150 The Challenge of a Young Merchan (2/2)
The elder then turned towards the Illusory Maiden, which was standing right next to her companion, and asked ”What about you? What do you think?”
”I have no doubt that the kid hasn't reached the fourth stage yet.. But..” Responded the Illusory Maiden, before stopping right after the first word.
”But?”
The Illusory Maiden looked at the various elders, then said ”He seems to be extremely composed, focused.. I couldn't distinguish him from the two swords he carried..”
A second elder entered the conversation and said ”So he is extremely talented.. It doesn't matter. As long as his cultivation isn't higher than his, there should be no problems in defeating him.” He then turned to look at the man, and said ”Am I right?”
The man nodded energetically, and said ”Of course, elder.”
”Good. If what you've told me is true, and he is really able of creating all sorts of essence spheres of various levels, even if he won't make them personally, we can force his company to create them for us.” A nasty grin appeared on his face as he thought of a funny detail, then added ”The kid hasn't even set a specific limit to how many spheres we will be able to request.. If you win, we'll have a company that will help us enter a profitable market.. All for free. Don't mess this up.”
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Two days passed quietly, in which Daniel kept opening his shop at the usual marketplace, purchased as many essence treasure he found, and offered his services at his stall, along with Alesia and the rest.
The Sect of the Illusory Edge had decided to make the bet public.
They were sure that they would win, and since they wanted to enter the market of the essence spheres, they wanted people to know that Daniel would soon be working for their sect.
At the same time, the reason why this young merchant had challenged this powerful sect had started to become known. That, was mostly thanks to Daniel, which would always explain the truth about the matter to each and every customer who asked about it.
Inside the depths of the castle, Jerigh had spent the last couple of days cultivating at the highest possible speed. Daniel had given a large amount of high-level crystals, which contained heavy amounts of pure crystallized mana, and meat of powerful monsters to eat.
That day, whenever people finished their business with Daniel, instead of leaving and going back to their schools and sects, they would stay in the marketplace, and wait for the day to end.
It was now sunset, and the marketplace was unusually full of people.
In the middle of the large square, four people dressed in green colored clothes were standing quietly. These people were the Illusory Maiden, the man which would have to fight Jerigh, and two of the most well known elders of the Sect of the Illusory Edge.
These two elders had decided to come as a simple way of confirming to the various sect leaders and elders, that the words they had heard were actually true. They were currently chatting with numerous other generally known cultivators from the city.
After Daniel and the rest finished packing their items, they walked towards the middle of the square, right where the members of the Sect of the Illusory Edge were waiting.
As they arrived, the crowd of people opened, liberating a space of around fifty square meters.
When the two elders noticed Daniel's arrival, they approached him and presented themselves ”We are elder Rio and elder Tife, from the Sect of the Illusory Edge, we have heard great things about you, and your extraordinary knowledge.”
”It's a pleasure to meet you, elders.” Responded Daniel while nodding politely. The two elders expected Daniel to bow as well, but culturally speaking, it wasn't necessary for people to bow towards the elders of another sect. It was more of a matter of respect.
Despite the apparent lack of respect, the two elders did not take Daniel's behaviour to heart. In their mind, Daniel had challenged their sect, and he would soon be forced to work under them. So they really did not care for his behaviour.
On the other hand, Daniel's reputation slowly increased in the minds of the various cultivators in the crowd. For someone as young as Daniel, to not care for the face of his elders, it took a lot of bravery.
Elder Tife smiled politely at Daniel, and said ”We did not expect so much people to want to spectate to this little bet.. Why don't you give us half an hour to set a proper stage?”
As the elder finished speaking, a dense layer of immortal essence started to come out of Daniel's body. It quickly covered the entire area, just like a thick blanket. Then, the very next moment, it turned into a surprisingly well made circular ring.
Four refinedly crafted wooden chairs had appeared on each side of the ring, while various stands had appeared on all four sides of the ring. Each could seat at least a hundred people.
Finally, all around the ring, various metallic poles had been created. At the top of these poles, powerful white lights illuminated the area as if it was daytime.
In a matter of seconds, a perfect looking arena had been created out of nowhere.
Daniel turned to look at the two elders, and with an amiable smile, he said ”I'm sorry elders, I have much to do in preparation for tomorrow. Allow me.” He then walked towards the four chairs, and sat in one of the middle ones.
Alesia, Der, and Zack followed him and occupied the remaining three chairs.
While the two elders were still busy being surprised by the impressive level of comprehension and focus that Daniel was able to use, the various spectators quietly took their seat in the stands.
A good minute later, after the members of the Sect of the Illusory Edge finally sat down, the competitor from their side stood up, and prepared himself to go on the stage. But before he could, Daniel teleported on the stage, and quietly read the exact content of their bet.