Chapter 496: Auction

Stella appeared to have stunned Kael into mute silence with the revelation that she had been the one to blow up the Anchor Pylon, which surprised her. Who else had he thought was responsible? It seemed the gears were slowly turning in his head as he pieced together her motives.

They were simple. Nowhere in the Citadel was affordable. Since she had only gathered a small sum of money over the last three months, she needed to find a way to lower the land value.

Kael had mentioned the importance of the Anchor Pylons before, so in her free time, Stella had secretly studied them and quickly figured out that she could probably fix one should it be destroyed.

From that revelation, the path forward had been obvious. She snuck into Kael's room while he was cultivating, stole the bomb from under his bed, reverse-engineered it, improved it by an order of magnitude, and then targeted the most heavily defended Anchor Pylon in the Citadel. Due to her Phantom Veil Amulet, her Qi was untraceable, and because of the luxuriousness of the clothes she had bought, nobody gave her a second glance as she strode through the noble district. She thought the plan had gone flawlessly after successfully placing the bomb and attempting to walk away.

That was until she looked up to meet the gaze of a woman stepping out of a spatial fracture. She seemed like a high noble, and despite seeing her place a bomb on an Anchor Pylon, she didn't seem interested in interfering... merely amused by the whole thing. Confused, Stella escaped quickly into the aether, expecting her plan to have been stopped. Yet, an hour or so later, the entire Citadel shuddered as the bomb detonated.

That woman hadn't removed or reported the bomb. Why? Stella still couldn't make heads or tails of her motives.

The auction droned on, and Stella's patience dwindled. Despite the loss of an Anchor Pylon and the numerous threats posed to the houses by intense spatial distortions, the prices remained excessively high.

Another point that grated on Stella's nerves was how every single house was owned by Thalos Tessellate, and she did her absolute best to avoid glancing behind her at the VIP booth that Magister DuVont kept pointing out at the end of each closed deal.

Thalos Tessellate must have lost millions because of the Anchor Pylon I blew up. If he were to find out it was done by me, I would be finished.

A resonant thunk echoed through the auction house as yet another property was sold—this time for a slightly more reasonable 1.5 million flux. Stella grumbled as she fiddled with a single flux coin between her fingers. They were perfectly cut, rounded pieces of amethyst containing an unfathomable amount of spatial Qi. If one looked super closely, there was the sigil of the Tessellate family engraved on it. To the people of the Citadel, a flux was simply the currency of nobles, but to Stella, a single one of these was like discovering a treasure.

She had exchanged a few thousand high-grade spirit stones from home for almost a million of these flux coins—it really was a great example of one person's trash being another's treasure. The Citadel was a treasure trove for any wandering spatial cultivator, but for anything else, it was like a desolate wasteland. She wanted to take as many of these flux coins home as possible, as they would be invaluable for creating and powering spatial arrays that could benefit the Ashfallen Sect.

I can also easily convert the spatial Qi stored inside into aether Qi, so I'll be able to cultivate easily after leaving here and returning home.

For all these reasons, she was reluctant to part with her newfound wealth here in the Citadel by purchasing a still overpriced home.

"All right, we are down to our last three properties," Magister DuVont announced. A ripple of murmurs spread throughout the room. "Now, don't get too excited. Compared to the previous properties, these are a little more damaged, as they're far closer to the fractured Anchor Pylon. Let's start with this one, as it's the biggest of the three."

A giant projection appeared above the stage. Surprised gasps spread throughout the room. Stella could understand why—half of the building was not only destroyed but drifting freely toward what was left of the Anchor Pylon. It looked like a shard sticking out of the Citadel, and the spatial ripples crackling around it were noticeable even through the projection. This was the first time Stella got to see the damage that her bomb had done to the hundred-meter-tall obelisk of obsidian.

It was bad.

Magister DuVont took in the energy of the room and hesitated over a starting price. He coughed into his hand and announced, "The starting bid will be 100,000 flux." Despite the low start, he received a lukewarm reception. Stella could hardly blame them. She would be surprised if that house and land were still there next month. After all, there wasn't much use in owning a property that was going to be devoured by the spatial storm or that would actively harm you should you try living there.

The hall was silent as the auctioneer desperately glanced around for any sign of a bid. Stella slowly raised her hand, attracting his attention immediately. "We have a bid at 100,000!" he said, pointing toward Stella's chair. "Would anyone like to up that?"

There was silence for a while longer.

It looks like I won for such a low amount, what a relief—

"I'll raise," a woman's voice cut through the silence like a knife.

Stella couldn't believe it: she thought she'd won the property for only 100,000. But to her horror, someone had one-upped her, instantly doubling the price.

"I have 200,000 over here," he said excitedly, glancing back at Stella. She reluctantly raised her hand, signaling that she wanted to bid again.

"300,000," he announced, then glanced to the other side of the room.

"400,000."

Stella clicked her tongue. "Who the hell is bidding against me?" she hissed to Kael, who stood at her side.

"It's another noble lady," he whispered back.

"Any idea who she is or where she's from?" Stella asked.

Kael hummed, looking to the side, then shook his head. "I've never seen her before, my lady. She has light blue hair and an amused smile."

Light blue hair—one of the more common colors among Citadel nobles—didn't stand out to Stella immediately.

Surely it's not her, is it? The one who saw me blow up the Anchor Pylon.

The auctioneer awaited her response, so she reluctantly raised her hand once more, raising the bid to 500,000. Without missing a beat, the noble from across the room upped the bid to 600,000. At this point, Stella was convinced they were messing with her. This property was useless—deciding to back down for now, she didn't raise her hand and simply nodded at the auctioneer.

"Sold for 600,000 to Lady Solari."

Lady Solari? Not a member of the Tessellate family then?

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"Now, for the next property." Once again, a projection appeared—this time of a smaller house, perhaps even more destroyed than the last. "We'll start the bid for this one at a nice round 100,000 flux," he said, immediately looking at Stella.

While she had lost the last one, this house seemed big enough for the spatial array she wished to build, and beggars couldn't be choosers. She raised her hand, agreeing to the bid. The auctioneer surveyed the room again, but nobody else seemed interested. Confident of her victory, Stella leaned back in the plush chair—until, right as he was about to seal the deal, the auctioneer brightened.

"Lady Solari has raised the bid to 200,000."

He glanced back at Stella. She hid it well, but now she was seething with rage. Just who was this person? Possibly breaking etiquette, she glanced to the side—and froze as she confirmed her fear. It was her... the one who had seen her blow up the Anchor Pylon. She had an amused smile tugging at the edge of her lips, and she met Stella's gaze.

Stella raised the bid to 300,000. The woman matched it at 400,000. Stella raised her hand once more for 500,000, and without flinching, the woman raised it to 600,000. Stella couldn't understand what this woman's goal was. She had just bought the largest property near the Anchor Pylon—and it wasn't like the properties were going to last very long. Was this just to spite her?

"Once again, sold to Lady Solari," the auctioneer said as Stella gave up, slamming his hand down with a thunk. "Now—time for our final property."

The projection shifted to reveal a house half-eaten by spatial anomalies. The land around it was cracked and warped, as if it might float away at any moment, and the structure itself looked more like a guesthouse than the grand estates that had preceded it. "We will start the bid for this one at 50,000," the auctioneer announced.

Silence fell over the room, every gaze boring into Stella's back. The attention made her skin crawl, but she had no choice. If she were to advance to the Nascent Soul Realm, she needed a space on the upper layer of the Citadel with enough room to build her spatial-stabilization array. Three months of effort had led to this moment—she was going all in.

Raising her hand, she said, "I accept the bid of 50,000."

She was willing to go up to 800,000 if needed, as that was all she had managed to save.

When the room remained silent, she glanced to her side, confused. Lady Solari watched her intently but did not raise a bid.

Is she really going to let it go for only 50,000? Stella was baffled.

"Three—two—one—sold!" Magister DuVont slammed his hand down for the final time. "For these three properties, please pick up the deeds for all of them from Thalos Tessellate," he concluded, giving them all a bow and exiting the stage.

Suddenly, the nobles sprang to their feet and began shuffling out, eager to claim their winnings. Only a few remained seated—those who had won houses but had not yet departed. One by one, they rose, led by servants, toward the VIP booths. The same servant who had shown Stella to her seat arrived and bowed.

"Lady Roselyn, if you and your companion would follow me, you may collect your deed from Lord Thalos Tessellate."

"Thank you," Stella said, gesturing for Kael to follow. She looked to the side and noted that Lady Solari had gone first.

They were led down a side corridor, and Stella's heart pounded in her chest. Questions swirled through her mind—especially about Lady Solari. Why had she fought her for those properties? Did she want to secure the land at a bargain? But without an Anchor Pylon, the property was practically useless. And yet, Lady Solari had shown no sign of anger at Stella's bidding, causing the price to rise. It made no sense.

I'm not built for this level of political maneuvering, and I feel like a fish out of water. Last time I was an outsider in a pocket realm, I managed to thrive by killing. That was much more preferable to this.

Stella's musings were interrupted as the servant paused before a heavy door. Four other nobles stood waiting outside. Stella recognized them as the other winners of Tessellate's auction, but not much more than that.

The door opened, and Stella felt her stomach drop as Lady Solari stepped out. The air between them seemed to freeze for a moment as they met each other's gazes.

"I'll be seeing you soon, neighbour," she said in a pleasant voice, yet her expression was unreadable.

This woman is dangerous, Stella thought as she passed her by, leaving a floral scent in her wake which, if Kael's information about the scarcity of plants was anything to go by, meant she must be rich to wear perfume.

A guard from within the room coughed to draw attention and nodded sharply to one of the nobles, who was then quickly ushered in. Once the door clicked shut, the remaining three turned to Stella with curiosity.

The woman on the left spoke with a slightly venomous tone in her voice, "I don't believe I've seen you around before. What is your name?"

Stella tensed. In this high Qi environment, any hint of age could mark someone as a hidden ancient monster—or a failure.

"Lady Roselyn," she replied coolly.

"And your family affiliation?" the older woman pressed.

"Why would that concern you?"

"Oh dear, I know everybody," the noblewoman sighed, feigning surprise.

Stella snorted. "Well, clearly not. Otherwise, you would know who I am."

The man at her side chuckled. "Quite the comeback. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Roselyn."

"Likewise," Stella said, though she offered little warmth and didn't ask for his name. She had no desire to integrate into this society, having already stayed longer than she would have liked.

Before the older woman could continue her interrogation, the door opened again. The noble who had entered before shot a cold look at the trio as he passed, then disappeared through a spatial rift. The older woman was called inside and emerged with her deed a few minutes later.

The older woman huffed, muttering "insolent child," and stalked away.

"Don't mind her," the remaining nobleman said before disappearing through the door.

Stella nodded and resumed her wait. It wasn't long before the door opened again, and it was her turn to be ushered into Thalos Tessellate's VIP booth.

She had met many influential figures in her life, such as Senior Lee, who had set the bar high. Yet something about Thalos Tessellate unnerved her terribly.

"Please, have a seat," he said, gesturing to a nearby couch. Though his words were polite, the tone was as if he were commanding one of his subordinates.

"Thank you, but I prefer to stand. I won't be staying here long after all." Stella's voice was brisk as she reclaimed control of the situation. "I have your 50,000 flux." Stella's spatial ring flashed with silver light, and a large cluster of flux appeared, floating between them. She extended her hand. "Now give me the deed to the property."

A tense silence filled the booth. Stella took the moment to appraise him. He was startlingly tall—over two meters—and his wafty, shimmering cloak concealed his build. Two cold gray eyes appraised her through a curtain of black hair, and his resting aura trembled the very air, betraying power far beyond the Monarch Realm.

Stella could feel Kael standing as stiff as a board at her side, and she felt quite uncomfortable herself being stared down like this by three cultivators who likely surpassed anyone in the Ashfallen Sect.

Just as the tension reached its peak, Thalos smiled. "Lady Roselyn, how nice to see you again. I didn't expect such cold treatment from an old friend."

"Old friend?" Stella scoffed. "We did some small business deals two months ago. I wouldn't call that an old-standing friendship."

"A friendship, nonetheless." He stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. Despite her best efforts, Stella's body tensed at his approach—and she was sure he noticed, for the edge of his mouth twitched in amusement.

"Now tell me," he said, looming before her. "What is a little rat from the underbelly doing up here and playing noble?"

"Playing noble?" Stella scoffed in disbelief, surprising even herself with her instant reaction. Before she knew it, she was running her mouth. "Get off your high horse, Thalos. It's not my fault this floating rock uses a nonsense currency that I lacked at the time, forcing me to borrow from you."

Thalos silently stared at her for a moment.

Stella could feel years of her life slipping away, leaving her soul drained by the stress as he stared deeply into her eyes. Was this it? Had she gone too far?

Thalos smirked and stepped back. "My apologies, Lady Roselyn. I was told by a guard stationed outside that you hailed from the mainland, but due to our previous encounter, I had my doubts."

From the folds of his cloak, he withdrew the deed. It was presented on a small slab of engraved silver, which was apparently extremely valuable.

"This is yours now. I do hope you enjoy that property while it lasts."

Stella went to take the slab. "I think I will."

Yet, when she tried to pull it free, Thalos wouldn't let go.

"I have to say, I'm deeply curious about which family you hail from," he said, amusement reaching his eyes. "Because I have never heard of a Lady Roselyn... or at least not one who can talk to me in such a manner."

Stella didn't even blink as she smiled.

"Do you know the name of every Princess from the 1st layer of creation?" Stella asked cryptically.

Thalos shook his head.

Her Star Core hummed, and perfectly white flames flickered across her shoulders.

"Then I'd be careful whose fun you interfere with," she said, activating her earrings for a second, causing Thalos to flinch. She pulled the deed out of his hand and made it vanish into one of her many spatial rings.

With the deed secured, she had no interest in hanging around.

"Come on, Kael, let's go check on my new abode." She walked over to the door, but it was locked. A pulse of aether Qi shattered the glyphs inside the door, and she easily pushed it open.

Thalos Tessellate watched her leave, his eyes glinting with curiosity.