One Hundred Thousand Gold Coins Auctioned

As the auctioneer's voice faded, a seventh-rank priest from the Church of Light, who happened to be passing through the city, furrowed his brows. He quickly asked the person beside him, "What is the situation with this auction item?"

The auction house staff member accompanying him explained, "It is a fallen noble who has not cultivated Battle Qi or magic, but whose physical body has reached the sixth rank."

"Is the priest interested?"

The priest of the Church of Light naturally knew that Angel Descent required a vessel. A pure sixth-rank physical body like this could host a ninth-rank angel. If one were willing to risk the destruction of the vessel, the descended angel could briefly exert power at the Saint Realm, making it a formidable combat force for the Church!

Just as he was about to call out his bid, he heard someone in a neighboring private box already shouting, "Eighty thousand gold coins."

In the box opposite the Church of Light, there were members of the Dark Court hiding in the city. They also placed a bid: "Eighty-five thousand."

The priest of the Church of Light felt compelled to invoke the name of his organization, stating directly, "The Church of Light bids one hundred thousand gold coins!"

Hearing the voice from the first box, the people from the Dark Court did not bid again.

"Leader, what do we do now?"

The leader of the Dark Court contingent let out a cold snort. He knew that this was the territory of the Bright Empire. Although it was not the core region, they could still infiltrate it. However, their power was limited, and they could not compare to the Church of Light, which was fighting on its home turf.

Considering that he could not let the Church of Light obtain such a sixth-rank vessel for nothing, he said, "Go and contact them."

The subordinate looked at his leader and understood. At this moment, they had no choice but to unite with other factions hostile to the Church of Light!

At the same time, a noble in one of the boxes told his men, "Send this news out."

The Divine Beast Sect's secret agents in the city soon learned about the appearance of the sixth-rank vessel. They had been fighting the Church of Light and the Dark Court in the shadows for a long time and were well aware that both sects were capable of performing Angel Descent.

"Leader, we just received news from our scouts. A warrior with a physical body reaching the sixth rank has appeared at the auction!"

The member of the Divine Beast Sect who was reading looked up at his subordinate and asked with a serious expression, "Is the information accurate?"

"It is accurate!"

Just then, another subordinate ran in. Seeing his companion still reporting, he stood to the side without speaking. The reading member of the Divine Beast Sect told the subordinate who had finished his report, "You may step down first."

After the first subordinate left, the newcomer said, "Leader, news has come from the Dark Court that the Church of Light has secured a sixth-rank vessel at the auction."

"Hmm, I understand."

After the subordinates retreated, the young man from the Divine Beast Sect closed his book and stood up.

"For the glory of the Divine Beast Sect, cooperating with the Dark Court is not out of the question."

He sent out all his scouts. Since this was the sphere of influence of the Church of Light, they were at a disadvantage and could only strike while the target was on the way to the Holy Capital of Light in the Bright Empire.

This area was near the Magic Beast Mountain Range; heading north would lead into the mountains. Only by heading west would they enter the territory controlled by the Bright Empire. The Divine Beast Sect controlled the south, and the area east of the Magic Beast Mountain Range was controlled by the Dark Court.

This was why the Divine Beast Sect members concluded that the Church of Light would most likely travel west by land to the Holy Capital of Light. He asked the subordinate who had just entered, "Have you scouted it out clearly?"

"Someone has boarded a boat and is heading downstream."

The young man reading the book frowned; heading downstream clearly didn't make sense. The lower reaches of this river were controlled by the Divine Beast Court, so why would they abandon the short route for a long one?

Sure enough, after a while, he heard another report from his subordinate. Another group had escorted a prisoner carriage out of the west gate, heading west by land.

"What about the people from the Dark Court?"

"They are pursuing that group."

The young man paced back and forth in the room, and after a moment, he asked, "Are there any more people departing?"

"No more."

After the subordinate finished reporting, he looked at his indecisive leader and asked, "Leader, which path should we pursue?"

"Wait a little longer!"

An hour later, a group of people quietly took the unconscious sixth-rank mage, Matthews, and boarded another boat to head downstream.

"Leader, it is just as you predicted. Another group has just boarded a boat and headed downstream!"

"Hmph, they are indeed a group of hypocritical and cunning things. We pursue!"

Half a day later, Matthews slowly regained consciousness. Looking at his shackled hands and feet, he realized he had been sold. Just then, a young man's voice came from beside him: "Hey, you're awake."

Matthews understood the "hey" and nodded at him. This young man had been bought by a noblewoman, so why was he here too?

Matthews took the opportunity to look around; there were no guards watching them. He remained shackled, and the young man was also locked in a cage. Matthews lost the desire to continue communicating with him. He didn't understand much of the world's language, and communicating wouldn't yield useful information; it was better to save his strength to plan an escape.

On the boat drifting down the river, the seventh-rank priest of the Church of Light who had bought Matthews was sipping tea. He knew that there were spies from the Divine Beast Sect and the Dark Court in the city, and they would certainly try to destroy a vessel capable of hosting a ninth-rank angel.

Therefore, he had released several fake teams in advance and chose the seemingly most unsafe route of heading downstream. Once they disembarked halfway to switch to land travel, others would be there to meet them.

He had brought only one sixth-rank warrior and two fifth-rank warriors; the small group had a low profile, making them harder to detect.

Just as they thought they were safe, someone caught up to them.

Leading the pursuit was the young leader of the Divine Beast Sect, a seventh-rank warrior. He slashed at the boat, and after one strike, the vessel was forced to a halt.

Then, a water-element mage nearby unleashed a spell he had been charging for a long time.

"Ice Seal of a Thousand Miles!"

A trail of freezing ice spread along the river toward the boat.

The damaged boat, trapped by the encroaching ice, came to a dead stop in the middle of the not-so-turbulent river.

"What is happening?"

The priest of the Church of Light had just been meditating when the boat shook from the attack of the Divine Beast Sect leader. By the time he reached the bow, he saw that the river had been frozen over, and the members of the Divine Beast Sect were charging toward the boat, running across the ice.

"Dance of the Fire Serpent—"