As Zoran was frantically flipping through the pages to see if the rest of the contents were misplaced, the host finally came back with a wooden cart.
A strong scent of refreshing Yi entered Zoran's nose. He looked at the cart and saw a variety of pills and cultivation beads that emanated a scent that filled the room. Judging from the intense ripples of reality that remained on the outline, each of those pills and beads were high quality that were only given by Dynasties to geniuses and prodigies alike.
"I have procured for you one 100-year cultivation pill. Or you can opt for ten 10-year pills, or we also have cultivation paste made from the bark of a Century tree and volcano ash."
Zoran only eyed the pure black pill that was enclosed in a black box gilded with gold. Only the 100 year cultivation pill could make a difference in his core. The rest were lesser quality and would make his meditation last longer compared to the 100 year pill. Although it was pricier, he had money to burn.
"I'll take that."
"Very well sir. I have also brought some money for you sir: 100,000 exactly."
Underneath the cart was a small stack of money and some gold coins that were looped through thin metal wires.
"The stack has 10,000 Liong bills, and I have also changed some cash into smaller coins for your convenience."
Zoran accepted the money and pills. Although he became wealthy overnight, his focus was not on the material things he acquired. He was still hung up on the book that held the secret to improving the Law of Power.
It wasn't enough. He needed the rest of the pages to decipher the understandings of Nightingale on the Law of Power. With that kind of destructive power, his fighting prowess would skyrocket even more than it already was with the Miasma strike.
To search for it, he needed to go back to the source. He needed to know who sold the book to the auction.
"Who owned this book?"
The host looked at Zoran uncomfortably. The auction prided itself with keeping its customer's private information as secure as possible to build trust within their community. If not, then they wouldn't feel safe selling or buying items from this place.
"I'm afraid I can't divulge this information to you," the host said as he bowed at a 90 degree angle.
Zoran thought for a bit and nodded his head. He didn't have to hear it from him; he could obtain the information through other means. From what he can recall, the auction has a book that stored all information about its sellers and buyers.
The host escorted Zoran out of the room with his belongings. He gave Zoran an honorable wave as he disappeared into the streets of the Royal District hundreds of thousands of Liongs richer but still wearing the same plain white shirt and brown cargo shorts. The folks giving him the side eye don't realize he's richer than them.
A wonderful night was had in the auction, and the host couldn't be more overjoyed. He was promoted after Bettor was killed—rest with the Beings—and now he was the manager of this prestigious auction house. This entailed all the riches and fame that came with the position, but also all the pressures and responsibilities.
That didn't matter to the host because as long as the auction prospered, his pockets would be filled with as much gold as he wanted.
BOOM
A resounding explosion woke the host up from his joyous stupor. The auction was under attack! He didn't think he would have to deal with such a troublesome matter just right after the night he got this position.
Cold sweat poured down his back. If the auction got robbed just after he took control as manager, they would have nobody to blame but him. The memory of Bettor's black and charred remains flashed in his mind.
"Check the treasury!" he shouted to the guards.
DING DING DING
Every employee was in a frantic mood as bells rang inside the auction. Guards rushed from all sides towards the most secure room in the house, the treasury. That was the place that contained all the treasures and money that the auction procured through years and years of service.
It was usually guarded by expert cultivators and could only be opened by one key, which was inside one of the warrior's body. And even then, it would take three 4th stage cultivators to open the vault. How could somebody have infiltrated it?
The host panted as he reached the treasury, only to be met with confused faces. The experts guarding the vault were also looking at the host with a puzzled expression.
They heard the alarm bells ringing, meaning the treasury was infiltrated, but they were still looking at the vault door fully secured. Nobody sneaked inside.
The host was speechless for a second until it finally caught up to him.
"Check inside!"
The guards frantically used the key and opened the vault. The huge fully steel frame creaked as it opened. The host was the first one inside as he desperately pushed himself inside.
He looked at the piles of treasures in the shelves, full of pills and jewelry that would send the Royal District into chaos. These were the items that the house saved up for the next auction night.
He checked every shelf, making sure nothing was missing. He looked at priceless gems, nothing was missing. He looked at the precious paintings, they're all hanging on the walls. He looked at the millions of Liongs in a stockpile, not even a single bill was misplaced.
It looked like nothing important was stolen.
Even the expert guards sensed the whole room with their Yi energy and found no one inside hiding. They didn't even find where a person could sneak inside. Nothing was out of the ordinary.
The host then looked at the logistics book in the middle of the room. This contained all the information about the items in this auction as well as the items sold on any auction. It detailed all the sellers and buyers that visited this establishment.
He double checked the items and found that none were missing. Was the explosion a coincidence? Did the alarm bells malfunction?
As he was having these thoughts, he suddenly felt a tug in the book. He watched as one page tear itself away from the book and floated towards the wall. He looked at the drifting paper and wondered if a breeze could rip a page out of a book. Definitely not.
"Get that page!" he screamed, but the guards were too slow to react.
The page crumpled itself and snuck onto a hole in the wall and disappeared. What happened?! How could there be a hole in this place?! This whole vault was surrounded by thick layers of steel and even a layer of Adamantium!
Even the expert cultivators were perplexed. There was no Yi energy involved in that strange phenomenon. They didn't sense any Yi string, any Yi circle, or even any Yi curse. It was as if the Universe itself moved to float the paper out.
The host checked which page was missing. And lo and behold, the one missing was the page about the ancient book of Nightingale.