“Can you tell me the reason why?” Bernard had no idea what was going on.
The destruction of a sculpture shouldn’t be too difficult. How could they give up after failing just a single time?
“If we tell you the reason, then we will no longer return the fees you provided to us. Do you agree?” The red-robed woman said calmly.
An assassination organization was also a type of information broker. They were willing to sell information as well.
“Done.” As the leader of the Debs clan, Bernard could afford to be magnanimous.
The red-robed woman said softly, “I can tell you this. Among the admirers of that sculpture, ‘Awakening From the Dream’, there is a person who our organization definitely does not wish to offend. And this person is not someone whom your Debs clan is able to offend either.”
“Alright. My report is complete.” With a smile, the red-robed woman immediately departed.
Bernard was incredibly angry.
This red-robed woman wasn’t even willing to disclose the identity of this person Bloodrose didn’t wish to offend. But Bernard understood one thing: Someone capable of causing trepidation for Bloodrose was definitely an incredible person. A report on such a person would definitely also be incredibly expensive.
Year 9999 of the Yulan calendar, April 21st. Within the dedicated auction hall at the Proulx Gallery.
This auction hall was split into three levels. The first level had ordinary seats, while the second level had stand-alone booths which only major nobles and extremely wealthy people were qualified to enter. The price to enter those booths was terrifyingly high. As for the third level, it was just a single, extremely large hall, also decorated very lavishly.
At this moment, the hundreds of seats on the first level were beginning to get filled up, despite the fact that the price of each seat here was a hundred gold coins. As for the ten or so private booths on the second level, based on the locations of the seats, the prices varied from a thousand to ten thousand gold coins.
But the third level? That wasn’t opened to the public at all.
The fame of this sculpture, ‘Awakening From the Dream’, was extremely resounding now. Many of the people currently in the auction hall were some of the wealthiest, most powerful noble families on the Yulan continent. But precisely because there were only so few seats while there were so many nobles present, these standard seats, which supposedly cost a hundred gold coins each, were being sold by scalpers outside for a ridiculous sum of money.
The Debs clan, as a local clan, had a special relationship with the Proulx Gallery, and were able to acquire seats in the private booth with the poorest positioning.
In truth, aside from the Debs clan, all of the others who were present in the second level booths belonged to extremely famous and wealthy clans throughout the Yulan continent. They were far more powerful than the Debs clan. For example… the Dawson clan of the Dawson Conglomerate. Even they were only on the second level. But of course, the representatives of the Dawson clan here were not members in the direct line of descent and succession.
“Alice, walk on the inside.”
This time, six people had come from the Debs clan. Alice was walking between Kalan and Kalan’s mother, and was even wearing a hat that was pressed down on her head. Very quickly, the six of them reached the second level.
Within this second level were the greatest clans of the Yulan continent.
Upon seeing who was in the second level hallway, Bernard, leader of the Debs clan, immediately began to modestly greet everyone present. Here, the Debs clan meant absolutely nothing. It was like the evaluation Yale had once given them in private; they were a ‘minor clan’.
Right. In the eyes of these clans whose influence spanned the entire Yulan continent, if a clan’s area of influence was limited to a single kingdom, then that clan was nothing more than a minor clan.
The six people from the Debs clan entered their booth.
“There will come a day when my Debs clan will be like those clans. No; we will be even stronger,” Kalan said to himself.
For the Debs clan, during this trip, failure was not an option.
No matter what, it was better to have this sculpture located within their own manor, rather than in the manor of an outsider. After all, in June, Kalan would be having his engagement ceremony with Alice, and by then, many people would know that Alice was becoming a member of the Debs clan. But even though ‘failure was not an option’, in reality, their financial ability to succeed was a major issue as well.
“Big Brother Kalan.” Alice took a seat next to Kalan.
In a place like this, surrounded by hugely powerful clans, Alice, too, felt rather constrained and pressured. After all, in this place, even the Debs clan counted for little, much less a minor noble like Alice and her clan.
“Don’t worry. Inside this booth, the people below won’t be able to see you at all. That Linley really has gone too far. He actually…” Whenever Kalan thought of that sculpture, ‘Awakening From the Dream’, he would burst with rage. Anyone with some understanding of sculpture would be able to guess that Linley and Alice had a romantic history together.
After all, if they hadn’t shared a period of true love, how could Linley have produced such a godly work of art?
If Kalan were to really marry Alice, there would most likely be many people who would secretly speculate about what the relationship between Alice and Linley was like. For someone of Kalan’s social status, how could he bear such embarrassment?
The third level of the auction hall.
Inside, there were only four people. The Proulx Gallery’s Managing Director Maia, Austoni, Linley, and Yale.
“Haha, Director Maia, which one is Linley?” A loud, exuberant laugh boomed out.
Leaning on his cane, Director Maia went over to welcome the man, while Linley and Yale both immediately went to welcome him as well. “Your Majesty!”
The person who had come was the king of the Kingdom of Fenlai. He was the pride of the kingdom; the Golden Lion, King Clayde. Being both the king of Fenlai as well as mighty a warrior of the ninth rank was indeed something worthy of admiration.
Linley carefully inspected this Clayde.
This king was built extremely muscularly, and his head of long, golden hair billowed about him wildly, giving off the aura of a lion with enormous explosive power. His entire person naturally radiated a domineering aura that made hearts quail in fear.
Clayde looked at Linley. “If my guess is correct, this one must be Master Linley.”
“Your Majesty, please, just call me Linley,” Linley said immediately.
As a matter of fact, Linley felt quite helpless. Ever since the sculpture ‘Awakening From the Dream’ had been put on display, many people, upon seeing Linley, would humbly address him as ‘Master Linley’. This was not feigned courtesy. Even Marquis Jebs of the Lucas clan, who really was not willing to part with the warblade ‘Slaughterer’, was still filled with the utmost admiration for Linley.
“Good enough.” Clayde was extremely blunt. “And this must be Yale, right? Yale, how’s your father doing?”
“My father is doing very well. Unfortunately, he isn’t currently within the Holy Union, as if he was, he definitely would’ve come in person,” Yale said modestly.
Clayde nodded slightly.
“Director Maia, who else has come today?” Clayde called out casually.
Director Maia smiled. “Let’s wait a while longer. I expect that Cardinal Lampson and Cardinal Guillermo will be arriving as well.”
Generally speaking, the third level was only used for welcoming guests which the Proulx Gallery held in the highest regard.
The windows of the third level were made of a special type of glass. Those on the outside were unable to see inside, but those on the inside could clearly see the outside. This sort of glass was specially designed and produced by alchemists, and was extremely expensive. Most places weren’t able to afford such materials.
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“Lords Guillermo and Lampson have arrived.” Director Maia’s position allowed him to see the outside hallway.
Linley, Yale, and even King Clayde all went to welcome these two men with great warmth and enthusiasm. In a group, they went to greet these two Cardinals of the Radiant Church. Cardinal Guillermo and Linley had met once before, while Cardinal Lampson was rather pudgy. When he laughed, his eyes turned into thin slits. He seemed very adorable.
“Linley. Right?” Lampson immediately gave Linley a big, warm hug.
“Lord Lampson,” Linley said respectfully.
And then, the seven people within the third floor, being Cardinal Lampson, Cardinal Guillermo, Maia, Yale, Austoni, King Clayde, and Linley all sat down together, peering out of the windows at the spectacle below.
From their vantage point, they could even see into what was going on in the booths on the second level.
“Third Bro, look.” Yale lightly nudged Linley by the arm and nodded below.
Following Yale’s gaze, Linley looked over as well. Suddenly, he discovered that within one of the second level booths, Kalan and Alice were both present. Right now, Alice and Kalan were holding hands while seated together on a sofa, engaging in conversation.
“I didn’t expect her to come,” Yale said softly to Linley.
Linley only smiled calmly.
“Linley, what are you guys talking about?” The pudgy Cardinal Lampson chortled at Linley.
“Nothing.” Linley shook his head.
Guillermo patted Clayde on the shoulder. “Clayde, I must say, your management of the Kingdom of Fenlai has been stellar. You’ve actually managed to produce an incredible talent like Linley. Before this, I really had no idea that this genius magus, Linley, had also reached such an incredible level of achievement in the art of stonesculpting.”
Yale, Linley, Clayde, Guillermo, Lampson, and Director Maia continued to engage in idle conversation while watching the activities below.
All of the seats on the first floor of the auction hall were now filled.
On the main platform, the sculpture ‘Awakening From the Dream’ was placed, covered with a piece of cloth. On the platform, a beautiful serving girl stood on each side of the sculpture, while a golden-haired gentleman walked onto the platform with a smile. Looking around himself, he said in a bright voice, “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome all of you to this auction for Master Linley’s sculpture, ‘Awakening From the Dream.’”
This middle-aged man behaved extremely leisurely. Slowly, he said, “Every single guest who has come today has a grand reputation. In particular, our Gallery was fortunate enough to be able to invite Lord Cardinal Guillermo to attend as well.” This middle-aged man bowed slightly towards the third level.
Instantly, everyone below rose to their feet, filling the auction hall with the sound of their applause.
“We also have Lord Cardinal Lampson present.” Another round of energetic applause.
“His Majesty, the ruler of our Kingdom of Fenlai, has arrived as well.”
“Additionally, the genius magus and genius sculptor, Master Linley, is present today.”
This auctioneer rattled off one name after another, and each time he did, there was a storm of applause. To these nobles, a Cardinal of the Radiant Church, the ruler of a kingdom, and that genius of a level which the Yulan continent would rarely see in its entire history, all were worthy of their admiration.
“Master Linley?”
Within her booth, Alice stared out of the window at the third level, but unfortunately, all she could see was black glass.
But on the third level.
Linley could clearly see Alice’s face… and the slightly lost look in her eyes.
75
A Sky-High Price
Standing in the middle of the platform, the golden-haired, middle-aged man continued to boast, “When discussing the Ten Masterpieces, in this day and age, the lowest valuation of one of the Ten Masterpieces is 5.28 million gold coins, while the highest is the ‘Bloody-eyed Maned Lion’, which was recently auctioned off in the Proulx Gallery branch in the Yulan Empire for a price of thirteen million gold coins!”
All of the nobles and wealthy merchants below grew silent.
These prices were downright terrifying.
“The materials for the sculpture, ‘Bloody-eyed Maned Lion’, were collected from an actual, Saint-level ‘Bloody-eyed Maned Lion’, while the sculptor was Grandmaster Hoover from over a hundred thousand years ago. In the past ten thousand years, our Yulan continent has produced just two Grandmaster level sculptors; Master Proulx, and Master Hope Jensen. These two both reached the level of Grandmaster.”
The golden-haired man let out a sudden laugh.
“However, from what I know, every single Grandmaster sculptor in history… no… let’s not discuss Grandmasters for now… even the vast majority of master sculptors were only acclaimed as ‘masters’ after their first century of life. Even if they hadn’t reached a hundred, they were at least in their seventies or eighties. Has there ever been anyone who became a master before the age of thirty?”
The golden-haired man looked at his audience. “In the past, no. But now? There is.”
“The incredible Master Linley is a genius. He is seventeen years old! He is a seventeen-year-old dual-element magus of the seventh rank. In the field of magic, he is the number two genius in the entire history of the Yulan continent. But his accomplishments in the field of sculpting, despite only being seventeen years of age, are well known by everyone here as well.”
As he spoke, the golden-haired man turned to stare at the sculpture, ‘Awakening From the Dream’.
The two female attendants stepped forward and removed the covering cloth, revealing the actual sculpture, ‘Awakening From the Dream’.
“This is the sculpture produced by Master Linley. Based on the investigation performed by our Gallery, this sculpture was completed last December, during the days of that huge blizzard. In other words, it was completed when Linley was still sixteen years old.” The golden-haired man laughed. “At the time, I had been wondering why that blizzard was so unnaturally fierce. But now, thinking back, I imagine it must have had something to do with the impending birth of this sculpture of Master Linley’s.”
Instantly, all of the nobles and magnates below laughed.
“Alright, enough with the small talk,” pointing at the sculpture, ‘Awakening From the Dream’, the golden-haired man said, “This sculpture has absolutely reached the Grandmaster level. More importantly, this sculpture is extremely large. To be absolutely honest, we could actually chop it into five pieces and auction each piece off separately.”
The wealthy nobles below all roared in laughter as they began to chatter.
“I’m just joking, of course. Each of the figures pictured in this sculpture has its own aura and charm. When put together, they seem to form a wondrous love story. I believe many connoisseurs of stonesculpting who are present can sense the sad but beautiful love story behind this sculpture.”
The golden-haired man sighed. “Each of these five figures have been carved at the Grandmaster level. When put together, they will give the viewer a very unique, very special sensation. I am absolutely unable to guess what the price for this sculpture will be.”
“And most importantly of all, when Master Linley finished this sculpture, he was sixteen! Just sixteen years old!” The golden-haired man’s voice began to boom. “I have never, in my life, found myself at such a loss for words. I have no way of verbally expressing the admiration I feel for Master Linley. He… is a true genius!”
These words caused yet another commotion amongst the watching nobles.
For a sixteen-year-old to complete a sculpture like this was nothing short of a miracle.
But in their booth, the Debs clan was totally silent.
“That detestable bastard.” Kalan was filled with rage and hatred towards this golden-haired auctioneer. After that little speech of his, t
he bidding war for this sculpture was sure to become even more extreme.
“I simply cannot imagine Master Linley’s future accomplishments. And that is precisely why this sculpture, the first sculpture made by Master Linley to shock the world, is so valuable! Alas… unfortunately, I myself don’t have much money, as otherwise, even if I had to sell off all my family’s possessions, I would still buy this sculpture,” the golden-haired man said with a laugh. “Alright, let’s start the auction. Bids will start at one million gold coins. I trust no one will object?”
A million gold coins!
That was the starting point for this auction?
Many of the lesser nobles who had been hoping to get lucky were suddenly brought to their senses. If they weren’t members of an extremely wealthy, powerful clan, they shouldn’t even think about trying to fight over this sculpture, ‘Awakening From the Dream’.
“Each bid must be at least one hundred thousand gold coins higher than the last,” the golden-haired man added. “Alright. The auction for Master Linley’s sculpture, ‘Awakening From the Dream’, now officially begins!”
Immediately, the auction hall fell silent.
“1.5 million!” A noble seated in the bottom row immediately made a bid.
Linley was watching the bidding going on below from the third floor. From Linley’s clothes, the little Shadowmouse, Bebe, also stuck his head out to watch the proceedings.
“Boss, in the future, I can eat all the roast chicken and roast duck I want, and drink all the wine I want as well.” Bebe’s voice rang out in Linley’s mind.
“No problem.” Linley rubbed Bebe’s little head.
As far as he was concerned, Bebe was just like a brother to him.
“Yeah! In the future, life will be sweet.” Bebe was so excited that his eyes gleamed. Craning his neck, he leaned over to look down. “Whoah. Two million gold already. Higher, higher please.” Bebe constantly urged the price to go higher. Watching Bebe, Linley couldn’t help but laugh.
Coiling Dragon_Book 1 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 64