In their private booth, John looked down on the auction stage with a small grimace on his face.
"It seems as though I just ate a pile of shit," John mumbled, as the price per leaf was established at one hundred million per leaf, double what he sold it for to the Trade Master.
"Now, now, the rate you sold it at is still fifty percent of the profits," the Trade Master replied calmly as if he had seen this all happening before it happened.
"I suppose you're right," John sighed, as it was still a good percentage of the profits. While it was not as good as the seventy percent deal he had initially, fifty percent was still a healthy number.
"Besides, there is naturally a discount when purchasing in bulk," the Trade Master continued before taking a sip of tea with a small smile on his face, clearly content at how everything had played out.
After taking his sip of tea, he placed the cup down before him and glanced over towards Caz, who was staring at the stage below with uncontained excitement.
"Congratulations, Caz. With this deal, you have achieved the highest value deal of any disciple this year. You have now officially been promoted to the Premier Trade Disciple position," the Trade Master said, his words stunning Caz senseless.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Caz hastily stood up and browed respectfully towards the Trade Master.
"Thank you, Trade Master! I am honored!" he mumbled through his nervousness.
"Congratulations!" John chimed in as well, while Caz returned a thankful smile.
"I should be thanking you. This is all due to you!" Caz returned the thanks.
"Nonsense. Now let's celebrate with some wine!" John replied cheerily as he picked up a bottle of wine before him, while Caz did the same while the Trade Master watched on with an amused expression.
…
The auction continued onwards after the Heaven-Dao Tea Leaves were sold, and quickly neared its end. Only a few more items were left after the leaves were sold, which John, Caz, and the Trade Master bid on but did not win, as none of the items interested them fully.
After the second to last item was purchased, the crowd held its bated breath as they eagerly waited for the last item to be revealed. It was tradition that the last item was either the most expensive, or the most mysterious item, and it was always something that ignited a frenzied bidding war.
John too felt himself become wrapped up in the excited atmosphere, eagerly waiting for the final item to be revealed.
The auctioneer took her time in revealing the next item, doing her best to raise the anticipation towards the reveal.
"And now for the moment everyone has been waiting for! The final item of this year's auction!" the auctioneer boomed, causing an excited wave of cheer to erupt throughout the crowd.
The false floor gave way and the platform began to rise from below, revealing a pedestal containing exactly five objects, looking quite similar to the seal that Daoist Eternal Weapon had auctioned.
The five objects were metallic seals, each six inches wide and circular in design. An incredibly detailed design of a golden temple floating in the clouds was etched on each seal, which seemed to almost be alive and moving. An incredibly profound aura of the spatial Dao emanated from each seal, making it so that faking the seals was impossible.
When John felt the aura of the seals, his mind trembled as he realized something, and his divine sense flowed within for a moment to his spatial realm to confirm. His eyes widened as he compared the aura of the seals to an object within his spatial realm, which were emanating the same type of spatial aura, only his was even more profound. However, the connection was unmistakable; the items were somehow connected.
At the same time, a frenzied excitement buzzed through the crowd, as many recognized the design of the seals and what they indicated.
"That's right! These seals are none other than those belonging to the Divine Source Monastery!" the auctioneer exclaimed, her words stunning the crowd once more.
"What exactly does this seal do?" John asked the Trade Master as he returned his focus from his spatial realm to the real world.
"These five seals belong to the Divine Source Monastery," The Trade Master glanced at John and began to explain. "Do you have a map of the Divine Martial Continent?" he asked.
"I do," John nodded his head, as he had obtained one recently from Caz which detailed the entire continent, and all the notable powers and sects within.
"Then, did you notice something interesting in the very center of our continent?" the Trade Master asked.
"The very center? My map has that part blacked out, with no details whatsoever," John replied as he took out the jade piece containing his map to inspect. The very center of his map had no information whatsoever, and covered a circular area roughly fifty thousand miles across.
"That's to be expected, because that central area is not accessible at all by anyone. It might as well be considered to not exist, as nothing can enter that area at all…not even myself or the most powerful World Expansion expert can enter that area," the Trade Master explained to John.
"Not accessible? What lies within there then?" John asked curiously.
"No person alive today knows the truth of what lies within, but rumors have lingered since before ancient times," the Trade Master replied. "The rumors reveal a land of wondrous opportunity, and also perilous hazards."
"The ancient times?" John asked.
"Before the calamity," the Trade Master confirmed, his words shocking John.
"The Divine Source Monastery is an order that survived the very calamity itself, existing on both sides of that event," the Trade Master explained. "If one were to name the most ancient and also mysterious power on this world, it would be none other than the Divine Source Monastery!"
"What? They survived the calamity? I thought only the Jade Dragon Empire managed to do so?" John replied, to which the Trade Master shook his head.
"There are several powers that managed to do so, but none were as prolific as the Jade Dragon Empire. The Divine Source Monastery is one of those powers that survived, but unlike the others that died out after the calamity, they managed to survive and persist to this very day," the Trade Master explained further.
"How come I've never heard of such a place then? If they're so amazing?" John asked curiously.
"That's because they are by far the most mysterious power on this continent, and even this world," the Trade Master explained. "They are a secretive order, which does not allow any outsiders to enter their monastery grounds which are located around that voided area on your map. All they care about is guarding the ‘Divine Wall' in the center of the continent, and nothing else matters to them. They care for nothing else. And only the monastery knows the means to get through the Divine Wall. Without their help, none can pass.
Some in the past have tried to control them or conquer them, but all who attempted to do so perished, and their respective sects or clans were eradicated from the world. As such, no one dares to attempt such a thing again, and so the Divine Source Monastery is left alone."
"Then how do the seals come into play here?" John asked curiously.
"Because when the seals are presented to the world, it only means one thing. A thing that has not happened since before the calamity according to rumors…" the Trade Master replied with a serious expression on his face. "It means the Divine Source Monastery is preparing to open the Divine Wall, and allow those who have obtained a Divine Source Seal to enter within!"
