Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Hence, in Lin Li’s opinion, the Nether Pearl was worth less than 50,000 gold coins, let alone 5,000,000.
However, Lin Li’s disappointment was fleeting, and he soon remembered some of the tricks that those unscrupulous merchants would often pull. Selling an inferior item like it was of superior grade was one of such tricks. Another trick would be to take advantage of the shoppers’ lack of knowledge to sell them the inferior goods. On the one hand, they didn’t want to let the inferior item seem unattractive after being compared to the item that was of superior quality. On the other hand, they wanted to use this opportunity to raise the price of goods of better quality. If the inferior item could be sold for 5,000,000 gold coins, the one of superior quality had to cost at least 10,000,000 gold coins!
Hence, in Lin Li’s opinion, this secret merchant might have more than one inferior-quality Nether Pearl, or in fact, even more Nether Pearls that were truly of a good quality. Although it was only his conjecture, there was still a high possibility that it was true. After all, if he had paid such a huge price to go to the Nether Sea, how could he have gotten only one Nether Pearl?
However, as Lin Li was about to ask the secret merchant to show him a Nether Pearl of a better quality, Cantory, who had been tagging along, walked over.
“Huh? Nether Pearl?” Cantory exclaimed pretentiously, as if he had just discovered the Nether Pearl. He then asked the secret merchant, “How much do you plan to sell this Nether Pearl for?”
Cantory was not a Necromancer, so the Necromagic wasn’t of any use to him. In that case, he was clearly trying to create trouble for Lin Li again. He had been following Lin Li around just for the sake of finding a chance to irk Lin Li.
Of course, Cantory did not just blindly vie with Lin Li for whatever he wanted to buy, because that would be too foolish. He had some understanding of the Tower of Dusk, and was aware that Lin Li had two Undead servants. Moreover, the Nether Pearl was the holy artifact of Undead creatures, so Cantory was certain that Lin Li really planned to buy the Nether Pearl.
Seeing that there was another person asking about the Nether Pearl, the secret merchant immediately became interested as he quickly answered, “Sir, you must have a good understanding of the Nether Pearl. This one has reached the peak of the Legendary-level, but I’m selling it for only 5,000,000 gold coins. Even a Legendary magical crystal costs more than 5,000,000 gold coins, but this Nether Pearl has many more functions and uses than a Legendary magical crystal.”
“5,000,000 gold coins is too expensive, I’ll take it if you lower the price to 4,000,000 gold coins,” said Cantory, who didn’t raise the price immediately, and instead bargained to lower it a little.
However, Cantory didn’t have any good intentions in lowering the price, nor did he really intend to buy the Nether Pearl. In fact, even a Nether Pearl of the best quality was worth only less than 2,000,000 gold coins. Although Cantory bargained for a lower price, it was still much higher than what it was really worth, and he did that so as to prevent Lin Li from lowering the price any further.
Although Cantory had asked for a discount of an entire 1,000,000 gold coins, the secret merchant did not lose his temper, because he knew clearly how much the Nether Pearl really cost. Even if he sold it for 4,000,000 gold coins, he would still be earning a huge profit. Hence, after Cantory quoted the price, the secret merchant turned to Lin Li, and asked, “Sir, what price would you like to offer?”
It was not a proper store where items were usually sold on a first-come-first-serve basis. In the Secret Merchant Market, the only rule that applied when making deals was that the highest bidder won. Although it was not an auction, it was similar to one.
However, to the surprise of the secret merchant and Cantory, Lin Li smiled faintly, and put the Nether Pearl back on the display without any reluctance. He then said, “4,000,000 gold coins is still too expensive. In this case, he can have the pearl.”
He decided not to buy it just like that? Cantory was dumbfounded. He initially thought that he would stop raising the price further even if Lin Li offered 4,000,001 gold coins because Lin Li would already make a huge loss if he were to buy it at that price. However, he didn’t expect that Lin Li would give up on the Nether Pearl without even raising the price by a single gold coin. In that case, he would have to buy that Nether Pearl.
“President Felic, I’m really sorry, I forgot that you have two Undead servants under you, they should need this Nether Pearl more than me. Forget it, I’ll let you have this Nether Pearl,” said Cantory. Although Cantory had brought enough money with him to the Secret Merchant Market, he couldn’t waste his money on useless things. If he were to spend 4,000,000 gold coins on the Nether Pearl that was useless to him, he would have to buy fewer of the items that he really needed, which would not be a cost-effective trade-off at all.
Seeing that Lin Li had decided not to buy the Nether Pearl, the secret merchant thought that he could at least sell it to Cantory. Anyway, even if he sold it for 4,000,000 gold coins, he would still make a huge profit. However, to his surprise, Cantory decided not to buy it, either. His spirits were immediately dampened, and he looked at the both of them while trying to persuade them to change their minds. “You two should stop giving in to each other. This Nether Pearl is not an ordinary item. I dare say that I’m the only one who’s selling a Nether Pearl here in the entire Secret Merchant Market. If you miss this opportunity, you never know when you’ll be able to buy such a fine Nether Pearl again!”
However, Lin Li still shook his head, and pointed at Cantory while saying to the secret merchant, “Sorry, I can’t afford 4,000,000 gold coins. Doesn’t the rule of highest bidder wins work here? You can sell the pearl to anyone who can afford it.”
The secret merchant was stunned for a while, and he seemed to have realized something. He then turned to Cantory with some displeasure, and said, “Sir, you should know the rules here. This may not be a proper auction, but the rule of the highest bidder wins still applies. Since you’ve won the bid, don’t tell me you can’t afford this price!”
He managed to compel Cantory and put him in a difficult spot with just a simple sentence. The identities of the secret merchants were kept confidential, but the identities of the guests were not. Even though Cantory was the son of the Gilded Kingdom’s chancellor and the disciple of the Lord of the Illuminati, he would still be listed as an unwelcome guest if he were to break the rules of the Secret Merchant Market. In the future, he would no longer be permitted entry into any Secret Merchant Market.
The secret merchant’s words were infuriating for Cantory too. What do you mean I can’t afford it? If I can’t even afford to spend 4,000,000 gold coins, I wouldn’t have come to the Secret Merchant Market at all. Considering the consequences and his pride, Cantory secretly gritted his teeth, and bore with the pinch of having to part with his money. “Fine, 4,000,000 gold coins, not a single one less!”
The only thing that made Cantory feel better was that although he could not use the Nether Pearl that he had bought with 4,000,000 gold coins, he could resell it to others, and at least recoup some of his losses. What really made Cantory upset was the fact that he had failed to scheme against Lin Li, and even ended up making a fool of himself.
The secret merchant and Cantory quickly completed the transaction. Seeing that Lin Li was still around, Cantory sneered, “Why? You must be disappointed, President Felic! If the Nether Pearl was given to Undead creatures, it’d be even more useful than any artifact. I may not be able to use it, but I know a few Necromancers, and I believe they’ll need it.”
Cantory was enraged too, for his plan to scheme against Lin Li failed, and he even ended up losing 4,000,000 gold coins while embarrassing himself. Of course he’d be displeased. However, he still felt that Lin Li needed the Nether Pearl desperately, so he was indignant, and tried to get back at Lin Li.
At this point, Angelano who was at the side, said to Lin Li, “Felic, why did you let him have that thing? You’re not short of money anyway. That skeleton Ujfalusi needs to break through to the Sanctuary-realm, doesn’t he? He should have a higher chance of breaking through if he has this thing, right?”
As soon as Angelano said that, Cantory began to get conceited again. Holding the box containing the Nether Pearl in one hand, Cantory stared at the Nether Pearl like he was admiring a piece of art. While looking at it, he said, “Ah, this is a Legendary-level Nether Pearl. Even a Necromancer who has just entered the Legendary-realm can exert the power of a peak Legendary powerhouse if he’s wearing this. If a peak Legendary powerhouse got it, wouldn’t he be able to reach the Sanctuary-realm?”
Cantory seemed to be murmuring to himself, but if associated with what Angelano said, it was obvious that he was directing his words at Lin Li.
However, Lin Li laughed nonchalantly, and turned his head to say to the secret merchant, “Well, you’ve already sold the inferior goods at a high price. You should take out the item of superior quality now.”
The secret merchant also said that he was the only person who sold Nether Pearls in the entire Secret Merchant Market. Others might think that he meant that he had sold the one and only Nether Pearl in the Secret Merchant Market to Cantory. However, in Lin Li’s opinion, the secret merchant clearly meant that he had more Nether Pearls for sale.
Hearing Lin Li’s words, the secret merchant could not help but be stunned for a while, but he didn’t feel embarrassed. Anyway, in this Secret Merchant Market, goods that had been sold couldn’t be refunded, so the secret merchant didn’t have to worry about making Cantory displeased. He wasn’t ashamed that he had sold an inferior item to Cantory, either. As long as the rules of the Secret Merchant Market were not violated, all transactions would be protected by the Secret Merchants Alliance.
However, Cantory was a bit dissatisfied with Lin Li’s words as he squinted at Lin Li, and snapped, “Don’t crack wise just because you’ve missed the opportunity yourself. Besides, who are you to say that I bought an inferior item? I know what you’re thinking, you just want to undermine the value of this Nether Pearl, and then find a way to buy it from me at a low price, right? Unfortunately, I’m not going to fall for your trick, this Nether Pearl is truly at the peak of the Legendary-level.”
Angelano was a little confused too. He looked at the Nether Pearl in Cantory’s hand, and asked Lin Li, “Felic, is what he bought not a Nether Pearl?”
Although Lin Li couldn’t be bothered to care about Cantory, he wouldn’t miss the opportunity to rub salt into his wound. Hence, he explained to Angelano, “The composition of laws in that Nether Pearl is very chaotic, and the power of death contained in it seems to be somewhat purer only because someone managed to channel the mana of other laws out of it using some special means. If Necromancers were to use this, their soul fire might even be extinguished, let alone have their strength improved.”
As soon as the secret merchant heard Lin Li’s explanation, he knew that Lin Li was an expert in this field. He turned around and took out from behind himself a larger crystal box, which contained numerous neatly arranged Nether Pearls. He placed the crystal box in front of Lin Li, and said, “Sir, there are a total of 39 Nether Pearls here that range from the beginner Legendary-levels to the peak. Of course, the price varies too.”
Upon sight of the box of Nether Pearls, Cantory, who was ready to refute Lin Li, was also a bit dumbfounded. At this juncture, even a fool would realize that he had fallen into the cunning merchant’s trap, or rather Lin Li’s trap too. However, as a regular customer of the Secret Merchant Market, he also knew the rules here, and had no choice but to suppress his resentment. He gritted his teeth and looked at Lin Li. “Even if my Nether Pearl is inferior, it still cost 4,000,000 gold coins. If there’s one of top quality, I’m afraid it’d cost at least 10,000,000 gold coins.”
Cantory knew that if what Lin Li said was true, his plan to resell the pearl to recoup his losses wouldn’t work. Hence, he decided to go all out, and try to use the price that he had bought his Nether Pearl at to raise the prices of the Nether Pearls in the box that the merchant was carrying to make Lin Li suffer a loss.
The secret merchant naturally would not miss the opportunity to make money, so he immediately went along with Cantory’s words, and introduced to Lin Li, “Look, Sir, the price of this peak Legendary-level Nether Pearl is 16,000,000 gold coins, while this one at level-23 costs 12,000,000 gold coins. I also have some that are level-21 and level-22, those cost 9,000,000 gold coins, and this level-20 one costs 6,000,000 gold coins.”
Hearing the exorbitant prices that the secret merchant had quoted, Cantory finally felt less displeased. Even a level-20 Nether Pearl costs 6,000,000 gold coins, how can the tiny Tower of Dusk have so much money? Let’s see how you can still pretend this time.
However, after listening to the secret merchant’s offer, Lin Li kept a straight face and nodded slightly before saying, “That’s quite a reasonable price. I’ll take the entire box.”
Both Cantory and the secret merchant were astonished to hear Lin Li’s words, and the first thought that came to their minds was that Lin Li had to be crazy. Yes, even the secret merchant himself didn’t think that his Nether Pearls were worth that much money. However, he was out to earn money, so he quoted such a high price.
Cantory sneered and glanced at Lin Li in disdain before mocking, “I didn’t expect you to be so rich and generous, President Felic. Are you planning to sell the Sky Castle?”
