Transcendent Dawn

At the end of the tunnel, there was a stone door.

On the door, there were sculpted a pair of peculiar monsters.

These were two bird-like creatures, their crested feathers sprouting from their heads, forming the shape of a crown.

Upon seeing someone approaching, their dragon-sized pupils lit up, and the stone sculpture began to move.

“This is an Erstech Bird, the bird of wealth, a legendary mysterious creature said to have the ability to quickly identify and estimate the value of treasures…” The old witch stepped aside, signaling Su Lu to step forward: “To enter the high-end trading session, you must present something that pleases it, and it will open the door for you.”

‘What a greedy bird…’

Su Lu sarcastically thought to himself, though no change in his expression was evident or could be seen due to his masked state.

“Well… this will do!”

After some thought, he very decisively handed over a stack of silver bills.

“Beep beep!”

The eyes of the two Erstech bird statues emitted a luminous glow. Similar scanning lights swept over his thick stack of bills, suddenly opening their mouths to let out melodious chirps.

Rumble!

Amidst the crisp chirping, the stone door slowly opened, revealing the space inside.

“Please, go ahead, I won’t accompany you further.”

The elderly witch bid him farewell with a bow.

“Really… quite an unusual bird!”

With a word of admiration, Su Lu stepped through the stone door.

The standard of value is not easy to measure.

If judged purely by mystical content or by precious metals. it would be

straightforward, but what he offered was paper money! Pure national credit guarantees.

He had no idea how the two stone bird statues determined value.

“Either… there are professional appraisers hidden somewhere manipulating things, or, it’s purely the power of the occult… The latter is even more horrifying!”

After Su Lu entered the space behind the stone door, he found it to be a large square, surrounded by a variety of stone doors.

In the middle of the square, there were a circle of sofas, where groups of cloaked figures gathered, all veiled and caped, seemingly conducting an occult salon.

Without immediately sitting down, Su Lu curiously surveyed the surroundings.

It seemed that this place was also part of the ruins, perhaps a storeroom of its previous owner.

“Beautiful patterns, are they not?”

Just as he was tracing the patterns on the stone wall, a female voice reached his ears.

Turning his head, he saw a figure cloaked in red.

Although the voice was feminine, who was truly hidden inside remained a complete mystery.

“Yes, imbued with a style of witchcraft, I reckon it must have been created by a [Wizard].”

With a shrug, Su Lu casually responded.

“Indeed… the [Wizard] profession is different from that of the [Witch] voiced the woman beneath the red cloak.

The [Witch] profession could only be assumed by women, while the [Wizard] was much more balanced.

Su Lu chatted a bit more with her and found that she seemed to be a caster profession with a wealth of knowledge.

Ding! Ding!

Just as the woman under the red cloak wanted to exchange more thoughts, from the center of the square, there came a chime. “The trading session is starting, shall we go?” The voice beneath the cloak sent an invitation to him.

“Alright!”

Su Lu saw groups of figures heading towards the center, naturally he followed, choosing a long sofa to sit on.

Just then, the woman in the red cloak unabashedly sat next to him, and a rich fragrance of perfume wafted over.

“Ladies and Gentlemen!”

Once everyone had taken their seats, an elder with a silver mask in the center of the room began to speak: “The Dawn of the Gods has come … it is our good fortune. Today we sip fine wine and exchange goods with one another in hope that in the future, we can together open the path of legend!”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it seemed to whisper in everyone’s ear, with an inexplicable force field emanating from him.

Su Lu felt a sense of awe, knowing that the elder most likely held a fourth-tier master profession.

Looking around, there were at least thirty people present, each a minimum of second tier.

It could be said that the elites of transcendent individuals in Charles City, might all be here now.

‘No … this kind of transcendent trading, perhaps there are members of the Eleventh Bureau of the Federation and the church mixed in!’

In the end, the ancient old man with the mask conjured a magic wand made out of oak in his hand and pointed it lightly.

Rumble!

In the center of the salon, a stone podium slowly rose. On top of it was a black scale, the centerpiece engraved with a pattern of a vertical eye.

“That’s… the ‘Scales of Justice’?”

Su Lu heard the woman beside him under the cloak murmuring in a low voice.

“Scales of Justice?”

He asked curiously.

“In the mythology of the New World… The indigenous gods used scales to weigh the souls of their followers, determining their piety and morality. That is the origin of the first divine artifact scales … and this Scales of Justice, although far from being as great as that, is also a rare mystical object. It can measure the value of items on both sides and rarely makes mistakes.”

The woman under the cloak glanced at Su Lu, seemingly aware that he was a newcomer and explained the situation to him.

“I see! ”

Su Lu nodded, realizing that the scales might be the source of the carving’s appraisal ability on the door.

Additionally, it was the foundation of the establishment of this trading session, being able to identify counterfeit and inferior products. However, everyone’s value judgment might not be equivalent to the scales’.

So, it merely maintained a generally fair environment.

“So… according to the rules, the guest from the direction of Aries will speak first. We will proceed in a clockwise order, alright?”

The masked old man glanced around, nodded, and returned to his seat.

From Su Lu’s right, five or six people away, a portly figure in a black robe stood up and came to the front of the stone podium. He took a box from under his cloak, opened it, and inside was an exotic purple flower the size of a bowl: “Magical Material- -One Purple Perilla Flower in exchange for a potion that boosts spiritual power, or for sale in Golden Dragons…”

‘So that’s what a Purple Perilla Flower looks like?’

Su Lu’s eyes lit up, he was aware of this material, which is a key ingredient for concocting high-level potions. It seemed that this fat man was a spellcaster, and it looked like he was urgently lacking the mental power potion.

“200 Golden Dragons!”

“220 Golden Dragons!”

“Corrosive Potion, two standard parts!”

The gathered occultists all began to bid, and the last one, a man in a green robe, shouted out the potion, causing Su Lu’s eyelids to twitch.

‘Indeed … the Gaosuo Tribe has been around for so long, it’s possible that the formula leaked out a long time ago!’

It was clear that this trader was in dire need of potions, and he was visibly delighted to hear the name of the Corrosive Potion. Ignoring the others’ bids of

Golden Dragons, he looked at the green-robed man: “Deal!”

During the transaction, they put their wares on the Scales of Justice.

Su Lu saw very clearly, the box holding the Purple Perilla Flower was evidently weighing down one side, but this was a normal premium, and the transaction was completed once both parties had no objections..