"The price I'm offering is your lives!"
"Where did this Little Girl come from?"
"Li Ke, is this your arrangement?"
White Night's arrival caused a stir among the crowd at the auction. Why would a Little Girl be allowed in here? Was it some entertainment arranged by Li Ke?
Regardless of whether Li Ke had arranged it, White Night's stunning and pretty appearance already had the crowd restless.
The lust that had just been stirred up by the "auction items" on stage burned even more intensely now.
"Gulp~ That chest, those legs, that delicate little face—she's even more exquisite than the 'auction items'!"
A fellow with a pig-Li Ke face and big ears couldn't restrain his impulses any longer and approached White Night. He wanted to snatch the little beauty into his arms before anyone else could.
Since she wasn't an "auction item," it was naturally first come, first served.
"Little sister, you're so cute. Come, let Uncle give you a physical exam."
The Pig-face approached White Night and reached out with his lecherous hands.
Watching this disgusting fellow with a face full of grease and pig-Li Ke features approach her, White Night didn't even bother to dodge.
Seeing that she didn't dodge, the Pig-face was secretly delighted.
"Little beauty, here comes Uncle."
"Tsk."
White Night furrowed her brows, wearing an impatient expression.
"Scram!"
With a simple wave of her hand, without even appearing to touch him, the Pig-face was sent flying as if struck by a Heavy Strike, crashing into a nearby wall.
"What!"
"This Little Girl can use magic power? Could she be a 'Holy Cultivator'?"
Seeing the Pig-face sent flying in one blow, the crowd finally realized this Silver-haired Girl meant business. They stood up from their seats as if facing a great enemy, staring warily at White Night.
However, White Night ignored them and walked straight toward the stage.
Everyone present was extremely cautious; not a single person went up to stop her. Until White Night stated her origins, they weren't in a hurry to make a move.
Even Li Ke was the same. As the organizer of the auction, he was more cautious than anyone.
The Silver-haired Girl before him seemed hostile, but she hadn't stated her purpose yet. If handled correctly, perhaps a conflict could be avoided.
"Little Girl, may I ask..."
Li Ke wanted to speak with her, but White Night acted as if she didn't even see him, passing right by him without any intention of acknowledging him.
White Night walked up to the cage, crouched down, and asked the young girl slave inside.
"What is your name?"
Though White Night's voice was gentle, her cold aura seemed to frighten the girl in the cage.
The girl hugged her knees, shrinking back with her head buried, not even daring to look at White Night.
"It's okay, I won't hurt you. Will you tell me your name?"
White Night saw the girl's cowardice and anxiety. She offered a smile, and her voice became even softer.
The girl seemed moved by White Night's gentleness. She slowly opened her mouth and spoke her name in a tiny voice.
"I... Iris..."
"Iris, that's a beautiful name."
White Night reached into the cage and gently stroked Iris's head. At first, she flinched, but under White Night's gentle touch, she finally lowered her guard and her body stopped trembling.
"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here right away."
"Uh, Little Girl, if you want to take her away, you need to bid. It must be at least higher than four hundred and sixty gold coins."
"Bid?"
White Night slowly stood up, looked at Li Ke, and spoke in an extremely cold tone.
"Didn't I already say? Your lives are the price I'm offering!"
"Wh-what do you mean?"
Li Ke panicked slightly. He already had a faint feeling that things might not end well tonight.
"According to the New Imperial Law, slave trading is prohibited within the Empire's borders; violators will be severely punished."
White Night looked at everyone present with a cold expression.
"None of you should think about leaving today. Wait obediently for the punishment of the Imperial Law."
"Little beauty, you just know how to use a bit of magic power. Don't be too arrogant! Guards, take her down!"
Many of the nobles present had brought guards, and even Li Ke himself employed many thugs. Together, there were dozens of them.
Although these people were ordinary humans, taking down this Little Girl should be no problem.
Despite her suspected use of magic power, judging by her age, even if she were a 'Holy Cultivator,' she was likely just a beginner, only slightly stronger than an average person.
The nobles present didn't believe this Silver-haired Girl could cause much of a stir.
"Fine, I knew you wouldn't surrender without a fight."
White Night was now surrounded by guards. Her seemingly frail girl's body looked vulnerable before these burly guards.
Even so, there was no fear or cowardice on White Night's face.
On her exquisite face, besides indifference, the crowd could only see a hint of anger hidden beneath her icy exterior.
"Go!"
At someone's command, the crowd pounced on White Night Li Ke a pack of wolves onto a sheep.
"Hmph!"
White Night snorted coldly, and her entire aura underwent a world-shaking change!
If White Night had been Li Ke drifting snow moments ago, she was now an endless winter!
Accompanying White Night's icy aura was black magic power that appeared out of nowhere.
This magic power swirled around White Night Li Ke mist. With a wave of her hand, the magic surged toward the guards surrounding her.
The moment these guards touched the black magic power, it was as if they had inhaled a sedative; they immediately collapsed to the ground, unable to rise again.
"I forgot to mention, I am indeed a 'Holy Cultivator'—a Tenth-Rank Saint Cultivator!" In this world, anyone who can manipulate magic power, regardless of profession, age, or gender, is collectively called a Holy Cultivator.
The method of classifying combat power is also simple. Based on the maximum magic power a person can call upon, it is divided into Lower Ten Tiers, Middle Ten Tiers, Upper Ten Tiers, and Saint Ten Tiers.
Whether using magic power to strengthen the physical body, release spells, or any other method, the more magic power one calls upon, the higher the rank.
For humans, the Saint Rank Tenth Tier is the ultimate limit. Very few people can reach it; in the entire Holy Radiance Empire, only Empress Angelie and White Night have reached this level.
Therefore, for White Night, dealing with these guards didn't even require much effort; releasing a bit of magic power was enough to knock them unconscious.
"H-how is this possible!"
Seeing the guards collapse as if their strength had been drained, the crowd immediately panicked.
"Y-you said you are Saint Rank Tenth Tier? But the Empire only has two Saint Rank Tenth Tiers! Who... who exactly are you!"
"That's right, who are you! I'm warning you, I am a Marquis, a Marquis! Offending me will not end well for you!"
White Night ignored all of their words; she truly had no obligation to answer these stupid questions.
She waved her hand as if shooing flies, and the black magic power spread through the hall Li Ke fog.
In White Night's view, this level was enough to deal with these incompetent nobles who couldn't even use magic power.
Sure enough, the nobles who touched the black magic power collapsed unconscious one after another. They wanted to retreat, only to find that the iron door they came through was the only exit.
"Get lost, all of you get lost! Don't block the way!"
"You get lost! Make way for this Marquis!"
The crowd scrambled toward the iron door, pushing and trampling each other, everyone wanting to leave before the others.
However, when they reached the door, they found that black magic power had also risen around the iron door, blocking their path.
"I told you, none of you should think about leaving today!"
The Silver-haired Girl's cold voice echoed throughout the hall. Though her voice was melodious and pleasant, at this moment, it struck everyone's hearts Li Ke a heavy hammer.
"Open your eyes and look around. When you wake up again, it might just be in prison."
"Are you joking!"
Finally, a noble realized he couldn't escape, pulled out a fruit knife he carried, and decided to fight back!
However, resistance was ultimately futile. White Night looked at the fellow charging at her with a knife and waved her hand again.
The black magic power in the hall gave him special attention, wrapping him tightly with extreme speed.
No matter how unwilling he was, he was ultimately no match for White Night's methods and fell to the ground with a thud.
Without the protection of guards, these nobles were Li Ke lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
Before long, besides White Night, the only ones still conscious in the hall were Li Ke and Iris.
Iris remained awake because White Night had specifically made the black magic power avoid her. As for Li Ke, she wasn't ready for him to collapse just yet; White Night still had questions for him.
"Y-you can use black magic power!"
By now, Li Ke was already shivering with fear, slumped on the ground and unable to stand.
"Y-you monster!"
Hearing his words, White Night was slightly stunned. Monster? How long had it been since she last heard that word?
Ever since she started following Angelie, no one had called her that anymore.
White Night raised her hand and looked at the black magic power swirling around it. Since these fellows were destined for prison, she hadn't bothered to hide the color of her magic power; its blackness was clearly visible today.
For humans, magic power comes in many colors—holy white, magnificent gold, fiery red—different people manipulate magic of different colors.
However, this didn't usually affect anything; for humans, the color of magic power was generally irrelevant.
But there was one color of magic power that the people of the Holy Radiance Empire could not tolerate: black.
In the ancient legends of the Holy Radiance Empire, those with black magic power were calamities of heaven and earth, glitches in the laws; they would bring terrible misfortune, and no one who approached them would come to a good end!
...A very foolish legend, but most people in the Holy Radiance Empire believed it firmly. They didn't hate the color black itself—in fact, due to the influence of the Black Night Knights, black was a very popular color in the Empire.
But black magic power was something the people of the Empire could never accept!
In truth, people with black magic power were very rare; in the Empire's long history, they could be counted on one's fingers.
Unfortunately, White Night happened to be one of them.
"If my magic power weren't black, maybe I wouldn't have been abandoned by my family..."
Seeing White Night lost in thought, Li Ke's eyes darted around as he tried to crawl away and escape.
However, White Night casually waved her hand, and the black magic power wrapped around him Li Ke a rope.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave; I still have questions." Li Ke wasn't a tough man to begin with. After White Night made a small cut on his wrist to let him feel his life draining away, he spilled everything he knew.
This included the source of the slaves, the backers behind them, how many nobles had participated in the auctions, and so on.
To White Night's slight relief, the scale of the involvement was smaller than she had imagined. The highest-ranking nobles were only two Marquises, and they were all currently collapsed here.
It seemed that when Angelie handled this later, it wouldn't be too troublesome; her methods would be enough to deal with it.
Having obtained what she wanted, White Night called upon her magic power to knock Li Ke unconscious as well, while also stopping his bleeding.
White Night didn't intend to let him die now; he would face the sanctions of the Imperial Law along with all the nobles lying here.
In the letter White Night had ordered the middle-aged man to deliver this morning, she had detailed everything here. If nothing went wrong, Angelie would likely send people in two days.
White Night's black magic power was enough to keep these nobles unconscious for five days and nights; they would have no chance to escape.
Only then could White Night leave with peace of mind to go about her own business.
"For the coming period, I'm afraid Angelie will be quite busy..."