Caz was the first to move forward towards the Trade Master, but John couldn't help but notice his movements were stiff, like he was finding it hard to move at all. It wasn't an aura thing or a pressure thing, but was purely Caz's nerves that had him moving so awkwardly.
"The hell are you so nervous for?" John asked as he stepped forward and patted Caz on the shoulder, and quickly stepped past him towards the seats near the Trade Master.
While the Trade Master was most definitely a World Expansion expert and someone who ran the entire Mystic Trade Hall, John's life experiences had brought him many harrowing ordeals, and something like meeting the Trade Master was not enough to shake his nerves.
John reached the lounge where the Trade Master was sitting, which was right before the window overlooking the auction theater. There were several nearby comfortable chairs to sit on, and he picked one to the right of the Trade Master.
"Trade Master," John greeted with a slight head bow before sitting. While he wasn't nervous at all, he still treated the Trade Master with the respect that a youth should show a powerful senior.
As he sat down on the chair, John was able to get a look at the Trade Masters face. The Trade Master appeared to be in his fifties, although his true age was much older. He had a neatly trimmed beard on his face, black in color with speckles of gray here and there.
The Trade Master glanced to the side as John sat down, and raised an eyebrow as he took in John's demeanor.
"Not a hint of nervousness at all. Not bad," the Trade Master said approvingly.
"Why would I be nervous to meet a respected senior?" John asked respectfully.
"John! You can't talk to the Trade Master so informal-"
"It's quite alright, Caz. Take a seat as well," the Trade Master cut off Caz and instructed him to sit, which Caz did after a deep and respectful bow towards the Trade Master.
The Trade Master's gaze shifted back towards overlooking the auction theater, and he remained silent for quite some time, as if he had completely forgotten about John and Caz.
"Tell me, why did that ancient dragon reverse scale take such a liking to you?" the Trade Master asked eventually, breaking the stifling silence.
"You don't really expect me to reveal such secrets, do you?" John asked, although his tone remained respectful. He could have lied and said he had no idea, but he had a feeling that the Trade Master would easily be able to see through his lies, and so he decided to be direct about it.
"John!" Caz exclaimed in surprise upon hearing John's direct tone.
"Hmmm, you're quite direct," the Trade Master mused as he glanced at John, "but I suppose the Prime Disciple of the Honorable Alliance should be like this."
"What!" Caz exclaimed, not expecting to hear such a thing, as John had never told him about being named the Prime Disciple of the Honorable Alliance.
"It's just my nature to be direct. I hope you don't find offense," John replied respectfully, to which the Trade Master nodded his head in approval. John didn't bother to clarify the Prime Disciple position, as it wasn't worth the time explaining.
"Very well. I find your directness quite refreshing actually," the Trade Master replied, "what is your reasoning for seeking me out personally?" he asked John.
John shifted his gaze to Caz for a moment, as Caz had brought him here to obtain more spirit crystals. While he was surprised to find out that the potential solution to his issue was to speak directly with the Trade Master himself, he had to seize this opportunity at all costs. With that in mind, John decided to be as direct as possible, as time was of the essence. If he couldn't get help here, he had to quickly find help elsewhere.
"I want that seal," John said firmly, referring to Daoist Eternal Weapons seal that was for sale. "No, it's not that I want that seal, it's that I need that seal. I asked Caz to help me acquire more spirit crystals to guarantee obtaining it, and thus he brought me here."
The Trade Master gazed at John in silence for quite some time, his face stoic the entire time. A small smile eventually curled up on the side of his mouth, and he laughed lightly shortly afterwards.
"Hahaha, you truly are direct with your words," the Trade Master said, "but such straightforward business truly is refreshing. Very well, I am willing to hear you out. What business do you propose?"
"I'm willing to sell you as many Heaven-Dao Tea Leaves as you want," John replied without hesitation.
"Hmmm? Even after giving Caz a batch of twelve hundred leaves in one go, you still have more to trade? How interesting," the Trade Master mused, his hand stroking his chin in a thoughtful manner.
John had already given Caz a year's supply, but he knew a place like the Mystic Trade Hall would want as many as possible. The cultivation world was one of rapid changes and grave danger, and cultivators died each day for various reasons. If John was to suddenly perish or vanish, the supply of the Heaven-Dao Tea Leaves would cease as well, which was not something the Mystic Trade Hall would want. The leaves had no production cost and almost no transportation cost, while they sold at staggering amounts, meaning it was almost one hundred percent profit.
Additionally, it was a product that would have endless demand, as there were millions of cultivators stuck at bottlenecks, who would pay whatever the cost was to obtain a leaf for the opportunity to break through to the next realm. As more cultivators used the leaves to break through to the next realm, its mythical status would continue to rise, and so would its value, making it even more desirable to be the one who was selling the leaves. There was nothing else like the leaves on the continent either, ensuring that its demand would stay constant in perpetuity.
Such an overwhelmingly favorable trading opportunity would never be turned down by someone like the Trade Master. As such, he knew the Trade Master would be eager to obtain as many tea leaves as possible for such an expensive item that had unlimited demand. The only question was how many spirit crystals the Trade Master had on hand, and how many he was willing to offer upfront at once.
"Very well. Your Heaven-Dao Tea Leaves truly are a unique opportunity one rarely encounters in their entire life, and there will be no shortage of cultivators dying to obtain even just one," the Trade Master said, his gaze still slightly unfocused as if deep in thought.
His eyes eventually cleared up as if he had come to a decision, and his gaze locked back onto John.
"Very well, with one change to our existing contract," the Trade Master said.
"What change?" John asked.
"The current split of seventy thirty will be changed to you getting a flat rate per leaf, with any profits above the flat rate going to my Trade Hall," the Trade Master explained.
John thought over it for a moment and found it within the grounds of acceptable. He had initially traded with Caz with no upfront payment, and the profits were split after the sale accordingly. However, he required spirit crystals upfront right now, and so the split they previously used was no longer valid. While there was the potential for him to lose out on quite a lot of extra spirit crystals should the price of the leaves continue to rise, it was something he was willing to accept to obtain the seal of Daoist Eternal Weapon.
"Deal," John nodded his head in agreement.</anda>
"Excellent," the Trade Master replied happily, "then I am willing to purchase whatever leaves you have at the rate of fifty million low grade spirit crystals per leaf, up to five hundred billion low grade spirit crystals. Do we have a deal?"
