The Ticket

Ian grinned and waved at her gently.

On the first floor of the tower, when Ian saw Lia, she had already returned to her usual self.

"Did something happen?"

Seeing Lia back to normal, Ian couldn't help but ask.

Lia pursed her lips, looking at the lively Ian, her face showing no unusual expression.

She smiled faintly and said, half-jokingly, "Of course, I came to check on the most important partner of the Whaling Group."

"What happened here last night?"

Hearing Lia's words, Ian understood instantly. The intense spiritual conflict last night must have alerted the Whaling Group. It seemed he still held some importance in their eyes.

"Follow me."

Seeing that Ian wasn't going to dwell on the topic, Lia secretly let out a sigh of relief.

Ian brought Lia to the fifth floor. Old Hans was cleaning up debris with two young apprentices, but the residual scene was still a mess, and a trace of agitated spiritual energy could still be felt.

Ian asked Old Hans to leave and continue cleaning later.

"Last night, a transcendent named Haistorm attacked me. I had a conflict with him before at the Bounty Hunter Guild."

"However, I've never lost a one-on-one fight!"

Ian didn't hide anything. Displaying a bit of muscle appropriately could avoid more trouble.

Lia looked at Ian in surprise. Wasn't he an Alchemist who wasn't good at fighting?! Had he been hiding his strength?

"What sequence was that Haistorm?"

"Sequence 7, Storm Lord."

Ian watched her surprised expression with a smile.

"He... ran away?" Lia looked incredulous.

Ian shook his head slightly. "Of course, he's dead. This is the spoils of war."

Ian took out an exquisite money pouch and dangled it before her eyes.

This was practically challenging Lia's understanding of the transcendent.

It wasn't unheard of for lower sequences to defeat higher ones, but that usually relied on warships, team strength, or ambushing opponents with powerful items and forbidden knowledge.

Even crossing one sequence level usually came at a great cost.

Being actively attacked by a powerful transcendent of a profession two sequences higher and killing them without a scratch was something Lia had never heard of.

"Someone's coming."

Ian's expression turned serious, interrupting Lia's thoughts.

Outside the tower, several transcendent beings, who were not hiding their spiritual fluctuations, were approaching.

"Don't misunderstand, those are people from our Whaling Group. The leader is our captain, Abigail."

Lia recognized the approaching group through the window and quickly explained to the wary Ian, fearing he might misunderstand.

At this moment, Ian also saw Damir behind the group.

"Let's go down."

By the time Ian and Lia reached the ground floor, Abigail and the others were waiting outside the entrance and hadn't rashly entered the main hall.

Abigail wasn't carrying his large pipe today. When Damir found him, he was at the shipyard, overseeing the repairs of their flagship. He had been spending most of his time there recently.

The Whaling Group's battlefield was, after all, the sea; they were not accustomed to being on land. After the auction, they would set sail again once the crew recruitment was complete.

Abigail was certainly aware of Ian's existence. He was the one who advocated for sending the first can of demonized weapon oil for appraisal. It wasn't that he didn't trust Ian, but he had to be responsible for the entire Whaling Group.

The appraisal results had surprised even his Alchemist friend; such top-quality demonized products were rare even within the entire Alchemist Fellowship.

It was also because he had overcome dissenting opinions within the Whaling Group that the cooperation for the demonized weapon oil had proceeded so smoothly.

But he was a smart man. Seeing that Ian chose to stay in an inn instead of going to the Alchemist Fellowship, he knew Ian intended to conceal his identity.

Therefore, he hadn't rushed to meet Ian and had forbidden others from disturbing him.

When Damir told him about the situation just now, Abigail had prepared for the worst.

But when Abigail sensed the spiritual states of Lia and another person from a distance, he knew things might have exceeded his expectations, though not necessarily in a bad way.

"Captain, you're here. Let me introduce everyone."

Lia stepped forward first and began introducing the people present.

The captain of the Whaling Group, Abigail; the captain of the flagship [Whaling]'s land combat team, Damir; and three whaleboat captains: Greg, Jill, and Uma.

As Lia introduced them, the two groups sized each other up.

Ian was much younger than Abigail had imagined. Alchemy was a transcendent profession that required a great deal of experience to accumulate, and typically, young Alchemists were quite inexperienced.

"Mr. Trist, it's great to see you're alright."

Abigail was short and stout, but his smile was hearty and made people feel at ease.

"Thank you for your concern, Abigail. I'm fine."

Ian's gratitude was sincere.

Abigail, the leader, had rushed over to check on Ian's safety without understanding the situation, risking a conflict with a potential Sequence 7 transcendent.

Regardless of his motives, it was already quite commendable.

Ian was fortunate that the first transcendent faction he encountered was the Whaling Group.

"Everyone, come in and talk."

Ian invited everyone into the first-floor hall.

Abigail was surprised by the large number of spiritual materials on the first floor, but wisely chose not to ask further.

Both sides in the hall intended to show goodwill, and with Lia mediating, their conversation was quite pleasant for a while.

However, when those present heard that Ian had killed the Sequence 7 Storm Lord without a scratch, they were all astonished.

Uma, who had braided hair, even jumped up from his chair, his expression exaggerated, spouting slang Ian couldn't understand.

Lia gave Ian a helpless look, telling him to figure it out himself.

Ian didn't find it unpleasant. Uma's spirituality was lively and pure, acting on impulse rather than deliberate performance.

Ian then took the Whaling Group members to see the battle scene on the fifth floor.

Abigail felt a jolt of fear from the residual violent spiritual energy on the ground.

Judging by the spiritual intensity and characteristics, even as a Marine Warrior of Extraordinary Sequence 6, he still felt it would be difficult to handle.

Reality didn't have class balance, and this storm-type spellcaster had the advantage of location in this storm-ridden tower, enjoying the opportune moment. With the ebb and flow, he wouldn't dare to jump to conclusions even with his confidence.

Ian noticed Abigail's gaze towards him had become serious.

Indeed, strength earned respect, no matter where you were.

Abigail and his group didn't stay long; after some small talk, they left.

Ian returned to his room on the fourth floor, a sheepskin scroll now in his hand.

It was an auction house admission ticket that Abigail had given him before leaving.

The Poderia Royal Auction was held every six months, on June 1st and December 1st.

Perhaps spurred by the discovery of new continents, this auction was larger in scale than previous ones.

Important figures from major powers of the Eastern Continent, such as the Seven Major Churches of the Righteous Gods, various extraordinary associations, the Poldoria Kingdom, the Winter Kingdom, the Grand Duchy of Bema, and the Grand Duke of the "Enclave," would be attending.

Due to the large number of attendees, the rules for issuing admission tickets had changed, making it harder to obtain entry qualifications.

Without the Whaling Group's invitation, Ian would have found it quite difficult to attend using his fake identity.