All of the clan leaders and the Elders who had come with them could only sigh in deep regret. They didn't have the power or wealth to compete with the two strongest Aristocrat Clans, so they could do nothing but watch as the two fought over the single Rank 6 soul-enhancing pill, the Profound Nurturing Pill.
Meanwhile, Alicia smiled gently and spoke, "Once again, I sincerely thank everyone who attended and participated in this month's auction. To all who obtained treasures, I congratulate you. With this, the auction has officially come to an end."
When everyone in the hall heard Alicia's announcement, they could only shake their heads. It was clear who had truly won the auction: none other than the Black Tiger Family. Two years from now, the total strength of the Black Tiger Family would likely far surpass that of the other Aristocrat Clans. As Augustus thought about this, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.
The clan leaders were about to leave when suddenly Frederick's group approached the Golden Lion Family's group. Everyone stopped where they stood, waiting to see what would happen.
"We meet again, my friend Augustus," Frederick greeted Augustus with a smile.
But behind that smile was unmistakable scorn.
Augustus's expression hardened when he saw Frederick. "Hmph. Hypocrite. Are you here to gloat over me? Do you think you can intimidate me just because you have a 'chance' of becoming a Profound Rank Adventurer?"
Frederick didn't answer Augustus's pointed question. Instead, he turned his gaze to the young man standing beside Isake.
"You must be Finn Doria from the Azure Wood Family? Mm. Elder Creed's family truly is remarkable. In the past, he and his brother both successfully entered the Sacred Dragon Institute, and now his eldest son has followed in their footsteps. Truly impressive," Frederick said to Finn with a smile. "But it's unfortunate you chose to oppose my clan."
Finn's whole body trembled with anger. It was obvious this was a threat, but he had no way to defend his family. He wanted to speak out and expose the Black Tiger Family's wickedness, but without any proof, he had no choice but to remain silent.
"May I ask you all to leave the Heavenly Auction House now? I did officially end the auction just moments ago, didn't I?" Alicia interjected pleasantly, though her voice was firm.
All the clan leaders, including Frederick, immediately apologized to Alicia. It was clear they all feared the manager of the Heavenly Auction House.
"Seve, come with me. We have something to discuss," Frederick ordered his son.
Seve's expression shifted as he heard his father call him. He shot Finn a sharp look before following Frederick and the Elder who accompanied him.
"Isake, I'm returning to the Golden Lion Family's territory. Don't worry—I won't let those tigers outdo us forever. You must focus on your studies at the Sacred Dragon Institute so you can catch up with your brother, understand?" Augustus said seriously to his son.
Isake nodded to his father and turned to Finn. "Finn, I'll be going back to the Institute to begin my training. Two days from now, the tournament for new students will start. Are you coming back with me?"
"Not yet. I still have some things I need to buy in the city," Finn replied, shaking his head.
He thanked father and son before leaving. Quietly, Finn made his way to the elegant room where he had spoken to Alicia earlier. The guards didn't stop him, so he arrived quickly.
"Here are your earnings," Alicia said, handing him a golden slip of paper. On it was written the number one hundred.
"To be honest, our Heavenly Auction House normally takes a five percent commission from the total sales of any item auctioned. But since the amount you earned was quite small, I decided not to deduct anything," Alicia said with a smile.
If a note worth a hundred gold coins was insignificant to Alicia, it was priceless to Finn. With this money, he could pay the Institute's annual fees and still have funds left over.
"Thank you very much, Manager Alicia!" he said, standing and bowing respectfully.
"I know it may not be appropriate for me to ask, but I'll try anyway. Finn Doria, would you be willing to sell me the formula for your potion?" Alicia asked seriously.
She had been considering this for a while. She was genuinely interested in the young man's unique potion, but she also knew it wasn't right to take someone else's formula without permission.
Finn didn't know how to respond. He stayed silent for a long moment, his head bowed.
"Was this formula passed down to you by your teacher?" Alicia asked solemnly.
If it had indeed been given to him by his teacher, there would be nothing Alicia could do—she would have to abandon any hope of acquiring the formula. She had no intention of offending a mysterious alchemist.
Because if Finn Doria truly had a teacher, that person clearly wasn't just any ordinary alchemist—no one in their entire Alchemist Association knew how to produce a potion like his.
"No, Manager Alicia. I was simply lucky enough to find the formula in an abandoned cave," Finn lied smoothly.
"In that case, if you'd be willing to sell and share it with us, it would be of great help to me personally. Don't worry—forty percent of the profits from the sales of this potion will go directly to you. You can collect your share at the end of each month. What do you say?"
Finn wanted to refuse, but when he thought about his family's situation, he clenched his teeth and forced himself to nod.
"Excellent! Don't worry—this agreement is between just the two of us. Because no one else will know about this transaction, you and your loved ones won't be in any danger," Alicia promised with a reassuring smile.
Finn finally breathed a sigh of relief at her words. He requested paper and wrote down the simplified version of the Rank 1 Body Strengthening Potion formula. Alicia accepted it and examined it carefully.
"Since you've sold me your potion formula, let me give you an advance payment," Alicia said, handing Finn ten gold notes. His eyes shone with excitement and joy as he accepted them.
'Ten notes, each worth one hundred gold coins!' Finn gripped them tightly as if they were his very life.
"If you're able to create this potion yourself, that means you have an alchemy flame, don't you? But your strength is only at Bronze Rank. If you were a Gold Rank Adventurer, I would recommend you to a friend of mine as an apprentice," Alicia added with a warm smile.
"Thank you very much, Manager Alicia. I'll be leaving now," Finn said politely before finally departing.
--
Freely, Fin walked again through the streets of Heavenly Sky City. The sun was already up, and the streets were crowded with people. Even though the Black Tiger Family posed a threat to his life, they wouldn't dare attack him here in front of so many adventurers.
He went straight to Green's shop.
"Young man from the Sacred Dragon Institute? What can I do for you?" Green asked in surprise.
"Manager Green, do you have any cheap alchemy cauldron?" Finn asked seriously, catching the old man off guard.
Aside from an alchemy flame, an alchemy cauldron was the most crucial tool for an alchemist—it was essential for refining pills. But its price was no small matter.
"An alchemy cauldron? That's an expensive equipment. Even the cheapest one costs eight hundred gold coins. Do you really have that much money?" Green asked suspiciously.
"Mm!" Finn nodded immediately. Then he scratched the back of his head and continued, "One of the instructors from the Institute asked me to buy the cheapest cauldron for his grandson. Haha."
"I see. And what is the name of the grandson who is lucky enough to possess an alchemy flame?" Green asked curiously.
"Sorry, but the instructor didn't tell me the name of his esteemed grandson," Finn replied with an awkward smile.
"What a pity. Hm. Is that all the instructor asked you to buy?" Green asked again.
"The instructor also told me to buy Crimson Spirit Grass, 50-year-old Blood Ginseng, Rainbow Flower…" Finn listed over twenty ingredients. "He said that if possible, I should get ten sets of each."
"All the materials you named are hard to find, but if I recall correctly, I have twelve sets left, each worth thirty-two gold coins. Altogether, including the cauldron, it will cost you one thousand one hundred sixty-four gold coins," Green declared.
When Finn heard the total price, his heart started to race. At the moment, he had only one thousand one hundred gold coins—he was sixty-four coins short!
But as he was worrying over what to do, Green spoke again.
"Since it's an instructor from the Sacred Dragon Institute requesting these items, it's the duty of every merchant in Heavenly Sky City to give a thirty percent discount. So you only need to pay eight hundred fourteen gold coins," Green said with a smile.
Finn wanted to smack himself for forgetting the special discounts merchants offered to important people. How could he have overlooked that?
"In that case, the instructor sends his thanks in advance," Finn said with a polite bow, fully committing to his charade.
"Just a moment—I'll gather everything for you," Green replied, hurrying off.
--
In a dark hallway, three figures were engaged in a tense conversation. Two were elderly, while the other was a young man.
"How could you fail, you worthless brat?!" Frederick roared, slapping Seve hard across the face.
The young man clutched his reddened cheek, struggling to stand as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Even though Frederick hadn't used his full strength, the power of a 9th Level Scarlet Gold Rank was still nothing to underestimate.
"F-Father, it wasn't my fault! I-It was Instructor Xuan! He was the one who failed to kill Finn Doria!" Seve stammered in a broken voice.
"Hmph! Instructor Xuan? He's also the one who killed Altair Doria, isn't he? I'm the one who assigned you this mission, so you have no one to blame but yourself! Remember this, Seve—I have no use for a worthless son!" Frederick spat before vanishing into the shadows.
"Finn Doria! You'll pay for this!!!" Seve screamed, his voice echoing down the dark corridor.
--
Meanwhile, it was already noon when Finn finally returned to his dormitory. He quickly shut the door so he could begin his plans.
He laid out all the ingredients he had bought and inspected them one by one.
All of this had cost him more than nine gold notes. His heart ached remembering the moment he handed over all that money to Green.
He could only sigh and turn his focus to the ingredients before him. Today, he was determined to concoct a Rank 2 Silver Nurturing Pill.