Volume 2: Shenzhou Academy & The Battle of Venice
Chapter 130
Magic Capital Media Storm and the Auction House Meeting
The shrill whistle signaling the conclusion of the duel reverberated from the referee’s lips, echoing across the vast tiers of the Shenzhou Hall of Fame Arena. Yet across the four tiered, curving spectator stands, a suffocating, breathless silence held thousands in its grip.
More than two thousand onlookers—comprising upperclassmen, freshmen, and supervising faculty—had yet to recover their wits.
Down upon the octagonal battle stage, paved with solid granite reinforced by a Tier-3 defensive ward, Sun Liang—a seasoned sophomore of the Wind Faculty and the holder of Rank 142 on the academy’s prestigious Battle Ranking—lay sprawled motionless against the base of the enchanted perimeter barrier. Broad swaths of his silver-trimmed azure combat robes were charred to cinders, while faint, crackling sparks of violet electricity danced merrily across his soot-blackened, scorched flesh. His entire frame twitched in spasmodic tremors, eyes rolled back toward the vaulted dome of the arena, his consciousness completely obliterated.
Three seconds.
To be precise, three seconds and four hundredths of a second, according to the arcane hourglass recorded at the secretariat desk.
From the very instant the starting command cracked like a whip, Sun Liang had barely managed to lift his heel. His three swirling Wind Trails had not even converged into an acceleration cyclone before a lance-shaped javelin of deep violet lightning cleaved thirty meters of open air. Lin Feng’s speed in linking the seven Lightning Star Cores had shattered the reaction threshold expected of any peak Primary-tier mage. There had been no wasted movement, no tentative probing exchange—merely a crisp, thunderous detonation that struck squarely against Sun Liang’s chest, blasting away both his defensive mantle and his haughty upperclassman pride clean off the ring.
“M-Match concluded! The victor: Lin Feng! Battle Ranking updated: Rank 142!”
The referee’s voice, stammering through the arcane loudspeaker array, finally shattered the petrified silence.
The instant the radiant glyphs upon the colossal floating mana-crystal screen refreshed, the entire colosseum erupted like a kicked hornet’s nest.
“Holy shit! What the hell was that? Sun Liang got flattened in a single strike?!”
“Sun Liang’s Wind Trail is renowned as the quickest among the top one hundred and fifty, and he couldn’t even finish initiating it? What kind of freakish casting speed does that freshman have?!”
“That wasn’t normal incantation speed! He linked his Star Orbit in under a single second! Just how terrifying is his spiritual focus?!”
“Lin Feng... that name has been spreading like wildfire ever since the calamity on Huanglu Island, but who could have guessed his arena combat prowess was even more monstrous than the rumors?!”
Thousands of shouts, heated arguments, and pointing fingers clashed in an ear-splitting din. Along the sloping aisles of the stands, crowds of first-year students roared at the top of their lungs, venting months of accumulated frustration under the haughty dominance of their seniors. Meanwhile, the members of the Wind Faculty stood ashen-faced and sullen, hurriedly vaulting down into the ring with a stretcher to carry the unconscious Sun Liang off toward the emergency medical ward.
At the epicenter of those burning gazes, tangled between adoration and wary dread, Lin Feng merely brushed a speck of dust from his black trench coat. He turned on his heel and strode calmly toward the combatants’ tunnel. His youthful face was as tranquil as if he had merely completed a brisk morning jog, devoid of any unnecessary swagger.
He understood with utmost clarity that defeating Rank 142 was nothing more than an introductory stepping stone. The Shenzhou Battle Ranking gathered the two thousand most formidable prodigies of the entire university. The deeper one advanced into the top one hundred, the less one would encounter opponents who merely relied on agility or enchanted trinkets; those ranks were occupied by authentic monsters who had touched the threshold of the Intermediate tier, armed with lethal combat experience and precious Spirit Seeds.
Less than an hour following the duel’s conclusion, an overwhelming media tempest detonated across the Magic Capital.
On the “Arcane Currents Forum”—the preeminent internal communication network of Shenzhou Archmage Academy—an in-depth video breakdown of the clash between Lin Feng and Sun Liang skyrocketed to the absolute apex of the trending boards, amassing tens of thousands of views and interactions within minutes.
The headline, rendered in bold crimson magical ink, seared into the retinas of every reader:
[SHOCKING] Freshman Lin Feng Decimates Rank 142 in Three Seconds Flat — The Sovereign Dawn of a Lightning Monster!
Down in the comment section, threads detonated like strings of firecrackers:
— Floor 1: “Can someone please run a slow-motion playback at frame 1.2? His lightning mana was concentrated to such an absurd density that it shifted into deep violet! That destructive potency has already touched the absolute boundary of Tier-3 Primary magic!”
— Floor 2: “Sun Liang was simply too careless. If he had maintained maximum distance from the start and whittled him down with Wind Blades, he wouldn’t have been humiliated like that.”
— Floor 3: “Cut the nonsense, Floor 2! In the eyes of an elite Lightning mage, a thirty-meter gap is no different from standing nose-to-nose! Lin Feng’s instantaneous release speed is divine retribution for any fool arrogant enough to stand still and chant in his presence!”
— Floor 4: “Word on the grapevine is that he’s also the very same summoner who fielded a Warrior-class mutated beast back during the Huanglu Island crisis. A single man commanding both devastating Lightning bursts and a terrifying summoning bulwark... how in the world are the rest of us freshmen supposed to survive this year?”
Nor did the shockwaves remain confined within campus boundaries; Lin Feng’s surging renown rapidly caught the attention of commercial financial conglomerates, private hunting syndicates, and professional magical combat franchises throughout the sprawling metropolis of the Magic Capital.
Within the Golden Eagle Villa situated in the tranquil northern precinct of the academy—a luxurious estate granted exclusively to Lin Feng by the chancellor’s council as part of his meritorious reward for the Huanglu Island expedition—the pristine morning quietude was thoroughly shattered.
From the crack of dawn, the enchanted brass doorbell chimed without respite. Flocks of arcane carrier pigeons carrying gilded cylinder tubes wheeled in dense patterns across the terracotta roof tiles. Envoys representing massive investment cartels, private mercenary guilds, and premier tournament battle-teams arrived in endless procession, each eager to pitch their terms.
Lin Feng sat before a heavy ebony tea table in the spacious drawing room. Piled high before him was a thick stack of sponsorship draft agreements, still carrying the rich, musky scent of premium ink.
“Mr. Lin, please review the preliminary terms offered by our Thunder Rain Mineral Conglomerate.” A middle-aged gentleman clad in an impeccably tailored three-piece suit, his hair slicked back with pomade, slid a contract bound in demon-crocodile leather across the dark wood. His voice resonated with polished pride: “The instant your signature is affixed, fifteen million gold coins in liquid funds will be wired directly into your arcane bank ledger. Furthermore, our conglomerate will provide ten flawless Lightning Mana Crystals each month, alongside an exclusive cultivation allotment within our subterranean artificial thunder caverns. Our sole stipulation is a binding ten-year service commitment to our executive security retinue following your graduation, with first-refusal rights granted to our corporation for any ancient wilderness ruins or artifacts you uncover during your travels.”
From the opposing leather sofa, an elegant woman wearing gold-rimmed spectacles, representing the prestigious Minghai Hunter Squadron, refused to yield an inch. She leaned forward, cutting in smoothly:
“Thunder Rain’s terms may appear generous, but their golden shackles are far too constricting. Our Minghai Syndicate is prepared to table twenty million gold coins outright, accompanied by a custom Tier-2 enchanted combat cuirass! All we ask is that Junior Brother Lin don our colors to contest the Coastal Hunter Championship next summer, while remitting fifty percent of the commercial exploitation rights on materials harvested from high-tier demon beasts you hunt.”
Lin Feng casually turned several pages of the thick manuscripts, the corner of his mouth curving into an imperceptible, cool smirk.
His eyes skimmed over the miniature print nestled within the supplementary clauses. Catastrophic ten-fold penalty indemnities for unilateral termination; stringent corporate veto power over his advancement milestones; total prohibition against collaborating with independent hunter lodges...
A magnificent, gilded cage. Yet no matter how lustrous the gold, it remained an iron collar tightened around the neck.
These corporate sharks perceived his commoner lineage, his lack of ancestral clan backing, and his meteoric rise on Huanglu Island and the Battle Ranking. Naturally, they scrambled to lasso and shackle a thoroughbred steed before it had the chance to unfurl its wings toward the heavens. Accepting such sums would grant him instantaneous luxury, yet the price was the complete forfeiture of absolute personal freedom—the single most sacred asset of an archmage striving for the supreme summit.
More critically, he carried secrets of world-shaking gravity: his Innate Dual Elements and the Primordial Dragon Pendant. Placing himself under the microscope of an aristocratic conglomerate’s legal and security apparatus was tantamount to digging his own early grave.
Lin Feng folded the contracts together, sliding them back toward the center of the table. His tone was level, placid, yet brooked no argument:
“I thank both Thunder Rain Conglomerate and the Minghai Squadron for their gracious consideration. However, my sole objective at present is devoted cultivation within Shenzhou Archmage Academy. I have no intention of entering long-term covenants or submitting to commercial restraints of any nature. I must ask for your understanding.”
The representative of Thunder Rain furrowed his brow, his countenance dimming noticeably: “Student Lin, twenty million coins is by no means a trivial sum for a first-year undergraduate. Do not permit youthful impetuousness to squander an opportunity that millions would kill for.”
“Indeed. High ambitions are commendable in youth, yet without the patronage of a financial powerhouse, the resource expenditure required once one enters the Intermediate tier will resemble a bottomless abyss that swallows you whole,” the woman with the golden spectacles cautioned, her words laced with thinly veiled pressure.
“My mind is resolved. Please, see yourselves out.”
Lin Feng wasted no breath on further debate, rising to his feet and gesturing toward the grand foyer. His frigid composure, devoid of even a tremor of hesitation, left both corporate envoys seething in quiet irritation. Yet within the sovereign grounds of Shenzhou Archmage Academy, none dared cross the line; they gathered their leather dossiers and departed in sullen frustration.
Having seen off his third delegation of callers this morning, Lin Feng exhaled a long breath and poured himself a cup of refreshing herbal tea to clear the lingering heat.
Right at that moment, the heavy oak doors were violently shoved open once more. This time, there was no polite knock; instead, a familiar, round figure barged into the parlor like an out-of-control cannonball.
“Lin Feng! Brother Lin! Holy mother of thunder, big news! The whole damn Magic Capital is turning upside down!”
Xie Zhaoyuan leaned against the wall, wheezing like a bellows, his designer coat rumpled and sweat trickling down his chubby cheeks. The moment he crossed the threshold, he lunged for the teapot on the table, tipped it back, and gulped down the contents in one furious swallow before slamming a thick leather briefcase onto the mahogany.
Lin Feng looked at his roommate’s comical, frantic state, shaking his head with an amused grin:
“What’s got you running like the hounds of hell are on your heels? The forum has been chewing on Sun Liang’s loss all morning; is that really worth having a stroke over?”
“Who gives a damn about that clown Sun Liang?!” Xie Zhaoyuan wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve, his eyes bulging wide. “This is ten thousand times bigger than any campus duel! It’s the Jinghai Auction House! Their Third-Quarter Grand Master Auction catalog went live just this morning!”
At the mention of the “Jinghai Auction House,” Lin Feng set his teacup down, his posture instantly straightening.
In this dazzling coastal megalopolis, if Shenzhou Archmage Academy was the sacred sanctuary for molding arcane talent, then the Jinghai Auction House was the beating heart of the empire’s magical resource circulation. Safeguarded by three maritime conglomerates and the mighty Shenzhou Military District, it served as the grand repository for supreme artifacts, miraculous potions, and peerless elemental seeds that common folk would never lay eyes on in their entire lifetimes.
“What are they offering? A Spirit Seed?” Lin Feng cut straight to the core. Following his breakthrough into the Intermediate tier, he desperately hungered for a Fire Spirit Seed to catalyze the evolution of his fiery nebula.
“Not just any ordinary run-of-the-mill Spirit Seed!” Xie Zhaoyuan dropped his voice to an eager, conspiratorial whisper, leaning across the table with eyes flashing with manic excitement: “This time, it’s a top-shelf, once-in-a-blue-moon treasure! Its designated name is the Scarlet Flame Flowing Fire!”
The mere utterance of “Flowing Fire” seemed to cause the ambient temperature in the drawing room to spike several degrees.
With trembling fingers, Xie Zhaoyuan cracked the deep crimson wax seal of a confidential dossier stamped with the Jinghai Auction House crest, extracting a miniature enchanted projection crystal and casting its light into mid-air.
Amidst the swirling, holographic luminescence, a teardrop-shaped crystal of solidified deep-crimson magma rotated slowly in place. Encased within quartz-like crystalline purity, a bizarre orange-scarlet blaze roiled like liquid lava, continually morphing into shapes resembling blooming fiery lotus petals or the jagged scales of a predatory dragon. Even through a magical projection, Lin Feng could distinctly sense the wild, tyrannical thermal density woven into its elemental matrix.
“Look at this!” Xie Zhaoyuan tapped the appraisal scroll accompanying the visual: “This Fire Spirit Seed was excavated by a Commander-tier hunter brigade from a volcanic abyssal trench three thousand meters beneath the surface of the Black Sea! Its elemental purity rating reaches an astonishing ninety-eight percent!”
Lin Feng’s gaze tracked intently across the recorded parameters:
— Item Designation: Scarlet Flame Flowing Fire (High-Grade Spirit Seed).
— Power Amplification Multiplier: Amplifies Fire Magic destructive yield by 2.5 times relative to standard base flames.
— Exclusive Secondary Trait: Mana-Incinerating Fire (Mana Burn Effect).
The instant his eyes locked onto the words “Mana-Incinerating Fire,” Lin Feng’s pupils contracted sharply.
Under normal circumstances, Fire Spirit Seeds solely enhanced raw kinetic destruction, or at best imparted residual explosive splatter and broad-area scorch effects. Yet this Scarlet Flame Flowing Fire possessed a mutated property forged under the crushing pressures of the abyssal seafloor: when its flames latched onto a target, the extreme thermal assault not only incinerated flesh and dissolved defensive armor, but its toxic elemental embers permeated directly through the pores, infiltrating the victim’s magical meridians to actively combust their raw mana!
This meant that in any prolonged engagement, any adversary struck by Lin Feng’s flame spells would suffer mana depletion at triple the standard rate. The star nebula within their Sea of Consciousness would rapidly run dry, leaving them entirely stripped of the energy needed to sustain defensive barriers or mount counter-offensives!
A devastating trait designed for ruthless attrition and suppression!
“This treasure... is precisely what I need most right now,” Lin Feng murmured softly, his fingers tightening unconsciously into a fist.
Were he to successfully integrate the Scarlet Flame Flowing Fire, his Intermediate Fire spell, Fiery Burst: Raging Dragon Force, augmented by his Innate Dual Elements and the blessing of the Primordial Dragon Pendant, would manifest firepower sufficient to rip through the hide of authentic Warrior-class beasts, and even pose a lethal threat to the top fifty sovereigns of the Battle Ranking!
Yet Xie Zhaoyuan promptly dumped a bucket of freezing water over the blaze igniting within his chest:
“Everyone drools over supreme goods, but the price tag is an absolute nightmare! Jinghai’s internal newsletter sets the opening reserve bid at no less than twenty million gold coins! The final hammer price during the month-end gala is projected to climb to twenty-five, or even thirty million!”
“Twenty million starting bid?” Lin Feng’s brows knit together.
That figure was nearly equivalent to the combined liquid net worth of an established minor clan back in a secondary city like Bo’an.
“And that’s not the half of it!” Xie Zhaoyuan ground his teeth, his plump face flushing with indignation: “Just this morning, Zhao Jingshan—that arrogant prick of the Magic Capital Zhao Clan branch—was bragging across aristocratic private circles that he has thirty million in cash locked and loaded to sweep this Scarlet Flame Flowing Fire off the floor. He even went so far as to declare that anyone who dares raise a paddle against the Zhao Clan at Jinghai this cycle will face total economic retaliation across the regional magic commerce sector!”
“Zhao Jingshan?” Lin Feng ran the name through his thoughts.
He had heard Xie Zhaoyuan mention the fellow on several occasions. The Zhao Clan was an entrenched aristocratic house in the south, whose Magic Capital branch monopolized mana-ore refining and raw alchemical herbs. Relying on his family’s vast wealth, Zhao Jingshan acted with overbearing insolence. He currently held Rank 88 on the Battle Ranking, and was likewise a Fire mage seeking a premier Spirit Seed to shatter the bottleneck toward Tier-2 Intermediate magic.
“That’s the bastard!” Xie Zhaoyuan pounded the sofa cushion in frustration. “My clan may operate magic equipment trades, but I’m only a second son; the monthly allowance my old man grants me is capped at two million coins. If I empty my personal savings and borrow from every connection I have, I could scrape together three or four million to lend you at the very most. As for the rest...”
Xie Zhaoyuan looked at Lin Feng with genuine concern. He was well aware that Lin Feng hailed from impoverished Bo’an, relying entirely on his own grit to gain admission into the university. How could an independent student hope to match financial muscles with an oligarchic titan like the Zhao Clan?
Lin Feng did not reply immediately. He rose and walked at an unhurried pace toward the expansive bay window overlooking the lush, rolling lawns of the academy. The midday sun bathed the youth’s sharply contoured profile, illuminating a profound, astonishing serenity within his obsidian eyes.
“Let me review my assets,” Lin Feng said quietly, tapping his personal arcane wristband to project the verified statement from the Shenzhou Mana Bank.
The figures materialized in crisp, glowing script:
— Bo’an Municipal Bounty (Post-defense citation): 3,200,000 gold coins.
— Hunter Union frontier commissions & bonus allocations from the Cang Lei Ridge Border Garrison: 4,100,000 gold coins.
— Academy Merit Points: Following the Huanglu Island campaign, he had been awarded 5,000 special contribution points. Under the official conversion rate of Shenzhou Archmage Academy, 1 merit point could be liquidated for 1,000 coins at the campus treasury, yielding: 5,000,000 gold coins.
Tallying every scrap of savings, reward, and life-and-death bounty accumulated over the past grueling year:
Total Liquid Net Worth: 12,300,000 gold coins.
An astronomical sum in the eyes of any first-year undergraduate—ample for an ordinary mage to lead a life of decadent luxury in a mid-tier metropolis.
Yet measured against the projected twenty-five to thirty million coin valuation of the Scarlet Flame Flowing Fire, this sum left an abyss-like deficit—at least fifteen million coins short!
Fifteen million gold coins needed in under five days, before the Jinghai Auction House grand gala officially commenced!
To anyone else, this was an insurmountable barrier. Even turning to high-interest arcane usury or selling one’s soul into corporate servitude could never secure such staggering liquidity on such short notice.
Xie Zhaoyuan sighed dejectedly: “Maybe we should pass on this one, Lin Feng? The auction house is bound to list other Spirit Seeds in a couple of months. Even if the quality is a bit lower, offering only a double damage boost, the price will be far gentler—around ten million would seal the deal. Going toe-to-toe with a lunatic like Zhao Jingshan burns cash and invites endless headaches.”
“Pass on it?”
Lin Feng shook his head faintly, his tone devoid of the slightest vacillation: “Standard Spirit Seeds offering double damage are a dime a dozen on the open market, but a mutated seed possessing an attrition trait like Mana Burn? You wouldn’t find a second one in an entire year. If I surrender this opportunity, the day I step into the wild and face a Commander-tier behemoth or mortal enemies, regret won’t save my life.”
He raised his hand to his chest, his fingertips lightly brushing the coarse surface of the ancient jade pendant resting beneath his shirt, radiating a steady, comforting warmth against his skin.
The Primordial Dragon Pendant.
From the day his magic awakened in Bo’an to the blood-soaked reefs of Huanglu Island, this ancient artifact had silently devoured uncounted remnant souls and bitter malice from abyssal beasts and heretical cultists alike.
Within his consciousness, the expanse inside the dragon pendant was like an infinite cosmic void.
Lin Feng closed his eyes, sinking his awareness deep into the artifact to inventory the accumulated spoils he had never revealed to another living soul.
In the deepest recesses of the pendant’s pocket realm, clusters of luminous spiritual motes hovered like stars scattered across the night sky:
More than a hundred Servant-class Remnant Souls harvested from the Gluttonous Demon Crabs and Poison Claw Sea Demons had been refined and condensed by the pendant’s sovereign power into twelve complete Servant-class Soul Essences! Each Soul Essence was as spherical and flawless as a lustrous pearl, radiating a soft azure luminescence untainted by a single speck of impurity.
On the contemporary arcane market, Servant-class Soul Essences served as the indispensable core components for archmage blacksmiths crafting defensive armor or star-focus refining equipment. Standard market rates fluctuated between five hundred thousand and eight hundred thousand coins apiece depending on clarity. Liquidating these twelve pristine essences alone would yield nearly eight million gold coins!
Yet that was far from his grandest trump card.
Suspended at the very center of the pendant’s void, an orb of energy the size of an infant’s fist hovered in place, radiating a savage, bloodthirsty aura alongside heavy, suffocating pressure of silvery-gray luminescence.
A Warrior-class Soul Essence!
It was the complete, pristine soul of the Warrior-class Gluttonous Demon Crab Chieftain—the titanic armored monstrosity Lin Feng had personally obliterated on the rocky shores of Huanglu Island using his Intermediate Lightning magic! Thanks to the Primordial Dragon Pendant’s absolute devouring authority the instant the beast perished, one hundred percent of its spiritual essence had been captured intact, without allowing a single wisp of soul energy to dissipate into the atmosphere.
A flawless, unblemished Warrior-class Soul Essence!
Within the Magic Capital, home to thousands of aristocratic dynasties and premier hunter guilds, how precious was such a prize?
It was the mandatory catalyst required to forge peak Intermediate Magic Armor, or the miraculous medium enabling summoners to evolve their contracted beasts from the Servant tier to the Warrior tier! At any elite auction gala, an unblemished Warrior-class Soul Essence was a tantalizing delicacy that drove major clans into bidding frenzies. Its opening reserve was never lower than fifteen million coins, and its realized hammer price could easily soar past eighteen to twenty million!
Furthermore, nestled within the deep blue storage ring stripped from the corpse of Blue-Robed Deacon Zhou Zhending, Lin Feng had uncovered three primordial High-grade Dark Mana Stones—contraband mineral resources that dark mages craved to the point of madness, carrying a black-market valuation of no less than three million gold coins.
If he gathered all these treasures and consigned them for auction, the capital in his grasp would not merely be twelve million.
It would be thirty-five, or perhaps even touch forty million gold coins!
A bold, calculating scheme ignited within Lin Feng’s mind.
He opened his eyes, glancing at Xie Zhaoyuan, who was still wringing his hands in distress. The youth’s lips parted into an enigmatic, razor-sharp smile:
“Zhaoyuan, do you happen to know a chief appraiser at the Jinghai Auction House who commands unassailable authority and absolute discretion?”
Xie Zhaoyuan froze, blinking in surprise: “I do... My second uncle happens to be one of the five chief appraisers overseeing the demon beast materials and soul artifact divisions at Jinghai. But why do you ask? Don’t tell me you intend to...”
“Let’s move.” Lin Feng straightened up, reaching for the jet-black hooded cloak draped over the back of the chair. “Take me to meet your uncle. We’re going to consign a few small trinkets before the auction gavel falls.”
“Small trinkets? What on earth could you have that’s worth millions?!” Xie Zhaoyuan pressed in utter bewilderment.
Lin Feng offered no answer. He simply pulled the hood forward, shrouding the upper half of his face in shadow, and strode with firm, resolute steps out the front doors of the villa.
The afternoon breeze of the Magic Capital swept across the maple groves bordering the boulevard, bearing the salty tang of the distant ocean mingled with the heady scent of wealth and power native to the most opulent metropolis in Shenzhou.
Zhao Jingshan believed thirty million gold coins was enough to reign supreme at the upcoming Jinghai Auction?
Lin Feng was eager to see: when flawless Soul Essences produced by a commoner’s hands materialized upon the auction stage, just how magnificent the contortions upon the faces of those pampered clan scions would be!