The Martial Market. This was the place we all strive to join. Whether it is working at one of the stalls, workshops or shops that is the goal for the citizens in this region. The market recruits twice a year and today is the day the recruitment begins. It will last for six month's time and is open for the young and old.
There are two types of recruitment. The first is for everyone that wants to join and grants them entry to the outer market regions and the second is for the inner market and is only open for those in the outer courts.
Today it is the first day of the outer court recruitment and already millions of aspiring mortals are lined up ready to join the market and change their destiny.
A young man is standing in line waiting for his turn to sign up at the counter. There are at least thirty counters and they do a good job moving the line quickly and soon after waiting the better part of the morning it is finally his turn.
Quickly he walks to the empty counter and takes out eighteen soul bonds and drops it on the steele that is jutting out of the counter.
Soul Bonding Successful!
Flowing Dream Bonded
He ignores the eighteen notifications as they pop into the corner of his eye and moves past the counter and through the gates. As he is walking he takes out his family grimoire that he inherited from his grandfather and opens the first page. There on the first page the details for his eighteen new bonds came up.
Soul Class - Scribe 6/100
Soul Skill - Writing 3 /10
Soul Skill - Steady Hand 3/25
Soul Skill - Meditation 3/1,000
Soul Skill - Concoct 3/250
Six of the bonds went into a class with the other twelve splitting into four skills evenly.
The class was a mere White rank with the only skill to note is meditation at the low Yellow rank. Even concoct, which needs 250 bonds to master is an unranked skill leaving it as a white rank with little hope to break through his mortal shackles.
But, meditation gave him a slight hope as he can use the skill to change his fate. As a yellow ranked skill he could use it to gather heavenly energy into his body and transform his body through it. This was his only saving grace as he looked back at the scribe who inducted him into the Martial Market.
Although meditation did not give him any control over his energy he was not worried as he had a secret that would shake the whole continent if it would be discovered. He was born with so many soul bonds that couldn’t be counted and for that reason the head of his family, his grandfather bestowed to him the family’s greatest treasure that has been passed down for generations the grimoire.
Grimoires are said to have been created by a mighty celestial as his last act of defiance as he perished during a worldly tribulation lightning. Numerous grimoires were scattered and one of the grimoires was found by one of his ancestors and alas the ancestor was not talented enough to use the fortune that he was graced with and so the grimoire was passed down to the most talented youngster in each generation until it reached him.
Now, entering the Martial market he set out to obtain his fortune and not with the might of his fist but with his countless soul bonds that is the currency of the market.
With a new burst of confidence he heads to the nearest guard booth to register for a booth. The recruitment drive is going to last six months and so he wants to copy the scribe and bond new recruits into the market and in turn he will gain countless skills from all the aspiring mortals.
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Walking the last few steps he waves towards the guards at the booth.
“Hey!” he shouts out, “I want to register a booth at the recruitment drive for the next six months.”
Hearing this the guards burst out laughing.
“Hehehe” one of the guards tries to compose himself and replies, “ it costs three million bonds to register a booth.”
Many people over the years have tried the same trick to the point where once there were hundreds and thousands of booths and counters at the gates that the inner court barely had any improvement to their skills that year and so the booths were completely eliminated and only thirty countries given out to the highest bidder the day before the recruitment starts.
But, in case a talented new recruit joins the market gives the option to buy a stall at an exorbitant amount. The guards knowing that no one has ever bought this stall were waiting with glee as another hopeful recruit will leave in disappointment.
This stall was always bought by the thirty disciples after they service the counters for six months and after which they can buy the stall together for a huge discount of 30,000 bonds. That was the reward for accepting these untalented mortals.
The young man stood there with a contemplative look and furrowing his brows he finally made a decision.
“Where is the stall? I’ll take it.”
“Young man the heavens are vaster than all the land itself and one day we all come upon an opportunity but als we are too poor to take advantage of it.”
The guard finishes with a look of ity towards the young man standing in front of him. Clasping his hands behind his back he gazes towards the heavens with fake sadness in his eyes.
Not believing his ears the young man says, “I said I’ll pay the three million bond! What's a mere three million bonds compared to immortality.”
The guard stands there unmoving gazing up apparently he did not hear a word that was said. Even the other guards stopped laughing and joined the guard with their hands clasped and looked upwards. They all had hopeful gazes as they gazed at the heavens.
“The heavens are kind today… Not every day does an opportunity come… one just needs to fully grasp it…”
The guards are all looking up, muttering countless profound phrases as they ignore the young man.
Scratching his brows the young man coughs.
“This lowly mortal just remembered he had these extra soul bonds that he was doing nothing with.You lofty and esteemed guards must have a need for them.”
He takes out six thousand bonds for the six guards but they still ignore him. He increases it to sixty thousand but still nothing, six hundred thousand the first guard’s eyebrow twitches but he stays in place ignoring the world around him. Six million the guard eyes gleam with astonishment and looks of embarrassment replace their lofty expressions as they turn towards the young man.
Sixty million the young man increases the pile of bonds and immediately the guards pounce on the huge pile taking it all. Not even one was left.
Soul bonds Successful!
Brutal Baboon Bonded
Eclipse Vortex Bonded
White Tortoise Bonded
Calm Mouse Bonded
Crimson Sword Bonded
Subtle Panda Bonded
Ignoring the millions of notifications and his grimoire that has lighted up he stares at a shoddy dilapidated wooden stall is brought out.
“This stall is worth sixty three million bonds…” he stares at the stall with a wooden look in his eyes.
“Quick and bond it before the elders come” the first guard who spoke before urges him, “ it truly is a hidden opportunity.”
Hardly believing what the guard is saying but following through he spills out another pile of bonds onto the stall.
Soul Bond Successful!
Hidden Gate Sect - Inherited!
Suddenly a hand appeared in the sky and picked up the young man and the six guards and traversing the sky the hand traveled for three days and dropped them on an island miles off the continent’s coast.
Dropping from the sky a voice can be faintly heard.
“My promise has been fulfilled and now I wash my hands from this matter…”
As the voice faded the ground became closer and closer as they fell from the sky. Their vision cleared up and the land changed to a ble color as they plummeted into a blue lake.
Losing consciousness the young man faints and is grabbed by one of the guards who then swims towards the shore.
Once on the bank of the lake the other five guards rush towards them and then set up a perimeter as their new sect leader recovers.
To help with the recovery they take out all the soul bonds they conned him out of and then bonded it towards their most powerful and life saving skills and techniques. And with the remainder of the bonds they took out a damaged formation flag and bonded with it.
Immediately a faint vortex formed and sucked the surrounding heavenly energy towards them.
“Bah!” the guard who caught the young man exclaimed, “we were thrown out of the heavenly world there is barely any heavenly energy on this island.”
Looking very nervous the six guards tighten the perimeter around their new sect leader and guard the area vigilantly
Over the next week the young man wakes up several times and each time an elixir is poured down his throat and he goes back to sleep.
Finally on the eighth day since he entered his stupor he wakes up.