Chapter 46: Finally An Opportunity With a Sinclair

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Finally An Opportunity With a Sinclair

By the time he arrived at the Skywater Pavilion Auction House, the place was already beginning to grow lively. Xavier adjusted his disguise before stepping inside.

He was still using the identity he had created for himself, Mr. X.

The moment he entered the appraisal room, a familiar voice greeted him.

"Mr. X, you’ve finally arrived!" Gaius exclaimed.

The moment the appraiser saw him, his eyes immediately lit up. Three days ago, the quality of the pills Xavier had brought in had left a deep impression on him.

He had been wondering ever since whether this mysterious customer would return. Now that Xavier had appeared only moments before the auction began, Gauis immediately understood that he had come prepared.

Sure enough, Xavier didn’t waste time with unnecessary pleasantries. He reached into his spatial ring and placed a collection of jade bottles on the table.

Gauis’s expression changed. He picked up the first bottle. Then another. And another. The more he examined, the wider his eyes became.

Forty Grade 3 pills. Ten Grade 4 pills. And every single one was of astonishing quality. Flawless. Pure.

Consistent with the extraordinary pills Xavier had brought three days earlier.

Gauis spent considerably longer than before completing his appraisal. Once he finally finished, Xavier got straight to the point.

"Can these pills be exchanged directly for the Creation Pill?" he asked.

Gauis froze.

"I don’t want to go through the auction if there’s another way," Xavier continued.

He wasn’t interested in wasting time bidding against other people if he could simply exchange enough resources for the pill beforehand.

Unfortunately, Gauis immediately shook his head.

"Mr. X, I’m afraid that’s beyond my authority. I’m only responsible for appraising the items," he said, giving an apologetic smile.

"Besides, the Creation Pill is one of tonight’s featured treasures. Several guests have come specifically because they want it," he explained.

"If we removed it from the auction beforehand, we’d have trouble explaining that to them," he added.

Xavier wasn’t particularly surprised.

"Fine. Then tell me how many points these pills are worth," he said.

Gauis quickly calculated the value.

"With the current market conditions, I can offer you 260 points for each Grade 3 pill," he said.

"For the Grade 4 pills, 2,500 points each. Would that be acceptable?" he asked.

The recent appearance of the Hunting Ground had driven up the demand for cultivation resources throughout Valemont.

Even so, the valuation was close to what Xavier had learned from Evelyn.

"That’s fine," he said, nodding.

Gauis completed the calculation. The final amount came to 35,400 Skywater Pavilion points.

Xavier handed over his points card.

"Transfer everything to this card," he said.

He glanced toward the clock. It was almost seven. Then he looked back at Gauis.

"And where do I go for the auction? I’d like to get inside," he asked.

The appraisal had taken longer than expected, and Xavier had no intention of missing the opening.

The Creation Pill was his primary target. But he had learned enough about the auction to know that featured treasures weren’t the only things worth watching.

There might be other resources he could use. And after accumulating so many cultivation resources, Xavier had no intention of leaving them sitting uselessly in his spatial ring.

Resources only mattered when they were converted into strength.

Tonight, he intended to turn as much of his wealth as possible into power.

Gauis personally escorted Xavier into the auction hall. After confirming his identity as Mr. X, he handed him a bidding number and guided him to his assigned seat.

Number one hundred ninety eight.

Xavier took his seat and quietly surveyed the room. The hall was nearly packed, and most of the attendees appeared to be men in their thirties and forties.

That was not surprising, since for martial artists those years were often the period when their strength, experience, and earning power were at their highest.

In this world, martial strength translated directly into wealth, and the stronger someone was, the more opportunities they had to earn.

A smaller group of older attendees was scattered throughout the hall.

Their physical condition might no longer be what it had been in their prime, but years of accumulation had left many of them with considerable wealth, and money could compensate for declining strength.

As for people around Xavier’s age, there were barely a dozen, and none of them looked ordinary.

They were almost certainly younger members of powerful families, each carrying enough wealth to compete for the auction’s more expensive treasures.

His gaze casually swept across the audience, and then he paused. A young woman with her hair tied into a ponytail was sitting several rows ahead.

Evelyn Hart.

He recognized her immediately. She was not alone either, because a middle aged man in a dark traditional suit sat beside her, and their familiarity suggested that he was either her father or another close family elder.

Xavier looked for only a moment before turning away. There was no reason to greet her, since tonight he was not Xavier Kane.

He was Mr. X, and the fewer unnecessary connections he created, the better.

At exactly seven o’clock, the lights around the stage brightened.

A slender young man walked onto the platform with a small wooden auction hammer in his hand and smiled toward the audience.

"Good evening, everyone. I’m Gerald, and I’ll be your host tonight," he announced warmly.

He waited until the room quieted.

"I know many of you have been looking forward to tonight’s auction, so let’s not waste anyone’s time," he said, raising the hammer. "Let the auction begin!"

The first item was brought onto the stage, and Gerald’s voice immediately became energetic.

"To start us off, we have a Grade Three weapon, a trident!" he declared.

"This weapon was personally forged by the eldest disciple of the renowned weaponsmith Master Orion Vale, and Master Orion supervised the entire forging process himself. Its durability is exceptional, so if you favor polearms, this is an opportunity worth considering!"

He tapped the hammer lightly against his palm.

"The opening bid is eighty Skywater Pavilion points, and each increase must be at least five points. If no one raises the bid for ten seconds, the item will be sold. Let’s begin!"

A few bidding signs went up around the room, but the response was hardly enthusiastic. The first item was merely an opening act.

Grade Three weapons were not particularly attractive to the wealthier guests, and the people who actually preferred tridents were already a relatively small group.

After several lackluster bids, the weapon finally sold for one hundred twenty points.

Gerald did not seem disappointed, and he moved on at once.

"Next up is another Grade Three weapon, the Thunderclap Sword!" he called out.

"We start at one hundred points, and the bidding begins now!"

The response was noticeably stronger this time.

Longswords were far more popular among martial artists, so several people immediately entered the competition, and the price climbed steadily before finally stopping at one hundred sixty five points.

A young man secured the sword.

The third item followed, and then the fourth, and the auction continued at a steady pace.

By the time more than thirty minutes had passed, Xavier was beginning to lose interest. He leaned back in his chair, and if this continued much longer, he might actually fall asleep.

Fortunately, the opening portion of the auction finally came to an end, and Gerald’s tone changed.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, we’re moving on to the first truly valuable item of tonight’s auction," he said.

The room gradually quieted as a staff member carefully carried a sealed display case onto the stage. Gerald opened it, and inside was a small herb with a faint spiritual glow.

"This is a twenty year old Divine Grace Herb," he announced, his voice becoming more deliberate.

"Many of you may already know that it is one of the primary ingredients required to refine the Grade Five Lesser Enlightenment Pill, but that is not its only use. Even when consumed directly, it can dramatically sharpen one’s mental clarity and concentration for approximately seven days. For a martial artist attempting to comprehend a difficult technique, that enhanced state can make cultivation considerably more efficient."

He paused before adding, "There is another particularly valuable property. If the user possesses an exceptionally rare Celestial Core, the herb can also stimulate the growth and development of that special constitution. So if anyone here has a family member or close friend with such a talent, this is certainly worth considering."

Gerald raised his hammer.

Xavier watched thoughtfully, if only Mira’s Celestial Core hadn’t been removed, this would have been a good investment.

Right at that point, a fresh wave of anger towards her family members rose in his chest.

"The starting bid is five hundred points, and each increase must be at least ten points. If there are no further bids for thirty seconds, the item will be sold. The bidding begins now!"

Silence followed. A few people looked at the herb, and then they looked away.

Compared with the excitement surrounding the earlier weapons, the response was almost embarrassing.

"Next item!" someone shouted from the back.

"Come on, just move on," another voice groaned.

"Five hundred points for that?" a third guest scoffed. "Who would pay that much?"

One man laughed.

"The most useful thing about Divine Grace Herb is that it can be used to refine a Lesser Enlightenment Pill," he said mockingly.

"But unless you know an alchemist capable of making one, what are you supposed to do with it?"

Another guest nodded in agreement.

"Exactly," he muttered. "What’s the point of buying it?"

"Gerald, stop wasting everyone’s time and move on," someone else called out impatiently.

"Unless someone here has actually awakened a Celestial Core, there’s no reason to spend that kind of money on this thing."

The probability of awakening such an extraordinary constitution was incredibly low, and most people considered it something that belonged to legends rather than their own lives.

Even Gerald seemed to realize that the herb might end up being passed over, but that did not mean he intended to give up.

As the auction host, he earned a commission from successful sales, and naturally he was not going to let a valuable item die quietly.

He was just about to encourage the audience again when a bidding sign suddenly rose. Gerald’s eyes immediately brightened.

"Bid number 19, 500 points!" he cried.

The room became slightly quieter, and Gerald quickly seized the opportunity.

"500 points has been offered! Does anyone want to go higher?" he urged.

"This is a rare twenty year old Divine Grace Herb, and even if you don’t have an immediate use for it, you can always store it for the future. Opportunities like this don’t come around often!"

His energetic pitch finally had an effect, because another bidding sign rose.

"Number 6, 520 points!" Gerald announced eagerly.

Xavier’s eyebrows lifted. He recognized that bidder.

Evelyn.

So she wants the herb?

He watched her for a moment, and then he understood. She was probably trying to gather the ingredients needed for another Lesser Enlightenment Pill.

After all, Evelyn had already experienced the effects of one herself, and she knew exactly how valuable it was.

Once she had taken the pill, she had managed to advance a Grade 4 martial technique from proficiency to mastery in only a single day, and that kind of improvement was addictive.

Naturally, she wanted another. Since Xavier had yet to provide her with one, she had apparently decided to prepare the materials herself.

Whether the mysterious alchemist behind Mr. X actually needed Divine Grace Herb was another matter entirely, but Evelyn was not willing to take chances.

The competition suddenly became intense.

"Number 19, 550 points!" Gerald called.

"Number 6, 600!" he shouted a moment later.

"Number 19, 700!" he cried, his voice rising with excitement.

The price continued climbing, and the herb that had been sitting in silence only moments ago was suddenly being fought over by two people.

"Number 19, 900!"

"Number 6, 1,000!"

"Number 19, 1,200!"

More than 1 minute later, the twenty year old herb was already worth more than two times its starting price, and Xavier’s interest finally returned.

It was not because the bidding itself was entertaining. He had just overheard something from the people around him.

"That’s number 19? The one bidding against the Hart girl?" a man whispered to his neighbor.

"Adrian Sinclair himself," the neighbor murmured back. "The head of the Sinclair family."

Xavier’s eyes narrowed.

The Sinclair family.