Noah's blood echoed the beating of the large heart. Surges of hunger filled his body and created tides in his mental sea.
Even if Noah had surpassed the hybrid status, his instincts were still there, and they couldn't remain silent in front of the beating heart of a rank 8 magical beast.
Don slammed his hands on the transparent wall, and saliva drooled out of his open mouth. His instincts were also going crazy, but he lacked Noah's and Jordan's self-control.
"Don," Noah said as a growl fused with his human voice. "Sit."
Noah's pride filled the entire room and seeped inside Don's unstable mind, bringing clarity that his instincts were trying to take away. The hybrid slowly grew calm under that influence, and he sat back on the couch while shooting an amazed glance toward Noah.
Jordan also turned toward Noah. Her pupils had sharpened to show her true nature, and an evident surprise came out of them. Don's cultivation level surpassed Noah's, but the latter had managed to command him easily.
The same shock filled Don's mind. He couldn't explain how Noah could remain so calm in that situation. As for the influence of his orders, Don used his unstable mind to justify it.
Countless bids appeared on the panel. The experts on the seats were basically throwing Soul Stones at the item in the hope of seizing that incredible resource.
"This is one of the treasures retrieved from the Land of the Fallen," The expert tried to explain. Still, the audience's cheer and noises covered his voice and forced him to give up on that description.
The bids for the beating heart quickly surpassed a million of Soul Stones and kept rising. Their growth slowed down only when they reached the five million. At the end of the auction, someone purchased the item for a total of eleven million.
'I might have underestimated these auctions,' Noah thought as another rank 8 item replaced the heart and marked the beginning of a second bidding war.
The experts on the seats belonged to large organizations that featured rank 8 experts. Noah was rich for his level, even richer than some solid stage cultivators. Yet, he couldn't match the wealth of the forces in control of the human side.
Going into an auction that could feature rank 8 items with only ninety thousand Soul Stones was a gamble. Noah had never hoped to purchase such powerful resources. He wanted valuable things that he couldn't obtain otherwise, but the trend of the event was making him feel delusional.
The auction went from a rank 8 item to another. Crystals, body parts, partial inheritances, techniques, and diagrams whose aura could make any rank 7 cultivator shake appeared on the stage. Noah watched them come and go as he committed their appearance to memory. He needed to desire them to keep growing.
Don and Jordan seemed to understand that the situation had become strange. Still, they remained silent out of respect for Noah. They didn't know what his plan was, but they wouldn't disturb him. Also, they wanted to memorize those resources to take notes of what the human side could hide.
Luckily for Noah, the auctions eventually became less intense. Items in the seventh rank began to reappear on the stage, and their prices also reached a more reasonable number.
With his current wealth, Noah accepted that he could only purchase one item. That conclusion didn't leave him disappointed after watching many resources in the eighth rank coming and going. He was already happy to have the chance to purchase something in the solid stage if he used everything he had.
"A complete inheritance of a liquid stage cultivator,"
"An almost intact corpse of a peak rank 7 magical beast,"
"One of the masterpieces of the Balrow family,"
The experts on the stage continued to announce the various items, and Noah kept track of them as he tried to find the perfect resource to purchase. He only had one shot, so he wanted to use it well.
"A cursed sword that reflects the damage inflicted to its wielder," One of the experts said at some point. "It's a troublesome item that can make anyone surpass the limits of their cultivation level. All the previous users have died after becoming addicted to the superior power that this weapon made them express."
Noah's eyes lit up at that point and inspected the case containing that slightly curved sword. The weapon was black, with a single red sharp edge. An ominous aura in the upper tier of the seventh rank came out of the item and seemed to ask for blood.
"This is an indisputable masterpiece that grows on its own," The expert continued. "Defeating opponents with this blade will make its power improve. Its creator has taken inspiration from the magical beasts to build it, but it doesn't require actual food. It just craves battles and victories."
'Finally, something that can improve my battle prowess,' Noah thought as he waited to see the bids of the other experts.
The bids quickly reached seventy thousand Soul Stones, a low number for an inscribed item in the upper tier. Its dangerous features were scaring most of the experts away since it was a risky purchase.
Noah joined the auction at that point. He raised the price by one thousand Soul Stones every time someone surpassed his offer. At some point, only an expert in the front rows remained as his opponents.
The expert was a solid stage cultivator with long blonde hair and dark eyes. He had a youthful appearance, and his robe carried the symbol of the Sailbrird family.
He wore a broad smile that froze whenever Noah surpassed his offer. A tinge of annoyance even appeared on his expression when the price reached eighty thousand Soul Stones. That was already too much for a cursed sword.
The expert exchanged a few words with the cultivators near him and stood up to turn toward Noah's room. He couldn't see Noah, but someone had informed him that his opponent was a guest of the Balrow family.
"I'm Ethan Sailbrird," The expert announced. "Can the guest from the Balrow family leave this sword to me? I would like to add it to my collection, and the eighty thousand Soul Stones would come from my personal wealth. I will owe you one if you do."
After those words, Ethan dropped two thousand Soul Stones to surpass Noah's bid and performed a bow toward his room. He appeared sure that Noah would give up on the sword after hearing the Sailbrird name.
Of course, Noah didn't even consider the possibility of giving up on the cursed blade. His reserves of Soul Stones were running short, but he still had the dark-blue metal at his disposal.
Ethan's face turned ugly when he saw that Noah surpassed his bid. He felt underestimated and offended, but he maintained a calm expression as he stood up again to make another speech.
"I would really, really like to have this sword," Ethan said. "Having friends among the Sailbrird family is a valuable tradeoff. I wouldn't give up on it."
To answer Ethan's request, Noah added more Soul Stones to his panel, and the audience had to suppress their laughs at that sight. Ethan had yet to make another bid, but Noah had raised the price again.
