novelraw Chapter 129 - 128 - New Arrangements
Chapter 129 - 128 - New Arrangements
"Lind!" Annabelle was barely faster than Shoti in tackling him to the ground. His last few days were spent completely with Delenn. Making 30 grade 1 items was more difficult than he realized. He had been able to use the people close to him to get a clear picture of goals but it did not work well when most of the people he knew were a major realm above him.
Still, he had finally made the 30th item on the last day.
He had come back as it was the deadline he gave the Starfire House. He was stunned to see Mythra happily chatting with Qing in his quarters. He also noted Su was not far away pouting for some reason.
"What is going on?" He had expected Alea to be here or someone else but he only saw the 2 people he was closest to from the Sapphire Auction House. Su smiled at him but before she spoke, Mythra was heading right toward him.
Lind tried to move but strangely Shoti and Qing locked him in place with their stares. He was innocent! He absolutely did not encourage this woman at all!
"Lind, please come here!" Mythra was trying to hug him but something was off. He saw her eyes were not teasing but truly pleased to see him. His head tilted in confusion. He glances at Su but she shrugged as she had no idea what he was looking for.
"What happened, Lady Mythra?" The room changed with that question. Lind felt like he had stepped on a mine he had not expected but she whipped her red and green hair as she turned from him. Annabelle hugged him tightly but Shoti punched his arm lightly. What did he do now?
"Ahem, they have been waiting for you the last few days. Apparently the Starfire House has agreed to the meeting." Lind was happy but he was not going to let things go even as Qing tried to bring the room back to a happy tone.
"When you were both here last, you were abused by that woman, Alea. What happened to her?" His tone had changed. He would not go to a meeting unless there were signs he could trust the Starfire House to address his concerns.
Su hopped up at that time.
"Finally, my turn. Former senior Alea has been dismissed and sent to the Rith branch of Sapphire Auction House for 3 centuries." Lind was stunned. He had hoped for some kind of gesture but that was beyond anything he remotely expected. Sending a peak Diamond Tier to Rith was equivalent to ending their journey as the Demon Empire barely shared any resources with them.
The resources were distributed on profits earned by members at each branch, thus that branch was the most feared one to be assigned to unless one was a demon.
"There is more but we are not sure how much you know about this part of our organization. Starfire House is truly headquartered here in Cimmeria, but we have an upper branch in the Floating Isles." Lind was not surprised by that revelation but he began to realize how big a wave he had created unintentionally. Su's words showed him he had been lucky not to tick off the wrong person.
"Lady Su, please let me." Mythra spoke up but her tone was no longer playful or relaxed. It was not even the entertainer that ran the auctions, but a powerful cultivator. Lind nodded and took a seat as they all gathered around him.
"The main office here had a tier 1 Sky Realm in charge but he has been removed by a vote of the seniors running the various operations. He had been taken to the Floating Isles to never return. A new member will be voted in to take charge but for now, Lady Estelle, the leader of Starfire House, will remotely give orders until that is settled." Mythra's eyes sparkled when she spoke of Lady Estelle. Lind could see that whatever bad experiences she had suffered were washed away by that person.
He nodded and bowed to both of them suddenly.
"I am sorry for any suffering you went through on account of me." He only saw what Alea did in front of him but he could imagine what might have occurred behind closed doors due to that. The cultivation world was cruel by any standard, yet they had stayed by him despite what had to have come because of it.
"My grandfather still asks about you even as his time runs low. You made him so happy when you chatted with him over the 2 years at the Academy. You have been respectful and showed your loyalty to those near you. I would be a poor granddaughter and branch manager if I broke trust with you over danger to me." Lady Su made it sound like it was her duty but her mention of her grandfather softened her eyes.
"I had the most fun working with the elixirs but when I actually learned about you, it made me happy. You are a strange one, Lind Frey. Irene talked about her time with you so much I had to find out for myself. You treasure people, not benefits. I am glad to be here." Mythra seemed misty eyed for some reason but she teased him all the time. The 3 stares coming at him from his side of the couch made Lind sweat.
Lind recalled Irene with a smile but was sad he had scared her so badly back then. He hoped she was doing well.
"Ok, so how will this work then?" Lind clearly was not getting carted off to the Floating Isles. Delenn would not allow him to leave and her limited abilities may have restrictions but he was certain it would still stop him from leaving.
Qing got up at this point and held out her hand.
"We have negotiated to hold the discussion here but we will need to go to the Vice-Sect Master's office. Senior Lydia agreed once she learned who wanted to talk to you but we are officially going to have her mediate between the Starfire House and you." Lind nodded as a Soul Realm meeting the leader of Starfire House was a bigger deal than he had realized.
Their group moved through the pristine white and gold halls of the Heavenly Maiden Sect. Lind noticed a wistful look on Mythra's face but Su seemed to just be friendly to others as they passed. He was a fairly well known guest elder to all now and the acolytes especially liked him because he treated them well.
He gave them easy missions and rewarded them ambly for it. If they had known they were helping the elixir master of the sect, they likely would have been in fear of messing up. Lind was glad they did not have the burden on them and it never hurt to build good will.
They finally came to the large spire he had seen on his first day. It tore into the sky and left no doubt of the power behind it. Shoti and Qing were solemn as they bowed to the Diamond Tier guards but all of them were allowed to pass.
Instead of stairs, there was the dreaded teleportation array on the ground floor. Girding himself, Lind followed Qing onto the platform and took Annabelle's hand. He saw an operator imbue Qi into a panel on the wall and the array lit up.
Nausea washed over him but it was not nearly as bad as previous times. Clearly the shorter the distance the less issue he would have. He really hated teleporting arrays.
"Welcome to the Vice-Sect Master's quarters. Please state your business." Lind looked up and was stunned to see Sky Realm tier 1 guards! He could not perceive how far in the tier they were but generally if a cultivator was in the same tier, they would not bow their heads easily to each other.
It spoke to the power of Vice-Sect Master Lydia.
"Lind Frey has arrived for his appointment with an entourage from Sapphire Auction House and Heavenly Maiden Sect." Lind found it damned odd to hear Shoti speak in a serious tone, but she was an elder of the sect. The guards nodded in their powerful armor and then waved to open the ornate golden door in front of them.
It opened silently but Lind could feel the terror of the formations within every inch of this location. He knew he would be dead before he could blink if someone used them.
A massive room was exposed beyond the door with floor to ceiling windows looking out at Cimmeria proper. Shelves lined with books, scrolls, slips, and items were carefully arranged. On the curved walls leading up to another floor above them.
Lind saw normal stairs on the side opposite the windows but he would bet all he owned that formations were there as well that would snuff him out in an instant. Over 3 years of selling elixirs had built up a nice fortune for him but he had spent just as much getting ingredients as his expertise increased.
At that moment, he had 3000 World Stones in his storage ring, a large fortune for a cultivator of his stature but everything around him was likely thousands upon thousands of Sky Stones to make or buy. Perhaps his grade 3 elixirs would put a dent in it, but he doubted it.
The cost of peak grade 3 elixir ingredients had dwindled his fortune down to what it was, but he had yet to sell even 1. Perhaps that would change today as well, but he was still cautious about it.
The furniture was finally drawing his eye and just looking at the couch and chairs oozed comfort while retaining functionality. They were not decadent but no one could deny their worth either.
"Welcome, Master Frey, to my humble office." Lind jumped as he realized he had skipped over the most important aspect of the office, its occupant. All the other girls were bowing but he had been gawking! Crap!
"M-many apologies Lady Lydia. I was too distracted by the new sights and forgot myself!" Lind owed the Heavenly Maiden Sect a great deal. He absolutely never wanted to offend them but was glad when he heard giggling.
"I see we may not have explained how much we value you, Master Frey. Your contributions in the last year alone put you on par with me, a Sky Realm." Shock flooded his body but he saw blood drain from Mythra and Su. He realized Lydia was telling Starfire House exactly how far the sect valued him. It also was a warning that if Lydia did not like what she heard, she would take a firm stance.
Lind felt warmth in his heart. He knew his friends valued him and the few he talked with regularly got along with him, but to go this far for a Soul Realm was beyond any expectation. Also, neither Lydia nor the Sect in general had ever tried to restrain him from moving forward with his cultivation.
Lind looked up to find a bright pink haired beauty looking at him. She was slim and delicate in appearance but he knew well that any fool that made such an assumption about a Maiden would be lucky to live to regret it.
"I was told we would hold the upcoming meeting here?" He saw her nod and gestured for them to pick a seat. Once they were all settled and tea was served, Lydia summoned a rather large communication jade stone.
She placed it at the head of the table and moved to stand opposite to it. Su and Mythra stood up and bowed but Lind looked to Lydia before moving. He saw her nod so also replicated the same as the other girls followed.
The room dimmed slightly before another woman appeared. Lind could not feel her aura but he had heard she was in the middle tiers of the Sky Realm and despite her aged appearance, would wipe the floor with most peak Sky Realms.
"Little Lydia, you look prettier every time we meet. When will you join your sisters up here in the Floating Isles?" Of all the ways the meeting would start, Lind had to say Lady Estelle blew his expectations out of the water.
The once solemn and prideful Lydia now blushed and looked like a young girl.
"Lady Estelle! You promised!" The vision of a serious Vice-Sect Master was shattered in an instant but Lind's hopes for the conference rose exponentially. If they were this amicable, he might be able to trust this person.
"Apologies, but your mother was special to me and you look just like her. I miss the days you were run–" The image suddenly flickered as Lydia's aura interfered with it. She was blushing up a storm and looked like she was ready to scream. A garbled laughter came through as Lydia calmed down.
"Ahem, I have had my fun, and I can see you are all there. If you expect me to be dragging this on, then get that right out of all your heads." Lady Estelle brought the meeting to order and they all took a seat. She glanced at him but her dark eyes were unreadable to Lind. "So, you are the young man that has begun to turn the world upside down? If I was only a few centuries younger…"
There were 3 more auras that spiked but could hardly affect the transmission like Lydia could, yet a sarcastic smile spread on Lady Estelle's face.
"Oh stop worrying you little ones, I am merely stating how much effect this babe in the Soul Realm has had. A low grade 3–" The room froze as a golden medallion landed on the table. For the first time, Lady Estelle was speechless as even Lydia almost stumbled as she stared at Lind. Mythra and Su were not sure how much more they could take with surprises.
"I have progressed and would like to skip the part where you reveal how much you know about me, Lady Estelle." Lind liked this woman but he was on a schedule himself. He saw shock on every face but hers. Lady Estelle's eyes were sparkling. "We are here about the new arrangement and about what I can offer. I will state outright that I will not become a part of Starfire House but I am not opposed to working with them."
Lind then glanced at the 2 members of Sapphire Auction House and added one more thing.
"I would also like Lady Su and Lady Mythra to be compensated for what they went through to support me." An eyebrow arched on the projection but it was not an unhappy face looking at them.
"I like you, boy. Too many idiots forget where they came from, but you don't. All right, let's begin the real negotiation and terms." Everyone else realized that while Lind was only a Soul Realm, at that moment he was the only equal in the room to Lady Estelle. They all could only watch as history was being made in front of them.