Yi Yang watched Lin Qi take the final auction lot from his Storage Ring.
Lin Qi personally pushed this last lot to the center of the stage. Its base had been cast from a solid block of black iron and was thicker than the base used for any previous lot.
Several layers of restricting ward barriers surrounded it, nested one inside another. Each shimmered with a different color: pale gold on the outside, silver-white farther in, and deep blue at the innermost layer.
The elaborate arrangement made it clear how seriously they took this item. Inside the barriers rested an ancient bronze tray.
A pearl hovered at the center of the tray.
It was the size of an infant's fist, its deep blue body almost black, its surface wrapped in a thin sheen of water. It looked as though someone had squeezed an entire sea into a ball and tucked it into that tiny space.
Without any support, the pearl floated three inches above the tray, slowly rotating. With each revolution, a deep blue arc of light flashed within it, silently flaring and fading.
The air in the hall took on a different weight the instant the pearl appeared. This was not a few wisps of pressure leaking from some expert, but the presence of the artifact itself.
Seated on the couch, Yi Yang could clearly distinguish that feeling. The object released no aggressive aura, yet it compelled people to take another look.
Its "presence" was simply too strong.
Quite a few martial artists in the hall had already risen, standing on tiptoe to peer toward the stage.
Yi Yang set his teacup back on the table and extended his divine sense toward the pearl. The moment it touched the outermost restricting ward barrier, it was repelled.
These wards were