Back to Fenlai City

"Looks like I really have been too sheltered. There are geniuses on the continent even more outstanding than me, and I didn't even know it."

"Linley, huh? I'd really like to meet him."

Jonathan paused and looked at Wesport with his dark eyes. "But we're going to Fenlai City. It's the Holy Capital of the Light Church."

"Don't worry. As long as we go there openly, they won't do anything to us."

"After all, our two factions are currently in a state of balance. Neither side is looking to fight to the death. If they killed me, they'd only tarnish their own reputation, and they'd also provoke a war between our factions."

"I understand. The more conspicuous we are, the less likely they are to make a move!"

"Clever!" Wesport laughed.

"When do we leave?"

"Today."

Fenlai City.

Wesport and Jonathan rode in a carriage along Champs-Élysées Avenue.

They were making no effort to conceal themselves, so Clyde and the Light Church had spotted them long ago. They had even received word when the pair passed through a border post garrisoned by troops.

However, Wesport had openly stated his purpose and arrived without hiding anything, so they had no grounds to refuse them entry.

After all, it wasn't wartime, and the rules weren't that strict.

Jonathan lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the bustling scene outside.

Wesport asked, "What is it? Curious? Fenlai City is one of the five largest cities on the continent. It's several levels more prosperous than Black Phoenix City."

"My lord, you jest. I devote myself to cultivation. Why would I care about such things?"

"I only looked outside because I sensed someone watching us from the shadows."

Wesport laughed. "That's normal. If the Light Church sent a group to the Dark Alliance, we'd have people keep them under constant surveillance too."

"Your strength has increased quite a bit. The people watching us must be at least seventh-rank."

Jonathan smiled faintly.

"The auction starts today. Let's head straight to Proulx Auction Hall."

"As you wish, my lord."

Proulx Auction Hall had three floors. The first floor had several hundred ordinary seats, each priced at a hundred gold coins.

The second floor consisted of individual private rooms. There were a little over a dozen in all, and only powerful nobles and wealthy merchants qualified to enter. Each room cost an eye-watering amount.

Prices ranged from one thousand to ten thousand gold coins.

As for the third floor, it had only one very large reception room, with an extremely luxurious interior. It was generally closed to the public and reserved for guests whom the Proulx Guild considered especially important.

Thanks to the Proulx Guild's publicity, many of the nobles attending this auction came from outside the Holy Union. In that sense, the auction was open to the entire continent.

They were all people with money to spare, so even the ordinary seats had been bid up to outrageous prices. Ordinary people would be appalled to hear the cost.

It was just a seat. Was it really necessary?

Ordinary people wouldn't understand. These people cared about appearances, nothing more.

"I reserved a private room on the second floor. Let's go."

After Wesport, Jonathan, and several gray-robed priests entered the auction hall, they went straight up to the second floor and headed for Room Three.

At the same time, in the reception room on the third floor,

a group of people stood looking down at the second floor.

They were Linley, Yale, Maia, the director of the Proulx Guild, Clyde, Gilmer, and Lampson.

"They really did come," Lampson said.

Maia asked, "Bishop Lampson, who are you talking about?"

"People from the Dark Alliance. Wesport is here, the Dark Church's black-robed archbishop. The young man with him should be Jonathan."

"It's him," Gilmer said. "I saw him in Fenlai City once."

Linley studied Jonathan and the others on the second floor, slightly surprised. He's been to Fenlai City before?

"But as long as they don't cause trouble in Fenlai City, we won't do anything to them."

Maia smiled faintly. "You two are truly magnanimous."

Jonathan glanced at the glass wall of the third floor. The glass had been specially made by alchemists. From the outside, nothing inside was visible, but from within, one could see out clearly.

It was extremely expensive, so the Proulx Guild had installed it only on the third floor.

Linley happened to meet Jonathan's gaze. For a moment, he felt as though Jonathan had seen him, but Jonathan soon looked away.

Jonathan then glanced at the first-floor hall. Among the several hundred seats, he immediately spotted a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties, wearing a loose robe.

Almost as soon as Jonathan looked over, the man's gaze swept toward him too.

The two men smiled at each other.

The man in the first-floor hall was Cesar.

Cesar had two great passions: women and stone carvings.

"Dream Awakening" was the work of a master sculptor, and it depicted a woman, so he was naturally very interested. He had attended the stone-carving exhibition last time and had praised it highly.

"That kid actually came. The man beside him must be a senior black-robed priest of the Dark Church. He's mixed in with them, of all people. I wonder what he's up to."

"Never mind. That little ingrate won't let himself get the short end of the stick."

Before long, the auction officially began.

The auctioneer emphasized Linley's identity, thereby increasing the value of the stone carving "Dream Awakening" and making many people even more interested in it.

"Dream Awakening" had a starting bid of one million gold coins, and each raise had to be at least one hundred thousand.

This left the Debs Clan furious, especially Kalan, who was about to marry Alice.

As the price kept climbing, Bebe poked his little head out of Linley's arms in the third-floor reception room and looked down.

"Boss, from now on, I can eat all the roast chicken and roast duck I want, and drink all the wine I want, right?"

Linley fondly patted Bebe's head. "Of course."

Bebe was thrilled. He craned his neck to watch the bidding below, hoping the price would climb even higher.

Jonathan asked, "Lord Wesport, should we bid on this stone carving and do Linley a favor?"

"Exactly. But it doesn't look easy."

"I heard the Light Church hasn't fully recruited him yet either, so they'll spare no effort to win him over."

"And neither will the Fenlai royal family."

Jonathan glanced at him and thought to himself, Too bad it'll all be useless!

When Cesar spoke up, the Light Church, the Dark Church, and the other major clans soon took notice of him.

"That lunatic actually came too!"

Seeing Wesport's expression change, Jonathan asked, "You know him, my lord?"

Wesport nodded. "Looks like we won't succeed this time. But the Light Church doesn't stand a chance either."

Jonathan put on a puzzled expression.

"You're not at that level yet, so you don't need to know too much. Just know that he's someone you can't afford to offend. Even the Dark Church and the Light Church wouldn't provoke him unless they had to."

Jonathan felt a chill in his heart.

In the end, just as in the original story, "Dream Awakening" was bought by Delia, who had a crush on Linley.

I'm currently in the first round of recommendations. Please keep reading every day!!!