novelraw Chapter 157 - 156 - Corporate Cheats
Chapter 157 - 156 - Corporate Cheats
"All of these are alternate payments?!" Lind looked at the growing pile of scrolls and jade slips. He knew there were a lot of people at the auction but the sheer volume mystified him.
"I am so sorry, Master Frey! I am still getting mess–" Lind held up his hand and turned to the small group that had filed in. They all wore similar pale red robes as Irene but of lower quality.
"Are these organized?" A young man nodded sharply as he began to the left of the table.
"They have been separated by material trade for elixirs, treasures for elixirs, items for elixirs and so forth. Forging items is far smaller as it is hard to gauge their worth but similar piles exist." Lind felt his veins throb in his forehead. While it was feasible for offers, the sheer volume was suspicious.
"Where do they come from?" The faces in front of him froze. It was clear that this was a touchy question but Lind knew a trick from his corporate office days. "I will not allow powers to trick me into giving them more elixirs than others by abusing their subsidiary powers."
Understanding flooded them. It mattered to couch things in the terms corporations care about and money or reputation can have a higher priority but when both are the line, a large company can do the bidding of a single individual to avoid blow back from bad press or loss of profit.
Lind turned back to the auction but currently it was a few elemental shards that while potent were of no interest to him at the moment. If there were demonic shards, he would be tempted as it would be interesting to use one, but no such shard was available according to the list Lind got.
He was stunned when Irene quickly got his attention.
"Mas–" He stopped her and then looked at the furiously working young men and women before he dropped a formation plate that cut them off from them. She nodded before continuing. "Um, Lady Su is taking over most of the requests but something was odd about a lot of them."
Lind nodded but saw her become nervous before she leaned over and whispered something to him. The stunned look on his face was quickly replaced with frustration. He did not lose his temper but he retrieved the plate.
He stood up and the room froze as they all felt a suppressing aura coming from him despite only being in the Soul Realm.
"If any, and I mean any, of those offers include an inexplicable woman attached to present them as a requirement, they are dismissed." Terror flooded through them as they realized what was being done. While the offers may be real, the point of the offer was not just the exchange but to bring Lind in close proximity to single women of their powers.
While the auction trade would avoid much of that issue normally, Lind might request an evaluation of the item which would then be brought usually by a representative of the said power. Such a representative had to be spelled out before the offer could even be brought to Lind.
It meant their search became far easier.
Only 2 items were bought while Lind waited but the result was still frustrating. At least ⅔ of the massive offers were set aside but the sheer volume was still very large. It was now being sorted by his earlier request.
He saw that Irene was still getting messages but it had begun to slow down. The filter put in place was no doubt flowing back to the people that thought they could take advantage of him, but it began to pick up again.
Lind then smiled evilly as he decided Earth could teach these annoying people a lesson.
"I will not hold up the auction to review this mass of requests. As I cannot accept them in good faith in the time allowed, I can only restrict to the following conditions: LIfe and Death. Aside from that, any other proposal must be able to be assessed within the time of the auction but be aware that many powers are making offers." Lind smiled as comprehension flew through the group.
Lind had seen through the obvious trap but now it showed how far the other powers were going to abuse the rule of Starfire House. By restricting a very easily verifiable condition would limit requests but also adding restrictions of time due to massive influx of requests would make the more petty powers work against each other.
Irene seemed to enjoy relaying the message as the physical slips left were reviewed for any real offer under such a condition. Lind almost cackled at the very tactic he loathed in his office life.
Leadership would often tell line level employees that they have heard the complaints but they are already working through non-critical issues from other departments. It made coworkers hate those outside their department while leadership only has to work on actual critical issues they could get penalized for if left unaddressed.
Lind had known back then it was a tactic but it had an element of realism as all knew time was limited and resources could only be divided up so much to address proposals.
The jade finally stopped blinking and a much smaller pile was set before him.
During all of the misadventure, the auction had finished the first round of low grade 3 materials to the few peak Soul Realm materials. The treasures and items would now begin as there were far less of them.
Lind looked through the list Irene had notated for him but he still had time.
"I suppose we need to go through thi–" Lind froze as he looked at the first scroll. He read it again to be sure and then stood up sharply. His face was covered in rage. "Bring me to this person right now!"
The group jumped but Irene recognized the rage in his face. She leapt up and looked at the scroll.
"Please follow me." Lind pulled a hood up but he knew his robes would reveal him regardless, yet he did not care. Irene would not be stopped in the halls. The group was left behind as Ariel swiftly followed after them.
If they encountered any formations in the current setup, it would be bad if Lind could not make it work. The 3 quickly moved down many flights of stairs and a few guards were surprised but made no move to stop them.
They finally made it to the lowest rung of booths before stopping at one of the many doors. Irene checked the number against the scroll and knocked. She could feel Lind's anger.
The door cracked open to reveal an old woman who looked surprised.
"How may I help you, senior?" The old woman was only in the Soul Realm. She was in the middle tiers from what Lind could see. Lind bowed and then barged in. There was an old man sitting with a young girl who was pale and sweating.
She had dark braided neatly to either side but her pale skin was sickly compared to the healthy glow he had last seen her in. He did not remove his hood as the old man looked up sharply. Their display was much lower quality but still Sky Realm.
Lind glanced at Ariel and she swiftly manipulated the formations. The door was sealed and the viewer security was activated to isolate them. He then turned to Irene.
"My Master would like to know what happened to the girl?" The old couple turned to each other with hope but they then bowed low. The woman nearly knelt while the old man gently held the little girl, Fey.
"Great Master, please help our granddaughter. She was attacked when we came here because she protected an aether child. The young master fractured her foundation and no healer will help her. She is so young, please help her." Irene's fists were so tight they cracked but Lind waved at her.
A glance at Ariel and she nodded to affirm he could do what he wished.
Lind moved forward and allowed his full senses to go over Fey. She had been so powerful once she broke through and she had been at the peak of the Soul Realm so quickly. A prodigal talent, but now she was struck down.
Lind flickered his hands and artifacts appeared. The space was tight but he did not care.
All 6 World Stones with herbs appeared and 3 cores. The level of damage was worse than they imagined and even Lind would be making a hail mary. He would hold nothing back.
Water floated as fire was glowing brightly. Unlike earlier, he could focus his full power on the single elixir. While all were distracted, he dropped a jade slip into his hands and sent a message to someone.
The essence danced in joy under his care as the Qi quickly flared so bright it nearly blinded them all. It was the work of hours but Lind never stopped no matter how low his Qi became. Every drop was pulled from his cores and foundation. The gathering artifacts barely kept up until the end before lightning appeared.
Shock appeared on all the adult faces as they realized what they were seeing. As if to mock Ariel's earlier assertion, the formations shook with strain until she realized what was happening.
Lind did not care.
"Shatter the boundary." His words were terse but she broke the protections as all in the auction house felt the pressure of tribulation. The host looked at the offending booth but when he tried to send security he was told to ignore it. He smiled and kept the audience calm as a clap of thunder was followed by not 1 but 3 lightning bolts.
Shock flooded the coliseum. A single bolt was grade 4, but no one had seen 3. What exactly was testing the heavens?!
Inside the booth, Lind refused to bow. He would not give in as this tribulation was not a happy one, but an attempt to stop him. It failed.
His grounding rods had been built into the gathering artifacts. It had been a fear he might lose control but all were destroyed by the tribulation now. He would have to fix that later.
A shining single vial appeared in his hands. His body was weak as newborn deer but the glorious vial in his hands was all he hoped for. He nearly stumbled before gentle arms held him up.
He nodded at Irene and Ariel before he swallowed the 2 elixirs he had in a simple bag at his belt. He was completely drained of Qi, but he needed more.
"Bring her to me." The old couple shook and watched as Lind tilted the vial into her body. Pain quickly spread on her features but Lind used his own Sky Touch and Eyes to guide the elixir.
She was still in pain but there was nothing he could do about it.
"Hold on, it will pass soon." He whispered to her gently as the completely shattered meridians and cracked dantain were repaired before his eyes. The wrecked spleen and damaged kidneys were restored and purified. Her body and cultivation had been intentionally destroyed. He knew enough after years of healing others what was accidental from intentional.
Her face finally eased and color returned. Qi began to flow through her body like a sponge long dried out finding water. Her dantain soared back to its peak but it did not stop. A peak grade 4 elixir, the first he had ever made, was flowing in her veins.
Her light, dark, and fire cores were transformed. They were already Heaven Cores before but now they became Divine Cores in front of his Eyes. He knew Divine Cores better than anyone, but he had never heard of anyone changing their core quality before.
Her meridians were larger and sturdier as well, nowhere near his but still far better than before as well. She had already been at the peak but she had rushed it a bit from what he could see. He guided the excess Qi to polish her foundation and perfect her cultivation.
His own Qi was exhausting but he never thought to stop. He gave it all. He had promised.
Suddenly, the pressure increased in her body and her cores transformed simultaneously into fonts! He had seen someone break through to the World Realm. The foundation was changed into the granular objects and he understood. The spirit Qi was forged by the fonts!
Her cultivation rose steadily but he could no longer help her. He only hoped she had good teachers. He saw it slow down at last and stop at low Sand Tier.
Amber eyes slowly opened as she looked up tiredly into his face and she went from confused to smiling wide as she encircled her arms around him warmly.
"BIG BROTHER!" Lind returned the hug as his hood fell back. The old man nearly fell as tears flowed down his face. He recognized Lind even though his hair was different.
"I promised to see you again, Little Fey." Irene and Ariel blanched. The disciple of Lind Frey had been attacked in Cimmeria. This could not be contained but then a knock came at the door. Irene opened and bowed to the Sky Realm on the other side. It was a Heavenly Maiden!
"You asked for me, Master Frey?" Lind stood up with Fey in his arms and he looked grim.
"This is Little Fey, my first disciple. She was attacked in Cimmeria and nearly died here. I would like her protected." The elder looked at the little girl but then blinked in shock. She narrowed her eyes and then looked at Lind in even more shock. "She is 10 and just broke through to the World Realm."
The silence in the room was unbreakable but Lind swept out of the room and Irene guided the old couple to follow them as the Maiden turned as well. Her own face became grim as she began speaking into a jade communication slip. Someone had made a grave mistake and would learn the folly of angering the Heavenly Maiden Sect.