The settlement of Crimson Talent Auction did not feel victorious.

The auction hall dissolved, but the rescued victims remained as pale lights, each holding a small fragment of their own talent root. Some fragments returned cleanly. Some left cracks. Some required time.

The Tower panel appeared.

[Floor 117: Crimson Talent Auction]

[Main Mission: Destroy auction network and preserve victim talent roots — Completed.]

[Sub-Mission: Identify auction authority structure — Completed.]

[Sub-Mission: Rescue at least 20 victims — Completed.]

[Victims rescued: 46]

[Sub-Mission: Prevent talent root collapse above 30% — Completed.]

[Final Talent Root Collapse: 8%]

[Sub-Mission: Capture or defeat Auctioneer — Completed.]

[Result: Defeated.]

[Sub-Mission: Recover evidence ledger — Completed.]

[Calculating final evaluation...]

The result appeared.

[Final Evaluation: SSS]

The rewards appeared.

[SSS Evaluation Rewards]

EXP +62,000

Tower Coins x900,000

SS Grade Crimson Talent Auction Chest x1

SS Grade Talent Root Restoration Spring x1

SS Grade Stolen Talent Evidence Ledger x1

SS Grade Ownership Claim Severing Knife x1

SS Grade Buyer Contract Burning Seal x1

S Grade Broken Talent Root Fragment Bundle x1

Special Mark: Talent Auction Destroyer]

Additional hidden reward:

[Victim Talent Roots Preserved Above 90%]

SSS Grade Future Talent Scar Healing Core x1

Lin Xian’er received an auxiliary contribution reward:

[SS Grade Predatory Market Exposure Eye]

She looked at it silently.

Then said, "Good."

Qin Mo did not make a joke.

At the Qin Estate, the rewards were treated with utmost seriousness.

The Future Talent Scar Healing Core became a major treasure.

[SSS Grade Future Talent Scar Healing Core]

[Effect:

Assists in healing damaged talent roots, stolen potential scars, failed extraction wounds, graft rejection injuries, and child-path talent trauma. Cannot recreate destroyed talents from nothing.]

This was invaluable not only for victims, but for future possible Blood Sun damage.

The Ownership Claim Severing Knife evolved into:

[SSS Grade Sovereign Self-Ownership Severing Knife]

[Effect:

Cuts ownership claims over talents, bloodlines, class seeds, future potential, body-soul fragments, and extracted growth rights.]

The Stolen Talent Evidence Ledger evolved into a detection and evidence tool:

[SSS Grade Talent Theft Evidence Codex]

[Effect:

Records and proves talent theft, extraction, grafting, illegal talent trade, and ownership fraud. Produces clean evidence usable under law-type systems.]

Yu Qingmei immediately requested a sanitized version for academy protection work.

Central Academy also requested cooperation after hearing a limited report.

Lin Xian’er used her Predatory Market Exposure Eye to begin tracing real-world talent black-market rumors. She discovered something disturbing:

There were whispers of illegal Talent Fruit compatibility testing among minor families.

Not full talent theft.

But adjacent.

Children and young awakened climbers were being tested by unscrupulous brokers to determine whether their bodies could accept certain fruits.

Blood Sun might not run all of it.

But their ideology infected the market.

The Qin-Heavenly Gate Protective Standards expanded again.

Talent root inspections became more common.

Talent Fruit brokers faced stronger scrutiny.

Qin Yuze’s future fruit use became even more carefully guarded.

Qin Xue’er’s protection deepened.

Qin Yuheng’s anger became colder, more systematic.

Floor 118 came quickly.

[Floor 118: The Mine of Borrowed Bones]

Type:

Body foundation theft / labor exploitation / skeletal strengthening / repayment trap.

Warning:

A body borrowed from the desperate may collapse under the owner.]

The floor involved workers selling bone strength for wages. Qin Yuheng dismantled the system and defeated the Bone Debt Overseer. Rewards included SSS Body Foundation Ownership Crystal.

Floor 119:

[Floor 119: The River of Returned Names]

Type:

Mass identity restoration / memory migration / name flood.

Warning:

Returning a name without memory may create another stranger.]

This floor taught careful restoration. Not every stolen name could be returned instantly; identity needed memory integration.

Reward: SSS Name-Memory Integration Lotus.

Then came Floor 120.

Twelfth Gate.

The file arrived sealed in gold-black light.

[Floor 120: Twelfth Gate — The Self That Cannot Be Owned]

Type:

Major threshold / self-ownership / talent protection / name-memory-body-future integration.

Warning:

A self divided into useful parts may be purchased by many masters.]

No one joked.

Not even Qin Mo.

This gate would be significant.

It combined identity, talent, body, name, memory, future, and ownership.

Everything Blood Sun wanted to violate.

Everything Qin Yuheng had been defending.

Floor 120 would determine whether he was ready for the next stage.

Not the Silent Wastes yet.

But closer.

Qin Wanshan looked at him before entry.

"After this gate, we reassess."

Qin Yuheng nodded.

He stepped into the Tower.