"There it is!" Chu Di roared in his heart. The only reason he had entered the auction house without notifying the Chu Family was due to this godly item. Entering the Dark Ruins in the farthest corner of the Star Dou forest and gaining this mysterious item out of a sheer fortune, Chu Di returned to his Clan's mansion only to find out the ability of this item out of bullshit luck as two of his practice swords entered the slight slit through the lid over the pot just by coming into contact with the item. Scared silly, Chu Di finally recognized the extraordinary aspect of the item and spent his spiritual energy until light broke through the lid as a rank 3 spirit weapon— Spirit Blade— appeared in front of him.

From that day onwards, Chu Di continued to use this spirit item to refine spirit weapons by combining rusty old swords! It was the greatest stroke of fortune. Alas, the nigh his house within the Clan's territory, alongside other houses were robbed by a mysterious thief most likely to belong to the Han Clan— their rival— Chu Di almost lost his mind when he couldn't find the pot. Now, consider his happiness when he found that this item would appear in the auction!

Instantly selling all the recently gained swords through darker connections, as a rank 4 spirit master does develop such connections in his life, Chu Di waited patiently as all the spirit herbs were swept away until he saw the pot. After getting this item back, he would definitely hunt down the thief that turned his life into hell!

"100,000!" Chu Di spoke gruffly, instantly, pulling slight murmurs from the surroundings. Meanwhile, Nie Li looked torn. There was no way a 'kid' like him could convince the family to spend an atrocious amount of money for a mysterious item. So, looking at the dark-robed being, Nie Li frowned before making sure to patch the man with a detection rune. On the other hand, Nik yawned and waited until a hesitant voice broke the silence.

"101,000..."

The hesitation seemed to resonate with the crowd as they were far more willing to pay a hefty sum for spirit items they could use instantly and not a pot that cannot be broken by a Rank 6 spirit master.

"You seem interested in this item, darling," slowly melting under Nik's warmth, Shen Xiu turned from a calculative businesswoman to a tender puppy that constantly hogged Nik's attention while the man seemed more than willing to give her the attention. Since Shen Xiu won't be spending the night, it was imperative to spoil her as much as he can.

"I am... hmm, let's do it like this~" sending his spiritual energy to the 'mic', Nik smiled, "200,000."

The hall fell silent while Chu Di felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Of course, he never was, but he reckoned that this is what it might have felt like.

Even though he had many spirit weapons, the amount at which he sold was heavily discounted due to the urgency of gaining wealth as quickly as possible. And 200,000 is definitely greater than 145,000 he had naively prepared in hopes that no one would have been interested.

Meanwhile, those who knew the owner of the voice silenced and let the man earn the item. After all, this was the first time Nik had bid in the auction. Once he gained the purchasing rights, Nik once again grew lax. He slowly counted the weapon of choice by people surrounding him. Gojira used her own flesh to tear others, Ryu'er with her amazing physique seemed to be inclined to the same. Ning'er did show Nik her dagger arts in the beginning but they didn't have a chance to truly hone that skill. Ziyun sang praises of an elegant longsword, Korra had her duskgold 'claws' in the form of two amazing spirit bones and eerily compatible. Meanwhile, Xiao Xue had a knack for gauntlets, Shen Xiu used her fire element, Asami was intrigued by 'light' darts. Meanwhile, the rest of them wither did not like fighting or weren't exactly inclined on any weapon.

And determined to purchase any and every item of the dark-purple tier or higher... or any weapon that could help his disciples, Nik waited for the auction to continue.

He had millions to spend after all.

Meanwhile, there were only two spirit bones in the auction. One, a leg spirit bone of the earth element and the other a hundred-year-old torso spirit bone belonging to a Red-Eyed Dire Wolf. The leg spirit bone allowed the user a considerable boost in their physiques, nothing Nik's recently gained concoctions couldn't achieve and a spirit skill named— Earthen Shield— which produces a translucent barrier around the user and protects against almost all the Elemental attacks, weak only to the physical ones. Meanwhile, the torso spirit bone had quite a familiar ability named Blood Heart. Just like the function of his lifeblood, the blood heart is a manifestation of a beating heart of a dire wolf within one's body for a small duration of time without interfering with the integral structure of the body. This additional heart itself provided a heightened boost to recovery but would leave the users a period of weakness after every use.

Of course, Shen Xiu wanted to gain these two spirit bones. If not for her use, then to place them into her own auction. Since she planned to organize a mixed auction to let the upper-level participants interact, she felt that gaining these two spirit bones would instantly pull a major chunk of participants since many spirit masters would want to try and bid for the spirit bones once again.

"Lord—"

"Please, don't call me Lord until I accept anything," Nik smiled and then placed his index over his lips, "As for the 'discussion' you are so anxious to have... why don't we wait for better circumstances?" Nik inquired. He didn't plan to share his attention away from Shen Xiu and Nie Yu. Meanwhile, Elsa pursed her lips, she instantly looked away before gazing at Nik's stomach once again, an action that didn't escape his senses. Meanwhile, Yang Xin's mouth turned sour as she gazed at the two women leaning onto Nik with their eyes closed. She now already had the intention to leave but the deliberate use of his scent, a selfish action at Nik's part which he wasn't reserved enough to deny, compelled Yang Xin to stay.

"So... why don't we try to make the next bid a little exciting?" Yang Xin spoke, recalling the methods to make the auction more 'entertaining' that the president and other male members of the Alchemist Association committed whenever they got too drunk to think from the head above their shoulders and started to think from the head between their thighs. Straightened her sleeves and sitting up attentively, letting her perky bosom do the rest, Yang Xin brushed away a single lock of hair behind her ear and smiled, "From now on, whenever any of use three win a bidding match, the other two would have to owe the winner a command. It can be anything~" dragging her words in a tone extremely suggestive, Yang Xin's words instantly made Shen Xiu sit up attentively. She was all too aware of the recreational activity and instantly spoke up, "I and Nik are in different teams."

"Alright!" Nik smiled, "Nie Yu and I are on the same team. Elsa, Yang Xin, and Shen Xiu are independent, that works?" Nik inquired as the trio nodded aside from Nie Yu, whose lips twitched.

"Ehm... umm... Master? Why am I even a part of this..."

Nie Yu gulped as she looked at the predatory glint in each one of the women around her that were far older than her. Especially Elsa.

"Don't worry. We'll be winning all of the rounds! I just remembered that I haven't gifted you, or, in fact, any of my disciples to commemorate our relationship... this will be the chance to make up for that."

With an 'experienced' smile that made Yang Xin and Elsa scowl, Nie Yu stated innocently, "But we have already commemorated our relationship... did you forget the spear you wielded in the carriage?" She grinned before sticking her tongue out towards Elsa, making the dark-haired assassin take back her fruits, turning the tables against Nie Yu effectively.

"Master... destroy them!" Nie Yu stated before dropping onto her Nik's lap and crossing her left led over her right beneath her dress in a rather flamboyant manner.

"Yes, disciple," Nik grinned.

---

"Next, we have the Green Poison Glaive forged by the well known, 3-star blacksmith of the Blacksmith Association priced at 59000 coins. This a Rank 4 weapon and the poison effect can synergize with a poison spirit master!"

The Host shouted into the mic-stone, letting his voice reach the ends of the large halls as instead of speakers, he was the source of the voice itself. The moment his voice died down, a playful chuckle resounded from one of the private rooms.

"200,000 coins!"

Nik's voice suppressed the thoughts of any buyer. However, the next moment, Yang Xin's voice reached out.

"210,000!"

Elsa continued the trend, "300,000!"

"Is that it? The limits of your resolution? Shen Xiu demanded in an admonishing tone, "500,000!"

Finally, the crowd stood dumb as they watched the price of a rank 4 weapon which, even at its highest demand would not surpass 100,000, reached an astonishing 700,000!

---

Yang Xin, Shen Xiu, and Elsa gave each other a look. Once again, Yang Xin raised the price followed by a measured look towards Nik.

'The only way to win is to give up the first few command rights for an exorbitant price. The total number of spirit items surpass 15 and I will have my own chance. Knowing Nik, his command would most likely be something illicit... well... ehm!' Yang Xin coughed internally with a flush as her plan was similar to Elsa and Shen Xiu. To them, Nik, who had shown extreme martial prowess and sexual one (only to the trio except for Yang Xin), Nik had failed to show any talent in conspiracies. Well, this trait of him did make him more desirable, but right now, the women who had survived in the harsh world couldn't help but want to take advantage of this weakness. Of course, this temporary alliance of causing trouble for Nik did stem from the arrogant 'princess' pushing her butt against Nik's crotch while laying back and enjoying Nik's constant petting. 

The moment the trio pushed the price up to a million spirit coin, making the actual auctioneer of the item flush in joy, the three dropped out of the war and let Nik win only to have him smile in a creepy manner.

"Ah... you should know that I have been in auctions... far crueler than this. Well, anyway, I think, a command for a million coins is worth it... after all, none of you guys would be attending the auction anymore."

And that's when they realized one of the important truths of the world.

To not judge a book by its cover.

"W-what do you mean?!"

Yang Xin inquired as she gulped while Nik swept his gaze across her body, letting his eyes kiss every single part of her body and make her feel hot and embarrassed enough to avoid direct contact of the eyes.

"Well, this is my command. The three of you are forbidden from placing bids anymore. Ah, almost forgot to thank you for all the future wins and commanding rights I am going to earn... for quite a low price at that."

Nik smiled, making Nie Yu smile in excitement. Well, the three of them shouldn't have underestimated her master in the first place!