Chapter 63 - Gathering at the Royal Palace
Under the guards’ guidance, Hei walked away with Lian and led the buffaloes who were carrying the carriages to the stables assigned to the mounts used by the arriving guests for the king's celebration.
It was an immense stable, worthy of being part of the royal palace, and inside, it already contained many animals that were resting quietly. However, the calm inside the stable was suddenly disturbed by the arrival of the imposing buffalo herd.
The momentary occupants of the stable awoke all of a sudden and watched the approach of this herd. Even powerful animals such as lions and tigers became nervous when the buffaloes arrived. They could easily perceive the strength of the albino buffalo leading the approaching herd. Regardless of their numbers, they couldn’t win against such a being and realized that it had to be a strong spirit beast.
Some beast tamers, who were in charge of guarding the animals on behalf of their respective sects, looked at each other nervously. They were lesser beast tamers and could at best control simple animals or spirit beasts with very little spirit power. But from the presence of the albino buffalo comparable to a sixth stage spirit apprentice, nearing the second level, they sensed that there was a formidable beast tamer at the helm - a real and talented one, not false imitations like them.
But to their astonishment, instead of a great character, they saw only two youths next to the buffaloes. Seeing them, they were immediately filled with disappointment because they wanted to meet an expert beast tamer and not some children. However, they managed to refrain from asking questions of the two youths since it went without saying that the two youths were from an important sect, perhaps one of the five big sects.
Hei led the buffaloes to first park the carriages in the place designated for the Flower Sect, before placing them in a stable wing. Given their number and the presence of other animals, they had to be a little tight, but it was nothing they couldn't stand for a while.
"Shui, I'm sorry, but you guys have to stay here for now. Get your strength back in the meantime. I guess you will be tired from the journey,” Hei said as he adjusted the herbs he had cut close to each buffalo so they could eat when they wanted.
Shui shook its head as if to say it was fine. But since its companions weren't as sturdy as it was and they needed some rest, it didn't insist.
"I'm sorry, Mi, but you and the bees have to stay here too. Being small, you could come with us, but the queen bee has left you a part of the hive bees. A good leader must stay close to her subordinates, right?"
Upon hearing those words, Mi let out various buzzing sounds as if she wasn’t totally in agreement, but she knew she couldn't walk away, leaving the other bees alone.
"I will see if I can bring you something good, okay?" Hei promised as he greeted Shui, Mi, the buffaloes, and the bees.
So with his mother and his little sisters hidden on his body, Hei walked with Lian towards the royal palace.
The guards, who had witnessed the arrival scene of the Flower Sect, recognized them and had them pass inside under the escort of a guard who led them inside the building to the banquet hall used to welcome the guests.
When they entered the banquet hall, the word that immediately came to Hei and Lian's mind was luxury.
A massive room with a gilded ceiling from which large golden chandeliers hung. The walls were filled with frescoes depicting vivid images of the history of the royal family and the kingdom. The floor, in turn, was composed of a detailed mosaic depicting other historical scenes. The furniture, however, except for the long tables on the sides of the room, was non-existent. They had removed the various pieces of furniture to make room for the audience who had come for the celebration of the king.
Hei and Lian, therefore, had to extricate themselves from that sea of people and found that they were all martial artists. Fortunately, being one of the five big sects, the Flower Sect group was easily identified due to the crowd that had formed around them to greet the sect leader and the other two elders.
Making their way through the crowd, they finally managed to reach the group. The sect leader gave them a quick look before quickly returning to converse with the sect leaders and elders of the other sects. The same was valid for the other two elders, who were greeting the various acquaintances.
This scene continued for quite a while. Given the number of representatives, even if it had been limited as much as possible, it was still high. Furthermore, although the Flower Sect was one of the five big sects, it wasn’t appropriate to offend the other sects by showing an attitude of superiority. Often, it was more suited to maintain the facade of respect and friendship. After all, even if they had less power, joining together, they would form a considerable strength.
Hei, Lian, and the other personal disciples remained close to the sect leader and the elders in silence. As they were considered members of the younger generation, they had no right to participate in the conversation. Except for a few glances, the representatives of the other sects would have flown over them. Although they were curious about those geniuses, it would have been rude to try to speak directly with them since it would have been seen as an attempt at external recruitment.
But this didn’t apply to the members of the younger generation of the other sects. These, like the Flower Sect geniuses, were next to their sect leaders and elders. They were looking defiantly at anyone who could be a rival, in particular, those from the five big sects.
There would be room for a sparring competition during the actual celebration banquet. For those from minors sects, it was an opportunity to show off their skills and show that they are stronger than those with a higher background. For those who came from a powerful sect, it was an opportunity to challenge old rivals and impose their superiority on others.
As members of the Flower Sect younger generation, Hei and the others were receiving the most looks. The only ones who boasted such a quantity were the geniuses of the Tree Sect younger generation.
But despite the tension in the air among the young martial artists, it wasn’t yet time to fight. At one point, one of the king's ministers entered the reception room and announced the beginning of the auction.
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"Good morning, all our esteemed guests from all over the kingdom. On behalf of the king and the entire kingdom, we thank you for your presence today on this day of celebrations. As you know, the banquet will take place in the evening. During the day, there will be an auction with the objects prepared by the king for the occasion and those brought by your esteemed guests. Our experts have finished the assessments, and now we can start. Since you are many, please follow the order in which we will call you and place yourself in the positions assigned to you."
The minister then had a parchment delivered to him by his assistant. Above were written the names of the sects and families participating in today's event. So it started with the most illustrious guests.
"Tree Sect." Proclaimed the minister.
A group of six people came out of the crowd and headed for the minister. There were three adults, the sect leader and two elders, and three young martial artists, the geniuses of the Tree Sect.
The group immediately attracted the eyes of the crowd as it advanced. In particular, the number of members of the younger generation was astonished as it would usually have been more. As one of the five big sects of Rainbow Island, the Tree Sect had the opportunity to bring more disciples of the younger generation with them, but they did not. That made the various powers present intrigued, and they were looking forward to seeing them in action.
Once the Tree Sect group was escorted by one of the guards to the auction hall, it was the turn of the Flower Sect.
As before, even their group attracted everyone's eyes, and a guard also led them.
The place they were led to was better be described as a theater — a myriad of seats placed in the center with various intersections that divided the seats into sectors. In front of the seats, there was a big stage where the different objects put up for auction would be exhibited. On the sides, on the other hand, there were elevated seats on several levels, which allowed one to look at everything underneath.
Usually, those VIP seats in the auction houses would have been equipped with mirrors that prevented observing the interior of the room. But since it was a ‘public’ event organized by the king, it wasn’t necessary. After all, who would dare to create personal disputes during the king's birthday?
If they weren’t able to buy the desired item, it would be just for their financial limit, that's all. At most, they could take revenge in the sparring competition between the younger generation. But in no way could they come to arms, at least not within the confines of the capital. Once outside, they would be free to do as they wanted. But that would be detrimental for their reputation as a sect if something went wrong.
Slowly, the various sects and families began to position themselves in the designated positions. One of the most elevated areas were offered at the Flower Sect. To avoid any problems, however, they were placed on the opposite side assigned to the Tree Sect.
However, not only were the guests of the various sects and influential families of the kingdom participating in the auction. Many members of the military army of the kingdom were present as well as other corporations and individuals of a particular influence, including members of criminal groups. After all, without power, it wasn’t possible to have authority, and therefore they needed more and more resources to increase their power.
The king and the various ministers turned a blind eye to the presence of certain infamous people. As long as they didn’t commit serious crimes against the crown and paid a certain entrance fee, they were allowed to enter the auction. Of course, they would be supervised throughout their stay at the royal palace and would not attend the evening banquet. But it was okay for them; besides, only suicide would try to play tricks with all these martial artists from outside, including two of the five big sects.
When everyone took their seats, and even the king, queen, and various princes had settled down, the auction finally began. For the occasion, a renowned auctioneer was hired, responsible for the most important auctions that took place during the year.
Usually, the auction houses assigned a young woman with tight-fitting clothes as an auctioneer, and various helpers also dressed in short dresses to liven up the mood of the public. But this wasn’t just any auction but one organized by the king. A certain elegance and seriousness were, therefore, necessary in all details, even the smallest ones.
The auctioneer, therefore, took the floor,
"Welcome to all our esteemed guests. I want to first thank the king for organizing this auction and allowing this one here to participate as an auctioneer. To the best of my ability, I promise to conduct a fair and entertaining auction. I remind you that the best offer wins the exhibited object. There are no limits to the number of items you can buy, as long as you have the right amount of money with you to buy them. But with you distinguished gentlemen and ladies, I imagine there are no problems in this regard.
As always, as soon as I finish the various offers, I will call a count of three, and if at the end of the count there are no further offers, the object will be assigned to the person with the last offer made. Even if you make a bigger offer, if you do it after I have finished counting, it will no longer be valid. At the end of the auction, you can go to the back of the stage and receive the items you bought waiting for your turn. For the illustrious guests in the VIP areas, near your seats, there is a transmission artifact with which you will be able to communicate with the back of the stage and have the item bought delivered directly to your room.
Well, as I finished explaining the operation of today's auction, I would say to start with the first item."
The auctioneer finished his explanation and with a hand sign beckoned to two young helpers to bring the first item. They were two pretty young girls dressed in long elegant dresses. They were carrying a cart containing a short sword held in an elegantly crafted sheath.
The auctioneer, therefore, had the two assistants sent away and went on to illustrate the qualities of the weapon before giving way to the dispute between the various contenders.
Since the first objects were usually objects of no interest for an existence like the Flower Sect, the people inside the VIP room looked at the beginning of the auction with little enthusiasm. The sect leader and the two elders sat in front together with Hei and Lian, who were the first two in the ranking among the inner members. The other personal disciples were watching, seating behind them.
Waiting for them to begin with the spirit beasts at the auction, Hei brought out Ye and Xing and took some fruit from the room and began to cut it into small pieces to feed his two little sisters.
At a certain point, however, he decided to ask a question that hadn’t yet asked.
"Sect leader, you told me that I would receive an appropriate compensation equal to the value of becoming a personal disciple. But you haven’t yet told me the total amount of that compensation," Hei pointed out, making all the presents knit their eyebrows.
Although it was a legitimate question, the tone of voice wasn’t at all appropriate for a disciple of the sect to the sect leader. Typically Hei would have maintained a threshold of respect in public, but right now, he couldn't care less. This time it was a question reading spirit beasts, so he went straight to the point.
The sect leader pretended as if nothing had happened and answered,
“Becoming a personal disciple has many advantages such as learning the techniques of that elder for free and having a guide in cultivation. It is reasonable that its value is high, but at the same time, I cannot exaggerate with the amount of money I can give you since we have to buy resources for the sect ourselves. I would say that ten third-level spirit stones are appropriate, do they seem okay to you?"
On hearing this sum, the faces of the personal disciples were surprised while the two elders wrinkled their foreheads even more.
Usually, small-caliber objects were paid for with first-level spirit stones, those that already aroused the interest of the important sect were paid with second-level spirit stones and those that could be considered real treasures with third-level spirit stones.
Although it wasn’t possible to buy one of those treasures with only ten third-level spirit stones, it was still a sum of certain importance to a single person, considering that the person in question was still a member of the younger generation.