Chapter 524: Chapter 524: The Breath of the Golden Dragon

The acquisition of the rusted scrap had been a quiet ripple in a pond, but as the "trash" was cleared from the stage, the very atmosphere of the hall changed. The air grew heavy, saturated with a golden radiance that seemed to vibrate against the skin of every cultivator in the room.

Seraphina Valerius stood taller, her draconic eyes glowing with a renewed intensity. "We have finished with the local curiosities," she said, her voice dropping an octave, carrying a weight that silenced the entire arena. "Now, we begin the final tier. These items were not forged in our fires. They do not share our history. They are the pride of the Golden Dragon Empire."

The first item rose from the center of the stage, encased in a pillar of shimmering white jade. It was a Heaven-Grade Sky-Sunderer Cannon, a piece of naval artillery no larger than a man’s arm, but carved from a single piece of ancient meteor iron.

"A Black Army Fleet specialty!" Seraphina announced. "But this is the Imperial version. It consumes high-grade spirit stones to fire a beam of pure annihilation capable of piercing the hull of a Dreadnought-class warship. Starting bid: One hundred million spirit stones."

"One hundred and fifty million!" the manager of the Black Army Fleet roared before she could even finish.

"Two hundred million!" Prince Alaric countered, his eyes burning with a military hunger.

The bidding wasn’t a slow climb anymore; it was a vertical ascent. The numbers being shouted were enough to buy entire cities. Ethan watched, mesmerized, as the wealth of the kingdom was poured out onto the stage. Armors forged from the scales of lesser drakes, pills that could extend a mortal’s life by five hundred years, and even a miniature Cloud-Piercer Warship that sat in a spatial bottle, ready to be expanded into a fortress of the skies.

"This is madness," Ethan whispered, his silver mask reflecting the golden glow of the stage.

"This is the true face of power, Ethan," the Captain replied, his voice grim. "The Dragonia brothers aren’t just buying toys; they are arming for the inevitable. The King is old, and the Empire is watching. Every item they secure today is a piece of the board they hope to control tomorrow."

Prince Charles, who had been bored during the "junk" phase, was now fully engaged. He was no longer just blocking the Princess; he was fighting his own brothers. The tension in the Royal Box was palpable, a silent war of glares and whispered commands to their respective treasurers.

"Three hundred million!" Charles shouted, his voice cutting through Alaric’s bid for an Imperial Soul-Binding Cloak.

"Three hundred and fifty!" Alaric snapped back, his knuckles white as he gripped his seat.

The auction had transformed from a commerce event into a battlefield. The scent from the high-level artifacts mixed with the sweat of desperate bidders. Map scrolls that detailed the Empire’s secret trade routes were sold for prices that made the earlier items look like copper pennies.

Amidst the chaos, Ethan felt the heavy presence of the blackened sword he had just won sitting in the storage area backstage. It didn’t pulse with the loud, golden arrogance of the Imperial treasures, but in his mind, it hummed a low, steady frequency that felt like a countdown.

"And now," Seraphina’s voice rose above the din, her smile turning predatory as the final jade pillar ascended. "The crown jewel of our collection. From the private vaults of the Imperial Guard... the Dragon-Heart Core."

A collective gasp escaped the crowd. Even the princes stood up. The item was a pulsating, crimson crystal that beat like a living heart, casting a blood-red light across the faces of the greedy, the powerful, and the damned.

The moment the Dragon-Heart Core appeared, the air in the auction hall it became lethal. The crimson light reflecting off the silver and gold of the VIP boxes looked like fresh blood.

"Five hundred million!" Prince Charles shouted, his voice cracking with a frantic, uncharacteristic desperation.

"Seven hundred million!" the General Manager of the Black Army Fleet boomed, standing up. His mechanical eye whirred at a deafening pitch. "Don’t test me, boy. This core belongs in a flagship, not a palace decoration."

Charles turned, his face contorted with rage. "You dare? You are a merchant in my father’s kingdom! I’ll have your company dismantled by morning if you obstruct the Royal Bloodline!"

The Manager let out a cold, guttural laugh that shook the chandeliers. "Dismantle us? Prince, I don’t fear your father—I merely respect the peace he maintains. But if you speak to me in that tone again, you’ll find out how quickly a Fleet can turn into an Occupation Force."

With a sudden, violent surge, the Manager released his cultivation. The pressure of a Spiritual Sea Realm expert slammed into the room like a physical wave. Behind him, five of his lieutenants stood in unison, each unfolding their own Spiritual Sea auras. The combined weight was enough to make the weaker nobles in the lower tiers faint where they sat.

They hadn’t come to play. The Black Army Fleet was ready for a coup.

"Protect the Prince!" a commander roared from the Dragonia boxes.

In an instant, hundreds of hidden Royal Guards materialized, drawing their blades. Prince Alaric and Prince Valerius, usually at odds with Charles, stood beside him. Their internal feud was a family matter, but the Dragon-Heart Core—a source of infinite power—could not fall into the hands of a corporation. Behind them, the air shimmered as the Dragonia family’s private Elders stepped out of the void, their auras clashing against the Fleet’s.

"Gentlemen, please!" the Master of the Alchemist’s Guild shrieked, his own elders rising behind him, their hands glowing with volatile reagents. "This core belongs to science! We will bid a billion spirit stones and the life-long service of our Grandmasters!"

"Over our dead bodies!" the Blacksmith’s Guild leader bellowed, slamming a massive hammer onto the railing of his box, his own squad of heavy-armored warriors bracing for a charge.

It was no longer an auction it was a powder keg. Every major power in the kingdom was standing on the precipice of a total civil war. The princes were ready to kill the merchants, the merchants were ready to topple the throne, and the guilds were ready to burn it all down just to claim the prize.

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From this moment forward, to avoid confusion regarding cultivation ranks, I will include this footer with the current established levels.

Note: These are only the ranks mentioned so far to avoid spoilers.

Body Refinement Realm

Skin Refinement / Bone Refinement / Organ Refinement

Spiritual Gathering Realm

Spiritual Perception / Spiritual Mist / Spiritual Condensation

Spiritual Core Realm

Core Solidification / Core Awakening / Spiritual Collapse (Half-step Spiritual Core)

Spiritual Soul Realm

Spiritual Soul Awakening / Soul Nourishing / Soul-Core Fusion

Golden Core Realm

Prime Fusion / Core Perfection / Core Destruction

Spiritual Sea Realm

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??

Dao Manifestation Realm

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??

Spiritual Transcendence

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??