Writer's Note: And so, we reached the climax! Lance makes preparations and Item Number 1 is finally up for auction. It really hurt my brain as I tried to make each auction item better until the finale. Action to come soon? I guess I have to practice my battle chapter skills. I have a seven hour training session today and my hours will be decided then. The next chapter might release Tuesday. No promises. It's a whole new step in life for me now. Geez. Enjoy.

Chapter 25: A Treasure Worth a Kingdom

"Is there any way to retrieve my items early?" Lance asked the servant as he ushered him forward.

"Of course. Upon doing so, the money you deposited will be accepted by the auction house," the servant asked.

"How much do you make a year doing this?" Lance asked.

"10,000 demon spirit coins," the servant answered.

"Rather lucrative. A thousand can last a family for a little over a year. How would you and your friend in the V.I.P. Box, the one with the guy who bought the great sword, to make a million demon spirit coins a piece?" Lance grinned.

"I would love to make that," the servant smiled, his voice getting lower.

"This vial contains an odorless poison it. Have the servant drug the man's alcohol. It will drug the man and make him sleep for about ten minutes. The time interval is short due to its effectiveness. After forty eight hours, he dies. Then, disguise yourself as the man using the bracelet I won and make it public of you accepting the great sword early. When it is complete, give me my treasures and I will give you the usual auction card. Inside will be 306 million demon spirit coins. You and your friend can have 1 million each and the auction house will get 4 million, for a job well done and silence. The 300 million will raise my deposit to 600 million. Catch all that?" Lance asked. "If you and your friend complete this, I'll also give you each an additional 10 million and the auction house will keep the profit of the skill sold. Do we have a deal?"

"Of course," the servant smiled. "The bracelet, great sword, and book of the dead will be given to you shortly. The auction house thanks you for your generosity."

"Then you may go," Lance said. He did this so he could automatically leave the auction house as others would expect him to take a while to retrieve his items and money.

The auction house would be sure to have some sort of monitoring magical treasure to prevent corruption by the servants. By giving the auction his profits, he ensures their silence on the matter of the theft as well. Only the man who pissed him off loses as the auction house would have proof that they gave him the great sword.

"Money talks," Lance said, smacking his lips after sipping more cider. He watched as Item Number 6 and 5 were sold, grinning as the servant returned with the task completed. He couldn't tell Mei about this. That was the main reason he sent her away. He was trying to change. He had to look the part.

"Item Number 4 is an exquisite slave duo from a continent to the far east," the curator said, unveiling a giant canvas to reveal a woman and a magical beast with collars on their necks. "Feast your eyes on beings from the continent to the far east. These are beings whose potential surpasses the Meteor Vessel Stage! They have the potential to become Earth Mortals, at least. This is guaranteed by the Gold Lotus Auction House. The girl's bountiful curves and cultivation at the middle Element Adept Stage at the age of seventeen, combined with the magical beast at the peak of the Element Adept Stage; these two are a true wonder."

"I must have that woman. The magical beast could be another guard," the crown prince said, smacking his lips. Unlike Lance, none of the other V.I.P.s dared bid against the crown prince. It was because they cared about their mortal affairs and their connection to the empire. Lance didn't. That is why only Lance has the possibility to ascend. Mortal affairs didn't hold him back.

"I bid 200 million," the crown prince said, staring at the direction of Lance's V.I.P.  Box.

"200 million going once. Twice. Sold to the crown prince for 200 million," the curator said, the crown prince banging his fist as his ploy to make Lance waste so much backfired on himself.

"Why did you not pay for them?" the crown prince roared.

"I frown upon buying slaves," Lance said and thought. "Besides. When this is over, I'm gonna kill you anyway. Mei will need a friend and I could use a magical beast."

Lance did change enough to desire a woman's companionship, yet. However, he needed to have his first magical beast. He was the ultimate snake magical beast, so he didn't need one as he could tame them all. He was the World Serpent. They had no choice but to kneel before him.

If he was to be a World Serpent, he would prove his might by having an avian magical beast. It would also serve to control his snakes, being his executioner in times of rebellion. However, it would be his third. He still needed time before he could accept possessing one. A snake that controls a bird is to prove his dominance over the bird.

The magical beast beside the girl with the body that drew a man's lust was a panther magical beast. It was a magical beast of speed, a fighting style that disagreed with Lance. Those who wielded spears used overwhelming strength, reflexes, and the flexibility of the shaft of their spear to kill others. This panther would serve to substitute for the speed he lacked in combat. He had never eaten such a panther before, nodding his head as it must be a variant magical beast. He could see the envy in the eyes of the V.I.P. Boxes of the lower row. They obviously wanted the woman for sex and the magical beast for being a variant.

"The mortal must be cast aside or forever remain. Ascension is above the mortal and the Heavens cast their tribulation on the unworthy," Lance muttered, his eyes glancing at the woman before watching the panther leave. Attaining both would also serve as information about more of the outside world. In the future, when he opened up his feelings, the Libido Statue that makes a man temporarily impotent and ensured safety would be a nice past time to enjoy with the woman.

"To experience puberty again is torture," Lance sighed as he watched Item Number 3 get bought by a woman in V.I.P. Box 2.

"We will now auction Item Number 2. Ladies and gentlemen, Item Number 2 is none other than a mana stone," the curator smiled.

"Mana stone? Those are things which can increase cultivation for mages! It is the ultimate tool of mages as it stores mana," a man below cried.

"Fool! There's more to it than that. A soul stone can store spirit energy and fuel one's practitioner arts. However, a mana stone can store mana and allow a practitioner to absorb it to become a mage. Mana is an even higher form of spirit energy, the pure essence of the world! Even most elite mages only have a staff with a soul stone. Mana stones, those things are treasures above treasures!" another cried.

"I can use that for my spear. Mages use staffs and a spear is similar. I can have it within the broken gap in the giant blade after I decrease the size," Lance thought and said, "210 million!"

"220," a man in V.I.P. Box 4 cried.

"250 million," Lance said.

"300 million," the man in the box said, growling at Lance.

"350 million," Lance said. He had to have it. Mana stones were rare, even in his day. Not only that, they collect mana on their own. They were the equivalent of refueling magical beast cores at the Earth Mortal Stage! His body would fuel his practitioner arts and the mana stone would fuel his mage arts. It was perfect!

"455 million the man said, veins bulging on his temple as it was his limit. People cried out as 455 million was a monumental amount to them. Were these people not going for Item Number 1? To a practitioner, a mana stone was just a trinket.

"500 million," Lance said as he didn't want to take chances. None of the other members of the V.I.P. Box decided to bid either, the man above roaring with anger. Lance stared at the red sphere with red aura wisps emanating from the sphere as runes rotated within. It was his. It was meant to be. Those other people just wanted Item Number 1.

"500 million going once. Twice. Sold! Congratulations to V.I.P. Box 7," the curator said, just imagining the commission he and the auction house would get before the money was transferred to the seller. 500 million was too low, worth only 50 million in the continent to the south.

However, this was the Pangu Continent and they had no cultivation resources for mages. Magic was a foreign thing. Besides, the complete corpse of a Earth Mortal rank magical beast, that was a true treasure in their eyes worth a kingdom. It would allow them to break past the near impenetrable bottleneck between the peak Meteor Vessel Stage and the initial Earth Mortal Stage. The whole body needed to be refined and this was a complete body with its magical beast core!

"I'm leaving," Lance said silently after he got the mana stone and had all the items he needed in his storage ring. "The auction house can keep the rest of the deposit, you keeping ten percent of it. Just ensure no one reports what I looked like. They could not see me from below. I do not want to be followed."

"Of, of course." the servant whispered excitedly and checked the hallway before Lance exited. Lance bound the bracelet to himself, changing his appearance and clothes before exiting the auction as he asked to be thrown out as a trespasser would. The servant nodded as most commoners were not allowed in the main building and Lance successfully escaped.

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He waited by the front gate of the auction house, biding his time to see the crown prince. He would have to act fast and kill faster. He had paid the auction house to tell him where the secret exit of the auction house was. The crown prince was sure to use that exit. With no witnesses, he would kill the crown prince and his entourage before making his escape.

Finally, the crown prince appeared at the old cemetery just four blocks away from the auction house. With a halberd at hand, he rushed toward them using his Snake Specter Art. He killed two of the guards before the crown prince noticed him. He couldn't use a spear as people might recognize his fighting style when he used poison practitioner arts.

"Who would dare attack me?" the prince roared, his personal guards at the peak Element Adept Stage. They numbered fifty in total and they took a defensive formation before the prince. "You! You must be the crazy trash who bid against me. Men, capture him so I can personally castrate him and make him my father's latest eunuch!"

"Yes, Your Highness," the guards said and ten stayed by him as the rest rushed forward. They drew their swords and charged, Lance keeping them back with the reach of his halberd. A halberd was the weapon of a general, meant to take on multiple enemies at once.

"What are you doing? Kill him!" the crown prince roared as Lance beheaded three guards. It seemed the prince's own father expected little from him, not assigning even the weakest of palace guards and sending a platoon of city guards instead. The slave girl and magical beast watched as lance fought the city guards. They were excited as they obviously did not want to be enslaved to a pig prince.

"Cannot use any unique practitioner arts," Lance muttered as he broke three swords with the side of the halberd's blade before smashing in the face of one of the guards with the butt of the halberd.

He constantly teleported around and among the guards, taking off limbs and even heads. A solid formation was a necessity for large groups, but such organization is chaotic if the weakness of the formation is discovered. In a formation, people tended to guard the heart of the formation. They were the first of Lance's victims before he switched to the ordinary guards.

"So you killed my guards. Courting death!" the crown prince roared as Lance killed all fifty of the guards, the ten guarding the prince no match to Lance's cultivation and spear mastery. "We may be isolated here, but my father gave me this!"

"Some kind of apple," Lance muttered as he saw a gold and black skinned apple taken from a small bag from the crown prince's storage ring. The apple, alone, emanated vast spirit energy.

"Should I meet my slayer, my father said to eat this. I will temporarily increase by a whole cultivation tier. I will become a late Meteor Vessel practitioner. No cultivation for a month is worth killing you. Be grateful," the crown prince screamed as he bit the fruit. A black and gold aura covered the fat prince as large amounts of spirit energy converged on the crown prince. "Other than an Earth Mortal, no one can face me!"

"There must be more in that bag," Lance muttered as he saw the prince put it back inside his storage ring as the prince took out a golden blade.

"Die!" the crown prince roared as he ran forward, the sword raised high. Lance spun around, using his momentum and hips to swing the halberd down low at a faster speed than the crown prince. The crown prince howled as Lance's halberd pierced an inch in but no further.

"Even his muscles are reinforced albeit very poorly," Lance muttered. After all, it was not the prince's real cultivation so there was no way to use such vast spirit energy very efficiently. The whites of the prince's eyes turned red, tears of blood going down his eyes, mouth, ears, and nose. A fruit enabling one to temporarily increase their cultivation by an entire tier, such a thing would have a monumental strain on the body. With the imperial family's vast resources, only a month of recovery was indeed possible. Furthermore, the crown prince was weaker. If Lance ate the fruit, the danger and penalty would be even greater.

Lance twist his hips to the left as he made a rising slash with his halberd as the crown prince delivered a downward slash. The two blades collided and Lance was pushed back three steps, coughing blood once. Lance blocked a sudden quick attack with the shaft of his halberd only to be pushed back before the woman and magical beast. Lance narrowed his eyes and cut off the collars on both.

"You will serve," Lance said to the magical beast, the panther sensing his deep spirit energy. It knew it was no match to Lance and bowed its head. The contract was made and Lance removed the slave rune on the panther's forehead with a thought. Lance then turned to the crown prince, letting the sword stab into his chest slightly to bite the crown prince on the neck.

"Fiend," the prince roared as he pushed Lance back, Lance with a grin on his face to reveal blood and flesh between his teeth. Lance turned to the woman and used the spirit energy within the crown prince's flesh to smear the slave mark on the woman.

"I'm free?" the young woman gasped, looking at Lance in shock as he spat the flesh out. "How? It should not be possible."

"I used his spirit energy to wipe it off. Due to that strange apple, his flesh contains too much spirit energy," Lance grinned, the prince outraged. "Loot the bodies of the guards and wear this white cloak and emerald mask. Follow me if you want to live free."

"Yes," the woman said and she and the panther went to work on the bodies.

"Who do you think you are to do this?" the crown prince said, Lance frowning as the prince tapped the medal on his luxurious white tiger robe.

"The second prince sends his regards," Lance said as he rushed forward, the prince howling as he heard the name of his hated rival and ambitious little brother.

"That son of a whore! That fuck will never get what's mine by birth!" the crown prince screamed as he dodged a strike and smashed Lance's face with the side of the blade. Lance shook his head as the butt of the halberd smashed the ankle of the crown prince. The crown prince jerked to his right and widened his eyes as he saw a leather shoe before his eyes before it smashed into his face.

"A broken nose for a slap," Lance spat, the crown prince wiping the blood from above his mouth as Lance tossed a storage bag from his ring to the woman and panther as he whispered to them. "Put the items inside and get out through the south gate. Buy the fastest horses you can and meet up with the merchant caravan. There should be a girl named Mei. Hide with them for now. Let no one follow you."

"Yes," the woman said, the panther growling at the crown prince before it left its master.

"The royal guards closest to the city will come. They will be at the initial Meteor Vessel Stage. You cannot escape!" the crown prince said as he mocked Lance.

"And that little thing on your robe recorded every sound we made," Lance said, stunning the crown prince. "You can die now and give me your storage ring!"

Lance used his Mirror Mirage Art and vanished before the prince's very eyes. The prince hastily turned around but saw nothing. He coughed blood and looked down in shock as a blade covered in a jade, acidic poison burst from his chest. The spirit energy in the crown prince's body disappeared rabidly as the prince gasped for breath.

"Im, impossible," the crown prince coughed.

"Funny how useful invisibility really is. I never teleported. I just charged and run your body through with the halberd. Don't worry. There won't be a body to find," Lance said as the prince's body began to melt.

"I...didn't record anything. It....was...all...all sent to my father," the crown prince said as Lance crushed the medal on the princes' robe, leaving the halberd in the prince as the prince fell to his knees.

"Hmph. I know. You were meant to transmit those words," Lance said as his hand was covered in a spike of earth through his Stone Breaker Art.

"You...are helping a....dif... different prince," the crown prince realized with despair. His killer had him wrapped around his finger. Everything he did was futile. All for naught.

As Lance severed the finger wearing the storage ring and emptied it, he smiled as he punched the crown prince on the face with the spike. "Thank you for your patronage. You have served your purpose."

The prince's body shuddered as the head was pierced through by the massive spike of earth that shattered and exploded what remained of the head.

"Your Majesty!" four men cried as they appeared in the distance, seeing Lance. "Kill the traitor! Kill!"

"Send word to the gates. Seal up the city!" another cried, a third shouting to secure the crown prince's body as the fourth ran off in a different direction. The remaining two palace guards were indeed at the initial Meteor Vessel Stage.

"Tch," Lance said as he discarded the bloodied robe and used his Mirror Mirage Art to disappear. He grit his teeth in anger as the palace guards, with their vast experience, realized he became invisible and still tracked him by following the compression on the grass and dirt as Lance ran out the cemetery.