CHAPTER 107 — PRESSURE
Five spirit stones.
The number settled into the hall and stayed there.
No one rushed to answer it. Chairs creaked softly as people shifted, not out of comfort, but to see better. The attention that had been fixed on the stage drifted, pulled instead toward the one who had spoken.
Leylin followed that movement.
Three rows from the front, the young man sat upright, his robe uncreased, his posture steady. From a distance, he looked composed. Up close, it was something else. His shoulders held too firmly, his breathing measured just a little too carefully.
As he adjusted his arm, the fabric at his sleeve slid back.
Someone nearby leaned forward.
A second glance followed. Then a third.
Heads didn't turn all at once. They shifted gradually, one after another, each person confirming what the last had noticed.
The young man remained still.
Across the hall, the second bidder had not changed at all. He sat as he had from the start, one arm resting loosely, gaze forward, untouched by the weight gathering in the room.
Five spirit stones. Do I hear more?
The host's voice moved through the silence without disturbing it.
For a moment, nothing answered.
Then the young man drew in a breath and leaned forward slightly.
"My friend,I really need this shard to set up my foundation,if you would Show me some face..
This time, his voice carried.
It reached further than before, enough to draw the full attention of the hall. A few nodded faintly, already understanding what he was trying to do. Not just a bid. A statement.
He held that moment.
Then I, Varian, will..
"Ten spirit stones"
The words entered cleanly.
Varian did not finish.
His voice stopped where it was, the rest of it left unspoken.
For a second, no one reacted.
Not confusion. Not shock.
Just a pause that held a fraction longer than it should have.
Then someone shifted.
Another turned.
The movement spread, slow and uneven, until the room had fully turned toward the second bidder.
Varian's hand tightened against the armrest.
He didn't look away.
Across from him, the other young man sat exactly as before. No change in posture. No effort to meet the gaze that had fallen on him.
Only when the attention settled did he move.
A slight adjustment. Nothing more.
Enough for the sleeve of his robe to catch the light.
This time, people looked properly.
The pattern there wasn't loud. It didn't need to be. The threads drew inward, precise and deliberate, holding the eye at the center where the emblem rested.
Someone near the aisle leaned closer.
A breath caught.
Another voice followed, lower.
Recognition didn't come all at once.
It settled.
Varian's jaw tightened further.
Whatever he had been about to say no longer mattered.
He remained seated, posture intact, but the air around him had shifted. The space he had tried to take no longer held.
Across from him, the other bidder leaned back at last, settling into his chair as if nothing of consequence had happened.
The decision had already been made.
Ten spirit stones.
The host spoke again, more measured now.
Going once.
No one moved.
Going twice.
Varian said nothing.
The hall did not look at him anymore.
Sold.
The word closed over the moment.
No applause followed. No noise broke the air. People leaned back slowly, the tension easing without release, as if everyone had understood something they had not expected to witness so plainly.
Beside Leylin, a quiet sound slipped through.
A soft, restrained laugh.
He didn't look at her.
His gaze remained on the floor below.
Varian still sat upright. His posture hadn't broken. His expression hadn't shifted. Only the space around him had changed. It no longer responded to him.
Leylin said nothing,but his gaze lifted, moving across the hall, then settling briefly on the one who had spoken last.
He noticed how no one questioned him.
No one interrupted, everyone just... accepted,now that,was influence!
Leylin exhaled quietly.
The difference settled in without resistance.
It wasn't about who could pay.
It was about who could speak and have it stand.