Feng Yu looked at the Jade Slip in front of him in shock, as his hands started to tremble when he inspected the list of items shown in the catalog for the Mystery Pavilion's Auction. He then looked towards Hui Ying with a questioning gaze as he asked. "Brother Ying, is the information on this list real? Where did you get this information from?"
Hui Ying smiled mysteriously as he replied: "It's a secret! Let's just say I had to do a little bit of snooping around."
"Good! If that's so, then this Auction should prove to be very interesting. Brother Ying! Let's cheers to a successful tomorrow." Feng Yu shouted excitedly as he down his liquor.
"Ha Ha! May we have a triumphant day of treasure hauling," said Hui Ying as he also downed his liquor.
"Hmm, how strange. Why did Aunt Xingyu not give me a list? Could it be that she had also forgotten to acquire one?" thought Feng Yu as he looked through his window towards his Aunt's courtyard.
******
Within a private room, Inside of a Pub.
A Youngman sat around a counter with a voluptuous woman seated on the opposing side. The atmosphere in the pub was a pleasant one as various individuals indulged themselves in nighttime activities. However, his current mood was a sour one as he grasped his forehead with his hand and tapped it repeatedly with his finger.
Sou!
A man in black soon appeared within the private room. It was an ordinary looking man with no unique features.
"How did it go? Was there any luck trying to get in?" said Xuan Bei.
"The operation was a failure, Young Master. As we were interrupted by individuals from a strange force." said the man in black.
"Strange Force? There's another force separate from the ones known?" said the Youngman puzzledly.
"Affirmative, but this force is different they appear to be moving for a different purpose." said the man in black.
"Damn! How could this happen? Sigh, I understand, go give this the captain for our losses I am the one to be blamed, " said Xuan Bei as he tossed a token towards the man in black.
"By Young Masters will." replied the man in black as he vanished into thin air.
Sou!
"Bei Child, do not fret over the unknown. We may have underestimated the powers gathered at the Ancient Site, but it does us no good to forget our next task at hand." Mistress Xuan said as she spoke in a comforting tone while passing a piece of parchment towards Xuan Bei.
Pat.
After receiving the parchment and inspecting it Xuan Bei's downed mood instantly turned for the better. Shortly, a determine light shone from the depths of his eyes, as he gripped the parchment firmly while staring at Mistress Xuan.
"We must get the item on this by any means necessary!" he said looked out the window of his private room. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com
******
A similar scene could be seen playing out at many private and exclusive locations within Machen Town, as various individuals began to pay attention to an unknown group that seemed to have been interfering with their goals.
Soon, however, they each started to pay attention towards a particular direction, a place shielded in multiple layers of mystery with its origin unknown and untraceable, even to the numerous powerful influences in the most distant of lands.
The Mystery Pavilion...
The night fell, and dawn ruled once more.
The people of Machen Town continued their everyday activities, but strangely, there was a change that could be felt even in the atmosphere. As dozens of mysterious figures made their way towards a particular towering building that stood at the central position of Machen Town. It was an ancient building that seemed to have been built from a very ancient type of material as it had very odd and unique rune patterns carved along its surface. The building was humongous as it alone occupied the highest height within the entirety of buildings located in Machen Town, reaching as high as 150 meters.
As the stream of individuals made their way towards the entrance of the building, they were greeted by timely organized staff who were already efficiently guiding and registering individuals for the different activities or services offered by the Mystery Pavilion.
"Good Morning Sir, how may I be of assistance to you today." said a beautiful female dressed in a stylised ancient formal dress wear with a symbol of a question mark on its chest.
"I'm here to attend the Auction." said a shady looking man.
"Very well, right this way." as she said that she guided the man towards a desk where she began to help him register for the auction.
Step. Step. Step.
While all of this was going on, three figures could be seen making their way towards the entrance of the pavilion. It was a Youngman dressed in red clothing with long dark gold sleeves that had patterns wearing an accessory on top of his head, by his right side was a blue haired man who wore a large black bamboo hat with black battle gi robes including black wrappings over his hands as well as feet, and to his other side was a strong looking figure reaching as high as two meters tall, he wore a sleeveless shirt and large baggy trousers with wooden sandals.
As the trio made their way across the crowd gathered at the entrance there couldn't help but be a small commotion.
"Isn't that!..." said one practitioner as he notices the blue-haired figure with simple clothing in one of the individuals in the group.
"It's Blue Thunder Dai Lin!!!" another individual said.
"What it's him?" said an influential looking figure.
"Yes, I'd remember that guy anywhere!" replied another form to his side.
"Then, who are those two beside him?" said the influential looking figure.
"If I were to recall correctly the red-haired Youngman is the Young Master of one of the largest Family Clans in Machen Town the Feng Clan. He is called Feng Yu and goes by another reputation in these parts." replied the man.
"Oh and What's that?" asked the influential looking figure.
"Ha! I hear he goes by the honored title of Troublemaker Feng Yu." replied the man with scorn on his face.
"Hmph! Only a bumpkin in a pond nothing more. Who is that man walking beside them?" said the influential looking figure.
"That, I have no idea as to who he is or where he's come from." replied the man.
"..." the influential looking figure looked on in silence.
Feng Yu hearing the discussion going on around him went to a dark mood as he glanced at Dai Lin secretly. Sadly though, Dai Lin's expression remained indifferent as if the matter of the mundane world had nothing to do with him, soon, he restrained his glance and looked forwards once more.
The moment this was done Dai Lin who was also observing Feng Yu reaction in secret casually wiped the almost imperceptible sweat from his forehead while pondering "Young master Yu seems to be upset about this, It looks like I need to be careful."
Hui Ying seeing he couldn't help but make a snicker "Puhei~."
"Brother Ying, is something the matter?" asked Feng Yu as he looked at Hui Ying snickering,
"Oh, nothing! It's nothing, only the excess air," replied Hui Ying as he put himself together.
"Hmph! We're almost there! Let's pick up the pace." as Feng Yu said this without waiting for their consent he promptly rushed forward towards the registration area for the Auction. Dai Lin and Hui Ying smiled secretly to themselves as they immediately followed after him.
"Welcome, Sir's which service would you like to register for today?" said the beautiful young woman.
"I would like to have a booth for today's Auction prepared for the three of us," said Feng Yu as he took out an insignia from his storage ring.
"Understood, please sign your-----" before she could finish her statement she saw the peculiar insignia within Feng Yu's hands, suddenly a look of surprise flashed across her face as she glanced at Feng Yu with a curious light.
"Honoured Guest! Please follow me to the VIP quarters." replied the beautiful woman who now took on a more respectful tone. As she said this, she then began to lead Lead Feng Yu and his party towards the VIP Booth.
"Eh? Brother Yu, how did you get a VIP token? I've heard that it's difficult for even the most powerful of influences in this kingdom's capital." Hui Ying said as he had a puzzling look came over his face.
Dai Lin in the corner smiled as he had already noticed the strangeness of the Feng Clan through his years of service.
"My Aunt gave it to me, she said it could be useful," replied Feng Yu in a vague manner.
Hui Ying hearing this had a strange expression on his face, but he didn't bother to delve any deeper than needed.
Soon, they came in front of a large room. This room had a few facilities such a personal bartender and even a game table with a myriad of games stored on the inside. Strange runes powered it, that drew energy from low tier essence stones. A full tinted glass window that took up an entire wall for itself, as a few luxurious cushions with a small gray orb floating at their sides were positioned 1 meter away from the window.
The beautiful woman upon arriving here pointed towards the gaming platform and bartender before speaking once more. "Honoured Guests, this will be your betting quarters, we have an assortment of entertainment devices that can be used to occupy your time until the start of the Auction. We have also provided a personal bartender who will provide you with the finest quality of liquors in our storage. "
Afterward, she then pointed towards the window and cushions and continued to speak. "The tinted window you see before you is where you will be able to see the Auction's proceedings. Simply touch the floating orb beside your cushions of choice, and you will be able to remove its tint. Also, no one on the outside will be able to see through this window as on the outside it will simply appear as another layer of wall. To place your bets on a particular item of choice there is an option available in the Menu of those RelayOrb's, simply inject your essence-energies, and it will prompt you with that option."
"Well then, Honoured Guest, If that is all I will now be taking my leave. You may contact our staff through the use of any RelayOrb's at any time." as she said this, she then bowed curtly following which she left the room.
Feng Yu looked around the room in surprise as he murmured "Incredible, this Mystery Pavilion is more than I'd originally thought it to be. Such interesting facilities, I wonder, how did they go about creating such things?"
"Indeed, they truly are a unique and mysterious set of individuals at that," replied Hui Ying as he went towards the bartender to get some drinks.
Dai Lin walked towards the gaming platform and inspected it for a bit, placing his finger on one of the compartments. Soon, a strange scene occurred as a virtual board beams itself on top of the platform and in simple text prompted him to choose an option.
"Select Your Desired Game:" System Prompt.
"Go, Shogi, Chest, Dungeon and Lycans, Battle of the Dummies." System Prompt.
"Eh? Young master Yu, this looks very interesting would you like to try it." Dai Lin said with a look of slight excitement visible in his eyes.
As Feng Yu was inspecting the RelayOrb and had removed the tint from the window, he heard Dai Lin's words. Quickly, he left the RelayOrb then headed towards Dai Lin while asking.
"What's the matter, Dai Lin? Has this thing caught your interest? " he asked as he made his way over.
Hui Ying who also got himself a few drinks also made his way over to see what was going on.
"Oh! Interesting, this looks pretty fun why don't we try it," said Hui Ying as he looked at the option for Battle of the Dummies.
"Fine! Even though the name sounds a bit strange it should prove to be quite interesting," said Feng Yu.
Quickly, they each place their hands at opposing compartments made on the platform, following which there was a change. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com
Puuiii!!!
A beam of light shone across the platform, and three tiny puppets made of unknown materials appeared in the center of a simulated battlefield. The three puppets had no aura, but they each had a strange feeling as if they connected to the very souls of Feng Yu, Dai Lin, and Hui Ying.
Ping!
"Choose Your Weapons: " System Prompt.
"Swords, Bow, Spear, Blade, Hatchet, Axe, Chains, Knives, Stick, Stone, Knuckle Guards " System Prompt.
Feng Yu seeing this felt curious as he responded "Two Swords!".
Ping!
Suddenly, two sharp looking swords appeared in the hands of the puppet with red hair. They gleam with a threatening light at the edges of their blades.
"Interesting, it feels as if I'm the one controlling these swords myself," said Feng Yu as he observed the puppet with interest while injecting his essence energy into the platform to move the puppet around.
Dai Lin and Hui Ying seeing this also chose their weapons.
"Knuckles!" said Dai Lin as a pair of blue knuckles appeared on his puppet with blue hair.
"Bow! "said Hui Yin as a large bow appeared on the back of black-haired puppet.
As soon as all three puppets were armed for battle, the board once again changed as countdown initiated.
"The will commence in: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." System Prompt.
"Commence Battle Royal - Mode Free For All" System Prompt.
"Ha! Let's do this!" They said in unison as a fire glared in each of their eyes prepared to do battle, they downed their consciousness into their puppets and commenced a showdown like none other before.
******
Outside of Machen Town on a large hill.
A group of people could be viewed making their way downwards towards the town in the distance, at the head of those individuals where five imposing individuals 3 of whom were quite familiar.
"Brother Zang, It seems that this small town is quite a den with a few secrets." said a brawny and confident looking youth.
"Hmph! A place of nothing but bumpkins, even strays from tiny affiliate kingdoms." said a pretty looking girl.
"...." The Youngman being spoken to respond with silence as he thought inwardly. "Hmm, I wonder if he is already here." as he said this a smile could be seen trailing at the edge of his lips.
Soon, their figures vanished across the horizon followed by a relatively large group of individuals as they made their way towards the small town in the distance.