On the top floor, in the Supreme Box.
Jiang Zhongtian stood with his back to the window, five fingers resting on the shaft of the silver spear at his side, his brows drawn into a vertical crease. He had not sat down.
From the first finale lot until the copy of Divine Bone Blood Refining had just been won by Box Seventeen for six hundred and eighty spirit crystals, he had maintained that same posture.
Across the stone table, Xia Haoyun sat comfortably.
He held the tea lid in his right hand, slowly nudging the floating leaves along the rim. The leaves spun under his touch, as though running laps inside the cup. The girl beside him sat with her head lowered, her thoughts unreadable.
Jiang Zhongtian turned to look at Xia Haoyun. Without beating around the bush, he asked, "Your Highness, why did you bring Divine Bone Blood Refining, one of the six great body-refinement legacies, to a place like this for auction?"
He paused, genuine puzzlement in his voice. "As an imperial prince, surely you aren't short of a few hundred spirit crystals."
At those words, Xia Haoyun stopped stirring the leaves. He set the lid back on the rim and looked up at Jiang Zhongtian, a hint of a smile on his lips as he asked:
"Deputy Commissioner Jiang, do you know of the six great body-refinement legacies?"
"I've heard a little about them."
"Then this will be easy to explain." Xia Haoyun leaned back, settling into a more comfortable position.
"The six great body-refinement legacies have been passed down through the world. Their reputations are certainly imposing, but you should know, Deputy Commissioner Jiang, that only a handful of the six still survive in complete form today.
"The rest are scattered among the populace, mostly reduced