Chapter 421: The Price of Pride [Part 2]

The Price of Pride [Part 2]

Only part of her face could be seen through the narrow opening of her mask.

Her long hair spilled over her shoulders like a river of crimson silk, while a few loose strands rested against the edge of her mask. Her visible eyes were calm and sharp, carrying none of the excitement displayed by the crowd below.

The mask concealed most of her face.

Perhaps that was intentional.

The more of her features it hid, the more the imagination filled in the rest.

The curve of her brows.

The faint outline of her cheek.

The smooth line of her chin.

Even without seeing her entire face, there was something striking about her presence. She did not need to reveal herself to draw attention. The quiet elegance of her posture alone was enough.

Her beauty was not loud.

It was restrained.

Like a flower growing beneath snow, revealing only enough color to make someone wonder what lay beneath.

She glanced toward the Heaven-class and Earth-class rooms above.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

The bidding had already reached one billion coins.

That was enough to make even her take notice.

She turned around and looked at the follower standing respectfully behind her.

"Go and investigate the background of the two people above."

"As you wish."

The attendant was a cold-looking woman dressed in dark robes.

She immediately cupped her hands in response.

Without wasting another breath, she turned and walked out of the room.

The masked woman continued watching the auction.

There was no greed in her eyes.

Instead, there was calculation.

She had not come to the Whitelist Restaurant merely for an ordinary treasure.

Their true purpose was something else.

Something far more important.

Behind her, another attendant hesitated before asking, "Pavilion Master, should we bid for this treasure?"

The question was soft.

The woman in red did not answer immediately.

Her fingers lightly touched the edge of her mask as she looked toward the treasure on the stage.

A supreme-grade treasure was certainly valuable.

But value alone did not mean it was worth purchasing.

Not tonight.

They had entered the Drake Empire with another purpose.

The situation here was still unclear.

They did not know who controlled what, which powerful households were watching from the shadows, or how deeply the strange phenomenon they were investigating had spread.

One careless move could expose them.

After a moment of thought, the woman in red finally shook her head.

"Forget it. We’re here to investigate the source of the Strange Origin. At the moment, we’re not very clear about the situation in the Drake Empire. It’s best not to have any conflict with the big households in the Drake Empire."

Her tone was calm, but there was no room for argument.

The attendant immediately understood.

"Understood."

She nodded and looked towards the venue.

The auction continued below, surrounded by a restless sea of voices.

Above it all, two private rooms faced each other like opposing mountains.

One held Leon, calm and seemingly amused.

The other held Lord James, whose pride had already been pushed to the edge.

And somewhere between them, hidden behind a mask, the mysterious woman quietly watched the entire confrontation unfold.

-------------------

At this moment, the atmosphere had already reached a climax because of James’s billion.

The entire auction hall seemed to have been set ablaze.

The previous silence was long gone. Whispers rolled through the crowd like waves, rising from one corner of the hall and spreading rapidly to the next. Some people stared toward the Earth-class private room in disbelief, while others kept glancing toward the highest Heaven-class room, wondering what kind of person could casually throw around such an absurd fortune.

Even the host standing on the stage had momentarily forgotten what he was supposed to say.

He remained frozen beside the display cabinet, his mouth slightly open.

He had hosted countless auctions before. He had seen wealthy households fight over rare treasures, watched powerful cultivators spend fortunes without blinking, and even witnessed several heated bidding wars.

But this?

This was something else entirely.

The host was stunned. He originally thought that this thing could only be auctioned for 10 million at most. Who would have thought that the Heaven-class guest would bid for 100 million? This Earth-class guest was even more awesome. He directly bid for one billion. In total, it was ten million coins of gold.

The number alone was enough to make ordinary cultivators dizzy.

A billion coins.

For most people in the hall, that was a fortune they could not even imagine accumulating in their entire lives.

The host swallowed quietly.

His eyes moved between the two private rooms above.

One was at the very top.

The other was directly below it.

Neither side appeared willing to back down.

The auction hall gradually became strangely quiet again, but this time it was not because nobody dared to speak.

It was because everyone wanted to see what happened next.

After shouting out the price, James looked at him provocatively, as if he was saying, Kid, aren’t you awesome? If you have the guts, bid again. You want to fight me? You’re still too inexperienced. I lack everything except money.

James leaned back in his chair, forcing himself to appear relaxed.

But his fingers were still wrapped tightly around the bidding token.

His earlier humiliation had not disappeared.

It had only been buried beneath his pride.

He had originally intended to obtain the Crimson Mystic Sword. It was a supreme treasure, after all. Such an item was worth spending a considerable fortune on.

More importantly, however, there was Leon.

That calm figure sitting in the Heaven-class private room had irritated him from the moment they crossed paths.

James could not stand that indifferent attitude.

It was as though no matter what happened, the young man above him never considered him worth taking seriously.

So when Leon bid one hundred million, James had immediately raised the price to one billion.

He wanted to crush him with money.

He wanted everyone in this auction hall to know that he, James, was not someone who could be casually provoked.