That made Lin Li feel a little strange. There was no open sea here, and the entire sea belonged to the Gilded Kingdom. Did the Mermaid have to sail all the way out of the Gilded Kingdom's waters? However, he soon understood that while the Mermaid was not afraid of the Gilded Kingdom's inspection, some of the secret merchants were not as influential as the Mermaid. By the time the Mermaid was far away from Helena Port, ships of various sizes had also emerged from the night sky, and were approaching the Mermaid.
"Master Felic, the secret trader market is about to open. Let's go together." Donald was also a regular customer here, and as soon as he saw the ships approaching, he immediately walked towards Lin Li to remind him.
Lin Li nodded, and followed Donald and Prince Tory to the cabin with Connoris and Angelano. While walking, he asked, "Master Donald, those ships should be the cargo ships of some secret traders, right?"
"Yes, these secret traders dare to sell anything. Sometimes, they even drag marine beasts over. However, such ships are usually loaded with slaves for sale or precious marine creatures, "Donald explained to Lin Li while leading the way.
Although the Mermaid was large enough, it was only a place for trading, and it was impossible to load all the goods directly onto the ship. In particular, just like Donald said, there was almost nothing that the secret traders did not dare to sell, be it slaves, marine creatures, or anything that could easily cause trouble. If they wanted to buy those things, the Secret Trade Alliance would send someone to supervise the handover of the goods after the transaction was concluded in order to ensure the interests of the customers.
Under Donald's guidance, Lin Li and the others soon arrived at the cabin of the Mermaid, which was a very spacious space that was like a huge square. At this moment, the secret traders had already placed their goods in their respective positions.
Putting aside other factors, the scene alone reminded Lin Li of the farmers' market before he transmigrated. Of course, compared to the messy farmers' market, this place seemed to be much more orderly. Be it the customers or the secret traders, they all seemed to be very quiet as they quietly looked at the various goods and waited for customers to arrive.
In the entire cabin, there were about a hundred stalls, and each stall was about two meters wide. According to Donald's introduction, these secret merchants were of the lowest grade. Through the door at the end of the cabin, one could even reach the upper part of the cabin. The things there were of the highest quality.
However, to Lin Li, it didn't matter if they were exquisite or not. The key was that they had to be useful to him. Things that were useful to him were the most valuable. Even if there was only one of them in the world, it would still be useless. What's more, the secret merchants that could come here, even if their level was low, how low could they be?
Hence, when Donald intended to bring Lin Li and the rest to the next floor, Lin Li rejected his kind offer, and said, "Master Donald, Prince Tory, you guys go ahead first. I'll show them around."
Donald also knew that everyone had their own secrets, and he had already owed Lin Li a favor by bringing him here. If he really followed him everywhere, he would be detestable. The purpose of coming to such a place was to find treasures. No one would be willing to let others know what they found.
Hence, after being rejected by Lin Li, Donald did not seem too disappointed. Instead, he politely said, "Okay, Master Felic, take your time. Tory and I will not disturb you any further. I hope you can find something you like here."
Donald and Tory soon left, while Lin Li brought Connoris and Angelano to slowly and leisurely browse the stalls of the secret traders. The secret trader market was very different from the Gift of the Sea. The Gift of the Sea was basically a variety of resources, while the secret trader market was filled with rare items.
However, the secret trader market did not care about the authenticity of the goods, and one had to rely on one's own judgment in order to buy the real thing. If one bought a fake item, one could only blame it on one's bad luck. Not only would the secret trader not return the item, the secret trader alliance would not do anything about it, either.
For example, Lin Li saw a replica of the Titan Dragon Spear in front of a secret trader's stall. Its appearance was completely copied from the Epic and Mythological realm, and it only contained some Thunderbolt Power. The most fake thing was that the size of the Titan Dragon Spear was only two or three times larger than the spears used by ordinary humans. The Titans would probably only be able to use it as a toothpick.
There was also a treasure map that claimed to be the mausoleum of the Sea Clan. Although Lin Li could not be sure that the map was fake, the Sea Clan had yet to perish. Even if the map was real, who would dare to dig up the mausoleum of the Sea Clan!? Or, on the other hand, if the treasure map was real, why didn't the secret trader dig it himself? The treasures in the mausoleum could not be compared to the money earned from selling the map.
Simply put, it was like an antique market where there were fakes and real ones. If one bought a fake, they could only blame themselves for not having a good eye. However, on the other hand, there would also be times when the secret traders would make a mistake and sell the real thing as a fake. Hence, it could also be said that it was a battle between buyers and sellers. No one would complain if they suffered a loss.
Of course, there were only a few fakes. Even if the secret traders wore masks and were not afraid of tarnishing their reputation, the Secret Trade Alliance would not be willing to let their reputation be tarnished by fakes. Although the Secret Business Alliance did not force the secret merchants to be genuine, there was a set of evaluation standards. If the secret merchants went too far and refused to accept the kindness they were given, they would be kicked out of the alliance.
For example, the second floor of the cabin that Donald and Prince Tory went to could definitely not have any fakes there. It was obviously of a higher level than the secret traders outside. The reason why the secret traders could enter was not only because of their strength, but also because they had reached a certain level of credibility.
This time, there were quite a few guests invited to the Secret Trader Market, at least a few thousand people. Some of them went straight to the second floor of the cabin as soon as they entered, just like Donald and the rest. However, most of them were like Lin Li, and were slowly browsing around the hall. Fortunately, the hall was extremely spacious. Although there were many people, it did not seem crowded, especially since they were all people of status. They would not run around and squeeze around ungracefully.
Among the guests, there were naturally many acquaintances of Lin Li, such as Prince Johnathan of the Felan Kingdom, Prince Jeremiah of the Ledin Kingdom, Archbishop Englos of the Brilliance Shrine, High Priest Sendros of the Darkness Shrine, and so on. Unlike Lin Li, they had only been in Anril for a few years. Given their status, they had all participated in several sea fairs. Hence, it was not strange for them to be frequent customers of the Secret Trade Alliance.
Even the representatives of the forces of the Breezy Plains, such as Joseph and Claus, were no strangers to the secret trader market, let alone the few powerhouses. After all, the secret trader market was not limited to the Gilded Kingdom. There would also be such activities on the mainland regularly, but the level would definitely not be comparable to this one.
Although Lin Li saw some acquaintances, he did not go over to greet them, and those people did not come over to look for him, either. Everyone just nodded at each other. Everyone knew that the secret trader market would only be open for six to seven hours at most. If they really wanted to browse through everything there, they would not have enough time. They could chat at other times, so no one would be willing to waste time in the secret trader market. Similarly, they wouldn't want to waste other people's time.
"Hey, President Felic, you're here too!" Not everyone was that self-conscious. How could the famous Cantory of the Gilded Kingdom not be present at such a scene? Beside Cantory was another acquaintance of Lin Li, who was none other than Harquess of the Octopus Clan who wanted to compete with Lin Li in inscription.
The last time Cantory met Lin Li in the market, it was a coincidence, but in fact, it was planned. Otherwise, how could he have coincidentally brought Harquess to Lin Li in such a large market with so many shops? Unfortunately, Cantory did not get what he wanted the previous time. He did not expect Harquess to not explode even though his work had been contaminated.
This time, it was indeed a coincidence. Cantory really didn't expect to meet Lin Li again in the secret trader market. Although he wanted to use the power of the Octopus Clan to deal with Lin Li, he couldn't make things too obvious. He was just fretting about how he could find Lin Li again, and the coincidence really made him overjoyed.
Hence, after seeing Lin Li, Cantory immediately dragged Harquess over to look for him. In his opinion, Harquess didn't settle the score with Lin Li previously because Lin Li ran away too quickly. This time, Harquess should have a chance to explode.
However, Cantory was only concerned about finding trouble with Lin Li, and he didn't notice that Harquess, who was behind him, had turned sullen.
What Harquess was most afraid of now was meeting Lin Li, and the instructions of his father and the elders seemed to be still ringing in his ears. However, he couldn't swallow his pride to suck up to Lin Li. Hence, he could only try his best to avoid meeting Lin Li as much as possible. However, given their relationship, Harquess was too embarrassed to say no to Cantory if he wanted to go over. Hence, he had no choice but to follow behind with a sullen expression.
"Oh, I heard that there's a secret trader market here, so I came over to take a look." Lin Li simply glanced at Cantory before turning back to look at the items on the stall next to him.
In Cantory's opinion, he was smart because he had never really fallen out with Lin Li. Although they were already well aware of the relationship between them, as long as they didn't really fall out, they wouldn't act like sworn enemies. That way, he could continue to get close to Lin Li, and then look for an opportunity to set Lin Li up. Unlike Delano, who was at loggerheads with Lin Li, he didn't even dare to appear in front of Lin Li now.
Although Lin Li didn't deal with Cantory because he didn't take him seriously, it also showed that Cantory's strategy was still somewhat useful. However, that also showed that Cantory's strategy was still somewhat useful. If Delano had been the one talking to Lin Li, he would probably have been thrown as far away as he could.
Seeing that Lin Li had no intention of paying attention to him, Cantory immediately felt resentful, but he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he said in a regretful tone, "President Felic, you probably don't know this yet, but the ink you casually spilled previously destroyed a Master-level mageweath. What a pity, if you had just admitted defeat at that time, you might have been able to befriend Brother Harquess. It wouldn't matter even if you gave that Master-level mageweath to you. "
On one hand, Cantory was accusing Lin Li of being a sore loser, and on the other hand, he was telling Lin Li that he had missed a chance to gain Harquess' friendship. Of course, he was not saying that because he felt sorry for Lin Li, but because he wanted to see Lin Li's remorseful expression. Although he couldn't make the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk go to war, and he couldn't really trample Lin Li under his feet, he could at least feel a considerable degree of joy at being able to strike his enemy in such a way.
In Anril, apart from the Octopus Clan, there were very few inscribers, and Masters of Inscription were even rarer. Therefore, whether it was for an individual or for a force, it was a rare opportunity to get to know a true Master of Inscription.
Cantory had been a special envoy of the Breezy Plains before, and he knew that the Tower of Dusk had only been established for a few years. If such a newly established force could have the help of a Master of Inscription, it would be equivalent to having less than 10 years of hard work. If Cantory were to find out that he had missed the opportunity to get to know a Master of Inscription, he would definitely be filled with remorse.
However, after Cantory said those words, Harquess blushed shyly at the side before Lin Li could react. Yes, even the Octopus Clan knew how to be embarrassed. Harquess was well aware that Lin Li's standard of inscription was so high that even Grand Elder Hayes found it hard to catch up to him. Harquess knew that he wasn't even worthy of carrying Lin Li's shoes.
Although Lin Li had missed the opportunity to befriend him, Harquess still remembered the words of his father and the elders, and how much they hoped that the Octopus Clan could befriend Lin Li!
However, on the one hand, Harquess didn't want his friend Cantory to feel awkward, and on the other hand, he really couldn't bring himself to say anything to Lin Li. Should he go along with Cantory? Harquess wasn't that thick-skinned, but he couldn't really lower himself to curry favor with Lin Li.
Hence, when Cantory was about to say something, Harquess secretly tugged at his good brother, hoping that he wouldn't say anything that would make him blush.
Unfortunately, Cantory didn't know that the ink that seemed to be meaningless to him had actually stunned the Octopus Clan, one of the seven overlords. Feeling that he had been tugged, he thought that Harquess wanted to teach Felic a lesson, which was exactly what he wanted.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
