The imperial capital of the Jia Ma Empire.
The Holy City of Jia Ma.
Today was an especially significant day—not just for the Holy City, but for the entire Jia Ma Empire. One of the empire's three great families, the Mittel Family, was hosting a Heaven-tier auction, an event so rare it might only happen once in several years.
This auction was grand beyond compare. The items up for bidding were extraordinarily valuable, and in terms of scale, it rivaled the famous auction once held in Black Seal City that Xiao Se had attended.
Of course, there was still a difference. The Black Seal City auction could be held once every month or two, while this one was a rare spectacle that took years to prepare. Yet even so, it was more than enough to draw in the majority of powerful figures within the Jia Ma Empire—and even attract visitors from neighboring nations.
The auction was held at the very heart of the Holy City, within the Mittel Family's headquarters.
Inside the massive auction hall, which spanned tens of thousands of square meters, countless figures filled every seat. The atmosphere was blazing hot, excitement surging like waves and pushing the entire venue toward a feverish peak.
Naturally, the reason for such fervor wasn't just the priceless treasures on display.
It also had much to do with the woman standing on the auction stage.
She was breathtakingly alluring, dressed in a form-fitting red cheongsam that clung perfectly to her body, accentuating every curve of her mature and voluptuous figure. Every smile, every subtle movement of her brows seemed to carry a captivating charm, as if her very presence cast a spell over the crowd below.
Many among the audience harbored certain thoughts about this enchanting woman.
Yet not a single person dared to show it.
Because they all knew—she was not someone they could afford to provoke.
In the past two years, the Mittel Family had grown increasingly powerful, showing signs of rising beyond the level of the other two great families of the Jia Ma Empire, and even standing shoulder to shoulder with the royal family and the Yun Lan Sect.
Part of this was due to the return of the Ice Emperor, who had been missing for many years. But a significant portion of that success could also be credited to the woman on stage—her exceptional talent in commerce and strategy.
The industries under her control, along with her intelligence network, had spread across the entire Jia Ma Empire. Rumor even had it that her influence had begun to seep into neighboring countries.
And that wasn't all.
Her cultivation talent was equally astonishing. At just twenty-two or twenty-three years old, she had already reached the level of a Dou Shi—a rank that placed her among the top of the younger generation in the empire.
On top of that, she was highly favored by the Mittel Family's Supreme Elder, the Ice Emperor Hai Bo Dong. There were even whispers that she had an ambiguous relationship with Xiao Huohuo, the champion of the previous Alchemist Grand Meeting.
Given such a background, who would dare entertain improper thoughts about her?
After all, Xiao Huohuo—the man who possessed the peak sixth-grade pill formula, the Po Zong Pill—had influence in the Jia Ma Empire that was already beginning to surpass even that of the Pill King, Gu He.
This woman was none other than one of the Three Great Beauties of the imperial capital, the true power holder of the Mittel Family—Mittel Ya Fei.
On the auction stage, Ya Fei smiled gently as she watched customers spend far more than the actual value of items to win their bids. A trace of pride—and faint disdain—flashed through her heart.
With a flick of her hand, she retrieved a black-silver scroll from her storage ring. The scroll carried an ancient aura, faint yet unmistakable. Her soft, slightly husky voice rang out across the entire hall.
"The final item of today's auction—a low-level Earth-class Dou Technique, Lingxi Sword. Starting price: two million gold coins."
The moment her words fell, the entire auction hall erupted into commotion.
Numerous heated gazes locked onto the stage—some fixed on the scroll, others unabashedly drawn to her.
"Three million!"
"Three million five hundred thousand!"
"Four million!"
The bidding rose rapidly, each voice louder than the last. But as the price climbed higher and higher, the number of participants gradually dwindled.
In the end, only two forces remained locked in competition—the Jia Ma Imperial Family and the Yun Lan Sect, the two most powerful factions in the empire.
The price soon soared to a staggering six and a half million.
Unlike the Black Sha Blood Poison Hand, which was comparable to a mid-level Earth-class technique, Lingxi Sword was merely a low-level Earth-class technique. And unlike the chaotic yet wealth-filled Black-Corner Region, the Jia Ma Empire operated under far stricter conditions.
Even for these two major factions, spending six and a half million on a single technique was already pushing their limits. After all, they still needed vast funds to maintain their operations.
They weren't like the lone experts of the Black-Corner Region, who lived by a simple rule—if they ran out of money, they could always just rob someone.
"Hehe, Princess Yaoye, it seems this Lingxi Sword will belong to our Yun Lan Sect after all," said Yun Leng, the Great Elder of the Yun Lan Sect, with a pleased smile.
"How annoying… what are you so smug about?" Princess Yaoyue pouted unhappily. She turned to the woman beside her, urgency in her voice. "Sister, raise the bid quickly!"
Yaoye fell silent for a moment, deep in thought. After a brief pause, she slowly shook her head.
"No. Six and a half million is already the limit of the royal treasury. If we go any higher, it will affect military funding."
Hearing this, Yaoyue quieted down as well. She understood the consequences of insufficient military funds—if things went wrong, it could even lead to unrest within the army. That was a risk the royal family could not afford.
Just as everyone assumed the Yun Lan Sect had secured victory—
"Ten million."
A sudden voice rang out, completely out of place.
For a moment, the entire hall froze.
Even Hai Bo Dong, who had been sitting beneath the stage with his eyes closed in quiet rest, opened them in surprise. A hint of joy slowly surfaced in his aged gaze.
Countless eyes followed the direction of the voice.
They finally settled on a spot in the front row of the audience.
At some point, a young man had appeared there.
He was dressed in a black robe adorned with gold patterns, his figure upright and composed.
On the stage, Ya Fei was equally stunned by the sudden, familiar voice.
Her beautiful eyes shifted toward the front row.
And when her gaze landed on that face—one she knew so well, yet now far more mature than during the previous Alchemist Grand Meeting—
Her entire body froze.
The scroll in her hand, the Earth-class Dou Technique that could drive the entire empire into a frenzy, slipped from her grasp with a soft snap, falling to the ground and rolling off the stage.
But she didn't even notice.
"Ten million gold coins—I'll take it. And if that's not enough… how about adding me as well?"
The young man curled his fingers slightly. A surge of invisible force erupted, pulling the fallen scroll into his hand before anyone could react.
His gaze softened as he looked at Ya Fei, who now seemed even more mature and breathtaking than before. A faint smile curved his lips.
The moment his words fell—
The expressions of nearly everyone in the hall darkened.
Several guards began moving toward him with grim faces, but Hai Bo Dong raised a hand, stopping them in their tracks.
On the stage, Ya Fei's eyes grew misty.
She nodded gently, biting her red lips. A dazzling, enchanting smile bloomed across her beautiful face—one that could topple cities and captivate hearts.
"Sold…"
Her soft voice echoed through the hall.
Then—
Silence.
A deathly stillness fell over the entire auction house.
Aside from Hai Bo Dong, Mittel Tengshan, and a handful of elders within the Mittel Family who recognized the young man—
Everyone else sat frozen, dumbfounded, as if turned to stone.
"Sister… who is that person? It looks like he knows Ya Fei," Yaoyue asked in confusion from a corner of the front row, turning to Yaoye.
(End of Chapter)
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