Chapter 515 - 513:Company.

Chapter 515: Chapter 513:Company.

Old man Valen.

It has already been over six months since the old man left to find adventure somewhere that wasn’t under my watching gaze.

I had let him be, so much so that I hadn’t even been actively using the connection we shared as master and apostle to know where he was.

He had asked to adventure on his own, and I had agreed, so doing anything that would infer spying on the old man was something I knew he wouldn’t have accepted.

But now, if what I was hearing was true, then the old man might’ve been the one to entrust this egg to the Spirit Blossom Court.

"No, not maybe, it’s definitely him."

I was sure of it.

No one would use the term war so freely, especially not in such a manner.

Yes, it might’ve sounded like he was claiming the war within the dragoverse was inevitable, but that wasn’t the interpretation I had. I knew the old man well enough to understand how he spoke.

And if he had said those particular words to Xue Bing, then that meant,

"Heh! Old man, I thought I was the only one allowed to be overprotective?" A warm feeling couldn’t help but well up from within me.

The egg appearing on the High Planar Galaxies was never a coincidence.

The Spirit Blossom Court being entrusted with it was never a coincidence.

Me hearing about it just a few days after arriving on the Martial Spirit World wasn’t a coincidence.

The old man had clearly been keeping tabs on my movements despite having claimed to want to adventure out on his own.

That was how he knew I had gone to the High Planar Galaxies, how he knew I’d arrived on the Martial Spirit World.

He must’ve done all this because he knew my excitable nature and realized I’d end up coming to this auction, hence why he left such a specific message with Xue Bing.

"Isn’t that right, my love."

"Tehee... look who’s feeling smug after only now figuring things out." Shaia laughed.

"You couldn’t have given me a heads up?"

"Just so you can counter-spy on the old man and ruin everything?"

"This..."

"Tehee... I really couldn’t ruin it. The man so obsessed with taking care of and protecting everything he holds dear being watched over by his own overprotective godfather who clearly knew no harm could really reach his godson but still felt responsible enough to look after him. Such a sweet act, I couldn’t let you ruin it."

"Haa... you’re hopeless." I could only shake my head helplessly, yet the small smile that tugged at the corners of my lips couldn’t be hidden.

"The Phoenix-Dragoverse, huh?" Can’t say I’m surprised; that place sounded like the exact spot the old man would enjoy stretching his murderous legs.

"Looks like I’ll really be going there after all." I didn’t know how long the old man would be staying there for before he inevitably gets bored and looks for his next massacre, so I had to hurry with my affairs here and head over there.

...

...

"Alright then, everyone, let’s not waste any more time." Xue Bing called out after giving everyone a few moments of deliberation.

"The mode of bidding this time around shall be a little different." Murmurs arose from the different rooms as everyone wondered how they were going to bid; after all, calling out the names of your treasures wouldn’t cut it.

Grrrr

A mechanical whirring sound came from the floor of our private room as a platform rose from the ground, its top flat, cut with a teleportation formation etched beautifully onto it.

"Within each of the different private rooms, a platform should’ve appeared by now. You’re expected to place the treasures you wish to use as a bid on the platform, and it shall be teleported to the parent platform on this stage." She pointed behind her, at the larger platform that had appeared there.

"Should the treasure qualify, I shall place the egg on the qualified formation, and it shall be delivered to the owner."

More murmurs came from the different rooms as obviously not everyone was quite satisfied with the arrangement.

"And how will you know from which room the treasures are coming? Won’t you get things mixed up?" Someone from the middle floors asked.

"I understand your skepticism, but I assure you, each and every platform has its own signature, and it is with that signature that we recognize which room to send the egg to. The honored guest has already set up a formation on the egg, and should your treasure qualify, the egg will light up, thus ending the event."

Her explanations successfully eased the audience, as I couldn’t help raising a curious brow at the method with which the victor will be selected.

"A formation, huh? Old man, this better be an elaborate gift-giving idea, or you’ll be hearing it from me when next I see you."

"Alright everyone! Let the bidding commence." The place fell silent after Xue Bing’s words as everyone took their time picking out whatever treasures they felt were worthy of the divine beast egg, and then,

Hummmm!!!

The platform behind her finally lit up as treasures began appearing one after the other.

Pills. Rare fruits. Armors. Divine weapons. Hell, someone even put up some form of currency as they probably believed no one was staunch enough to claim they didn’t want money.

But regardless of what it was they put up, nothing worked.

The egg remained unresponsive to anything that appeared.

More and more treasures flooded the platform as other beasts began appearing as well.

Maybe the man needed some type of beast in exchange for the divine beast egg instead.

Yet even those failed to garner any reaction whatsoever.

"Big brother, are we not going to send treasure? We got loads of treasure." Lucien, wide-eyed in excitement, asked.

"No need, little man. That egg isn’t going anywhere if I don’t want it to." I reassured.

"Oh? Did you figure out something?" Sana asked.

"It’s a gift. The egg, it was the old man that left it here."

"Old man Valen? Damn! He’s here?" Malachi got visibly excited the moment he heard about his idol.

"No. I don’t think so. He must’ve returned to the Phoenix-Dragoverse already."

"Damn. So that’s where the old man is? So jealous. He gets to have fun while we get to do nothing." Paku grumbled, but I ignored him as I pulled out a sock.

"Is that a sock?" Nyssara asked, stunned.

"Yep."

"You couldn’t possibly be thinking about using that to get the egg right?" The shock in Su Yin’s voice was delectable.

"Oh, but I am." Covering the sock with my aura, I placed it on the formation as the thing lit up and took it away.

"This... surely there’s no way you can get the egg with such a thing when all those amazing treasures failed right?" Su Yin looked around, obviously wanting some support, but,

"I wouldn’t put it past the bastard. He’s done a lot more ridiculous things." Sana hadn’t even finished speaking when, back down at the stage, the egg suddenly lit up with a brilliant multicolored light.

"This... how?" Su Yin’s mouth fell open at the ridiculousness of the entire situation, but the others just,

"Haaaa..." sighed and shook their heads.

"Of course it worked." Salazar.

"At this point it’s not even something to be surprised about anymore." Malachi.

"Yea. We should just live in the knowledge that this bastard can pull out any ridiculous thing from his head and the universe will just somehow agree with him no matter how illogical and nonsensical it is." Paku growled.

As for Nyssara, Elira, Terra, and Sana, the women didn’t even bother reacting, merely shaking their heads as the egg finally appeared within our room, perching firmly on the platform.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it would seem this is where our auction comes to an end." Xue Bing’s voice was light and delighted.

The woman had sold treasures for prices so outrageous she herself must’ve never thought it possible, which was obvious from the radiant glow her skin was giving off.

"It has been my utmost pleasure to have hosted your esteemed selves today, and I hope that sometime in the near future you shall see it worthy of yourselves to entrust our humble court with any issues you might have on your hands." She curtsied elegantly as she pitched her court to the powers gathered here.

"Lady Bing has no need to worry."

"Indeed. Your hospitality has been duly appreciated."

"Truly what a wonderful experience, I surely wouldn’t mind experiencing it again."

Of course, a beautiful woman curtsying and smiling was bound to get the right reactions from anybody with a rod between his legs, especially if that woman was purposely making sure you got to see her ’goods’.

I shook my head at the antics of the old hag as I picked up the egg, inspecting it slowly.

I could feel a clear heartbeat within the thing. Whatever was in there was powerful, as even without being born, it could already subtly command the minor laws around it.

"Well then, I guess we’ll just keep you around and see what—" my words were cut short as I snapped my head upwards, face grim.

"Dante..."

"I know."

"Everyone," I called out slowly, putting the egg away and standing up as Malachi and the others followed suit, expressions heavy.

"It would seem we’ve got company."

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A/N: Heh! And you guys thought you could escape my cliffs. Please, I’ve got plans A, B, C all through to Z for cliffhangers, so fight me, ahahahahahahahaha.... Anyways,

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Thanks for reading...