Douluo Dalu 5: Rebirth Of Tang San

"Unfortunately, the dragon bead of this Starmoon Earth Dragon is not in the skeleton. The dragon bead is the essence of the Starmoon Earth Dragon, an absolute treasure for spiritual power cultivation.

"This Starmoon Earth Dragon is an adult, and its cultivation reached the tenth order. It had been absorbing the essence of the sun and moon for over a century before it was hunted. Although the dragon bead has been removed, everyone knows that the skeleton of a Starmoon Earth Dragon contains the essence of its bloodline. The marrow can be refined into essence blood, and the bones can be used to forge weapons.

"There was once a Starmoon Armor made from such bones that had the defense to withstand god-level attacks. The amount of essence blood that can be refined depends on the refiner's skill and luck. The bidding starts now, with an opening price of five hundred naturae coins!"

Undoubtedly, this Starmoon Earth Dragon skeleton was valuable. Such items could be seen at the Kali City grand auction, and they would be considered among the top items. Yet this was merely an opening item at the Ancestral Court's grand auction.

Did Tang San want it? Yes, he did! The resentment emanating from the skeleton indicated that its spirit wasn't entirely lost, meaning it hadn't been dead for too long. Refining the bone marrow into essence blood could yield a significant amount. However, five hundred naturae coins was too much, and the essence blood of a Starmoon Earth Dragon wasn't all that important for him.

The bidding began quickly!

It wasn't just Tang San who recognized the value of this Starmoon Earth Dragon skeleton. Many keen-eyed bidders at the auction quickly started driving up the price.

Six hundred, six hundred fifty, seven hundred, seven hundred fifty...

Finally, the skeleton sold for a high price of nine hundred naturae coins, making one marvel at how wealthy the Ancestral Court was.

The massive skeleton could be used to craft armor and refine essence blood. If handled properly, it could yield a profit of at least double, but the prerequisite was the ability to refine it and craft items from it. Undoubtedly, a prominent merchant association had bought this Starmoon Earth Dragon skeleton, as only they had the confidence to maximize its value.

This auction item made Tang San realize that finding a bargain here wouldn't be easy. Although there were many good items, the prices were clear to all, and many bidders were keen-eyed. Finding a successful bargain here would be extremely difficult.

"The second auction item will likely interest everyone more. This natural treasure comes from the Solstice Empire—Sunset Fruit! There are nine in total. A Sunset Fruit can activate your potential, instantly bringing out your full power to unleash an attack twice as powerful as your cultivation level would otherwise allow. After use, the eater will immediately enter a weakened state, but thanks to the spiritual energy of the Sunset Fruit, it won't cause permanent harm.

"It's a lifesaving divine item for those below the god level! As the saying goes, possessing one Sunset Fruit is like having an extra life. However, note that while Sunset Fruits are excellent, your own cultivation is still more important. Each time you consume a Sunset Fruit, you cannot use another for seven days."

Great item!

Tang San subconsciously clenched his fist. With his current cultivation level, if his explosive power were to double suddenly, it would rival the peak of the ninth order. Unfortunately, the Sunset Fruit was only effective for those below the tenth order. Of course, without this limitation, it wouldn't be a mere spiritual treasure but a divine one. Imagine if a Demon Emperor or a Nymph Emperor could suddenly erupt with two hundred percent of their power—that would be simply terrifying.

And this was a set of nine fruits, perfect for saving one's life or going all out—definitely a great asset.

Of course, something this good wouldn't come cheap. The starting bid was six hundred naturae coins!

Even so, compared to the Starmoon Earth Dragon skeleton earlier, Tang San clearly felt this was more worthwhile. Its most significant advantage was that it had no bloodline restrictions—any species could take it and benefit.

The bidding quickly confirmed Tang San's judgment. Within just a few minutes after the auction began, the price of the nine Sunset Fruits had doubled, and it was still climbing steadily.

The Golden Lion auctioneer kept announcing new bids, a broad smile spreading across his face. Good items always sold well here. This was precisely why so many merchants were willing to bring their treasures to auction in the Ancestral Court. Though the Ancestral Court took a higher commission, the chances of valuable items going unnoticed were very slim here.

Zhang Haoxuan sent a message asking Tang San if he wanted to get the Sunset Fruits. They would be useful for the Shrek Squad, but Tang San refused.

They were simply too expensive, and even though they were good, they weren't essential. The Great Beast Fighting Arena's team battle had ended, and for the time being, Tang San preferred keeping a low profile, so the Sunset Fruits would not be necessary. Moreover, in just a few years, everyone should be striving toward the ninth order, and by then, the value of the Sunset Fruits would be null. His primary goal this time was to get suitable essence blood, which would undoubtedly be very costly. The best resources should be used wisely.

Eventually, the nine Sunset Fruits were sold for 1,800 naturae coins, a staggering price.

The third auction item was a weapon. Spiritual items, after all, included not only natural treasures but also weapons and equipment, as long as they had some measure of spirituality.

Generally, armor rarely appeared in auctions because the body shapes of different demon and nymph clans were not uniform. Armor usually only suited one race rather than all races. In contrast, weapons had much broader use, making their value significantly higher than armor.

This was a sword; a greatsword, more specifically. The blade was dark gold in color, four meters long, and half a meter wide, clearly not meant for a smaller race. In fact, it looked a lot like a narrow door rather than a broad blade.

When the greatsword was brought up, the Golden Lion auctioneer's eyes glowed with desire. Clearly, he was less keen on selling it and more keen on owning it himself.

"This greatsword has a resounding name, the God-Slaying Sword. Under its blade, nine god-level powerhouses have fallen, including a Great Demon King. Its previous owner was the former patriarch of our clan. It is at the auction because our patriarch lost to his opponent and forfeited it. Today, it appears here. With special approval from the Ancestral Court, the bidding comes with a condition: the holder must, within ten years, challenge the Great Demon King who defeated our patriarch to a fight to the death! Only members of lion or tiger clans can participate in the bidding. Our two races have agreed that whoever wields it and defeats the formidable foe will become the new patriarch."

Undoubtedly, this was a special auction item, not aimed at all bidders. Only true members of the lion and tiger races could participate, and it was clearly targeted at the two great golden families. It was meant to inspire the younger generation.

Naturally, whoever obtained this greatsword would also shoulder the heavy responsibility of avenging the former patriarch.

The bidders on the three peaks were very calm. For the other clans, this was just a spectacle to watch. But for the lion and tiger races, this was undoubtedly a very important matter.

To defeat the patriarch of the Golden Lion Clan, even though that person wasn't a Demon Emperor, it had to be a top-tier powerhouse among Great Demon Kings, someone at the peak of the eleventh order.

In fact, the patriarch of the Golden Lion clan was at that level himself, yet even with the God-Slaying Sword, which was almost a divine artifact, he still lost to his opponent, even forfeiting the weapon. This opponent's strength was unimaginable. Defeating such an opponent was no easy task.

The lion and tiger races were close allies, and this opponent was clearly a formidable enemy for both. The fact that today's auctioneer was a Golden Lion was likely related to this situation.

Bananachocopie's Thoughts

penguin’s thoughts:

Today’s fun fact about Chinese culture: the dragon’s bead. Plenty of depictions of the Chinese dragon show it holding a pearl-like bead in its claws. This image comes from one of the most well-known Chinese legends. Somewhere in rural China (some stories say Sichuan), the crops are failing and the people are dying of hunger. A boy finds a field of grass that grows back by the next day every time he mows it. He digs up a piece of sod to take home, hoping to cultivate it, and under it finds a large bead. He takes the bead and hides it in a sack of rice.

The next day, he notices that the sod he transplanted has died, but the rice sack overflows—as it turns out, the bead multiplies whatever it touches. He and his mother share their good fortune with their neighbors. Eventually, the greedy emperor hears about it and sends his soldiers to take whatever they have. The boy ends up swallowing the bead in order to protect it, and suddenly feels thirst like never before. He drinks up a whole river, and in the process, transforms into a dragon that soars into the heavens—the bringer of rain and protective deity of the people.

This bead is associated with the cintāmani jewel that appears in Buddhism. In an abstract sense, it’s a metaphor for the essential teachings and virtues of the Buddha; in a concrete sense, it’s an actual jewel that fulfills wishes. It can manifest food and clothes, cure disease, and end sufferings. It is said to be obtained from the Dragon King of the sea, from the great fish Makara, or from the relics of a Buddha.

If you think it sounds awfully similar to Dragon Ball, you’re entirely correct. The Japanese title of the anime is a transliteration of the English “dragon ball,” but the Chinese is 七龙珠, i.e. “seven dragon beads,” where 龙珠 (dragon bead/pearl/jewel) is the exact term that appears in this chapter. Since Dragon Ball itself is heavily inspired from Journey to the West, this comes as no surprise, really.

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