There was little that the Auction Houses couldn’t get their hands on. Anything that the market couldn’t afford to sell went to them and that meant anything that was worth buying, especially for Cultivators, was on the market. Then anything that couldn’t be placed in a normal Auction House was placed in an Imperial Auction House for greater security and due to the oppressive system of the empire.

Every region had only one branch of the Imperial Auction House and that meant it was one of the few places where nobles from different regions came face-to-face with others.

It was a custom for only the heirs to attend, as the nobles had long since turned it into the perfect meeting opportunity for the next generation.

That meant no one from the older generations accompanied them save for a few bodyguards, all of them in the service of them non-nobles but nonetheless a part of their respective clans.

There were eighteen carriages and carts in total and a total of four Noble Families were sending all of their heirs.

Halfway through the journey, it was apparent that the total allowance of everyone in the carriages combined couldn’t reach half of Adrian’s.

“Do you think no one can afford the Screeching Ginseng this year as well?” asked Joseph, the younger of the Demon Twins, “I think that the Springwells might afford it this time. I hear Theodore has been saving up for a year for it.”

“How expensive is it?” asked Adrian.

The Demon Twins were seated opposite to Adrian and Emma. The older of the twins rested his head on the window and had his eyes closed, presumably sleeping. Joseph, on the other hand, was eager to chat.

Emma was busy trying to look impressive, conducting herself with every bit of grace that was expected of a noble lady and some more.

“Two Green Crystals,” said Joseph.

“And that’s the most expensive item?” asked Adrian with a raised eyebrow.

Joseph nodded.

“I see, I see. Even for the son of a merchant, it’s too much,” said Emma and nodded several times, “If you have need for crystals, feel free to ask me. After all, I am a noble.”

Joseph snorted and Emma gave him a glare.

“What?” she questioned but she managed to look elegant as she lashed out.

Somehow.

“Erm… how much do you think Mr. Anderson has?” asked Joseph.

“Well, since he’s a merchant, I assume he has around thirty Green Crystals at any one time. That means Adrian probably has an allowance of one or two,” she said, each part of her sentence with a slight pause between them as she did the math.

Joseph snorted again.

“What?” she growled this time, the illusion of elegance falling apart like it wasn’t there in the first place.

“Okay, so you think Adrian has one or two,” said Joseph.

“You have a problem with that?” she asked.

Joseph turned to Adrian and gave him a smile.

The only one that knew how much his allowance was Joseph, as he was at the treasury with him. It was the only place where such a large amount of funds could be kept safely and nobles and merchants alike stored their profits there.

That’s when Emma turned to Adrian as well.

Now that he looked at her with eyes that checked her out as a woman rather than a Cultivator, she was a fine lady. While she wasn’t an otherworldly beauty that could start wars, it was one that several suitors would fight over. There was a sort of charm in her that made her seem more mature than her age would suggest.

“Don’t,” said Adrian.

Joseph nodded cheerfully, possibly elated at the opportunity to tease Emma.

“How much did you bring?” asked Emma as she leaned on him and placed her head on his shoulder.

It was uncomfortable, not because of the sexual tension but due to her bone and flesh density being higher than that of Adrian’s, meaning far heavier than him. Her head alone made him strain himself to keep his back straight.

“Don’t you think I deserve to know?” she cooed.

“Isn’t it common courtesy to say how much you have first? You know, since you’re a noble lady and all,” added Joseph.

“Oh, shush. He’s my betrothed. It’s obvious that such things do not apply between us,” she said.

Betrothed?

Just like that?

For all her nonsense about being a noble lady, she was fickle in declaring him her husband.

“Aren’t you?” she asked.

It wasn’t all that bad of a deal.

The Shadow affirmed that the same benefits as a First Generation applied for him, even if the source of his talent was artificial so both sides would get what they want.

Adrian would get greater resources that were barred from peasants and merchants while the Beaumonts would get a refreshment to their Blood Dilution. And among the rewards, there was Emma, a noble lady.

It meant that no one would try to drag him into marriage later on so it made the pressure on him lighter.

“She has Three Green Crystals,” said Joseph.

“You’re simply jealous,” she said and then addressed Adrian, “That said, how much do you have?”

“More than you,” said Adrian, and Joseph snorted again.

“Oh,” she said and covered her mouth with one hand, “It seems I’ve been overconfident.”

Joseph snorted again.

“Hmph. My date has more of an allowance than both of you combined,” she said and put a smirk on her face.

Joseph shrugged.

“Alright, we’re here,” said Joseph and jumped up.

Here?

What kind of nonsense was that?

“It hasn’t even been two hours,” said Adrian.

The Shadow chuckled inside his head.

What was it laughing at?

“The Auction House is in Dreamy Firmament City. It’s the closest city to Blue Pavilion City,” said Emma and gave him a wink, “Try not to get lost.”

“Umm, you don’t need to. I’m good at navigating,” said Adrian as he raised a hand.

“You’ll be too busy admiring the scenery to pay attention to where you’re going,” assured Emma.

Despite having an abundance of freedom, both financial and literal, he never wandered into another city. He’d visited a few villages close to Blue Pavilion City and often visited the Shadow’s Tomb, but he never entered another city.

Cities were dangerous places, especially when you managed to look like a show-off without intending to. Not to mention looking like a prime target for robberies and all sorts of crimes.

That issue was partially mitigated by becoming a Cultivator.

Once the door opened, Adrian’s eyes widened and his mouth hung agape, staring at the abundance of mist that covered the area.

“This place is full of Qi,” mumbled Adrian.

“The city is built on a World Meridian. Don’t pay it much mind,” said the Shadow but Adrian couldn’t help but look at it in amazement.

Only the Shadow’s tomb had this much.

Cities couldn’t have that much due to the lack of nature to provide the energy. The grass and the trees were quelled and often only a small amount remained to provide Qi to the world. It meant that this World Meridian thing generated the Qi, or rather, carried an abundance of it while a part of it got leaked to the world.

That’d only be true if a World Meridian was the same as a Cultivator’s Meridians.

“On the Central Continents, even villages are built on World Meridians. Precious Herbs only grow around them,” it explained further.

That made sense.

A large amount of Qi would mean that it could bestow anything that basked in its brilliance for long enough extraordinary characteristics.

“What was this place called again?” asked Adrian after he got off and looked around.

The Qi looked like mist but it didn’t hinder vision like normal mist would. Instead, it was like the color of everything was more vivid if you saw through it. It added to the beauty of the world and seemed more like a faint trace of steam in terms of obscuring vision: negligible.

But what caught his attention was the sky.

It was a light shade of pink that seemed to pulsate with life every few seconds. What looked like stars swam in the ocean that was the sky, creating ripples as they did so.

To think that mortals couldn’t see it.

He felt bad.

“Dreamy Firmament City,” said Emma and she pulled him closer, crossed an arm with his, and leaned close to his ears to whisper, “Try to act like we’re closer than we are. We need to sell the act.”

Sell the act?

That’s when Adrian’s eyes fell on the large building on the other side of the paved road, numerous carriages with noble insignias on their sides parked side-by-side.

“We’ll do the usual,” she said with a raised finger as both Joseph and the now-awake Joshua rolled their eyes.

“What’s the usual?” he asked.

“It’s a dramatic entrance, obviously,” said Emma and gave him a wink, “We only go in when the most expensive item comes up. Until then, let's go sightseeing.”