Chapter 767: Returning The Scale
The crowd stared in stunned silence as John held the ancient dragon reverse scale, which had been thrumming with power just moments ago, but now sat in his lap like a content puppy. Everyone knew that ancient dragon reverse scales contained a small portion of sentience, with the same pride that the dragon it came from had.
With dragons being one of the most powerful races in existence, taming a reverse dragon scale was next to impossible for most. And yet, the scale had been tamed in merely an instant, without John having to do anything.
Were it not for the fact that everyone could tell the reverse scale had moved on its own accord, dozens of auction house employees would have surrounded John in a second, as theft of an item was harshly punished.
Even Caz stared at John with wide eyes, not expecting such a bizarre situation to happen. John picked up the dragon scale on his lap and inspected it for a moment, before he tossed it back towards the center auction platform several hundred yards away.
Reverse dragon scales contained the true essence of a dragon's power, as well as a small part of its pride and sentience. If one studied the scale, they could unlock secrets behind a dragon's power, such as the Dao of Power and many other things. However, John already had two such scales which came from dragons much stronger than this reverse dragon scale had come from, and so he had no need to keep it or desire to obtain it.
After flying halfway through the air towards the stage, the reverse dragon scale stopped in mid-air and instantly shot back towards John, resting in his lap once more. The crowd once more stared in stunned silence at the bizarre events unfolding before him.
"Is that reverse dragon scale...actually seeking him out?"
"It's like it wants to be with him, like a pet returning to their master!"
"Just what is going on? And just who is that kid?"
Various discussions broke out throughout the auction theater, while John frowned as the dragon scale returned to his lap.
"Sir..." the auctioneer spoke up again, causing John to shrug his shoulders in defeat.
"It keeps coming to me, and I can't do anything about that," John replied calmly, "you'll have to have someone come and forcibly retrieve it."
Almost immediately after saying that, several attendants appeared around John's private booth like a flash of lightning. Each attendant had a Late Dao Transformation cultivation, with one existing at the peak of the realm. The strongest of the bunch walked into John's private booth and gazed at him intently for a moment, before his gaze shifted to the reverse scale.
John reached out and handed it to the man, who grabbed it. A strained looked suddenly appeared on his face as his hand started trembling violently as the scale tried its best to pry itself from his grasp and return to John.
The man's power flared, and several of the other attendants appeared around the scale as well, using their Qi to form a powerful formation barrier that trapped the scale within. The scale crashed violently against the barrier ceaselessly, shaking it but was unable to break through in the end.
The attendants gaze John one last gaze of curiosity before speeding towards the stage and placing the now-contained scale on the pedestal once more. Silence descended on the auction theater as everyone processed what they had just witnessed. They had never seen or heard of an ancient dragons reverse scale being subdued before, let alone doing so willingly of its own volition.
"Ah....Now that we've sorted this matter out, we'll resume the bidding process," the auctioneer spoke out, trying to regain control of the auction. All eyes remained on John a little while longer as curiosity filled each person's thoughts, but the auction eventually resumed, returning the theater to normal. However, after the bidding war and now this, John was now most definitely the most eye-catching person in the auction theater, with curious gazes being cast his way non-stop by various members of the auction.
"What was that about?" Caz asked curiously after the commotion died down.
"No idea," John shrugged, not feeling the need to explain his connection with dragons, as it was one of his biggest secrets.
"Fair enough, but you don't feel like bidding on the scale? It seems to have affinity with you?" Caz asked.
"No, I have no need for this scale," John shook his head as he watched the auction for the scale unfold. With the commotion the scale had caused, and its ability to be tamed instantly, a thought occurred in the minds of many that this scale was easier to tame than normal reverse scales. As such, a bidding war broke out for the scale, shattering any previous record for an ancient reverse dragon scale.
"Sold! For Eight Billion Spirit Crystals!" the auctioneer exclaimed, pointing to a private booth that had purchased the scale.
Meanwhile, in Xander's and Vivians private booth, both of them stared at John with differing expressions. Displeased anger lingered on Vivian's face, as John was once again the highlight of the auction.
"Why the hell did the reverse scale fly to him like that huh? What the hell about him is so special? He must have used some secret art to coax it to him," she grumbled in displeasure.
Meanwhile, a thoughtful frown appeared on Xander's face, and he raised his hand after a moment, beckoning to a man standing behind him, who stepped forward.
"I know you already found out what you could, but dig deeper into this John Fenix. I think there may be more to him that you initially found. If we're to do anything to him, I want to know exactly who I'm dealing with," Xander said to the man, who nodded his head.
"It will be done," the man replied before vanishing from sight.
"Just who are you..." Xander mused as he stared at John.
...
The auction continued for the next half day, but nothing as exciting as the scale incident happened again. John and Caz continued to chat and occasionally bid on items, but neither had obtained anything as nothing truly caught their eyes.
"This next item is something that I'm sure will cause quite a frenzy," the auctioneer said as the false floor rose up once more, revealing a pedestal containing a small item. The item was not eye-catching at all, and had no aura around it as well.
It appeared like a small metal seal, intricate in design, like what someone would wear on the outside of their clothing to indicate who they were. It was a circular bronze seal, with an intricate design of various weapons contained within the circle. John cast a curious gaze at the normal looking item, but cast his gaze to the side as he saw Caz lean forward.
"Is that...?" Caz mused, his words echoing similar sentiment as many others in the crowd.
"That's right! This seal is none other than that belonging to Daoist Eternal Weapon," the auctioneer boomed. "He has recently come out of his hundred-year long meditation session, and has reportedly gained even more insights into the Dao of Smithing and Forging, elevating his already mythical weapon forging status to entirely new heights. To test his new forging comprehensions, and to display his talents to the world once more, Daoist Eternal Weapon is once again selling the rights to a singular item, personally crafted by him for the one who purchases this seal!"