Saber was sold for a price of thirty-two million.

Ye Xuan watched, secretly speechless.

’So the Artifact Refining Workshop’s one-day-a-month opening is basically a simple auction.’

As an Artifact Refiner himself, Ye Xuan quickly understood the purpose behind the workshop’s method.

’First, by stipulating they only open one day a month, they create a sense of scarcity in people’s minds. It’s a classic case of scarcity marketing.’

’Second, only allowing members of prominent families to enter is to define their target clientele.’

’It’s foreseeable that these Artifact Refiners certainly craft more than just this handful of Profound Soldiers each month. They take a few choice pieces out for auction, and under the competitive bidding of these scions of prominent families, it’s easy to drive the price far beyond its normal value.’

’Then, the remaining Profound Soldiers are sold through other channels. With the pricing baseline set by today’s frantic bidding, plus a bit of hype, many Martial Artists will definitely spend more of their wealth to buy a Profound Soldier that suits them.’

’After all, an ordinary Fifth-level Profound Soldier is typically valued between ten and fifteen million.’

’The Profound Soldiers crafted by the Artifact Refiners of the Artifact Refining Workshop are indeed superior to ordinary ones, but their true value is only around twenty million, twenty million and change at most.’

’But through this kind of marketing strategy, the price immediately jumps by thirty percent. Excluding the base cost, this essentially doubles their net profit.’

’Isn’t this just a complete rip-off?’

’However, after seeing the fervent gazes of the many young people present, Ye Xuan also understood. To a normal person, it’s a rip-off, but for the youths of the Sky Empire’s Imperial Capital, being able to purchase a premium weapon from the Artifact Refining Workshop on its opening day is a symbol of glory.’

’They are willing to spend any amount of Profound Coins for it.’

’Especially for disciples from noble families like Luo Cheng, Zhou Chengping, and Liu Xing. They normally don’t even have the qualifications to come here. Now that they’ve finally gotten a rare chance to visit the Artifact Refining Workshop, how could they not buy a Profound Soldier to take back with them?’

In a short time, seven or eight treasures had been auctioned off.

Most of them were Fifth-level Profound Soldiers, with the occasional Fourth-level one appearing. Each item’s appearance would trigger a frantic wave of bidding.

Ye Xuan also noticed that basically everyone was paying with Profound Coins. Not a single person used Lower Grade Profound Stones, let alone Mid Grade Profound Stones.

"Young Master Ye, do you want to bid on a Profound Soldier to take home?" Luo Cheng, after a round of frantic bidding, had managed to purchase a Fourth-level Profound Soldier, the Lifeless Sword.

Although the Lifeless Sword was only Fourth-level, it was exquisitely crafted, even a cut above Ye Xuan’s Dragon Pattern Sword. It was engraved with several Profound Power amplification array patterns, which not only enhanced its attack power but also reduced the user’s Profound Power consumption.

Even if Luo Cheng broke through to become a Tier Five Martial Sect in the future, the Lifeless Sword wouldn’t become obsolete any time soon.

Hearing Luo Cheng’s words, Ye Xuan just smiled.

For the young people of the Imperial Capital, or for Martial Artists who risk their lives in adventure, the quality of the Profound Soldiers here was more than sufficient.

But to Ye Xuan, these Profound Soldiers were far too lacking in his eyes.

’If I’m going to replace my sword, it will be with something I’m truly satisfied with, not just anything that’s a little better than the Dragon Pattern Sword.’

’If that were the case, I might as well refine the Dragon Pattern Sword myself. It would be a simple matter to bring it up to the level of that Fifth-level Li Huo Sword from earlier.’

As Profound Soldiers were bought one after another, the bidding soon reached its climax, and the event entered its second half.

"The last Spiritual Treasure I have for sale is a piece of protective Profound Armor. This Profound Armor is Fifth-level and is named Qingyu. It’s called this because it has been infused with a very special Light Plume Mithril. This type of Mithril is extremely rare on the Dream Realm Plain. It possesses excellent malleability, high resistance, and good Profound Power conductivity. But its most important characteristic is that it’s incredibly light. Compared to an equal volume of various Profound Irons, its weight is only one-fifth or even less..."

The one currently speaking was a middle-aged man in his thirties. As he spoke, he took out the Qingyu Profound Armor he had been describing.

Though called Profound Armor, this Qingyu looked more like a tunic. It was silver-white all over and shimmered with a dazzling light under the lamps, capturing the attention of everyone present.

Even Ye Xuan’s eyes lit up. He wasn’t focused on the Qingyu Profound Armor itself, but on the Light Plume Mithril used to forge it.

Ye Xuan knew very well that the man’s words were no exaggeration. Light Plume Mithril was indeed extremely rare, and not just on the Dream Realm Plain. Even across the entire Celestial Profound Continent, the supply was not large.

And its greatest advantage was its light weight, making it the most suitable material for Profound Armor.

Ye Xuan was currently preparing to forge a flight-type Spiritual Treasure. If he used Light Plume Mithril for the wings, he could reduce the Spiritual Treasure’s weight several times over, which would naturally increase its flight speed significantly.

More importantly, just as the Artifact Refiner had said, Light Plume Mithril had excellent Profound Power conductivity. When used in armor, it wouldn’t hinder the formation of a Profound Power shield in the slightest. When used in a flight-type Spiritual Treasure, it could reduce a Martial Artist’s Profound Power consumption.

This was because flight-type Spiritual Treasures consumed an enormous amount of Profound Power. A Tier Five Third Layer Martial Sect could often only operate one for half an hour before their Profound Power was completely depleted. Even for a Tier Six Martial Venerable, being able to fly for several hours was already quite an accomplishment.

Ye Xuan was currently only at Tier Five First Layer; he had to consider this point.

"The Qingyu Profound Armor starts at twenty-five million Profound Coins. In terms of Profound Stones, that’s two thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones, or seventeen Mid Grade Profound Stones. Let the bidding begin! Highest bidder wins."

"Twenty-six million Profound Coins."

"I bid twenty-eight million."

The middle-aged Artifact Refiner’s words had barely faded when the scene, as if a bomb had been detonated, exploded with bids.

Armor-type Spiritual Treasures were always relatively rare. Even when they did appear, their prices were typically far above that of Profound Soldiers of the same level, and they were often ugly and unappealing.

But this Qingyu Profound Armor was not only elegant in appearance, like an inner shirt of silver gauze, but its price wasn’t particularly exorbitant either, prompting countless people to immediately make a move.

In the blink of an eye, the price soared to thirty-five million.

"Thirty-six million."

A melodious voice, like that of a nightingale, suddenly rang out in the hall.

It was Murong Yunxiao.

"Haha, this Qingyu Profound Armor is so elegant and beautiful. It would be most fitting for a beauty like Miss Murong Yunxiao to have it, wouldn’t you all agree?"

The moment Murong Yunxiao spoke, many who were preparing to bid immediately held back. One of the men who had bid earlier even laughed heartily, clearly trying to curry favor with her.

However, Murong Yunxiao paid him no mind. Her gaze was fixed unblinkingly on the Qingyu, clearly showing her fondness for it.

Seeing that Murong Yunxiao had ignored him, the man couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward. However, his words did cause quite a few people to stop bidding.

Although the Qingyu was good, its style was too feminine. If a man were to wear this kind of Profound Armor, it would inevitably make him a laughingstock.

The middle-aged Artifact Refiner was quite disappointed to see this, but he didn’t let it show on his face.