Chapter 90: Humiliation

It wasn’t just the two rival clans whose attention was entirely focused on the chaotic bidding war.

Seated in the highest, most exclusive box, a breathtakingly beautiful woman watched the scene unfold with a deepening frown.

Liana.

Normally, she wouldn’t even spare a glance at garbage like Jarek Solari.

But today, her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at the man lounging on the opposite balcony..

Something was off.

The Jarek Solari she knew was an impulsive, brainless brute who couldn’t form a tactical thought to save his life.

But the man sitting on that balcony was entirely different.

"That degenerate..." Liana murmured softly, her perfectly shaped eyebrows knitting together. "Why is he acting up so strange?"

Beside Liana, Seris’s purple eyes were also locked at Rhain’s VIP box.

Rhain is truly amazing, Seris thought inwardly, completely spellbound by his flawless acting.

He is playing two major powers of Mirravele City in the palm of his hand, and none of them even realize it.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!"

Down on the stage, the vibrant lights in the grand hall dimmed suddenly.

Madame Vanya’s melodious voice rang in the silent room, "We have finally arrived at the grand finale."

An attendant walked onto the stage, their hands holding a pristine, carved pedestal.

Resting upon it was an ancient, glowing golden scroll.

"The item you have all been waiting for," Vanya announced, her voice echoing through the dead-silent hall. "An Epic-Grade Pill Formula!"

The crowd inhaled sharply.

"This is the formula for the ’Heavenly Core Condensation Elixir.’ It is an Epic-Grade pill that can significantly increase a peak Spirit Manifestation Realm cultivator’s chances of successfully breaking through to the Core Formation Realm!"

Boom!

The entire hall erupted into a frenzy.

For the major powers of Mirravele City, the Core Formation Realm was the pinnacle of existence.

It was the deciding factor that separated a major clan from other minor clans.

Both the Ashvele and Solari clans monopolized the elixir market.

If either of them secured this formula, they wouldn’t just produce more Core Formation experts—they would entirely dominate the city’s market for the next century!

"Starting bid, Five million Aetherium Crystals!" Vanya declared. "Each subsequent bid must be no less than five hundred thousand!"

The lower floor didn’t even bother raising their paddles.

This was a war strictly reserved for the titans of the city.

"Six million Aetherium Crystals!"

It was a peak Spirit Manifestation Realm elder of the Silvercrest Clan.

"Seven million!"

The peak Spirit Manifestation Realm of the Ashvele Clan.

"Eight million!"

Another peak Spirit Manifestation Realm of the Solari Clan.

The numbers climbed with outrageous speed, entirely detached from the realm of ordinary wealth.

"Nine million!"

"Ten million!"

"Eleven million!"

Up in the Silvercrest VIP box, Liana watched her clan elder’s expression darken. He raised his paddle one last time. "Twelve million!"

But almost immediately, both Matthias and the Solari elder shot back with thirteen and fourteen million.

The Silvercrest elder slowly lowered his paddle, releasing a heavy, resigned sigh.

"Elder?" Liana asked softly.

"We are done, Lady Liana," the old man shook his head in defeat.

Silvercrest clan’s foundation lies in the forging of weapons and artifacts. While this Epic-Grade pill formula is a peerless treasure, their liquid wealth simply cannot compete with the Ashvele and Solari clans, who have hoarded unimaginable riches from monopolizing the elixir market for decades.

Liana nodded quietly.

With the Silvercrest Clan officially out of the race, the auction devolved into a brutal, two-way deathmatch.

"Fifteen million!" Ashvele Clan peak Spirit Manifestation Realm expert, Atlas shouted.

"Sixteen million!" the Solari elder instantly countered, full of absolute confidence.

Across the hall, inside the Ashvele Clan VIP box, Atlas’s hand trembled violently as he reached for his spatial ring. He hastily projected his Spiritual Sense inside to verify their remaining funds.

His skin turned as pale as a corpse.

"Atlas?" Matthias asked nervously, noticing the sudden, horrifying shift in the peak expert’s demeanor. "Quickly, bid seventeen million! We cannot let them have it!"

"I... I can’t," Atlas blurted out with an ugly face.

"What do you mean you can’t?" another Spirit Manifestation Realm snapped in panic. "Knylee specifically authorized us to bring twenty million Aetherium Crystals for this exact moment!"

"We had twenty million!" Atlas roared, his trembling finger pointed toward the Solari VIP box. "But we just spent over four million!"

"That motherf**ker..." Matthias whispered, his voice cracking with volcanic fury.

Across the hall, the Solari elder noticed the sudden silence from the Ashvele Clan box.

A victorious smirk stretched across his face.

"Eighteen million Aetherium Crystals!" the Solari elder boomed.

Atlas staggered backward, his legs giving out as he collapsed into his chair

Down on the stage, Madame Vanya’s eyes gleamed with ecstasy.

"Eighteen million Aetherium Crystals going once!" she called out.

She looked toward the Ashvele Clan box, but there was only a defeated silence.

"Eighteen million going twice!"

Bang!

The golden gavel struck the podium with the finality of a judge’s execution order.

"Sold! The Epic-Grade Heavenly Core Condensation Elixir Formula goes to the esteemed Solari Clan!"

The entire Solari VIP box erupted into deafening cheers.

"Jarek, my boy! I thought you were just playing around earlier, but you single-handedly crippled their funds! If you hadn’t forced them to bleed those four million crystals, they might have pushed us to our absolute limit!" 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Rhain lounged on the velvet couch, casually taking another sip of his wine.

He maintained the slurred, arrogant smirk on his face, waving his hand dismissively. "Hehehhe, As I said, I was just playing with dogs."

But beneath the flawless disguise of the Faceless Emperor Mask, a cold, predatory glint flashed deep within his dark grey eyes.

Everything had gone exactly according to his design.

First step had been completed, now it was time for the second, and most crucial step.

Down on the grand stage, the brilliant spotlight shifted back to Madame Vanya.

"Our grand event has officially come to a close!" Vanya’s smile was radiant as she looked out over the buzzing crowd.. "On behalf of the Mirravele Auction House, I thank all of you esteemed guests for your generous participation. We look forward to serving you again in the future."

The massive essence lanterns illuminating the hall slowly brightened, bathing the venue in a warm, golden glow.

The crowd stood up, buzzing with excited murmurs as they began to filter out toward the grand exits.

Tonight’s auction—especially the brutal, one-sided humiliation of the Ashvele Clan—would be the talk of Mirravele City for months.

Up in the Solari Clan’s VIP box, the atmosphere was euphoric.

"Haha! What a glorious night!" The Solari elder laughed heartily, patting his spatial ring which now contained the priceless Epic-Grade formula. "Come, Jarek! Let us return to the estate immediately. The Patriarch will definitely want to throw a massive banquet in your honor for securing this!"

Rhain slowly stood up from the velvet couch, stretching his arms lazily.

"A banquet with a bunch of boring old men? Pfft. Pass," Rhain slurred dismissively, waving his hand. He licked his lips, his eyes flashing with a deliberate, sleazy light. "I’m feeling incredibly happy right now. I don’t need your dusty wine. I need to go find some soft, warm company and celebrate... alone."

The Solari elders paused, but quickly burst into understanding laughter.

"Hahaha! You won’t change Jarek!" The older man shook his head, completely unsurprised by the degenerate behavior. "Fine, fine! Go enjoy yourself. You’ve earned it tonight! Just don’t cause too much trouble before you crawl back home!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Rhain muttered, turning around and swaggering out of the VIP box without a backward glance.

None of the Solari members suspected a single thing.

Why would they? This was exactly the kind of trashy behavior Jarek was famous for.

Across the corridor, the doors to the Silvercrest Clan’s box opened.

Liana stepped out gracefully, followed closely by Seris.

Seris’s pale purple eyes instinctively darted toward the Solari box, catching a brief glimpse of Rhain walking away down the opposite staircase.

Her heart tightened slightly, but she quickly suppressed the urge to follow him.

Before the auction had even begun, Rhain had given her a very strict instruction to not follow him, and return back to the Glided Sparrow when it is safe.

It was uncertain what Rhain was going to do next, but she knew it was definitely very dangerous.

"Please be careful Rhain." Seris prayed in her heart.