Coiling Dragon

In truth, aside from the Debs clan, all of the others who were present in the second level booths belonged to extremely famous and wealthy clans throughout the Yulan continent. They were far more powerful than the Debs clan, for example…the Dawson clan of the Dawson Conglomerate. Even they were only on the second level. But of course, the representatives of the Dawson clan here were not members in the direct line of descent and succession.

“Alice, walk on the inside.”

This time, six people had come from the Debs clan. Alice was walking between Kalan and Kalan’s mother, and was even wearing a hat that was pressed down on her head. Very quickly, the six of them reached the second level.

Within this second level were the greatest clans of the Yulan continent.

Upon seeing who was in the second level hallway, Bernard, leader of the Debs clan, immediately began to modestly greet everyone present. Here, the Debs clan meant absolutely nothing. It was like the evaluation Yale had once given them in private; they were a ‘minor clan’.

Right. In the eyes of these clans whose influence spanned the entire Yulan continent, if a clan’s area of influence was limited to a single kingdom, then that clan was nothing more than a minor clan.

The six people from the Debs clan entered their booth.

“There will come a day when my Debs clan will be like those clans. No; we will be even stronger.” Kalan said to himself.

For the Debs clan, during this trip, failure was not an option.

No matter what, it was better to have this sculpture located within their own manor, rather than the manor of an outsider. After all, in June, Kalan would be having his engagement ceremony with Alice, and by then, many people would know that Alice was becoming a member of the Debs clan. But even though ‘failure was not an option’, in reality, their financial ability to succeed was a major issue as well.

“Big Brother Kalan.” Alice took a seat next to Kalan.

In a place like this, surrounded by hugely powerful clans, Alice, too, felt rather constrained and pressured. After all, in this place, even the Debs clan counted for little, much less a minor noble like Alice and her clan.

“Don’t worry. Inside this booth, the people below won’t be able to see you at all. That Linley really has gone too far. He actually…” Whenever Kalan thought of that sculpture, ‘Awakening From the Dream’, he would burst with rage. Anyone with some understanding of sculpture would be able to guess that Linley and Alice had a romantic history together.

After all, if they hadn’t shared a period of true love, how could Linley have produced such a godly work of art?

If Kalan were to really marry Alice, there would most likely be many people who would secretly speculate about what the relationship between Alice and Linley was like. For someone of Kalan’s social status, how could he bear such embarrassment?

……

The third level of the auction hall.

Inside, there were only four people. The Proulx Gallery’s Managing Director Maia, Austoni, Linley, and Yale.

“Haha, Director Maia, which one is Linley?” A loud, exuberant laugh boomed out.

Leaning on his cane, Director Maia went over to welcome the man, while Linley and Yale both immediately went to welcome him as well. “Your Majesty!”

The person who had come was the king of the Kingdom of Fenlai. He was the pride of the kingdom; the Golden Lion, King Clayde. Being both the king of Fenlai as well as mighty warrior of the ninth rank was indeed something worthy of admiration.

Linley carefully inspected this Clayde.

This king was built extremely muscularly, and his head of long, golden hair billowed about him wildly, giving off the aura of a lion with enormous explosive power. His entire person naturally radiated a domineering aura that made hearts quail in fear.

Clayde looked at Linley. “If my guess is correct, this one must be Master Linley.”

“Your Majesty, please, just call me Linley.” Linley immediately said.

As a matter of fact, Linley felt quite helpless. Ever since the sculpture ‘Awakening From the Dream’ had been put on display, many people, upon seeing Linley, would humbly address him as ‘Master Linley’. This was not feigned courtesy. Even Marquis Jebs of the Lucas clan, who really was not willing to part with the warblade ‘Slaughterer’, was still filled with the utmost admiration for Linley.

“Good enough.” Clayde was extremely blunt. “And this must be Yale, right? Yale, how’s your father doing?”