Chapter 0152

 

Tempest might have felt sorry for Skylar Sedonis, but it didn’t stop her from pocketing the silver lickty split.

 

Who doesn’t take money when it is delivered to their door? Not Tempest.

 

The best part is it didn't even cost her anything. She can still collect her 1100 silvers from Hannah.

 

Money! Money! Money!

 

“Everything alright between you two?” Graden asked with a smile. He caught the tail end of the conversation and understood what Skylar Sedonis was doing.

 

Skylar Sedonis was wiping away the negative karma between her and Tempest. Negative karma can only wipe clean when the person suffers the effects three folds.

 

Minor negative karma occurs between two people and lasts a certain amount of time. People would be plagued by karma if the little things keep adding up. Medium negative karma lasts a lifetime. If person A dies, then the negative karma between person A and person B dies with him. Large negative karma lasts until it is paid in full. It can last lifetimes after lifetimes. Large negative karma is the worse type of karma to have between two people. Ask Xing Zhi Hui. She’s still paying back the negative karma she incurred lifetimes ago to Aria Se Jivock.

 

Skylar Sedonis didn’t bother Graden much. He still made a mental note to monitor here once in a while. Never underestimate an intelligent person whose motives are unclear.

 

“She paid her debts to me and I can still demand reparation from the true culprit. Life is good with money in my pocket.”

 

“You’re easily bribable,” Graden said with a smile. It may be hard for him to read Tempest, but some things need no explanation. Tempest is a greedy little girl and she made no bones about it. He did worry others might grab a hold of her weakness and exploit her.

 

“It isn’t a bribe. It is guilt money. She is using money to wash away the guilt she feels because she is wrong.” Tempest explained haughtily. She isn’t wrong but she isn’t right either. Using money to clear the negative karma Skylar Sedonis had between her and Tempest can be seen as using money to ease her guilty conscience.

 

“Since you accept, then everything is alright between you and her?”

 

“Yes.” Tempest happily nodded.

 

“Good. I can do business with her group then.” Graden waved to a green-haired man standing under the shade of the tree.

 

Tempest tensed up.

 

Even though night has fallen, the majority of cultivators decided to set up camp nearing the scene of the fight. The smell of blood might attract other magical beasts, however, that same scent will deter the low-level magical beasts as well. More that one mid-level magical beasts had spilled their blood during the fight and the low-level magical beasts know they can’t win against someone or something that can injure magical beasts stronger than themselves.

 

The campfire flickers in the night, illuminating the area quite well. Tempest was standing in a well-lit spot.

 

Still, if Graden didn’t signal the green-haired man, Tempest would never notice him. The thought unnerved Tempest.

 

She knows mages don’t have the best sensing abilities but her sensing abilities are better than most. She is a True Daughter of Storm, a mage well loved by the spirit of the wind. She can sense anything touched by the wind, yet she didn’t receive any warning at all about his presence.

 

Tempest could have been killed without her realizing it. Again, Tempest’s ego was knocked down by another peg.

 

“An exchange or direct purchase?” The green-haired man asked as he stepped into the light and Tempest could finally see how he looks like. Dark emerald hair flowing down to his waist, soft grey eyes, clear white skin, and full lips gave the man an androgynous appearance. If he wasn’t so tall or his body so masculine, he could have passed for a woman.

 

“Exchange. We both know most of the members of our respective groups are going to be mages, powerful mages at that, should we live long enough. Our prudence will ensure we shall. Money, I can earn. The money grubber behind me will ensure our group is never poor.”

 

“Hey! Your money is my money. My money is my money. How dare you claim my money is your money!” Tempest protests fell on deaf ears.

 

The two men were astute enough to know Tempest may be a money grubber, but she isn’t exactly miserly. The green-haired man didn’t pry into Tempest’s affair. If her group didn’t pry into her affairs, he, a complete stranger to Tempest has less right to pry.

 

The green-haired man sidesteps Tempest’s protest by introducing himself. “My name is Anvis Dest.”

 

“Graden Murkeiel.”

 

“Tempest.”

 

“What information do you want, and what can you give me in return?” Graden opens the negotiating table with broad questions.

 

“I want all the data your group gathered. In exchange, I will give you the data our group has.”

 

“A mutual exchange.”

 

“Of course. Both sides will benefit. From what I observed, your data are the most comprehensive in regards to potential. That girl’s control over fire magic is the most impressive I’ve ever seen. If I wasn’t sensitive to fire as I am, I wouldn’t have known she scanned me during her little game of tag with Tempest beside you. Our side has the most comprehensive background information.”

 

“Fire wind mages are like that,” Tempest commented. Technicalities are technicalities, and Tempest technically didn’t lie. Fire wind mages have better control over their fire abilities than single element fire mages. Inborn fire control abilities from their affinities plus extra control of said fire given to them by their wind abilities through oxygen control make for a better fire mage than a single element fire mage.

 

Anvis Dest smiled, neither acknowledging nor refuting Tempest.

 

Tempest returned the smile while silently cursing in her heart. Smart men are annoying. She’d rather deal with the arrogant and boorish men like that magical beast thief in Hannah Trellis group rather than the green hair pretty boy before her. Killing is much easier than scheming. Take less effort too.

 

“I can easily get background information from another source.” From the start, both Graden and Anvis Dest knew their information was in no way equal. Given a little more time, Graden can easily collect background information of all the recruits. Information on the potential of the new groups is another story. One has to have a connection with a powerful mage who knows either the appraisal or assessment spells or has connections to the appropriate people high up in the guild’s chain of command before they can get the information about a person’s affinities and even then it might be an accurate assessment of a group’s potential.

 

A freak like Fenix who can determine the affinities of a person and momentarily gain insight into a person’s thought by touch is very rare.

 

Bei Ting Mao would say it is as rare as a phoenix feather or the horn of a unicorn but both aren’t rare since his family has a phoenix feather.

 

Graden could say a person with Fenix abilities is as hard to find as a true love. Tempest saw two true love/soul mate/ life companion couple so she’d refute analogy.

 

Suffice to say, Fenix’s ability is rare and valuable.

 

The anomaly known as Tempest, who is so loved by her spirits that she can get any spoken information just by asking her spirits is also rare and valuable. In fact, she can spout information about this Anvis Dest right now except she didn’t want to reveal her hand and she wants to see how Graden handles the negotiations.

 

Graden had always come off as the sweet gentle friend. Tempest wants to see how if Graden is different from other people. Will he be the shark who comes a’callin at the scent of blood or will he be a house of cards tumbling down under the first attack?

 

“I know. I’m quite aware of the difference value in our data.”

 

“Yet you still probe with a misleading offer.”

 

“One who deals with information must know the value of the information they have, or the information will be worthless.”

 

“Hmmm.” Graden didn’t want to debate the value of information.

 

“Included in our comprehensive background informations are little interesting tidbits about a certain Lei and Yu family.”

 

“Again, nothing I couldn’t find out myself given time.” Graden didn’t cave into impulsive curiosity. He’d find out about Li Ming’s situation given enough time, but that time isn’t now. Li Ming is in a fragile state of mind. He’d rather not dig until she was better.

 

“What does the Lei and Yu family has to do with us? Lei Mo is a blind idiot who mistakes Li Ming for another girl with similar names. He’s stupid too.” Tempest cut into the conversation Yu Li Ming can’t be in the Magus Alliance. Li Ming can. If you want to change a lie into a ‘truth’ you have to start at the beginning.

 

“I see.” Anvis Dest did see. “Then how about I include a jade drive containing the memories of a certain person hiding in the bushes watching a certain fight where one of the contestants ultimately got his dan tian destroyed.”

 

Ooohhh. Now Tempest’s interest was peaked. The Cardinal Realm didn’t have video recorders. It does have jade drives and jade crystals. A cultivator can inject certain memories, skills, spells or their experiences into the jade drive or jade crystal. It is equivalnce to a movie.

 

Tempest can ask Ventus about Bei Ting Mao all she wants and she’d only get the narrative but with a jade drive, Tempest can see what happened back then.

 

So tempting.

 

No matter how much she wants the jade drive, this was Graden’s show. It is for him to decide what he is going to trade his information for.

 

It didn’t stop Tempest from pleading with eyes for Graden to make the trade.

 

Graden sent a questioning look towards Bei Ting Mao. Bei Ting Mao nodded. “Fine, all the information our group gathered, although I don’t know why you so desperately want the map marking the locations of all the various herbs. Mages don’t need low-level pills and finding high-level a alchemist pills isn’t as easy as you think.”

 

Tempest, “Huh?”