The Miteer Auction House, like a fully activated war machine, began operating at astonishing speed.
Ya Fei's orders were carried out to the fullest in the shortest possible time.
One by one, gilded invitations made from the finest Magical Beast hide were placed in exquisite envelopes. The seals bore the elegant crest of the Mittel Family, and the envelopes had been infused with precious incense that calmed the mind.
The invitations alone were worth a fortune.
Dozens of the Miteer Chamber of Commerce's most elite messengers mounted the fastest Tier 2 Magical Beasts, the Wind-Runner Birds, and shot out from the auction house like arrows loosed from a bow.
Their destinations were not limited to the major factions within Wutan City.
They also included Black Stone City, Desert City, Tanger City... every city and faction of note across the northeastern region of the Jia Ma Empire.
The invitation's message was as brief as could be, yet filled with deadly temptation.
Ten days from now, the Miteer Chamber of Commerce would hold an unprecedented grand event at its Wutan City branch.
At the auction, a mysterious curiosity related to Heavenly Flames would be sold as the grand finale.
At the same time, an even shorter and more explosive announcement spread through the Miteer Auction House's channels across the city, racing through Wutan City like a virus.
Heavenly Flames!
The Miteer Auction House was going to auction something related to Heavenly Flames!
Within the first hour of the announcement.
All of Wutan City erupted.
In a mercenary tavern in the south of the city, a one-eyed mercenary who had just completed a mission, reeking of blood, slammed his mug of ale onto the table. Beer splashed everywhere.
"Have you bastards heard? Miteer's auctioning a treasure related to Heavenly Flames!"
His booming voice set off the entire tavern in an instant.
"Fuck! Is it true? Heavenly Flames? Aren't those just the stuff of legends? Even Dou Huang experts would be green with envy!"
"My third uncle's second cousin's brother works as a guard for Miteer. He says it's absolutely true! Miss Ya Fei gave the order herself, and the invitations have already gone out!"
"Good heavens! Is Wutan City about to turn upside down?"
"Turn upside down? I say it's going to run red with blood! Anything tied to Heavenly Flames was piled up with human lives, wasn't it? The ones coming this time won't be minnows like us!"
In countless mercenaries' eyes burned the flames of greed and excitement. They might not even qualify to take part in the bidding, but that didn't stop them from indulging in the wildest fantasies about the feast to come.
Maybe they could fish in troubled waters?
Maybe they could watch those lofty bigwigs, whom they rarely saw, fight tooth and nail over the treasure?
Such endless gossip and daydreams could numb their weary nerves better than the strongest liquor.
Jialie Residence, council chamber.
"Crack!"
An armrest carved from a single block of rosewood was crushed to dust in a large, sinewy hand.
Jialie Bi's face was so dark it seemed water might drip from it.
Before him, the exquisite gilded invitation lay quietly on the table. Its delicate fragrance now seemed thick with mockery.
"Heavenly Flames... Heavenly Flames again!"
A few icy words ground out between his teeth.
The room itself seemed to grow colder from the Dou Qi escaping him beyond his control.
He almost immediately connected this to the mysterious person who had humiliated the Jialie Clan just a few days ago.
First the Rock Fire Seed, then the intelligence on the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake, and now the man had gone so far as to bring out a curiosity related to Heavenly Flames!
That bastard!
Who was he? What else did he have in his hands?
An irrepressible greed coiled around his heart like a venomous snake and sank its fangs into him once more.
Yet alongside that greed rose a trace of apprehension, one he himself refused to acknowledge.
Anyone capable of producing something like this had power behind him beyond Jialie Bi's imagination.
That old fox from the Aoba Clan had clearly latched onto this powerful ally.
And the Jialie Clan had become a laughingstock throughout Wutan City.
"Father!"
Jialie Ao rushed in from outside, his face flushed with a feverish excitement.
"Miteer is auctioning a treasure related to Heavenly Flames! This... this is our chance! As long as we can get it..."
"Get out!"
Jialie Bi jerked his head up. His bloodshot eyes, like those of a man-eating beast, fixed on his son.
"You good-for-nothing! You can't get anything done, but you're always ruining things!"
His roar drenched all of Jialie Ao's excitement in ice.
In stark contrast to the gloom hanging over the Jialie Clan.
The Aoba residence was filled with joy.
"Hahahaha! Good! Excellent!"
Holding an identical invitation, Aoba Pa let out a hearty laugh.
Every crease on his face had smoothed out, brimming with genuine delight.
A stage!
The gentleman had said he needed a grand enough stage!
Aoba Pa had thought he would have to pay dearly to build one for the gentleman.
He hadn't expected the gentleman to toss out a "sun" bright enough to light up the entire northeastern sky of the empire!
And as the first to come into contact with that "sun," the Aoba Clan would undoubtedly reap the most light and warmth!
"Pass on my order!"
Aoba Pa carefully placed the invitation on the table, his eyes gleaming.
"Gather all our liquid assets! This time, no matter what, we must show that gentleman our utmost sincerity!"
"Yes, Clan Chief!"
The steward bowed to receive the order, his own excitement impossible to conceal.
He knew that the Aoba Clan's rise could no longer be stopped.
The other two major neutral factions in Wutan City were also thoroughly shaken by the invitation.
The City Lord's Mansion.
Yao Ye, clad in military uniform, her presence as steady as a mountain, studied the invitation with a slight frown.
"Heavenly Flames... Ya Fei is playing a rather big game this time."
An advisor behind her said quietly, "City Lord, this is no small matter. Wutan City is likely to fall into chaos."
"Chaos?"
Yao Ye snorted and set down the invitation.
"As long as the City Lord's Mansion's rules remain intact, let them fight and scramble all they want."
"Pass down the order. On the day of the auction, the entire City Guard must be on alert. Also, prepare a generous gift. I'll pay Miss Ya Fei a personal visit."
The Alchemist Guild.
When the invitation was delivered to Master Otto, the usually composed, unflappable Tier 4 alchemist abruptly rose from his seat.
His cloudy old eyes locked on the words "Heavenly Flames," and his breathing grew heavier.
"Quick! Find out at once what this curiosity actually is!"
"Also, notify every alchemist in the guild. Ten days from now, they're all coming with me to the Miteer Auction House!"
For any alchemist, the words "Heavenly Flames" held a demonic allure.
The announcement spread through the surrounding region like an unstoppable hurricane.
Black Stone City, Desert City...
Flying Magical Beasts bearing powerful figures shot into the sky above city after city, all bound for Wutan City.
Even independent experts who spent their days wandering the world learned of the news through their own channels.
They might not be able to afford the item, but simply seeing the legendary curiosity would be an immense stroke of fortune.
For a time, the highways leading to Wutan City were crowded with passing carriages and horses.
At the gates of this usually peaceful city, inspections grew stricter than ever before.
There were simply too many unfamiliar faces pouring into the city.
Among them were mercenary groups with fierce auras, lavishly dressed merchant caravans, and true experts whose auras were restrained but whose eyes were sharp as knives.
All of Wutan City seemed to have become a vast whirlpool.
Yet at its center, there was an unusual calm.
The dilapidated little courtyard in the south of the city.
Su Chen sat by the window, quietly studying the latest intelligence on the outside world that Ya Fei had sent over.
His fingers tapped a steady, light rhythm on the rough wooden table.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Outside the window, the street was a roaring sea of voices.
He could clearly sense dozens of auras that were more formidable—and more dangerous—than Jialie Bi's.
Some were brazen and made no effort to hide their strength.
Others were like venomous snakes in an abyss, cold and deadly, lurking in the city's shadows.
They were all sharks drawn by the "stone" he had thrown out.
For the first time, Su Chen felt so keenly just how great a stir he had caused in this world.
It was a strange feeling, like standing atop a sheer cliff ten thousand feet high and gazing down at the raging waves stirred up below by a single word of his.
There was tension.
There was excitement.
But more than anything, there was a calm sense of control.
He knew he had lit the fuse with his own hands.
From this moment on, he was no longer the mysterious man who had to hide in the shadows and scrape by selling Rock Fire Seeds.
Though his name had yet to be revealed.
A legend about the "Mysterious Supplier" had already begun to spread quietly across this land, carried along with the name of Heavenly Flames.
And the true star of this storm—the "key" powerful enough to drive the entire empire mad—still lay quietly in the mysterious man's storage ring, waiting for the moment it would astonish the world.
Before you continue