Mysterious man

Looking towards the direction of the cry for help in curiosity, Ace saw a young man trying to chase after a masked man who was trying to run from the young man.

Worry was on the face of the young man whereas the masked man escaped by jumping onto one of the roofs.

To Ace's surprise however, none of the passersby bothered to pay attention to the situation going on, but when Ace scanned the area with his mental energy, he immediately understood the reason.

It wasn't a conspiracy, but because the masked man had made use of a talisman to cast an array which prevents anyone from seeing him and the young man for a few seconds.

It was a brief timing, but it was more than enough for the masked man to escape through the roofs.

One noteworthy thing worth mentioning is that even the temporary talisman that man casted would have cost up to tens of thousands of high grade spirit stones, for him to have depleted it without any hesitation only made the matter more suspicious.

Approaching the young man who was staring at the direction the masked man escaped from helplessly, Ace asked, "What happened?"

"That man ran away after stealing away the treasured item to be auctioned at the Peacock Auction Hall four days from now."

The young man realised his slip off the tongue and immediately turned towards Ace and tried to grab him by the neck, only for Ace to dodge it easily.

With a sly smile concealed behind his poker face, Ace figured that this masked man appeared at the perfect timing.

If he were to nab him and pass the masked man over to the Peacock Auction Hall, he would have helped them out greatly.

With just this favour alone, it would make future negotiations even easier especially when he has a set of plans to back up this immediate idea of his.

"I"ll help you capture that masked man, in return, I hope that there will be a favourable reward for me to collect at the Peacock Auction Hall."

"Sir, please show tokenat the Peacock Auction Hall to gain immediate entry through the guards." The young man reacted quickly and threw a golden token towards Ace who caught it as he landed on the roof with a silent thud.

His eyes fixated forward as he located the man through the footsteps he left on the roof.

If the masked man had been more alert or careful, things might have gotten trickier for Ace.

But it was apparent that the masked man had been too confident of himself, giving Ace the chance to pursue him through the footsteps he left behind.

In just a few seconds, Ace caught up to the masked man who had settled down at an alley.

The man knocked on a door which shouldn't even exist as he whispered what seemed like a code before entering the mysterious location through the door.

Oblivious to the people both inside and outside the door however, Ace had already sneaked into the mysterious location by stepping into the place when the masked man opened the door and entered.

The place was silent and pitch dark, but in order to not alert those who are within the room by gaining vision through his flames, Ace attempted to control his Nirvana flames to his eyes.

It was a risky approach and one fatal mistake here could mean blindness which leads to death, but this mystery was one he had to figure out since it might help him in obtaining the answers he was seeking.

Ace was tired of this, tired of searching for the answers which is nowhere to be seen in sight,

Maybe the answers would never be found? This worry came across his mind multiple times, but it has only been resurfacing stronger than before.

The Nirvana flames can be gentle or ferocious, it's all up to me to control it. Ace told himself as he first started off by lowering the intensity of the flames to the lowest he could.

After this step was done, Ace then tried to control the flames with his mind, directing a small amount of gentle flames to his eyes.

To his surprise and amazement, his eyes were fine from it and he was even seeing more clearly than before.

Deep down, he could hear a voice telling him, "Keep searching for it, the answers you seek exist."

"Shadow twenty one. Did you steal the object I ordered you to."

"Yes master."

"Did anyone follow you?"

"No master."

"Were you noticed by anyone?"

"Yes master."

"Was it a young man?"

"Yes master?"

"Did you use the talisman I gave you?"

"Yes master."

A conversation, brief between the so-called master and the shadow who was apparently the masked man was overheard by Ace.

"You're dismissed."

"Yes master."

The shadow vanished as though he had never appeared.

"Young boy, you don't belong here." The master who was speaking to his shadow just a moment ago, called out to Ace.

Knowing that lurking in the dark would only get him into more trouble at this point of time, Ace revealed himself before the threatening man.

That man was wearing a mask as well, cloaked in a black robe that covered his entire body.

"Young fella, how did you manage to enter this place?" The mysterious man asked in a voice devoid of any emotions.

"I followed your shadow here when he was entering the room." Ace replied honestly, his eyes staring into the soulful eyes of the mysterious man which held a story.

"I see, he failed me."

"He didn't, it was your talisman which failed you." Ace added on.

The mysterious man hesitated for a moment before saying, "Why must you court death at such a young age when life still has so much in stall for you?"

"All life has for me are challenges and mountains to overcome, and you are going to be another stepping stone of mine." Ace decided fearlessly as he unsheathed his sword, gathering the laughter of the mysterious man.

"Young fella, I shall not take your life today, as for the object which you were seeking, take it and leave." The mysterious man said coldly as he threw the object contained within a spirit box used for containing rare treasures or items towards Ace.

Ace caught it in the air, yet before he could ask any further questions, he realised that he was back in the alley by himself.

In his hands was a spirit box which most likely contained the item unique to the Peacock Auction Hall.

Unable to figure out the perplexing situation, Ace made the decision to just continue on with his plans first.

He was used to things not going his way after all, even though this was totally pathetic if he had to put it into words.

Walking up to a simple stall, Ace purchased a detailed map for a costly price of hundred high grade spirit stones.

The map wasn't this expensive to locals, but according to the rules and regulations of the Nebula Kingdom, the map must be sold at this price to all outsiders regardless of their identity.

Opening the map, Ace realised that the map was definitely worth the price.

To all four cardinal directions, there was a major reason to travel in each direction.

To the north was where the stargazing pool was at. The stargazing pool is a mysterious place in which one can draw a card which benefits or harm them.

Rumour has it that some have lost their lives to the stargazed card while some had their cultivation base soar immensely ever since receiving the stargaze card.

In the end, it was just a lottery in a cool fashion, but one which had actual impact in life and capable of causing injuries and even deaths.

To the east was a place known as the Abyssal Expeditions. It was a cultivation ground whereby phantoms of human cultivators or demon beasts can be formed as a training partner by paying the respective price.

Of course, the price increases the stronger the opponent is, but it was definitely worth the price based on the reviews of those who have benefited greatly until they finally stepped into the Martial King realm.

Only at that point of time would the Abyssal Expeditions be incapable of forming anymore phantoms worthy of being opponents for even the weakest Martial Kings.

To the south was where the majority of the elixirs, amulets, accessories, clothes, artefacts, weapons and many more apparels were sold. But one thing about all these is that all of them possess a unique effect that benefits the cultivator.

To the west was where the auctions halls are located alongside with a few other pavilions that sold everything that could be found in the Nebula Kingdom, but it is a place only for the strong as only high quality goods are sold in these pavilions at a hefty price.

Stopping before the Peacock Auction Hall, Ace remembered the token the young man had passed him in order to enter the auction hall smoothly.

"Young boy, this isn't a place you should be."