Around seven o’clock the next evening, Julian and Ella arrived at the auction venue in a car arranged by Dave. The event was being held aboard a luxurious cruise ship.

Most of the guests invited to this auction were prominent families from Victoria, along with some powerful trainers.

Since the auction had not yet begun, small groups of people were chatting casually throughout the hall.

"Patriarch Eric, are you waiting for someone?"

The president of Victoria University walked up to Eric with a smile.

Although Victoria University was not one of the five great academies, it ranked just below them in prestige. In this year’s Hundred Schools League, Victoria University had also performed quite well.

Its president, Simon, had held his position for over thirty years. His students were spread across various industries in Victoria, and his reputation and influence in the city were considerable.

So even Eric couldn't afford to be dismissive when meeting him.

"I'm waiting for Champion Walker," Eric said.

When he mentioned Julian, a faint red light flickered in his eyes.

"What a coincidence, I'm also waiting for Champion Walker. I'd like to invite him to give a lecture at our university," Simon remarked.

On the day Julian landed, he had killed Eric's youngest son, Kevin, and even had people from the three major families deliver the head to Eric.

That incident had already spread among all the major families in Victoria.

Everyone was curious about the extent of the enmity between Julian and the Dawson family, or Eric himself.

But Julian was a Champion, his grandfather was a Champion, and his ancestors had also produced Champions—making his family a bona fide Champion lineage.

Meanwhile, the Dawson family—though each generation’s patriarch had reached the Pseudo-Champion level—was still far inferior to the Walkers in terms of real strength.

So, to most onlookers, the Dawson family’s offense against Julian meant only one thing: disaster was inevitable.

None of them knew the specifics of the matter—including President Simon.

So when Simon heard that Eric was waiting for Julian, he assumed it was to apologize to Julian. He couldn't help but sneer inwardly, thinking it served them right.

The Dawson family had been acting arrogantly over the years, especially that beast Kevin, who had ruined the lives of many young women. Even one of Simon’s own students had taken her own life due to him.

When Simon went to confront Eric, the man had bribed the girl’s family, forcing them to sign a statement claiming it had all been a misunderstanding.

Simon had never forgotten that grudge.

While he was sneering inwardly, the doors suddenly opened, and in walked a tall, striking young man. A Celebi perched atop his head, and he carried Jirachi in his arms. A beautiful and elegant woman held onto his arm.

Following behind them were the heads of the three major families, George—the head of the Walker Group's Victoria branch—and Patrick, Victoria's highest executive official.

There was no need to ask who had arrived.

The moment Julian entered, Eric's gaze immediately locked onto him.

Noticing Eric's stare, Julian looked over. As he walked toward Eric, the Unowns in his chest began to heat up slightly, as if warning him that this man was extremely dangerous.

'Dangerous? It certainly seemed so.'

The others couldn’t see it, but Julian could: behind Eric, there was a red, mist-like energy swirling and taking shape of a vague shadow.

Though the form was blurry, Julian could faintly make out what it was—Groudon.

Eric had activated the Red Orb, so it was only natural that Groudon's will resided within him.

However, this was far from a good thing. The will of a First-class Legendary descending upon a human—a fragile vessel—was something no ordinary person could withstand.

Because Groudon's will resided within Eric, even with Julian's ability to communicate with all things through the Seven Aperture Stone, he couldn't discern what Eric was thinking at the moment.

When Eric first saw Julian approaching, his eyes were filled with hatred. But as Julian drew closer, his expression shifted from hatred to something closer to fear.

He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but for a split second, he seemed to see two overwhelmingly powerful figures standing behind Julian. When he tried to look closer, the vision vanished.

Simon caught that fleeting expression of terror on Eric’s face and felt deeply satisfied.

By the time Eric came back to his senses, Julian was already standing before him.

"Don’t be afraid. I won’t kill you... yet."

Julian didn’t bother with pleasantries—his words were sharp and direct.

Eric was now Groudon’s vessel, having activated the Red Orb. If Julian was to kill Eric now, Groudon would go berserk, and its combat power would skyrocket.

Eric would die eventually—but not yet.

As for why Eric had suddenly felt fear, Julian knew well—it was because of the lingering auras of two First-class Legendaries, Mewtwo and Mew, that clung to him.

And not to mention, he was literally holding a living, breathing First-class Legendary in his arms.

The burning sensation from the Unowns in his chest had already faded.

"You can’t kill me," Eric snarled with a twisted smile. "No one in this world can."

From the moment he activated the Red Orb, he knew Groudon was already making its way toward Victoria. And as the holder of the Red Orb, he could, in theory, command Groudon to some extent.

As for the cost, he hadn’t even considered it.

Simon watched in surprise as Eric showed no fear of Julian whatsoever. From the look of him, it didn’t seem like an act.

Could it be that this man actually had a trump card strong enough to confront a Champion?

The brief episode soon passed, and before long it was eight o’clock—the official start of the auction.

The auction featured a total of fifty lots, covering antiques, calligraphy, paintings, property deeds, jewelry, and, most importantly, various rare Pokémon items, high-quality Pokémon eggs, and even some unique Pokémon Training Manuals of well-known trainers.

The first thirty lots had nothing to do with Pokémon and consisted entirely of items meant for human use.

Julian purchased a relatively well-preserved ancient cookbook, thinking that Slowking would love it. Sure enough, its Poké Ball began to shake gently.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the first thirty lots have been auctioned. I’m sure everyone is eagerly awaiting the thirty-first lot!"

Starting from the thirty-first lot, the real highlights of the auction began. Most of the attendees were there precisely for the final twenty items.

Even Julian had his eye on several of them—one in particular that he absolutely had to obtain.

Ella sat to Julian’s left, while Dave sat to his right. Dave leaned over and said, "Master Walker, if there’s anything you fancy, please let me know."

"Just the thirty-eighth lot," Julian said, "consider it a reward for Ella—for handling my paperwork all this time. No problem with that, right, Patriarch Dave?"

Dave nodded. Although he was slightly disappointed that the item wasn’t for Julian himself, it didn’t matter much. In his eyes, Ella was essentially Julian’s woman.

*****

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