novelraw Chapter 127 - 126 - Starfire House
Chapter 127 - 126 - Starfire House
Mythra rubbed at her neck as she moved through the ornate halls of Starfire House. She was far above the auction floors in the offices that made the economic heart of Cimmeria. There was little that happened in the city that was not known in these offices.
The same could be said of the 3 continents, but it was not as easy to pierce into every corner of the world as Cimmeria. Even so, she did not feel glad to be there. Senior Su had been taken by Alea to meet the leadership of Starfire while she had been ignored.
Mythra knew Starfire House was arrogant, but their dismissal of aether children by many members was disheartening. The Sapphire Auction House, by comparison, was much more broad minded. Their foundation was stronger because of it, often assisting in negotiations.
She was a head auctioneer in the Lotus Empire, but she had helped regulate the information protecting Lind Frey since the source of elixirs came through their branch. It was how she learned about him.
Lady Su had to run the various affairs of her branch, thus Mythra had been entrusted with the duty as she was one of the most trusted associates. When it came to tracking down Lind Frey on his travels from the Heavenly Maiden Sect, she had leapt at the chance.
Her green and red eyes sparkled remembering the confrontation between Lind and Alea. The naive boy that was so isolated in the Lotus Empire was becoming a fine man. Her cheeks flushed just recalling that look that entered his face. She knew something had happened on his journey in the Saint Kingdom, but it was her first real glimpse of it.
A few humans turned the corner and sneered at her, but did nothing else. She wore the bright blue robes of Sapphire Auction House with the emblem of her position but these humans wore flaming robes of oranges and red. Yellow would indicate a higher status than her, but the robes alone put them over her as well.
Still, there were strict rules that none dare break or be crippled. An employee of either office was still a member of the group. Mythra did not flinch and continued to her destination.
Alea had no use for her, but other senior members were not so closed minded. Honestly though, Mythra preferred Alea's open contempt to the person she was meeting.
An ornate door with glass panes beautifully inserted finally came in sight and she sighed as she collected herself. She went to knock but one of the panes glowed before there was a click and the door opened on its own.
"You are late, my dear." A kindly old man sat behind a desk piled with scrolls and jade slips. There were books on the shelves with annotation tags sticking out haphazardly all over behind him. His deep violet eyes were like bottomless pools when he looked at her. She shivered under that look.
It left no secrets, no chance of escape at all, but still seemed kind. Mythra knew better.
"I was not dismissed until senior Alea departed for her meeting." It was the absolute truth. Alea ignored her for the most part but if Mythra tried to do anything without permission, she would be severely punished. Lind's outburst now gave her some shielding from that, but only just. So long as there was a chance to keep him in their circle, Mythra and Su had value to Alea.
"Sigh, that child really must get over her pre-conceptions. The lot of them these years have only made it harder to bring in new blood to our prestigious house." Mythra shivered again. On the surface, his words seemed benevolent but she more than understood this person did not see aether children as equals any more than Alea did.
Given what she had seen of Lind Frey, he would likely cut ties with all of them if he learned of that truth. He was strange but in the best way to Mythra's eyes.
"I have been going over Captain Drake's reports and I noticed something new. It concerns our interest in Lind Frey. It seems he was correct in his assessment that he is working on something more interesting than elixirs." A slip was tossed to her and she immediately sunk her senses into it.
Shock appeared on her face shortly as the old man stroked his long silver beard. His slicked back hair was as silver as his beard but the man in front of her was hardly old. At only 400 years of age, he was considered quite young for a Sky Realm.
Even so, the report spoke of something cultivators had long dreamed of. Artifacts that were not restricted by elements! Many had tried but even the most complex arrays could not avoid the fact that if an incompatible dantian tried to use an artifact of other elements, it would suffer a backlash.
Mythra saw that Lind had used some kind of artifact to generate a powerful shield. He was a 6 elemental and showed no signs of backlash. Only 1 thing could make that possible. An artifact core that accepted any element!
Elixirs were rare, but not impossible to get ahold of. Lind's elixirs were a step above in variety and quality, but not unprecedented. Lady Su said his future was brighter than they could imagine but had never explained why. Now, however, her prediction was coming true!
"If this boy can make adaptable cores or artifacts, that would upend much of what we currently consider valuable. Anything below the Heaven Realm would become obsolete in time. Weapons are more difficult to gauge as tailoring them to a cultivator may still be viable, but armor would be much the same as artifacts with some exceptions." Mythra could only agree. If they could secure access to this lucrative opportunity, it would be unbeatable.
She then noticed an addendum. She looked up and saw the old man nod.
"We have no idea where he is right now. Our agents followed him and Master Cain of the Sunlit Forge to that eccentric area of crafting but then lost him. We have not seen him for over 2 weeks yet the Heavenly Maiden Sect spies report he has been seen returning and leaving his quarters regularly." Mythra was stunned.
The kind of people sent to watch a vested interest of Starfire House was not a joke. The lowest cultivation would be not below peak Gold Tier by what Mythra estimated. What could deceive their senses like that?
"What can I do to serve?" She was being told this for a reason and saw the old man smile at her knowingly. He appreciated people who did not disappoint his expectations. He slowly stood up and Mythra felt sweat break out on her back.
"You have a relationship with the boy but also know his friends. From what I gather, he is naive and still innocent. You should become closer with the women around him." He was a head taller than her but seemed spindly rather than robust despite his youth. His eyes roamed over her body and she barely stopped herself from shaking.
"He would be averse to such tactics." Mythra did not know much about Lind Frey, but even the most cursory examination of his past revealed a clear bottom line he had. He did not like people using others and he loathed anyone trying to use his friends or family.
A knowing nod from the old man came but then she felt his skeletal hand on her hip and moving up her back side. Mythra could not suppress her jump but restrained everything else.
"Regardless, he is a boy. You are a woman. A very tempting woman. You should be able to attract his eye. I could help you hone that skill if you like?" Fear gripped Mythra. If this man wanted, he could do exactly as he stated. His kindly veneer was just that, a veneer. People were to be used and applied where they could do the best work.
Humans and demons were equal to him, but everything else was just tools to him.
"I am a friend but I would have to spend considerable time away to become close to him." She did not bow to her building terror, but she knew lies would only land her on a bed she did not want to be in. The hand froze as a frown crossed his face. She felt her heart leap to her throat but he backed off.
"Hmm, that would be in line with the others. Time, yes time. Difficult to spare you for that long as your current work is excellent." A sigh was barely kept inside as she was not safe yet. He picked up a slip and seemed to examine it before he was suddenly looming over her again. "This is frustrating. I want that boy's results but I do not want to give you to him yet. Perhaps…"
Mythra's terror spiked but she kept a calm face on. She slipped a talisman into her hand and was ready to use it if needed. She had long ago left behind the cruelty of the world and would not be taken again.
A communication jade lit up on his desk, distracting them both. It was not a minor one. Starfire House coded the jades so one could look and know who it was from. The sparkling blue jade could only come from one place.
"Tck, annoying old woman. Is she spying on me now?" He moved away from Mythra but she did not move as he picked it up. She expected to be left ignorant but both of them were surprised when the jade flared to show a projection.
"What in the name of Heaven and Earth are you doing?!" The old man was about to wave Mythra out but was stopped by the next words. "If you dismiss that girl I will promote her above all of you. Do not test me Leon!"
The image was of an old woman but the power of cultivation seemed to come through. She was a mid tier Sky Realm! Only 1 woman had that kind of power but Mythra had never met her. The display gave no colors but the light hair would indicate white or gray.
Her eyes were fiercely dark daggers as her wrinkled face looked hard at Senior Leon. Mythra had never known his name as he liked it that way but today changed that. Leon was the most senior member of Starfire House in the lower Mortal Realm. This woman was the true leader of Starfire House but she was restrained to the Floating Isles due to her cultivation.
"Such a rash action would only hasten your retirement, esteemed leader." Leon seemed kind and polite but Mythra knew this man liked the contradiction. He lured in people with his kindly veneer then revealed the monster underneath when it was too late to pull back.
"You will join me in hell if I am retired, Leon, do not doubt I am ready for that day." Mythra almost whooped right there. The blood draining from his face told Mythra the words were not idle threats.
"What can I do for you Lady Estella?" Leon moved on but the glare from the projection told Mythra that conversation was not over.
"I have heard about the strong arm idiot you sent to bring in Lind Frey. Are you out of your mind?! What did I spend those centuries teaching you? Clearly I failed in more ways than one as you have become worse as time passed!" Mythra would happily dance if she could as she saw Leon falter and step back.
"He is only a Soul Realm and stubbornly planning on breaking through to the World Realm when he is a 6 elemental. He needed breaking in." Leon was not wrong about the worry of Lind breaking through to the World Realm, but Mythra hoped he would break the curse of 6 elementals.
"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!" The voice made the books shake despite being a projection. Mythra even saw the jade crack so she knew Lady Estella had put her near full power into her voice.
Leon put a finger in his ear and Mythra felt blood come from hers but she could still hear mostly.
"I am a little deaf at the moment, but why would I not rein in a fool heading for self destruction?" Leon was more confident on this front but then a jade slip appeared in his office. Mythra did not see any formation on the desk to make it work so it meant Lady Estelle could teleport on her own. That was a very rare and powerful technique.
"Read!" Leon sunk his senses into it but snorted immediately.
"I have seen this dribble. It is nonsense. The traditions of our ancestors already proved the correct way to cultivate and wield Qi. This is just desperate ramblings of a 6 elemental." Mythra saw Lady Estelle's face darken.
"I am honestly surprised at how much you can disappoint me, Leon. The first thing I taught you was to keep an open mind. Have you truly even studied these revelations of the 6 element relationships?" Leon sneered to show his response before Estelle turned to Mythra.
"Show him." Leon looked in surprise at Mythra as she unleashed her aura. Her dual elements sang in joy inside her dantian as a firm core of iron nearly filled it. Leon's face changed instantly. He knew every detail about his 'toys' and Mythra was far from reaching the Gold Tier yet now she was very close!
"This is the result of a World Realm simply applying that 'desperate rambling' to cultivation techniques alone. I have also proven results from altered Soul Arts up through tier 6 starting to spread out across Indelia and Sarth." Leon stumbled back in shock. The smiling woman in the projection now turned to Mythra fully.
"Go to Lind Frey, tell him I will meet him at his desired time but can only do so by projection. I have much I want to discuss with him." Mythra bowed and turned to leave. She smiled wide as words continued. "Now, Leon, we have much I have wanted to discuss with you for a long time."