“One billion, meow!”
Lilia’s voice exploded through the amplification formation.
The entire Auction Hall instantly became so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.
Everyone stopped what they were doing.
Someone’s wine glass fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.
Someone else stood with their mouth agape, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
The auctioneer on stage held the gavel, his hand shaking uncontrollably.
One billion.
Those two words slammed into everyone’s minds, blasting them into a state of total blankness.
Lilia stood by the window of the private box, her head held high, her cat ears perked up proudly.
She scanned the dumbfounded demon moguls below, feeling an incredible surge of satisfaction.
Look at that.
This is what it feels like to be rich.
This is what it feels like to spend Lucia’s money however I want!
“One… One billion?!”
Finally, someone snapped out of it, their voice cracking.
“Is this insanity? Is a single dragon scale worth one billion?!”
“Whether it’s worth it doesn’t matter. What matters is… that lady can afford it!”
“No kidding! She’s spending Her Majesty’s money. The entire Empire is her personal ATM!”
Whispers began to spread through the hall.
Everyone looked toward Lilia, their shock turning into awe, and then into fear.
This little ancestor really does whatever she wants.
Meanwhile, in the neighboring box—
*Thud!*
A dull sound echoed.
Cracks spider-webbed across the wall.
Immediately after, Grand Duke Cassius’s heart-wrenching roar erupted.
“Aaaaaagh—!”
He had lost it.
Completely lost it.
The figure of one billion didn’t just crush his wallet.
It ground his dignity into the dirt.
A dignified Fourth-rank Grand Duke, the lord in charge of the entire Southern Mining Area of the Black Iron Mountains.
Today, he had been bullied into submission by the wealth of a cat-eared loli.
“Why… Why is this happening…”
His voice shifted from a roar to a sob, finally turning into a desperate, hollow murmur.
Lilia listened to the commotion next door, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons with laughter.
She turned around and skipped over to Lucia.
“Master! I was amazing, wasn’t I, meow!”
She raised the black ring on her finger and gave it a shake.
“One billion! I shouted one billion in a single breath, meow!”
Lucia set down her wine glass, her blood-red eyes fixed on her.
“Mm.”
Just a single word.
But it was enough for Lilia.
For this pervert to even give her a “not bad” was already an incredible amount of face.
“Let’s go.”
Lucia stood up and snapped her fingers.
A purple teleportation formation lit up beneath their feet.
As the light faded, they were back in the study of the Evernight Palace.
Lilith was already waiting there, holding a crystal box in her hands.
Inside the box, the pitch-black Void Dragon Inverse Scale lay quietly, a faint purple halo flowing over its surface.
Lilia stared at the scale, her eyes sparkling.
“Master, how do I… how do I use this, meow?”
She reached out, wanting to touch it.
“Don’t touch it.”
Lucia grabbed her wrist firmly.
“With your current body, if you touch this thing directly, you’ll be torn to shreds by the spatial power.”
Lilia pulled her hand back in fright.
“Then… Then what do I do, meow?”
“That’s why I need to help you.”
Lucia walked behind her, her fingers resting on the buttons of her gothic dress.
“Take off your clothes.”
Lilia’s body froze.
Again?
“Ma… Master, I don’t need to strip, do I, meow?” Her voice was trembling.
“The process of absorbing spatial power will tear your mana network apart and then reorganize it.”
Lucia’s fingers had already undone the first button.
“Your body will bleed, and your clothes will get dirty.”
She paused, leaning in close to Lilia’s ear.
“And of course, I don’t want your clothes blocking my view.”
Lilia’s face turned beet red instantly.
She knew it!
This pervert wasn’t afraid of the clothes getting dirty; she just wanted to watch her suffer!
But she didn’t dare resist.
She could only stand there stiffly, allowing those ice-cold hands to peel the clothes off her body piece by piece.
Soon, she was stark naked again.
“Lie face down.”
Lucia pointed toward the carpet.
Lilia bit her lip and lay down.
The cool carpet pressed against her skin, making her whole body shiver.
Lucia picked up the dragon scale and knelt beside her.
She didn’t start immediately.
Instead, she reached out, her hand sliding all the way down Lilia’s back.
Her fingertips traced her waist and stopped on her perked-up buttocks.
“Meow!”
Lilia’s tail puffed up.
“Your body is afraid.”
Lucia’s finger drew circles on her skin.
“But at the same time, it’s also anticipating.”
“I am not, meow!”
Lilia buried her face in the carpet, her voice muffled.
Lucia gave a short laugh.
She stopped teasing her and pressed the cold dragon scale against the center of Lilia’s back.
“Ah—!”
The soul-tearing pain exploded instantly!
Lilia’s vision went black as she screamed.
Countless tiny spatial cracks appeared on her skin, and beads of blood began to seep out.
The mana network inside her body was torn apart inch by inch; the agony was indescribable.
“Hold on!”
Lucia’s voice sounded in her ear.
“Guide that power. Don’t resist it; let it melt into your body!”
But Lilia couldn’t listen.
She could only struggle desperately on the carpet, her body twitching and her tail lashing out wildly.
“So disobedient.”
Lucia let out a sigh.
She lifted Lilia from the floor and draped her over her lap.
Then, she pressed one hand against her back.
She used her own magic to help comb through the rampaging spatial power inside Lilia.
And with the other hand—
*Smack!*
A crisp sound echoed.
Lilia’s body jolted violently.
A stinging pain flared up from her buttocks.
*Smack! Smack! Smack!*
The palms fell one after another, each one hitting with significant force.
“You can’t even handle this much pain, yet you wanted to dominate me?”
Lucia’s voice was cold.
“Wuu… I was wrong… meow…”
Lilia lay across her lap, sobbing so hard she could barely catch her breath.
But strangely, along with the rhythmic slapping.
The violent spatial power within her body actually began to calm down.
It started to merge docilely into her torn mana network.
It constructed a tougher, more complex structure.
Her mental strength was skyrocketing.
Her perception of the surrounding space became incredibly clear.
She could even “see” the spatial folds in the air that were invisible to the naked eye.
Is this the world of a Second-rank Apostle?
After an unknown amount of time.
The slapping stopped.
The intense pain in her body also vanished.
In its place was a comfortable sense of power.
Lilia lay on Lucia’s lap, so exhausted she didn’t even want to move a finger.
“How do you feel?”
Lucia’s palm gently rubbed her red, swollen bottom.
“…”
Lilia buried her face in Lucia’s thigh, unwilling to speak.
“It seems my little pet has successfully promoted to the second rank.”
Lucia picked her up, sitting her face-to-face on her lap.
“As a reward…”
She leaned into Lilia’s ear, her voice dropping very low.
“Tonight, let’s see if your newly learned spatial magic can help you escape from me.”
Lilia’s cat ears snapped upright.
She lifted her head, staring at Lucia.
“What… What kind of trick do you want to play now, meow?!”
Lucia didn’t answer.
She only smiled.
And in that smile, there was something hidden that Lilia couldn’t understand.