God-Tier Villain

Chapter 28: Chapter 28

"And with Grant dead, the Moonveil Human Domain’s threat to my Violet Jade Immortal Domain collapses, in all likelihood, they end up swallowed."

After Grant’s latest raise, Soren stopped competing without a second thought, the Spirit siblings fell into Grant’s hands.

Victoria flicked a wisp of demonic energy into the door formation.

The summoned maid opened it and stepped in, Bruce poked his head in behind her, saw Soren sitting there perfectly calm, and silently withdrew, without an order, he would never dare enter.

At Victoria’s command, the maid hurried off to fetch Elvis, Elvis knew nothing at all. The mystery bidders had worn masks, both of them, and gave off faint demonic pressure, he had simply taken them for Demon Emperor-level guests passing through.

Soren and Victoria exchanged a look and dismissed him.

"Demonic pressure?"

"Could you have misheard the voice?"

"Perhaps it isn’t Grant after all?"

Victoria gave a gentle shake of her jade-white neck. "I don’t mishear, more likely he used some method to disguise his aura."

The auction rolled on, and almost nothing interested either of them. It wasn’t until the evening’s program should have ended that the auctioneer announced an unscheduled final item, and Soren’s interest stirred.

Elvis had delivered on his arrangements.

Under the eyes of the whole hall, a demon maid walked onto the stage bearing a crystal tray, so nervous she scarcely breathed, her tension alone announced that whatever sat on that tray was no ordinary thing.

The mystery resolved quickly, a pale purple, form-fitting long dress.

Even at a glance, the dress was clearly extraordinary, threads of strange energy flowed visibly through its weave, and though unmistakably cloth, the whole of it carried the luster of polished jade, never mind the women, even the men sat up wide-eyed.

With the room at a rolling boil, the auctioneer began in his most eloquent voice.

"This piece is woven from the core threads of the Heaven-Reaching Ancient Tree, one of the Azure Spirit World’s most ancient and mysterious tree species. The threads were steeped and softened in an formation of supreme spiritual fluids to raise their toughness, then worked with weaving techniques found nowhere else, its creation took one thousand years."

"It is a supreme treasure our Commerce Guild recovered from an ancient ruin, at heavy cost."

"It cleans itself, and purifies the wearer’s body."

"It adapts automatically to any figure, fitting its wearer without flaw."

"And above all else, it is a bona fide Emperor-tier weapon."

A shockwave of murmurs tore through the hall, every eye locked onto that pale purple dress.

What did an Emperor-tier weapon mean? For an Emperor-realm powerhouse, no less than a twofold boost in power and protection, for an Upper-Tier Demon Venerable, a physical enhancement tens or hundreds of times beyond their base.

A magnificent treasure.

The opening price was equally monstrous, seventy million spiritual stones, with raises of no less than five million.

Setting aside a handful of Upper-Tier Demon Venerables willing to empty their family fortunes, and genuine Demon Emperor-level powerhouses, who could produce that sum? The hall went perfectly silent, no one had the purse to speak.

From the corner of his eye, Soren caught Victoria shifting, she meant to bid, an Emperor-tier weapon held real appeal even for an Upper-Tier Demon Emperor.

An idea landed, a way to leap her relationship tier forward, fast, seventy-plus million was no trifling sum, but he happened to be holding a hundred million of Victoria’s own money, set against a few tens of millions, locking in Victoria as soon as possible was worth incomparably more.

Just as she drew breath to bid, Soren called out first without a flicker of hesitation.

"Seventy-five million."

The bid stunned the entire hall, Victoria’s eyes went round.

"You..."

"Why are you bidding on a woman’s dress?"

For one alarming moment she wondered if Soren harbored some special fetish, ahe discarded the thought almost immediately. If that were his inclination, why would he have done all that to her?

"Is there a woman you fancy?" Her heartbeat picked up, and something distinctly sour crept in.

"Hm? You care that much?" Soren watched her jealousy.

"I don’t care in the slightest," Victoria said, stubbornly.

While the two went back and forth, no higher bid came, and the auctioneer’s hammer fell.

The item had been half-reserved for a distinguished buyer from the start, Grant never bid, apparently committed to keeping his head down.

A woman’s dress was useless to him, so there was no reason to wade into murky water, qhat he didn’t know was that his bidding war over the Spirit siblings had already exposed him, and two sets of very dangerous eyes were now fixed on his back.

The night’s auction formally closed, rhe maid carried the crystal tray up to the room, Soren produced the crystal card, the maid deducted the sum, then tactfully withdrew, leaving them alone.

Soren picked up the dress, turning it over, feeling the fabric, rhen he looked at Victoria.

"I hear it adjusts to fit automatically."

"That’s rather rare."

"I want to see you put it on, right now."

Color flooded her beautiful face, quick as wine.

"Hmph, borrowing this Empress’s spiritual stones to buy this Empress a gift."

"And now you want me to model it for you on the spot?"

"This Empress refuses."

Who courted a woman with her own money? Even the most shameless swindler put up a little capital of his own, in all the Azure Spirit World, Soren was surely one of a kind.

And yet, for all her words, warmth kept spreading through her chest, he had thrown down seventy-five million spiritual stones to win this dress and hand it to her.

But if she simply agreed, wouldn’t that make her a fool? She lends him money, he turns around and courts her with it, and instead of fury, she feels secret delight.

What was that, if not foolishness?

Bastard! I am the dignified Fairy Great Demon Emperor, when exactly did I turn into a lovestruck simpleton? What sort of magic does this man have, that I’m this captivated? Has this Empress simply been alone too long? Or... is this Empress secretly a pervert who never knew it, and simply enjoys being bullied by this domineering man?