Emperor of the Source

Chapter 296: Provoking a Sect Leader

Hestia turned sharply toward Adrian, her pale gold eyes wide with alarm.

Adrian met her gaze calmly, his fingers already withdrawing from the bidding interface. He had acted without hesitation, the moment he sensed her resolve beginning to waver.

"What are you doing?" Hestia's voice was low, urgent, and tightly controlled. "We don't have that much liquid funds right now."

The Crimson Vital Sect's available liquid capital was only around one hundred and twenty million UNI-Coins. Even that amount was carefully allocated across multiple ongoing developments. She was also fully aware that Adrian had entered this auction to earn money in the first place. From her perspective, there was no logical way he could possess one hundred and fifty million UNI-Coins to spend so casually. Even if his Willforce Recovery Artifact would bring immense returns, that income lay in the future, not in the present.

The UNI-Auction system was ruthless in its enforcement. If their bid were challenged and they failed to prove their funds within the verification window, the consequences would be severe: public humiliation, potential blacklisting from future auctions, and damage to the sect's reputation.

"Don't worry," Adrian replied. "I have a UNI-Credit Card. It has ninety-five million credit remaining. Combined with the sect's funds, we have enough to support this bid."

Hearing this, Hestia's tension eased slightly. The existence of a UNI-Credit Card did not surprise her as much as it perhaps should have. Adrian's background had always suggested something far beyond ordinary.

"We still need to proceed carefully," she said, her voice steadier now but no less serious. "The Core-Reforging Lotus is rare, but this one in the auction is not the only one that exists. Our goal is to increase the price so that the Everlasting Pill Sect suffers financially. But if Yselia chooses not to counter this bid, we will be forced to purchase it."

She glanced toward the holographic display showing their bid, then back to Adrian.

"Nearly half of our liquid funds are required just to maintain the sect's operations. We cannot afford to lose that so easily."

Adrian nodded, acknowledging her concern. "This only becomes a problem if Yselia decides to withdraw, and even then, you don't need to worry. The funds from the Willforce Artifact will be far greater. I will take responsibility for any expenses incurred here. If we end up purchasing the lotus, consider it my contribution to the sect. You can use it however you see fit, sell it, trade it, or keep it as insurance."

Only after hearing that did Hestia finally relax. The tension drained from her posture entirely, and she settled back into her seat. From this point onward, any outcome would favor them. If Yselia continued bidding, the Everlasting Pill Sect would suffer financially, depleting resources they desperately needed for the coming war. If she chose to trap them by withdrawing, the eventual profits from the artifact would still offset the loss, and they would gain a priceless treasure in the process.

A faint smile touched Hestia's lips, barely visible.

Across the venue, Yselia stared toward their suite, her expression shifting rapidly between confusion, anger, and cold calculation.

Her fingers had frozen above her own bidding interface, hovering over the input field without committing. The VIP suites were completely soundproof, preventing her from hearing their discussion, but she did not need words to understand the situation.

She knew the financial reality of the Crimson Vital Sect. It was still a lesser minor sect, one that had only recently begun to recover from war. Their market index had risen, yes, but that reflected potential and momentum, not actual accumulated wealth. Producing one hundred and fifty million UNI-Coins on a whim should have been impossible.

At first, she had assumed the bid was merely a tactic to inflate the price. However, as she observed Adrian speaking calmly with Hestia, a new variable emerged in her thoughts.

That man. He wielded a higher-tier divine concept, something that could not originate from an ordinary background.

A thought surfaced in her mind: Had he provided the funds?

That possibility made her hesitate.

For a brief moment, she considered filing a formal complaint to the auctioneer, demanding verification of their financial capacity. But she dismissed the idea almost immediately.

If Adrian truly possessed access to resources beyond the Crimson Vital Sect itself, if he had backing from a major sect or hidden wealth accumulated through methods she couldn't trace, then this bid was not a desperate gamble. It was a genuine challenge, backed by wealth she could not accurately measure.

Filing a complaint would only make her appear petty and afraid. Worse, if they passed the verification easily, she would look foolish in front of the entire galaxy.

Beside her, Elder Casmir leaned closer, his voice barely a whisper despite the suite's privacy formations ensuring no one could eavesdrop.

"Sect Leader, should we continue?"

Yselia's jaw tightened, her fingers hovering motionless above the bidding interface. Her pride demanded she crush this insult immediately, to demonstrate that the Everlasting Pill Sect remained dominant despite recent setbacks. The entire auction hall watched, waiting to see whether she would assert her sect's superiority or allow a lesser rival to push her into retreat.

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But her strategic mind warned against recklessness.

If she bid higher and Adrian countered again, where would it end? Two hundred million? Three hundred million? At some point, even the Everlasting Pill Sect's reserves would strain under the weight. And if this man truly had backing from a major sect, she might be walking into a trap designed to bleed her resources dry before the real war even began.

On the other hand, if she withdrew now, it would be seen as weakness.

The entire galaxy would witness the Everlasting Pill Sect backing down from a lesser rival, unable to match their financial strength. Market confidence would shift, and their UNI-Market Index would suffer.

There was only one path left.

She had to win.

"150 million UNI-Coins. First call…"

Edmund's voice rang through the venue, calm and professional despite the tension saturating the air.

Yselia's fingers moved decisively over her interface. One hundred and fifty million was not a trivial amount, even for an Upper Minor Sect.

"160 million."

Her bid registered instantly, the numbers flashing across every display in the massive hall.

Adrian responded instantly, "180 million."

This time, he did not simply bid. As he raised the bid, he lifted his eyebrows slightly in an exaggerated arch of mock surprise, then lowered them again with deliberate slowness. The gesture was subtle enough to appear casual to distant observers, but unmistakable in its meaning to anyone watching closely.

Is that all you have?

Yselia saw it clearly.

A surge of cold, terrifying anger rose within her, flooding through her chest. The realization that it was Adrian himself placing these bids and the manner in which he was deliberately provoking her struck a nerve she had never experienced before in her millions of years of existence.

No one had ever dared to challenge her like this. Not openly. Not with such casual, almost playful contempt.

Her hands trembled slightly before she forced them still.

Beside her, Elder Casmir's expression darkened dangerously, his bony face twisting into a mask of barely restrained fury.

"That arrogant—" Casmir's voice was a low growl, thick with venom. "Sect Leader, we cannot allow this disrespect to stand unanswered."

Yselia said nothing for a long moment, her gaze never leaving Adrian's distant figure.

Suppressing her anger with tremendous effort, channeling it into cold focus rather than allowing it to cloud her judgment, Yselia placed another bid. She understood that within this arena, surrounded by millions of witnesses and bound by UNI-Auction's ironclad rules, the only weapon available to them was wealth.

Physical violence was impossible, threats were meaningless. Only numbers mattered here.

"200 million."

The number echoed across the venue.

Silence fell immediately. Even the constant background murmur of cultivators discussing items and strategies ceased entirely. Every eye in the massive venue turned toward the display showing the updated bid, then toward the Everlasting Pill Sect's suite.

Even for the Everlasting Pill Sect, two hundred million UNI-Coins was a massive expenditure. It represented resources that could have funded decades of research, purchased entire fleets of advanced starships.

But at this point, the matter was no longer purely about the Core-Reforging Lotus. It had become a matter of dominance, of reputation, of crushing the Crimson Vital Sect completely.

"200 million UNI-Coins. First call…"

Edmund's voice carried across the hall, steady and measured despite the unprecedented sum.

Adrian and Hestia exchanged a brief glance. Both of them were already satisfied. They had successfully doubled the price from the original one hundred million, forcing their rival to commit resources on a scale that would create genuine strain.

Pushing further risked actually winning the bid, which would accomplish nothing except depleting their own reserves unnecessarily.

"Second call…"

The seconds stretched. Adrian made no move toward his interface. Hestia remained perfectly still, her hands folded calmly in her lap.

"Third call…"

Edmund raised his hand, "Sold."

Then whispers erupted across the lower sections of the venue, spreading like wildfire. Disciples and elders alike leaned toward their neighbors, voices rising in excitement and speculation.

In the VIP suites, the four sect leaders exchanged glances. Each was recalculating everything they thought they knew about the Crimson Vital Sect's financial standing, political backing, and future trajectory.

On the surface, it appeared that the Everlasting Pill Sect had won, asserting its financial dominance and securing the prize. They had demonstrated their willingness and ability to outspend any rival, no matter how aggressively challenged.

But to those who truly understood the situation, to cultivators experienced in the intricate games of sect politics and economic warfare, the outcome told a different story entirely. The Crimson Vital Sect had forced their rival to expend an enormous amount of resources. In that sense, the real victory belonged to them.

The only one who remained unmoved by the spectacle was Nightshade. Compared to what he had already witnessed from Adrian during their trial, this display of financial power felt insignificant.

He understood more clearly than anyone else in this venue that the Crimson Vital Sect's rise was inevitable, and that one day, probably sooner than most anticipated, they would step into the domain of the four strongest upper minor sects and reshape the balance of power within the Andromeda Galaxy.

The only question was how quickly it would happen.

Within their suite, Hestia allowed herself a moment of satisfaction.

She leaned back slightly in her seat, and a faint smirk formed on her lips, a mirror of the exact expression Yselia had shown earlier, that look of casual superiority and amused contempt. Without a single word spoken, she returned the same message Yselia had sent.

You are beneath me.

Across the venue, Yselia remained motionless as she watched Hestia's expression shift. Her hands tightened against the armrests of her seat, fingers digging into the reinforced material with enough force that cracks began spreading through the surface. A cold fury began to rise within her heart, different from the hot anger she had felt moments before.

Initially, she had wanted to destroy the Crimson Vital Sect purely for practical reasons. They had begun encroaching upon her sect's market share, threatening millions of years of carefully maintained economic dominance. It had been strategic, impersonal, and simply business conducted through warfare.

Now, her reasons had changed fundamentally.

Now, she wanted to destroy them for something far more personal. She wanted to kill Hestia with her own hands, to watch the light fade from those mocking eyes. She wanted to tear that smirking expression from her face permanently.

And the man beside her, she wanted him dead even more.

"Sect Leader—" Casmir began, his voice low and concerned.

"Not now," Yselia cut him off, her tone flat and cold.

"Next item…"

Edmund's voice rang out once more, smooth and professional as though the previous tension had never existed. The auction continued its rhythm, moving forward to maintain the schedule.

But Adrian, Hestia, and Yselia barely heard him.

The auctioneer's words faded into meaningless background noise, lost beneath the weight of what had just occurred. Across the distance separating their suites, through layers of reinforced barriers, their gazes remained locked.

The war between their sects had just escalated far beyond anything anyone had anticipated.