"A decade's worth of accumulation," Pal sighed as he held the Fear Qi Essence fragment in his left hand. The other two did the same, using their right hands to unlock the crate, revealing the three boxes within.

The three placed their hands on the box they respectively controlled. Pal held the box on the left, trembling as he barely managed to activate it, causing the box to radiate with faint Fear Qi. It was a low-quality box they had created using a Fear Qi Essence fragment they had.

The amount of Fear Qi it can radiate was pitiful. Moreover, it can only emit it for 30 breaths before requiring to recharge. Also, it needed three months to recover. Even though it was a low-quality item, creating that in itself was immensely difficult.

After all, Fear Qi and Ghost Qi weren't natural elements. Therefore, there didn't exist any Elemental Qi Essence containing these two Elemental Qi. So, they had to struggle a lot to create it. Moreover, processing the created Fear Qi Essence was a mountainous task.

After all, they didn't have the required tools to do so. In the end, creating the three boxes was already their limit. The only reason they had done so was to control the three Sha they had been nurturing for a long time.

The three Sha and the Fear Qi Essence fragments were what their branch had been working on as their top priority. There was also the Rhipa, but it was an impossible project from the start, as they hadn't managed to birth its Beast King yet.

And now, they were expending all their Fear Qi Essence fragments to obtain the mural as they had been directed.

"If our branch wasn't raided, we wouldn't have had to resort to this." Pal scowled as veins popped on his hand, barely managing to activate his box. As it emitted Fear Qi, the ring placed within hummed faintly.

A tiny figure condensed above it, gazing at the sweating Pal with an eerie look. Trembling, Pal presented it with the Fear Qi Essence fragment, watching it take it with interest.

It then swallowed the Fear Qi Essence fragment, causing something to erupt within its body as it released a suffocating presence, causing the three people to lose balance immediately. As if it was an illusion, the Sha retreated into its shell.

But, the ring faintly shimmered with Fear Qi; the Sha was still digesting the Fear Qi Essence fragment, becoming explosively dangerous. It seemed to need some more time to fully digest it and evolve.

Mal, Pal's younger brother took charge next, taking in a deep breath as he placed his hand on the box on the right, activating it after some time had passed. He noticed the locket within tremble once as its Sha appeared in a miniature form, taking the Fear Qi Essence fragment from him.

It ate it and retreated into the locket.

Finally, Cal, a lady in her forties, and the youngest of the three did the same to the box in the centre, feeding a Fear Qi Essence fragment to the Sha that condensed from the bangle.

Once they were done so, the voice of the old lady resounded through the three shells, affecting the three Sha. It was a method the old lady had used to control the three Sha and make them do her bidding.

And unlike before, she used a Fear Qi Essence fragment to do the same. So, this time, her control over them had surpassed normal levels. Upon seeing the three Sha churning within their respective shells, the old lady sighed in relief as she looked at Pal, "The moment they finish evolving, unleash them all at the same time. If there is any change to the plan, I'll inform through the whistle. So, keep your ears trained to perceive it."

The whistle was another thing their branch had created. It allowed them to send signals to others among their branch at sounds normal people wouldn't be able to sense. It was only achievable thanks to an operation conducted in their branch that modified one of their ears with the ears of a certain beast.

It was why all of them were only able to hear with one ear. The other ear was exclusive to hear the sound produced by the whistle. And appearance-wise, the operated ear was no different to the regular ear, a reason they were able to avoid any suspicion.

The old lady left the terrace and entered the house, returning to the living room as she blew in her whistle, informing the spy within the auction house about the time it would take for them to take action.

She then sat on the sofa, gazing with a solemn expression, "It's time to take action."

…

"Now, presented before you is one of the main items of today's auction. This too was sent by the capital." The auctioneer lady stated with unwavering enthusiasm, revealing a scroll that was rolled up and completely bound, "This here is an Art of the Element."

The crowd stirred up in shock as a lot of people were unable to control themselves, dumbfounded as they stood. Seeing their reactions, the auctioneer lady smiled wryly, "I understand your concerns. Even we were shocked when we saw this. But we couldn't do anything. This was orders straight from the capital."

She then motioned for the crowd to remain seated, speaking once they took their seats, "This Art of the Elements is called the Fire-Bird. As the name implies, it would create a firebird that you can use to attack your foes. The size of the firebird and its attack range is entirely dependent on the quantity of Fire Qi Essences you have used and the amount of Fire Qi you have imbued into it."

Followed by a smile, she spoke, watching the crowd's enthusiasm, "This is a Grade Two Art of the Element. Starting price is 6000 RuQi. You can bid for it now."