The Sect Leader System-Chapter 284: A True Nightmare

Benton was quite excited to see dawn break for a couple of reasons. The first, primary one was that it was finally auction day. He hadn’t been to one for years, not since Evelyn forbade him from going to any more just because he’d overspent by just a tad that one time.

And okay, maybe he’d paid a little more than the painting was worth. Only a little though. A thousand dollars. Max. Two thousand at the outside. How could one put a price on art? Especially since the artistic merit of the piece was unquestionable. He simply couldn’t understand why she couldn’t see the value in it. Instead of hanging it in the living room where it belongs, she relegated it to the basement storage room, and he wasn’t allowed to go to any more auctions.

Hopefully, one of his kids treasured it as part of their inheritance. They probably fought over it.

Anyway, he was definitely looking forward to going not to just a regular auction, but a cultivator auction. It was sure to be a hoot and a half.

The second reason for his excitement was that he could quit making greater spirit coins for a while. He’d been spending entire nights using his Time Aura and making piles of the stupid things. The thought of not having enough cash to buy something he really wanted had compelled him to put in the effort, but man, was spending hour after hour after hour on that task boring as all get out.

Since he wasn’t bringing any of his sect members with him—too dangerous!—he could leave any time he wanted, and his understanding was that the auction house opened first thing in the morning to accept late submissions. Dawn was first thing in the morning as far as he was concerned, so he dashed off a message about his imminent departure to Yuan Yaozu.

Benton knew that, if he asked Kang Ya-Ting for advice, the elder would advise caution and for all dealings with the auction house to be run through the Poison Claw Sect. And honestly, there was quite a bit of wisdom to that approach.

On the other hand, since reaching Nascent Soul, Benton no longer needed to hide behind an allied sect. He had no desire to invite attacks, but it was time for him to stand on his own two feet.

Of course, there was wisdom, and there was bravery. And the two usually didn’t intersect. At the very least, he could take the simple precaution of not drawing too much attention to himself, starting with his appearance. Not that he planned on using a disguise or altering his face with Illusion, but wearing something other than his Rising Tide Sect robes wasn’t exactly a bridge too far.

He had a set of plain brown ones in his ring that he’d picked up from somewhere, and he quickly donned those before setting off.

Unfortunately, his Teleport technique had one minor, sometimes inconvenient, restriction—he couldn’t Teleport to a location he’d never visited. And since he’d never been to the auction house, he couldn’t just pop directly into its courtyard.

So he did the next best thing. He Teleported to the sky above Sixth Flawless Flowing City and held himself there while he located his target. Which was made much easier by Kang Lin having described its location.

A second was all it took for his enhanced eyes to find the location, the Premiere Jade Treasures Auction House, and he popped down, striding inside a second later.

A young woman, no older than twenty-five, with very poor cultivation staffed the lobby from behind a counter. “Greetings … sir. How may I help you?”

Benton almost laughed at the lack of respect in her words and tone. The plain brown robes were something a wandering cultivator might wear, and a poor one at that. “A friend told me that you are still accepting items for the auction today.”

“With respect, sir, representatives for all the major factions and many wealthy merchants will attend the auction. We only accept the highest quality materials. I can direct you to a general store that should be willing to pay you a reasonable price for your merchandise.”

Benton decided that it would be fun to play along. If he were lucky, he might even be able to get a reaction out of her that was even better than one of Kang Lin’s. “This one understands. I’m not sure that a general store would be the absolute best place, though. Would you mind looking at one of my swords and directing me to an establishment that might give me a fair price for it?”

The woman looked at the door behind him. “I suppose I have time since no one else has yet arrived. You must promise to leave quickly, though, once I have given you my advice. No arguing.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“This one wouldn’t dream of it.” He cupped his hands. “Gratitude.”

Benton felt the ends of his lips curl up, and as much as he wanted to hide his mirth, he just couldn’t help it. He pulled the Wind sword from the first set he made from his ring.

The woman cocked her head to the side when it appeared in midair, evidence that the wandering cultivator in front of her possessed a storage device. When the sword simply hovered there instead of falling, her eyes widened as she surely realized that she’d misjudged him. She hesitated, clearly stuck as to what to do, until finally reaching out to take the sword.

Forged starsteel had a unique look to it, and she clearly recognized the material. She brought it closer to her eyes and examined the details from hilt to tip. Next, she pulled a thin block of metal that Benton didn’t recognize from underneath the counter and gently ran it over the blade. The edge cut the block asunder.

When she looked up at him, it was clear that she one, knew she’d screwed up, and two, didn’t know either exactly how badly or what to do to fix it. She swallowed hard and cupped her hands. “Honored Cultivator, this lowly one would happily accept your blade for this house’s auction today.”

“Oh, really? Gratitude. Can you estimate the price?”

“The sword demonstrates exceptional craftsmanship, created by an expert bladesmith. This lowly one projects a price in the range of ten thousand to twenty thousand greater spirit coins.”

Benton frowned. Expert? “Really? I thought it might go for more, considering the three formations.”

“Formations, Esteemed Cultivator?”

“Self-repair, sharpness, and a Wind attack.”

The young woman swallowed hard again. “Perhaps this lowly one should summon a manager, Esteemed Cultivator. Pricing such a treasure is beyond this lowly one’s abilities.”

Benton nodded. “Maybe that would be for the best.” He summoned the other twenty-four swords from his ring and had them all hover in the air. “I’d really appreciate it if I could enter these in the auction as well.”

It took every bit of self-control that he possessed not to burst out laughing at the look on the poor woman’s face. He’d been entirely correct. Even better than Kang Lin!

Jia Xueqin loved auction day. His branch of the Premiere Jade Treasures Auction House would make more than a quarter of its profits for the entire year at that single event. At the same time, he absolutely loathed auction day. Instead of quietly appraising objects in the privacy of his study, he was pulled hither and yon answering questions, overseeing subordinates who shouldn’t need his oversight, and worst of all, dealing with so many arrogant sect cultivators.

He sipped his tea, enjoying a moment of solitude before the craziness of the day began in earnest. Before he was even halfway through his cup, though, there was a knock on the door.

“Come!” he yelled, aggravated at the interruption.

Yan Chunhua entered. If memory served, she’d already assumed her duty staffing the front desk that morning, meaning that an emissary from one of the sects had probably arrived and demanded to be served by him personally. Whoever it was must have scared the girl terribly because she looked as white as a sheet.

He sighed. “Who is it?”

“Esteemed Manager, this lowly one has erred horribly.”

Jia Xueqin hung his head. Somehow the girl must have insulted the sect cultivator. That was a disaster.

As bad as it was, it was also equally confusing. She’d been chosen for that position for a reason as she had much experience dealing with entitled cultivators. No one could do obsequious like her.

“Explain,” he said.

The tale tumbled out of her quickly. What appeared to be a poor, wandering cultivator had walked in. It wasn’t even apparent at first that he was a cultivator at all as he didn’t register to her sense or to the device they had installed. She believed him to be a random mortal.

Then came the realization. First, he’d used a spatial device, meaning that he was at least a Foundation Establishment cultivator and that he was relatively wealthy as not everyone could afford such a valuable piece of equipment. Worse, the sword he’d pulled from the device floated in the air. His casual display of qi control meant he was surely a Golden Core cultivator.

By that point, though, the damage was done. She’d already insulted him. All she could hope for was that he didn’t represent any organization that was all that important.

After shifting her attitude to be much more polite, she examined the sword. As a clerk, she only had rudimentary training in appraising, but she did have years of experience at the auction house. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

“The blade, Esteemed Manager… It was of the finest quality this lowly one has ever examined.”

That actually wasn’t saying too much. As someone who mainly handled walk-ins, she typically didn’t see the top quality merchandise. Still, to impress someone who’d worked so long at the auction house said something.

“Is that all?” he said.

If so, the situation didn’t seem unsalvageable. The lack of sect robes indicated that the cultivator was likely not affiliated with any major faction. One cultivator, even a Golden Core, wasn’t powerful enough to challenge their entire house. Jia Xueqin was positive that a little kowtowing and assigning the man a private viewing room for the auction along with a bit of personal attention would be all that would be required to smooth things over.

“No, Esteemed Manager. The Esteemed Cultivator indicated that the blade has three formations.” She paused. “And then he pulled at least a couple dozen more out of his ring. They were still hovering in the air, tips pointed toward me, when I fled the room.”

A cultivator with that many swords, assuming they were all of similar quality to the one Yan Chunhua had examined, could not possibly belong to a lone operator. Meaning he had backing of unknowable strength.

Jia Xueqin closed his eyes. Dealing with that man would be a true nightmare.