Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After circling around the garden and passing through a pavilion built between a man-made mountain and a pond, one would arrive at a large hall.
The roof tiles of this hall were brightly colored, its wooden structures exquisitely carved by artisans. Along the eaves were various wooden statues of deadly beasts, adding a domineering edge to this grand decor.
The plaque of the hall read ‘Pantheon of Beasts’.
Lu Xiaoyun clearly knew more about the Friar Association than Zu Can. It was only after a brief explanation from him that Lin Jin finally understood the significance of this place. One shouldn’t underestimate these three intimidating words on the plaque. In fact, its existence was similar to the ‘Hall of Great Strength’ in Lin Jin’s world where you could find one in almost every Buddhist temple.
The Friar Association’s auction was to be held here.
In terms of influence, the Beast Appraisal Association would never give away its position as number one. But when it came to strength, the Friar Association holds precedence. Besides, the number of people who join the Friar Association in every city far exceeds the Beast Appraisal Associations’.
Focusing mainly on cultivating their blood contracts, the Friar Association aims to elevate both their pet beast and their personal strength. Apart from that, they had another mission, which was to hunt down various types of pet beasts.
The beasts for this auction event were mostly captured by the Friar Association.
Upon entering the hall, they could see a large crowd already waiting inside. Found inside this vast hall were dozens of cages of different sizes, each covered with a thick veil.
There was a five-foot-wide perimeter around every beast cage that was barred with ropes and in addition to that, these cages were guarded by two disciples of the Friar Association. Before the auction began, no one was allowed to get close to the cages.
Only by covering the cages with a thick veil, could they retain the alluring mysteriousness.
Zu Can was rubbing his hands in glee. He told Lin Jin that his sapphire turtle was bought in an auction here as well. It cost him three hundred low-grade spirit stones back then.
1
Inside the Friar Association and some other locations, they no longer trade using money but spirit stone instead.
If the amount was to be converted into money, that sapphire turtle cost more than five hundred silver pieces.
It was clear that only the rich could afford to take part in the auction here.
“It’s normal to see transactions of several hundred spirit stones here. There are constantly pet beasts here worth thousands of spirits stones and that’s an amount even my Zu family can’t afford,” Zu Can explained with a chuckle.
On average, the prime age for forming a blood pact with a pet beast was sixteen years old for a human.
Before a person hits that age, they had to train their physique, strengthen their soul and increase their knowledge. Otherwise, the success rate of a sickly and ignorant person forming a blood pact would be incredibly low.
If the contract failed, both the pet beast and potential owner would suffer great harm and were required to recuperate for a long period of time after that.
Slightly capable families desired to provide their children with superior pet beasts with higher potential rates and compatible attributes. Hence, a beast auction like this was the best place for them to pick the right pet beast.
Zu Can was chatting with Lin Jin when he abruptly noticed several people some distance away. His expression darkened at once.
Noticing them as well, Zu Yingying leaned over and said, “Brother, it’s Second Uncle’s group.”
Zu Can nodded without saying anything.
The opposing party obviously noticed Zu Can as well so they came over.
Despite the flash of dissatisfaction in his eyes, Zu Can stepped forward with Zu Yingying and saluted the group.
“Good day, Second Uncle.”
They belonged to the Zu family.
However, no matter how one looked at it, both parties were clearly at odds with each other. Relationships between aristocrats sure are complicated. Nearly all of them seemed to bear grudges against one another.
The strict-looking middle-aged man glanced at Zu Can and Zu Yingying before shaking his head. “I’ve told Big Brother that leaving such important matters like purchasing pet beasts for the family to me would suffice. Yet, he still sent the two of you here, which I find to be absolutely unnecessary. But since you’re here, just stay and watch. It’s a good learning opportunity for you both as well.”
Both Zu Can and Zu Yingying’s expressions turned sour when they heard him say this. However, since the man was their elder, they couldn’t lash out.
“Oh, right, allow me to introduce my friend over here. This is Master Liao. Master Liao is an expert who doesn’t seek fame and fortune, but his beast appraisal skills are world-class. He doesn’t pale in comparison to Rank 3 beast appraisers at all. I’ve gone through great difficulties to get him to help our Zu family in picking out pet beasts. Hurry up and greet him,” urged Zu Can’s second uncle.
1
Standing beside him was an old man bearing an ethereal aura. He was gently caressing his beard as if everything was within his control.
Zu Can was irked, as he thought to himself, ‘I only greeted you because you’re my second uncle. Who the hell is this old man? I don’t even know him so why should I pay him respects?’
Zu Can didn’t move a muscle.
Zu Yingying was the same.
As children of nobility, they had to retain their pride. Moreover, they were clearly at odds with their second uncle, to the extent that they were on the brink of open hostility, so it wasn’t like they would obey his every command.
Before Zu Can’s uncle could speak up, Master Liao was visibly annoyed.
Perhaps he felt embarrassed from being ignored by two youngsters so he scoffed and remarked, “Mr. Zu, the children of the Zu family are really proud of themselves, aren’t they?”
Zu Can’s second uncle was named Zu Tianli. He was competing with the Zu family’s current patriarch, also known as his older brother, Zu Tianhong, both openly and covertly. Hence, he was prejudiced against Zu Can as well. Now that the boy was embarrassing him in front of Master Liao, Zu Tianli couldn’t help but feel angered by this.
He had indeed paid a handsome amount to hire Master Liao, costing him almost thousands and even favors to others.
“Zu Can, Yingying is a girl and she’s still young so I won’t hold her accountable. But you, as the eldest son of our Zu family, how can you be so disrespectful? Come here quickly and apologize to Master Liao,” Zu Tianli chided with a stern face.
Despite Zu Can’s cheerful demeanor, he had an unyielding personality. Even though he couldn’t retort against his second uncle due to his seniority, Zu Can remained adamantly still.
This was his counterattack.
“Hmph!” Zu Tianli looked grim. At this, the old man known as Master Liao waved dismissively. “Forget it. It’s nothing if they’re unwilling to show manners. After all, your Zu family is so huge, it’s only natural to have one or two uneducated youngsters.”
This remark was evidently crossing the line.
Zu Can immediately frowned while Zu Yingying couldn’t resist blurting out, “Who are you calling uneducated?”
Having said that, she was about to go into an argument.
Master Liao’s expression darkened as well. With the flick of his sleeve, a gust of wind surged, causing Zu Yingying to lose balance and fall to the ground.
Flaring up in anger, Zu Can took a step forward, only to be held back by someone before things got any worse.
He turned around to see Lin Jin pulling him back.
“Brother Lin, you…”
Before Zu Can could finish his sentence, Lin Jin could be seen shaking his head, saying, “They’re intentionally goading you and both of you just rush headfirst without thinking. Are you fools?”
His words sounded harsh, but it was for Zu Can’s own good.
The latter immediately understood what Lin Jin was trying to say.
Sure enough, Zu Tianli was doing it on purpose. He knew that with Zu Can’s personality, the younger man would never listen to him. With this, he could penalize Zu Can for being disrespectful and lecture him in public with his status as Zu Can’s elder.
Even if word got out, no one would think Zu Tianli was at fault. Whereas if Zu Can’s father found out, he would be forced to reprimand his son.
When that time comes, it would be Zu Can who was in the wrong.
No one really cared about the big picture here. They only knew that Zu Can was proud and disrespectful toward his elders.
At the thought of this, Zu Can calmed himself down and nodded at Lin Jin, flashing him an expression of gratitude.
Then, he took a deep breath before saluting Master Liao and said, “Since this sir is an expert hired by my second uncle, I’m sure you’re a forgiving man. If my sister and I have offended you in any way, I hope you can forgive us.”
As the saying went, ‘take a step back, and there will be a bigger world in front of you’.
Zu Can was aware that he only refused to pay this so-called ‘master’ respect because he was deliberately going against his second uncle. He ended up being labeled disrespectful by his uncle instead, while strictly speaking, they shouldn’t be held accountable at all. After all, Zu Can and Zu Yingying didn’t know who this person was and the old man was no elder of their family. Hence, it made sense not to pay the man respect. However, with his second uncle making things difficult for them, the situation ended up in his favor. Now, the best solution for them was to temporarily avoid conflict to prevent gossip.
Thus, Zu Can apologized.
However, he wasn’t a pushover. Although he was young, Zu Can was the Zu family’s young master. He knew that his second uncle, Zu Tianli, was here for the ‘authority’ to purchase pet beasts.
This was originally a task arranged for Zu Can. For Zu Tianli to abruptly intercept him and use his seniority to pressure Zu Can, he was undoubtedly trying to provoke the younger man and then use his insensitivity as an excuse to strip Zu Can of his procurement authority.
Purchasing pet beasts for the family was a huge deal. If Zu Can performed well, he would gain prestige, and of course, his father would also be honored by his deed.
Hence, he couldn’t possibly lose this procurement authority.
“Second Uncle, allow me to introduce you as well, this is an official beast appraiser from the Beast Appraisal Association, Appraiser Lin. I’ve invited him over to help our family appraise beasts.”
