Alice (2)

If it was any normal child, the receptionist would have already dismissed them. However, she could tell with a single glance that the seal that was slapped onto her desk wasn't an ordinary item.

"Excuse me, are you planning on selling this item?"

"Sell? Who put a stupid old hag like you at the front desk? Look old lady, why don't you call your manager before I get you fired?"

The three looking at this scene from behind couldn't suppress the wry smiles on their faces. They all guessed that she had an impressive background but this attitude seemed a little too strong even for a spoilt child.

"Um, little girl,"

The receptionist seemed to be reaching her limit but Alice didn't care. She was already upset that this woman didn't know her place and was stopping her from taking care of her business, not to mention the fact that she just got chased by people from her sect. Besides meeting Shui, the day had been one mess after another so she wouldn't hold back because of this ignorant little lamb.

"Fine, since you don't even realize your own incompetence, I'll take care of it myself."

The girl took up the seal and injected her nature energy into it for two seconds. After the count of two, the seal released a blinding gold light. As soon as the higher-ups in the auction house saw this light, they came to the ground floor in a panic.

"Welcome!!!"

The sight of multiple Soul and Earth Realm practitioners bowing their heads to Alice stunned Shui, Bartos and Yur. Though they knew she had a high status, they were all shocked by the level of respect that was shown to her because of the seal. However, Alice was still in a bad mood. Just because things were finally going her way didn't mean she forgot about the troubles she had to go through.

"Who's the branch manager here?"

"That would be me, Young Lady."

A slender man in a silver robe walked out from the group. His body seemed to be covered in items worth more than a fine house, but he was humble before Alice. He was very well-informed as to what power and status came with the seal.

On the other hand, the receptionist was shivering where she stood as she stared, terrified at the young lady. She desperately hoped that such a personage would forget about her, a wish that wouldn't be answered.

"Where's Sir Lefirius?"

"The Head of the Inspection Department is currently out at the moment."

'Head of Inspection?!'

Shui, Bartos and Yur were once again frightened by this girl. Though they didn't need to be afraid of an audit, someone who could be the Head of the Inspection Department for a major-level force like Coin Storm Auction House would surely be a great figure. Furthermore, this person was probably the uncle that Alice talked about! Though they were also curious as to why such a person would be in a backwater place like Cyrus, they didn't want to meet the same ending as an inquisitive cat.

"Hmph, I see. Prepare a bath and a fresh set of clothes for me, and take good care of these people as well."

"Understood."

While Alice was led deeper into the auction house, the receptionist let out a sigh, mistakenly thinking for a second that she would be spared.

"Oh, by the way, your staff seems to be lacking in training. I'd rather you have better personnel working at the front desk."

"My apologies. I'll have her fired immediately."

A few seconds later, the receptionist was kicked out of the building and even if Shui felt sorry for her, there was no reason for him to go against Alice. The three of them were then led to a guest room, where they were served wine and juice and an attractive young lady was left to take care of their needs.

If it was outside of the auction house, Yur would have surely tried to take advantage of this beauty, but he was still a professional who understood the importance of time and place.

"We would like to put a special-rank artifact up for auction. I believe the fee would be ten silver, with the auction house receiving 20% of the winning bid."

"That would be correct. However, I must first inspect the item to ensure that it is in line with our standards."

Though she knew that these people came with the distinguished guest Alice, this young lady still looked down on them because of their attire and meagre cultivation. She believed that they would probably bring out some common sword artifact, and she would then persuade them to sell it directly to the auction house so that putting up such a disgrace for auction wouldn't ruin their reputation.

However, her preparation was terribly lacking because she should have known that every artifact that Bartos approved to be auctioned always came with a fierce bidding war. He might have only been a blacksmith of a minor-level force, but his skills were the best that a Soul Realm cultivator could put into the craft.

" 'Our standards', huh? Well I suppose that's fine. By the way, if I remember correctly there's an additional reward for the item with the highest bid correct?"

"Yes there is, but only VIP customers can enjoy that benefit."

Inwardly, she scorned him. In her mind this man was delusional if he thought that he could bring out an item of such quality.

"Then there's no problem."

Yur took out a golden card with a silver stripe and showed it to the young woman, much to her surprise. Artifacts made by Bartos had already received the highest bid before so it was only natural that Yur would invest into a VIP status so as to get the maximum benefit out of it. Before she could regain her wits, Yur took out Shui's knife and rested it on the table between them and her.

"Why don't you pick it up? You should be able to check its quality that way."

Now half-doubtful and half-curious, she picked up the knife and was immediately surprised. From her initial assessment of the weapon in its sheath, it seemed to be rather plain but that was the complete opposite of its effects.

She quickly deduced that the knife had the same effect as a heaven and earth harmonization array, which could provide great support during cultivation. Though the item itself was only of blessed special-rank, the rarity of the effect was enough to make it comparable to a supreme spirit-rank artifact. The effect alone was enough to boost its value by an entire rank! An artifact of supreme-class spirit-rank was rarely seen in this branch of the Coin Storm Auction House, and even in the headquarters they were precious.

When Yur saw the woman stare at the knife in fascination, he knew that his job was complete.

Shortly after she walked out with the knife as if it was her family heirloom, a middle-aged gentleman entered the room with his right hand on his chest and his left hand behind his back.

"The young miss requests your presence."

Though he didn't specify, Bartos and Yur had a feeling it would be better if they let Shui go alone. Shui didn't say anything about this, but he was also hopeful it would go like this. Since he saw her, there was little time to engage in small talk so he was glad to finally get a chance to satiate his curiosity.