"You're definitely going to lose this bet. First off, I have way more Violet Cloud Crystals and God Stones than you do. Second, you don't even know what rare treasures will show up at this auction—what if you spend your money on something good early on, and then an even better item appears later?
And even if you hold back and wait to bid on the very best items, those are always the most expensive and attract the fiercest competition. Are you really confident you can snatch them from the Ten Great Powers? So honestly, there's no need for you to bet with me." Lena Zhong said with absolute confidence.
"You make a good point. I don't have that many Violet Cloud Crystals, but I believe what I do have is enough to win some truly valuable items. If you don't believe me, just wait and see." Evan Lin laughed.
After nearly another hour in line, it was finally Evan Lin and Lena Zhong's turn to buy Admission Tokens. As expected, getting one just meant paying the price.
Evan walked to the counter on the left to purchase his Admission Token, while Lena headed to the right. Neither wanted the other to know their room number, just in case they ended up bidding against each other later.
"I'd like to buy a second-class VIP room. How many Violet Cloud Crystals does that cost?" Evan asked the elderly man selling Admission Tokens.
The old man glanced at Evan and replied, "Second-class VIP rooms are extremely expensive—they require three thousand supreme Violet Cloud Crystals. Are you sure you want a second-class VIP room?" He looked at Evan with suspicion; after all, this wasn't a small sum, and not just any young master could afford it.
Just having the Admission Token isn't enough. To actually stay inside a second-class VIP room during the auction, you need to have at least fifty thousand supreme Violet Cloud Crystals on hand. Otherwise, even if you get the token, you'll be kicked out and won't get a single crystal refunded.
"I'm sure. Please go ahead, sir." Evan said calmly.
He immediately took out three thousand supreme Violet Cloud Crystals and handed them to the old man. Of course, the crystals were stored in a cheap storage ring—one sweep of divine sense was enough to verify the quantity. If he'd dumped them out one by one, they would've piled into a small mountain.
After the old man checked and found no issues, he handed Evan a red token with the number 28 inscribed on it. Evan knew this meant he'd be in VIP Room 28.
Evan put the token away in his storage ring and walked back. Lena had also gotten her Admission Token—hers was number 75, a regular VIP room. She chose it mainly to avoid drawing too much attention. If she wanted a second-class VIP room, it would've been easy, but winning against Evan with such an advantage would feel unfair.
"How about we find a restaurant-inn to stay at? Now that we've sorted everything out, all that's left is to wait for the auction to start. Honestly, I'm really curious how many supreme Violet Cloud Crystals you actually have." Lena laughed.
"Not many left. If I can get some grade-three or higher earth-elemental crystals this time, I believe I'll have plenty of supreme Violet Cloud Crystals in the future. For now, it's still uncertain whether I can even buy any." Evan replied.
The two of them made their way through the crowd and checked into a high-end restaurant-inn. Maybe they were just lucky—there were only five or six rooms left. If they'd come any later, they'd have had to find another place. They picked this inn because it was closest to the auction venue, meaning they'd get information fastest.
Each went to their own room—even the food and drinks were ordered separately, like neither wanted to pay for the other's expenses. It was kind of funny, but there was meaning behind it too.
After two cups of wine, Evan lay down to rest with his eyes closed. Though he'd mostly recovered his spiritual strength these past days, he still felt a lingering dizziness. He needed a few days of proper meditation, and they'd already agreed that Lena would wake him on the day of the auction.
Taking more Mind-Focusing Pills was out of the question. Evan wasn't sure of their full effects, but after two, he already felt much better. He didn't want to risk getting overly energized and restless from a third pill. What he needed now was quiet meditation, clearing his mind of all distractions.
Two days flashed by. Evan's spiritual sea was fully restored, but his thoughts started stirring again. He realized that since ascending to the God Realm, he hadn't had a chance to ask about Yvonne Xuan, Jade, and the others. By now, they should have ascended too.
As for Shadow and Goldwing, he wasn't worried. Since he'd made Soul Contracts with them, they could find him whenever they wanted. But the timing wasn't right yet, so they hadn't appeared.
Jade was his biggest worry right now. This Rainbow Court auction was unprecedented in scale, and Jade knew he had plenty of God Stones—maybe she'd come for the auction. But with his disguise and habit of staying cooped up indoors, even if she arrived in Rainbow City, he wouldn’t know.
And in the God Realm, everything costs Violet Cloud Crystals or God Stones. Back then, he’d carelessly forgotten to give any God Stones to the girls. Now, after ten years, maybe Jade had only reached late God-Man Realm, and making it to early Heavenly God would already be 'defying the heavens.'
It was also possible that Jade lacked the strength to risk coming to Rainbow City. She was smart enough to know that being near him too soon would cause trouble. Maybe their real reunion would have to wait until he gained some fame in the God Realm.
Besides, he'd already told them that in the God Realm he would change his identity and appearance to avoid unnecessary trouble. Thinking it through, Evan finally felt at ease.
During Evan's two days of meditation, Lena quietly left her room twice. The first time was to investigate which items would be up for auction this time; the second was to obtain more Violet Cloud Crystals. As Stormtower's Second Young Lady, her status was extremely high, and since Stormtower was also participating, contacting their people in Rainbow City was easy.
Especially when Stormtower's master heard that his Second Young Lady was spending time with a youth named Evan Lin, he became even more curious. What kind of person could actually change the heart of Lena Zhong, who usually looked down on men?
Evan spent the remaining days indoors, taking out the Snowbound Divine Sword that Blue-Shade God-Venerable had given him to examine. He remembered Blue-Shade saying the sword contained a weapon spirit, but it was sealed; only after reaching God-King level could he unseal it, and then its power would greatly increase.
His Frostbane Divine Sword was even more mysterious than the Snowbound Divine Sword. Back in the Immortal Realm, it had fused with the Xuanyuan Sword, but the reason for that fusion was still a mystery to Evan. Why had the weapon spirit disappeared? That too remained unsolved. He would have to unravel these mysteries slowly...