“Elder Yan, would you be willing to offer more pills and elixirs for the auction?” Young Head Kayla asked, pouring the Elder Alchemist tea.

“I may have some other pills and elixirs which could be auctioned, though I hope that the same conditions will apply.”

“Of course, Elder Yan,” Kayla smiled, tasting the gold which would flow through the Auction House soon.

Eventually the pair of Alchemists returned to their inn, and once Mika felt it was safe, he spoke with the Elder who was currently trying not to panic. “Relax, Elder Yan. Make something for tomorrow and take the day off. I, the general, will go to battle tomorrow.”

‘He really does seem like a normal kid when he calls himself the general,’ the Elder Alchemist thought.

The Elder spent his hours refining the elixirs, while Mika thought about making it easier for him. However, he realised that the Elder may have a heart attack if he ended up assisting the old man with his alchemy. ‘I don’t want him feeling useless. He’s still good enough to use, not just his alchemy, but also his title.’

The next day the auction was full of gossip and rumours. Sitting on the second floor was a young cripple, who had been bidding for items left, right, and centre. The various children of the families had tried to bid, but the young Page was relentless. However, it was only after seeing the Tiger Fist boy bid that they realised the young Page had shown them mercy.

Mika bought as much as he liked, from gems, cores, weapons, to even martial manuals. He didn’t bid on any of the pills or elixirs, partly because some of them had been made by his guild, and partly because he would feel sick to the stomach if he brought such low quality items when he could make much better with less effort than it took for him to state a bid.

Kayla wasn’t sure what she should do. Mika was dominating the auction, and there had been some complains. However, to see the young man bid on items of Sky grade by overpaying not by just two or three times, but even as much as ten times? ‘How much money did the Elder give this boy?’

“I see you’re having fun, little Page!”

“Good afternoon, Patriarch Lion Roar,” Mika said, the Patriarch inviting himself into the same room as the young Page. The Elite of the auction tried to step in, but the Patriarch pushed past him and sat down, and Mika raised his hand to say it was fine.

“I hope you don’t mind if I join you to have fun too?”

“I don’t dare to mind,” Mika said, smiling up at the Patriarch innocently. “Fifteen thousand.”

The Young Master of the Viper Fist family frowned. He had almost bid the same, but to see that the Page was bidding for this specific gauntlet, he sighed. “Young Master, shouldn’t you give us a chance to bid for some items too?”

“I didn’t know that you wished to bid on this item,” Mika said, holding up his hands in the cultivator’s way. “If I had known, I certainly wouldn’t have bid.”

The Viper Fist teen raised his brow. “Sixteen thousand?” he said, as though he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to bid.

Mika smiled, before turning to look at the Patriarch. “What are you going to bid for today, Patriarch Lion Roar?”

“This and that,” Lion Roar replied. “Is there anything which you like? This old man will buy it for you.”

“I can’t go further into your debt, Patriarch.”

“My debt?” Lion Roar raised his brow. “What do you mean?”

“When I was a boy, a member of one of your squads assisted my family,” Mika said.

“They did?” Lion Roar thought for a moment. “You’re speaking of Captain Chala, of the Black Lion Squad. I do remember her helping some children a few years ago. Right, she helped a girl and three boys, though she said that the beast was dead before she arrived. She spoke highly of your Head.”

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“Head Rogue is quite strong,” Mika said, nodding his head.

“Since it was fate for us to meet, why don’t I buy you something?”

“If you want to gift me something I’ll be sure to let the Elder know that you have treated me kindly,” Mika assured.

“You don’t have to do that, little Page,” Lion Roar said, rubbing the boy’s head. “It was a disgrace to the Tiger Fist family that they did something like that to you.”

“Elder Yan said I can’t blame them, since it’s just in their nature,” Mika said.

“I thought it was you who said it?”

“The Elder agreed?” Mika smiled innocently.

The Patriarch laughed, but laughed even harder when the boy bid against him. “Little Page, are you sure you wish to brawl with this Patriarch?”

“I can’t stay in your debt forever, Patriarch Lion Roar, that’s why I’ll be sure to let you have fun today.” Mika continued to smile innocently.

“Right! That’s right!” Lion Roar’s hair almost flew up as he let out some ki from the passion of a good fight. “Let’s see how long you can go up against me.”

Mika didn’t mind overpaying for the items, even if it meant overpaying by five or six times. The days continued, with Elder Yan and Mika continuing to buy up about a third of the items on offer. Kayla had been paying attention to the bids, and noted that the Alchemists had spent millions on their auction. The elixirs which the Elder had offered on the last day had basically paid off all their bids and then some.

She stood out on the balcony of the Auction House on the night before their departure, feeling the soft breeze against her face. ‘Elder Yan, Page Mika, please return soon.’ She wasn’t sure if this was what love felt like, but she was certain the heartache was the same.

The news of the pair of Alchemists within the city exploded, with all the families realising who it was that brought such great elixirs to them. The various families wondered how they could ingratiate themselves with the Alchemists, though one Patriarch was finding himself under the violent scrutiny of his wife for spending so much on such useless items just to fight a little boy.

“You damn brat!” Patriarch Tiger Fist roared, his roar slamming his son back several metres. “How could you offend the Alchemists? Don’t you know who that Elder is? He’s a Starr! A damn Starr, and you dared to offend him and attack his apprentice? You’re lucky the boy wasn’t his disciple, otherwise you would have been poisoned to death already!’

“Father, I’m sorry,” the Young Master said, kneeling before his father, forehead on the floor. His father had never punished him like this before. “I’ll make this right!”

“You will spend a year contemplating in front of the wall!” the Patriarch spat. “If you dare to step away from it, I’ll bury you with my own hands, you unfilial bastard!”

His son quickly retreated, making his way to the wall. ‘Damn it! This is all their fau-,’

Patriarch Tiger Fist struck his son across the back of his head, knocking him unconscious. “How dare you spill out killing intent so openly?” He sighed. ‘I need to make things right…’ He grimaced. ‘No. They’ve already openly mocked our family. I can’t just give in to them like that.’ He sighed, rubbing his forehead. ‘I can’t just let them go free after they openly mocked our family.’

It wasn’t just that the pair had openly mocked his family, it was that they also bid against the Tiger Fist family any time they tried to bid. They hadn’t done so in matters of alchemy, for they hadn’t bid on any such items whilst they were there. They showed mercy to four families, though, especially the Viper Fists and City Lord’s family.

‘If you’ve decided to join hands with them, then I’ll just have to join hands with our City Alchemists.’

The driver whistled as he drove them back from the city, having thoroughly enjoyed himself at the inn. His pouch was also heavy with coin, having spent not a single penny at the inn.

“You can runeforge?” Elder Yan whispered, staring at the ruined items Mika had bought. He had bid far too much for them, the Tiger Fist family having increased the bid from five hundred to five thousand. Mika had almost let them buy it, but these items were worth more than five thousand in his hands.

“I can breathe too,” Mika replied, casually, before he checked on the herb that he had bought from the Auction House. It was a herb which could be made into a soup that helped young children and pregnant women get proper nutrients. It hadn’t been for auction, but rather was for sale in one of the Auction House’s stalls.

‘Why are you so chaotic?’ The Elder rubbed his forehead, feeling it pulse. “Master Braum is a Runesmith.”

Mika smiled slightly, and the Elder realised Mika had been waiting for this moment. “Is he trustworthy?” Mika asked.

“Yes?” Elder Yan replied, still trying to understand how far Mika had thought. ‘Since when did you think about the Runesmith?’

“If he’s trustworthy, then maybe we should bring him in?” Mika wondered how well the Master Runesmith could runeforge. ‘If he’s a Master then he’s probably not that bad. Should I teach him a little? I hear he’s from the West.’

‘How can he Runesmith?’ Elder Yan thought. ‘Runesmithing is a skill of the West…’

“I’ll trust you to hand out the weapons to the families appropriately,” Mika said, looking out the window.

“Of course, Young Master.”

‘Should I go on an adventure with those two brats?’ Mika yawned. ‘I should focus on the tournament first? How strong should I make Ami?’ He thought about making her as strong as their father in two years. ‘No, no, even that is too quick. I can’t just endanger her because I’m impatient. Though, I do need to destroy the Tiger Fist family too. Should I wait until after the tournament to do that? Ami could spearhead the way to destroying them and make a name for herself, and then she can start her journey to become a Celestial Guard.’

‘So you can smile like that too, Young Master?’