Chapter Twelve: Ominous Plots Begin to Surface

As Su Yi’s mind drifted, a maid emerged quietly from the inner chamber of the transaction room, holding a silver tray in both hands. On the tray rested a golden bank card that shimmered faintly.

These bank cards, in essence, were little different from storage rings commonly found on the continent—they could both be used to store items. The bank card, however, was specifically designed for storing gold coins and boasted a few additional management features, such as facilitating transfers between cards. Due to the complexity of their craftsmanship, bank cards were often far more expensive than storage rings. Thus, unless one was dealing with vast sums of gold or desired a swift and meticulous way to manage their wealth, most would opt for a storage ring for their more modest possessions. After all, storage rings could hold nearly anything and preserve it for an exceptionally long time, making them highly versatile.

Yet whether it was a bank card or storage ring, Su Yi, after more than three years here, possessed neither. Even the most basic storage ring fetched eighty thousand gold coins on the market—a fortune Su Yi had yet to amass through his own hard work.

When the maid drew near, Mei Ya’s snow-white arm slipped from her fiery red sleeve as she picked up the card, glanced at it, and smiled. Turning to Su Yi, she said, “Because this is an advanced Profound-rank combat technique, we’ve deducted the ten percent fee as per the rules. That leaves six hundred and thirty thousand gold coins. Su Yi, make sure to hand this gold card to the seller.”

“Uh… oh!” Su Yi snapped back to himself and stepped forward to receive it. Suddenly, he was struck by the stark contrast between that impossibly white arm and the blazing red gown—like snow and fire—visually stunning in its intensity.

He found himself momentarily dazed, staring blankly at Mei Ya without a word.

Seeing his look, Mei Ya let out a little laugh, her eyes twinkling with playful charm. “What’s the matter, Su Yi? Are you captivated by my body?”

“Ah!” Embarrassed, Su Yi scratched his head awkwardly. “You must think me foolish, Sister Mei Ya. But with your background, I doubt many would dare harbor ill intentions toward you.”

“You’re curious about my identity?” Mei Ya asked, interest piqued.

Su Yi hesitated. “If you’d rather not say…”

Mei Ya laughed softly. “It’s no burden to tell you, but are you sure you want to know?”

Su Yi furrowed his brow, lowered his head for a moment, and finally shook it. “Best not. At my level, knowing would only bring trouble. When I’m strong enough, your identity will no longer matter. Then, I’ll face you as an equal.”

Mei Ya smiled silently as she saw the determination and light growing in Su Yi’s gaze.

“Alright, go see the seller. Don’t keep him waiting,” she said with a gentle wave.

“Yes, I’ll go at once,” Su Yi replied, turning to leave the transaction room.

…

Stepping outside, Su Yi made his way toward the appraisal chamber. It wasn’t close, and not wanting the black-robed man to grow impatient, he quickened his pace.

Thinking of the black-robed figure brought Mei Ya’s earlier attitude to mind. Though he was no longer treated as an honored alchemist, anyone able to offer an advanced Profound-rank combat technique was certainly extraordinary. Yet, from their conversation, Mei Ya didn’t seem particularly impressed. Wasn’t it common for powerful families to seek out strong allies?

Could it be that Mei Ya’s family was so powerful they no longer needed such allies? Su Yi shook his head. Few families would ever worry about having too many friends; the stronger the house, the greater the enemies. If anything, such families needed allies even more. In his three years in Changling City, however, Su Yi had rarely seen Mei Ya attempt to befriend anyone—she always kept a certain distance.

It was hard to believe Mei Ya had no influence in the Yousiman family. The occasional aura of command she exuded was no pretense. Which left only one explanation: the mysterious old man simply hadn’t impressed her.

Su Yi had always thought Mei Ya’s standards high; now he realized they were even higher than he’d imagined.

As he pondered this, Su Yi entered the appraisal room. The black-robed man still sat there, fully concealed. When Su Yi walked in, the dark robe shifted slightly, and a dry voice issued from beneath the black hat: “The auction is over?”

“Yes,” Su Yi replied, stepping forward to present the gold card with both hands. “After deducting the seventy thousand gold coin fee, the remaining six hundred and thirty thousand is on this card.”

A subtle gaze seemed to sweep across the card from within the robe, then a voice tinged with amusement replied, “A bank card of such value right from the start—worthy of an auction house under the Yousiman family…”

The old man then drew his own gold card from his robe, lightly swiping it over the one Su Yi had given. From Su Yi’s perspective, the numbers “76” and the four zeros following them in the lower right corner of the original card vanished, leaving only a single zero visible.

“Sir… what’s this?” Su Yi asked uncertainly. According to auction house rules, if the sale exceeded six hundred thousand, the seller received a bank card free of charge. There was nothing wrong with the card he’d brought, but it seemed the old man had no intention of keeping it. Su Yi couldn’t help but ask.

The black-robed man gave a chilling laugh and waved his hand. “It’s nothing. I simply have some experience with soul techniques. It’s not unheard of for people to leave soul marks on storage items for tracking. It’s not that I don’t trust your auction house—I’m only being cautious.”

What a careful man, Su Yi thought, growing even more suspicious of the old man’s identity.

“But if that’s the case, couldn’t you just remove any soul marks yourself?” Su Yi asked, his curiosity piqued by the mention of soul techniques.

“Soul matters are wondrous and mysterious,” the old man began, sounding as though he had opened a well of stories. “Take soul marks, for instance. Some are easy to erase, some are nearly impossible. But the most troublesome are the ones you can’t see—hidden, deceptive marks. Sometimes, a mark you think you’ve erased is merely hidden, not gone. There can be a dozen or more such hidden traps. These covert marks are the real headache.”

“What’s more, it all depends on one’s own strength. If the person who set the mark is far beyond you in power, you may never be able to remove it. Of course, soul power is unique—even if there’s a difference in strength, it doesn’t necessarily mean the soul techniques differ as much. If you’ve mastered advanced soul combat techniques, the gap might not matter at all.”

“Soul combat techniques?” Su Yi echoed.

“Exactly!” the old man’s voice rose, tinged with excitement. “According to ancient records, there once existed a Heaven-rank soul technique grasped only by those at the Void or Divine level. Its power was said to give absolute mastery over the mind. Abilities like reading memories, brainwashing, telepathy, erasing recollections, strengthening will, reconstructing thoughts, altering emotions—none of these were beyond its reach!”

“Sadly, such techniques are almost impossible to learn. Few ever mastered them, and they were later deemed evil and forbidden, sparking epochal wars. The knowledge was lost long ago. What a pity…” the old man finished with a sigh.

While the old man lamented, Su Yi felt a chill. Such a perverse technique—if wielded by someone with ill intent—could turn people into slaves, more obedient than dogs. If someone used it to conquer the world, existence would be hellish indeed.

Thankfully, it had been lost to time. Su Yi breathed a sigh of relief, growing even more certain the old man was not to be trusted.

As these thoughts swirled, he felt a sudden weight on his shoulder. The old man’s chilling voice followed: “Heh heh, young man, that’s enough for now. Until we meet again…”

Su Yi looked up to find the old man had already risen and stood before him. For an instant, Su Yi thought he glimpsed a wicked smile.

Staring after the old man’s departing figure, Su Yi failed to notice a wisp of black mist on his left shoulder, slowly seeping into his body…

Martial Peak, Chapter 12: Ominous Signs Emerge! End of update.