Naked Sword Art-Chapter 370: Auction III

"All of them."

.

.

.

"All of them?" Xiao Hei echoed Xiao Fang's words with a hint of skepticism.

As far as she knew, it wasn't possible to have an affinity to that many types of spirit attributes. Looking at Xiao Fang now, Xiao Hei couldn't help but feel like he was some sort of freak of nature.

Meanwhile, the auction hall grew louder as more people realized they could only see one or two scrolls at most—some none at all. The complaints turned bitter.

"There has to be some kind of mistake!" someone shouted.

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"How are we supposed to bid on something we can't even see?"

"I demand compensation—!"

The golden-robed auction master raised his hand, and the entire hall fell into silence as a wave of calm Qi washed over the crowd. He smiled patiently, but his eyes carried a warning edge.

"Let me be clear," he said. "These scrolls are not meant to be seen by all. They are alive with power that chooses who is worthy. This is not a fault of the auction, but a test of your fate."

That silenced even the loudest protester.

As the tension settled, the auctioneer continued:

"Each scroll contains the inheritance of a Spirit Attribute—some elemental, some mystical. Water, Flame, Air, Shadow, Light, Wind, Earth, Ice… and rarer ones: Poison, Sound, Mirage, and more. Whether you can see them or not, each scroll will go to the highest bidder. If fate favors you… then perhaps it was meant to be."

Xiao Fang's gaze swept across the scrolls once more. Each one burned brightly in his vision—like stars suspended in the night sky. Yet, one of them pulled at his attention again and again. It was unlike the rest—its surface distorted, as though wrapped in layers of illusion and concealment. Even the name inscribed on the scroll was warped beyond recognition.

"That's strange," Xiao Fang muttered under his breath.

The auctioneer gave the crowd a few more moments to collect themselves, then raised his voice once again.

"The starting bids for each of these Spirit Attributes is three hundred gold teals. Let us begin."

Xiao Hei leaned toward Xiao Fang. "Fang, do you know which one you want?"

He continued to study the warped scroll, but the more he looked, the more questions surfaced. Despite how badly he wanted to unravel its secrets, he wasn't sure if he could justify spending the bulk of his fortune on something so uncertain.

"Xiao Hei," he asked, "which ones would be considered 'Dark' Spirit Attributes?"

"Read them out loud to me," she replied, eyes narrowing in thought.

Xiao Fang read the name on each scroll, listing them carefully, and Xiao Hei identified two among them that seemed like they would fit under the dark category:

Blood-type: [ Ancestral Blood Curse ]Shadow-type: [ Eternal Night Obsidian Abyss ]

Xiao Fang narrowed his eyes at the [ Ancestral Blood Curse ]. He didn't know whether it was anything like the curse he already carried… and frankly, he didn't want to find out. One curse was already more than enough.

When the bidding for the [ Ancestral Blood Curse ] began, not a single person raised a token. The scroll sat alone, untouched. It seemed no one was eager to test their fate with it. Either that or the scroll didn't acknowledge anyone in the audience.

That gave Xiao Fang some hope. Maybe the [ Eternal Night Obsidian Abyss ] would go just as quietly.

But the moment it was presented, three bidders jumped on it immediately. The price soared past Xiao Fang's remaining funds in an instant. He clenched his jaw, watching helplessly as it slipped from his grasp.

"Sold! For four hundred and thirty-five gold teals!"

Frustrated, he briefly considered settling for whichever scroll came next for cheap—but no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, his eyes kept returning to that one strange, unreadable scroll. The warped one. It was the third-to-last on the list, its script distorted as if even reality itself struggled to contain it.

If a bidding war broke out for that scroll, he would only have a chance at one of the last two spirit attributes on the list. Considering they were the Fire-type: [ Flame Devouring Monarch ] and the Ice-type: [ Frost-Tombed Lotus ] there was a good chance they'd both incite a bidding war exceeding what he currently had. The more he thought about it, the more Xiao Fang was convinced that if he didn't get the warped one, he likely wouldn't get any at all.

His fingers hovered over the jade bidding panel, heart steady but mind in turmoil. He could see all 21 scrolls, but only one called to him.

"Fang," Xiao Hei asked, "didn't you say you could see all of them? Why did you only name twenty?"

"I couldn't read the last one," he replied. "The letters are warped."

Xiao Hei's brow furrowed in concern, but she said nothing. Even she couldn't make sense of what that meant.

Then, it was time.

The warped scroll was presented—and again, silence fell. No one placed a bid.

"One final call," the auctioneer announced. "If there are no takers, we will proceed to the next item."

Just as he turned to move on, a soft glow appeared on the jade panel beside Xiao Fang's hand.

"One bid. Two-hundred and fifty gold teals. Going once… going twice… Sold!"

A quiet click came from beside him as the casket opened. His funds were gone—and in their place lay the sealed scroll. Xiao Hei rushed over, peering inside with wide eyes.

"What kind is it?" she asked.

"I… don't know yet," Xiao Fang said.

The auction continued, and just as he'd expected, the final two scrolls ignited frenzied bidding wars. Their prices soared far beyond what he could've afforded. Seeing that result, Xiao Fang became convinced he had made the right decision.

Xiao Fang turned his attention back to his scroll. Lifting it up from the casket, the first thing he noticed was that it wasn't just the words that were warping, but his hand as well the moment he got close to it. Seeing that gave him an idea.

Xiao Hei tilted her head curiously as she watched Xiao Fang bring the scroll closer to his face. Before she could ask what he was doing, she noticed his expression change.

"What, what is it?" Xiao Hei asked eagerly.

The warped characters on the scroll slowly began to align, settling into clarity—but Xiao Fang froze before bringing it any closer. In that moment, it no longer felt like he was holding a scroll, it felt like he was staring into the eyes of a dragon—one whose realm lay so far beyond his own that it defied comprehension.

He didn't know how much time had passed. A breath? A lifetime?

All he knew was that the presence within the Spirit Attribute had seized him completely—and it wasn't letting go.