It was easy to foresee that no matter what final price the Spirit Power Crystals sold for, the black market would come out hugely ahead.
The underground auction itself was already considered high-tier, but in terms of prestige, it had always fallen short of the region's official large-scale auctions.Top-tier exorcist families rarely showed their faces at underground venues like this.
But after today, that would no longer be the case.
Because those exorcist families had no way of knowing when something as outrageous as Spirit Power Crystals might appear again at an underground auction.
To prevent others from getting there first, they would have no choice but to attend every time.
And once the caliber of attendees rose, the auction's own status would naturally skyrocket along with it. As the operator, the black market would reap nothing but benefits.
The moment Kuroichi announced the 500 million yen starting price, the bids skyrocketed to 1 billion yen in just a few minutes.
And even that was nowhere near the limit.
Before the truly powerful exorcist families had even made a move, major conglomerates were already pushing the price to absurd heights.
Many people couldn't help but wonder—
The heads of the Thirteen Yokai-Slaying Houses had long since reached A-rank spiritual power or above, so why were they competing for something that was almost useless to them?
But anyone viewing the situation from a position of authority could clearly see the true value behind the Spirit Power Crystals.
To people like the Kagamori family head, personal strength was already a secondary concern.
If a family wanted to endure for generations—if it wanted lasting prosperity—one powerful individual was never enough. Only when the overall quality of the clan rose could the family remain strong.
The Spirit Power Crystals might be meaningless to them personally, but to their clansmen, they were priceless.
No one seriously believed that every child born into an exorcist family automatically awakened spiritual power.
Yes—thanks to inherited advantages, children from exorcist families were far more likely than ordinary people to awaken spiritual power, and their talent tended to be stronger as well. That was a genetic edge.
But even among the Thirteen Yokai-Slaying Houses, no one could guarantee that every direct descendant would possess spiritual aptitude.
In the past, that wouldn't have been a big deal. Without spiritual power, one could still go into business or politics.
But in the current age of chaos, if a core family member couldn't even awaken spiritual power, the discrimination they would face was obvious.
Or consider someone who had excellent combat instincts and technique, yet was stuck at a bottleneck they simply couldn't break through.
If they had a Spirit Power Crystal at that moment, wouldn't the problem be instantly solved?
In other words, the exorcist clan heads weren't interested in Spirit Power Crystals because they boosted spiritual power.
They valued their ability to awaken spiritual aptitude and break bottlenecks.
A naturally formed crystal condensed purely from spiritual power—something like this was unheard of even to the heads of the Thirteen Houses. But they understood all too well how rare and precious it was.
Surely no one would be wasteful enough to use something like this just to directly increase spiritual power… right?
Ren Kuroda: ╮(￣▽￣"")╭ Aren't these just consumables for restoring spiritual power?
Watching the ten Spirit Power Crystals climb to an astronomical 50 billion yen, Ren looked utterly dumbfounded.
To be honest, even he hadn't expected things to spiral like this.
Originally, he'd only thought that Spirit Power Crystals—being side-effect-free and effective only below A-rank—would be fiercely contested by mid-tier exorcists.
He never imagined it would turn into this.
Once the price hit 50 billion yen, the bidding noticeably slowed.
No matter which exorcist family or conglomerate it was, coming up with that much liquid capital in one go was no easy task.
After some discussion, the major conglomerates decided to band together against the exorcist families.
For most corporate tycoons, money had never been the problem.
What they lacked was power and status.
They might have brilliant business minds, but without spiritual aptitude, they were destined to be left behind by the times.
And spiritual aptitude was a cruel thing—it depended almost entirely on luck.
After the yokai chaos began, some former office clerks awakened spiritual power, while these CEOs didn't.
Who were they supposed to complain to?
The emergence of Spirit Power Crystals was a beacon of hope.
As long as they could obtain them, they too could become exalted exorcists.
Sure, yokai serum could also grant extraordinary power—but the risk of yokai corruption was far too high, and the status of serum soldiers was nowhere near that of exorcists.
Hired muscle was still hired muscle.
Only power obtained by oneself truly mattered.
Faced with a chance to change their fate, these tycoons naturally refused to give up.
Money could always be earned again.
But if they missed this opportunity, who knew when Spirit Power Crystals would appear next?
Once the conglomerates joined forces, the exorcist families genuinely began to feel the pressure.
Bluntly speaking, in terms of combat strength, even if all the conglomerates charged together, they wouldn't stand a chance against a single ordinary exorcist clansman.
But this wasn't a contest of strength.
It was a contest of money.
The conglomerates bid like madmen—selling land, dumping companies whenever funds ran dry.
Who the hell could withstand that?
In the end, to avoid mutual destruction—and to prevent the black market and the seller from profiting as ultimate winners—the exorcist families and the conglomerates reached an agreement.
At a final price of 100 billion yen, the ten Spirit Power Crystals were purchased—five going to the exorcist families, and five to the conglomerates.
Only then did the auction finally come to an end.
After the auction concluded, when Kuroichi once again approached Ren Kuroda and Yui Yako, her attitude had noticeably grown even warmer.
She'd been friendly before, hoping to win Ren over—but now, her demeanor could only be described as genuinely respectful.
"Mr. Kuroda, this is the amount you earned from this auction. After deducting the cost of the Serum Inhibitor you purchased and the service fees, the remainder has been transferred to this card.
"Additionally, as thanks for your support during the auction, the black market would like to gift you a B-rank yokai serum. We hope that if you ever come across items like Spirit Power Crystals again, you'll remember our auction."
A B-rank yokai serum—worth over a hundred million yen—given away just like that.
But in Kuroichi's eyes, it was absolutely worth it.
Not only had Ren bought the Serum Inhibitor at a high price, covering the black market's losses—
Even the value of the Spirit Power Crystals alone far exceeded a single B-rank serum.
"There's one more thing," Kuroichi continued."You mentioned before that the Spirit Power Crystals were something you obtained by chance.
"May I ask—where exactly did you find this naturally formed crystal?"
She already knew that asking this could destroy the fragile relationship she'd built with Ren—and that he might refuse to answer.
But she asked anyway.
Spirit Power Crystals had boosted the underground black market's reputation tremendously, but they would inevitably bring trouble as well.
Now that all of Tokyo's exorcist forces knew about them, they would absolutely investigate their origin.
The black market's backing was powerful, but faced with pressure from the entire Tokyo region—no, from humanity as a whole—even they couldn't withstand it.
With yokai currently holding the upper hand and humans in decline, this was a rare chance at reversal. If certain factions invoked "greater good," the black market wouldn't be able to protect Ren's identity.
"Mr. Kuroda, I know this request is excessive," Kuroichi added."So you may state a condition in exchange. As long as it's within my authority, I'll fulfill it."
Frankly speaking, Kuroichi had already gone above and beyond.
If the exorcist factions pressured the black market in the name of justice, revealing Ren as the seller would be inevitable.
Better to trade information now for sufficient benefits than be cornered later.
"You know the highest snow-covered mountain in Tokyo, right?" Ren said calmly."The one that caused such a stir during the Yuki-Onna incident.
"The Spirit Power Crystals were found in a cave at the very peak of that mountain. As for whether there are more, I don't know.
"If the Tokyo exorcist forces ask, just tell them that.
"As for my condition—this child knows almost nothing about my affairs. I need the black market to keep her identity confidential and not interfere with her life."
Ren didn't feel angry at Kuroichi's question.
To be honest, he'd never anticipated that revealing Spirit Power Crystals would cause such an uproar.
"Ren Kuroda" was just a cover identity. Even if the black market exposed it, no one in Tokyo would be able to find him.
But if they couldn't find him, pressure might force the black market to expose Yui Yako, who had been with him.
And that was something Ren absolutely wouldn't allow.
"Thank you for your understanding," Kuroichi said solemnly."We will absolutely keep Miss Yui Yako's identity confidential. You have my word."
From the very beginning, Kuroichi hadn't believed for a second that the two were really siblings.
But as for the location Ren gave for the Spirit Power Crystals—
She didn't think it was necessarily a lie.