The Strongest Businessman

"Half Saint Realm?" Dylan's eyes contracted once he heard such a claim.

The Half Saint Realm is the realm that is found in between Mortal Severing and Immortal Saint Realm. It is a realm aimed at refining a cultivator's body, energy, and soul to that of a Saint's. Thus, the name for its three subrealms: the Saint Body Refinement, Saint Energy Refinement, Saint Soul Refinement Realms.

The Saint Body Refinement refines the body similar as to how the Mortal Moulting Realm sheds the practitioner's Mortal Skin. In this cultivation realm, the Severed Origin Energy, the energy of Mortal Severing experts, are infused to every nook and cranny of his/her body.

Once this process is completed, the body breeds a new form of energy called the Saint Energy. This type of energy is an energy which is highly compatible with the Law Force. Law Force is the power acquired at the fourth and final stage of Mortal Severing, the Primal Law Realm where a cultivator could form and find a law for himself or herself with the heavenly connection he or she has established back in the Heavenly Connection Realm.

Once used together, they could generate attacks far more intrepid than their basic attacks but this is also largely dependent on the type of Primal Law formed by that person.

When Azelmek told him about the Half-Saint Realm, Dylan was absolutely shocked he did not expect that he had to cross 3 major realms in order to reach Immortal Saint! He suddenly felt how hard the challenge that Immortal Saint Sacred Flame Fox gave him. Now, he only had a little more than a decade left to complete that almost impossible task.

The fact that Shadow was a cultivator of the Half Saint Realm shocked Dylan greatly because he thought that the only people which entered the Half Saint Realm was the head of the Top 5 powers Azelmek, Zachary, the Alchemy Headmaster, the Savage Lion Sectmaster and Battlebeast Schoolmaster. But the fact that Shadow was at the Saint Energy Refinement Realm shocked him even more since the other five were only at the Saint Body Refinement Realm.

'I am so dumb...Master only told me that he, Zachary, and the Headmaster were at the Saint Body Refinement Realm but he did not directly state that they were the strongest in the city. I have to be careful with this guy. Master might nor necessarily have the power to block him esecially with citizens around. Master may look intimidating but he is kind enough to use his Evil Subduing Cube in order to avoid causing too much damage he could have cause with his power...' Dylan' brain was in hyperdrive as it instantaneously processed how Dylan should deal with the problem at hand.

But just as he thought, Dylan knew very well that as a Saint Body Refinement Realm cultivator Azelmek could easily use his power to easily supress the beast. In normal circumstances, Azelmek could have easily pressured the beast king into submission.

Nevertheless, that only applies if the beast king still has its conscience, but die to the enticement of Rian's blood, its' inner beast kicked in and all of its' reasoning was lost.

Azelmek was afraid that the beast might resort to a suicide attack and implicate other bystanders if he had used pressure to subdue it. Killing it was also outside of the question since it is the same as offending the Savage Lion Sect and Azelmek had no reason to offend the sect so easily. So he resorted using one of his treasures which was the Evil Subduing Cube to rescue Dylan.

...

Within the crowd...

"Half-Saint Realm?" The crowd had confused looks when they heard Shadow's words. But it was only understandable, since this realm is something that most people could never reach, information regarding this realm was only known to people with a noble rank of the fourth tier and above.

"It is the fourth major realm." A wise old man decided to reveal but as brief as possible. He felt that it was still not the right time to disclose matters regarding the fourth major realm.

His voice was not that loud but amidst the quiet crowd, it was immediately heard and it caused an abrupf uproar. However, due to being ignorant, their reactions were only to be expected.

"What?!"

"There is another realm?!"

"Does that mean it still has some sub-realms as well!?"

"The fuck! I thought I could reach Immortal Saint but now..."

...

Within the cricle of the top 20...

"That realm really is true..." Daniela Hills had a grim expression when she heard Shadow. She was informed about it by her grandfather when she was studying for the Noble Exam.

"Father was right about the Night Grand Clan! I thought it was only a farce but to think they were led by the strongest expert in the city!" Brock was just as astounded as the crowd. Although he recieved information about it prior to this event, he was still shocked when he was faced with the truth.

"This auction just took an unexpected turn..." The Grand Elder of the Alchemy Academy solemnly said. He looked at the unbelieving face that Asiel had and he shook his head. He never expected that the person whom he just told to Asiel, the man who defeated his master, would suddenly appear in this auction.

"He actually appeared..." Cobra looked at Shadow in a mysterious manner.

...

"You seem surprised, kid." Shadow amusingly spoke.

"Sir... it's just that I honestly did not expect that there was another person who reached that realm aside from the head of the Top 5 supersects." Dylan was still able to quickly formulate a quick reply despite his shock.

"Oh, you are quite informed. Not everyone knows about this realm." Shadow said while intentionally glancing at Azelmek who already returned to the fourth floor. It seemed like he already knew what their relationship was. Despit that, he feigned ignorance and said, "I won't pry any longer. Just give me the pill already and I will leave."

Everyone thought how lucky Dylan was to obtain a favor from such a strong expert. That would mean that he had gained the backing of a truly strong power. Presently, he now has two supersect-level power who he favors him, only few would dare to offend him in the city with that type of backing. But, what happened next went against their expectations.

"I do apologize but I cannot do that." Dylan suddenly said.

...

The crowd all had violent reactions regarding his answer. Though they did not dare to voice it out loud, afraid that they may annoy the strong expert, their voices were heard nonetheless.

"Is he bonkers? Or just an idiot?!"

"What the fuck is he thinking?"

"Has he gone mad from all the money he got?!"

On the other hand, unlike th crowd, the Top 20 powers were contemplating why had Dylan done so.

"What is he thinking?" A unified thought appeared in all of their minds.

...

"Why is that?" The complacent smile on Shadow's face clearly disappeared after Dylan's words.

"Because although that bid would be of great help to me, it would be of no use to the client. He intends to exchange this item with an item of equal value. Something as vague and as breakable as a favor would not be something that he would desire. I do apologize for declining but if there are no other inquiries from Sir Shadow, I would like to proceed with the auction." Dylan showed his signature faint smile while calmly speaking to Shadow.

"Wha..." Shadow never expected that sort of reply from a junior, never in his wildest dreams. He stood there with a dumbfounded expression as Dylan continued with the auction.

"Mortal Severing Hybrid Egg going once!" Dylan quickly changed to a joyful smile when he faced the crowd.

The crowd suddenly understood where Dylan was coming from. Their views about him quickly changed as well.

"He was willing to offend the strongest expert for his client... What a great businessman!"

"A man of principles! That is how a businessman should be!!"

"Sadly, such a great person has offended somebody whom he should never offend."

"Hahahahahahaha. What an interesting kid." Vice Head Garet could only laugh as he thought that he was already out of the game due to Shadow's arrival. To think Dylan would actually reject the strongest expert in Thunder cloud!

"Hahahahaha." Azelmek who was back on his seat could not help but laugh. He could never forget how Shadow humilliated them after defeating all of them. Ever since that day, he wanted to get back at him. To think that his sworn enemy would be publicly humiliated by his disciple who was only at the Spirit Gathering Realm.

"Do you even know who I am, you brat?!" Shadow grabbed Dylan's neck and lifted him up as dark pristine aura enveloped his entire body.

'Who does this kid think he is! The blood is the only thing I need for the refinement! How dare he bar my path to advancing to Immortal Saint!!' Shadow furiously thought!

Azelmek, Allen and Sheldon were going to intervene when they saw Dylan's calm face. They knew that he knew how strong a Saint Energy Refinement cultivator is and it is not something that Azelmek could not match. So, they could not understand how Dylan was still able to stay calm at a time like this.

"Let's standby and watch for now. I think Dylan still has some plans." Azelmek decided to wait a bit more. This notion was quickly answered with a nod from the other two.

"You are the founder of the Night Grand Clan as well as the strongest expert in the Thunder Clouds City." Dylan remained looking unperturbed despite his life now on the hands of Shadow.

"Despite knowing that, you still brazenly rejected my offer? Do you think I would not dare to kill you?" Shadow threatened Dylan and tightened his grip on his neck.

"Would you?" Dylan dared to say.

"I'm really curious where you are getting the gall to speak so foolishly in front of me." Shadow showed a sinister smile.

"From this..." Dylan lifted his arm with difficulty and and showed the vial. He continued to say. "And the... spiritual transmission that I... just received from my client."

"A spiritual transmission?!" The representatives of all the top powers uttered almost simultaneously because they did not sense the slightest bit of fluctuation of energy connecting to Dylan. There were only two possibilities pertaining this matter either there was an exceedingly strong8 person who was over a major realm more powerful than them or that Dylan was bluffing.

"Hahahahaha, laughable! Do you seriously think I would not believe you when it is obviously a bluff? Hahaha, you underestimate me too much, you brat! Hand over the blood vial now and keep your life or should I take it from your dead body?" Shadow laughed mockingly at Dylan and tightened his grip even more.

However, Shadow was growing uneasy inside for he could not sense any form of erratic beating in Dylan's heart while he was holding him. 'There are no signs of him getting nervous or anxious. It's like he already encountered something more gruesome than death. Could it be... he's really saying the truth?'

Dylan's face was already red from the halted blood flow and veins were already apparent on the periphery of his iris. Though he struggled to speak, he still remained calm, " Do I... look like... I am... bluffing? Kill me... you die too..."

Suddenly, in the southeast, there was an extremely terrifying energy that came from miles away from the city! Every inhabitant of the Thunder Clouds City felt the shivers of an extremely powerful aura coming from a single direction! But after several seconds, it quickly disappeared.

"What was that?" Different citizens called out in panic.

"What sort of expert could exert such a powerful pressure?" Various experts converged to know what was the source of the pressuring anomaly.

While the inhabitants and different sects were wondering who and where did that originate from? The participants of the Soaring Garden Auction were all silent. No one was uttering a word. They were only staring at a single subject which was Dylan Ford.

It was terrifying how both of these events occured just right after the other. It seemed like a coincidence but it also was not at the same time. The timing was just too perfect for it to be a coincidence.

Shadow, who was strangling Dylan one handed, released him immediately as soon as he felt the overwhelmingly powerful aura directed killing intent at him! He was sweating non-stop, it was just as Dylan said, if he killed him, he would die too. 'He really wasn't bluffing...'

*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*

There was only one sound that resounded the entire block. A coughing sound that came from the center of attention, Dylan successfully escaped from the clutches of death once more! 'Hehe, looks like it worked.'

...

Before he went to the auction, he instructed Rian, "Rian, I know you can sense if I am going to die or not. If you do, run into a random direction and run into the top of a mountain and release your bloodline's strength to the best you can even just for several seconds and direct the killing intent at my direction. If you do that, I will give you 3 of the items that you need for your advancement."

Rian answered, "What the heck? I could barely use it for 5 seconds after my evolution 2 days ago and my body goes numb after that! I demand more at least twice as much!"

"Hmmm, fine, how about third of a baker's dozen?" Dylan thought awhile before saying with a smile.

"What's that?" Rian asked curiously.

"Let's just say it's higher than the previous offer I said." Dylan said.

"Deal!" Rian simplemindedly said.

...

After recovering, Dylan stood up and coldly stated, "The client said that you are a mere ant in his presence if you dare do something like that again, he will erase you despite being hundreds of miles way."

"Tsk..." Shadow could only avert his gaze. In comparison to that aura, he was really nothing but an ant. He shuddered once he realized despite how much of a distance the expert was from Dylan, he still could perform such outstanding feats.

The crowd was in awe as they witnessed how terrifying the backing behind Dylan was. They never thought that there could be such an expert out there. They have truly widened their horizons from this auction much more than they could have possibly thought.

"Now, where were we? Oh right, Mortal Severing Hybrid Egg going twice..." Dylan continued despite the pain he was feeling on his throat.

"I bid the Immortal Level Rank spear, Immortal Slayer. It was a weapon used by True King Ramiel which took the lives and bathed in the blood of a hundred Immortal Saints back on his days. Though it is already dilapidated, it still contains his True King technique inheritance. I am sure that with your client's power he has the ability to restore it to its peak state. I could not use it anyways since it needs the user to master the Thundercloud Monarch Art first, I might as well use it to get that vial of blood." Shadow showed a spear filled with cracks and rust but the form of the blade signified its briliance during its glory days.

"The spear of True King Ramiel..." The crowd did not expect such a treasure would appear in an auction like this. Unfortunately, it is dilapidated but with the power of that expert, they could have hope that it could be restored back to its former glory!

"The client agrees immediately. The Demonic Beast God blood is sold!" Dylan announced immediately as he and Shadow exchanged items.

Quickly after, Shadow turned his back but he turned his head to loom at Dylan one more time and muttered to himself, "This kid will definitely turn strong..."

After which, he soared to the sky and returned to his residence.

"The auction has come to aclose. Thank you everyone for your patriotism. I hope to see you next time!" Dylan said smilingly as he felt extremely proud of himself that he was able to earn so much from zero capital!