Author Note: Three chapters before the start of the time skip~.
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After the mermaid left with the entire Brilliant Auction house, all the other seniors retreated without saying anything.
Yasenia found it strange. 'Can the [Ocean Swallowing Mermaids] do as they please?'
Tengliu commented. "Let's go, Yasenia."
Leaving questions for later, Yasenia looked at her and nodded. The girls summoned a flying sword, and Yasenia carried Carbira in her arms as they flew back.
The dragoness looked at Carbira and saw that her protruding black eyes leaned in the direction of the brilliant auction house.
There were a few trails of tears on her smooth and white cheeks, making the dragoness sigh. "Carbira, I know that you might feel my actions are extreme…"
Carbira's eyes moved and pointed in Yasenia's direction. Her voice sounded stuffy and without energy. "They were. Why did you do that?"
Yasenia commented. "I didn't intend to do something like this at first."
Carbira remembered how Yasenia avoided putting her energy in the cards. The crab woman herself didn't know that there was such a gimmick hidden in them.
With a whispering voice, Carbira asked, sounding weak and defenseless. "Then, why?"
Yasenia looked forward and pondered how to explain what she did honestly and without hiding things. She sighed and commented. "Well, for starters. My reason for not taking advantage of my knowledge directly and setting up the power was you."
Carbira listened silently.
"I knew that you liked Pei Zhang as a senior, so I decided not to say anything about it." She sighed again. "However, the way he acted was very different from what I expected. He not only tried to scam me, he was deceiving me, trying to control me, and also trying to seduce me and Cecile."
Carbira looked at Yasenia and asked. "Then, what about Tengliu?" Yasenia paused and looked down. "Will you also get rid of her once you have the chance, as you did with my power?"
Yasenia stayed silent and sighed. "Yes. If I were strong enough, Tengliu would have died."
Tengliu, listening from the side, already knew it, but hearing it directly again made her feel a prickly sensation in her heart.
Carbira looked at Yasenia for a few seconds and then looked in the direction of the Auction House. "In the end, everything comes down to who is stronger. Politics, economics, strategies, schemes… Nothing makes sense if the other party is strong enough."
Yasenia agreed. "It has always been like this, Carbira. This happens even between mortals. Those more influential can take advantage of the masses because they have power beyond them. I've seen it many times and in many forms."
"A village chief stealing the son or daughter of the farmer. "
"A town mayor using his relation to a cultivator to steal from others and kill without repercussions."
"A race with an advantage oppressing another race because of past conflicts that have nothing to do with the present."
"A merchant with enough money to buy people."
Yasenia sighed. "The World is not fair, and everything eventually comes down to who has the bigger fist. There is a semblance of balance and rules between equal powers, but as soon as one of those powers takes that step ahead and becomes unreachable, everyone else will have to lower their heads."
Carbira leaned her face on Yasenia's shoulder, and the dragoness felt a single drop of water fall onto her breasts. But the sky was full of clouds. "The World is very cruel, Yasenia."
Yasenia caressed her head. "It is. That's why I must be ruthless with my enemies. That's why being merciful is a luxury, not a norm. That's why… I decided to nip the problem at the roots and eliminate the Auction House once I knew the leader didn't love you as you did him."
The drops of water falling on her chest increased in number, and a stifled and intermittent sobbing entered her ears.
Yasenia muttered. "You can sleep when you feel tired, Carbira. And… I know it's soon to make a decision, but if you want to work with me in the future, I'll take good care of you."
Carbira made a nasal sound and buried her face in Yasenia's neck, making the dragoness feel the wet eyes resting on her skin.
After arriving at their house, Yasenia left Carbira in a free room near her residence so that it was easy for the crab woman to find her.
While walking toward Kali's alchemy lab, Yasenia asked. "Tengliu, are the [Ocean Swallowing Mermaids] that influential that they can decide on this matter without the other powers speaking? Even the attending Royal family stayed quiet."
Tengliu shook her head. "They are not that influential, but this time, the Brilliant Auction House made a big mistake that offended all powers. If there were any behind them, the power who planned this would not step forward and protect them because it would be like placing a target on their back."
Yasenia asked. "What about the riches she took with that action?"
The white harpy smiled. "They are very fair in those regards. They probably will take the Brilliant Auction House members, interrogate them, and all those who aren't part of this will be liberated and sent to their houses within a few years."
She continued. "The treasures will be equally divided, but only with those she considers worthy. Thankfully, I managed to get your money… and a bit more because you warned me."
Yasenia's eyebrow lifted in interest. "A bit more?"
Tengliu smirked. "Well, I got about 120 million Flawless Parus, all your heaven-ranked items, and forty-two cultivation techniques. It would be best if you looked at them slowly. Where is your treasury room? I'll leave you with half of the Parus beside all your treasures."
The dragoness extended her hand. "Pour it in my ring."
Tengliu blinked. "This occupies a lot of space in the ring. Are you sure your ring can store it?"
Yasenia nodded, so Tengliu poured the Flawless Parus, heaven-ranked items, and cultivation techniques rapidly from her spatial ring, and Yasenia absorbed them. Her spatial ring could track how many spirit stones there were, so she was not worried about any tricks besides Tengliu having lied since the beginning.
Yasenia saw Tengliu stop when she gave her 70 million, making her blink. Tengliu smiled. "A little extra as a present~."
Yasenia looked at her and sighed with a smile. "You are trying to bribe me."
Tengliu chuckled and hugged her arm. "I am~. Is it working?"
Yasenia sighed again. "Well, very slowly."
The harpy Matriarch snorted. "Greedy Dragon. Ten million is not enough to buy you?"
Our dragoness laughed. "Not enough. I am proudly a greedy dragon."
They stayed silent for a few moments until the Matriarch asked. "What are your plans?"
Yasenia pondered and shared a few of her objectives. "I need to expand to a main city. Ideally, Dolgor City. It would be best to be near that opening secret realm. Then… cultivate. If I have time and resources, opening a sect is also on the list."
Tengliu nodded and suddenly paused, her face gaining a frown. "Yasenia, I received a message to return soon, so I'll leave soon."
"What happened?"
Tengliu shook her head. "Don't worry. I can take care of it quickly."
Yasenia thought for a moment and stepped forward to hug her. "I have yet to forgive you, but if you give me some time, I'll eventually find it in my heart to give you another chance… After I punish you a little bit."
Tengliu was surprised, but soon, she used her white arm wings to hug her back with a smile and buried her face in Yasenia's neck. "Take your time, child. I know how hard it is for dragons to forgive those who offended them deeply. The fact that you are giving this old woman a chance is enough to make me smile for a few months."
Yasenia separated and nodded. "Have a safe trip, Aunty Tengliu."
Cecile. "Senior, what about the spar?"
Tengliu smiled mischievously. "Oh? Right, I promised. I was going to leave in a few hours, so I can spare a few minutes for you. Okay, attack me."
Cecile blinked and looked around the garden area where they were walking. "Here?"
Tengliu waved her hand. "Don't worry. I'll control your strength not to destroy anything."
Cecile nodded. Then, her aura burst from her as white flames danced around her body and wings, and the temperature plummeted, freezing the plants in the surroundings.
A bow was summoned on her hand, and she flapped her wings to create distance and fly into the air, simultaneously charging one of her strongest attacks. "[Moon Freezing Catastrophe]."
The phantom of a giant bow appeared with three arrows knocked on it, and then she released the string.
The air around Cecile exploded with a monstrous wave of energy as the black, silver and green arrows fused and bent space to appear before Tengliu.
Tengliu smiled, and she clenched her fist lightly, punching very gently.
The collision made the ground around Tengliu sink, but the arrow didn't explode.
The punch shattered and vanished the arrow with a loud sound similar to breaking glass, making Cecile's eyes widen.
"Here I come, child."
Cecile's senses extended as her mind went to the extremes, sensing the surrounding energies to react as quickly as possible.
However, before she could register anything, Tengliu poked her cheek. "Gotcha~."
The Phoenix woman saw Tengliu's mischievous smile as she floated beside her and quickly used [Blink]. Her figure disappeared and appeared a few meters away.
Tengliu exclaimed with honest admiration. "Oh! Your control over Space is so high!"
Cecile didn't stop and sent a barrage of silver arrows with wind shredding everything around them.
Tengliu blinked and slapped all the arrows without moving from her floating place, not receiving even a scratch. "Not bad. I'm really impressed, Cecile. Your strength is abnormal to the extremes for someone younger than thirty. Be careful, I'm attacking~."
Tengliu appeared beside Cecile again and lightly punched her shoulder.
BANG!
Cecile's eyes widened in pain as she felt like a meteor smashed her shoulder, and her body flew across like a shooting star.
Her Phoenix bloodline quickly regenerated her fractured bones, and she flapped her wings to stop herself hundreds of meters away.
Cecile frowned and began using all her arsenal of arrows and buffs. However, Tengliu matched her pace and took every attack with her body, not receiving even a red mark on her white and lustrous skin.
After five minutes, Cecile fell back down to the ground, panting and with sweat all over her body, and completely exhausted.
The passive aura Tengliu was constantly emitting, and the "ambushes" that forced her to waste energy were enough to push her to exhaustion, not to mention the "gentle" blows she ate.
Tengliu landed in front of Cecile and smiled. "Happy, Cecile?"
Cecile looked up and frowned. "Don't stand on top of me. I can see your genitals."
Tengliu laughed and stepped backward. "It's not much better from here, no?"
Cecile rolled her eyes as she sat up. "At least I can look at your face without having it shoved in my face."
Tengliu burst into laughter again.
Cecile then sighed. "I'm satisfied, yes."
Tengliu smiled and leaned forward to pat her head. "Very nice."
Cecile didn't move but gave her an annoyed glare.
The Harpy Matriarch turned around and flew into Yasenia's arms one more time. "Well, I'm leaving, little Yasenia!" Then, she tiptoed and kissed Yasenia's forehead.
She flashed a brilliant smile, her violet eyes bending beautifully, and with a white flash, she vanished.
Yasenia looked in the direction she left and sighed, but there was a hint of a smile in her eyes.
Cecile walked groggily and leaned on Yasenia, muttering. "Are you really going to forgive her? You did that Pei Zhang much worse for much less."
Yasenia lifted her chin and kissed her lips softly. "Let's allow nature to take its course, okay, sweetheart?"
Cecile became a bit more energetic after the kiss and nodded. By the way, Ghana had returned to her post as soon as they arrived, so only Tatyana, Cecile, and Yasenia were left.
Tatyana asked. "What about Carbira?"
Yasenia smiled wryly. "I don't know. I'll let her figure things out herself. Let's take it slowly. I've been too hasty lately. The number of things I've done last month is already outrageous, so let's slow down."
Tatyana went toward Ghana to sort things out about the Brilliant Auction House connection loss and keep an eye on people trying to take advantage because of the void they left behind.
Cecile decided to cultivate and digest the gains from the spar against Tengliu. She realized that although she had many types of arrows, her definitive attacks were a bit lacking.
Yasenia also arrived at the alchemy room and prepared herself to step inside.
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Evelyn: The auction has officially ended!
Cecile: Literally. There is no auction house anymore.
Evelyn: Well, you are right.
Kali: Poor Carbira. This must have been a deep blow.
Andrea: Dear, do you think that you overreacted?
Yasenia: I don't. Moreover, from Tengliu's description, I'm sure that there won't be many innocents involved.
Tatyana: But there will be some.
Yasenia: … So be it. I'm still totally outclassed. I can't afford to be cautious.
Author: Well, let's leave this for another time. Now… I summon you!
Dante: Hello!
Angel: Welcome back, Dante.
Dante: En, so… I wanted to ask the seniors. Have you ever met a person with five attributes or more? How strong were they, and how did they fare with so many different attributes in their body?
Tatyana: Hm… There are people with that many attributes, although it is a rarity.
Mirrory: They are strong, but they are also weak.
Dante: Hm?
Mirrory: More attributes mean their cultivation path is harder. They have to comprehend more energies, laws, and concepts. Advancing in later stages is quite a nightmare for them.
Valeria: Moreover, people with five attributes exist, and they are not that rare. However, five attributes end up conflicting most of the time. Hence, the cultivator will be crippled from birth.
Dante: Oh!
Yasenia: Did Sarah have five attributes? I remember she did.
Dante: Really? I forgot…
Author: Well, there you have it.
Dante: Um. Thanks!
Author: Little lurkers, it is time to end today's chapter~. Tomorrow, there will be a lot of fluff~. Bye-bye.
The rest: Bye-bye!