"One Void Rank core!" a rough-voiced man from the center called out, tossing a crimson-glowing core into the projection basin.
"One and a half Void Rank cores!" a pale, veiled woman countered from the upper balcony, flicking a small crystal vial onto the bidding platform—it pulsed with the condensed light of half a Void core's worth of essence.
"Two Void Rank cores!" barked a merchant lord from the eastern wing, his jeweled hand waving as a servant rushed forward with a box of gleaming fragments.
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Edai smiled, her voice velvet-smooth. "Ah, competition already. But surely such a precious gate, tied to the Molten Spine's inner flame veins, is worth far more?"
Then, without fanfare or flourish, Asher raised a single hand.
"Ten Void Rank cores."
Eyes snapped toward him. Gasps filled the air. Even the previously confident merchant lord dropped back into his seat, his face pale.
Edai blinked, her sultry expression replaced with thinly veiled awe. "T-Ten Void Rank cores, bid by… the young master in the central VIP suite."
She quickly turned toward the rest of the crowd. "Any… any higher bids?"
She waited, voice a little more hesitant this time. "Going once…"
A ripple of tension swept the crowd. But no one dared to challenge it.
The air itself seemed to bow toward the high VIP room.
"Sold! The Gate of Flames belongs to the esteemed bidder in VIP Room Seven!"
A faint chime echoed through the hall as the winning bid was locked in.
Behind Edai, the auction servants scrambled to record the transaction, while a black-robed elder from the reserve dungeon council stamped Asher's claim with a sigil that shimmered with flame runes.
A murmur swept the crowd, many turning to whisper and speculate.
"Ten cores so casually… must be a scion of a hidden sect."
"No. Did you feel his aura earlier? That's no spoiled heir. That's a predator."
"Hush," someone whispered in the crowd, their voice barely audible over the stunned murmurs. "He's the one… the one who openly killed that young master from the Shadowmoon Clan. Crushed him like an insect right in front of the guards."
A collective shiver passed through the gathered audience.
"The guards didn't even stop him," another added. "Didn't dare to. I heard his aura flared for a moment—World Rank. Not just entry-level either… High-grade."
"Then what's he doing at a Void Rank auction?"
"Maybe he wants the bosses inside for his Woman… She is only at Soul Rank—"
"You mean, he's taking those gates fro his woman?" Someone could not help but siad enviously as other women also nodded.
No one dared finish the thought out loud, but the implication hung thick in the air: anyone who could walk into an auction and throw away ten Void Rank cores without blinking—and casually slaughter a noble heir in front of witnesses—was not someone to provoke.
Up in the VIP room, Asher leaned back on the plush black-cushioned seat, fingers laced loosely behind his head, eyes half-lidded as if bored.
Valis stood near the window, arms crossed, his shadow rippling unnaturally behind him.
Veyra watched the bidding floor with sharp eyes, but a small smile touched her lips.
"They're afraid of you now," she murmured, voice low enough for only Asher and Valis to hear.
"Good," Asher said without looking. "Let them be. Fear is easier to manage than envy."
Moments later, Edai cleared her throat and lifted her voice again, masking her earlier falter with professional grace.
"Let us now begin the bidding for the second gate—The Frost Hollow Path, ranked high in difficulty among Void Gates. Treacherous terrain, extreme elemental resistance required… Who shall begin the bidding?"
Five gleaming cores appeared before Edai's feet.
She didn't even wait. "Sold! To the guest in VIP Room Four!"
The tension escalated.
Gate after gate was brought out—each tied to a dungeon buried somewhere in the vast expanse of the Hundred Mountain Range. Each came with a dangerous, sealed boss at the end. And for each one…
Didn't matter the price.
He didn't even haggle. He didn't need to.
By the fifth gate, murmurs had turned into hushed awe. Even among the wealthiest nobles and sect delegates, no one dared bid against him. Whether they feared his power, or feared the death that would follow a challenge… none could say.
"Crimson Lattice Cavern," Edai announced. "A rare Blood-aligned gate. Very valuable to those cultivating blood or corrosion laws. Bidding starts at eight cores—"
A flash. A pouch dropped with a soft thud. Not eight, but twenty cores.
"...Sold," Edai said, eyes wide, voice flat.
Even her facade of seduction and charm was cracking. She glanced once toward the shadowy room above her, where Asher lounged with casual arrogance, and something close to a chill ran down her spine.
The auction continued, but it no longer felt like a competition.
Gate after gate was announced, but no hands rose—only the soft flutter of spatial rings opening, the sound of Void Rank cores clinking against the auction platform, and the quiet voice of Edai repeating again and again:
"Sold to VIP Room Four."
Crimson Lattice Cavern.
Obsidian Echo Sinkhole.
And finally—Gate of the Drowned Labyrinth.
Ten Void Rank dungeon gates.
By the end, Edai's voice was hoarse. The auction house guards stood like statues, sweat lining their backs. The noble factions seated below watched with expressions that ranged from bitter helplessness to begrudging awe.
In the VIP room, Asher rose from his seat.
"That should be enough," he said simply.
Valis leaned forward, smirking. "You sure? Still a few left. Might as well bankrupt the rest while you're at it."
"I'm not here to make enemies," Asher said calmly, brushing the dust from his shoulder. ' Ten should be enough to keep us busy for now"