A few hours later, around Noon;
Thea and her father, Kaelen, arrived at the entrance of Ashenford City Auction House.
Servants and guards flanked the gates, but parted immediately when they recognized the insignia on Kaelen's robe.
Just as they were about to enter, as if he emembered something, Kaelen stopped and turned to his daughter.
"I'll leave you here for now," he said in a low voice. "Just be done with the business and return."
Thea gave a firm nod, although there was a faint discomfort on her face. "Yeah, I will."
Without another word, Kaelen turned and departed down the marble steps, leaving her to enter the building.
Inside, the auction house was bustling.
Scribes scurried between podiums, announcing new bids and showcasing rare items.
She was met quickly by a middle-aged woman in dark silk robes. Her demeanor was crisp and quite professional as she gave a respectful bow. "Auction House Manager, Elise Sunstone, greets Lady Griffin. I was informed of your visit beforehand. You're here regarding the Black Phoenix Tears, correct?"
"Yes," Thea replied with a firm nod. "I want to know if it truly appeared here. If it is, I would like to take it with me."
Elise nodded. "It did. Please, follow me. I'll show you the holding chamber."
As they began to walk deeper into the auction house, past crowds of minor nobles, mercenaries, and cultivators browsing the wares, curious glances followed Thea. And murmurs began soon enough.
They were just passing a display of spirit-bound weaponry when a voice called out.
"Thea?"
Thea paused mid-step. She turned slowly as the edge of her jaw tightened, gazing at the person who called him. "Hmm?"
Standing a few paces away in a striking crimson dress was Penelope Silver, the heiress of the Silver Clan and her long-time self-proclaimed rival, although in the eyes of Thea, she is like a sour grape, always present at the edge of every gathering, trying to outshine Thea with louder laughter and flashier robes.
"Well, well. What a surprise," Penelope Silver said as she came over with a hand-fan tapping against her palm. "You're out so soon? I heard you got married just yesterday and thought you would be at home with sore muscles and all, considering your husband's infamous reputation. Either nothing happened yesterday, or your husband actually has weak stamina."
Thea didn't reply immediately. Her eyes narrowed slightly, pressing her lips together in displeasure. She spoke her name in a flat tone, "Penelope Silver."
"So formal," Penelope chuckled. After a pause, she then went on mocking her further, "So, what are you here for? A treasure for your husband? Defensive talismans, maybe? But to protect a weak one like him, not even a hundred of them would be enough, though."
The sarcasm in her voice was sharp, but laced with a sweet tone to the point that most of the listeners around were attracted to her voice instead of focusing on the context.
However, Thea's fingers curled slightly at her side in anger with her nails pressing into her palm, but she didn't give in to her emotions. Instead, she kept her gaze calm as she replied, "Before you worry about my husband, you should focus about your own self. It's been two years, and you're still stuck at sixth rank. And I have already reached the doorstep of the Eighth rank. At this rate, you will forever be stuck in that rank while I go on and become a Grandmaster."
Penelope Silver's smirk faltered at her comment. "You!" Her jaw tightened as if Thea rubbed the salt on her wound.
But Thea had already turned her attention away, looking back at Elise. "Let's go," she said coolly.
Elise nodded at once and resumed walking, clearly uninterested in becoming part of the rivalry.
Penelope Silver stood still with fists clenched at her side, watching the back of the girl she couldn't quite surpass, no matter how hard she tried. Her lips moved in a quiet murmur, "One of these days, I'll definitely break through to rank-7 and then go on to surpass you."
Meanwhile, after walking through more than a dozen corridors of the auction house, Thea and Elise finally arrived before a sealed bronze door where noise faded and the air grew cooler.
A pair of elite guards stood on either side, motionless, like statues.
Without needing a word, Elise produced a token and pressed it to a glowing sigil on the door.
A deep hum echoed through the walls before the barrier dissolved smoothly.
Inside, lit by soft, floating light orbs, the walls were lined with rows of artifact cases enclosed in formation barriers. And unlike the public display hall outside, there were no crowds here. Just pure silence met the women.
Elise then went on saying, as they continued to walk, "Lady Griffin, as you know, unlike the main hall, where artifacts are sold at fixed prices like in a merchant's stall, these here are reserved strictly for auction." Taking a pause, she added as an afterthought, "Exceptions are made, of course… especially for the ruling lords of the city."
She then turned slightly, casting her a cautious glance as she asked. "But are you certain you wish to take Black Phoenix's tear? There are finer treasures in this vault. You only get to choose once per year, under our agreement with your family. If I may be honest, Lady Griffin, I think the choice is a bit of a waste."
Thea kept her gaze forward and said calmly. "I know, but I have already decided on it."
Elise gave a small nod. "Alright. Please... this way."
She led her toward the center of the room, where a solitary pedestal stood beneath the giant floating light orb. Upon the pedestal rested a statue carved of white jade, looking so smooth that it appeared to be wet due to the reflection of the light.
As for the statue itself, the figure's face was that of a woman in eternal mourning: hollow-eyed with her mouth slightly parted in grief. It was as large as a normal figure, but its posture looked a bit creepy, as though it were real.
From the mouth of the statue, embedded just inside the lips, rested a lemon-sized object. Elise reached in with gloved hands and gently extracted it.
"Here it is," she said, placing the object onto a small velvet-lined tray. "Inside lies the Black Phoenix's Tear. As agreed, we are selling it to you at the base price of 40,000 gold coins."
Thea opened the object with a soft click and saw liquid, thick like mercury but translucent in color. She could sense the restorative powers within that liquid. "Yeah, it is the Black Phoenix, alright..."
Then, she reached into her storage ring and retrieved four small, black coins instead of gold.
"Oh, Adamantine coins," Elise's eyes glistened at the sight. While each adamantine coin is worth 10,000 gold coins, its weight is typically twenty-five times that of a gold coin. So, the coin in her hand weighs as much as 250 grams of weight.
At the same time, only noble families and ancient organizations that are over 100 years old are granted the right to legally possess or trade in adamantine coins. Possession without status is grounds for heavy investigation, or in some regions, immediate arrest here.
So, it is obvious that it's rare to see those adamantine coins.
And Elise, despite being the house manager for years, rarely got to see them. She couldn't help but stare at the adamantine coins lying in her hands.
Meanwhile, Thea's gaze was on the lemon-sized object, and her head was filled with deep thoughts.
On the surface, she seemed like she was deeply pondering the matter of what to do with the treasure in her hands, but in her head, there was a miniature version of her, jumping in excitement. "With this, my hubby will finally become a fighter. I wonder what his reaction will be when I get this to him." She couldn't help fantasize as she gave it to him and he grabbed her hands, feeling touched, and then, both of them stared into each other's eyes. They embrace and kiss and…
"Lady Griffin… Lady Griffin…" Elise called her a couple of times, bringing her back to reality.
"Eh?"
"Are you alright? You were all red…"
Thea blushed even more for a second. She cleared her throat, returning to her usual calm and cold demeanor. "Nothing. Now that my business is done, I shall return."
Meanwhile, back at the Griffin manor, Qin Wei sat in a lotus position on the floor of his room. His brows were furrowed with sweat glistening at his temples, as across from him, Vanessa sat cross-legged as well with both of her palms placed gently over his. A thin thread of her Qi pulsed between them.
Vanessa's face was focused, but not hopeful.