After class, Travis wandered toward the Ascension Auction Hall.
It was massive. Like, cathedral of money massive.
Tall ceiling. Polished marble floors. Chandelier made of star-essence crystal.
Private rooms on the side, where shady deals and whispered trades happened between cultivators who trusted no one—including themselves.
He was here to window shop… but mostly, to dream.
In the distance, he saw it.
The Ascension Bank.
A tower so huge, it made mountains jealous. The walls gleamed. The carvings on it looked like they were drawn by gods mid-party. It was modern and ancient. Glorious and terrifying.
Travis gulped.
"Yeah… someday, I'll have a vault in there. Right now? I can't even afford a spirit snack."
But he smiled.
He'd come to the Verdant Matrix Empire a nobody.
But he wouldn't stay that way.
The auction hall was a kaleidoscope of chaos—chants, chatter, the occasional mystical explosion, and a chicken clucking somewhere ominously.
