Dyon had already decided that he would make this quadrant pay for its greediness. 'You want to swallow the things I've earned? Good.' He would make them understand the meaning of taking a bigger bite than you can handle.
At first, Dyon assumed that the Devil Path cultivators timed their visit for the opening of the Valley of Geniuses. However, according to the Dragon King, the valley's opening was completely random and would only stay open for half a year at the most. It seemed that all of this was just a happy coincidence for them as well.
Dyon couldn't get the smug white-haired girls face out of his mind. He'd give that little girl a good spanking to teach her a lesson. She got off much too lightly.
Those around sensed the change in Dyon's demeanor and began to feel slightly uncomfortable. But, no one dared to say anything as they headed into the swirling teleportation formation.
**
"Given the signs around the Valley of Geniuses, it'll open in just a few days time." Violet started. "We should start by visiting Sapientia Corner. The faction doesn't have a lot of funds, but it should be enough to give each of us a couple of healing type pills that could be the difference between life and death."
They had just entered the 98th corner. However, there was a massive dome of fog projected in the distance that hadn't been there when Dyon came earlier. He suddenly realized that had he been just a few weeks later, he wouldn't have been able to enter the 98th quadrant at all because it would have been protected. If that happened, he would have never found out about Soul Market and those poor souls would continue to suffer.
He could only thank his luck that Lilith didn't take over the role of key wielder until after he had already joined Unseen Peak. Now, he should be able to come and go as he please, even with the fog barrier up.
"Is that Lady Violet I see?" A snide voice sounded off from the surroundings. When the members of the faction looked over, each of them had ugly expressions on their faces.
One had to know that according to the rules of the fog barrier, only those of Duke status and higher could allow those not from the 98th quadrant to enter. In the entirety of the 98th quadrant, aside from Kernick Caedes, the former Soul Rending Peak Legatee, there was only a single other Duke. This meant that now, there were only three individuals with this power. Kernick, Soul Rending Peak's second Legatee, a man Dyon had heard nothing about so far, and Lilith, who had these abilities not because she was a Duke, but because she was the key wielder.
The problem was that both Legatees had long surpassed 1000 years old, and thus lost the right to enter the tower long ago. That meant that there was currently no one here who could allow another in, which also meant that whoever it was that they had ugly expressions for, was actually a member of their own quadrant.
"Senior Brother Caedes, I have no deep relationship with you. It's best you not cross the line. I don't remember giving you the right to call my name so casually."
The relatively short Arthurian Caedes was actually the first ranked core disciple of Soul Rending Peak and son to the Caedes family grand elder. It was only now that Dyon understood a few things.
He had been under the impression that Arthurian was already around, if not having long since surpassed 1000 years old. But, since he was here, clearly that wasn't the case. But, Dyon knew that this was likely his last chance to climb to the celestial realm before being barred from entering the tower entirely. Since he was here, he would go all out…
Arthurian raised his hands up in mock surrender. "I just wanted to say hello," He continued, speaking with a cold smile. "We're fellow disciples, we should stick together. We wouldn't want anything untoward happening to such talented individuals, hm?"
No one missed the fact Arthurian gaze turned toward Dyon. After Dyon so publicly killed a member of their Caedes family, it would be more of a miracle than anything else if they actually chose to not retaliate.
However, seeing his gaze, Dyon only lightly smiled. What a joke, even Asyna supressed to 70% could defeat this fool, let alone Dyon who had defeated her. On top of that, they were in the tower now. Dyon was completely unleashed.
Violet snorted. "If you even think about laying a hand on one of my own, I'll embarrass you even worse than I did last time."
Hearing these words, Arthurian's features twisted into an assortment of colors. Clearly the fact Violet lived in the first ranked core courtyard had next to nothing to do with the fact her father was the sect Master, but everything to do with her forcibly taking it away from Arthurian.
Dyon lightly chuckled. Although he wasn't a huge fan of Violet, he did appreciate this part of her personality. She maintained a grip on power, while still keeping a low profile. Despite her short comings, she had the makings of a leader and was definitely a woman who knew what she wanted. Intriguing indeed…
"Hmph." Violet turned, not bothering with Arthurian anymore. "Let's go."
Watching the faction disappear through the teleportation formation, Arthurians fists clutched to the point that blood dripped. He knew this was his last chance, if he didn't find a way to break through withing two years, he'd forever be marred in mediocrity. He wouldn't allow such a thing to happen!
...
It wasn't long before the faction had entered the Sapientia Corner. After arriving, they split into their own various group, while Dyon, Violet, Wess and Luka headed toward the deeper regions to stock up for the faction as a whole.
For obvious reasons, the disciples of Soul Rending Peak couldn't afford much here, so the outer and inner disciples were forced to stay on the outskirts and try to find good deals here and there. Violet, however, was the sect Master's daughter. Her funds, as well as the funds of those from the Caedes family, couldn't be so easily dismissed. That said, she was also aware that she didn't have the capital to be a spend thrift, so they also had to look for good deals themselves.
The Sapientia Corner was a hub of activity. Aside from Central City, it was likely the busiest region of the tower, in fact, it was often busier than Central City.
The corner itself was rife with alchemists, formation experts and weapon's masters, and that didn't mention the myriad of other useful professions such as runic vein masters. It was essentially a miny reflection of the Sapientia Quadrant, the only difference being that the things bought here were regulated and created by apprentices of the saint realm.
Obviously, not everyone was like Dyon and Clara who had soul strength surpassing their energy and body cultivation, in fact, Clara's wouldn't if she didn't dual cultivate with Dyon. It could be said that Dyon was the only true soul cultivator who could achieve such a feat on his own.
All of this was to say that the products available here weren't top of the line. After all, even the best of geniuses here would only have saint level souls at the best. However, that didn't mean that they could create grandmaster level pills and weapons, most were still practioners, with the best being at the master level.
The reason for this was simple. The number of years of dedication that it took to ascend the ranks of any secondary profession were long and grueling, not to mention the fact that the trials for being officially recognized were even stricter. The strength of one's soul only represents the upper limit of what someone can accomplish, but doesn't necessarily mean that one can accomplish it.
In terms of number of grandmasters, there were only a maximum of three per profession on the saint floors, and they were all undisputed geniuses. Many of them were already hundreds of years old, with the youngest being dozens of years old at the least. Of course, Dyon was quite proud that his wife was among them, so he had no need to worry about affording pills on these floors.
