“We meet again, young noble Trill,” said Bilan Moon with a dazzling smile, blinding Jodye with its purity.
Jodye Trill grimaced at hearing his name, finally turning around to face the newcomers, “How did you realize it was me?”
“Well, I haven’t actually come in contact with anyone other than you during this entire visit,” giggled Bilan indifferently, “Who else could it be but you, young noble?”
Jodye Trill scratched his nose and avoided the glare from Neofrost, that seemed to be saying ‘Why do you even have my mask if you are so predictable and easy to identify?’ Jodye looked at Bilan and smiled radiantly, making Bilan feel like a bright sun with crystal blue eyes was in her face, “Well, it is me indeed. These are my teacher and my big bro, they’re here with me today.”
“A pleasure,” Sigma performed a slight bow to Bilan and her martial-aunt Master Grey Willow, who both smiled and curtsied in response to his deep and raspy voice. Joovee Nile simply never even looked in their direction, and Aunt Miran was still bidding for the phantom sabers.
In Jodye’s heart, he was secretly happy. He didn’t care for this woman Aunt Miran very much at all. Hopefully, she would help him profit a bit from these comber gears on auction then.
“These guys keeping adding twenty thousand silver crystal notes at once. They’re so stingy, but I’ll play along,” mumbled Aunt Bilan to herself, her voice filled with contempt.
Combat gear is not only sought out by mercenaries, even some noble families and sects wanted to contend for them. Very swiftly the price shot up to eight million silver crystal notes, that was the same as selling the sabers at four million silver each. To Jodye this was insanely profitable, as he had stolen these weapons in the first place. He didn’t pay for them at all. In fact, from a certain point of view, he had even been paid for them later on.
The price was still rising!
“9.8 million silver crystal notes.” the patriarch of a family in the city called out his bid. If he were able to purchase these weapons, then his grandson would have an advantage at his academy selection next month, so this price was totally worth it.
The bids continued until Aunt Miran stood up once more and called out imperiously as if she had already made her life’s most significant concession, “15 thousand gold crystal notes!”
After a deathly silence swept the crowd for a full minute, Vanessa Purple-Sky shouted, “15 million silver going once… going twice…!”
“15.5 million!”
“16 million!”
“Looks like you’ll have to give up on that combat gear for this round, miss Miran. The price is just too steep, too steep,” commented Jodye Trill indifferently. “Better to save your money for some later options. Maybe something cheaper will appear.”
Aunt Miran’s face was scrunched up and angry when she heard him. She stomped her foot but still did not admit defeat, holding up her sign once more, “20 Thousand Gold!”
20 thousand gold!
That was 20 million silver crystal notes!
Jodye Trill and smiled mischievously behind his neofrost mask. He fought to resist the impulse to snicker, his eyes utterly stoic. In fact, inwardly he was thinking, “Not bad, wait until she buys these sabers. After they reach her hands, I will inform her that they were sold by me, mwahaha… by then she’ll definitely where a helpless look, pfft.”
Sigma and Neofrost exchanged a glance, seeing nothing but amusement and admiration in the eyes of each other before turning away again. They truly admired this brat, who could goad someone into paying him more for his item so effortlessly. When they imagined the look on this woman’s face once everything was set in stone, they became curious to see the play.
Hearing this exorbitant amount, Vanessa Purple-Sky shouted, “20 million silver going once… going twice… sold, to the lady in private box number 7!”
When Bilan Moon heard the host, she quickly congratulated her aunt, “Aunt Miran, congratulations! I’m sure little Morph will love these sabers once we rescue him from that whatever Chimes Villa.”
Both Jodye Trill and Sigma Octanis had sharp lights flash through their eyes once these words were said. Noticing this, Master Grey Willow lifted a brow in speculation. Sigma had learned all about his disciple40discipleone who accepts the knowledge of and assists in spreading the doctrines of another, taking them as a master.’s past from his Aiken’s own mouth. Sigma Octanis now inwardly cursed himself for not getting the name of the boy’s eight siblings. Meanwhile, Jodye was the one originally responsible for the destruction of the Chimes Estate, so there was no way he would miss the significance of this place.
“Yes, my little nephew will surely benefit from these phantom sabers. While weapon’s of the D-grade may not be so powerful, it is more than enough for him until he breaks through the Earth Science realm,” smiled Aunt Miran, before turning to the masked boy next to her by the private box’s window, “Hmph. Never doubt the members of House Moon, little boy, we always get what we set out for. Money is of no issue…”
Right at this moment, two servant girls walked into the private box, the first walking directly to Aunt Miran, “Madame, here is your purchase. Would you like to pay in gold, amethyst, or through trade?”
Aunt Miran sneered disdainfully at Jodye, before settling her debt and concluding her purchase. Meanwhile, the other young servant girl walked directly to the Neofrost Master, Joovee Nile, and asked: “Sir, are you young master Jupiter?”
“No, I am a big master, Neofrost. The young master Jupiter you are looking for is over there,” replied Joovee, catching the five ladies present by surprise. The young man by the window was the patron?
Nonetheless, the servant girl walked over and presented a small jade treasure box to Jodye, “Young master Jupiter, this is your 20 million silver crystal notes, minus 8%. Here are 18,400,000 silver crystal notes converted into 18 amethyst crystal notes and 400 gold crystal notes for your convenience. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Jodye Trill took the jade treasure box and marveled at the design. This was a golden eagle with purple feathers on the lid, it looked very majestic. Afterward, the two servants left and returned with tea, which they served to everyone.
During this time Jodye noticed that even with his divine tier spiritual power he couldn’t peer into this box’s secrets, it was indeed a good item! Not a leak of aura or wisp of energy could be detected. Jodye opened the box and was greeted with the violet-golden glow of 18 amethyst crystal notes, bringing his total wealth to 40,018 amethyst crystal notes.
What a windfall!
After all, Jodye had taken these sabers from the chumps that tried to assassinate him some months back when he met Aiken. Funny that those same sabers were purchased by a woman he was 90% certain was the boy’s own kin. Perhaps this was called everything coming full circle? The laws of fate were truly mysterious.
While her jaw was hanging wide open, Aunt Miran’s body trembled from a mix of unknown emotions. However, Jodye totally ignored this in spite of being amused. After all, the disdain she had shown him had caused his rage to seethe slightly in his pores. Jodye was placing genuine effort in calming himself.
He turned to Bilan Moon and asked gently, “Miss Moon, would you happen to originate from Rodinia?”
Bilan Moon was caught off guard but smiled sweetly in response. Her martial-aunt had forbidden her from revealing this, but her smile was answer enough. Jodye admired her doll-like face for a moment before continuing, “Does the name Aiken Moon mean anything to you?”
Crack!
Three teacups fell to the ground at once, causing shards and tea to spill all over the floor. Bilan Moon was shaking in excitement, profoundly agitated as she immediate grabbed Jodye’s arm, ignoring the boldness of her actions.
“You… did you just say… a moment.” Bilan Moon placed her hand over her own chest a muttered a small incantation. A pale blue glow surrounded her hand, and she quickly calmed down. “Do you know… little morph?”
“Little Morph?” Jodye found it a bit funny. He was now able to confirm it with absolute certainty. This was the sibling of Aiken Moon, who had apparently come here to rescue him. Jodye was initially worried that they were targeting the boy instead. However, he could now but that fear to rest. “Well, I have indeed met the Aiken Moon you speak of, he’s a pal of mine. Were the three misses searching for him?”
Bilan frowned, as she had a premonition that it was more than just having ‘met’ little Morph. Wasn’t Aiken tricked by her older sister and sold into slavery? For Jodye to recognize herself as Aiken’s sister from Rodinia and thus question the association, he had to have had some form of association with her brother. However, how close could it be if he approached her so quickly? How would Jodye know if she was the one who betrayed Aiken? In fact, maybe it was these people who were responsible for his current circumstances!
Bilan was, of course, correct in this thought. Merely, Aiken’s current circumstances were even more promising than her own. Only, Bilan Moon and company had no way of imagining such a thing. Bilan was a heaven-favored disciple of the Seven Spirits Sect, a mighty fifth rank sect in Rodinia. She had her master investigate her brother’s circumstances. Not only was her request completed, her master even bade he martial-aunt to accompany Bilan on the journey to recovering her brother, so it could be seen how favored the child was. The intelligence Bilan’s master received so far suggested that the boy was sold away into slavery, purchased by an elder of the Chimes Estate in the South Ward of Pangaea.
Bilan looked to her martial aunt, Master Grey Willow.
Master Grey Willow turned not to Jodye but to Joovee Nile, as a cold light flashed in her eyes, “Master Neofrost, with all the looming trouble ahead of you, you had better hope that no harm has come to that child under your care.”
Master Grey Willow had long heard of the evil exploits of this young Neofrost Master. Joovee Nile had poisoned an entire city to death one year back, and he did so just because the castellan’s son had insulted him. Taking it a step further back, Joovee Nile was said to have been totally average four years ago, having only reached the sophomore rank of the sage path’s Scholar Realm at 11-years-old.
This was quite late in royal clans. Later Joovee lost his mind to a reincarnated devil soul during an expedition in an ancient pyramid. Following that, he disappeared for a long time. It was news all throughout the south because Joovee Nile was royalty. However, he remained missing, and no one could find him. Only for Joovee to reappear two years later, once he had already become a Gear Refining Master with a growing reputation, in spite of his young age.
No one believed that this child was still the Joovee Nile from before. Everyone assumed he had become possessed by a Mummy, a human whose soul was devoured by evil and evolved into a high-level fiend. Due to Joovee’s eccentric battle and refining style, he became simply known as the Neofrost Master.
Seeing this, Jodye leaned close to Bilan Moon and secretly whispered something in her ear, which caused her eyes to flash, as she nodded fiercely. Aunt Miran noticed this, but she thought it was merely children being children. Who else could find time to gossip during such a scene? Miran grabbed Bilan’s arm and pulled her further away from this brat Jodye.
Meanwhile, Joovee Nile was nonplused by this woman’s words, but he remained aloof in his response, “Are you threatening me, Grey Willow? Do you believe that just because the Leaf clan is based in Rodinia that you are safe from my retaliation? Is Marshall Featherwork still sick? Hehe…”
Master Grey Willow’s expression drastically changed once she heard these words! Marshall Featherwork was the Grand Elder of her Leaf Clan! That was her father’s brother, her biological uncle! He had been sick for around a year at this point, and although the family knew it was poison, they didn’t know how to resolve it. Joovee snickered and seemed to sneer, however only his eyes were visible through his neofrost mask.
At this moment, Sigma Octanis removed his mask and interjected, “It would seem you have made a mistake. Young Aiken Moon is this seat’s third direct disciple. He is in no way under any threat of harm, nor is my associate here responsible for this arrangement. Please control yourselves, and limit your assumptions. By having a mature conversation, everything can be properly illustrated.”
Master Grey Willow was taken aback, and she stared at this handsome middle-aged man once more. Sigma Octanis was rather tall and majestic in bearing, causing her old maiden heart to flutter slightly. Of course, Grey Willow wouldn’t allow this to affect her state of mind, “The Master of our young master Moon? You? Are you even worthy?”
“Whether I am worthy or not is something you are free to test for yourself,” Sigma Octanis was simply unable to place this woman in his eyes at all. She may be a Void Door Realm Sage at the Gold Mage rank, but Sigma had never been afraid to overpower the curse’s restriction if he needed too. How could he cower before a weak old lady from a lower star realm? He would slaughter this woman instantly before the curse could eject him from the realm.
Plus, this little madman Neofrost was still next to Sigma. Such a genius made it so he wouldn’t even need to break the curse to deal with this woman, he and Neofrost could definitely eliminate her together.
When Grey Willow saw the lofty look in these Northern Motherland men’s eyes, she grew more incensed.
However, a cute little giggle suddenly cut through the tension, catching these almost warring parties off guard. They were shocked to find Jodye whispering in Bilan’s ear again, which was causing her to laugh. Aunt Miran was flabbergasted, as she realized the Bilan whose arm she was holding was fake, a wooden doll. The wooden toy then vanished with a poof sound, transforming into a white talisman that disappeared into Bilan’s glabella.
[Source Artifact detected]Jodye rubbed his chin as he admired the white light that was apparently Bilan’s source artifact. It seemed to have quite a unique function.
“Ahem. So anyway, Bilan,” Jodye Trill suddenly cleared his throat, and his youthful and vibrant voice filled the room, “After Dessa and I recovered little Aiken from that bandit brigade we ran into Uncle Sigma, and boy did he help us out! Really, it’s been awesome since then. Now we’re here. I was planning on taking little Aiken back to Rodinia myself once we got a bit stronger, but ah, who knew I’d meet his good-looking sister…”
“Oh stop,” Bilan Moon’s face was beet red as she had been giggling and blushing a lot during the time her martial-aunt was talking to the others. She turned to her martial-aunt, oblivious to the previous tension, and exclaimed softly, “Auntie, Jodye says he will take me to meet little Morphy after the auction! He said he had already destroyed the leader of the Chimes Estate to save and recruit his Hand, so we don’t need to visit there at all! We found him, we finally found him!”
After speaking with Jodye, Bilan was incomparably excited. This left Master Grey Willow stunned, and temporarily at a loss for words. She had almost fallen out with these fellows just now, but now her martial-niece and these men’s junior had reached their own conclusion peacefully.
After a moment of consideration, she frowned at the Neofrost Master, before turning to look at Jodye. By now, she would have to be stupid to have not noticed that this boy seemed to have some level of persuasive power over these men, much like herself and Bilan. Although Jodye couldn’t be said to be the shot caller, neither of them seemed to oppose his arrangements at all. They were clearly following his lead in this situation.
‘Could it be a trap?’ Thought Grey Willow secretly. How could this negus brat have rescued Aiken all alone and made it this far without a hitch? Such a thing only happened in fantasy books.
But what would the motive of lying be? Master Grey Willow quickly dismissed this thought. Thinking about it more clearly, if they had nefarious intentions they simply didn’t need to bring up young master Moon at all, right? Why give themselves away? Grey Willow couldn’t think of a single reason why they would do so and here of all places. Yet, she had gone and insulted these man rashly.
Although this was partly because she despised voodoo priests like Neofrost, and secondly because her intention on this trip was to take Aiken Moon as a disciple. Merely, not a direct disciple like Sigma had done. She didn’t think the boy would be worthy of such a thing just yet. Disciplehood had various levels to it. A student is someone who is learning something from a teacher. While the relation is sacred, and there are mutual obligations between the student and the teacher, there is no commitment between them.
A disciple, on the other hand, has committed himself to the master, and the art of his master. The disciple has committed to entering and mastering a secret branch of knowledge and has requested the master to accept him into the arcane path. The relationship is very sacred, and the obligations are binding. Sigma Octanis was Jodye’s teacher, but his master.
There were differences in treatment from a master for different level disciples. An in-name disciple is the lowest level, and they typically would only learn from the master’s other disciples. A formal disciple, on the other hand, was able to receive training from the master directly. However, only a direct disciple would be guided whole-heartedly as if they were the master’s own child.
If this man had made Aiken Moon a direct disciple, then there must be something special about the boy. Grey Willow decided she would need to take a more in-depth look.
“If you are lying, boy, these two will not be enough to stop me from killing you,” said Grey Willow coldly. Jodye Trill eyes also became cold at this moment, as his slaughter qi momentum threatened to flare up.
How dare this old goat threaten him? If she wasn’t Bilan’s martial-aunt Jodye might’ve decided to kill her one day. Of course, currently, he was no match for the woman at all.
“Martial-aunt Blu Leaf!” Bilan was aghast! Not even she understood why these words from her martial-aunt seem to cause her heart pain as if they were aimed at herself. She was absolutely distraught at hearing someone close to her talk to Jodye like that, “Take that back! Jodye has done nothing wrong to us!”
“Do not be naive child, this boy is slicker than tree oil,” said Grey Willow defiantly, “You are the company you keep. These two are no good men. I refuse to believe the brat is any better. We will go and see what they have done to the young master Moon.”
Jodye Trill frowned, however, no one could see it. Regardless, Grey Willow seemed to see through his dissatisfaction, “You dare to glare at me boy? I suggest you two control your junior or I will.”
After discovering the Neofrost Master, Grey Willow no longer believed that this boy had some illustrious hidden background. Most probably, he was another renegade from the Southern Capital. Thus, she was no longer cautious or polite.
Jodye was beginning to get angry, but Sigma Octanis interjected once more, “Do you believe that it is fine for you to threaten my apprentice26apprenticeAn apprentice or student is someone who is learning something from a teacher. While the relation is sacred, and there are mutual obligations between the apprentice and the teacher, there is no commitment between them. A disciple, on the other hand, has committed himself to the master, and the art of his master. The disciple has committed to entering and mastering a secret branch of knowledge and has requested the master to accept him into the arcane path. The relationship is very sacred and the obligations are binding. in front of me? I will deal with you after the fair, old witch.”
“Servants! Have the guards escort this woman out,” called out Joovee Nile mischievously. The servant girls quickly scurried out of the room to get the guards.
“YOU DARE!” thundered Grey Willow as waves of milky white origin force poured out of her body like white flames before becoming a nearly transparent pale golden atmosphere.
Jodye instantly recognized this pale gold atmosphere as the Gold Mage rank aura!
Void Door Realm, Gold Mage rank!
This was a level of strength Jodye absolutely couldn’t match or resist.
“Hmph,” a brawny man in black robes strolled into the booth with two guards trailing behind him. The pressure from his body instantly surpassed Master Grey Willow’s and suppressed her significantly. Grey Willow’s aura dissipated, and the two guards shot forward and cuffed her with sky-canceling cuffs, before dragging the screaming and cursing Master Grey Willow out of the room.
The man in black robes turned to face the Neofrost Master before slightly bowing. He nodded towards the other two women and asked, “Is there anything else we can do for you imperial prince?”
Aunt Miran was shocked senseless, as Master Grey Willow had failed to follow her own advice and was now detained by the royal guard. Miran felt humbled indeed. If they could subdue Master Grey Willow, then about herself? Joovee glanced as Jodye Trill, who shook his head. Bilan terrified eyes flashed with a grateful light.
“You are dismissed,” said Joovee Nile indifferently. After which the man and his guards swiftly vanished like the wind. Joovee Nile glanced at “You ladies will stay with us until the auction ends, and then you will meet your charge.”
Bilan and Miran were both frightened into silence by all that had happened, neither one of them dared to retort or comment on it at all. They sat on the opposite wall of Sigma and Joovee. Meanwhile, Jodye Trill had returned to gazing out the window at the auction stage below, as if all that happened before wasn’t related to himself at all. He was currently in a great mood after the Neofrost Master helped him vent his frustrations.
Now, it was time to do what he came here to do!
