As happened at every auction Yu had attended in the sect, a breathtakingly beautiful woman was the auctioneer. It was not always the same woman, but she was always a woman and always alluring. Her brother explained it like this.
“We men are often not very smart, Yu’er. We want to spend lots of money to impress girls, and the more beautiful, the more they want to impress her.”
This particularly attractive woman had swirling artistic tattoos up her right side, including the leg all the way to her neck that was showing through a wide slit in her striking black Qipao. She really was stunning.
She had just walked out to applause, and of course whistles and such from the men… because men were men. She stood at the front edge of the auction house stage with its purple and gold carpet.
“Good evening.” Her voice rang like a bell and quiet fell. “We welcome you all to this special auction put on the Treasure Pavilion. It is our pleasure to act as an intermediary between sellers and buyers of rare and powerful goods the world over. This evening’s auction represents a joint effort by the three empires participating in the spirit realm. Donations from all levels of each empire have been put up for bid, with a particular focus on those young cultivators risking themselves for the rewards of this unique opportunity.”
Whispers, mutters, cheers, and applause came from the crowd below. Like Yu, they apparently appreciated the opportunity to see items provided by the hierarchy of all three empires.
The red curtain behind the woman parted and two large men – Warriors most likely, Yu thought – carried a long table with a purple cloth covering some shape with lots of lumps and bumps.
“Now, before we begin with the first lot for sale, I wish to share three things. The first is the rules. They are simple. Violence is not allowed, threats are not allowed. The Treasure Pavilion has powerful cultivators who are more than capable of throwing anyone out of the building. Second, all bids are final. Third, payment is required upon acquisition of your goods. If any of these rules are violated, your rights to any Treasure Pavilion facility anywhere will be suspended or revoked.”
By the time she finished speaking, the table with the purple cloth-covered whatever has been placed the two men walk off stage.
“The second important matter is a matter of the items being sold. The entire purpose of this event is to offer items potentially useful for the spirit realm. Therefore, we will not be offering any items that are enchanted with spatial compression. For those who do not know, there are a wide range of uses for spatial compression, so this does limit the selection somewhat, but we have done everything we can to offset that with creative use of other enchantments.”
Yu nodded. She had actually wondered about that. Spatial compression was far more useful than just in storage rings, and most people had no idea.
“And the final thing I wish to share is that, in an effort to introduce everyone entering the spirit realm to everyone else, and to foster both friendship and competition, the barriers for all private boxes will be removed. Now.”
And as she said, the window was suddenly empty. Yu did not know how the enchantment worked, but it was rather nifty.
“I can’t wait to advance further in enchanting. There are so many things you can do with it!” Yu said with anticipation.
There was no change in noise as the enchantment did not block it, but the airflow changed, which meant Yu started smelling the stench of all the people below. Her nose scrunched in disgust.
Ugh. What a pain.
She let out a frustrated huff, as she increased her focus on the sense control mantra.
“Please remember the rules. Now, our opening item. Lot number one is…” and she reached forward, pulling off the purple cloth in a flourish.
***
Fan Ran looked down upon the gnarled brown branch that sat on the table. It was about as long as he was tall and twisted into a loose spiral. The head was thick and rounded, while the bottom was a blunt tip. He also noticed it was sitting on a formation of some sort that created a barrier he was unfamiliar with. Yu might know, enchanting being her thing, as unfortunate as that was. He had failed repeated to talk her out of the distraction, but it was useful at times.
“This first lot is provided by the Treasure Pavilion itself. We have had this item on consignment for two-hundred and thirty-three years. Every time we have attempted to sell it, it has failed to garner the attention we believe it deserves. Given the special event coming up and the limitations for that event, we have brought this treasure out to see if it draws interest.”
Ran’s curiosity was peeked, which of course was the woman’s intent with the provided background. He had no idea what could have caused a piece of dark ironwood that size to not be purchased by some crafter. Hells, he might buy it just to see if he could resell at the sect auction for points.
“As many of you have likely surmised, this is a branch of dark ironwood. It was used as a walking staff for a period of time, until being placed in our care. It has not yet been enchanted, but, as the name indicates, the Darkness and Wood affinities are deeply infused into all dark ironwood, and it would accept enchantments of those affinities especially well. However, and we believe this is why it has not sold, this branch was originally removed from an eight thousand year old living Cursed Bloodwood Creeper.”
At that, whispers and mutters permeated the space.
Oh. Well that explains it. No wonder the cultivator stopped using it and got it as far away from themselves as possible.
“For those of you unfamiliar with that particular demonic beast, the reputation for the Cursed Bloodwood Creeper is quite—”
“Oh, oh, I want that! Five million silver.” Everyone looked to the source of the call. It was, not surprisingly to Ran, Yu’s insane master. “I need a new broom handle and that would work perfectly!” he said excitedly. Then he waved his hand and the branch, the table it had been on, the carpet beneath it, and the floor beneath that, all vanished.
“Hey, wait a—” called someone from the crowd. The sect master waved his hand again and the man disappeared.
There was no noise for a time, until into the silence fell a light banging sound and Ran did not have to look far to find the source. Yu was repeatedly thumping her forehead on the edge of the auction booth.
***
“Is that normally how this empire functions?” Prince Hiro asked the ambassador sitting two places to his left.
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“No, your highness,” Hana Shin, ambassador to the Meiyo Saiyūsen Empire said back with a shake of his head. “That man is the sect master of the Black Dragon Sect.”
“Ah,” Hiro said back, as if that explained everything. “The lunatic. That means that rightfully embarrassed girl is the anomaly.”
“Indeed, your highness.”
“And you can confirm the rumors?”
“Our sources have repeatedly done so, but not with one hundred percent certainty. I have failed you, your highness.” How bowed low in his seat.
Hiro disdained people like this. Failures lost honor and the dishonorable were to be disposed of; but his imperial father refused, saying the ambassador served a purpose. The man probably thought he was protected by Hiro’s father, which was why he could get away with being a failure and brining dishonor to his position, family, and self.
“Indeed you have. Your honor is at risk. Why are we unable to be firm?” he asked with an annoyed look.
“None of our people have personally been able to successfully infiltrate the sect, and she never fights outside of it. In fact, this is the only time we have witnessed her leaving it in years. Her master isolates her. The information we have managed to gather on her capabilities is second hand, from supposed witnesses.”
Hiro glared at the dishonorable good-for-nothing.
What a waste.
“However,” the man rushed to add, “I can confirm that everyone else seems to believe it true. What I cannot say is whether this is everyone confirming everyone else’s false information, or whether they have sources we do not.”
“Even the Gui believe?”
“Indeed, your highness. That I can confirm with certainty, which is why I find it unlikely to be a ruse.”
“Fine. I suppose we simply have to assume it would be too clever a plot to fool everyone. This does not exonerate your honor, but it does reduce your loss.”
The ambassador bowed again. “Thank you for your kindness, your highness.”
“I don’t see it,” said a girl sitting next to Hiro.
Utsukushii Hanabiraki was, as her name stated, a beauty. Her family had close ties to his adoptive father’s, and thus she was being shown favor by allowing her the chance to serve under Hiro in the spirit realm. Of course, they hoped she would earn sufficient honor to become one his wives, but he doubted she would. As lovely as she may be to look at, her cultivation did not meet the qualifications. Hiro’s father had high standards, and so would he.
“All the skin these Gui Imperials show stains their honor. Plus, she’s too muscular to be attractive to honorable men.”
Hiro did not roll his eyes at her, but he wanted to.
“Customs differ,” was what he said instead.
Of course she wasn’t wrong. Yes, the girl was too muscular, but it did not matter. Nothing mattered except that she was a potential threat to him.
He was unique in his own empire, and probably beyond. It was why his father had accepted him into his imperial family. Every large nation or empire had someone like that – at least one or two cultivators who stood out as special, far beyond the rest.
But there were none like him, he was certain of that. Nobody could compare to Hiro’s qualifications and potential. However, if it was true that this girl could use all Qi types and had six affinities, then she truly could be a threat. He would win anyway in a fight, obviously; nobody could defeat him. He had been battling above his own stage since he was fourteen when his special physique had been discovered.
But still, a threat was a threat.
“She’s ugly and no danger to you, your highness,” the girl simpered.
He sneered internally. Idiot girl.
“Well, I don’t think she’s ugly,” Hiro’s friend, Mottomo Surudoi Ha said. “I find her quite appealing.”
Hanabiraki huffed. “You would. You only like fighters like yourself.” Then she leaned close to Hiro and simpered, “A real woman is soft and compliant. Do you think someone like her will see her husband as her superior and lord, as a proper lady should?”
He shrugged, not denying it. “I agree with the first part of that statement. There is no way she’s not a dangerous fighter. Look at her move. Every motion is smooth, every action is certain. She’s not just a fighter, she’s an experienced one. As for the rest…” he just shrugged again, either not caring or confident he could tame her.
“We are not here to assess her fitness as a wife. Do her capabilities maker her a threat, is the only question that matters at the moment,” said a fourth voice from behind Hiro. It was his uncle and one of his father’s advisors. He was a general in the military and one of the smartest men Hiro knew.
Hiro decided to end the discussion as another item for sale was being brought forth now that the floor had been repaired. “Can she defeat me? No, of course not. Does that mean she is not a threat, though? The answer to that is also no.”
“That uncertainty is your greatest danger, my prince,” his uncle said. “And even if the girl is a risk, she is not your only concern.”
“I know, Uncle,” he said as he thought of his true mission in the spirit realm. He had something critical to accomplish for his father and his empire.
I will prove my father true in his faith in accepting me into his family.
Looking at the silver-haired girl again, he said, “I will not fail, no matter who stands in my way.”
***
“That’s her, right?” Khatun Baga Arslan said excitedly. “Tell me that’s her.”
“It is her, cousin,” the young man next to Arslan said with a smirk.
“Look at those muscles. I bet she could make me bleed. Oh, wow…”
“Khatun, please close your mouth before you start drooling,” a large woman said sarcastically from a few seats away.
“I am the Khatun, the son of the Khan, I should have only the strongest woman!” Arslan said back without removing his eyes from the one they called Fenghuang Yu.
“She’s not bad, I’ll admit,” said the same woman. “Certainly better than the soft weaklings we’re used to from both our strongest neighbors. But still, she doesn’t exactly exude power.”
“Agreed,” said another muscular young man in their group. “Just because she’s stronger than the rest of them, doesn’t make her strong herself.”
“No. Look at her. Really look!” Arslan said emphatically.
They did, used to following the orders of their Khatun. They had spent most of their lives together, serving under Arslan, and knew him well. Thus, they also knew that if they didn’t comply, he might start breaking bones. He didn’t do it maliciously; it was just the best way to make people obey him. The strong ruled the weak, the strongest ruled the strong. And this girl… she looked strong.
“She’s miraculous,” he whispered.
“Can you sense it?” the ambassador asked in a low voice. “We have only our sources and rumors.”
“Oh, I can sense it,” Arslan said in awe.
He could almost feel the power radiating off of her from even this distance. He had always been able to detect the depth and density of someone’s power, a gift he inherited from the blood of his mother, an insightful woman with a unique and powerful bloodline.
Since it had awoken when he was a child, Arslan had used his bloodline to get a sense of what he faced, and then to guide him to victory. This girl had a pool of power so deep, it shocked him. What was more, it wasn’t even full yet, and that was the most astonishing thing of all.
“I’ve never seen one so large before. It is even deeper than mine.” There were a few gasps at that, which made sense as nobody that he had ever sensed, even his father, had a larger pool of power than him. “It is like an ocean that’s still only two thirds full. I hope I can fight her.”
Then he turned quickly in his seat and stared hard at the rest of the young men and women around him. “We have to make that happen. Pass this onto the other groups: once inside, do what you must to bring your future queen to me.”
“Yes, Khatun,” they all said back as they crossed their arms across their chests and bowed their heads to him, the order clear.
“Khatun, if I may, what about the one they call ‘Hiro?’ What can you sense from him?” the ambassador asked.
It was bold of the man to ask him, but Arslan didn’t really care. The ambassador was strong enough to be worthy of his respect. Of course, he would not have gotten the position if he was lacking.
Arslan turned his head to face another auction booth. It was filled with those misguided weaklings who cared about honor above all else, even power, which was utterly mad. Power was obviously the most important thing in the world – everything else was granted by its presence.
Focusing on this Hiro, Arslan said, “He is… strange. I can sense a pool of power, but it is almost as though it is backwards. Like it is being sucked into him rather than exuding from him. I have never seen its like.”
“Is its size of interest to you?”
“I cannot tell because of the way it is flowing. It is impossible to get a solid grip on the pressure.”
“That probably means they’re hiding it somehow,” one of his cousins said. “They don’t want to admit the weakness of their hero.” Arslan could hear the disdain in his cousin’s tone at that word.
“Or,” another said, “they are hiding it because he is strong and they wish their opponents to underestimate him, which you have just done.” His voice was also disdainful, but this time it was aimed at his fellow.
Not interested in their bickering, Arslan interjected himself. “Whatever the reason, the truth will come out when I face him. One cannot hide the truth when confronted with overwhelming power after all.”