99: Chapter 99 Judging Me? You Don't Deserve It! The First God-Level Auction in the Entire Server

The wind at the alley's mouth carried a nauseating scent of blood.

Qin Ji, one hand in his pocket, walked with a crisp, rhythmic tapping sound as his dark-gold war boots struck the bluestone pavement. Behind him, the old beggar's corpse had just dissolved into streams of data, leaving behind only a scattering of cold, unwanted steamed buns on the ground.

"Tap, tap, tap—"

The once-bustling street had suddenly fallen into a terrifying silence.

Dozens of heavily-armored City Guard soldiers surged from all directions, their long spears gleaming with a cold, sharp light, the tips pointed directly at Qin Ji's brow. Three squads of griffins circled low in the sky, their massive wings blotting out the setting sun, casting the entire long street into shadow.

"You reckless fool! How dare you commit murder openly within Tianxing City!"

The leading City Guard commander, mounted on a unicorn steed, his face stern and cold, swung down his knight's sword, whipping up a sharp gust of wind. "By the laws of the stars, surrender immediately and submit to judgment!"

The surrounding players had long since retreated a hundred meters away in fright, craning their necks, a mixture of excitement and fear on their faces.

"It's over, it's over! This is a major scene! Even the Griffin Legion has been dispatched!"

"Did Qin Ji overestimate himself this time? Killing a special NPC in a main city? That's definitely maxed out his aggro!"

"Judging me?"

Qin Ji, at the center of the encirclement, stopped walking. He slightly lifted his eyelids, a trace of casual mockery in his amethyst-gold eyes. "Are you piles of scrap data even worthy?"

Before the words had fully faded.

Qin Ji snapped his fingers.

"Hum—!!"

An aura of extreme cold erupted abruptly. Water molecules in the air instantly crystallized into ice. Behind him, a hundred-zhang-tall illusory figure materialized out of thin air—a goddess clad in ice-blue divine armor, holding a scepter. Though only an illusion, the Divine Might that transcended all living beings caused Tianxing City's entire defensive array to emit a groan of strain.

[Goddess of Ice and Snow · Divine Bestowal Projection]

This was the "spoils of war" he had casually looted after killing that crazy woman, Water Like Smoke.

It had to be said, the name of a deity was indeed useful in this world.

The moment the illusion of the Goddess of Ice and Snow appeared, the previously aggressive griffins let out terrified cries of distress, folded their wings, and crashed to the ground, trembling.

And those City Guard soldiers, who had been so arrogant moments before, seemed to lose the bones in their knees the instant they saw the illusion.

"Clatter, clatter, clatter—"

The sound of clashing armor rang out in unison.

From the commander to the soldiers, over a hundred elite City Guard troops knelt in unison, their foreheads striking the bluestone pavement heavily, their voices trembling with piety:

"We pay homage to our God! Eternal peace to our God!!"

It wasn't just them. Even the NPC merchants and pedestrians on both sides of the street were now prostrate on the ground, kowtowing in worship towards Qin Ji—or rather, the illusion behind him.

Deathly silence.

The player crowd in the distance completely exploded.

"Holy shit?! Am I seeing things? The City Guard is kneeling to him?!"

"What the hell kind of play is this? I got fined five hundred gold for fighting in the city. He kills someone in the city, and the guards have to kowtow to him?"

"Is this game even playable anymore! I'm reporting this! It's a hack! Absolutely a hack!"

Quicker players directly recorded this scene and posted it to the forums with a sensational title—'Shocking! Qin Ji Murders in the Royal City, City Guard Actually Kneels En Masse! Is This the Collapse of Morality or the Breakdown of the System?'

Qin Ji ignored the stunned gazes around him and casually dispersed the illusion behind him.

"Scram. Don't block the way."

He didn't even bother to glance at the kneeling soldiers, walking straight through the crowd towards the city gates.

Only when his back disappeared at the street's end did the City Guard commander dare to shakily lift his head, his face covered in cold sweat, not even daring to utter a single threat.

...

Outside Tianxing City, in a secluded red maple forest.

Qin Ji leaned against an old tree and took out the [Heavenly Blessing Scroll (Fire God)] he had just looted from the beggar's corpse.

The parchment scroll slowly unfurled, revealing a line of text burning with flames.

[Quest Name: The Weight of Gold]

[Quest Description: If a person lives without dreams, what's the difference between them and a salted fish? Even a beggar should have the dream of becoming the richest. The Fire God despises poverty. Only the light of gold can ignite the divine flame.]

[Quest Requirement: Raise 1,000,000 gold coins within three days.]

[Current Progress: 143,000/1,000,000]

[Quest Reward: Unlock Fire God's Blessing (Stage One).]

[Failure Penalty: Deduct 50% of all current attribute points.]

"One million gold?"

Qin Ji raised an eyebrow, a playful curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

For ordinary players, this was an astronomical figure. At this stage, even the liquid assets of top guilds maxed out at around two to three hundred thousand gold.

But was it difficult for him?

"Making money has never been a problem."

Qin Ji lightly tapped the void, opening his friend list.

Memories from his past life gave him an intimate understanding of the resources of all major factions. Those guild leaders, financial group heads, even hidden whales—they were all on his "hit list" now.

Without the slightest hesitation, he began frantically sending friend requests.

Thanks to the current infamy and influence of the name "Qin Ji" across the entire server, the acceptance rate for his friend requests was as high as 99%.

One minute later.

A temporary group named [Divine-Grade Pawnshop] was successfully created.

The leaders of the top twenty guilds on the server and the representatives of the ten major financial groups were all forcibly dragged into it by him.

The group instantly became lively.

[Divine Wolf (Futou Guild Leader)]: ? Brother Qin Ji? What is this group? Are you planning to wipe us all out in one go?

[Frenzied Blade (Berserk Guild Leader)]: Holy shit, with this lineup, are you organizing us to attack the royal palace?

[Startling Swan Dream Frost (Jinghong Guild Leader)]: Brother Ji, why did you suddenly add me? Do you have something good to share?

[Asura Yi Ze (Lord of Asura Hall)]: Get to the point. I'm busy.

Qin Ji glanced at the group messages, his fingers flying across the virtual keyboard.

[Qin Ji]: Need money. Holding an auction. Gold only. No credit.

After sending that message, he directly pulled out a bunch of level 45 equipment looted from random mobs he'd killed on the way, took screenshots, and posted them in the group.

[Qin Ji]: [Black Iron · Berserk Battle Axe (Lv.45)], [Bronze · Swift Legguards (Lv.48)]... Selling as a bundle. Starting bid: ten thousand gold.

The group fell into a brief silence.

[Startling Swan Dream Frost]: ... Brother Ji, are you joking? The level is high, but the quality is too poor. Even our elite team wouldn't look at it.

[Asura Yi Ze]: Wasting time.

Qin Ji clicked his tongue.

Indeed, these people's tastes had been spoiled. It seemed if he didn't bring out something real, he couldn't empty their wallets.

"Since you want good stuff, I'll show you something big."

Qin Ji's gaze fell on a golden crystal in the corner of his inventory.

That was the core material for the city establishment token he had looted from soloing the "Golden Lord," currently the only one of its kind on the entire server.

[Qin Ji]: image.jpg [Golden · heart of the lord]

[Attribute Description: Upon use, allows direct application to establish a territory. The territory's initial Rank is 'Golden,' comes with five random S-Rank territory traits, and increases defensive tower attack power by 50%.]

The moment this image was posted, the previously complaining group chat completely exploded.

A deathly silence lasted for a full three seconds.

Immediately after, messages began to flood the screen like a waterfall!

[Divine Wolf]: Holy shit!!! A Golden Rank heart of the lord?! Am I seeing this right?! There aren't even Silver Rank ones on the market yet!

[Frenzied Blade]: How did you get this?! Qin Ji, name your price! My Berserk Guild wants it!

[Startling Swan Dream Frost]: Brother Ji~ I spoke a bit loudly just now, don't mind me~ Sell this to Jinghong Guild, okay? Name your price!

[Asura Yi Ze]: Fifty thousand gold.

[Divine Wolf]: Fifty thousand? Are you treating us like beggars? I'll bid a hundred thousand!

[Frenzied Blade]: Stop fighting! This thing determines who gets the first player settlement! Whoever gets it becomes the server's number one guild! I bid two hundred thousand gold!

Watching the numbers jump madly, Qin Ji leaned against the tree trunk, leisurely pulling a mana potion from his inventory to drink like a beverage.

This was the joy of monopoly.

For these major guilds, equipment could be replaced, levels could be grinded, but the glory and strategic value of being the "server's first Golden territory" was priceless.

The price soared, soon breaking through the three hundred thousand mark.

At this point, the rate of increase began to slow. After all, gold production was limited at this stage. Three hundred thousand gold was almost the liquidity limit for a large guild.

[Asura Yi Ze]: Three hundred and fifty thousand gold! This is all of Asura Hall's liquid assets. Qin Ji, if it's not enough, I can add five million in cash transfer!

[Frenzied Blade]: Asura Yi Ze, are you insane? You're throwing in cash too? Fine! I bid three hundred and eighty thousand gold, plus ten million in cash!

[Startling Swan Dream Frost]: Four hundred thousand gold! This is Jinghong Guild's limit!

The atmosphere in the group was tense, the smell of gunpowder almost palpable through the screen.

Qin Ji looked at the number "400,000" and shook his head.

Not enough.

It was still far from the one million target.

"Looks like I need to add a bit more fuel to this fire."

A slight smile played on Qin Ji's lips as he sent another message in the group.

[Qin Ji]: Only four hundred thousand? Seems your sincerity ends there. In that case, I'll keep this to build a city for fun myself. Oh, by the way, I heard that after a Golden territory is built, it automatically comes with a 'Pantheon Altar' that produces divine blessing buffs daily...

This sentence was like a depth charge.

Pantheon Altar?!

That was a strategic facility only found in main cities!

[Divine Wolf]: Wait!! Don't withdraw! Brother Qin Ji, let's talk this over!

[Frenzied Blade]: Damn it, I'm going all in! I'll go borrow from loan sharks! Give me ten minutes!

[Asura Yi Ze]: Qin Ji, I'll offer a special item as collateral! [Spatial Displacement Scroll], a life-saving Divine Artifact, valued at one hundred thousand gold. Plus the previous three hundred and fifty thousand, that's four hundred and fifty thousand total!

Watching these usually aloof guild leaders fight over a single piece of his loot until they were red in the face, even willing to sell off their assets, the amusement in Qin Ji's eyes grew colder.

He wasn't in a hurry to close the deal. He casually closed the chat interface.

Let the bullet fly a while longer.

They were the ones in a hurry now, not him.

Qin Ji straightened up, his gaze turning towards the gradually brightening city lights in the distance. The sun had completely sunk below the horizon, night had fallen, but the demonic sword in his hand emitted an increasingly eerie purple glow in the darkness.

"One million gold is just the admission ticket."

He murmured softly, casually swinging his sword to sever a red maple leaf drifting onto his shoulder. The sharp Sword Qi left a lingering black crack in the air, as if forcibly tearing a gash in the night itself, revealing the heart-stopping abyss behind it.