In the Genosha branch of the Seven Kingdoms Merchant Association, inside the Taylor family's booth on the second floor of the auction,
Shannon had just settled onto the sofa when he eagerly turned to Finn and said, "Bro, is that Charles really that impressive? This is the second time I've heard you say that."
Before Finn could respond,
Zane, upon hearing the name "Charles," shuddered and quickly asked, "What just happened? Charles is no ordinary person. He's incredibly arrogant and has a terrible attitude. Although his strength is decent, at the end of the day, he's just a lowly commoner!"
As he spoke, Zane's expression was filled with anger as he recalled the scene from the Robinson family banquet, where he had knelt before Charles to apologize.
Unexpectedly, Shannon didn't even glance at Zane and kept his gaze fixed on Finn, waiting for him to explain.
Finn pondered for a moment on how to phrase his thoughts before responding, "Charles is strong, but in terms of battle experience and awareness, I'd say he's about on par with me."
"About on par with you? No way, are you overestimating him?" Shannon exclaimed, disbelief written all over his face.
He was shocked to hear Finn praise Charles to such an extent.
"Only in terms of battle experience and awareness. In other aspects, he might not match up to me," Finn clarified.
He still had that confidence; among the many geniuses he had encountered, only one had been able to completely defeat him. The rest were hardly his match.
"You surprised me there. But then again, you're someone who has mastered ten combat techniques! There won't be another monster like you in Genosha!" Shannon instinctively said,
He forgot that there were others in the booth, and naturally, Zane overheard the conversation between the two.
"How many? Ten, ten combat techniques? You can't be serious, right?" Zane asked, stunned.
Finn felt a bit helpless; he understood Shannon's personality well—proud and arrogant. Other than that, things were fine, or else he wouldn't be friends with him.
As for being proud and arrogant, that was just part of who he was.
The Stone Kingdom is the most powerful nation among the seven, boasting many high-level Beast Masters. Shannon holds a special status, maintaining close ties with the Gao family of the Seven Kingdoms Merchant Association.
People with such status are bound to be a bit proud and arrogant.
"Of course it's true! Finn is my brother, and you have no idea how strong he is," Shannon said proudly.
Upon hearing this, Zane was incredibly shocked. He had heard of Finn's name but had never seen him.
This person was quite peculiar; he didn't like socializing, was very aloof, and was solely focused on training, fighting, and getting stronger.
Thinking about this, Zane's eyes lit up. Finn, who had mastered ten combat techniques, could surely defeat Charles!
If he wanted to regain his face and take revenge, Finn would be a perfect choice.
...
In another booth,
Charles and Celestine were sitting side by side on the sofa.
"What exactly is this Finn like?" Charles asked.
Celestine thought for a moment before explaining, "I don't know much either. Some say he's not from Genosha, and others say his teacher is a mysterious Level 8 Beast Master. There are all sorts of rumors."
"But one thing is certain: Finn is the strongest Level 4 Beast Master at Aredale Academy, and no one can match him."
Charles listened to Celestine's explanation and felt curious. "Strongest Level 4 Beast Master? Didn't the principal of Nova Academy try to take him as a disciple?" he inquired.
He remembered that Teacher Ethan and Principal Jamie were very eager to take him under their wing.
They even mentioned teaming up against Ezra.
Logically speaking, if Finn was truly as talented as the rumors suggested, the principal of Nova Academy wouldn't let such a genius slip away.
Celestine shook his head and replied, "I don't know about that. Finn has a reclusive personality and no friends, so there's very little information about him."
Charles nodded; he was still quite curious about Finn.
Among the new students at Cyber Academy, he had only met someone like him, aside from Catherine.
When faced with a situation, Finn's first instinct was to observe his surroundings and identify his opponent's weaknesses.
Even if Finn's mystical beast quality isn't high, his strength must be considerable.
After all, possessing such battle awareness isn't something an ordinary Beast Master can achieve!
Just as Charles was deep in thought,
the voice of the auction host came from outside.
"Welcome everyone to the auction of the Seven Kingdoms Merchant Association. Today marks the final auction, and I'm sure you all look forward to the items for bidding. So without further ado, let the auction officially begin!"
The first item up for bid was an orange-quality piece of armor that resembled Charles's Overlord Heavy Armor.
Charles glanced at the information prompt in front of him but felt little interest.
Although the armor was orange-quality, its attributes and effects were quite average and not very suitable for Charles.
Next to him, Celestine was incredibly excited and said to Charles, "Charles, look! That's orange-quality equipment! I've never seen one before." Experience the adventure on m|vl_em|p_yr
Charles looked at the expression on Celestine's face and thought to himself, "There's no need to be that excited. I have three pieces of orange-quality equipment myself, but you probably don't know that."
If he really said that, Charles suspected Celestine would try to strip him of his clothes just to admire the orange-quality equipment.
The fact that the Seven Kingdoms Merchant Association could procure orange-quality equipment showed their considerable strength.
Moreover, this immediately stirred the emotions of the auction attendees, ensuring that the auction would proceed smoothly.
Charles took out his phone to check; the Feather Gold he wanted to bid on was in the middle of the lineup.
Clearly, it was used as a buffer item, and its price probably wouldn't be particularly high. He wasn't interested in the other items, but Celestine had something she wanted to bid on.
"By the way, what do you plan to bid on later? Let me see if I can help you analyze it," Charles asked.
Celestine immediately shifted her attention from the orange-quality equipment and said to Charles, "Item number eighteen, the mid-level auxiliary cultivation miracle drug!"
Charles recalled the information in his mind.
The mid-level auxiliary cultivation miracle drug was of purple-quality and had decent effects, typically used by Beast Masters to speed up their training or break through bottlenecks.
Its price usually hovered around a dozen gold coins, which wasn't overly expensive.
He remembered when Teacher Colton had given him a high-level auxiliary cultivation miracle drug of orange quality, which was extremely valuable and generally reserved for high-level Beast Masters!
"Is that the only one? Any others?" Charles continued to ask.
Celestine shook her head; she didn't have much money, only fifteen gold coins. If the price exceeded that, she wouldn't be able to afford it.
"Well then, I'll bid for you," Charles said.
Celestine replied a bit shyly, "I only have fifteen gold coins. If the price gets too high, then don't bother."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you get it," Charles reassured her.
He had plenty of gold coins on him, so spending a little to help Celestine buy the mid-level auxiliary cultivation miracle drug was no problem at all.
However, since Zane and that Shannon were around.
Charles expected some trouble when he placed his bid. He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Camilla.
Once Camilla replied, Charles waited quietly.
Soon, one item after another was auctioned off, and when it came time for the mid-level auxiliary cultivation miracle drug, the host announced:
"The next item up for bid is the mid-level auxiliary cultivation miracle drug. Everyone knows this miracle drug is a great help for Beast Masters to quickly enhance their strength. The starting bid is ten gold coins!"
As soon as the words left the host's mouth, someone immediately raised the bid to twelve gold coins.
The attendees at the auction quickly turned their attention to the big screen, which displayed the bid increase from the second-floor booth—the very booth Charles was in!
Meanwhile, in the Taylor family's booth,
Zane saw the information on the screen and exclaimed excitedly, "I can't believe Charles wants this item! I can't let him buy it so easily!"
Just as he was about to raise the price, the screen flickered again,
and someone bid thirteen gold coins!
It was from the booth of the Genosha royal family.
"Little sister, do you still want this item?" Genosha's Grand Princess Rose looked at her sister Camilla, puzzled.
Camilla clutched her phone tightly and replied, "Uh, I'm bidding for a friend."
"A friend? Which friend? Isn't Zachary here too?" Rose continued to ask.
Camilla's expression began to turn a bit awkward as she said, "Sister, please don't ask!"
She couldn't very well say that Charles had asked her to do this and even promised to take her out for dinner afterward!
This was something Camilla had wanted for a long time!
As she watched the information on the big screen, many people fell into confusion and uncertainty, especially Zane.
"What's going on? The royal family is participating too?" Zane was very puzzled.
He knew that Second Princess Camilla had a good relationship with Charles and wouldn't compete against him to drive up the price. Searᴄh the NôvelFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Then it had to be Grand Princess Rose?
Did she need the mid-level auxiliary cultivation miracle drug? The royal family should have plenty of such items.
With that thought, an idea began to form in Zane's mind: "Could it be that Rose has a conflict with Charles? That must be it. After all, at the Robinson family banquet, Grace was always by Rose's side!"
Having figured out the reasoning, Zane decided to back off from participating.
Since someone was targeting Charles, he didn't need to continue raising the price, lest Grand Princess Rose misunderstand him, which would lead to trouble.
"Charles should raise the bid again; he definitely won't give up so easily," Zane confidently assessed.
Time ticked by second by second,
until the auctioneer's hammer finally fell, and there was no further increase from Charles's side.
Zane's eyes widened in disbelief; he couldn't understand what was happening!