The elf was armed to the teeth with golden metal plates except for his head. So Michael could see the striking golden hair fluttering in the wind, blue eyes, and glowy skin. He simply waved his hand at the crowd before flying toward one of the VIP rooms. The elven prince left a golden light trail on his way to the VIP room. After the elf disappeared from his sight, Michael tilted his head to question Eve,

"Who is he?"

"The third prince of Gondolin," Eve said. Gondolin could be said as the capital of Awor because the empress ruled the continent from there. Although the dwarves never recognized the empress's authority, the dwarves avoided messing with the empress. Why? Because the dwarves were afraid of the princes. The six princes of Awor were collectively called the war gods for a reason. Each of the war gods was powerful enough to topple any kingdom that threatens Gondolin to the ground single-handedly.

"A war god,"

Gaya rolled her eyes when she heard Eve. They didn't deserve the name war god. If someone did, it was Michael. The reason why the princes were so powerful was they all had not one but several legendary spells in their arsenal. In addition, their weapons also belonged to the Legendary class,, which was enhanced by powerful runes. Therefore, although they were at the Fusion stage, they were several times more powerful than any Fusion stage cultivator. In case Michael had everything they had, he would be unstoppable.

"A war god? Fancy name," said Michael, making Eve quickly shut his mouth with her hand.

"Shhhh,"

When they heard Michael, the soul refiners' faces turned pale as a white sheet. Not a single one in Awor wasn't afraid of the war gods. Michael looked at everyone to realize he was a big deal in Awor.

"Don't speak ill of them. In fact, don't speak about them at all," said Eve.

"Why?" Michael asked since he didn't know a thing about a war god. As far as he could guess, they were some kind of generals in the empress's army. He wasn't wrong though, but they were not simply generals, each of them was a one-man army who had been protecting Gondolin for centuries.

"Because they could kill you and no one can do anything about it," Eve said with a grave tone which only made Michael more curious.

"Interesting," Michael dragged his voice. Deep down, Michael wanted to know more about this war god. Forming an alliance with a powerful figure such as the elf might benefit him in the long run. After the war god settled into his room, the people began to murmur with each other. In a few minutes, they became as loud as before.

Ten minutes later, a deafening bell ran throughout the arena. The arena became deadly silent yet again as everyone saw an old man in gray robes slowly descend from the sky. The old man was a Soul refining stage level 7. He had neatly combed hair with a black goatee. Under everyone's curious gazes, the old man landed in the arena's center.

"Grrrhhh,"

After the old man landed on the neatly pruned grass field, he coughed a few times, clearing his throat.

"Welcome to the annual prestigious Aqua Auction. I am the auctioneer Rickston Bash for today's auction. Many of you might know the rules of the auction, but I will go through the rules again for the newcomers," Michael took a long sip of the orange juice and put the empty glass on the table before him. Afterward, Michael rested his legs on the table as the old man began to recite the rules and regulations.

"Every item in the auction is examined and verified for its authenticity by the best people in Aqua Palace. So rest assured, you won't be scammed," Rickston said, pausing for a moment.

"Only the bidding token holders and VIPs can bid for an item. Every bid must be made in gold coins. Other currencies such as silver coins, antique items, and ores won't be accepted. Aqua Palace also kindly requests the audience to enjoy the auction without making too much of a ruckus," it sounded more of a threat than a request in Michael's ears.

"After successfully winning the bid, you will be contacted by one of our employees. You can either choose to pay the price and take the item immediately or pay later at the end of the day. The auction will last for three days and battles are strictly forbidden on the Aqua Palace grounds," Rickston's grave voice reverberated through the arena. Knowing the Aqua Palace, none dared to break the rules. After all, the Aqua Palace was owned by the arctic hall and the empress.

"Well, the rules have already been finished. I think everyone is very clear in mind,"

Michael was disappointed and surprised at the same time. He expected Rickston to inform them about giving the buyers some protection, but he said nothing about it.

"What if someone decided to steal the item after one leaves the island?"

"If you don't have the power to hold onto your items, then you don't deserve it. That's an unwritten rule in Aqua auctions," Gaya saint nonchalantly.

"That's unfair," Nightmare sighed, feeling disappointed by the Aqua Palace. Even Michael was disappointed too. A prestigious auction like the Aqua Auction should provide the buyers some security until they reach their destination. Otherwise, the powerful people could just snatch away an item from the weak.

Back on Elon and Ozer, many auctions resulted in an all-out war between noble families or between some rogue cultivator and a noble family. Either way, the auctions always resulted in bloodshed. The importance of a teleporter seemed higher and higher in Michael's mind. The crowd remained silent, listening to Rickston without daring to utter a word until he finished going through the rules.

"Now that I went through the rules, it's time to finally start what you've been waiting for all this time. Let the annual aqua auction begin!" The crowd erupted into cheers as soon as the crowd heard Rickston's thunderous shout. Only a small percentage possessed a bidding token to bid on items among the thousands of people. Still, they all cheered because not every day could they witness rare, ancient items with their own eyes. Plus, if they were lucky, they could see a nice battle outside the aqua island obviously.

Soon, Rickston turned his palms as a black pillar emerged from the grass field near Rickston. A silver longsword rested upon the pillar, glistening in the light. Even from their rooms, Michael could hear the sword humming. The blade had a large, warped cross-guard, which was to ensure the blade was both balanced and capable of protecting the owner's hands against any sliding sword. In addition, the cross-guard had a gilded eye on each side, a clear sign this weapon belongs to a champion.

A fairly small pommel was decorated with gilded linings, fancy decorations for a fancy sword. The blade itself was engraved. Ancient symbols were engraved on the blade, giving the blade a unique look.

With a single look, Gaya could tell the sword belonged to the Epic class. To be honest, she had never expected the Aqua Auction to begin with an Epic class item right out of the bat. It seemed like this year's Aqua auction would be a special one.

Rickston pointed at the silver sword.

"This is an Epic class weapon. As far as our experts tested the sword, it could give the wielder a speed boost as well as create a low pitched vibration to void off mindless beasts,"

To Michael, the sword sounded okay but the others were so excited as many drooled at the sword. However, Michael had no intention of buying the sword even though he was in need of a good pair of swords.

"The starting bid for this sword is one million gold coins," Rickston said.

Not even a second passed since Rockston spoke when someone from a VIP room bid for the sword.

"One and a half million," Another one bid for the sword from another VIP room.

Because the VIP rooms were shielded by the black glass, no one could see who was inside another VIP room. That was why Michael didn't see the Thusians bidding for the sword. Michael noticed Rickston had never mentioned a certain amount to increase for each bid like the auction he had attended. So the bid for the sword went from 1.5 million to 4 million in a few minutes.

"Seven million," suddenly a clear crisp voice echoed through the arena, drawing everyone's attention. Michael turned his head in the voice's direction but the black glass covering each VIP room prevented him from locating the voice's owner. However, Michael had X-ray vision to see through the mirror. His thermal vision showed Michael a man's silhouette. If he was right, it was the golden prince who bid for the sword.

The nobles in VIP rooms instantly recognized the prince's crisp steel-like voice. They wanted the sword for themselves but it was not worth crossing the golden prince. As a result, they all stopped bidding for the sword.

"It's bad for business," Nightmare said.

"No shit," Gaya agreed with Nightmare.

"If I had an auction house, I would mask everyone's voice and prevent anyone from revealing their background. That way, everyone can bid without fearing the strong," Gaya was right as always. When it comes to anything related to making money, she was an unparalleled genius. Atleast, she was more intelligent than the Aqua Palace owners, who didn't think of masking the VIPs. Otherwise, the sword would have gone for more than seven million.

"Sold for VIP number 3, the golden prince!" Rickston shouted, revealing the man who just bid for the sword.

Sitting on the sofa, Michael furrowed his brows. The old man had no need to reveal the golden prince's name. Instead, he could have simply said the VIP room number.

Something rubbed Michael in the wrong way about this whole auction.

"Is he just showing off or actually needs that sword?" Michael whispered to Eve,

"Who knows?" Eve shrugged.

At that moment, the crowd had murmured amongst themselves, looking between the golden prince's room that had a glowing number 3 floating outside in the air and the sword. Then, a while later, the piller along with the sword slowly slid into the ground.

"Let's take a look at the next item," Rickston flicked his wrist as the pillar slowly emerged from the ground just like before. However, this time, a crystal orb was atop the pillar.

After the appearance of the sphere, the temperature of the entire auction site suddenly dropped, and many people felt a little cold, including Michael. A white mist slowly blanketed the arena until Rickston clapped his hands together. His clap immediately produced a powerful shock wave that instantly blasted the white mist away.

Afterward, he turned his gaze towards the crystal orb.

"Inside this crystal is the ancient ice dragon's heart. Those who didn't know, Ice Dragon was the last Royal Dragon who breathed ice instead of fire,"