"We've reached 56 million; do we have any more bids?"

After a while, when the bidding war among the people in the main hall began to slow down, Laura announced with a slight smile on her face as she looked at the attendees. This somehow served as the cue for the VIP room, as the vast majority of those present began manipulating their holographic screens. This caused the assistants in charge of announcing the bids to start speaking in rapid succession.

"58 million."

"60 million."

"65 million."

"73 million."

"80 million."

"92 million."

"100 million."

As the bidding war unfolded, the increase in bid amounts perceptibly accelerated. But suddenly, one of the guests in the VIP room—a man with black hair and Asian features dressed in what appeared to be a black male hanfu with floral details embroidered in gold thread on the chest—stood up from his seat and spoke aloud in the Galactic language, making a slight bow at the same time.

"Our He clan thanks the honorable companions for allowing us to keep this item."

"150 million."

Along with the man's words, a new bid resonated in the main hall from the assistants. At that moment, a delicate and melodious female voice speaking in the Oriental language was heard in the VIP room.

"Our Yuan clan really needs this item, so I apologize in advance to the He clan for my discourtesy."

Upon hearing the voice, several attendees turned to look in the direction it came from, including the Asian man, who looked incredibly indignant, and Erik, who curiously observed the young woman with Asian features. She had black hair with pale pink tips and wore a curious dress that seemed like a combination of a traditional hanfu and a dark blue evening gown, embroidered with bird motifs in gold thread.

For her part, the woman gave an elegant and defiant smile to the man who had so proudly announced his victory. Shen then looked at the rest of the guests and added, with courtesy and confidence, speaking again in the Oriental language while still seated.

"I thank those present for allowing me to win."

"151 million."

As if it were déjà vu, a new bid was announced by an assistant while the young woman was speaking. This caused her expression to harden, and she began to look around the VIP room with eagle eyes. She quickly focused on an elegant and handsome young man with iconic black hair adorned with stars in a distant corner who was withdrawing his hand from the holographic screen.

"It seems that the great direct disciple Erik does not know my Yuan clan."

As the angry voice of the woman filled the room, speaking in the Oriental language, an oppressive pressure shook the air. Erik turned his gaze with a slight smile on his face, followed by his two wolves, who were lying imposingly at his sides, each measuring almost two meters. He then spoke in the Galactic language with a calm and courteous tone.

"Of course, I know one of the noble clans of the Jade Lotus Union; I don't know what you mean, Miss Yuan."

Erik's words brought a tense silence to the VIP room, as the ones confronting each other were heavyweights not to be trifled with. On one side was a super-genius disciple of possibly the most influential Master-level women in the entire Arcane Order. And on the other was the princess of the Yuan clan, a noble clan with two active Master-level individuals and who knows how many in seclusion.

But for the more knowledgeable attendees, including Princess Silvana, it was obvious that the best course of action for miss Yuan was to accept defeat in silence and leave as soon as possible. After all, beside the star-haired young man was one of the greatest terrors of the galaxy—the Queen of Shadows, the demon disguised as a maid, Seraphina Ravenspell—and things were never easy when that woman was involved.

"It is the first time I see someone make such a trivial offer above that of the Yuan clan, especially when it has become clear how much we value the item. Perhaps you don't understand how much this object means to our family."

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For her part, the young Miss Yuan commented with a cold and threatening tone, still using the Oriental language. Erik responded with a calm tone and maintained a neutral expression, using the Galactic language, as if he was determined to confront the young woman.

"Miss Yuan, value is subjective, based on preferences and scarcity. Moreover, isn't the purpose of an auction to compete for what one desires?"

"There are ways to compete and ways to show discourtesy. I suggest you learn the difference, direct disciple Erik."

Upon hearing the 'mocking' comment from the annoying star-haired boy who refused to show her respect and spoke in that insulting Galactic language. Miss Yuan couldn't help but press her lips and comment with an even colder tone using the best of all languages—the Oriental—while Erik simply showed a smile and commented in a much more casual tone.

"Discourtesy is in the eye of the beholder. I have no intention of offending, simply of obtaining what I desire. And it seems that, for now, the auction is in my favor."

"200 million." A new bid resonated in the main hall, at which point Miss Yuan spoke again with evident threat in her voice.

"That scroll originally belonged to our Jade Lotus Union. I strongly recommend that direct disciple Erik refrain from making further bids if he wishes to avoid offending our faction, as it is well known how we act when someone tries to undermine our secrets."

"201 million."

In response to the evident threat, a bid resounded in the main hall that could only be interpreted as an act of mockery and disdain by those present, especially for Miss Yuan. She began to emit a thick killing intent while looking with evident anger at Erik, who was smiling as before. His wolves started releasing small electric sparks and thick darkness, both with predatory gazes completely focused on the young lady.

"It seems that direct disciple Erik does not respect our Jade Lotus Union, something I strongly advise against, as no one who has tried has survived so far."

Miss Yuan spoke with a tone laden with murderous intentions while her mana began to vibrate dangerously, causing her curious hair to rise in the air. Erik's expression did not change in the least, although his gaze became visibly dangerous as he examined the beautiful woman who had threatened his life from head to toe.

At the same time, a maddening and horrific killing intent that seemed to increase gravity flooded the room, suffocating all those present and causing them to have visions of death coming to claim their poor souls. A dignified voice filled with authority resounded in their ears, evidently emphasizing the pronunciation of the Galactic language.

"It seems that Miss Yuan forgets that she is in the territory of the Arcane Order, and we don't like those kinds of threats here. Our court in particular hates them quite a bit." Erik's words caused Miss Yuan's expression to visibly pale, and the star-haired young man added in a soft and almost mocking tone.

"Moreover, I recommend that you watch carefully the path back to your beloved Jade Lotus Union, as the cosmos is a dangerous place and no one knows what might happen, especially in the perilous borders..."

Along with Erik's words, black lightning surrounded his figure. At the same time, a terrifying and gigantic golden reptilian eye—leaving no doubt about the colossal power of the creature that possessed it—shone from behind him, filled with murderous intent. This made Miss Yuan completely pale; she remained seated in her chair in complete silence, covered in cold sweat, appearing like a statue as she did not dare to move a single finger in the presence of such a terrifying being.

"Do we have any more bids?"

While the VIP room was enveloped in an eerie silence, Laura's magnetic voice resonated throughout the place once again. This time, no one dared to say a single word, so after a prudent period of absolute silence, the beautiful woman in red elegantly announced the end of the competitive auction.

"Then the item goes to our honorable guest in the VIP room. Congratulations!"

After a light applause from the main hall as a sign of congratulations for winning the bid, the pressure and terrifying killing intent that had filled the VIP room disappeared as if they had never existed. The gigantic golden reptilian eye behind Erik closed, taking with it the mantle of black lightning that had covered him and allowing the guests to breathe again.

As 'peace' returned to the VIP room, Miss Yuan stood up from her chair in silence with trembling legs, then staggered out of the room. She was assisted by her female aide, who looked ghostly like Miss Yuan due to the excessive paleness of her complexion and the visible terror in her expression.

Meanwhile, next to Erik was an ecstatic Seraphina. Despite wanting to maintain her elegant and professional appearance, Seraphina had an expression on her face that was nothing but fascinated and filled with impure desire as she looked at her gallant young master. Her pupils were completely dilated, a deep blush adorned her cheeks, and heavy sighs loaded with excitement escaped from her beautiful red lips.

Pressing her thighs tightly together, Seraphina witnessed the whole scene as waves of pleasure and excitement coursed through her body, causing her to tremble slightly throughout the event. But being the perfect maid, she ensured that her 'vulgar' appearance could not be seen by anyone—except her young master, of course, who, if he had turned around, would have been able to see her as she truly was and not the false figure she had conjured for others.

When her young master was announced as the winner and Ebonique's eye disappeared, Seraphina quickly composed herself and adjusted her dress, swiftly regaining her elegant and professional appearance. She then deactivated the spell that covered the room, once again revealing her appearance to the public, although a slight blush was still visible on her delicate cheeks.

(It was definitely a great decision to bring my young master to this event. Such a dominant and authoritative presence—I still feel chills running through my whole body. Good thing I could record everything from the beginning; this will be a great 'midnight snack' fufufufu...)

While the perfect maid was lost in her 'malevolent' plans for her next 'misdeeds' during her much-anticipated 'date', the crystal sphere on the podium in the main hall changed to show the image of an impressive bow that seemed to vibrate on its own. At that moment, Laura announced with a slight smile.

"Well, now we will move on to the next item..."