Siddharth placed all four puppets into his storage ring and once again entered the largest trading company in Ayodhya.
As always, he was wrapped in a black robe, his face hidden behind a mask.
Shubham personally greeted him, his attitude respectful.
"What brings you here today, senior?"
"I want a price list of martial arts," Siddharth said, his voice deliberately altered with prana.
Shubham nodded."Which realm?"
"Rishi-level.""Fist-type and mobility-type."
Shubham inhaled sharply.
"Rishi-level martial arts are extremely rare," he said honestly."Each one costs around one billion rupees."
"One fist art and one mobility art would total approximately two billion rupees."
Siddharth calmly checked his storage ring.
19.5 million rupees.
Not even close.
He lifted his head.
"How much would a Shishya-realm puppet sell for?"
Shubham froze for a fraction of a second.
"A… Shishya-realm puppet?"
"Yes."
Shubham answered carefully.
"If auctioned properly, one could sell for 1.2 to 1.5 billion rupees."
Siddharth's voice remained steady.
"I want to sell two."
Shubham's heart skipped a beat.
After a short silence, Siddharth continued,
"Sell the puppets. Use the proceeds to obtain one Rishi-level fist art and one Rishi-level mobility art."
"Any remaining funds will be your commission."
Shubham immediately shook his head.
"I'll only take 10%. Anything more will be returned to you."
Siddharth inclined his head slightly.
"Agreed."
The news spread like wildfire through Ayodhya City.
Two Shishya-realm puppets were going up for auction.
Ancient families stirred.Major sects mobilized.Royal factions took notice.
Such puppets were not tools.
They were war assets.
On the day of the auction, Siddharth sat inside a VIP room.
Behind him stood two motionless figures.
Silent.Obedient.
His two Sadhak-realm puppets.
All three were dressed in black robes and masks, their presence suffocating.
The auction began.
The first item:Three drops of Shishya-realm blood essence.
The bidding was fierce.
Item after item followed—rare pills, artifacts, ancient weapons.
Then—
"The seventh item," the host announced.
A crystal bottle was raised.
"Blood of a Rishi-realm monster."
The hall erupted.
Siddharth spoke calmly.
"110 million."
From another VIP room came a soft yet commanding female voice.
"120 million."
Whispers spread instantly.
"The Fifth Princess of Kosala Desh."
Another voice followed, cold and arrogant.
"150 million."
"The Yadav Family."
An ancient family with over 1,600 years of history.
The bidding grew intense.
Siddharth waited.
"215 million."
Silence.
"One… two… three!"
"Sold!"
The Rishi-realm monster blood belonged to Siddharth.
The auction continued.
Then—
"The final item!"
Two humanoid figures were escorted onto the stage.
Their movements were fluid.Their pressure terrifying.
"A pair of Shishya-realm puppets!"
"Starting price—2.5 billion rupees!"
The hall exploded.
Three billion.Three point five billion.Four billion.
Even royalty hesitated.
Finally—
"4.1 billion."
The Fifth Princess' final bid.
"One… two… three!"
"Sold!"
After the auction, Siddharth met Shubham privately.
Shubham presented several items with utmost respect.
A jade slip.
"Bajrang Fist Arts — Rishi-realm fist technique."
Another jade slip followed.
"Garuda Wings Arts — Rishi-realm mobility technique."
Then a sealed container.
"Rishi-realm monster blood."
Siddharth inspected them briefly and nodded.
He then purchased Yogi-realm puppet-refining materials for 10 million rupees.
Shubham hesitated before offering another storage pouch.
"Your remaining funds," he said carefully. "Approximately 1.2 billion rupees."
Siddharth pushed it back.
"I don't need it."
Shubham stiffened.
"Use it to obtain Maharishi-realm monster blood," Siddharth said calmly."Whatever remains will be your commission."
Shubham's expression turned grave.
"That will be extremely difficult," he admitted."Maharishi-realm blood appears perhaps once in decades."
"I know," Siddharth replied.
"But try."
Shubham bowed deeply.
"I will exhaust every connection I have, senior."
As Siddharth left the trading company, two silent puppets following behind him, one fact became absolute:
No one knew his name.No one knew his age.No one knew his origin.
Yet the entire city of Ayodhya now whispered about a single existence—
The Masked Puppet Master.