Night fell.
Yet Black Emperor City did not grow quiet because of it. Instead, countless lamps illuminated it as brightly as day.
Black-and-gold lanterns hung along both sides of the broad streets. Their light filtered through thin gauze, leaving mottled shadows across the bluestone pavement. The fervor brought by the daytime auction had yet to fade, but the city had grown somewhat less boisterous and gained an oppressive tension, like the calm before a storm.
Those who had obtained treasures were eager to leave.
Those who had failed to obtain any waited patiently in the shadows.
Concealed auras spread throughout Black Emperor City and its surroundings, like venomous snakes lurking in the dark, waiting only for their prey to reveal an opening.
The Black Emperor Sect's night banquet was held at the Black Emperor Pavilion in the heart of the city.
The Black Emperor Pavilion had nine floors and was built entirely from jet-black stone. Ferocious beast heads crouched at its four corners, ghostly blue flames burning within their gaping mouths. Clouds and mist wreathed the highest floor, through which a magnificent golden hall could vaguely be seen.
Mo Tianxing had clearly put considerable thought into this banquet.
Those who received invitations were all influential experts in the Black-Corner Region.
Ordinary Dou Lings did not even qualify to approach the Black Emperor Pavilion.
"Xiao Fan, are you not done changing yet?"
Zi Yan squatted outside the door, impatiently slapping the door panel.
"What are you rushing me for? Disguising my identity isn't the same as changing clothes."
Xiao Fan's irritated voice came from inside the room.
A moment later, the door slowly opened.
A young man in a green Alchemist's robe stepped out.
He looked about twenty-five or twenty-six. His face was not particularly handsome, but his features were