Gerald slammed the table. “Shut up! If you hadn’t kept trying to hold me back, would I have lost a single bid? And if you didn’t do that every time, would they suspect us of being shills?”

  Dante gawked at him, speechless. So now it’s my fault?

  Onstage, the auctioneer wiped his forehead nervously. “Distinguished guests, please be assured—our auction house has operated for tens of thousands of years. We have never engaged in fraudulent bidding.”

  He was clearly embarrassed, and he raised his voice toward the curtained window of Room Thirty-Eight. “Guest Thirty-Eight, please bid responsibly. Only raise your sign if you truly intend to purchase the item.”

  Gerald’s distorted voice came through the barrier charm. “What’s the problem? I am bidding for what I need. You’re running an auction, aren’t you? What, now you’re banning me from bidding?”

  The room fell into stunned silence. After that, no one dared to argue—though quite a few muttered curses under their breath.

  The ninth item appeared on the stage.

  The Strange Fire: Earth Core Ice Lotus.

  Lauren’s eyes brightened immediately. That was the one she wanted.

  But if Gerald was in Room Thirty-Eight—and all signs pointed to that—he’d definitely start driving the price up just for the hell of it.

  Before the bidding began, she discreetly called one of the auction attendants over.

  The attendant bowed. “How may I assist you, honored guest?”

  Lauren smiled faintly. “Please deliver this to Guest Thirty-Eight. Tell him to focus on the next item instead.”

  She pulled out the Light Stone she’d bought earlier, showed it briefly, and handed it to the attendant along with a generous pouch of spirit stones.

  Tarot turned to her, raising an eyebrow. “You’re giving it away?”

  Lauren nodded with a quiet smile. “The man in Room Thirty-Eight is most likely the Sect Leader himself. If I hand him this, maybe he’ll stop fighting me over the Ice Lotus.”

  Across the way, Gerald opened the storage bag that had just been delivered. Inside lay the dazzling Light Stone, gleaming like captured sunlight.

  “Did this come from Guest Eight?” he asked.

  “Yes,” the attendant said respectfully. “She also asked me to tell you to prioritize the next item.”

  Gerald’s brows lifted. “Alright, I understand. You may go.”

  When the door closed, he turned to Dante, eyes narrowing. “Who do you think Guest Eight is?”

  Dante thought for a long moment. “It must be someone from Immortal Drake’s side. She bought the Light Stone just to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. If she’s telling you to ‘prioritize the item,’ it probably means she doesn’t want her enemy getting it.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Enemy?” Gerald repeated.

  “Yes,” Dante said, lowering his voice. “That female disciple of Immortal Herbert—the one who’s her half-sister.”

  Gerald froze for a second, then a look of realization crossed his face.

  So the one who’d been trying to snipe the Light Stone from him earlier was Herbert?

  A slow grin spread across his face.

  By the time the sixth item went up, the bids had already soared into the millions. Now, as the ninth item appeared, the tension in the room was almost electric.

  “Earth Core Ice Lotus—starting price, five million low-grade spirit stones. Minimum increment, one hundred thousand.”

  Lauren didn’t raise her hand immediately, but plenty of others did. Among them, as expected, was the ever-loud Room Thirty-Eight.

  Dante could already feel a migraine coming on.

  “Master,” he said carefully, “if I remember right, you already have three different types of Strange Fire.”

  Gerald’s eyes gleamed, reflecting the icy blue lotus displayed in the crystal mirror. “The Earth Core Ice Lotus is extremely rare. Who in their right mind would ever say they have enough Strange Fires? I’m going to collect every single one in the world!”

  His voice was brimming with excitement. The dignified Sect Leader had vanished—replaced by a man who looked one step away from bouncing in his seat like a child.

  Anyone who didn’t know him would’ve thought he’d been possessed.

  Dante tried again, exasperated. “But, Master… you’re supposed to be saving for the Blood Qi Pill.”

  “It’s fine,” Gerald said without missing a beat. “Tarot’s in Room Eight. He’s loaded. Go borrow some spirit stones from him.”

  Dante froze. “Wait—what? I’m supposed to borrow from him?”

  “Of course. If I win the Earth Core Ice Lotus, I won’t have enough left for the Blood Qi Pill. Go, hurry up.”

  Dante stared at him in disbelief. Isn’t that way too humiliating?

  Before he could respond, a calm, clear voice came from the opposite room.

  “Eight million, eight hundred thousand.”

  Dante’s hand, which had been reaching for the door, immediately retreated. “Master, it’s Mr. Tarot and the others.”

  Gerald blinked. “They’re bidding too?”

  “Yes,” Dante said quickly. “I heard Ms. Lauren wanted a Strange Fire. She has an Ice Spiritual Root, and this one’s literally called the Earth Core Ice Lotus. Of course she’s going to want it.”

  Gerald frowned deeply, torn between reason and greed.

  Dante pressed on, desperate. “Master, they have way more spirit stones than we do. You’ll never win against them—and if you try, they’ll definitely refuse to lend you spirit stones later.”

  Gerald groaned softly. “Ugh… fine. If they lose to someone else, then I’ll jump back in.”

  Dante let out a long breath of relief. Thank the heavens, no need to go begging for stones yet.

  Meanwhile, the rest of the auction house was buzzing with confusion.

  “Wait, Room Thirty-Eight isn’t bidding? Not even once before ten million? Did hell just freeze over?”

  The numbers climbed rapidly.

  “Nine million.”

  “Nine point one.”

  “Nine point two.”

  Three bidders remained, each reluctant to give in. Lauren’s chest tightened every time the price rose, but Tarot silently handed her another storage pouch of spirit stones, wordlessly telling her to keep going.

  The auctioneer’s voice rang out again. “Ten million!”

  A hush fell over the hall.

  At ten million, both Gerald and the other high rollers fell silent. The Earth Core Ice Lotus was extraordinary, but beyond that point, it was simply not worth bleeding their wallets dry.

  Pushing it to eleven million was possible—but they both knew that Room Eight looked determined to win. If they kept raising the price, they’d only be provoking her.

  In the end, both sides backed off.

  Lauren won the Earth Core Ice Lotus for ten million low-grade spirit stones.

  A young attendant brought it to her, carefully holding the sealed crystal box containing the shimmering blue lotus. The chill radiating from it made the air feel crisp and alive.

  Lauren gazed at it with admiration.

  Some rare elixirs required ice-type Strange Fire, but ordinary alchemy still demanded normal flame. She wasn’t in a rush to become an alchemist anyway—first, she needed to master her talisman craft.

  Now that she had the Weak Tree, she could draw talismans without worrying about exhausting her spiritual energy.