Chapter 49: Passing Off the Fake as Real

Viola was astonished in her heart—what did "there's a trick" mean?

Her eyes, looking at Lei En, were full of puzzlement. After a moment's hesitation, she decided to trust Lei En and stopped in her tracks, not going over.

Lei En had wanted to say directly "it's fake," but he couldn't explain how, from so far away, he could determine the authenticity of the Giant's Soul.

Just now, when the Ice Sorcerer said "Earth Pulse," he had carefully examined the soul stone in the other party's hand.

This demon soul was indeed extraordinary—a high-tier demon soul possessing four Elements!

Aside from one that resembled Earth Pulse, the other three Elements were "Seismic Wave," "Stone Burst," and enhanced "Strength."

These Elements combined had unmistakable characteristics, enough to make anyone believe it was a Mountain Giant's demon soul.

But it was not!

What made Lei En most suspicious was that "Earth Pulse." After deliberately sensing it, he discovered that this Element was indeed related to the earth, but it was not Earth Pulse and did not possess so many powerful abilities.

This Element allowed one to sense vibrations in the ground, thereby learning about the movement of things nearby.

In other words, this Element was merely one of the many abilities granted by Earth Pulse, and the weakest one at that.

Very coincidentally, this Element's rune was nearly identical to Earth Pulse's, with only the slightest difference in the fine details. Unless one was a Soul Appraiser very familiar with Earth Pulse, an ordinary person would never be able to tell.

But how many people had seen the Element rune of Earth Pulse?

The contents recorded in the Book of a Thousand Souls, after all, were not as real as seeing it with one's own eyes, nor was one likely to remember every detail of each Element.

Lei En didn't know what this Element was called, but he could confirm that it definitely was not Earth Pulse.

Though this was also a rare-tier Element, its value differed from a peerless Element by more than tenfold. The entire demon soul's price would not exceed two thousand gold.

Most crucially, it was not a Mountain Giant's demon soul either.

Based on Lei En's careful sensing, this demon soul's owner had been massive in life, over four meters tall, and was likely blood-related to Mountain Giants—most probably a mutated Highland Ogre.

Highland Ogres often lived adjacent to Mountain Giants, and the two groups were closely related.

Mountain Giants were not highly intelligent and occasionally mated indiscriminately when in heat, producing hybrid offspring with Ogres—such things had indeed happened before.

It was also possible for a mutated Ogre to inherit a portion of Earth Pulse's Elements.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. This demon soul was truly too similar to a Mountain Giant's—a perfect counterfeit. Even the most experienced Soul Appraiser would likely be fooled.

Lei En's thoughts raced—this must be a scam!

He used his Soul Eye to look at the Ice Sorcerer. This fellow appeared calm on the surface with a cold demeanor, but the color of his soul betrayed his true emotions—he was actually very nervous inside.

"Does he want to use this demon soul to swindle the Ring of Frostfire, or does he simply want to cheat money?"

Lei En was suspicious at first, then suddenly realized.

No matter whom the Ice Sorcerer intended to cheat, he first had to pass the appraisal of the House of Violet. If Lai Wen Si Te failed to see the problem with the demon soul and the deal was ultimately reached or converted into Gold Shields, then exposed afterward, the House of Violet would have to pay a large sum in compensation and ruin the auction's reputation.

"He's very likely targeting the auction."

"I can't let Lai Wen Si Te appraise it for him, or he'll be held responsible."

Lei En made a prompt decision. He quickly turned his head and scanned around but couldn't find Lai Wen Si Te. He probably still didn't know what was happening here and was resting in one of the trading rooms.

He leaned to Viola's ear and whispered, "Before I come back, whatever you do, don't step forward, and don't let Lai Wen Si Te come out to appraise it."

Viola felt a tickle at the base of her ear and forced herself to endure it, nodding slightly to show she understood.

Lei En slipped out of the crowd.

At this moment, everyone was watching Feilis and the Sorcerer haggling, and no one noticed him walk away.

He soon found Lai Wen Si Te in a trading room and said directly, "Mr. Lai Wen Si Te, Lady Viola asked me to tell you: unless she comes to find you in person, do not leave this room under any circumstances, and certainly don't appraise anyone's demon soul."

"Ah, why?"

The white-haired Lai Wen Si Te looked completely bewildered.

While speaking, Lei En also took the opportunity to observe Lai Wen Si Te's soul.

He suspected this scam might have accomplices. As the House of Violet's appraiser, Lai Wen Si Te was the most critical link in the scam. If he had been bought off, then his heart would surely be in turmoil at this moment.

Fortunately, it was not.

The color of Lai Wen Si Te's soul showed no change, indicating that he truly knew nothing.

Lei En did not explain why, only repeatedly emphasized that this was Viola's intention.

Lai Wen Si Te recognized Lei En and knew he had a good relationship with the boss. He was a good-tempered old Wizard, and the request was not unreasonable, so he agreed.

After all, he was just staying in the trading room resting—there was nothing to lose.

Lei En returned to the hall and stood behind Viola. By now, the Ice Sorcerer was still negotiating the price with Feilis, with no immediate intention of reaching a deal.

Feilis clearly wanted the Mountain Giant's demon soul very much.

Earth Pulse was an ability-type Element; both soul power and physical energy could activate it, with no restrictions, so it could also be extracted and made into a Law Seal, then fused into a Wizard's soul.

Comparatively, Earth Pulse was of course more suited for melee combatants, but it was also very useful for Wizards.

Reducing fatigue, rapid recovery, sustained endurance, boosting strength and defense—these could all compensate for a Wizard's weakness in close combat.

Not to mention that Earth Pulse also came with earth elemental affinity, raising resistance and increasing spell power. For an Elementalist, this was simply perfect.

If Feilis fused Earth Pulse into her soul, her strength would more than double!

This was the power of a peerless Element.

Feilis appeared too eager, wanting it too much. The Ice Sorcerer noticed this and kept raising the price, making Feilis pay more Gold Shields on top of the Ring of Frostfire.

From the initial two thousand gold and three thousand gold, the price had been raised to five thousand gold.

Feilis was no fool. No matter how wealthy she was, she wasn't willing to just give money away.

The two were at a standoff.

By normal reasoning, Viola, as the host, should have stepped forward at this point. But after hearing Lei En's warning, she too had grown suspicious and was only observing for now.

She kept watching that soul stone, but since she hadn't handled it personally, she couldn't see anything amiss.

Viola turned back and gave Lei En a look—the meaning was clear: where's the problem?

Lei En wasn't sure how to explain either. After a moment's thought, he said in a barely audible voice, "He's a Bloodline Sorcerer—why doesn't he fuse the demon soul himself?"

As a sorcerer capable of casting spells, Earth Pulse likewise applies, and it is an outstanding earth-element bloodline, with a value far exceeding that of a top-grade enchanted ring.

Even an ice sorcerer could still gain an additional elemental bloodline; ice and earth dual elements would absolutely not be bad.

"Missing blood?" Viola guessed.

The special nature of a blood-source sorcerer meant that fusing a demon soul required simultaneously absorbing the blood of that demon soul, in order to obtain the complete bloodline and abilities.

"Do you think that's possible?" Lei En did not believe this reason at all. An extraordinary being who killed a mountain giant to obtain its demon soul would never forget to collect some of its blood—this was common sense.

Viola did not speak further; she already believed Lei En's words.

"You've already given instructions on Lai Wen Si Te's side, right?"

After receiving Lei En's confirmation, her gaze quietly swept over many people, as if observing their subtle facial expressions.

Lei En silently admired how Viola was truly sharp and clever, already guessing that this might be a scam targeting her, secretly searching for the ice sorcerer's accomplice.

"Who is this sorcerer?" he asked in a low voice.

Viola replied softly, "Helini, arrived from 'Mo Du' a few months ago, a regular customer at the shop."

Mo Du was located on the eastern coast of the Empire, ranked alongside the capital 'Nuosiruier' as the Empire's two largest cities, and was also the trade capital with the most prosperous economy and the largest population in the entire world.

Lei En nodded and said nothing more.

An outsider who had only recently arrived in Longshande could run away at any time if the scam succeeded, making this sorcerer even more suspicious.

He opened his Soul Eye and carefully swept it across the crowd, confirming that the legendary Wizard overseeing the trade fair was not here, before boldly searching for his target.

Through the color of one's soul, a person's true emotions could be determined.

The first to be eliminated was Feilis.

This woman wore her inner thoughts almost entirely on her face; her soul was largely orange, showing that she was currently very agitated and very excited, desperately wanting the mountain giant's demon soul.

If she were Helini's accomplice, Helini would never have haggled for so long; he would have agreed to the trade long ago.

Lei En observed the others. The soul colors of the vast majority of customers were very stable, predominantly relaxed green, showing a spectator's mindset.

Only one person stood out conspicuously, their soul color changing rapidly, with severe emotional fluctuations.

"Ga Luo Wei Na? Viola's uncle?"

Lei En was very surprised. Ga Luo Wei Na was also watching the spectacle nearby, occasionally exchanging a few low words with friends beside him, holding a glass of red wine, smoking a cigar, looking thoroughly at ease.

If not for the Soul Eye, no one would have been able to tell that at this moment Ga Luo Wei Na's mood was swinging like a roller coaster, his soul color shifting rapidly among green, orange, red, and black—joy, anticipation, resentment, disgust, tension—like a great vat of dyes.

Additionally, Lei En noticed that Ga Luo Wei Na was very discreetly keeping an eye on Viola.

Before he could remind Viola, Ga Luo Wei Na could no longer hold back and came over on his own initiative, smiling: "Viola, why don't you step forward to help them close the deal? Such a large sum is not common."

"I want to wait for them to finish negotiating first."

Viola's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Lei En knew she was beginning to suspect her own uncle.

"Opportunities like this are rare; you should seize it." Ga Luo Wei Na's expression turned more serious, putting on the airs of an elder to lecture her.

Right at this moment, Helini seemed to have received a signal and said coldly, "Fine, I'll take a step back. The Frostfire Ring plus four thousand gold, and this demon soul is yours."

Feilis showed delight and immediately agreed, "Deal."

Helini looked at Viola and said, "Ma'am, please appraise this demon soul, and ask Mr. Lai Wen Si Te to come over."

In Lei En's eyes, Helini and Ga Luo Wei Na shifted almost in sync, their soul colors a deep cyan, extremely nervous inside.

This confirmed to him beyond doubt that the two were in cahoots.

Viola had wanted to refuse Helini's request, but seeing that Feilis seemed a bit displeased, her eyes shifted and she thought of an idea.

"Alright," she agreed verbally, called over a female waitress, whispered a few instructions, and the waitress immediately walked away.

To onlookers, Viola was having the waitress go fetch a soul appraiser.

But Lei En heard it clearly—she was actually telling the waitress to have Lai Wen Si Te stay in the trading room and absolutely not come out.

After giving her instructions, Viola walked over and smiled at Feilis: "Congratulations, Miss Feilis, on obtaining the mountain giant's demon soul. This is trust in our trade fair, and even more so, support."

Lei En nearly laughed out loud when he heard this.

This was no congratulations—it was plainly meant to provoke Feilis.

Sure enough, Feilis's expression immediately darkened, and her good mood from obtaining Earth Pulse vanished entirely.

She had come to the trade fair today to steal the spotlight and crash the event; she never expected she'd still have to hand money to Viola.

If the deal went through, she and Helini would have to pay a service fee, which calculated proportionally would exceed one thousand Gold Shields!

Looking at the beaming Viola, Feilis wanted nothing more than to slam a Fireball into that face that drove her mad with jealousy.

After gritting her teeth for a moment, she finally could not hold back and called out, "No need for your appraisal, I'll do it myself."

As soon as these words came out, the entire room was in uproar, and many people's expressions changed.

Lei En had been secretly watching Ga Luo Wei Na and Helini; their expressions changed wildly, then were concealed again in an instant.

If the House of Violet did not handle the transaction and did not perform an appraisal, then regardless of the outcome, the House of Violet would not bear any responsibility.

This was clearly not what Ga Luo Wei Na wanted to see.

Lei En could also confirm that this scam was aimed at Viola, and the mastermind behind it was Ga Luo Wei Na.

"No."

Helini immediately voiced his opposition, saying with displeasure, "Miss Feilis, doing this is a bit unreasonable, isn't it? We are all Miss Viola's friends, and concluding a deal at her establishment—paying the service fee is only proper."

"Besides, you're not a professional soul appraiser either. If no appraisal is done, then I won't sell…"

Before he could finish, Feilis interrupted him: "Who says I'm not a soul appraiser? I've seen more demon souls than you've had meals."

She suddenly reached out and grabbed; the soul stone in Helini's hand flew up, startling him so much that his whole body trembled and he instinctively tried to snatch it back, but the soul stone dodged as if it had a will of its own, missing by a hair's breadth.

"What a formidable Hand of Soul Sense." Some discerning customers recognized the spell.

Feilis smugly caught the soul stone, held it before her, and began observing it very carefully.

"You…"

Helini was both anxious and furious, yet did not dare to stop Feilis's appraisal—doing so would make him appear very guilty, and if it were exposed that the demon soul was fake, he might lose his very life right here.

Ga Luo Wei Na in the crowd grew even more frantic, almost hopping up on his feet, yet he could not step forward.

Amid the two's uneasy anxiety, Feilis quickly completed the appraisal and smiled with satisfaction, "Indeed, it's the Earth Pulse!"

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, the soul stone in her hand vanished, replaced by four exquisite golden banknotes.

"Spatial equipment!" someone shouted.

People couldn't help but exclaim that the Wizards of ParrasFloatingCity are truly wealthy; Feilis even carries spatial equipment, a treasure comparable to epic gear.

The four golden banknotes flew up, wrapped around the Ring of Frostfire, and settled steadily into Helini's stunned hands.

Feilis said proudly, "These are gold tickets from the Empire Bank, each worth 1,000 Gold Shields, redeemable at any bank, and I've also included the Frostfire Ring for you; take a look yourself."

Finishing, she glared provocatively at Viola.

Viola pretended to be extremely angry, but out of decorum she couldn't utter a single word.

Lei En decided to add fuel to the fire, stepped forward pointing at Feilis, and deliberately shouted, "Ms. Feilis, since you refuse to pay the service fee, this transaction has no connection to the Violet House and carries no guarantee."

"The deal I'm making is my own business; what does it have to do with you?"

Feilis, having obtained the Earth Pulse Element and saved over a thousand gold by striking Viola, was riding a wave of triumph; her demeanor grew increasingly arrogant, she abandoned even basic courtesy, tore off any pretense, and spoke whatever she wanted.

Viola's expression grew even worse, though inside she could not be any happier.

She had been waiting for Feilis to say that; if anything goes wrong later, she can block it with that sentence and bear no responsibility.

So many people heard it; Feilis can't deny it, let alone use the chance to tarnish the reputation of the Violet House.

"Lei En reacted quickly, knew what I was after, so we were in sync," Viola thought.

If she herself lured Feilis into saying that, it would seem contrived, as if deliberately framing Feilis, and later people would suspect her of being the mastermind of the scheme.

At that moment, Feilis sized up the strikingly handsome Lei En, and a jealous fire flared intensely within her.

She sneered, "What are you, a worthless freeloader? Get out of my way!"

A stir broke out in the hall as patrons' gazes swept between Lei En and Viola, some looking amused, some enviously, while others glared at Lei En.

Viola offered no explanation, but issued a dismissal: "You're not welcome here; please leave."

Feilis snorted, waved her hand as soul energy surged, and seconds later a portal appeared before her; she stepped through and vanished, leaving the onlookers staring at each other.

In the crowd, Helini, holding the Ring of Frostfire and the gold ticket, began trembling, his face turning deathly pale, showing no joy at the completed deal.

A short distance away, Ga Luo Wei Na's complexion turned a deep iron blue.