William raised his hand to bid, "Five thousand!"
Carl looked at William in shock, "Do you really have that much? You're wealthier than I am!"
Carl was only counting his own personal allowance and not his family's, but it was still surprising to him that William had so many Mana Stones.
William nodded, "Of course, I'm an Array Master. I have quite a bit right now."
Carl was tempted to learn Arrays so he could earn money like William. He felt it would also be a great way to trap Magical Beasts in the future for his Heavenly Mark Innate Talent.
The only reason Carl hadn't thought to use Arrays before was because he was naïve and expected his bodyguards to be able to handle any Magical Beast without an issue.
Now that he was stronger, he realized that Nascent Soul Cultivators weren't as strong as he thought. Magical Beasts are usually stronger than their human counterparts, so unless they were a freak like William or some of the other Disciples in the Outer Sect, there was little chance of defeating a Magical Beast one on one.
As one's Cultivation grew, the Magical Beasts became even more difficult to handle alone. It wasn't just their strength, but also their intelligence that increased with each Realm.
"Can you teach me Arrays?" Carl asked, catching William off guard while he was focused on the bids.
William nodded, "Not now though. I can't use Arrays here or we might get kicked out.
Carl understood this but he said nothing. William was heavily focused on the bidding right now, so he could ask later. As a man of wealth, Carl knew how much this moment mattered to William.
The bids continued to climb, only slowing down when they reached seven thousand Mana Stones. William carefully watched the expressions of each bidder, even keeping track of the ones that were seemingly not bidding anymore.
"Eight thousand." he said with a raised hand.
Out of the corner of his eye, William noticed a young man with glowing yellow eyes and short blue hair looking at him. The young man was the most recent bidder other than William, and seemed a bit angry when Will outbid him yet again.
As their eyes connected, William felt an unnatural force try to pry into his brain. The room began to shake from his perspective, but no one else seemed to notice anything. The shaking stopped, then he felt the same sensation from before.
-Host is suffering a mental invasion, concentrate and defend yourself.
A mental invasion, so that's what this is. System, how do I defend myself? William asked mentally while suffering from multiple successive attacks.
On the other side, the young man showed an expression of surprise. The other party didn't seem to be defending himself at all, yet he couldn't pry into the man's brain no matter what he tried.
I'll go for a big one next. the young man thought to himself.
-Use your Soul Strength and concentrate it to your forehead like a shield. Your Mind Talent is currently the only thing defending you, but it won't last long.
William nodded and did as the System said. Strands of Soul Mana were called from inside him and condensed into a thin barrier around his forehead. Amplified by his Mind Talent, his defense became rock solid, and the room stopped shaking.
The feeling of the man's attacks were reduced to a light tapping, which was annoying, but they weren't even enough to break William's concentration. He refocused on the bidding, raising the young man's bid of 8200 Mana Stones to 8500 at the last second.
So that was your plan, huh? Raise me and then take the item? Nice try buddy.
William contacted Rodger's assistant, who was given Rodger's communicator while the auction was ongoing. He relayed the information of the young man to the assistant, but he was frustrated when he heard what the assistant said.
"I'm sorry Mr. Yuming, but that young man is a high-level member of the Pillars of Justice. We noticed your situation immediately, but our Night Market has some limitations. I'm glad you're okay, but please be wary of them in the future while bidding here." the assistant explained.
William was angry, but he didn't blame the assistant. It seemed the Pillars of Justice were quite powerful.
"Will they target me if I get the item?" he asked the assistant.
"Of course not! They're still a righteous faction! They've interfered with the auction in the past though. Don't worry Mr. Yuming, the Ultimate Soul Stone isn't worth the attention of an entire organization. The young man is probably acting on his own." the assistant replied.
"I see, thank you." William hung up.
The assistant breathed a sigh and put away his communicator. This specific young man had been the source of their troubles for a few years now, but no one could do anything to him because of his position.
It had caused the Night Market's reputation to tank lately, and they were forced to auction off higher-level items than usual just to keep people from going elsewhere. They could only be happy that the man always paid them when he bought an item off the auction.
"Going once...going twice...sold! To the young man in the Five Elements Sect!" Rodger shouted in glee as he earned another 850 Mana Stones just for standing on stage and talking.
William stood up this time and went to the back to retrieve both the Ultimate Soul Stone, the Alchemy ingredients, and to exchange his Mana Stones. He was left with 6803 Mana Stones, which was almost the same amount he came in with, but he wasn't sad.
William had gained quite a bit in this auction and had even learned how to defend from a mental invasion. He didn't know how strong the young man's attack was, but based on what the assistant said, he couldn't be weak.
He returned to his seat once he had everything sorted out and properly stored in his Space Ring.
Seeing William come back, some of the audience was interested. Did this young man still have money? Where did he come from?
A few hours passed, the Night Market lasting a bit longer than the other ones William had been to. There were quite a few items left to auction after the Ultimate Soul Stone, and William managed to acquire a second set of Alchemy ingredients for 250 Mana Stones, albeit less rare than before.
Seeing William continue to bid after spending thousands of Mana Stones, Carl's desire to learn Arrays became even more intense. Even Tia and Gunther were a bit interested, although they knew better.
For William to make so much money off Arrays, he clearly had to have immense talent. It wasn't just the fact that he was using Arrays, but also the quality of said Arrays. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel-fire.ɴet
Regardless, William accepted each of their requests to teach them a bit about Arrays. He even decided to give Yuming and Filipe something to study Arrays on, in case they wanted to learn as well.
In William's opinion, Arrays were a fundamental part of this World. Why would anyone not learn them if they're so powerful?