Chapter 3

The market district outside Skycrest School was called Sunset Row.

It was called a market district, but it was really just a long street along the main road. Shops and stalls lined both sides. Some sold potions. Others sold magical artifacts and enchanted charms.

Most of the magic wielders who passed through wore plain gray robes. They all looked like they were in a hurry.

I blended into the crowd, feeling all kinds of eyes on me. Some were wary, and some were curious. Others looked down on me.

No one recognized me.

The Concealment Technique worked even better than I expected. It did more than hide my presence.

It even made slight changes to my appearance. I looked like an ordinary magic wielder in his early twenties. I had an unremarkable face. No one could pick me out of a crowd.

“Did you confirm the news about the Soulmend Herb?”

I stopped outside a potion shop called Herbal Haven. I pretended to study the sign above the entrance, but I paid close attention to the conversation inside.

Two young men walked out of the shop. They wore fitted blue uniforms. Badges that identified them as junior students of Skycrest School hung from their belts.

“Confirmed.” One of them lowered his voice. “The auction house manager told me himself. The Soulmend Herb will be the final item of the auction. The opening bid is five hundred spirit stones.”

“Five hundred?!” The other man sucked in a breath. “We don’t even have a hundred spirit stones between us.”

“Why worry? William told us to get it at any cost. If we have to, there are always easy targets on the road.” He ran a finger across his throat.

The corner of my mouth lifted. It was just as it had been in my past life. William had always been like this. He acted polite and refined in public, but he was capable of all kinds of dirty tricks behind closed doors.

The two students hurried away. I did not follow them, for I had no intention of alerting them to my presence.

I walked around the market for a while. Then, I decided to use the few spirit stones I had left to buy a new outfit. After that, I found a secondhand set of warding flags at the black market.

The flags were old and worn, but they had one advantage. They were difficult to detect. The Life-Stealing Book contained a spell called the Veil of Heaven. With these flags, I could tamper with the auction without anyone noticing.

By early evening, I arrived at the inn across from the auction house and rented a room that faced the street.

I opened the window. The auction house entrance was directly across from me.

Carriages arrived one after another. Well-dressed magic wielders stepped out. Some even had Foundation Realm guards with them. Their presence alone was enough to draw people’s attention.

The Soulmend Herb really did have a powerful pull.

I was watching the street below when a sudden commotion broke out.

“Make way! Make way! Mr. Zane is here!”

The crowd quickly split apart. An ornate carriage came to a slow stop. The curtain lifted, and a young man in white stepped out. It was William.

Several young women blushed with every step he took.

“Mr. Zane looks as impressive as ever.”

“I heard he’s already halfway to the Golden Core Realm. He must be determined to get the Soulmend Herb this time.”

I listened to the voices below. Leaning against the window frame, I tapped my fingers lightly on the table.

William seemed to sense something. He looked up. Our eyes met from across the street.

Of course, he saw nothing. To him, the person behind that window was just an ordinary stranger.

However, I saw it clearly. A faint trace of gloom flashed across his eyes.

He had undergone the transplant without a bloodline fusion first. Even a genius like him could not withstand the backlash. He must feel pressure in his chest and have trouble breathing. His spiritual energy must also have trouble flowing through his body.

That was exactly where my opportunity lay.

Late that night, the auction house was still brightly lit.

I pulled up my hood and took out the warding flags. I placed them one by one in the positions I remembered.

“Veil of Heaven, activate.”

The energy inside the entire room instantly vanished. Even the light became distorted. From outside, the room looked like an ordinary wall.

I sat in the center of the array and closed my eyes. The show was about to begin.

At midnight, the auction finally began.

I had little interest in the first few items. Then, the auctioneer raised his voice.

“The opening bid is five hundred spirit stones!”

“Six hundred!”

“Seven hundred!”

The bids kept climbing. William sat in a private room on the second floor. He raised his bidding card with a calm expression. “One thousand.”

The entire auction hall went silent for a moment.

A thousand spirit stones were more than the annual income of many smaller schools.

“One thousand one hundred!” someone called out.

“One thousand five hundred.” William’s voice was calm.

No one bid again. The auctioneer was about to bring down the hammer. That was when I made my move.

I flicked a specially prepared enchanted charm from my fingertips. It floated toward the auction stage without a sound.

The moment it touched the Soulmend Herb, it turned into a wisp of green smoke. The glow on the herb’s surface suddenly faded. It looked as if it had withered.

“What happened?!” The auctioneer looked horrified.

“Th-This is not a Soulmend Herb!” an elderly magic wielder shouted. He clearly knew his herbs. “It’s Deathwort! It’s highly poisonous!”

The entire hall broke into an uproar. William’s face instantly darkened.

I had already slipped away under the protection of the Veil of Heaven. I walked out of the auction house. The night wind brushed against my face, and the air was cool.

I looked back at the brightly lit building. A cold smile crossed my lips.

I thought, ‘William, this is only the beginning.

‘You like taking things that belong to other people, don’t you? Then, I’ll make sure you know what it feels like to lose everything.’