King Clayde, the king of the Kingdom of Fenlai, warmly clapped Linley on his back. “Linley, let me help give you a boost!”
“Austoni, five million gold coins!” Clayde instructed Austoni.
Austoni walked over to a speaking platform, then said in a bright voice, “His Majesty, Clayde, bids five million gold coins!”
“Thank you, Majesty,” Linley said immediately.
“Haha, no worries.” Clayde put his arm around Linley’s shoulders in a friendly manner. “Linley, regardless of whether or not you choose to join me, there’s no reason for us to constantly maintain decorum as ruler and subject.” Clayde spoke very casually and freely.
Linley was beginning to feel well-disposed towards Clayde.
He truly was a very magnetic, charismatic leader.
“Your Majesty, please forgive me, but I would like to go back and consult with my father first. If nothing out of the ordinary happens, I intend to remain in the Kingdom of Fenlai,” Linley said with a smile.
“Yes, you should absolutely talk this over with your father.” Clayde frowned very slightly. “But Linley, from what I hear, your father has left the town of Wushan. I spent some time investigating, but couldn’t figure out where your father has gone to. It is as though… he’s disappeared.”
As soon as Linley’s fame had exploded, as part of his plan to pull Linley to his side, Clayde sent some people to meet with Linley’s family.
But Hogg was no longer in the town of Wushan.
“My father isn’t currently in the town of Wushan?” Linley felt a bit suspicious, but then he laughed. “Perhaps my father has gone somewhere else for a while. Father can’t always be in the town of Wushan.”
“Perhaps.” Clayde didn’t continue with this topic.
Hogg truly had hidden himself quite well. Otherwise, if the ruler of a kingdom wished to find someone, how could they fail to do so?
Within a private booth on the second level.
“Five million gold coins?! Dogshit!” Kalan swore foully, something he rarely did.
Bernard, clan leader of the Debs clan, had a gloomy look on his face. He said in a low voice, “Kalan, you should know what sort of situation the clan is currently facing. Right now, the clan’s future is uncertain. We can’t waste too much money on this affair. Based on our clan’s deliberations, we can at most spare eight million gold coins for you. This is our bottom line.”
Kalan nodded.
Kalan knew very well that his clan’s entire total net worth was only around a hundred million gold coins, and most of that net worth was bound up in illiquid assets. Their liquid assets were, at most, around twenty million gold coins or so. The clan couldn’t possibly waste all of their liquid reserves on a single sculpture.
It was already very kind of the clan to not force Kalan and Alice to separate.
“5.3 million gold!” Someone in another second-level booth made a bid.
The golden-haired middle-aged man began to grow excited. “5.3 million gold coins! The lowest valuation of one of the Ten Masterpieces was 5.28 million gold coins, but now, the list of the Ten Masterpieces has changed. I can formally announce that the sculpture, ‘Awakening From the Dream’, has officially joined the ranks of the Ten Masterpieces!”
“Young master Yale of the Dawson Conglomerate bids six million gold coins!” Austoni once again announced from the third level.
Upon hearing this price, Kalan’s face began to turn black.
The price had reached six million gold coins so quickly. This truly exceeded Kalan’s expectations. Based on Kalan’s predictions, given that the cheapest of the Ten Masterpieces was valued at 5.28 million gold coins, the eight million gold coins he had prepared should have been more than enough.
But…
Kalan wasn’t a true collector. He didn’t have a deep understanding of the field of stonesculpting.
Those true connoisseurs could totally sense the unique, soul-stirring aura of this sculpture, ‘Awakening From the Dream’, especially when viewing all five images together. Such a thing was extremely rare. In the entire history of the Yulan continent, there had never been a case of five figures carved into a single sculpture, especially in such a manner as to evoke a sad, beautiful feeling in the viewer.
What was more, the sculptor was only sixteen years old when it had been completed. And he was a genius magus!
“I cannot allow the price to continue rising like this.” Kalan frowned.
He knew that if the price continued to rise slowly, his chances of winning the auction would grow slimmer and slimmer.
“Eight million gold coins!” Kalan’s loud voice announced his bid.
From six million gold coins to eight million gold coins. A sudden increase of two million gold coins. This sort of explosive increase was enough to stun everyone present. After all, even the Ten Masterpieces were only worth so much. Even those three precious sculptures by Proulx were only worth around seven million gold each.
True collectors didn’t collect just for the sake of collecting; they had a keen eye for value as well.
Otherwise, if they just wildly threw their money around, they would bankrupt their clans.
The golden-haired middle-aged man immediately shouted loudly, “The Debs clan bids eight million gold coins! Such a nice, tidy, neat increase to eight million gold coins. From this, one can tell that they are determined to win this auction for this sculpture! I can already imagine how, in the future, once Master Linley becomes a Saint-level combatant, this sculpture’s price will no longer just be eight million gold coins. Most likely, by then, it will be worth sixteen million gold coins!”
This golden-haired man’s promotional ability was really very fierce.
But none of those who were present were fools. All of them were pondering… after all, even if they had money, it had to be spent in a meaningful way.
On the third level of the auction hall, Linley, Yale, King Clayde, Cardinal Guillermo, and Cardinal Lampson were all engaged in idle chatter and laughter as they watched the events below.
“Third Bro, that Kalan has made his bid,” Yale said in a low voice.
Linley couldn’t help but turn to look at Kalan’s booth. He could clearly see Kalan holding hands with Alice inside their booth. Judging from Kalan’s expression, he was very agitated.
“Third Bro, let me give him a bit of pressure. No matter what, we can’t allow your sculpture to fall into his hands,” Yale said in a soft voice.
“No need.” Linley slowly shook his head.
Linley was staring directly at Alice. Sitting there in the booth, Alice looked like a pitiable little girl who had suffered some sort of mistreatment. All of the other members of the Debs clan were looking at Alice with a hint of dissatisfaction in their eyes. After all, their clan was spending an enormous amount of money for Alice’s sake.
“If they really want it, let them have it,” Linley said emotionlessly.
Sitting next to him, Guillermo and Lampson exchanged glances, then chuckled.
Within the private booth.
All the members of the Debs clan were feeling very nervous. But of course, Alice and Kalan were the most nervous of all.
“Relax, Alice. Eight million gold coins is already an extremely high price. It won’t get any higher.” Kalan comforted Alice… but who was going to console him? Because the clan had only authorized him to bid up to eight million gold.
That golden-haired middle-aged man lifted up a small hammer. “The Debs clan has bid eight million gold. Is anyone going to outbid them? If not… I am going to begin the countdown.”
“Ten million gold.”
A rather lazy voice sounded out from one of the seats in the middle of the first level. Up till now, virtually all of the bids for this sculpture, ‘Awakening From the Dream’, had come from those extremely powerful clans seated on the second level. They were the ones who were really engaged in this bidding war. Those nobles sitting below were just there to watch the excitement. Nobody exp
ected one of them to make a bid as well.
“None of you have any insight. From what I can tell, this ‘Awakening From the Dream’ can be considered to be the start of an entirely new style of stonesculpting. Its carving style is totally different from every other sculpture, and what’s more, it has five images with totally unique yet connecting auras. It is definitely worth ten million gold coins,” the man who bid ten million gold coins said casually.
From the loose, baggy long robes of this thirty- to forty-year-old man, everyone could sense his lazy, indolent nature.
“Ten million gold coins?”
Within their private booth, Alice and Kalan were both stunned.
76
An Owner Found
“Big brother Kalan,” Alice called out in a low voice, looking at him with urgency in her eyes.
Perhaps others would feel pride at being the inspiration for a Grandmaster-level sculpture. But this ‘Awakening From the Dream’ of Linley’s was different. Anyone who had ever spent any time analyzing sculptures would easily be able to tell from the aura given off by those five figures that there was a romantic history between Linley and Alice.
If Alice had just married into a small clan, that wouldn’t be as much of an issue.
But… she was marrying into the clan of Kalan Debs.
Kalan was the future successor to the leadership of the Debs clan, and the Debs clan was one of the top three clans of the entire Kingdom of Fenlai.
“Calm down, calm down.” Kalan comfortingly held Alice’s hand.
But Alice could feel that Kalan’s hand was covered in sweat.
“Father…” Kalan turned towards his father, Bernard, then looked at his mother. His parents both doted on him exceedingly, which was why they were willing to spend eight million gold coins on Kalan’s behalf. After all, even to the Debs clan, eight million gold coins was an exceedingly large sum.
“Kalan, don’t even think about it. The clan can’t possibly hand over ten million gold coins just for the sake of your fiancée,” Bernard said, his face extremely solemn.
Kalan was stunned. Even Alice turned her head to look at Bernard, her eyes filled with worry and a hint of supplication.
“We’ll act in accordance with our previous discussion.” Bernard totally ignored Alice’s silent appeal as he coldly pronounced his judgment.
Kalan froze for a long moment, while by his side, Alice tightly clutched his hands, staring into Kalan’s eyes. Alice fully understood what Bernard meant by his words just now. Alice was extremely unwilling to accept this result.
Kalan glanced at Alice. He let out a helpless sigh, then slightly shook his head.
“Big brother Kalan, I’m not willing…” Alice said in a small voice.
Kalan clasped Alice’s hands. He gently shook his head again. “There’s no other way. Alice… I am the heir to our clan. I have to put the considerations of the clan first. I hope you are willing to sacrifice a little bit for me as well. I promise you that my heart towards you will never waver.”
Alice fell silent.
The heir to the clan!
These five simple words guaranteed that every single action of Kalan’s would reflect upon the honor and glory of the Debs clan. Although Bernard loved and doted on his son very much, no matter what, he could not permit Alice to become Kalan’s principal wife.
That’s right. There was no way she could become the principal wife.
In other words, any children which Alice bore Kalan in the future would not be able to become heirs, or be considered to be in the direct line of descent.
In truth, ever since the ‘Awakening From the Dream’ had been viewed by many people, the elders of the Debs clan had been constantly urging Kalan to give Alice up. Even if Kalan insisted on marrying her, they didn’t wish for Alice to become his principal wife. But Kalan had remained steadfast.
In the end, Bernard, the doting father, had compromised. He decided that if they were able to purchase this ‘Awakening From the Dream’, then this matter would more or less be at an end.
But from the looks of it…
“Big brother Kalan!” Alice looked at Kalan, her eyes turning moist. At the same time, she turned to look at the other members of the Debs clan. But at this moment, neither Kalan, nor Bernard, nor Kalan’s mother, paid Alice any mind.
At that moment, Alice felt her heart grow cold.
She suddenly thought back to everything she had experienced with Linley, how Linley had protected her and unstintingly cherished her. In the past, she had always taken Linley’s constant yielding to her for granted, but at this moment, how she longed for that feeling!
Raising her head, her gaze passed through the glass window to stare at the third level. But all she could see was the black glass.
“Ten million gold! Ten million gold! Is anyone willing to bid higher?” The golden-haired man was calling out from the platform.
The man dressed in the loose robes casually glanced around. And then, he addressed that golden-haired auctioneer directly. “Hey, stop wasting time. Hurry up and start counting.” The nobles nearby all began to laugh.
How could an auctioneer possibly obey the commands of one of the bidders below?
Based on their understanding of this golden-haired auctioneer, they knew him to be someone who would constantly escalate the bidding wars until the price reached an extremely high level.
But upon hearing the words of the man in the loose robes, the auctioneer seemed to have been hypnotized. Very naturally, he said, “Okay, then I’ll start counting! Three, two…”
“10.1 million gold coins!”
An ancient-sounding voice rang out from one of the second-level private booths.
Everyone’s attention turned towards that booth. Even the man dressed in the loose robes turned to stare at that booth in astonishment. In that second-level booth, aside from the Debs clan, every single clan present was one of the major, world-spanning clans of the Yulan continent.
The wealth of those clans was far higher than that of the Debs clan.
“Whoah, so there’s someone here who appreciates value after all. But raising it by just one hundred thousand is a bit too stingy. 10.3 million gold coins,” the man in the loose robes said casually, grinning.
Linley and the others on the third level all noticed the man in the loose robes now, but from their current angle, they could only see the man from the side, and were unable to see his face clearly.
“Hrm?”
Cardinal Guillermo and Cardinal Lampson of the Radiant Church both suddenly rose to their feet. Frowns on their faces, they walked to the opposite end of the glass, carefully looking down at the loosely-attired man below.
Just at that moment…
The loosely robed man seemed to have discovered the presence of the two Cardinals, as he raised his head upwards and glanced towards them.
“Him?”
The faces of the two Cardinals suddenly turned bone white.
Guillermo and Lampson exchanged glances, then they both shook their heads. In truth, the Radiant Church had already come to a decision about this auction. They had decided to spend a very large sum of money to purchase this sculpture, and thus improve the relationship between them and Linley.
But upon seeing this man, both Guillermo and Lampson silently decided to change their course of action.
“It’s best that we not get into a bidding war with this madman,” Cardinal Guillermo said softly.
Cardinal Lampson nodded as well. “I definitely don’t want to agitate that madman either.”
Although they both referred to this person as a ‘madman’, the fear they felt towards him was fear which was etched into their bones. Both Lampson and Guillermo were very much aware as to how terrifying that thirty- or forty-year-old man could be. Lampson, in particular…
Because if it hadn’t been for this madman, Lampson probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to be promoted to the rank of Cardinal.
There were only five
Cardinals at any time within the Radiant Church. Precisely because this madman had casually killed one of the previous Cardinals, Lampson had the opportunity to be promoted to his current position. But even though he had killed a Cardinal, the Holy Emperor was still unwilling to be enemies with this madman.
“10.4 million gold coins.” That old voice rang out once again from the second level.
The loosely-robed old man raised his head, glancing up with a frown. “You really are irritating. eleven million gold coins.”
“eleven million, this gentleman is willing to bid eleven million gold coins. Is anyone willing to bid any higher?” The golden-haired auctioneer was growing excited. After all, even the ‘Bloody-eyed Maned Lion’ sculpture, the greatest of the Ten Masterpieces, was only worth thirteen million.
On the third level, Guillermo asked Lampson quietly, “Lampson. Do you know which clan is situated in that booth? They actually dare to struggle with that madman? Are they tired of living?”
“Director Maia.” Lampson called over Director Maia, who was seated not too far from them.
Director Maia immediately came over.
“Director Maia. Do you know which clan is located within that booth?” Lampson asked. “The one where the leader is a young woman, I believe.” Being on the third level, Lampson naturally could see the people seated on the sofas in the second-level booths.
As for that elderly man, he seemed to be that woman’s servant.
Director Maia took a glance, then laughed. “Lord Lampson. Lord Guillermo. This young lady is a female in the principal line of inheritance for the Leon clan of the Yulan Empire. That booth was reserved under the name of the Leon clan.”
“The Leon clan?” Lampson and Guillermo were both startled.
In the Yulan Empire, the most ancient Empire in the Yulan continent, the Leon clan was ranked fifth amongst the major clans. A clan which could rank in the top five of the Yulan Empire was capable of easily destroying the Debs clan.
What was more, the majority of the descendants of the Leon clan all lived within the Yulan Empire, and thus in the Yulan Empire, they had an enormous web of influence.
Coiling Dragon_Book 1 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 65