"You… This…"
"Is there a problem?"
Ryu stood in the Ember Auction House, having come to sell many of his goods. However, it had already been half a minute of babbling from the first-floor manager, but he had yet to accomplish his goal.
"You… You're certain you want to sell these?"
"Why else would I come here?" Ryu was slightly losing his patience. The trouble was that while these things were of little value to even the current him, to others, they were otherworldly treasures.
First, there were six Crown Earth Grade Herbs!
To put this matter into perspective, Earth Grade Spiritual Herbs could only be used by Divine Vessel and Connecting Heaven Realm Experts. If someone of those two Realms attempted to ingest a Heaven Grade Herb, even if they didn't die, they would be terribly injured, maybe even crippled.
However, a Crown Herb had the potency of a Grade one level above it, yet could be ingested by those a level below! If the Connecting Heaven Realm experts of the Core Region knew of the existence of even one of these herbs, an all-out war would erupt!
In truth, even Ryu had felt some pain thinking of selling these six Spiritual Herbs previously. However, he thought of something later on that settled him down.
Didn't he have the Incubator and Ailsa? If he diligently cultivated his own gardens, he could rely on Ailsa's green thumb and his own Herbology expertise to birth several Crown Grade Herbs. On top of this, with the Incubator, he could easily absorb Spiritual Herbs that would normally cause him to explode.
Still, in some ways, the second set of items Ryu wanted to sell was even more valuable! They were actually a set of books that encompassed the Legacy of a Ruin Master!
Originally, in order to not connect himself to the Ruin Master's death, Ryu had decided not to sell these books. However, since he had been exposed in connection with the Zu Clan Elder, it no longer mattered as much. Plus, as long as he didn't sell the tomes housing information surpassing the Fifth Order, it was fine.
Ryu still had the Ruin Matrix on hand. If others knew he had a Tenth Order Ruin Matrix, even Ancestor Ember would personally descend to take his head. So, he had to limit the quality of tome he sold to a low enough level that no one of his caliber would become too interested in what else he might have found.
Even with this being the case, however, the Ruin Master profession was simply too prestigious. Even First Order knowledge would sell for thousands of Mortal Qi Stones! One had to remember that Ryu was still able to buy Black Grade Spiritual Herbs with mere gold coins, yet First Order Ruin Master knowledge was actually so expensive!
"This…" The first-floor manager hardly knew what to say. "… These kind of items would be the prime attractions of an annual auction. To raise them to the appropriate price we need time, promotion --."
"I don't have the time for that." Ryu cut the manager off, leaving him stifled.
"Manager Wyn, is there a problem?"
It seemed that Ryu wasn't the only impatient individual. The young man who just walked in went three beauties by his side was very much used to being welcomed with open arms upon entering the auction house. Yet, he had already stood near the entrance for nearly a minute, but was all but completely ignored.
"Ah, young master Sai, please excuse my rudeness. This young man here has brought incredibly valuable goods and this old man was distracted."
"Extremely valuable goods?" The young man raised an eyebrow. "You are aware that we do not do business with just anyone, correct?"
One had to remember how many hoops Ryu had to jump through just in order to buy a few Spiritual Herbs back when he first enter the Outer Ring. If a mere Valor City could have such rules, what could one expect from a city as large as the Ember Clan's Capital?
The Sai Clan was one the fifth and last of the Sixth Order Clans of the Core Region. The Lao Clan, the Minn Clan, the Ofera Clan, the Ember Clan, and finally the Sai Clan. Though, the Ember Clan was technically a Half-Step Seventh Order Clan.
As for why they hadn't appeared during the Inner Ring's Selections? This matter was obvious. Considering they controlled the Auction Houses of such a prime location, they had no needs for supplemental wealth. The resources of the Mortal Qi Small Realm would be funneled through them one way or another.
"There's no need to worry, young master. The Mistress saw the coming tournaments as a good business opportunity, so she laxed the requirements. Tournament participants are free to exchange their goods. This young man will be participating in the Wild Card Tournament, so he has the right to do business with us."
A flash of disdain couldn't help but creep up into the young man's gaze. However, before he could speak, Ryu had had enough.
"Are you finished?" He asked coldly. "Will you take my business, or not? If not, I will just sell them on my own."
"Ah." Manager Wyn became flustered. It was truly too difficult trying to juggle the happiness of two arrogant individuals at once. It was indeed inappropriate for young master Sai to interrupt their deal, but at the end of the day, he was a part of the current generation leaders of his employer's Clan. At the same time, it would be a huge blow for their Auction House to miss out on this sale.
Both had the right to their arrogance, yet he was the one caught in between.
"You are quite bold. Who do you think you are to believe your business is so valuable?"
Hearing these words, Ryu didn't bother to respond. He expressionlessly swept his items back into his spatial ring, causing Manager Wyn no small amount of heartbreak and turned to leave.
The three beauties who stood behind the Sai Clan young master had been preparing to support him with vicious words in hopes of getting on his good side, but they were completely blown away by Ryu's appearance. Their words were instantly caught in their throats as he strode by them.
The young man, known by many as Pascal Sai, felt a bubbling rage boil over within him. First at being ignored by Ryu, and second by the dazed appearances of the three who should have been his women. By the time he regained his bearings, Ryu was gone.
"What is his name?" Pascal slammed his palm on the greeting counter, his blood fuming.
"Young master Sai, please calm your rage and don't do anything reckless." Manager Wyn wiped sweat from his brow. "No one is allowed to touch tournament participants, you know this well."
How could this young master Sai be the only arrogant fool amongst such a flourishing population? There were no shortage of 'young masters' who would do as they pleased with those of lesser status. It wasn't without reason that these protections were put in place. If they weren't, the hidden talents of the Pedestal Plane would never get the chance to shine.
Pascal froze at these words, retracting his hand. Manager Wyn was correct, he had almost done something impulsive.
"But…" Manager Wyn built up his courage. "… Young master Sai, I truly wasn't lying, the goods he had on hand are enough to cause an uproar in our Core Region…"
Manager Wyn began to explain the items Ryu had brought in. By the time he finished, Pascal's eyes had opened so wide that their blood vessels nearly popped.
In the end, he finally calmed down and sneered.
"So what if he has protection? As long as he loses his place in the tournament, we can do with him as we please. Since he's being so generous, how could I not properly thank him?" A vicious glint lit in his eyes before he looked toward Manager Wyn. "Don't tell a soul about this or I'll have your head."