“Guillermo, I believe that in our Ernst Institute, there was someone formerly known as the number one genius of the Institute by the name of ‘Dixie’. He seems to be from the Yulan Empire’s Leon clan, correct?” Lampson asked.
Guillermo was comparatively more familiar with the affairs of the Ernst Institute.
“Right, and not just Dixie. He has a sister as well, whose name I can’t recall. These two siblings both requested to be allowed to study at our Ernst Institute. Just a few days ago, though, this Dixie applied to graduate.” Guillermo directly revealed what he knew.
Lampson nodded as well.
“Seems like this girl is Dixie’s younger sister.” Lampson looked towards that booth.
Within the Leon clan’s booth on the second level. Dressed in violet and blue, and seated on the sofa, Delia had a tranquil expression on her face. Through the window, she stared down at the sculpture, ‘Awakening From the Dream’.
“Miss, stop fighting. That person below isn’t someone that you can afford to anger.” The old man was beginning to grow frantic.
As one of the elite clans of the Yulan Empire, the Leon clan was very clear regarding the various super experts, as well as the hidden powers. They knew very well that although they were an elite clan, there were some people who they simply could not afford to offend.
For example… that thirty- or forty-year-old man below.
The old man knew very well that although he himself was already four hundred years old, , the loosely attired man below looked the way he currently did even before he had been born.
“Don’t worry, Grandpa Shaw. Just help me send this letter to him, ok?” Delia took out a pen and quickly wrote a few words down on a piece of paper, before handing it to the old man next to her.
The old man received the piece of paper. Upon seeing its contents, he was stunned.
“Miss, you… this…” The old man was totally flabbergasted by this letter.
“Don’t worry about it. Just hand that letter to him.” Delia didn’t hesitate in the slightest. The old man did, but after a moment, he still left the booth and headed to the first floor.
“twelve million gold coins!”
Delia’s clear voice rang out from within the booth.
The loosely attired man below frowned, and a baleful aura seemed to gather between his furrowed brows. But just at this moment, the old man named ‘Shaw’ walked over to the loosely attired man. Upon reaching his side, he respectfully bowed. “Milord, I am a servant of the Leon clan. This is the letter my young mistress has sent to you.”
Furrowing his brows with surprise, the loosely attired man accepted the letter with some curiosity.
“Uh…” Upon seeing the contents of the letter, the loosely attired man’s eyes lit up, and then he began to laugh.
“Fine, fine, I won’t fight it, I won’t fight it.” The letter in the loosely robed man’s hands turned directly to dust, and then he sat back down again, grinning. He even raised his head to look up at Delia, seated on the sofa within her booth on the second level.
At this moment, within the third level of the auction hall.
Upon hearing that clear voice call out the words ‘twelve million gold’, both Linley and Yale were stunned. That voice was simply too familiar. Linley had known the owner of that voice since the first day he had entered the Ernst Institute.
“It’s Delia,” Yale said with amazement.
Linley immediately walked forward towards the glass, to a vantage point where he could look into Delia’s booth. Indeed, Delia was dressed in a conservative violet outfit and seated on a sofa, staring at the sculpture, ‘Awakening From the Dream’.
“Three… two… one…” “Bang!”
The golden-haired man slammed the mallet down, then excitedly called out, “Congratulations to the Leon family for using twelve million gold coins to win this auction and acquire this sculpture of Master Linley’s. I now have the honor of announcing that this sculpture, ‘Awakening From the Dream’, has the third highest price among the Ten Masterpieces. Only Master Hoover’s ‘Bloody-eyed Maned Lion’ and Master Proulx’s ‘Hope’ have valuations surpassing that of ‘Awakening From the Dream’.”
The entire auction hall began to be filled with commotion, and a raucous applause could be heard as well.
But Linley continued to stand there, next to the window on the third level, staring at Delia. And then, he turned to look at Alice, seated in the other booth. Both of these women were seated on sofas, but on Delia’s face, there was a hint of a smile, while Alice’s face was drained of all color.
77
Going Home
Both sides of the auction hall were filled with wealthy nobles. The groups of nobles separated into two sides in order to open a corridor for the departure of the Cardinals Guillermo and Lampson of the Radiant Church, King Clayde of Fenlai, Director Maia of the Proulx Gallery, young master Yale of the Dawson Conglomerate, and of course, the genius magus and genius sculptor, Master Linley.
These people walked through the middle corridor, chatting and laughing amongst themselves as they headed towards the exit of the Proulx Gallery.
“Lord Guillermo. Lord Lampson.”
“Your Majesty.”
“Master Linley.”
All of the surrounding nobles and magnates were smiling and greeting them with modesty and goodwill. The Debs clan, however, had been squeezed into a corner. Her head covered firmly by her hat, Alice couldn’t help but raise her head and take a peek at Linley, who was buried within a sea of well-wishing nobles and magnates.
In this day and age, Linley had become a legendary genius.
A seventeen-year-old dual-element magus of the seventh rank, whose achievements in the field of sculpture rivaled that of Proulx, Hope Jensen, Hoover, and the other Grandmasters. A genius such as he would naturally be viewed as the most glittering star in the sky, worthy of everyone’s admiration. Slowly, the two Cardinals, King Clayde, Linley, Yale, and the others disappeared into the distance.
Only then did all of the nobles and wealthy moguls leave as well.
“You must be Alice.” A clear voice suddenly rang out.
Several members of the Debs clan looked behind them into the hall.
A beautiful, golden-haired woman walked over to them, while by her side was an old man with a warm smile on his face. But both this woman and the old servant had an aura of nobility that emanated from their bones, naturally making others feel inferior to them.
Seeing her, Bernard immediately said modestly, “Lord Shaw, this must be Miss Delia. I’ve long heard that the Leon clan’s legendary Miss Delia is so devastatingly beautiful that she can cause the downfall of a kingdom. Today, upon seeing her, I must say that she is even more beautiful than the legends say.”
The influence of the Debs clan was limited to the Kingdom of Fenlai. Compared to the continent-spanning Leon clan, they were incomparably minute.
“Oh, clan leader Bernard of the Debs clan?” Delia glanced at Bernard.
Bernard modestly nodded.
“And this must be your son Kalan’s fiancée, correct?” Delia looked at Alice, who was hiding behind Kalan.
Bernard immediately smiled. “Her? No, she’s not the principal wife of my son Kalan.”
“Not the principal wife?” A cold smile appeared on Delia’s face, and she walked slowly towards Alice. Bernard didn’t dare to block her way. When Delia neared Kalan, Kalan actually puffed out his chest and tried to courageously block her path.
But when he met Delia’s frosty gaze, Kalan suddenly felt his heart grow cold.
When he reminded himself that this was a young mistress of the Leon clan, Kalan felt all the more uneasy. Right now, the relationship between the Debs clan and the Dawson Conglomerate was already terrible. If they offended the Leon clan as well… it would be simply too easy for the Leon clan to deal with the Debs clan.
“Alice.” Delia stared into Alice’s eyes.
Alice raised her head, forcing
herself to match Delia’s gaze, doing her best to calm her beating heart.
But Delia only laughed. In a soft voice, she said, “Alice… I really don’t know why Linley fell for you.”
Alice’s face grew pale, but she replied, “That’s none of your business!”
“None of my business?” Delia let out a calm chuckle. “Right. It’s none of my business. But I really feel pity for you. You actually gave Linley up, but what was the result of that? You aren’t even going to be a principal wife within this Debs clan. I imagine you feel regret… but unfortunately, you’ll never have that chance again. Because a person like you will never, ever have the chance to interact with Linley again. In the future, you two will belong in different worlds. Do you understand?”
Delia totally ignored the ugly look on Kalan’s face, and she turned directly to look at Bernard.
“Forgive me for disturbing you,” Delia said extremely courteously.
Bernard immediately bowed modestly. “Miss Delia, by your leave.”
The old man by Delia’s side cast a look at Kalan, who still had that ugly look on his face. With a cold sneer, he followed Delia out. But Bernard continued to watch them leave with a courteous smile on his face. Only after Delia and her servant had left did he turn, fixing Alice and Kalan with a deadly glare.
“Absolutely disgraceful!” Bernard snapped at them viciously.
Neither Kalan nor Alice dared to make a sound. Under this aura of oppressiveness, the Debs clan returned home.
Within the Lucas clan’s mansion in Fenlai City.
“Master Linley, no, no, there’s no need.” Marquis Jebs was hurriedly trying to refuse Linley. “There’s really no need for the six hundred thousand gold coins. Master Linley, I am so incredibly sorry. I really had no idea that you had reached such an incredible level in the field of sculpting.”
Jebs, that obstinate old man. Right now, when he looked at Linley, his eyes were filled with something akin to veneration for an idol.
Marquis Jebs didn’t have many hobbies. The one thing he loved to do was collect items.
Naturally, he felt deep veneration for those Grandmaster-level artisans of each field. Perhaps even if the King of Fenlai were present, he wouldn’t feel as much awe as he did now towards Linley.
“How about let’s just set the price at 180,000 gold, is that fine? My clan originally bought it for 180,000 gold coins, so that would still be fair. Master Linley, I really am not willing to make money off of you. If I took advantage and earned money from you, Master Linley, I wouldn’t be able to sleep well at night.”
The adorable old man, Marquis Jebs, was extremely stubborn.
“Marquis Jebs, in the past, when your Lucas clan bought this warblade ‘Slaughterer’ from my clan, the price you paid was 180,000 gold coins, true. But after all these centuries, due to inflation, the 180,000 gold coins you paid then is worth much more now.” Linley wasn’t willing to take advantage of the Lucas clan either.
But Marquis Jebs only stared stubbornly at Linley.
“Haha, you guys… you guys are just so…” Next to them, Yale was laughing so hard that he was clutching his belly. “The seller is frantically trying to lower his product’s price, and would rather give it away for free. But the buyer is trying to raise the price higher. I have never seen something like this before.”
Linley let out a helpless laugh as well. “Marquis Jebs, how about this? Centuries ago, those 180,000 gold coins had a purchasing power comparable to around 360,000 gold in this era. Let’s just go with 360,000 gold coins. Don’t refuse any longer! If you do, I’ll just throw down my magicrystal card and leave.”
Linley withdrew his magicrystal card from his breast pocket.
Marquis Jebs looked unhappily at Linley, but finally nodded. “Fine, then.”
Linley couldn’t help but laugh.
Marquis Jebs suddenly laughed a bit shyly as well. “Master Linley, I have a small favor to ask, if I might?”
“Go ahead.” Linley laughed, looking at the Marquis.
Marquis Jebs gestured at his servants, who quickly carried an erect stone tablet over from deeper within his mansion.
“Master Linley, I only hope that you can put your signature on this tablet. If you do, I will treasure this forever.” Marquis Jebs looked at Linley with hopeful eyes.
Linley chuckled, then withdrew his straight chisel from his breast pocket.
With a casual flick of the wrist, the chisel began to fly about in a blur as stone dust began to fall from the stone tablet. In the time it took to take three breaths, Linley was finished and withdrew his chisel. Gently blowing air on the tablet, all of the remaining dust flew away from it, revealing a name artistically written, as though it were a flying dragon or a dancing phoenix.
LINLEY
Staring at that word, Marquis Jebs’ eyes were shining. “What an elegant carving technique, and what beautiful letters. This word is far more valuable than 360,000 gold coins.”
Hearing this, Linley didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.
On the road from Fenlai City to the town of Wushan, the path was lined with redwood trees on either side. Riding a large stallion, Linley was galloping forward with a huge case on his back. This case was several hundred pounds heavy. Fortunately, this stallion was a particularly fine one that had been provided by the Dawson Conglomerate. Normal horses wouldn’t be able to move quickly when carrying such a burden.
Behind Linley, a troop of over a hundred Knights was following him.
This troop had been gifted to Linley by the Radiant Church via Cardinal Lampson and Cardinal Guillermo. What the Radiant Church claimed was that Linley’s safety was of paramount importance to them, which could be seen from the recent abduction attempt. The weakest member of this troop was a warrior of the fifth rank. It belonged to one of the ace regiments of the Knights of the Radiant Temple.
Over a hundred warhorses galloped behind him, kicking up a cloud of dust.
From far away, the image of the town of Wushan drew closer and closer to Linley’s sight. In his mind, he couldn’t help but think back to the events of his youth, such as the training he had undergone in the training grounds, as well as the terrifying sight of that Velocidragon.
In the past, in Linley’s eyes, a Velocidragon had been the symbol of utter invincibility. But now, to Linley, a Velocidragon was no longer much of anything.
“Rumble, rumble.”
The earth shook as this troop of elite knights and warhorses continued on their way. The shudders could be felt from far away.
“What a mighty troop.”
While walking through the middle of the town of Wushan, Hillman couldn’t help but turn and stare. The sound of their hoofbeats was orderly, fast and forceful, striking fear into Hillman’s heart. Even when he had been in the army, he had never encountered such a high-quality force of knights.
The lowest of the knights present was a warrior of the fifth rank. How could a troop belonging to one of the ace regiments of the Radiant Church be of low quality?
The sound of their warhorses galloping alone could strike fear into many.
“Who is that?” Hillman instantly saw that there was a person riding ahead of the troop.
“Linley.” The expression on Hillman’s face changed, and he quickly ran at high speed towards the Baruch clan manor.
After entering the bounds of the town of Wushan proper, Linley instructed his troop of knights to lower their speed. Linley alone continued to move towards his clan’s manor at a relatively fast speed. Seeing that vine-wrapped, scarred wall from afar, Linley thought back to one event of his youth after another.
“The Baruch clan, my roots, my foundation!” Carrying the warblade, ‘Slaughterer’, on his back, Linley’s heart was filled with pride.
Linley could still clearly remember the first time he had left for the Ernst Institute, what his father had said to him. Linley believed that he would never, ever forget these words from his father.
“Linley,
remember the centuries-long desire of generations of Baruch elders. Remember the shame of the Baruch clan!”
“After graduating, you will at least be a magus of the sixth rank. As long as you train hard, becoming a magus of the seventh rank shouldn’t be too hard. In the future, you will definitely have the ability to regain our clan’s ancestral heirloom. If you fail to do so, even in death, I will not forgive you.”
“Even in death, I will not forgive you!”
That voice reverberated in Linley’s mind. But this time, feeling the weight of the warblade ‘Slaughterer’ on his back, Linley only felt a surge of pride.
“Father, I’m coming back”!
“Father, I have brought back our warblade, ‘Slaughterer’!”
Linley flew off his horse’s back and charged directly into his clan’s courtyard.
“Father!” Linley shouted loudly.
“I’m back! I brought the warblade ‘Slaughterer’ back!” Linley was filled with joy and excitement. The elders of his clan had labored for centuries. His father had pined for it his entire life. And now, he had finally fulfilled his father’s desire!
“The warblade, ‘Slaughterer’?” A voice rang out.
Linley turned and looked behind him. It was Hillman.
“Uncle Hillman, where’s father? Quick, have him come out. Haha, I’ve finally brought back the warblade ‘Slaughterer’. Honest! I have the ancestral heirloom of our Dragonblood Warrior clan. I’ve finally brought it back. Quick, tell me where my father is. Once my father finds out, he will be so ecstatic. Tonight, we are absolutely going to get drunk. Uncle Hillman, don’t worry, tonight, I’m not going to shirk my duty. I’ll definitely get drunk with you. If we aren’t drunk, we won’t stop!”
Linley was so excited, he continued to babble without stopping. He even removed the case from his back, holding it in his arms as he stared at Uncle Hillman.
Coiling Dragon_Book 1 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 66
