Last Masterpiece

Shui was by himself in a VIP room, watching the auction go on. As expected of Coin Storm, every item that came up for auction caused excitement to spread. However, Shui looked at them with apathetic eyes. He still remembered when he was entranced by these objects, but now all of them just looked ordinary to him. He didn't disagree with their value, but none of them were good enough for him to even raise an eyebrow.

"Now then, I'm sure everyone is having a fun time but I hope you haven't forgotten tonight's main attraction."

'Finally.'

Although with less enthusiasm, Shui had the same thought as everyone else. It was finally time for it to be revealed. On the stage was an artifact, but it was different from what everyone was expecting. Like the other artifacts of the harmony series, everyone was expecting a simple weapon or accessory but this time, it was bigger.

With the artifact being held by his assistant, the auctioneer gave its description

"Okay everyone, as you can see, the final masterpiece of the harmony series is a long coat. However, I'm sure none of you are underwhelmed."

No one spoke up because all of them were still fascinated by it. It was rare but not hard to find an artifact in the form of clothing, but this coat was a step above what any of them had seen before.

"I mean, damn! Can you feel this aura?! Even I want to snuggle inside it."

Once again, everyone agreed. As expected of a harmony series artifact, just the aura of the coat made it seem like a loving mother that everyone wanted to be embraced by. Even though they couldn't even touch it, those in the Mortal Realm could better sense the nature energy around them. Even though they knew that they could never get it, they were excited just by the fact that they could be here. The blue long coat with silver at the edges was an image that stamped itself into their hearts.

"But we should be moving on. You might not be able to feel it, but you should have an idea by now. Not only will donning this coat allow the wearer to sense nature energy easier, it can also hide their aura from the spiritual sense of a Sky Realm expert. This has been personally proven by the mayor."

The auctioneer wasn't finished but the clamour of the audience was already near its peak. It might not mean much to Shui, but for anyone familiar with scouting and assassination, this artifact was literally to die for. Even for other types, this was still great for hiding from a dangerous enemy. The audience was already prepared to compete in a fierce bidding war, but there was still more left to divulge.

"Furthermore, our tests have proven that this coat can protect the wearer from any attack below Sky Realm and makes anyone who wears it at least as strong as a peak Soul Realm warrior. Even a mortal will become a genius once they put it on. And last but not least, this coat has been engraved with both a spirit gathering array and a spirit soothing array, making it like a portable cultivation room. It may only be a supreme spirit-rank artifact but trust me when I say I would rather this than a normal tesora-rank artifact."

The crowd then descended into a wild battle royale of money.

Everything else went as Shui thought it would, except for the final bid which was actually in high-quality spirit gems rather than coins.

'One hundred of these, huh? I'm almost tempted to make another one.'

Shui was well aware that his artifact wasn't necessarily going to be used for good purposes. He might even have to fight the person wearing it one day, but his pride as a forge master wouldn't allow him to hold back on something he called a masterpiece. Besides, fighting him with his own creation would be a foolish act.

While the audience was still hyped up from his masterpiece, Shui walked out of the auction house and planned on heading over to see Lilia and the siblings, but noticed a lean middle-aged man waiting for him. The man, who wore the uniform of a butler despite being in the early Earth Realm, bowed to Shui before he said anything while presenting him with a letter.

With just a look, Shui was sure there was nothing wrong with it so he took the letter and opened it.

"Hmm, a little sooner than I planned but this works too." Shui handed the letter back to the man and then continued, "Tell your master to expect me tomorrow."

"Understood."

Without sparing him another glance, Shui went on his way. However, instead of walking straight to the siblings' house, he took a long detour before stopping in an empty area of the slums.

"I have things to do so can we make this quick?"

Several moments after Shui spoke to seemingly no one, nothing happened. However, he didn't doubt his senses. Shui pointed his finger in a certain direction on his right, and fired lightning from its tip.

"Argh!!!"

After a painful scream, a body dropped in front of him. Shui moved his finger to shoot again but suspicious figures finally showed themselves. There were about six of them but Shui could also sense the seventh one who was watching. All of the six surrounding him were at the peak of the Soul Realm, but Shui didn't think this was anything more than a test. The Earth Realm observer would likely take action if he narrowly beat these six or bring back information if he won easily.

Shui thought about letting him go and report his strength, but then they might decide to take a hostage like Trin did.

'My first day back and I have this to deal with. Hah...'

Without any warning, the six pounced at him in harmony, leaving no gaps for escape. Shui only stomped on the ground, not even with much force, but somehow all of the figures trying to attack him dropped to the ground with blood leaking from their orifices. This was the result of sending a spiritual attack along the vibrations, a new technique Shui created to kill those weaker than him. The spectator was frightened by this scene and hastily tried to escape, but discovered that his body had been locked in place. He knew it was more than just fear, so he became even more afraid and struggled to figure out how he could get away alive.

Shui turned toward the panicked man and even though he was supposed to be out of sight, the man felt that Shui was looking at him. He became so distraught that he considered begging for mercy, but didn't want to reveal his location in case Shui hadn't noticed him yet. He sighed in relief when Shui looked away, but his chest tightened when he saw him take out a knife. He was sure that there were no other enemies so he wondered what the knife was for. Even though he saw the knife glow as lightning wrapped around it, it only made him curious. Even when the same knife pierced his head, he never realized what had killed him.