The gunshot cracked through the hall.
Everyone saw it.
The red-haired man’s head snapped back as blood sprayed the air. His body dropped before anyone could even scream.
What shocked the crowd even more—Kaltmann was shot too.
Leon Zhao’s bullet tore straight through Kaltmann’s body. A dark hole bloomed in his chest. Kaltmann staggered, eyes wide, staring at Anton in pure disbelief.
“You… you… how dare—”
Bang.
Leon Zhao fired again. This time, straight through Kaltmann’s head.
The old man collapsed lifelessly to the floor.
Leonora stood abruptly, her chair scraping loudly. She stared at Leon Zhao, fury burning in her eyes.
“How dare you open fire in this hall?”
Leon Zhao smiled calmly, as if he had merely corrected a mistake.
“I never let people who try to scam me walk away alive,” he said. “And that bastard even dared to accuse my Master of helping him. What kind of poisonous snake would do that? I had to kill him.”
“Wonderful,” Alex said. He clapped slowly, mockingly. The sound echoed through the stunned silence.
“What a beautiful performance,” he added coldly. “Now no one can tell who the real mastermind is.”
He stepped forward, bent down, and picked up the metal box from the floor.
The latch clicked open.
Inside lay the book.
Alex opened directly to the third page.
“This third page,” he said coldly, “and the fourth page were glued together to look like a single sheet.”
He carefully separated them.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
“These are two pages,” Alex continued. “Not one.”
He turned the pages outward so everyone could read.
Most of the collectors specialized in Xia artifacts. They understood the writing instantly.
The words were unmistakable.
“This cultivation method is restricted to those of royal blood. Anyone without royal lineage who attempts to practice it will die a slow, miserable death.”
The hall exploded into whispers and shocked cries.
Alex closed the book.
“I think everyone here understands now,” he said evenly. “This book is worthless to every single person in this room. Worse—it’s deadly.”
His gaze shifted slowly to Anton Dunkel.
“And yet,” Alex continued, voice sharpening, “someone still tried to sell this dangerous trash to Miss Silberkreuz.”
Leonora’s face flushed deep red with anger.
“Anton Dunkel,” she snapped, pointing straight at him. “Did you collude with Kaltmann this entire time? Were you the mastermind behind him—scamming me again and again, forcing me to buy your worthless garbage, draining my money without end?”
Anton laughed loudly, unfazed.
“Miss Silberkreuz, our country has laws,” he said smugly. “Even if you are the granddaughter of Duke Silberkreuz, you can’t accuse me without proof.”
“What proof do you want?” Leonora shouted. “Two people were just killed!”
Anton shrugged and stood up.
“The dead can’t talk,” he said casually. “And the dead prove nothing. You can’t point a finger at me for anything.”
He straightened his coat and added calmly, “The auction is already over. I believe it’s time for me to return home.”
He turned as if nothing had happened—leaving behind blood, corpses, and a room full of fury.
Anton Dunkel strode toward the exit with Leon Zhao and several bodyguards flanking him.
“Stop right there!” Leonora Silberkreuz shouted. “You can’t walk away from this!”
Anton laughed without even turning his head.
“You can’t stop me without a legal warrant,” he said coldly. “Do that, and you’ll spark a war between my Duke and your grandfather. Know your place, little girl.”
He kept walking.
Outside the hall, Anton leaned close to Leon Zhao and spoke in a low voice. “Have you wiped every connection to Kaltmann clean?”
Leon Zhao nodded. “There’s nothing that can be traced back to us.”
“Good,” Anton said. “We leave now—before the police start their search.”
He headed straight for his aircraft.
Inside the hall, Leonora stood motionless, staring down at the two bodies on the floor. Her eyes were cold, unreadable. Then she turned to Alex.
“Please excuse me, Mr. Saint-Claire,” she said, regaining her composure. “Thank you for accompanying me today. Let’s leave. My family will send people to handle this mess.”
“Who the hell are you?!” Anton roared. “I am Marquis Anton Dunkel! How dare you provoke me?!”
One man stepped forward. He moved calmly, confidently.
“We’re not here to provoke you,” he said coldly. “But if I remember correctly, you paid assassins to kill our boss.”
Anton frowned. “Your boss?” he snapped. “I don’t remember hiring anyone to kill your boss. Who are you talking about?”
His eyes swept over them. Advanced weapons. Advanced ships. These weren’t people you casually offended.
“Didn’t you pay five men today to kill Miss Silberkreuz’s appraiser?” the leader said. “That man is our boss. And you chose the wrong people to mess with.”
Alex.
Anton’s blood ran cold. The only man he had wanted dead today was Alex Saint-Claire—the man who could destroy his entire arrangement with Kaltmann.
“But… he’s a nobody,” Anton muttered.
Gunfire exploded.
His bodyguards dropped one by one before they could even react. Bullets tore them apart. In seconds, only Anton and Leon Zhao were left standing.
The leader raised his gun again.
“We’re kidnapping you and demanding ransom,” he said flatly.
Anton had been shaking now, rage and fear bleeding together. “You want ransom? Name it!”
The man in black had answered instantly. “Your territory. All of it.”
Anton had screamed, “That’s robbery!”
The man had nodded. “No. Robbery is what you did with Kaltmann.”
Anton’s voice had cracked. “You can’t just take land!”
The man had leaned in. “We’re not taking it.”
He had cocked the gun.
“We’re charging you… for staying alive.”
Anton’s shoulders had slumped. “And if I refuse?”
The man had looked past him at the forest.
“Then this place becomes your grave. Unmarked. Unremembered.”
‘When the blade reaches the throat,
titles turn to dust.’

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Almighty Dominance (by Sunshine)
First time I hate someone just like that, feby you fool.😭🤦🏽♂️...
First time I hate someone just like that, feby you fool.😭🤦🏽♂️...
I pray she gets ruined enough to the point Alex revokes the contract and cut ties with her. Saying sorry they're your only family?!!! Where were they when you was suffering?!!! Where were they?!!! Why is feby so foolish and stupid, OMG!!!!!!!!...
Please get past this whole magic city arc, I'm getting so so annoyed. Feby is the most foolish girl in this whole story, arghhhhh I'm so angryyyyyyyy😭...
If she gives them the project then she's the biggest fool I've ever seen in fiction...
Who is Alex? Alex is HIM...
Leon never learns😂😂...
Please upload next chapter...
I wish his nascent core wasn't compromised, it defeats the purpose of him spending years cultivating it just to have it stripped away from him in just an encounter. Sigh and to think he's strong enough to change the political situation in Prussia and he can't protect his core...
Time to begin stacking up knowledge, let's gooooo! But I wish his nascent core wasn't compromised tbh, feels like all his cultivation was for waste...