Li Yu received the two important figures neither humbly nor arrogantly, his demeanor courteous and graceful, but internally, he was perplexed: He hadn't heard that Young Master Li had a grudge against Young Master Yan. Why did their conversation give off such a confrontational vibe? It was awkward to agree with one and disagree with the other. He could only try to maintain a natural smile.
Just then, a phone call came in, the screen displaying the words "Head Meng."
"Is there something Head Meng wants with me?" Li Yu slightly bowed, walking to the window to answer the call. Below the terrace was a dining area set up on the first floor, ten people crowded around a round table. It looked very cramped. At the moment, Head Meng was seated in the farthest corner, his expression anxious as he made a call. His daughter, Meng Yao, stood timidly behind him, her face filled with awe and panic.
After arriving in the Imperial Star, she realized what it meant to be a top-tier aristocratic family, and that there were always others above you. The Meng family might have had some status on Neptune, but here in the Imperial Star, they were nothing. They had spent a whole month using their connections before they finally managed to get into the event. After entering, they discovered that one of their tickets was a complimentary oneâthey could only stand, not sit. Nevertheless, there were still many people who longed to be there. In the hall downstairs, there were numerous guests like Meng Yao standing, most of whom were pets or servants kept by wealthy patrons, dressed rather revealingly.
Meng Yao felt humiliated but had to endure the gazes of others who looked at her like merchandise. She had to buy an ancient guqin, otherwise, the prosperity and luxury of the Imperial Star would forever remain out of her reach.
"How is Head Li recently?" Head Meng began in a roundabout way.
"You're at the United Auction House? What a coincidence, I'm also here." Li Yu walked to the terrace, waving at the father-daughter pair in the corner.
Head Meng wasn't surprised. He had already seen the two items from the Li Auction House in the catalog, one of which was an ancient guqin in excellent condition. However, the starting bid was ridiculously high, something he definitely couldn't afford. He pondered for a moment before calling Li Yu. "Head Li is truly resourceful, able to freely move about even in the Imperial Capital. You see, our families have long-standing ties. Why don't you withdraw that ancient guqin and sell it to me privately? You might not know this, but Ouyang Jinghai is preparing to arrange a marriage between our Little Yao and the eldest son. The arrangement is in progress. In the future, we will be family and should take care of each other."
Li Yu was amused by anger, ready to refuse, when Ouyang Ye hurried over, speaking into the phone. "You want me to marry Meng Yao, that worn-out shoe? Dream on! Even if every man and woman in the entire Galaxy were dead, leaving only Meng Yao, I wouldn't settle! Want to become the young lady of the Ouyang family? Sure, let's see her pass the 9th-level mecha manufacturing qualification exam in one go. If she does, I'll consider it. If not, she should scram. Ask Meng Yao how much she's worth, if she's more valuable than that ancient guqin. Do you think I'm running a charity, giving away billions of star coins for such a scrap?"
After his outburst, he urged his uncle, "Ignore them, quickly call Ouyang Jinghai. If he dares to interfere with my personal life, I'll sever ties with the Ouyang family immediately!"
"Okay, okay, don't be hasty, I'll ask him right away." Li Yu hung up the phone but didn't contact Ouyang Jinghai, as he knew that the marriage proposal was a one-sided move by the Meng family. Ouyang Jinghai had long rejected it, but the Meng family wasn't giving up and had been making continuous moves recently.
"Head Meng must have lost his mind, thinking his daughter is a celestial being that everyone wants." Li Yu shook his head, his face full of helplessness.
On the other side, Head Meng and Meng Yao's expressions turned extremely ugly. Qi Ze's feat of passing the 9th-level mecha manufacturing qualification exam in one go had already spread throughout the Imperial Academy. Even Head Helian had openly stated that if not for his fragile body, Qi Ze's future achievements wouldn't be any less than Mu Ran's.
When Qi Ze had planned to switch majors, his classmates had mocked him for his unrealistic aspirations, but now they were all speechless. A 9th-level mecha manufacturing master, there were only a handful on Neptune. In all seriousness, Qi Ze had already entered the ranks of the top nobility and would gain a certain amount of say in the future. This path from the bottom to the top, he had walked in just two short months.
No wonder Li Yu hadn't stopped his nephew and Qi Ze's relationship, he must have seen the potential in the other. Head Meng estimated the value of a 9th-level mecha manufacturing master and had to admit that with Qi Ze around, Ouyang Ye would never be interested in his own daughter.
"Forget it, just enjoy this auction. Consider it a trip to the Imperial Star." He helplessly said.
Meng Yao cried in anger but understood that she had no way out. She could have gotten engaged to the eldest Young Master Ouyang, but under the persuasion of Lady Ouyang, she had chosen Ouyang Duanhua. It was one wrong step after another. If only she hadn't been so greedy, so vain.
After hanging up the phone, Ouyang Ye still felt unsatisfied, cursing the Meng family inside and out for hundreds of times, then hurriedly professed his loyalty to Young Master Qi. "Sweetheart, you mustn't misunderstand, I have no interest in Meng Yao. She's the one who shamelessly clung to me. You know the kind. Whichever person can provide her with wealth and glory, she'll follow. She has no sincerity."
"Mm, I know." Qi Ze was engrossed in a game, not listening to a word from Young Master Ouyang.
Li Ziqian was about to inquire about their relationship, but the auction began. A graceful female host walked up with a small hammer, smiling as she delivered the opening remarks. The first few items were nothing special, the prices reasonable, but a piece of bamboo slip sealed in a vacuum container was quite popular, with bids rising continuously.
"Just a piece of bamboo, why is it so expensive?" After three hammer strikes, the bamboo slip sold for a shocking price, leaving Qi Ze astonished.
"Ancient artifacts with writing on them sell well, the older the script, the higher the price." Li Yu patiently explained, "Due to the outbreak of the End Times, we, the Han Chinese nation, experienced a huge cultural gap. Many brilliant civilizations disappeared in the torrent of history. This is the greatest regret of the Empire. In order to protect our cultural heritage and to trace our roots, artifacts with writing became the main focus of archaeologists. But paper is a difficult material to preserve, after tens of thousands of years, it turns to dust. Therefore, there are very few ancient books that have been passed down, making them even more precious. As far as I know, the ancient dictionary of the Mu family and the 'Er Ya' in your hands are the only two ancient books that exist today, and they are specialized in analyzing characters. Their archaeological value is extremely high. If they were to be auctioned here, they would easily fetch tens of billions. Look at this bamboo slip. The auction house prices it based on the number of characters engraved on it, one million star coins per character."
Qi Ze was stunned speechless, then his face gradually turned green. "So, you're saying I donated tens of billions previously?" He touched his chest, feeling as if his heart couldn't breathe from the pain.
Ouyang Ye coughed, not daring to respond, but Yan Junyu and Li Ziqian both held their foreheads and chuckled. No one knew better than they did how much Qi Ze cared about money.
"Didn't you know the value of that 'Er Ya'?" Li Yu asked in surprise.
"If I knew, would I have donated it to the royal family?" Qi Ze glared.
Li Yu's expression was bitter. "I thought you knew, I even complimented you on your generosity then."
"I can't be generous with money." Qi Ze discreetly circulated his spirit power, feeling somewhat better, then stared intently at the stage, hoping his item would sell quickly, at least to compensate for the loss. That was tens of billions of star coins, just thinking about it now, he wished he could chop off his own hand.
Since ancient books were so rare, he didn't plan to forge another one, to avoid drawing the attention of certain people. In other words, selling a book could only be a one-time deal, once missed, it was gone forever!
"Waiter, bring a bottle of strong liquor." Li Ziqian poured a glass of wine, trying to suppress his laughter as he handed it to the youth, consoling him. "Have a drink to ease your mind. Money lost can be earned again, no need to be too fixated on this small loss."
Qi Ze took the wine and downed it in one go, then looked at the stage with a blank face, not playing games nor speaking, looking as if life had no meaning.
Yan Junyu thought for a moment and quietly sent a text message to the auction house's person in charge, asking him to withdraw the few level-10 energy stones and switch to private trading. He didn't mind paying a higher commission, he was afraid that if the energy stones weren't auctioned off, it would worsen the youth's mood.
After waiting about an hour, the ancient guqin from the Li Auction House was finally moved onto the stage. The host didn't introduce it, pointing at the large screen and saying, "The auction house created a promotional video specifically for this item. After watching it, I felt that any words were inadequate to describe it, so I'll remain silent and let you feel it for yourselves."
On the huge screen appeared an ancient guqin. A youth, dressed in a strange white robe, barefoot, walked over from a door covered in woven bamboo carpet. The camera only captured him from the neck down, yet even without revealing his face, it was clear to the onlookers what a handsome and elegant person he was.
Broad sleeves flowed like water; his robe billowed as he walked unhurriedly to the guqin, sitting down and placing it on his lap. This series of actions, played back at normal speed, made the audience feel as if time had stopped for him. The murmuring people fell silent, those looking around suddenly turned their gaze to the screen, and the once noisy auction house became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The youth raised his arm, his broad sleeves slowly slipping down to reveal a slender wrist. His neatly trimmed pink nails hooked a guqin string, plucking it lightly.
"Zhen..." a metallic sound rang through the hall, vibrating in the ears. Many people grimaced, feeling a layer of goosebumps forming on their exposed skin. The timbre was simply too beautiful!
But that wasn't the end. The youth casually plucked a few more strings, testing the guqin's timbre, then began to play. It was a piece never before published in the media, at times graceful and gentle, at times powerful and intense, at times as rapid as a downpour, at times as slow as a gentle breeze. When the last echo faded, the audience remained entranced for a long time.
The piece wasn't long, only five short minutes, but it incorporated all the superb finger techniques, the emotions were incredibly sincere and moving. The youth seemed rather unsatisfied, pressing his fair hands onto the slightly trembling strings, sighing softly.
It was his first sound, but immediately outclassed the beautiful guqin music. Without seeing his face, one could guess what an outstanding beauty he was. The hall erupted with scattered applause that quickly thundered together. The bidders raised their signs, their eyes filled with passion. This level of performance was worthy of the most elegant halls of the Imperial Star. The guqin's timbre and quality were made even more perfect under the hands of this person.
Beautiful guqin, beautiful person, beautiful sound, flawless!
Li Ziqian and Yan Junyu both looked at the pair of hands the youth placed on his lap, instantly making their bids. After a dozen minutes of intense bidding, Yan Junyu finally won the guqin with an unimaginably high price.
"Mr. Yan, please sign the document." A waiter carefully brought over the guqin.
"I want that video as well." Yan Junyu glanced subtly at Qi Ze, indeed seeing the other clicking on his smartbrain with excitement. It wasn't hard to imagine who originally owned this guqin, nor was it hard to imagine how the youth, with his secret yet elated mood, was counting the zeros in a series of accounts.
He must be very happy now. Thinking this, Yan Junyu couldn't help but smile.
Li Ziqian had fallen short in the bid and couldn't help feeling a bit regretful. "I haven't been out much lately, never thought that the prices in the Imperial Capital were so high now. A'kui, remember to bring more funds when attending such events in the future." That was an ancient guqin once played by a master, it was of special significance.
A mecha manufacturer, an artist, and at a level far beyond ordinary peopleâthese weren't the qualities of an orphan. The master's educational background was extremely solid, one hundred percent from a top aristocratic family like the Mu family. But the problem was, scouring the Black Eye Galaxy, there wasn't a single giant clan surnamed Qiâit was worth pondering. Li Ziqian was deep in thought, but showed no trace of it on his face, patiently waiting for half an hour before finally bidding on the second antique from the Li Auction House.
It was a piece of white jade, clear and transparent, ancient, with exquisite craftsmanship, very collectible.
"A good piece." Li Ziqian placed the white jade in a transparent box, so it wouldn't be eroded by the dead aura on his body.
Qi Ze, who had easily added tens of billions to his account, finally soothed the pain in his heart, smiling faintly. "It's not that great, if you're interested, I'll have Uncle Li keep an eye out for you."
Li Yu understood instantly, nodding hastily. Only Ouyang Ye was a little deflated, muttering, "Didn't they say there were a few level-10 energy stones to be auctioned? Why hasn't the host introduced them? Could they have been intercepted by someone?"
Yan Junyu said nothing, handing Qi Ze a box and instructing, "Look at it when you get back."
Qi Ze picked up the box, shook it, then inspected it with his divine sense, immediately breaking into a smile. But one thing was one thing, he wouldn't take advantage of Yan Junyu for free. He had to find the problem with that T3 no matter what.
After the auction ended, Ouyang Ye's mouth was pouting high, even more determined to move out with Young Master Qi. Yan Junyu was already enough of a headache, adding Li Ziqian to the mix, the dorm room was truly uninhabitable. Yan Junyu was the most clingy, he would take Young Master Qi wherever he went, claiming they were partners and must be inseparable; when he went on a business trip, he would make a dozen calls a day asking for updates, like a tracker. Li Ziqian was the most pitiful, either his arm was broken, or his thigh was broken, taking off his clothes at every opportunity as if he had a great body.
Young Master Ouyang grew angrier the more he thought about it, but didn't dare show it in front of Young Master Qi. He could only run to the basement to practice swordsmanship. Mo Tianlei became his sparring partner, often beaten black and blue.
Qi Ze was probably the most relaxed in the dorm, ordering a large batch of ores before entering the workshop to inspect the T3's mental power operating system. Yan Junyu had prepared a huge room for him on the top floor before the start of school, and had purchased many precision instruments. Not to mention students, even the instructors would be envious of this workshop.
"Need a hand?" Yan Junyu, who followed, opened the heavy toolbox.
"Whatever I need, just hand it to me." Qi Ze held out his hand. "Wrench, thank you."
Yan Junyu handed him a wrench, watching in astonishment as he disassembled the huge control panel into a pile of scattered parts, taking only a dozen minutes. This performance wasn't like that of a novice just starting in mechas, but rather like a master who had been immersed in manufacturing for decades. But he asked nothing, only silently following the youth's pace.
"Do you like playing the ancient guqin?" He tried to make small talk.
"It's okay, I play it when I'm free." Qi Ze focused on turning a nut.
"If you want to play, you can borrow my guqin, you're always welcome." Thinking it over, Yan Junyu ultimately didn't say that he would give the guqin to the youth. It was hard to find a legitimate reason for the youth to spend some time in his room occasionally, he would be foolish to push the opportunity away.
"Sure." Qi Ze repeatedly checked the program and parts, but couldn't find the problem, finally saying, "I want to disassemble these cables, but if I do, your T3 will basically be scrapped."
"It's fine, go ahead. If you can't find the problem, I won't drive it, nor will I lend it to others." Yan Junyu rummaged through the toolbox for a knife.
Qi Ze took the knife, peeling off the rubber coating of the cables, pulling out the metal wires inside. These metal wires were finer than hair, tens of thousands twisted together to be only as thick as the tip of a finger, and each was infused with the mecha manufacturer's mental power, altering its original structure, making it easier to transmit the driver's commands.
"So thin metal wires actually contain tens of thousands of even finer mental power threads, Mu Ran really has some tricks." Qi Ze murmured, "Not only are his mental power threads full of metal wires, but even all the metals used to make the mecha's outer shell are soaked with mental power threads. They are densely distributed throughout the entire mecha, allowing every command you issue to be immediately responded to by the mecha. Mu Ran really put his heart into you, using the core technology of hyper-ability mechas in this T3. But he's much more stingy with others..."
Qi Ze shook his head, not saying more. The "introspection" Mu Ran introduced in class was just a superficial thing. In fact, the core technology of hyper-ability mechas was the coagulation of mental power threads. Those students were duped into being grateful to tears, as if they were about to offer themselves to him.
This way of operating mental power was already infinitely close to divine consciousness. In other words, he used his own mental power to imprint the embryonic form of spirit speech and dharma formations into the mecha, giving it a certain level of spirituality. That's why the driver could have a mental connection with hyper-ability mechas; that's why the mecha's movements were so sensitive, no different from using the driver's own body.
Having glimpsed the core technology of hyper-ability mechas, Qi Ze's interest in them wasn't as great. Hyper-ability mechas, in essence, were just half-finished puppets, unable to fight autonomously. But if he could apply some of the innovative technology to the creation of puppets, he might gain some inspiration.
He picked out every metal wire and examined it carefully with his divine sense.
Yan Junyu wore a serious expression, seemingly calm, but was somewhat anxious inside. Qi Ze always talked about how good Mu Ran was to him. Could he be thinking of pairing him with Mu Ran? If he had known it would come to this, he would have never let Mu Ran stay. As for why Qi Ze could easily see through Mu Ran's manufacturing methods, he didn't want to ask too many questions. Once the other party gradually lowered his guard, perhaps one day he would tell him of his own accord.
Amidst his wild thoughts, Qi Ze had continuously checked hundreds of metal wires, sighing. "Made so intricately, each one soaked with mental power. You should know, mental power is an ethereal energy, it's hard to release, let alone condense it into tangible, fine threads? I dare bet that before the old Mu family mansion exploded, Mu Ran was already a 4S-level mental power user, he was hiding his true abilities. This mecha of yours, called T3, is actually a quasi-hyper-ability mecha."
"But you can still see through his methods at a glance." Yan Junyu couldn't help but block his words, otherwise, he could bring up how good Mu Ran was to him a hundred times.
Qi Ze remained silent. He was wary of the Yan family, but trusted Yan Junyu; occasionally revealing some unusual traits wasn't a fear of being betrayed. But if the other party really probed, he wouldn't expose all his cards.
Yan Junyu secretly let out a sigh of relief.
In the following few hours, Qi Ze was checking these metal wires, and Yan Junyu stacked them to one side after he checked them, marking which wire they were from, to avoid confusion. This work was very monotonous, but he enjoyed it. He liked being by Qi Ze's side, watching him quietly.
After a short while, Qi Ze suddenly exclaimed "Eh?"
"What's wrong?" Yan Junyu immediately asked.
"Let me take another look, bring me some paper and a pen." Qi Ze pinched a metal wire in his hand, examining it against the light source repeatedly.
Yan Junyu quickly fetched the paper and pen, spreading them on the ground. Qi Ze looked at the metal wire, drew a few symbols on the paper; looked at the metal wire again, drew a few more symbols. After half an hour, the symbols on the paper formed a line. Separately, they seemed to be some components of Han Chinese characters, but when connected, they couldn't be read, the characters weren't recognizable, strange.
"What is this?" He asked softly.
Qi Ze's expression was grave. "This is a tendril of divine consciousness." Indeed, it was a tendril of divine consciousness that had already begun to function as spirit speech. The engraver had only to move their thoughts, and they could immediately take control of this T3. Its composition was completely different from the divine consciousness of the Qianyuan Continent, but the principle was the same.
Never did he imagine that in a place like the Black Eye Galaxy, there would actually be a cultivation genius. Without cultivation methods, without inheritance, without a sect, he had managed to create an upgraded version of mental power through his own exploration, step by step.