Yan Qing couldn’t quite remember. He leaned slightly toward Shang Xinlei and whispered, “What were their last stored points again…” “White Fox: 7 points. Black Wolf: 25 points.” Shang Xinlei covered her mouth as she replied, her voice filled with schadenfreude: “This is going to be a good show.” In other words, Black Wolf had gained 55 thief points from this mission, while White Fox had earned 79 — but didn’t the two of them act together? How did a 24-point gap appear? Medicine Master Wen clenched both fists tightly. The Tiger Armguards that Yan Qing had just given her now glowed with a misty blue light, manifesting the appearance of a Tiger Beast. On the way here, Shang Xinlei had secretly explained to him that the Tiger Armguards possessed three powers — but the most important one was ‘Tiger Empowerment’, which added the strength of a tiger’s claw to the next attack without consuming spirit energy. However, it required the Messenger to erupt with enough force from both hands to awaken the tiger beast soul within. Even among Third-Stage Messengers, many martial artists found it difficult to unleash the power of the Tiger Armguards. That’s why this Third-Stage Rare Token had remained sealed in the underground treasury. Yet, Medicine Master Wen easily met the requirement simply by sitting there and clenching her fists. It showed how perfectly suited the token was for her — how rich her vital energy and blood were, how ferocious her rage was! Medicine Master Wen took a deep breath, but still couldn’t suppress her emotions. Through gritted teeth, she said, “I need an explanation. If we had earned the same number of points, I could accept it. But I clearly contributed the most — why did you end up with so many more points than I did?” Ying Ru Shi raised three fingers. “The first — the ambush location was arranged by me. It played a decisive role in our battle with Shang Xuanwen, even more critical than the battle itself. That’s ten points.” “What about the other five?” Medicine Master Wen pressed impatiently, “There’s nowhere else! What else did you do better than me!?” Ying Ru Shi didn’t reply. Her eyes under the White Fox Mask glanced sideways toward Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei. Medicine Master Wen froze. “Don’t tell me…” “Correct,” Ying Ru Shi nodded, unable to suppress a smile. “The Thieves’ House acknowledged my idea and rewarded me five thief points.” At the bottom of Ying Ru Shi’s settlement list was the following evaluation: 『Leader’s Bearing: You convinced your teammates to rescue others. 5 points』 Although she hadn’t done it for the reward, seeing the Thieves’ House recognize her belief in teamwork did bring Ying Ru Shi a flicker of joy. More importantly, this five-point gap had decisively secured her victory in the battle for the Heaven-Reliant Sword. Medicine Master Wen said nothing more. She sat silently on the chair, her head lowered, staring at the stone table — like a mute statue of stone. Yet she was even more terrifying now than moments ago, like a dormant volcano, and once it erupted, it would bring destruction and death without end. Yan Qing swallowed hard. He didn’t know if the Thieves’ House permitted fighting, and he certainly didn’t want them to test it out. So he quickly changed the subject: “I’ve gathered a lot of tokens. If you see something useful later, you can name your price and buy it off me.” “Exactly.” Shang Xinlei no longer dared to enjoy the show. “I’m from Jiangnan, and these stolen goods are hard to sell. I’ll need your help.” What Yan Qing said wasn’t just to appease Medicine Master Wen. This batch of loot was genuinely troublesome. Although he had a Treasure-Hunting Token, he hadn’t checked these items' system information, so he couldn’t list them. But there was a workaround — like creating an alternate character in Jiangnan, handing the loot to Shang Xinlei, and having her give it to the alt, which would then send the loot into the system warehouse. But if they could fence the goods directly within the Thieves’ House, all that trouble could be skipped. As far as he could tell, both Black Wolf and White Fox were loaded. He was probably the only one here who genuinely needed to work to survive. Ying Ru Shi said nothing. She understood Medicine Master Wen’s feelings. Wen had been so confident, so untouchable — only to be utterly humiliated moments later. Of course she’d feel hatred. Though the Thieves’ House acknowledged Ying Ru Shi’s contributions more, she knew in her heart that she hadn’t truly done better than Medicine Master Wen — this time was just luck. And Medicine Master Wen wasn’t wrong. Her pride came from her strength and contribution. If their roles were reversed, Ying Ru Shi would feel the same — that this was a grievous humiliation, one that had to be washed away with blood. That’s how precious dignity was. If it had been any other Legendary Token, Ying Ru Shi might have given it up, since team harmony was worth more than momentary gain. But the Heaven-Reliant Sword was too important. She couldn’t give it up. She could only stay silent — because anything she said would only add fuel to the fire. At that moment, a glowing disc opened on the Thieves’ House ceiling, lowering four items that immediately caught everyone’s attention. 「Based on the thieves’ mission performance, the Thieves’ House has selected four items from the treasury as bonus rewards.」 「Quantity: Seven pills」 「Effect: Increases comprehension by 30 points, lasts seven days.」 「Evaluation: After eating one, you’ll want more.」 「Essence of the Red Furnace」 「Usage: Legendary Tokens only」 「Effect: Raises the grade of a Legendary Token by one stage, but permanently reduces its durability. The higher the grade, the more durability lost.」 「Evaluation: True gold fears no fire, and the Red Furnace fears no gold.」 「Random Secret Technique Book」 「Usage: Must have at least one advanced skill mastered」 「Effect: Based on your skills, instantly comprehend a Secret Technique you haven’t learned.」 「Evaluation: What suits you might be the best, but not necessarily the strongest.」 「Life-Preserving Pill」 「Effect: When receiving fatal damage, retains 1 point of absolute HP. This HP is immune to bleeding and other damage-over-time effects, and can only be harmed by direct attacks. The effect is permanent until triggered. Until then, other similar pills have no effect.」 ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⟡𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵 「Evaluation: A byproduct of the Heavens’ attempt to craft an Immortality Pill — far from the real thing.」 Four items — one more than last time — and each with significant upgrades! Forget the Comprehension Pill for now — both the Essence of the Red Furnace and the Secret Technique Book were exactly what Yan Qing needed. The former could enhance Bingzi Pepper Forest; the latter, combined with the Secret Technique Book: Left Curve, Right Sweep, could help Yan Qing quickly master two Secret Techniques and pave the way to his Third Job Change! The final Life-Preserving Pill was also hard to give up. Once consumed, its effect would last until triggered — essentially granting him another life. Combined with a Return Token, even if Yan Qing got ambushed by a Foundation Messenger during an outside mission, he’d still have a slim chance of survival! Every single one was immensely useful, every single one a necessity. Yan Qing regretted again why he’d wasted time running around with Shang Xinlei — now look at him, not only did he fail to get the Heaven-Reliant Sword, he’d probably only afford one of these four items! 「All reward items from this mission are as follows: Heaven-Reliant Sword, Comprehension Pill (x7), Essence of the Red Furnace, Random Secret Technique Book, Life-Preserving Pill.」 「Now begins the auction phase. You may bid on the items using Thief Points. Minimum bid: 10 points. Each raise must be at least 5 points. Thieves who’ve already won a bid will have bidding priority in the next round.」 「First item: Heaven-Reliant Sword. Please place your bids.」 Unlike last time, the hall fell into silence after the Thieves’ House made its announcement. Ying Ru Shi said nothing, merely looking quietly at Medicine Master Wen. They said nothing, and as outsiders, neither Yan Qing nor Shang Xinlei dared break the silence. After a long while, Medicine Master Wen slowly exhaled. “This time, I admit defeat.” She enunciated each word. “But next time, I will never lose again.” “Looking forward to it.” Ying Ru Shi smiled. “I bid 80 points,” said Medicine Master Wen. “I bid 85!” Ying Ru Shi immediately followed. 「White Fox bids 85 points for the Heaven-Reliant Sword」 「No one present can outbid 85 thief points. The Heaven-Reliant Sword goes to White Fox.」 Under everyone’s envious gazes, the Heaven-Reliant Sword floated from above the stone table and landed in front of Ying Ru Shi, who gripped it. She drew the sword more than halfway out, letting everyone admire its sharp edge before slowly sheathing it again and tying it at her waist. Then she raised her hands near the chair to show that she neither would nor could participate in the remaining bidding. The other three turned their eyes back to the stone table, staring at the four floating reward items. They knew that what came next in the Thieves’ bidding… would be a face-ripping storm of blood and fury!