Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  After a long pause, he finally said, “Thirty million magical crystals and 1,500 siths of origin substances. That’s my final price. It can’t go any lower! Of course, if you are willing to offer a set of intermediate Fifth Grade materials as payment, I can craft the voodoo beast for free. However, if the material is beginner Fifth Grade, I will have to ask for two sets.”

  “The magical crystals and origin substance then! I can still afford that much.”

  Thirty million magical crystals were equivalent to the Crimson Clan’s total profits over the past ten years. Meanwhile, 1,500 siths of origin substance could only be obtained if you swept the entirety of the Central Lands.

  Neither of these was a problem for Greem.

  After all, he had lived in the Central Lands for a long time. He had at least that much origin substance in reserve!

  Since they had come to an agreement, Karon immediately drew up a magical contract in the air with his finger before placing his soul brand onto it. Greem examined the contract. After ensuring that there was no problem, he also put his soul brand on it.

  Given the extent of their powers, even a contract with a planar consciousness as the guarantor would not be able to bind them fully. As such, their contracts were signed with their origin principles as the guarantor. Should one of them violate the terms of the agreement, they would suffer a terrible backlash from their own origin principle.

  It meant Karon would no longer be able to harness earth principles, and Greem would no longer be able to harness fire principles. It sounded simple, but such an agreement was tightly-binding for Great Adepts, who relied entirely on principles.

  No one would ever joke around with their origin principles, not even as a passing remark!

  With the agreement in hand, Greem could rest assured as he handed the body of the giant, its Crystal of Petrification, and its soul crystal to Great Adept Karon. In order for these top-class materials to unleash their full power, just the stimulation of the materials alone would take extraordinary effort and time.

  That was why Greem would probably have to wait a few years until he obtained his voodoo beast.

  Greem hesitated for a moment when he emerged from Karon’s room. He then confidently walked to the lower layers of the Boulder Fortress. That was where the Third and Fourth Grade adepts were most active and where the fortress market was busiest.

  Boulder Fortress. The trading area on the fifth level.

  It had been over seventy years since the start of the Beastmen Wars. During this time, the adepts had managed to invade as many as a hundred and thirty-four beastmen planes. Many of the rare resources that were lost from these broken planes fell into the hands of high-grade adepts who participated in the planar wars.

  Thus, while many of the adepts were only Third or Fourth Grade, some of them might have managed to obtain some unbelievable treasures, artifacts, and materials by sheer coincidence.

  That was why the lofty Great Adepts would often disguise themselves and go to these lower-grade markets in hopes of picking out some cheap-yet-valuable resources.

  Greem disguised himself with his fire principles, turning into a muscular bearded man. He then mixed into the crowd and started wandering around the market.

  In all seriousness, the higher grade the material, the more primitive it often looked.

  Basic materials and resources were all recorded within the information tower of the fortress. Therefore, the more mysterious and unrecognizable items could only be sold in individual stalls.

  Many adepts put up stalls in the market, placing a few unusual objects there as they waited for buyers to appear. Finding a true ‘treasure’ amidst all the garbage was a real test of the buyer’s eye.

  Greem smiled as he walked down the street as if indifferent to the merchandise around him. However, blue light flickered in his dark-red eyes, continually scanning the items in the stalls.

  Energy radiation intensity, elementium remnant, surface patterns and marks, analysis of fundamental substance makeup, forcefield fluctuation frequency- with all these detection methods, the Chip would be able to pick up on any unusual traits that these items might possess.

  After walking for a short while, Greem finally came to a stall by the roadside.

  The owner of the stall was a Third Grade elementium adept. He was holding a book in his hands and flipping through it listlessly. Three very unusual objects had been placed on the black cloth of the stall. It was hard to tell their purpose from their appearance.

  One was a piece of metal that seemed to have fallen off some armor. There were blurry magical patterns and faint elementium fluctuations remaining on it. According to the Chip’s analysis, this was an armor fragment. However, it wasn’t a core piece of the armor and was, therefore, not very valuable.

  Apart from the metal itself having some research value, it wasn’t particularly useful.

  The second item was a darksteel longsword. The body of the sword was long, and there was no edge to it at all. No magical patterns had been engraved onto the item, nor any gemstones embedded. It looked ordinary and mundane, as if it was just plain iron.

  For some reason, it gave off an incredibly sharp sensation when Greem laid eyes on the sword. It was as if the edge was pointed right at Greem’s brow.

  The third item was a pitch-black stone the size of an egg. It was smooth as a rock. Similarly, no elementium aura could be sensed from it.

  Perhaps sensing Greem’s gaze wandering between the three items, the stall owner quickly put away his book and greeted his customer with a smile.

  There were no idiots among the adepts here. Greem might have changed his appearance and retracted his principle aura, but the adept that owned the stall could not sense his grade level at all.

  That was enough for him to make certain assumptions!

  The only people here who could put on airs were either Fourth Grades or the occasional Great Adept. That was why the stall owner quickly composed himself and started introducing his merchandise enthusiastically.

  “My lord, these things are all from the beastmen planes. Which one might you be interested in?”

  Greem picked up the longsword first. He brought it close to himself for better examination. He really couldn’t sense any elementium aura from it. However, that pressing and chilling aura unnerved him. There were no bloodstains on the sword, but it radiated an overwhelming aura of bloodthirst and murder.

  “What is this sword? It doesn’t seem to be a magical weapon.”

  The adept smiled as he explained, “It’s not a magical weapon at all. It’s a vicious sword that possesses ‘bloodthirst.’ Its owner was once a peak Fourth Grade Sword Saint who had managed to infuse most of his consciousness into the longsword. That is why it seems so extraordinary.”

  Sword Saint?

  Greem frowned slightly.

  That was a common combat profession in the beastmen planes. Only elites among the beastmen warriors could advance into Sword Saints. Their weapons were usually single-handed swords with no elementium power. They were known for their tremendous explosive power that made the barriers of spellcasters as fragile as eggshells before them.

  “And this black stone?” Greem put the longsword down and cast his eyes toward the black stone.

  The Chip had actually managed to detect traces of principle aura on this stone. Anything that possessed principle aura of its own was an excellent object.

  “I don’t know either,” The stall owner scratched his head and replied in a somewhat dejected tone. “I got all this from the body of a Sword Saint. My party went to great lengths to kill him, and these three things were all I got. As for what this black stone is, precisely? I wanted to appraise it, but the information tower’s appraisal fee was three hundred thousand magical crystals…so, I had no choice but to give up!”

  Greem listened closely as he flipped the black stone over and over in his hand.

  In the end, he was certain that this was a seed!

  The problem now wa
s whether the principle aura on the seed was because it had been in a certain location or if it was something inherent to the seed itself. If it was the latter, then this seed could also be categorized as a Fifth Grade material.

  “Tell me, how much do you intend to sell this thing for?” Since Greem had his suspicions, he acted without any hesitation.

  “Since the appraisal fee of this object alone is 300,000 magical crystals, I believe that its actual value should be…no less than 1,200,000!” Upon seeing a whale of a consumer arrive, the stall owner quickly declared a bold price. It was so bold of a price that even he couldn’t help but blush a little when he said it.

  One million two hundred thousand magical crystals? That didn’t seem too expensive at all!

  Chapter 1456 - A Crude Boor

  “Alright, a million and two hundred thousand magical crystals it is!”

  At Greem’s level, anything that could be purchased with magical crystals was no trouble at all.

  Upon hearing how easily Greem agreed to the offer, the store owner’s expression froze completely. There was no joy on his face at all; there was only regret.

  At this point, he was certain that the black stone must be some item of incredible value. He should not have come here to the market in hopes of getting lucky just to save that three hundred thousand appraisal fee.

  “My…my lord, you…you might have heard wrong. I…I said three million magical crystals!” The adept couldn’t help but stutter as he went back on his word.

  “What did you say?” Greem’s face turned dark, and he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.

  A harsh and chilling aura instantly filled the air.

  Three million magical crystals were nothing to Greem. If the stall owner had offered three million as the initial price, Greem would have agreed without even frowning.

  However, the fact that this adept shamelessly went back on his word after they had come to an agreement was a slap in his face as a Great Adept.

  “I…I said three…three million magical crystals. You heard wrong earlier!” At this point, the adept had no choice but to stubbornly insist on his lie. At the same time as he said this, he was screaming the same words over and over in his mind- ‘Please don’t be a Great Adept. Please don’t be a Great Adept.’

  He couldn’t sense Greem’s actual grade and, so, treated him as a Fourth Grade who had hidden his identity. Fourth Grades were still trouble, but given the person that stood behind him, he could still bury all this trouble under the ground.

  “I will give you one more chance to reconsider what you said. If you insist on going against what we agreed upon, then you should be prepared for the consequences!” Greem chuckled coldly.

  The ‘argument’ between the two wasn’t a big commotion, but it still drew the attention of several adepts wandering in the market. A few of the stall owners nearby also folded their arms and watched as the drama unfolded.

  This place was a large market. Naturally, there would be enforcer adepts around.

  Soon, a group of Fourth Grade adepts in golden robes with golden emblems pinned to their chests appeared amongst the crowd.

  “What’s happening? Why are you all gathered here? If you want to buy something, hurry up and do it. If you aren’t buying, then pick it up and leave,” The enforcer adepts pushed apart the crowd and arrived before the stall.

  The adept that owned the stall seemed to be a slippery one too. He hastily moved forward and pulled the leader of the enforcers toward him as he mentally messaged something to him.

  “Lord Kay?” The leader of the enforcers paused for a moment. He couldn’t help but reply with a question, “How is it that I never heard that Lord Kay had a brother like you?”

  “A low profile…a low profile. I’ve always preferred to keep a low profile, which is why I never walked about waving Lord Kay’s name around,” The owner of the stall had an ingratiating expression on his face as he continued to speak with the enforcer mentally.

  The enforcer listened with a tilted head as his gaze swept toward Greem.

  When the enforcer’s gaze fell on Greem, he paused for a moment. He then rubbed his eyes and took a better look, but he couldn’t help but become suspicious.

  He was only intermediate Fourth Grade and couldn’t tell what grade’s Greem was exactly.

  “Sir, how may I refer to you?”

  “Greem!”

  “Why don’t I act as a mediator, and we just let this thing be.”

  “Let it be? How so?” Greem chuckled coldly as he said. “I had my eyes set on something and we agreed on a price, which he promptly backtracked on. How should we let this thing be?”

  “Sir, you should consider this carefully. Lord Kay stands behind him…that’s a peak Fourth Grade. He once killed two beastmen shamans and a Sword Saint on a planar battlefield a while ago. All three of those enemies had been peak Fourth Grade opponents!”

  Killing three opponents of the same grade as a Fourth Grade truly demonstrated tremendous combat prowess. However, trying to scare away a Fifth Grade Great Adept with that much was ridiculous!

  Greem couldn’t be bothered to continue wasting his words. He picked up the black seed and threw a storage ring to the stall owner.

  “A million and two hundred thousand magical crystals. No more, no less. This is settled!”

  The stall owner seemed to feel more empowered now that he had somebody to have his back. He reached and grabbed at Greem’s sleeve and immediately started shouting, “There’s a thief here! A thief!”

  A cold light gleamed in Greem’s eyes as the invisible flame barrier that was always around his body manifested abruptly. The right hand of the adept erupted into golden flames upon touching his sleeve.

  Aaaaaah!

  The stall owner screamed in pain, but he couldn’t extinguish the golden flames on his right hand, no matter what he did. On the contrary, the flames slowly crept up his arm, threatening to ignite the rest of his body.

  “My friend, I’d suggest you put that thing down first! I have already notified Lord Kay. If there is any conflict, why don’t you leave it until he’s arrived and the two of you can settle it between yourselves? Is that okay?” The leader of the enforcers was a sharp man.

  The more he looked at Greem, the more unusual he seemed. The guard didn’t want to be involved in this messy affair at all. However, Lord Kay was one of the most powerful individuals among the Fourth Grade adepts.

  If he just let this fellow burn Lord Kay’s blood-related brother to death, then he won’t be able to explain things to Lord Kay.

  While everyone was trying to figure things out, a mean and sinister voice rang out from behind the crowd.

  “Who is it? Who dares harm my brother! You don’t value your life, do you?”

  The crowd parted upon hearing this voice. A ferocious and muscular bald man with two comically large knives on his back came forth. He wore black leather pants with a dragon-leather armor set that ran across his chest. A violet magical pattern had been drawn on his body.

  His every action radiated a tremendously savage and vicious aura!

  “It’s Lord Kay!”

  “Lord Kay’s arrived. This new adept is in trouble.”

  Whispers rang out from the surrounding crowd, their voices filled with fear and wariness toward this ultra-powerhouse.

  Greem’s face gradually turned even darker.

  The bystanders thought he was afraid. However, only Greem himself knew his feelings. It was more like the feeling of disgust at having stepped in dog shit in new shoes. He was a revered Great Adept, yet he had to deal with these crude boors. What a humiliation to his status!

  Perhaps he should never have concealed his identity.

  The adept that owned the stall must have eaten the gall of a bear. To think he had the guts to play such dirty tricks on a Great Adept!

  Out of his extreme anger, Greem started laughing instead. He turned around and looked coldly at this ‘Lord Kay’ to assess him.

&nb
sp; One had to admit that this Lord Kay looked quite impressive.

  Moreover, as a body-refining adept, he had managed to forge his will into his body and into the two magical knives on his back. It made him a top-class elite even among the peak Fourth Grade ultra-powerhouses.

  This Lord Kay saw the golden flames climbing up his brother’s shoulder the moment he arrived. His fierce brows furrowed as he extended the palms of his two hands wide open. There was a flash of jade-green light as the two magical knives appeared in his hands.

  The next second, cold light gleamed. The stall owner’s right arm became completely cut off at the shoulder. The adept himself screamed in agony and was blown away.

  The severed right arm fell onto the ground. The flames instantly erupted, reducing the arm to ashes in mere moments.

  The crowd gasped, seemingly confused as to why Lord Kay would strike at his own brother the moment he arrived. Only a few people managed to guess that there was something wrong with the flames, which was why he had cut the arm off and prevented it from spreading.

  A looked of surprise flashed across Greem’s eyes.

  This ‘Kay’ fellow was quite impressive indeed. He was able to sense the golden fire’s hidden characteristics and attempted to sever the Undying Flames’ connection with the soul of the adept with his own ferocious will.

  Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite there yet.

  He had obviously not realized that the golden fire wasn’t powered by law power, but principle power.

  It was a single word’s difference, but it made for a ridiculous distinction.

  That was the distinction between man and god!

  “Kid, don’t get too cocky! If I wanted him dead, you wouldn’t be able to save him,” Greem scoffed and snapped his finger. The adept who had been knocked into a wall and was now struggling to get up was struck again. Crimson light glowed from his wound as the golden flames appeared out of thin air and started burning again.