Several Divine Senses scanned my party as we walked up the stairs to the auction, and I counted nine different ones before I reached the door. At least nine Divine Realm cultivators were present at this auction, which made it quite an important event.

  For a city that only had a Saint Realm Governor, this was way too much.

  "Hey Ferret! How are you doing?" I asked a certain masked personage that guarded the entrance.

  The puppet just stared at me for a moment, then ignored me. An attendant standing beside it ran to meet us, likely because of my Heaven Token. I did pay a good deal to obtain my special status.

  "Tower Saint! Welcome to the Treasure House. And Zhang Song? You're also a Saint now?" the woman asked in a confused tone.

  "Miss Lin. Glad to see you're doing fine. Promoted to front office?" Elder Song spoke in a warm voice. Maybe a bit too warm.

  Office romance, perhaps?

  Miss Lin nodded, keeping a cool face, but her ears blushed a little. My own senses were probably too good for this kind of work. I was basically an infrared detector by now, considering how long I practiced making pills in a cauldron.

  "I see you've found a new recruit already, Elder Song." I noted with a wry voice, making the said Elder groan a little at being found.

  "That...she's much too young for..." he stammered, while Miss Lin glanced at us with a curious gaze.

  "She's young now, but in a century Miss Lin will turn to bones and dust unless you guide her towards cultivation." I said in a casual tone, just as we reached the VIP room at the third floor.

  My warning made Elder Song focus and turn towards our host. "Miss Lin, I will start teaching cultivation in the Tower's Outer Sect, here in New Moon. And as my boss said, it would be a pity to let a pretty flower wilt so soon. You should consider this properly." he said in a low voice, as if keeping a secret.

  For anyone of Saint Realm or higher, his words would be as clear as day, though.

  I could see a dozen emotions shift on Miss Lin's face, as she considered my Elder's offer. "Do you think I can also become a Saint?" she asked in a timid voice.

  Elder Song knew very well how things worked in the Tower. It had barely been a week and everyone he recruited was already a Saint, plus some random kids that the Boss found on the roadside. Even that old Artisan grandpa with dried-up roots became a Saint. "Of course you can. Plus, there are some new accounting and economic models..."

  I shut the door and left the Elder and Miss Lin outside, with a pair of Saint puppets to act as door guardians.

  "There's a privacy array here." I spoke in a surprised voice, while observing the luxurious VIP room and the simple menu screen fixed to the inner balcony.

  "Indeed. Divine grade too. I can barely sense the people outside." Amelia added while scanning around.

  Xia held out a finger and let a stream of True Qi pass through the balcony screen. "Doesn't block True Qi at all. It seems my Qi has some interesting uses." she noted in an amused voice.

  Feng located the ice-box drink bar, filled with a dozen of different kinds of expensive beverages.

  "Husband, look! Free drinks!" she exclaimed while sipping from a Chilled Ice Tea porcelain bottle.

  I smiled and shook my head. The setup of an ice-box wouldn't be hard to copy for my Tower, and it wasn't a bad idea either. A bit redundant with storage rings and such, but it looked cool and kept things cool too, via a Freezing Array.

  I just poked the magic refrigerator and sent it into the Tower for a second, then took it back. "There, I copied it." I answered while standing near the edge to observe the large hall beneath, filing up with customers. Grandpa ghost had copied it, I meant.

  "There are 14 VIP rooms and 10 of them have Divine cultivators in them. The room to our left has a Saint with a bruised face, and two young men with bruised foreheads." Xia observed with her cheating True Qi.

  Hah! The cowardly lions from before.

  "Is there an older Saint with woman with golden hair?" Amelia asked in a murderous voice.

  Xia glanced at her sister-wife for a second, then nodded. "The room to our right, past the nearest one. The Saint has a three-pointed spear and looks worried."

  If I was a local Saint and found myself surrounded by 10 Divine cultivators, I might be worried too.

  "That's him. My father. And his new concubine killed my mother to take her place." Amelia disclosed with a cold voice.

  "Interesting. Your mother had silver hair, and his new woman has golden hair. Your father is a man of culture." I observed in a wry tone.

  Amelia just glared at me, and her Divine Soul pressed a spike in my temple. She wasn't amused then.

  Then, her poisoned needle flew into the barrier screen and bounced off.

  "Damn barriers." she growled, seemingly angry.

  "Patience, my dear toxic love. Let Xia find a scapegoat for the murder first." I whispered into her ear, while hugging her to my chest.

  A set of bright lights lit up the auction's stage, and the Manager rose through the floor via some underground elevator.

  "Distinguished guests! Honored Divine Elders. Our Treasure House is proud to present several exceptional treasures for you to bid. As always, please refrain from bidding if you lack the funds. Heaven Tokens are of course still allowed to bid, with their token as a guarantee." the man began while the crowd below cheered.

  It was like a late night show, I realized at once. Many of the lower seats were stage actors. Maybe relatives of the employees.

  Plus guards. The things on auction were expensive, after all. I sold quite a few of those myself.

  "First item tonight, a Dragon scale. Bid starts at 500 millions." the Manager said, while opening a box to show said Dragon scale to the public.

  "I sold them this scale." I mused in a low voice, making Feng laugh.

  "520!"

  "530!"

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "600 millions!" someone in a VIP room spoke, making a thousand heads turn towards his box.

  "620!" another VIP bid, joined by a few more.

  "Should we bid as well? I want a scale like that." Feng asked in a naive voice.

  I just shook my head, and took out a new Dragon scale from my spatial ring. "No need to buy things that we have plenty of.

  Take it, it's a gift." I offered with a smile, and watched as my youngest wife struggled to hold the heavy scale of Divine grade.

  Because Dragons were born at Divine Realm anyway.

  "Huff! Why it is so heavy?" Feng muttered before managing to fold the scale inside her ring.

  Well, that was a complex question, having to do with hyper-dense minerals and strong nuclear forces. "Dragons are strong." I answered instead. Or the charm quarks had a greater mass under the influence of Qi.

  Feng pouted and clenched her fist. "I'll be strong too, one day."

  "Sold to the honored Divine Elder in booth 9. And next, we have a Saint Realm pill recipe, called Qi Purification Pill. Alchemists out there should know its worth. Bidding starts at 300 millions!" the auction Manager spoke, while the crowd cheered again.

  "You should get that, husband. Time to start failing pills again." Xia spoke with an amused voice, while her eyes glinted beneath her veil.

  Indeed. I wasn't sure what this pill did, but it didn't matter anyway. My Tower should have a full library of pill recipes for new Alchemists. "700 millions!" I bid while pressing the bid rune on the main array.

  Everyone stopped and turned towards our booth, while the barrier screen vibrated a bit as several Divine Senses bounced off.

  I might have bought this recipe cheaper, but by exceeding the double of the starting bid, I was making a statement too.

  The Manager waited for a minute, then sighed. "Sold to our honored guest in booth 13."

  A dozen more items got auctioned before another Saint recipe appeared. "And next, we have a Saint Realm pill recipe, called Bone strengthening pill. Alchemists out there should know its worth. Bidding starts at 300 millions!"

  People didn't even bid, waiting for booth 13 to reveal its bid first. So I did it again. "700 millions!"

  "You're flexing your wealth on them. Right?" Amelia asked with a cogent tone.

  "Not really. I just want Saint pills." I said with a shrug. I was also waiting to get challanged in a bid war, but the Divine cultivators present wouldn't need Saint pills.

  "Sold to our honored guest in booth 13." the Manager spoke in a sad voice, after a minute of silence passed.

  "And now, the first true treasure of tonight! The egg of a Burning Phoenix! While it is only a Saint grade item, a good Beast Tamer could hatch this egg and raise a Divine Spirit Beast. Bidding starts at 900 millions." the Manager proclaimed in a grand voice, and the crowd below went wild.

  "950!"

  "A billion!"

  "Two billions!" another VIP bid, making everyone stare in awe at their booth.

  "Husband...I feel a connection with this egg." Feng whispered while holding her hands to her chest.

  Uh. It could be her Dark Phoenix bloodline. Damn it. Being a Sect Master was indeed expensive.

  "Five billions!" I bid, pressing the auction screen.

  The booth's barrier drummed for a minute, as numerous Divine Senses tried to pierce its mystery.

  I just waited for a higher bid, but it seemed I was quite right in choosing my bid. My Discerning Eyes said that this egg was worth 4 billions.

  "Come on, Divine Elders! Make a bid or lose this chance forever." the Manager tried to encourage a new bid, but cultivators were a cunning sort. If they couldn't out buy someone, they would take the other route.

  "Sold to our honored guest in booth 13." he said in a dejected voice after a minute.

  "We got it?" Feng wondered in a surprised voice.

  I just sighed. "Why does it surprise you, my sweet wife? Didn't I pay a billion stones for your bride price?" I asked a bit rhetorical.

  "I got a warehouse of poisons worth more than a billion." Amelia confirmed with a wry voice.

  "And my True Qi pill was worth 50 billions. So only 5 billions for your Phoenix egg isn't that much." Xia finished with a casual flex.

  "Husband might be a bit too rich..." Feng whispered to herself, and glanced at me with admiring eyes.

  "And the last and most valuable treasure ever sold in New Moon City. Prepare your hearts and wallets! A Divine Sword, imbued with the Gold Element! Bidding starts at 10 billion spirit stones." the Manager announced proudly as a glowing sword emerged from the elevator, inside a velvet-lined box.

  "11!"

  "12!"

  "13!"

  The bidding war started, as I turned around, away from the balcony screen. "Time to go. Let's collect our items before blood starts raining."

  When the VIP barrier screens failed all at once, someone was guaranteed to steal the precious sword. Human nature wasn't that hard to anticipate.

  "Everything good, Boss?"Elder Song asked as I opened the booth door.

  "Mostly yes. Lead the way to the reclaiming office." I said in a curt voice.

  Elder Song nodded and started walking at a brisk pace. "There's a Divine Elder protecting the Treasure House today, but I fear it won't be enough. They are already evacuating the weaker employees..."

  I sighed inward, and patted Feng on her arm, and sent her into the Tower. "I see it now. Get going, Elder Song. A mere Saint has no place in what's coming."

  "...I should make sure Miss Lin is safe tonight." he muttered warily, then took off at speed, while I stopped at the reclaiming office to collect my items.

  "Here is your winnings for tonight, Tower Saint. You should also go, things are getting heated in the auction hall." the old man spoke in a casual voice, while handing me the items and taking my money.

  I just smiled and rested with my elbows on the counter. "Oh, I'm not worried at all. In fact, I should stay and work beside you, Elder. Wouldn't want to see my favorite Treasure House robbed, not when they paid so much for my swords."

  The Auction Elder smiled with a dark grimace. "Brave, but a mere Saint has no place in what's coming." he quoted my words back to me.

  Xia raised a finger and produced a tiny fireball filled with True Qi. "I think we'll be fine." she spoke in a careless voice.

  The old man gasped, then bowed respectfully. "I didn't see Mount Tai in front of my eyes, Immortal. Apologies."

  "Elder Song likes this city, and wants to start a small sect for promising youngsters. So I allowed him to use my Tower's name, mostly for protection. Not that many will think about bullying him, after tonight." I explained in a patient voice.

  The Auction Elder glanced at the veiled Xia with a wary face, and nodded slowly. "I should hope not. I've seen the Wind Emperor when he was angry."

  Screams emerged as the auction hall's door opened wide and a thousand people ran in panic and fear.

  Then they all floated and were moved out in a coordinated flow as Amelia turned around.

  "Divine Soul?" the Auction Elder guessed while a suit of lamelar armor appeared around him. Perhaps 20 wards in total, compared to 200 on an Aegis suit. Still, not bad at all. Better than my first armor models.

  "Stop him!" an angry voice yelled as a Divine Realm cultivator burst through the wall with a golden sword in hand.

  Two of my Saint puppets jumped to hold the man by his ankles, while Amelia flicked her needle at his neck. Sadly, the needle ricocheted off something and vanished somewhere in the back. A sad accident, no doubt.

  A screen of Sword Aura had apeared around the fleeing cultivator, and I timed my own Sword Aura strike to hit just before Xia flung her True Qi fireball.

  If the Gold Element Sword had been propely soulbound, things would have gone differently, but an unbound sword was just a fancy piece of metal. Then again, I also used an invisible Vajra Lightning bolt to shock the criminal before my energy sword hit.

  "..." the man fell to one side, and his head to another, then his head caught fire and burned with True Qi.

  Turns out, True Qi can be used quite effectively to burn people as well as heal them.

  The Auction Elder just sighed and collected the precious sword from the floor, while the reception hall filled with more Divine Realm cultivators.

  "Martial King Tian Ji. I believe you won the bid at 21 billions?" he asked while holding the sword with the tip down.

  "I sure did! Until this...True Qi?" the said King noted in a surprised voice as the head of the criminal slowly turned to ash in front of his eyes.

  Xia just patted my shoulder and vanished inside the Tower, making her appeareance remain a mystery.

  "The Tower had someone overseeing the auction, and making sure this city didn't get blown up by rowdy cultivators. I trust you will all behave now." I said in a gentle voice, and nodding at the dead Divinity without a head.

  The winner of the auction picked up his sword and paid the expensive price, then slashed the blade on his left palm to start binding it with his soul. "Give me a minute, little Saint. Afterwards, I will turn their bones to gold if they misbehave."

  I just glanced at Amelia who nodded. Her needle has reached the golden target then.

  The Auction Elder sighed again, then picked up a pair of storage rings from the corpse and gave them to me. "It's a pity the head is not intact. This brainless idiot would have made a great Divine Puppet."

  I thought for a moment, then collected the corpse into my ring. Perhaps Grandpa could make a puppet even without a head.

  "Let's get some dinner, my dear. I know a great place in this city." I proposed in a casual voice, then held out my hand and walked out with Amelia hand-in-hand.

  Mentally, I marked another achievement on my xianxia quest line. Auction house battle done.