Before the Black Demon Lightning space was the Golden Heavenly Lightning space. Here, a small portion of Fallen Star Holy Land disciples along with Zara patiently meditated and tempered their bodies. Aside from them, there were only two present.
These two men stood at nearly the same height, and their combined natural auras pressured the surrounding atmosphere to the point where the Golden Heavenly Lightning instinctually avoided them.
But while their auras contributed to this fact, the main perpetrator was the small ball of electricity that floated between them.
"…it's not Black Demon Lightning. It was most likely formed through countless years of accumulation using the Black Demon Lightning's residual aura, so while it bears some of the same characteristics, it doesn't have the same strength." Damien said as he observed the lightning.
"Regardless, it's a top-tier lightning seed. Are you sure you want to give this to me?" Atticus questioned suspiciously.
The two hadn't even known each other for an entire hour yet. As for their conversations thus far, they'd been filled with Damien asking Atticus for general knowledge about the Divine Realm. Other than understanding that Damien was truly clueless about everything, Atticus didn't learn much about the latter.
To offer up such a high-quality lightning seed without asking anything in return, was anyone so generous?
In response, however, Damien shrugged indifferently. "I don't need it. What am I supposed to do with it if I take it? Sell it? Oh, now that I think about it, I'm actually in need of some money so maybe I should."
Damien's eyes brightened at the prospect. The Divine Realm was different from the Human Domain in many ways. One of those ways was the fact that here, Damien would genuinely need money.
The Divine Realm was far more organized than the Human Domain, and everyone was connected through the Dimensional Leaderboard. Even to travel back and forth between Mystic Realms, Damien would need to utilize teleportation arrays.
That is, until he'd ventured enough of the realm to Warp wherever he pleased.
If he wanted a large sum of money as soon as possible, was there a better way than to sell a lightning seed like the one in his hand?
As Damien's eyes slowly curved into crescents, Atticus was sweating. He never thought Damien would take his words of courtesy seriously!
"Now, now. Let's calm down a bit and think it over. If you want to sell it, I can't stop you, but how about considering the Fallen Star Holy Land first? I can promise we won't disappoint you." He said hurriedly.
It wasn't just because of the lightning seed. Damien was a top talent without any backing or connections. If the Fallen Star Holy Land could rope him in, it'd massively benefit them. And even if they couldn't acquire Damien himself, being on good terms with a rising genius was never a bad thing.
Damien raised his brow with a sly smile as he realized Atticus' intent. Honestly, he liked the latter's personality.
Atticus was well aware of Damien's strength yet still invited him into his Holy Land. It was impossible for Atticus to not know the implications of this decision.
It was wholly possible for Damien to take his spot as the sect's Holy Son.
Yet, he still put the good of the sect over his own position. This was the making of a good man, a man who Damien could respect.
"Hmm, since you're already here, I might as well ask you first. What can you give me for this lightning seed?"
Atticus furrowed his brows in thought before firming his will and speaking, "one black card. I'll give it to you right now."
Damien's eyes widened in surprise as he watched Atticus take out a metallic black card the size of a playing card. An entire black card! That wasn't a small amount of money at all!
Of the things Damien learned through Atticus, one was currency. In the Grand Heavens Boundary, these currency cards were the widely accepted currency.
At the lowest level were bronze cards. 100 bronze cards was a silver card, 100 silver cards was a gold card, 100 gold cards was a platinum card, 100 platinum cards was an amethyst card, and finally…
1000 amethyst cards were equal to only a single black card!
It had to be known, to travel through intra-sector teleportation arrays only took 50 platinum cards. Even inter-sector teleportation arrays cost around 100 amethyst cards at most. The value of a black card could only be imagined!
For Atticus to toss out black cards like nothing only went to show his status.
Damien did the calculations in his head. While the lightning seed was powerful, it was violent and untamable. If sold in any regular market, it wouldn't receive a high price because it couldn't be properly used.
A treasure like this could only be sold to elders of great sects or young geniuses of the generation. For these people, the value of the treasure was extremely subjective.
Even if Atticus was the buyer, the lightning seed would only sell for around 700-800 amethyst cards at most.
Giving Damien a black card was a clear sign of goodwill.
As for Damien, he smiled and took the black card out of Atticus' hand after a moment of thinking. "Pleasure doing business with you."
Atticus nodded his head with a pained expression and took the lightning seed. It had already been sealed by Damien earlier so there was no risk in handling it.
"So then," Damien suddenly said, "let's get back to the main topic. Tell me about this Death Emperor Star."
Their business was already over and Damien didn't feel like having small talk with Atticus at the moment. He wanted to know his next destination in this realm, any place where he could go to properly temper himself. The name Death Emperor Star was intimidating enough, and made Damien feel some slight anticipation.
Atticus smiled brightly. "Right! I'd completely forgotten about it due to the lightning seed. I apologize for being hasty, but allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Atticus Flamesworth. I am the Holy Son of the Fallen Star Holy Land, but that isn't my only identity. I could be said to be a type of talent scout. My job is to bring young geniuses to Death Emperor Star so they can temper themselves at a rapid pace."
"And Death Emperor Star is…?"
"Death Emperor Star is a star at the edge of the Divine Realm. It is home to a Holy Land-level influence, Hidden Death Valley, but its function is inherently different from a sect. In reality, those who study in Hidden Death Valley aren't restrained by the sect at all. Instead, the sect encourages youths to become powerful and independent so they can brave the wider universe with their own strength."
Atticus began proudly giving a speech about the Death Emperor Star, but as Damien listened, his heart dropped. A sudden feeling of dread overcame him.
'This Hidden Death Valley…why does it sound so much like…an academy?'
Damien's face turned pale. He never would've thought that, as a man in his mid-twenties, he
would be encouraged to endure yet another academy arc.
