The Great Change

To perhaps ease the overly heated atmosphere, the next few items returned to normal.

Following this were several Extraordinary Sequence professional imprints, including Sword Dancer, Guardian Knight, Illusionist, and Alchemist.

Extraordinary Sequence professional imprints are enchanted items that record and allow for the learning of the core abilities of an Extraordinary Sequence. They are single-use items and can only be used by those who have awakened their spirituality.

What Ian hadn't expected was that the Alchemist Fellowship would put forth an Extraordinary Sequence, and furthermore, they were selling imprints for both the Original Tree and Tree of Knowledge factions simultaneously.

It wasn't that the Alchemist Extraordinary Sequence was particularly rare, but rather that the Alchemist Fellowship always distributed them based on luck, and it was uncommon to see an Alchemist's Extraordinary Sequence appear outside of their own guild.

Ian had a sudden idea: since this was the case, could he impersonate a newly acquired Alchemist with an Extraordinary Sequence, join the guild, and gain new knowledge?

Otherwise, he couldn't keep getting stuck at Sequence 9. Although it was a bit risky, he wanted to try.

Besides, the Alchemist Fellowship had always been neutral, only judging individuals and never their identities. Even if they knew his true identity, it probably wouldn't matter much.

"The next item for auction is: a Level 4 sailing warship, a two-deck, three-masted barque. The ship is in good condition, with a total length of 45.8 meters, equipped with 22 24-pound cannons and 30 18-pound cannons, with a standard crew of 350 people..."

"The warship is currently docked at the Second Fleet's base in Paradise Port and can be taken away immediately after purchase..."

"The starting bid is 30,000 gold coins, with an increment of no less than 100 gold coins per bid."

As this Level 4 ship was put up for auction, the murmuring conversations in the hall grew even louder.

Given that battleships were not suitable for long-distance ocean voyages, Level 4 ships typically served as flagships for overseas patrols. The flagships of the Whaling Group and the Kingdom's Third Fleet, for example, were Level 4 ships.

As bids rose one after another, Arlanis sat up straighter, a sly smile like a little fox appearing on her face.

This sailing warship was a deliberate lure thrown out by the Grand Duke of Emerald.

Ever since steam engines were mounted onto sailing ships, the Grand Duke of Emerald had concluded that the end of sailing warships was nigh.

Future warships would inevitably be steam-powered, with only some merchant ships continuing to use sails to save costs.

The Grand Duchy of Emerald's research into steam power was already ahead of the entire Eastern Continent, especially the new steam warships of the Empire of Divine Grace, which further proved his foresight.

Selling an outdated, second-hand sailing warship for a large amount of resources, which would then be reinvested into the upgrading and construction of steam warships, was a very profitable deal.

Ultimately, the Level 4 sailing warship was acquired by the Bema Principality, who spared no expense, with the final transaction price reaching 65,000 gold coins, more than double its actual construction cost.

There was no other way; as the weakest maritime power in this cooperation, the Bema Principality had come specifically for this Level 4 ship.

Although the subsequent auction items were not more expensive, they clearly held increasing strategic value.

Curiosities that could continuously produce fresh water, large quantities of high-quality teak, slaves, bulk grain, and so on. Most people in the hall had become mere spectators.

The much-anticipated Sequence 5 potion for the Mind class of wizards also began its auction soon.

It was eventually purchased by the Crown Prince of the Poldoria Kingdom for a high price of 74,000 gold coins.

This caused the members of the Whaling Group to become excited, as 30% of the proceeds belonged to them.

The grand finale featured four alchemical cannons, boasting a maximum range exceeding 5,000 meters. They packed immense power, far surpassing ordinary 32-pound cannons, but their recoil and ammunition consumption were equally substantial.

These were coastal defense guns, primarily used for defending ports or coastal strongholds. Ordinary sailing warships could not carry or operate them.

These four alchemical cannons, along with a large quantity of alchemical shells, were ultimately acquired by the Poldoria Kingdom for 110,000 gold coins. One had to admit that in terms of financial strength, the Poldoria Kingdom naturally held an advantage.

Ian, carrying a large box with a relaxed expression, walked out of the hall with the excited members of the Whaling Group. The cold wind blew, and the previous heated atmosphere gradually dissipated.

Although he had only bought an activated rope on this trip, his gains were not small.

The major factions had most likely formed an alliance. It was still uncertain how this would hinder his revenge against the Second Prince, but it was clear that his pace needed to quicken.

Ian bid farewell to Lia and returned to the tower well past midnight.

As soon as he entered the door, he felt something was wrong; the tower had no lights on.

Milta was stubborn. He had said he would guard the house until Ian returned and would not rest before Ian did.

Ian gently put down the box, concealed his spirituality, and slowly approached.

His expression grew increasingly grave; he could not sense Wawa's spirituality or any trace of Milta.

Ian stopped, no longer advancing, and concentrated, looking carefully at the tower.

Suddenly, he noticed that the tower's spire was gone?!

Just as Ian tensed in vigilance, a colossal entity "rose" from the top floor. Under the dim moonlight, he could see more than a dozen short "tentacles" extending from its body, covering more than half of the top floor of the tower.

It must have detected Ian. The "tentacles" slid, descending from the tower, and "hurriedly" charged towards Ian with great momentum.

Just as Ian turned, preparing to run as fast as he could, a familiar spiritual fluctuation reached him.

"Wawa..."

Ian stopped his movements, turned back, and stood in place, waiting for the "monster" to approach with a strange expression.

Just as it was about to reach Ian, the "monster" suddenly retracted all its "tentacles," "crawled" onto the ground, and slid towards him.

A gust of strong wind swept over him, accompanied by a dull scraping sound, and the colossal Precision stopped less than half a meter in front of Ian. Two bean-sized green eyes suddenly appeared on the surface of the silver-gray colossal body, meeting Ian's gaze.

"Waa..."

"Ah... this, this is really something!"

Ian couldn't help but laugh and cry. He reached out and patted Wawa's body, trying to comfort it, as Wawa had been unresponsive.

Ian had seen Wawa just this morning. Although Wawa was covered by enchanted cloth and burlap, making it hard to see clearly, its size was definitely not this big.

Its body had grown so much in just one day, coupled with its strange tentacles, seeing it in the middle of the night was enough to make one lose their sanity.

Ian communicated with Wawa using his spiritual sense. Compared to a few days ago, Wawa's intelligence had clearly increased significantly. It felt like it had the intelligence of a seven or eight-year-old child, and its "speech" was much more coherent.

A few days ago, Wawa had fallen into a deep sleep after consuming a drop of Life Water. Today, it had finally "digested" it completely, and its physical strength and ultimate potential had undergone a leap in improvement.

When Wawa woke up, it didn't see Ian. Due to the magic array separating the auction house, although it could sense Ian through their contract, it was difficult to pinpoint his location.

Thinking it had been abandoned, Wawa became anxious. It "stood up" and wanted to go out and search. Unfortunately, it misjudged its own size and directly caved in the spire of the observation deck.

Milta, hearing the commotion, saw the suddenly appearing "monster" and was stunned. He instinctively thought a monster had invaded.

Then, the two who had never seen each other before began a period of ineffective communication. The anxious Wawa directly "ate" Milta.

Ian looked helpless. "Milta is a companion. You can't do that again. Hurry up and let him out."

Wawa let out a wronged whine, flipped its body, and Milta rolled out from a suddenly opened door above him.

After coming out, Milta was still terrified. Seeing Ian, he shouted, "There's a monster, run quickly--".

Ian quickly comforted him and explained that this was their ship. After all the commotion, Ian felt that tonight's excitement had been a bit too much.

Ian sent the still disbelieving and somewhat overly startled Milta back to sleep.

Then, he took Wawa straight to the seaside. Having seen Wawa's full form just now, he was already impatient to board his warship.